After breakfast, Bitsy and Helen decided to head out to the Royal Hawaiian Center on 2201 Kalākaua Ave to stock up on some clothes for swimming. It took them about seven minutes to get there from the Waikiki Grand Hotel. The Royal Hawaiian Center was the perfect spot for finding stylish swimwear and beach essentials, especially at this time of day. They were actually somewhat excited to browse through the shops and find the perfect outfits for their day at the beach. Upon setting foot inside the building, they took the time to look around and take in their surroundings.

"Wow," Helen could only say.

"Exactly," Bitsy replied. "I don't even know where to start."

"Me neither. How do we decide where to go?"

Bitsy could only smirk as an idea came to her. "How about a coin toss?"

Helen was hesitant at first, but she eventually agreed. What harm would there be in a simple coin toss?

"Alright, heads, we head into the store on my left," Bitsy said. "Tails, we head into the store on your right."

Bitsy took out a quarter and flipped it. It landed on heads, and Bitsy declared herself the winner. Without hesitating, she then quickly ran to the nearest store and started browsing, with Helen trailing right behind her. While they were still browsing, the first person they encountered was none other than Keone.

Helen quickly found herself blushing and gasped out loud. "Keone, what are you doing here?"

"Not much, just some shopping," Keone replied. "I figured I had some time to kill before I head out for work on Waikiki Beach."

"Are you a lifeguard?"

"Sure am. I'm supposed to take over for Kilikina on duty at noon."

"Who's that?"

"Kilikina? She's my best friend in the whole business."

"Oh wow." Helen's face became even more flush. "She must be so lucky to have you in her life."

Keone chuckled. "No kidding. We've been working together for the past three years, and it's been the best job I've ever had. Plus, we get to hang out on the beach for as long as we need to and surf the waves. Honestly, I can't imagine anybody else I'd rather have by my side."

Helen smiled, her eyes twinkling. "That sounds amazing! It must be really nice to have a best friend at work."

Keone nodded. "Yeah, it really is. She's like a little sister to me."

While Helen and Keone were talking, Bitsy couldn't help but fume the whole time. It was hard to believe how close the two were (or at least seemed to be), especially considering the tension radiating from Bitsy as she listened to their conversation. Despite her best efforts to mask her feelings, Bitsy's frustration simmered beneath the surface as she observed Helen and Keone's seemingly unbreakable bond. She wasn't about to let this go unchecked, not on her watch. She would have to do something about this somehow, but not right then and there. It would have to wait for now.

"Well, that sounds amazing," Helen said. "I hope you have a great day at work."

"You too," Keone replied.

Helen just watched as he left, her heart swelling with affection for him.

"Thank God!" Bitsy exclaimed. "I thought it would never end."

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," Helen protested. "Keone and I were just talking, that's all."

Bitsy rolled her eyes. "Whatever, let's just go find some swimsuits."


Once they'd wrapped up their shopping excursion, Bitsy and Helen headed back to the hotel to decide which of their newly bought outfits they were going to wear down to the beach. Helen picked out a bright yellow bikini with a matching cover-up while Bitsy opted for a black-and-white halter top and high-waisted bottoms. After getting ready, the girls headed down to the beach, ready to soak up the sun and make a splash. Immediately, they spotted Keone getting ready to start his shift.

"Oh, hi, Keone," Helen greeted him.

"Oh, hey, Helen," Keone greeted back. "Looking pretty good."

"Thank you! So do you. So what exactly is it you do as a lifeguard?"

"Well, I mainly keep order around here and look out for anyone who might need my help. I'm also a great swimmer, but you pretty much have to be for this job."

"Cool! I guess that makes sense." Helen's eyes darted up and she took a deep breath. "Um, listen, would it be possible for us to go on a date sometime this evening?"

"I mean, I don't see why not. After this shift, Fumiko takes over for me. We might be able to work in a date then."

"Great! Can't wait to see you then."

"Alright, then. Can I give you my phone number?"

"Of course. You have anything to write it down on?"

"Yeah, just give me a second." Keone took out a napkin and a ballpoint pen he'd been keeping in his pocket and then quickly wrote down the phone number for her. "Well, okay, that should do it. Just so you know, it's actually my grandparents' phone number. I've lived with them, my parents, and my siblings my whole life."

"Oh, okay. That's good to know."

"Alright, then. See you around. And remember: no running!"

