Oahu, Kahala Hotel and Resort, December

Elizabeth, Vi and Julie all lay back on their lounge chairs on the beach, soaking up the sun and sipping drinks with umbrellas in them.

Since they had all graduated high school, they had been going on an annual sisters trip. They agreed on the first trip as they wandered the streets of Rome that they would continue the tradition until one of them got married.

This year was the tenth year and the last. Julie, at 28, was a mom of two, in a committed relationship with her boyfriend, Jake. Since they weren't married, she used that as an excuse to keep planning the trips.

Elizabeth was not married, not in a committed relationship currently and had no kids. She was free as a bird so it wasn't that she wanted to stop the trips either.

It was Vi. She was marrying Charles Kensington, a family friend. They had dated since college and next month, they were getting married.

"You know, we could always plan a trip for next year," Elizabeth suggested to Julie.

"Well, I…I think this will be my last year too, Beth."

"Jake finally proposed?" she asked, pulling her sunglasses down and staring at her sister.

"No. Money is going to be getting tight. I'm sort of pregnant and we decided that when this one is born, I'm going to quit my job."

"What?" Vi and Elizabeth squealed, sitting up.

Julie giggled and placed her hand over her still flat tummy. "Due in May."

"You are four months? You are so thin," Elizabeth mentioned.

"I've been pretty sick so I haven't been eating much."

"Hang on. Doesn't that drink have alcohol?" Vi asked, pointing at Julie's umbrella drink.

"Nope. I asked them for a virgin."

No more trips. Elizabeth was bummed. She supposed she could come alone but she didn't want to. Coming with her sisters, her best friends, had always been amazing and memorable. Alone didn't have the same pull on her heart.

"Hello? Hi, sweetheart," Vi said, obviously talking to Charles.

Then not surprisingly, Julie's phone rang as well. "Hi, babe. How is work going?"

Elizabeth felt a bit left out. Most of the time, her party planning business kept her so busy that she didn't think much about it but right now, it was very obvious that she was alone.

She stood up and walked over to the bar area to refill her drink. As she stood there, a couple came up, bickering. She didn't want to stare so she kept her eyes down on her empty glass and fiddled with the umbrella.

"Luke, I don't understand what the problem is," the woman said.

"Janette, the problem is this vacation is for us. You and me. Not me alone and you going off to have a spa day today and then tomorrow an excursion up a volcano and who knows what else. I didn't spend money on this trip so that we could be separated the whole time."

"I didn't ask you to spend money on a trip."

"You know what, you're right. You go have fun by yourself."

He slammed the glass down on the bar and walked away from her. Elizabeth watched him walk away toward the hotel. The thing that caught her eye was the blatant flirting that Janette was now doing with the bartender. As if Luke hadn't existed and hadn't stormed off just now. Obviously the bartender didn't care either.

"Unbelievable," Elizabeth muttered, leaving her glass and walking back to her sisters.

"What has you all angry?" Julie asked, putting her coverup on and a large brim hat.

"Nothing. Just, some people don't realize how other people should be treated. You know?"

"Sure. That's true."

She told Julie about the couple at the bar and then about how the woman flirted with the bartender as soon as her boyfriend or husband had left.

"People are stupid sometimes," Julie agreed. "Why does it bother you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know them and will probably never see them again. Why spend time getting angry?"

"I don't know, Julie! Maybe because I don't have anyone in my life. And she does but she obviously doesn't care about him or she would have treated him better."

"What's happening?" Vi asked, walking back over and sitting down.

"Nothing," Elizabeth told her. "I'm just feeling sorry for myself."

Vi raised her eyebrows at Julie. "Beth? What's going on?"

"This is our last sister's trip and you are getting married and Julie is having her third child with a man who obviously adores her and I'm all alone. I'm not even dating anyone back home."

"I'm telling you. Charlie's cousin is…"

"No. I don't want to be set up, Vi. I just wish things were different."

"So what are you going to do?" Julie asked, packing up her things. "By the way, I'm getting pretty warm so I'm heading inside."

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

Julie went to take a nap so Vi and Elizabeth decided to go shopping in one of the boutiques.

Elizabeth tried to enjoy the afternoon. She really did.

Vi put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and squeezed. "Beth?"

"I'm lonely. I really didn't realize how much until today."

"Maybe you'll meet someone on this trip."

"And then what? Let's say I meet someone and I really like him. We leave in ten days. The chances that he will live anywhere near Philly is remote."

"So, I'm not saying fall in love. Beth, I just mean, have some fun. Dance with a cute guy at the luau tomorrow night. Have coffee with someone. Take a walk on the beach and strike up a conversation. At the least, it will make you feel less lonely while you are here."

"How would I even do that? I don't flirt with random guys, Vi."

"I know, but why not? You are gorgeous and so fun. You are successful and responsible. Any guy would be crazy not to flirt right back."

