The rest of the week was definitely productive – both for the project and for Beca's sight-seeing. Tasi took Beca out on several dives since the island was a boon for scuba divers. Some of the more unique reefs included fish of a brighter color than she ever could imagine. As she was taking in the sights around her on one particular dive, she saw another diver and Tasi motioning for her attention. When she swam over, she saw Tasi swimming alongside a huge sea turtle. He was dragging a small pouch presumably filled with food in front of the turtle's mouth to keep the turtle interested until Beca got close enough. She gently ran her hands over its shell while swimming next to the docile creature. They even went on a night dive which exposed her to marine life she would have never seen before, including some creatures that seemed slightly scarier when illuminated only by a spotlight.

Kurihi and Guafi's afternoon with Beca was spent at a cultural center. "The center is not open all of the time anymore because of funding." Kurihi explained. "But because of its importance to the island's history, the city government ensures its upkeep. A school group from the naval base is having a field trip today to learn more about the Chamorro culture. I always like to make sure Guafi gets in on these special days. He can never be too immersed in his cultural past."

The Lina'La' Chamorro Cultural Park represented over five hundred years of Guam culture as it was built around an actual ancient village. The stoneware and artifacts in the living museum dated back to the beginning of the Spanish era in the seventeenth century. Kurihi encouraged his son to explain the artifacts and displays to Beca as a means of reinforcing the boy's own knowledge.

After exploring all of the museum and watching a few of the native dances, they made their way to a small field in the back and started walking towards what appeared to be a barn. When Guafi began to giggle, Beca knew that she was probably in for another 'local treat that could only be experienced on Guam'. In the paddock were several horned animals that looked similar to large cows or very small bulls. Kurihi explained that the animals were similar to buffalo and were used to plow fields for centuries.

Beca leaned up against the fence admiring the large animals. Guafi motioned for her to climb over the fence with him. "Ummm no Guafi." She took a few steps backwards for good measure.

"But Miss Beca," he whined. "You have to. Please?" She raised her eyebrows at him as if to ask what was so important that she had to remove the barrier between herself and the animals. "Ride a carabo. Alllllllllllllllll the tourists do it." He was gently pulling one over by the large ring in the bovine's nose.

"Hard pass son. I'm not getting on one of those."

Kurihi threw his head back in laughter. "Come on Mitchell. You aren't afraid of that little thing, are you? My son is leading it by its nose." He waved his phone in the air. "You know the team is waiting for a picture and video. You can't let them down."

After some gentle cajoling and promises that the carabo was quite slow at its fastest pace, Beca climbed over the fence and managed to straddle the small ox and hang on for her life. Granted the ride wasn't as bad as she had expected, and Guafi was having a blast trudging through the plowed field. So all in all, it was worth it.

The afternoon ended at one of the island's small coffee plantations. Hano had given her a quick overview of the process, but watching the actually methods used to pick, dry and eventually roast the coffee was intriguing. Beca had never put much thought into her daily drink but would certainly appreciate the caffeine boost much more now. The woman at the plantation explained how the whole coffee beans stayed fresher when stored in the freezer. "Despite our beans being packed with a degassing valve, they are best consumed within two months."

Because Kurihi assured her that Amista would want to share some of her family's stash, Beca only purchased a few bags at the plantation before they ventured towards Kurihi's home. "I don't know to thank you for your hospitality this week Kurihi. Your family, your team, everyone has been amazing."

"Our team, and yes, they have. They like you. That says a lot Attau."

The tiny project manager tried to act offended as she crossed her arms and blushed. "Seriously, I'm still Attau?" She and her lead both laughed at the nickname.

For the short time she was on Guam, Beca's life fell into somewhat of a routine. She woke up early each morning and went swimming in the ocean which was mere feet from her back door. Sometimes she took the time to sketch the various things she saw – the sunrise, the waves, the early surfers. She spent the mornings through lunch with her team members finalizing details of the project plans.

After a late lunch she was returned to her hut where she was given time to relax but more often than not found herself visiting with Hano if the proprietor was around. Then the designated team member would pick her up for their late afternoon or evening excursion. Dinner was always a family affair at the home of the team member who had accompanied her that afternoon.

