May 17th, Saturday

1100 hours

Downtown Honolulu

(49 days' radio silence since last text message; 94 days since first text message)

Steve enters his favourite pancake place on the island planning on a plentiful breakfast when he spots Lynn sitting by the window, alone, apparently deep in thought. He considers discreetly leaving without making himself known, postponing the pancakes and the satisfaction of his craving for another day, but thinks better of it. They're both adults, they dated, they broke up. It was all very civilized and now that a considerable amount of time has passed, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to speak to each other like old acquaintances. He reaches her booth from behind, lightly touches her arm and looks sideways at her.

"Lynn?"

Her surprise is palpable, but her smile radiant. "Steve! It's great to see you! How are you?"

He rounds the booth and points to the seat facing her, smiling, happy at her reception. "May I?"

"Of course, please, sit".

"How are you, Lynn? It's good to see you too," he says, truthfully. Then, he leans forward, conspiratorially, and adds, "Really, how have you been?"

"I'm fine, Steve, I moved on. You don't have to worry about me, really." Her smile is genuine.

"I'm sorry, Lynn, I never meant to hurt you. We just…"

"Weren't meant for each other, I know that, now. I met someone else, and I'm very happy. You don't need to feel bad about what happened, it's life, Steve. And maybe it was for the best, for the both of us."

"I hope so, Lynn," he smiles at her, but the smile never reaches his eyes. She senses something is wrong.

"Steve? What's wrong? Are you OK?"

He dismisses her concern. "Oh, yeah, I'm great."

"Really?" she says, looking doubtful. "Want to talk about it?"

"You really think I'd 'Agony aunt' the heck out of you? The epitome of irony, wouldn't it be?"

"Oh, why not? Just because we're not dating, that doesn't mean we have to hate each other. I really like you, Steve, you're a very good man. I just wasn't the right woman for you. Speaking of which, what's going on with your life?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Work, work, work. Busy bee," he says, looking out the window to disguise his embarrassment. The last thing he wants is to go into his lack of love life with Lynn, but she says nothing, just looks at him. He looks back at her and there's no escape, this time. "I haven't dated anyone since we broke up, if you're wondering."

She smiles warmly. "I was, actually. I sometimes wonder if you took my advice and went after the woman you love."

She's still smiling, so there's no accusation in her sentence. Steve realises she's actually waiting for a reply. He stutters, something he doesn't ever remember doing. "Well, huh…. I mean, well… no. Lynn, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that again. I'm sorry if I ever made you suffer, cry or hate me. You were a great girlfriend and I just wish…"

"I know, Steve, you wish I could've been someone else. How is she, by the way?"

He's surprised by her nonchalant demeanour, but there is an edge of sadness in her tone that does not escape him. He thought women were capable of holding real grudges. But he gives her the truth. "AWOL. Swallowed up by the Universe. Nowhere to be found. Vanished."

"Oh, Steve, I'm so sorry. Here I was, hoping for two happy endings…"

"Yeah, well, this is real life, you know? Sometimes, we don't get what we want."

"But… I'm sorry for asking, but I'm curious. After you broke up with me," she says the words and he flinches, so she quickly moves on with the rest of her sentence. "did you chase her up? Did you tell her how you felt?"

"How do you know what I felt?"

"Steve, I may be carefree and naïve, but I'm not stupid. We broke up shortly after she came back, that second time, and you guys went to Kaho'olawe. And even that first time, when you went to Morocco… you came back different, angry at times, more withdrawn, took to spending long hours at the office. I was so in love with you at that time that I decided to ignore the little voice in my head, but I always wondered. And as time went by, especially after I found the ring…"

"Oh, the ring incident. I'm sorry. Again. That was really stupid of me."

"But telling, wouldn't you say? It was tough," Lynn laughs heartily. "But it's in the past. Point is, I knew, long before I admitted it to myself. Letting you go was hard, but eventually I realised that you were right and that I had wanted to keep to myself, someone who belonged to someone else. And I don't need bad karma. From that moment on, forgetting you became easier, less painful. Allowed me to open my heart up to someone else. And now there's someone new in my life."

"I'm very happy for you, Lynn, really."

"Thanks, Steve, I appreciate that. And as for her… you keep fighting. You keep looking, you keep pushing. Because she may not know it, but she's the woman for you and you're the man for her. I could tell. When I look back on that day, at your place… all the signs were there."

"Things change, Lynn, people change."

"Did she tell you that?"

"No, but…"

"Then you keep fighting. Please don't tell me that we broke up for you to end up alone, now," she says with another laugh, amused. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but your bond was strong. You owe it to yourself to at least try your hardest. The same way I know you did with me, by the way."

"How did you get so wise beyond your years?"

"Love, Commander Steve McGarrett. It enlightens us. Speaking of which, may I introduce you?"