Charlie IV
Chapter 30
It is May of 2001
Jim was at the fax machine sending something while Jo was on the phone when suddenly Charlie started barking and rushed to the front door. That told both of them that yet again either Katie or Rick had either just arrived or had driven past in search of a parking space.
"Charlie!" Kate dropped to one knee to pet him, hug him, and kiss his furry head. Kate was even thinking of going with Rick and Charlie to the hospital tomorrow. As much as she hated hospitals she wanted to see Charlie in action.
By the time she was done hugging Charlie, who instantly went off looking for his ball for Kate to throw for a change, Jo was off the phone and Jim was satisfied his fax had gone through.
"My final grades." Kate handed them over to her mother and watched her dad look over her shoulder.
"You got a B, Katie?" Jo ignored the A's she got since those were expected. Not so much the B.
"Apparently I'm not great at math, but at least I passed," Kate pointed out. "So where's my husband?" She didn't even use the word Rick any longer. Husband was her new single most favorite word in the English language. She was sure he was off work by now and should be here.
"Your father and I will be working late and I have no time to go home and cook. So he volunteered to go home, check the mail, and bring back enough pizza for all of us. We can eat it at the conference table," Jo explained just as Charlie showed up with his ball, dropped it and took off running. For Kate it was more throw it TO Charlie than get Charlie to actually chase it. But he was happy either way. Just so long as someone, especially Kate, played with him.
"You landed a big case, didn't you?" Yes, they had had clients. Enough to pay the bills and start building back up their bank account after all they had spent it on.
"Define big?" Jo grinned at her. For Laurel, Mississippi it was a big case. For LA it was just another case. But it meant money and Jim and Jo were doing their best for their client.
Charlie dropped the ball half way back and rushed to the front door, barking all the way.
"Sounds like someone is back with pizza," Jim noticed which was a good thing since he was hungry.
Kate opened the door and saw Charlie charge down the sidewalk toward Rick who was balancing two boxes of pizza in one hand and had a six pack of beer in the other.
"Hi, Charlie!" He had no fear of Charlie rushing out into the street and greeted his wife at the door by kissing her and let her take the two boxes of pizza from him before he dropped them.
Soon everyone had a slice on a paper plate and a beer, including Johanna who wasn't really a fan of beer but she would drink one on occasion. Charlie was content to sit, smell pizza, and hope for the best. Like someone dropped something that Charlie would snarf up and swallow whole so fast no one would ever notice.
"I'm still sorry about your house," Jim said. As much as he and his wife loved having them in their house, they both knew they needed their own place. They were married after all. And they needed to get started on their own lives.
Kate shrugged. "It just wasn't meant to be."
"We got married at Lake Tahoe but just not going to live there. We'll think of something. First though, we have to get Kate to MSU so she can finish her classes." Rick had a plan; he just needed to tell his wife what it was.
2340 Del Norte St, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
They couldn't be there for the house inspection so all they got was his report and his pictures. Based on what he had found, the house had problems.
There were no GFI outlets anywhere in the house. If someone wanted to electrocute yourself this was a good way to do it. The exterior had a little wood rot on the back side of the house. All of the siding needed to be restained. So effectively paint the house.
Now those things Rick and Kate thought they could have fixed after they bought it. Not a deal breaker. However, the house had three flat roofs. Three flat roofs in Lake Tahoe where it snowed up to 18-inches a year. He thought the structure was enough to hold it but only an engineer could tell them that.
But the inspector had walked all three roofs and found that all three had maybe 2 years maximum left in them. Maybe only 1 year. All three needed to be replaced immediately. Likely the sellers already knew that but he didn't know for sure.
That got Rick and Kate to take another 20k off their offer or the seller could replace the roofs themselves. But the owners had refused to do either. The offer was already 20k below the asking price so far as they were concerned. As a result Rick and Kate had walked away. They would find somewhere else to live.
They did still love Lake Tahoe and might visit it again some time. Kate had been skeptical but Rick had talked her into renting a jet ski and she had screamed most of the time and had had a blast. Her wedding and post wedding had been amazing.