Initially evenings were reserved for writing her reports to e-mail to Posen. Quickly the project manager realized that her boss would have to deal with short summaries and get a full report upon her return to the mainland. Instead, Beca would sketch and draw her experiences from her jaunts with her team members. She rendered an extremely detailed coconut crab with its exquisite shell colorings. Also in her book was a carabo with curved horns and a brass nose ring being led by a young boy. Beca also tried to capture the many brightly colored fish and reefs Tasi had taken her to. While she prided herself on her realistic drawings, many of the dive pictures ended up looking more like abstracts. There was simply too much detail to remember.

As Beca flipped through her sketch book, she realized it was almost full and made a mental to note to see if she could locate another before her trip home. At the front of the pad, she came across the picture of the redhead she had drawn on the flight from Tokyo. Closing her eyes, she tried to recapture her vision of the woman. Something about her was comfortable, relaxing. This trip had done incredible things not only for the project but for Beca's mental health and stress level. She wanted to keep this feeling when she returned and set her mind to finding out more about the Posen's friend on her return.

The new solar panel vendor had sent plans for some lightweight aluminum support beams which could be used on the roofs of some of the houses, and the same beams could be used on homes with ample ground space to construct a power grid. A local metal fabricator quickly created a few mock-ups which passed muster locally and in the United States.

After numerous checks with the local and New York legal departments, all of the contracts had been properly executed. Beca had the signed local agreements ready to take back with her to New York for finalization. The project was declared ready to move into the next phase, project execution. The vendor ordered the panels for the first round of the project and made arrangements to fly to Guam to begin training locals within the next few weeks.

The project manager felt compelled to reward her team with a celebration of sorts, something they would never do for themselves. She'd learned that their family feasts were a weekly celebration. Whether it was tradition, income or whatever, rarely did any of the islanders eat out in a restaurant. There were several American chain restaurants, but her conscious would not allow her to take her team to Chili's or Applebee's.

Beca settled on Yoko Zuna, a small place that served Japanese and American cuisine and had a nice banquet room in the back which she was able to rent. Initially she was wanted to invite everyone's extended family. However, when she suggested this at the final meeting, the team insisted it be just spouses. They wanted a more intimate setting since their boss would be leaving the next day.

As the project manager packed up her belongings that evening, she realized she wasn't going to have room in her suitcase and backpack for all of the items she had purchased. When she asked Hano to take her to a shop, the hostess simply found a hand-woven bag from a local vendor and insisted Beca take it. All of the breakable items along with the coffee she'd gotten from the plantation and Amista's backyard were packed in her newly acquired carry-on. Remembering how long the long flight was to get there, she also packed some more comfortable clothes to take with her. Everything else she was able to roll up and fit into her checked luggage.

Saying goodbye to the team was bittersweet. Promises were elicited for Beca to return along with assurances from the team members to visit New York City as well. The project manager jokingly threatened them to not show the solar panel contractor as good of a time as they did her. Of course, they vowed they wouldn't.

While she had two carry-on bags this time, neither was particularly heavy or bulky. When it was time to board the shorter flight to Tokyo, she had no problems locating bin space for her larger bag. She stowed her smaller backpack beneath the seat in front of her as the airline requested. Before she settled back in her seat, she got out a pad of paper and began making a list, this time of real presents to send to her Guam based team and Hano. They had all gotten a laugh at the cheesy New York City gifts she had brought, but now that she really knew her team members, she wanted them to have something from her that mattered. The vendor would be headed to Guam in a few short weeks, and she wanted to have more honest gifts ready to send with him.

When the plane landed in Tokyo, Beca was readying to go through the whole customs procedure again. As a pass through passenger, the process wasn't as daunting but annoying still the same. While she stood in line, a young child's voice caught her attention. Beca didn't mean to be nosy; sometimes, one can't help but to overhear. Apparently the young girl wasn't happy about being on a trip with her mother. She wasn't exactly misbehaving by making her mom physically drag her, but she wasn't being cooperative either. The parent was explaining to her daughter that this trip wasn't a choice. As Beca's time at the agent's window came up, she pushed the family scene from her mind.