"Thanks, Vi."

"Just try. That's all I'm saying."

…..

A luau. He didn't want to go to a luau alone. Janette made it obvious that she was going to be doing her own thing after going to see that volcano. Luke stared at himself in the mirror. Khaki shorts, brown sandals. A linen, short sleeved shirt. He looked comfortable and Janette packed for him so she would like it if she were here.

His stomach growled. He was hungry and he knew that luaus had roast pig and many other delicious options so why not indulge a bit? Even if he was alone.

"Hey," Janette said, hurrying into the room and heading to the bathroom.

"Hey." He stood outside the bathroom door as she showered. "Babe, we need to talk. About yesterday."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because, this isn't good. We are supposed to be reconnecting."

"Luke, I really don't see a point. We have been together for two years but…we haven't been happy for a long time."

"Let's at least try."

"We have tried but nothing works," she told him, wrapping a towel around herself.

"So what are you saying?"

"Luke, I met someone."

He felt like he'd been sucker punched in the stomach. "Excuse me?"

"I met someone. We just connected, you know?"

"You met someone here? What about us?"

"We aren't happy, Luke. You know that. I don't think its good for either of us to stay in this relationship and feel trapped."

"You feel trapped?"

"Don't you?"

"I…I mean…" When he really thought about it, she was right. They hadn't been happy in a long time. They hadn't really talked in months. He worked and she worked and then went out with her friends and they saw each other for about ten minutes a day. They were housemates. That was pretty much it.

She was now wearing a black bikini and slipped a coverup over it. She kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry, Luke. I don't think we should do this anymore."

"We live together, Janette."

"Cally and Sandy are moving my stuff while we are here. I'm going to room with them while I figure out what's next."

"You planned to move and yet you still went on vacation with me? Why?"

"Free trip," she said with a shrug. "I'll never forget you, Luke. You are a good man. You'll find someone else."

"Yeah." He watched her wheel her suitcase out of the closet, look back at him, and then leave the room. Leave his life.

"Wow. How could I have been so wrong about her?" he muttered to himself.

His stomach growled again so he wandered down to the lobby and out toward the beach where he found the festivities. The pig smelled amazing.

A Hawaiian beauty walked over, reached up and put a lei around his neck and then kissed his cheek. "Aloha, handsome."

He nodded to her and found a table by himself. He looked around and he saw lots of families and couples but not very many people alone.

He hoped since he sat far enough back from the stage and food, he wouldn't be as conspicuous.

He watched as a line formed for the buffet style tables full of food so he stood and walked over. Might as well have good food while he watched the entertainment.

Roast pork, grilled pineapple, fried rice, purple sweet potatoes, shrimp…he took a little bit of all of it and wandered back to his table. However, there was a family full of people sitting there now.

"Seriously?" he mumbled.

"We have an extra seat," a pretty redheaded woman said, offering the empty seat at the table she was at with two other women.

"Oh, I don't want to impose." Plus he really didn't want to sit with three women. Women weren't his favorite right now.

"You're not. Please. Join us. I'm Julie. These are my sisters Vi and Elizabeth."

He thought for a moment and then decided to sit. "I'm Lucas."

Elizabeth immediately recognized him as the half of the bickering couple from the day before. Awkward.

"You're Vi?" Lucas asked her.

"Oh, no. I'm Elizabeth."

He nodded and took a bite of his food. "Oh my, this is amazing."

Elizabeth dug into her own food. It was beyond amazing. "Where are you from?" she asked him.

"Ann Arbor, Michigan," he told her. "You?"

"Philadelphia. Julie is from Nashville and Vi is from Phoenix."

He just nodded and kept eating. So the girls chatted. Julie mentioned that she wanted to be surprised with the gender of this baby since she had one of each already.

"You have two kids?" Lucas blurted. All three women looked at him. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to eavesdrop. You just seem so young."

"Thanks!" Julie giggled. "Yes, I have two kids, a boy and a girl. Six and four. And one on the way."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Do you have kids?" Elizabeth asked, hoping she wasn't being too forward.

"No. No kids."

"Married?"

He looked at her, surprised. "Um, I'm going to go get some more food."

Julie and Vi giggled when he wasn't close to the table. "Wow, Beth. Getting pretty nosy."

"Stop. Vi, you were the one that told me to get to know someone. Strike up a conversation. So I did. Plus, he's…he's the guy from the bar…that was fighting with his girlfriend or wife."

"No way!"

"Yeah."

"Whoa. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"I think you should ask him to dance," Vi suggested.

"Um, no. He has a significant other, even if they are fighting right now. I'm not going to ask him to dance."

Before he could get back to the table, the fire dancers started doing their dances so Elizabeth was thoroughly distracted. But she had struck up a conversation with a stranger. That was something.