With that, Bitsy and Helen walked away and settled down into a spot that was fairly close to the shore.

"So… date night, huh?" Bitsy asked, less than enthused about the possibility.

"Oh yeah," Helen replied. "I can't really explain it, but there's something between us. I feel like we're meant to be together. I hope he feels the same way."

Bitsy just blinked in response. This couldn't be happening, right? Helen couldn't possibly be taking the plunge with that guy, right? Despite Bitsy's best efforts to convince herself otherwise, she still had a feeling that Helen was serious. She watched her friend carefully, trying to read her body language. She could tell that Helen was anxious, but also excited over this possible beach date. Bitsy herself was feeling a swirling esoteric mix of emotions, but mainly a sense of jealousy. She wanted to be the one Helen was with, not some random guy and especially not some lifeguard at Waikiki. She felt a rush of sadness, knowing that Helen was about to make a huge decision that could alter their friendship forever if it went well.

Still, Bitsy decided to keep it to herself for the time being and just grit out, "Alright, well, good luck with that."

She tried to hold back her emotions, but it was easier said than done. She wished she had the courage to stop Helen from making what she perceived to be the wrong choice, but she knew that she couldn't. All she could really do now was watch helplessly as Helen made her decision.

For a short while afterward, Bitsy and Helen sat on the beach towel, their eyes fixed on the waves as they gently washed over the white sand. Bitsy felt a sense of sadness and regret wash over her the more and more she thought about this. She wished she could have found the courage to speak up, say anything at all, but it was too late now. She would have to accept whatever outcome Helen chose, whether she wanted to or not.


It was about 6:40 PM, and the sun was already starting to set. After she and Bitsy left the beach to go back to their hotel room, Helen spent most of the day talking to Keone over the phone. Their first ever phone conversation saw them talk about how they hoped to close the long distance between them (either by having Keone move to New York to be with her or by having Helen move to Hawaii to live with him and his family), how they hoped to get married, and how they hoped to have a family regardless of how they made it. For now, though, the best they could do was take each moment and try to experience it to the best of their abilities.

She could just picture it now: all the stars up there in the sky, forming all sorts of images and patterns that they could make out using their imaginations. The sand, while coarse and rough and irritating, filled out between their toes. The waves came crashing in every couple of minutes or so. No one else in the world seemed to exist except them, not even their families.

She was especially thinking about how this date might go while Bud and Stephen were helping her pick out an outfit. Bill was also helping her out on this date thing. He'd been helping her go over the best conversation starters and the best questions to ask during the date. According to him, these dating tips were the same one his parents gave to him when he first started dating Donna. She didn't want to rely on him too much for this date, though. She wanted to have at least some agency in this.

Donna had Helen's hair pulled back so that she could gaze at her own face in the mirror. Her olive green eyes looked as radiant as they'd ever been, with the purple-as-one-could-get Maybelline Shine Free mascara and the frosted blue eyeshadow from Almay coming together to make her irises stand out.

"Oh wow," Helen muttered. "This is amazing."

"I know, right?" Donna then held out two tubes of lipstick, one appearing to be made of silver and another appearing to be made of brass. "Alright, Helen. Which one of these do you prefer most? Revlon or L'Oréal?"

Helen instinctively pointed to the silver lipstick tube. "I think I'll go with Revlon. I've always liked that brand."

"Good choice. I've always liked Revlon, too." Donna then brought out some casual yet somewhat fancy clothes of hers. "Now which one of these do you feel like wearing?"

Helen now had to mentally filter through all the clothes Donna had laid out before her. Which of these would be good for a bonfire date? So many clothes to choose from, so little time. Eventually, she settled on a black strapped Jeanne Marc party dress that had flowing sleeves and was covered in oversized red, teal, and magenta polka dots. She paired that with black flip-flops and a pair of gold hoop earrings. She then moved on to applying her lipstick and glossing her lips over as tenderly as possible.

After she'd applied pretty much all of her makeup and picked out her outfit, she went over the dating tips with Bill one more time.

"Any advice you still want to give me, Mr. Stotch?" she asked him.

Bill chuckled. "Just try to have fun and be yourself, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Mr. Stotch."

"You're welcome." He then winked at her as she began to leave. "Oh, and good luck out there. I'm not sure you'll need it, but I wanted to make sure you knew you could count on it just in case."

Helen thanked him again and then left, her excitement and confidence for this date skyrocketing. She had a good feeling about her future with Keone.