After clearing immigration and customs and rechecking her bag, Beca quickly found the confectioners store she had bought the candies from her first time through. She had some packaged as a gift for Jessica and bought some for herself to nibble on as well. Thinking of the small girl she had seen earlier, she bought a coloring book and a small pack of crayons to tuck inside her backpack. The project manager then found her gate and settled down to wait on her flight.

Not too much later, the young child and mother from earlier took a seat across from Beca in the waiting lounge. The girl had obviously been crying, and the mom looked beyond stressed. While Beca normally wouldn't intrude, something told her the mother needed some interference. She took out the book and crayons, looked at the mother and raised her eyebrows in question. The mother instantly looked relieved and nodded.

"Hey," Beca stage whispered. The little girl looked at her. "I'm Beca. What's your name?" The little girl looked cautiously at her mom who nodded her head.

"Sammi."

"Well Sammi, it seems as though the shop gave me this coloring book and crayons, and I don't even color with these." Beca exaggerated as she showed the child her sketch book and pencils. "Would you like to help me color?"

The little girl's smile was shy, but she nodded as she came over to sit by Beca. Soon she was quickly distracted from whatever had her upset earlier and took the coloring book back over to her mom to snuggle against her side.

"You didn't have to do that, but thanks. I'm Jill." The woman gave Beca a tired smile.

"Looks like you are having a hard go of it, so it's the least I could do."

Sammi was completely consumed with her coloring, and Jill obviously needed someone to talk to. She and her husband were having problems. He was stationed in the Air Force on Guam. But Jill had found out that he was cheating on her. When she confronted him, he told her he wanted a divorce and that she should go home to her mother. "The military frowns on extramarital affairs, and he could get into a lot of trouble since the other woman is his captain. But I decided it was best to pack up our things and leave."

"Sammi was born in Guam. She's never even been off the island. The three-hour flight was okay, but I'm afraid the newness will wear off on the super long flight to New York. That on top of missing her dad is going to make this for an extended flight."

Knowing that boarding was going to begin soon, Beca asked the woman for their boarding passes and excused herself to go to the counter. After a long conversation with a lot of persuading, she walked back to Sammi and Jill with two new boarding passes. She didn't say much, just handed the frazzled mom the new passes.

"What did you do Beca?"

She shrugged. "I checked the airline's app and the seat next to mine was vacant. So I traded seats with you and Sammi."

"But these are business class seats. I can't take your seat. We are in coach."

"Yeah but I shared part of your story with the agent. Her asshole ex cheated on her, so she helped us out. Woman power and all that. You have my seats and I have a seat in Economy Deluxe that has a little more leg room… like I need it." Beca laughed. "It's already done, so just enjoy."

Beca knew that travelling in Economy wasn't going to hurt her. Of course it wasn't as comfortable as Business Class, but she'd get over it. She had already planned on sleeping on the way back to get her body used to being back on the Eastern time zone. And why waste Business Class on the snoozers when a harried mother and her young daughter could enjoy it.

This time, she stored her laptop bag in the overhead bin so she'd have her change of clothes accessible at her feet. She settled into her seat and popped two Ambien to help her sleep on the long journey back to the Big Apple. She remembered thinking she should put on something comfy to sleep in then nothing else.

The next time Beca woke up, she found herself wearing everything that was in her carry-on bag. If that wasn't troubling enough, she apparently had the thought it's a long flight, you know. Put on some sweatpants or something. Seemingly, she thought changing would be a hassle so she had pulled the sweats on right over her jeans and boots. "God," she muttered to herself, "Stacie is SO going to get a kick out of what I did this time. I clearly should not be taking Ambien."

Seeing that she was now sweating, Beca peeled off the purple and blue plaid button-down flannel along with the sweatshirt she had pulled on over her original t-shirt. She kicked off the sweatpants then folded them neatly and repacked her carry-on. Next she took her bag to one of the larger restrooms to properly change clothes.