Not to mention most of the night filled with sex. Rick had shown her that she could make it past 5 orgasms during one love making session. Six was her new magic number and she couldn't wait for her husband to break that record.
"So when is the honeymoon?" Jo asked. Kate had gone practically straight to classes after getting back home so they hadn't had time to go on a honeymoon yet. However, it was summer vacation for Kate now save for when she took her lone summer class so they had just over a week to take that honeymoon.
"We fly out Monday. Two days on Oahu, two days on Maui, two days on Kauai, and two days on the Big Island. Hotel in each and a rental car to get around with. Just enough time to enjoy something and leave me with 2 days of vacation for something else. Take the RV somewhere again, something." Rick had it all planned out.
"Lots of beaches with sand, sun, and sunscreen." Kate was sure she was going to love it.
"Maybe you can find a job while you are there," Jo suggested. "You never know if you don't ask."
"I have two more years." Kate shook her head. No one was going to hire her. She wasn't a registered veterinarian yet. That was what classes at MSU were for. She just needed to figure out how she was going to get there and take them.
"Never say never, Katie," Jo said. "We will take very good care of Charlie. Won't we, Charlie?" Jo crooned and reached out to pet him. He really was an amazing dog.
"Maybe even take him to the hospital once," Jim said and smiled.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Charlie had been petted and kissed and left behind with Johanna while Jim drove them to the airport, parked, and walked them inside. Parking was free so what the hell.
Now this trip was going to be a doozy for them. Fly to Houston. Change planes. Fly to San Francisco. Change planes again. Eventually fly to Honolulu. Two hour layover in Houston, 1-1/2 hour layover in San Francisco. Leave Laurel at 6:23am and finally land in Honolulu at 11:17am the next day. Fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes of flying time not including the layovers.
Kate was crammed into her seat next to her husband with her long legs in their first little plane to Houston. "Remind me again why I agreed to this? The Bahamas or even Jamaica was closer."
"Because you love me and it's Hawaii. We even get a lei greeting at the airport and another one for the trip home," Rick reminded her and got a quick kiss for a response.
She did love him. She just wasn't going to love flying there.
"And maybe a little house hunting on the side if we find the time," Rick said.
Suddenly he had her attention. "You think so? But isn't Hawaii really expensive? Like ungodly expensive?" Unexpectedly he had her dreaming.
"You know what our bank account looks like as well as I do. If we both find jobs there we'll have even more money. I get that offer for book number four and we'll have even more money. Of course I have to get book number three to them first and have it do well, but maybe." Rick shrugged. They weren't ready yet but they could look and get a handle on costs.
Kate kissed him again. Now her mind was on living in Hawaii. Though where in Hawaii and on which island? Yeah, that was the next big question.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
The only thing they had eaten was hours ago in Houston. They were afraid they didn't have time to eat much in San Francisco. At least Rick had gotten them cold, very expensive and not overly tasty, sandwiches and chips and a drink in San Francisco. So they didn't starve but it wasn't much.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Honolulu airport! Now they just needed transportation to their hotel and they could get this honeymoon started.
Shoreline Hotel Waikiki. They found their room on the 8th floor out of 12 floors in total.
"They have a pool on the roof?" Kate was interested in seeing that eventually.
Blue floor, blue bed, aqua curtains, and a red wall that had all of the Hawaiian Islands on it with You are here and an arrow pointing at just where they were on Oahu.
"So what's first?" Kate queried since Rick had done all the planning for their honeymoon. That so far had only been sitting in a plane.
"Diamond Head is first. We can even walk all the way to the top," Rick said and saw Kate grin and hurry to the door to leave.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Diamond Head, they soon learned, had a parking lot that was full so they were forced to park outside and walk down a tunnel and pray not to get run over by cars coming and going just to get in.
"Smoothies with fresh pineapple." Kate made her way to the cart that looked like any other food cart save that it only served smoothies. They could tell it was fresh pineapple given that whoever was manning the cart had dozens upon dozens of fresh pineapple outside in a cage for them to choose from.
Kate moaned at the first taste. "Maybe another when we leave." She was more than willing.
