July 6th

12:32 AM

Nita placed her bags in the corner of the hotel and met Kit as he dragged his through the doorway and

Kit was looking much the worse for wear. The rough stubble of a beard on his chin was beginning to grow out, he was suffering from allergies and jet lag, and he was completely exhausted.

Nita, on the other hand, bounced around the room like a balloon that's had too much caffeine. She was perkier than Kit had imagined possible, and incredibly awake, at that.

The waning crescent moon hung high in the star-packed heavens above Hawaii, sending a soft, off-white light down onto the white sand beach outside their hotel. A gecko skittered up the window, peered over the top, and hopped into the room, where it promptly panicked.

SsssShould have taken a right at the palm trees…

Kit raised an eyebrow at Nita. "This is your territory."

She gave him a small, wry smile, then switched into the Speech.

"Dai stiho, cousin."

The gecko literally shot a foot into the air.

SsssWizard…? Two wizard.

Kit collapsed onto the bed and didn't move.

SsssDead wizard.

Nita laughed.

No, cousin. It's not dead…just tired. And a bit lazy, too.

I heard that, Kit replied.

The gecko gave a little squeak.

SsssOutta here, yeah?

Nita frowned.

Sorry?

The gecko looked at her again.

SsssLemme out of here, pleez. Sssgotta family to get ssssback to.

Nita picked the gecko up and carried it to the window. It climbed off her hand and onto the windowsill.

SssssThanks pal.

Nita watched it skitter off into the night.

"So, Kit…" she sighed. "How soon you think Dairine's gonna get married?"

Kit groaned.

"Don't make me think, Nita. Just let me… what's the word…"

"Vegetate until you think you're a carrot?"

"Shut it before I steal your car keys. Besides, that's not a word. It's a phrase."

Kit and Nita had both received a car from their parents, and an extra car from Tom and Carl.

Kit's mom had given in, remembering her son's dream car at age eighteen, when he had been forced by a lack of cash to drive a beat-up Volkswagen Beetle to work. She had teamed up with her husband to buy Kit a brand new, dark silver Honda S2000. Nita smiled as she remembered how Kit's jaw had hit the floor, and he had swept his mother, father, and Nita up into a huge hug, profoundly thanking each of them in turn.

In the rush and bustle of all the wedding preparations, Nita's birthday had gone unnoticed by all. Plagued by an immense feeling of guilt, he had gone to Nita's dad and talked with him about getting Nita a new car, and he had gone with him to go pick out one for her. They had finally decided on a bright red Toyota MR2 convertible, and Nita's dad had insisted on paying for most of it. Note the most.

Nita sighed. "We have too many cars. A Lexus, a Volvo, a Honda, three Toyotas, and a powder-blue Mercedes with teeth marks in one fender."

The answer was a muffled, exhausted sigh into a pillow.

"Give the Mercedes to your dad, the Tacoma to Dairine, the Volvo to Ethan."

"And that leaves us with…"

"Two nice convertibles, a Lexus, and a Tundra."

"Kit, where did you get the Tacoma?"

"Carmela. She dumped it on my lawn. Said she hated it; her boyfriend gave it to her. Jeez… she's still teasing him about it."

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

An awkward silence fell, and Nita could tell that Kit's mind was on something.

"Whatcha thinking about, Kit?"

Kit smiled distantly. "Just remembering how we met… and how we progressed since then."

Nita gave him a wry smile. "All the fights… all the good times… and, of course, all the terror we went through."

A sigh came from her husband.

"Tell me about it."

The TV was turned on, and a female reporter's voice filled the room.

… unusual paranormal activity around the perimeter of what is commonly called the Bermuda Triangle… late Tuesday night, three cargo ships vanished without a trace during a routine jaunt from North Carolina to Miami. One of the ships, the name of which has not been released, was found adrift Thursday evening. The ship had been carrying six tons of automotive gasoline. When the Search and Rescue team investigated, they found that the gasoline had separated into lead, isooctane, and petroleum. There was no trace of any of the ship's crew of thirty-eight. It has been confirmed that three lifeboats were missing from the ship, but the Coast Guard has yet to find any trace of the crew.

Nita sighed and switched the channel, muttering, "More gossip…"

Nita?

Tom? Is that you?

Hey, Tom.

Kit's sleepy mind voice addressed his Senior.

Hey, Kit. Nita, did you hear about this freighter that they found adrift a few days ago?

Uh-huh. Just watched a news brief on it

Nita, they don't know what caused this. The compasses are completely void of markings. It's almost as if someone erased the markings… this is stumping everyone.

You want us to come on over?

No, no, stay on your honeymoon… you deserve it. We have Dairine and Ethan over here, out on the water. Just wanted to bring you up to date on this.

Okay. Well, um, get us if you need our help.

Will do. What time is it over there?

Almost one AM.

Ooooh. Sorry… did I wake you up?

Nah. Kit was in the process of nodding off.

Hey!

Sorry…

Tom laughed.

Okay you two. I'll contact you guys if we need you… I don't think we will, though.

No problem. Thanks.

Dai.

Go well.

The connection was cut off, and, Nita, exhausted, collapsed onto the bed.

"Talk to you in the morning… Kit…"

Kit kissed her forehead. "Love you, Nita."

"Love you… too…"

She sighed as sleep took hold of her, and whisked her off into dreams.