Out of her fog of exhaustion, Beca heard the tumblers of her apartment's front door unlock and the door snap open against the safety chain. "Becs! Hey pipsqueak! Open the door. I'm going to blow your phone up and bug your neighbors until you let me in!" Beca moaned and covered her head with her pillow hoping her friend would go away. With the constant vibrating of her phone ringing and Stacie banging on the door, she finally gave up trying to go back to sleep. Beca pulled on a pair of yoga pants, tied her hair back, and went trudging to the door.

Her best friend had her face wedged in the door and had resorted to singing an obnoxious song in an effort to get Beca out of bed. The project manager put her hand firmly on her friend's face and shoved it out of the door and slammed the door shut so she could release the safety chain. "Fucker." She then retreated to her bathroom to brush her teeth and splash some water on her face. "I need my beauty sleep you know, Stace."

"Whatever cute cheeks. I brought sustenance." Beca could hear her friend rummaging through paper bags as she unpacked whatever she had brought. When she emerged, she saw that Stacie had brought a huge paper cup of was formerly her favorite coffee and was in the process of pulling out the typical Sunday spread of donuts and pastries they consumed to help with the alcohol absorption. "Caffeine, sugar, and grease – a cure for all that ails you."

Stacie was a tall, slender brunette who was nearly half a foot taller than her best friend. She was one of those types of people who woke up looking beautiful without even trying. While she was quite the sexual being, oftentimes she didn't even mean to come across that way. It just happened. When Beca first moved to the city, she tried out one of Stacie's Pilates classes. While the workout was a little intense for the shorter woman, the two immediately became close friends.

Beca moaned as she crawled on top of a barstool and put her head on the counter, hiding her face in the crook over her elbow. Stacie pushed the coffee towards her friend until it bumped her arm. "Drink up." The shorter woman peered out of her arm and glared.

"New York coffee tastes like shit. And why are you pumping all of this poison into your body?" Beca motioned to the donuts. "Aren't you a fitness instructor?" The project manager was grumbling as she settled her head back into the darkness created by her arms.

"Who the fuck are you and what have you done with my friend?" Stacie grabbed the scruff of Beca's t-shirt and jokingly shook her like a rag doll.

Grudgingly Beca sat up and started to slowly sip on her coffee, swirling it around in her mouth to try to regain some of the familiar taste. She selected one of her favorite pastries and began to eat. "Stace, you are going to DIE when you taste the coffee I brought back from the island. Amazing doesn't even describe how fabulous it is. And…" she swallowed rest of the sugary treat she'd been eating, "I'll have you know that I ate completely healthy while I was gone. Lots of fresh fruits and home-cooked meals and well, everything. The trip was like a body cleanse."

When the project manager was sufficiently awake, she began to tell her best friend about the adventures she had while overseas. Stacie assured her that she had followed a lot of the antics and experiences on the team's Instagram page. "Sounds like the trip was a success. I'm now officially envious. Can I go next time?"

"Sure," Beca chuckled. "Oh fuck. I have to tell you want I did on the way home. You are going to die. You know how I am on Ambien, right? It's a hell of a drug. Like I sort of black out the second that I take it. Then I wake up to a surprise every time."

Stacie about choked on her coffee, "Like the time you woke up and all your DVDs were in your fridge?"

"Yeah like that or the time I made enough scrambled eggs to feed a small army." Beca was chortling at herself. "Well this time, I took a couple of pills as soon as we took off, and I remember thinking. I should put on something comfy to sleep in and then I remember nothing. Stacie, when I woke up, I was wearing everything that was in my carry-on bag. Ev-er-y-thing! And I had a 90 second video of my salad. Not an accident, mind you – like I was Martin Scorsese filming this salad." Stacie put a hand on her friend's arm to stop her story so that the taller brunette could catch her breath from laughing so hard.

Beca went on. "And the troubling thing about everything in my carry-on is that I clearly had the thought, put on some sweat pants or something. It's a long flight, you know." But apparently I thought changing would be a hassle so I went straight over the jeans, straight over my boots. So… I like the first layer was my outfit I boarded in and then sweatpants and then I guess I must have thought welllllllllll I like all these clothes. That's why I packed them. I like this shirt. I'll just put this one on."