Now the walk turned out to be paved for only a very short way. The rest of it was all uphill on a very rocky path and there had been only two, count them, two places to sit and rest if they needed to. However the view at the top was spectacular! And the weather was perfect!
Another smoothie and Rick was driving back to the hotel. "So what's next, husband of mine?"
"Sunset Dinner Cruise," Rick told her and that had Kate smiling.
Rick handed her the brochure he had picked up without her noticing.
1. Aloha Tower Marketplace
2. Honolulu City Lights
3. Sunset
4. Diamond Head
5. Waikiki
6. Friday Fireworks
"Today isn't Friday," Kate pointed out.
"Yeah, I'm sorry but I couldn't squeeze that in between your classes," Rick apologized.
"That's okay. I still love you." Kate gave him a quick kiss.
The Sunset Dinner Cruise turned out to have buffet food, entertainment, dancing and drinks plus Kona Coffee.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
After they got back from the cruise they made love to each other that night as always.
"So what's on today's list before we move to Kauai?" Kate asked him.
"Shopping for souvenirs. They have this really big market place advertised. We should be able to find something to take home to your mom and dad and my mother. Then we can talk to a Realtor if you like or go looking for vet clinics."
"Shopping's fine. Um... I'm not really sure I want to live in Honolulu. It reminds me too much of LA, I think." It was nice but she didn't want to live here. She had gotten used to living in small town Laurel.
The International Market Place turned out to have more than just one level. It was also open air, but since it wasn't raining today, it all worked out.
They found stores, restaurants, and even a man who was sitting there carving wood into all kinds of things. What he had already carved was sitting there on display with price tags all in the hundreds or thousands for the bigger items. Too expensive but fun to watch.
Kate had two bags, one for her mom and one for her dad while Rick had one for his mother. Since they had walked it they walked back to their hotel and dropped off their bags. Now it was time to hit the beach and swim in the Pacific Ocean off of Waikiki since they were here. They might never get another chance to do it.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Today they had the fun of dropping off their car at the airport. Dragging their luggage to the counter and then walking to the gate to take a really short island hopping flight to Kauai where they got to do it all over again.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Plantation Hale Suites
It was lunch by the time they arrived. "What's first, Babe?" Kate was ready to get started enjoying her honeymoon.
"Follow me." Rick pulled out his map on how to get there and headed to the car.
Kauai Ultimate Off-Road Ranch Tour
"ATVs!" Kate was a little shocked.
"Technically 4x4s, not Quads which are only for one person," Kate was corrected. And with helmet in hand she watched as Rick got a driving class on how to drive one while she was going to be his passenger.
Each 4x4 could hold four people and they got a green one. Kate put on her helmet, climbed in, and buckled up. There were six of them in total. Two couples had shown up with one boy and the other had a boy and a girl. Otherwise they were just like them.
With sunglasses and a bandanna over their mouths they took off. Rick was right behind their guide who had someone with him since one couple had shown up with three kids.
The road turned out to be a mix of dirt, partial pavement, and then true backroads that were barely a trail. "RICK!"She just knew he was going to do what the guy in front had done, that being to go as fast as possible through this big stream/puddle. "RICK!"Kate screamed and then switched to laughing.
"Can we go back and do that again?" Kate was having fun. They got to make stops at various locations and take pictures. Kate even struck a pose as Rick took her picture and then laughed all the way back to him. She would kiss him but they were both wearing helmets so she couldn't.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
They were back at their hotel to change clothes since Rick had a plan for tonight as well.
Na Pali Sunset Buffet Dinner Cruise
"A catamaran!" Kate noticed since this was different from last time. There were also a lot fewer people. Beer, Wine, Fresh Juice, and Mai Tais.
A sixty-five foot powered catamaran. Appetizers to the Na Pali Coast. Drinks of choice anytime, followed by a buffet dinner. They saw dolphins several times but no whales. But the coast line was gorgeous.
"Thanks, Babe!" Kate kissed him soundly after they got off the catamaran to go to their hotel.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
"So what's today?" Kate came out of the bathroom naked and began getting dressed for the day.