At this point, Stacie was snorting and holding her stomach. "But it was nerve-wracking Stace. Because I thought to myself - was it a hurried process, you know I was sort of sleepy and I'm just doing it? Or was I giving the other passengers a fashion show. I'm not sure. I don't know, and I'm not sure I want to know." By now Stacie was laughing so hard she couldn't even listen, and Beca was talking to herself. "It's better I don't know."

When the taller woman finally caught her breath, she said, "So you were in some type of hypnotic state videoing your salad."

Beca nodded her head. "Yep, I thought you'd appreciate that one. My good old friend Ambien. It's like a time travel and a little surprise." Beca emphasized surprise with a snap of her fingers.

Now that Beca was fully awake, she started unpacking the parts of her bags that had presents so that she could give Stacie what gifts she had brought and get the others ready for work the next morning. She convinced Stacie to help her wrap since that's one task Beca absolutely abhorred. During the holidays, most of her presents were gifted in brown paper bags.

"No trading of presents Legs. I bought specific things for specific people. Besides you got easily triple of what everyone else has."

"Awwww I your bestie friendie little one. That makes me happy."

"Shut up."

Stacie ended up getting some true 100% coconut oil directly from the fruit of a Guam coconut tree along with a coconut candle and soap, both of which smelled divine. "Ok pipsqueak. Now you are my bestie. You know what coconut does to me." Stacie waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Beca had also brought her a necklace Hano had handwoven out of coconut husks especially for Stacie.

"The woman that owns the hut where I stayed made that just for you. I have pictures of her making it that I'll send you later. Now this is a pound of coffee beans from one of the plantations on the island. Keep it in your freezer. I'm coffee'd out right now or I'd make some. But seriously, only make enough for you to drink. You won't want to waste it." Beca chuckled.

"Oh, and one more thing." Beca dug around in her suitcase and found a rolled up t-shirt which she threw over to her friend. Stacie shook out the shirt as an odd look crossed her face.

"Got Kelaguen? What the hell is kelaguen?"

Beca laughed. "Google it later. I thought it'd be a good conversation starter when you have one of those classes full of hot women."

Stacie shrugged as she put the shirt with the other presents. "What-evs Bec. But thanks for loading me up. You should vacation more often!"

After Beca was putting in her last load of laundry and Stacie was done with the wrapping, the project manager came around to sit on the couch next to her friend. Stacie had found Beca's sketch book and was flipping through the pictures she'd sketched while on the island. "These are stunning Beca. I've always been amazed at how talented you are." Stacie continued to look at drawings in the second book which Beca had purchased right before she returned to the mainland.

"Hmmm."

"Hmmm what Stace?" Beca tried to see which illustration she was looking at.

"So what did you NOT tell me about this trip, eh? Did Miss Beca get a lil somethin' somethin'?"

"Dude? What? No!" She tried to grab the book from her friend's hand. Unfortunately, Stacie's arms were much longer, and she was able to hold the second book right out of Beca's reach.

"Wait!" Stacie started muttering under her breath and used her other hand to flip to the front of the first book. She held them both up and compared. "Well I'll be damned Mitchell. You sly devil you."

"What the fuck Stace?"

Her friend dropped the second sketch book into Beca's lap. "Explain." One word is all Stacie said as Beca looked at the pictures to which her friend was referring.

The last few pictures in the new sketch book were familiar ones of the sunrise and sunset on the beach in front of her hut and one of the hut itself. But this time, a woman was in three of them. In one, she was sitting on the steps of the hut's porch. Another she was clothed only in a white bikini and about to dive into the ocean. While the third had her in a big floppy hat, looking shyly at the artist.

"Now tell me Beca. Who the hell is this redhead and where have you been hiding her?"

Beca was struck silent as she didn't recall drawing the pictures. "Ummmmm. I, errrr…" Even if she explained to Stacie that she'd only seen the woman once at a coffee shop a few weeks ago, it wouldn't justify these pictures. So Beca just shrugged.

Stacie began cackling. "Let me guess. You don't know who this woman is, but she's stuck in your craw. She tapped the second book. And you drew these on the way home while on Ambien. Priceless Mitchell. Priceless."