"A zipline followed by shopping and then a luau tonight. We leave for Maui in the morning," Rick reminded her.
"REALLY?" Kate had only managed to put on her panties when she wrapped her arms around his half-naked body and kissed him. She really, really wanted to do both.
There turned out to be four different lines that they each used one after the other. The last one, they were told, was 4,000 feet long, the single longest in Hawaii. It was also done Superman Style and riders could reach speeds of 50 mph.
It wasn't just a harness. It was a suit; they laid down, and spread their arms wide, and FLEW! Side by side since there were two lines, they both screamed as they finally reached the end.
"YES!" They both yelled and high-fived each other.
"Best honeymoon EVER!" Rick crowed even if he had done all the planning.
"Well since it's going to be your only honeymoon it better be fun," Kate teased him and kissed him. "LUAU!" She was ready for that but that didn't happen till after they went shopping.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
This luau had lots and lots of people. Kate even volunteered to go up on stage and make a fool of herself while trying to do hula which was a lot harder than it looked. Still she was laughing all the way back to Rick who showed her pictures of her doing a hula.
"OH GOD!" Kate tried to figure out how to delete them but Rick took the camera away from her.
The food was a lot of food, very good, and the show was even better. More sex that night and they were headed for the airport for the flight to Maui the next morning.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
The Plantation Inn
They were on the ground floor and soon found that they could walk out the back door onto a patio and then right out and jump into the pool. There was a poolside breakfast every morning that they had missed because it was already lunch. But they had one more chance.
"So what's today, Babe?" Thus far his planning had been perfect and she was loving her honeymoon.
"Today is the Maui Brewing Company tour followed by shopping. Tomorrow is The Road to Hana. It's 64 miles long, full of twists and turns, and lots of one lane bridges made of stone by Chinese workers. Lots of places to stop and look. They say a minimum of 3 hours one-way so we're going to be gone all day. Maybe we'll stop in Hana to eat something since it might be our only chance."
"I approve!" Kate kissed him since this was going to be fun. "No helicopter tours?" She had seen one advertised at the airport.
Rick shook his head. "$400 per person was too much, sorry."
"That's okay." She understood they were saving money and she hoped Rick's books did really well.
[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]
Kate was lying on top of her husband with him still inside her. They only had intercourse with her on top. She still couldn't stand having him on top of her. He couldn't even take her from behind. There was just something about those positions that she couldn't handle.
Kate was thankful that Rick hadn't batted an eye and let her make love the way she wanted to.
"Two days on the Big Island, then home, and summer school." Kate pressed her face into his neck so she could breathe him in. Her beautiful honeymoon was almost over.
Then she sat up, kept him inside her, and lifted his hands up and placed them on her breasts. She loved it when he touched her. "So what are we doing tomorrow?"
"Go see the volcano erupt and watch lava flowing is first. Just don't catch your shoes on fire," Rick teased her.
"Ha, ha. What else?" That was maybe one day.
"Shopping in Hilo where we'll have our hotel. Then drive to Kona and buy lots and lots of coffee and have it shipped home." Rick grinned at her; he knew how much she like the coffee here.
"Oooo!" Kate leaned down to kiss him for that. She was seriously addicted to Hawaiian coffee. "Anything else?"
"Just one if you're willing. You like small town Laurel, I like small town Laurel, and Charlie loves Laurel and everyone in it." That had Kate chuckling. Suddenly hearing his name told her that she really missed him.
"I was thinking of looking at vet clinics in Hilo and Kona. Just look and see how many there are and how many vets in either place has. Hilo has about 40,000 people and Kona has 15,000 people. Not even close to LA or any other big city."
"Maybe, but I don't finish classes for another two years," Kate reminded him as she sat back up and put his hands back on her breasts.
"True, but we might not ever be back here. This is going to be our one chance to at least look. Talk to a veterinarian if he or she has time. I can find a job doing something. I can write from anywhere. Black Pawn will just have to deal." If nothing else Rick was stubborn.
"We can try, I guess." Kate let him have it. Then she started grinding her hips since he still had a partial erection.