Alii Drive

Corey went below to stash his tablet and I looked at the vials in the styrofoam cooler. It looked like he had maybe a dozen in a disorganized heap in the foam cooler. Hmmm I began thinking. Moments later Corey came up on deck. I quickly turned back to him.

"Bryan, there was another reason I asked you to come with me today." Corey said with a serious expression on his face.

"You may want to tell me to mind my own business when I'm finished but there is something I think you need to know." He went on.

To say I was confused at this point is an understatement. I just kept my mouth shut and listened to what Corey had to say.

He asked if I remembered his big sister Kiki, how could I forget that beauty. She had been married to a great guy, Ben Green. Ben was in finance and they would come to the family condo in Hawaii 3 or 4 times a year. Ben could do some of his work remote.

Apparently she and Ben became friends with some of the other residents at the Kona Palms. One of them was Banks Redmond. Banks has this slick charm about him asking questions that soon drift into a personal nature.

"Yes, I know." I said.

There was one time when Ben had to head back to California early and Kiki continued to hang out with Banks. Corey told me during this time he was doing his undergraduate work at USC. All this information came from Kiki.

Banks kept getting closer and closer to Kiki while Ben was gone. He talks about his "counseling" and how he gets people to expand their horizons and have a more experienced life.

This was sounding familiar to me.

To make a long story short, Kiki ended up having sex with him during a tantric massage session. She realized shortly after he was no different than some creepy fraternity guy trying to get a freshmen co-ed up to his room at an all campus party. She was mad at him and even madder at herself for falling for his bullshit.

Banks kept trying to continue the relationship but Kiki told him to basically fuck off. About a week later Ben came back. Kiki had so much guilt she told Ben. Ben was furious and went looking for Banks. Banks was smart enough to stay away.

Kiki and Ben tried to make a go of it but a combination of her guilt and his anger was too much to overcome and they divorced. She has not dated since.

"I still talk to Ben occasionally, he's a good guy. I guess he's engaged to someone," Corey told me. "That fucking Banks ruined Kiki's life."

I just sat there thinking. Banks Redmond is a slick operator. I truly thought he was a good friend.

"Bryan, I promised Kiki I would never say anything to anyone about this, but when I see him hanging out with Hilary it makes me think of what Kiki told me about how he manipulated her."

"She also made me promise to never confront him physically, though god knows I have wanted to kill the motherfucker. Kiki is embarrassed about the whole thing and very sad it cost her, her marriage." He said.

"Does Chloe, his wife, know about any of this?" I ask.

"I'm sure she knows or at least suspects. The rumor is that they have no prenup. If she were to divorce him she would lose a fortune. She is wealthy. They stay married but lead separate lives."

"I'm leaving for Australia next week and it will be months before I'm back. I don't want to cast any doubt upon Hilary's character. I just wanted to give you that information." Corey said.

"Thank you," I tell him. I have a lot to think about.

We dock back at the harbor and grab our gear. As we are walking up the ramp he sets the styrofoam cooler down and opens it. I can see him mentally counting. All of a sudden he looks up at me.

I look him in the eye and say nothing. We stare at each other and then a small smile appears on his face. No words were spoken.

Driving home I started to get steamed. I was going to fucking kill Banks I thought. Wrapped up in my thoughts I almost hit a local kid when I nearly ran a stop sign. He flipped me off and I didn't blame him. It reminded me of another time about 7 or 8 years ago in Seattle . . .

——————————

I had always had a temper. Not to go into too much detail but my family had a lot of ups and downs. There was physical abuse within the family and it left me with some anger issues.

That energy fueled me on the football field. I was all conference in high school and ended up being recruited to play at Pacific Lutheran. That was the only way I was going to go to college, my family did not have money for tuition.

So in a way my temper got me a college degree. It also costs me some girlfriends and other friendships along the way. I knew I needed to address the problem.

At this point in my life I was not long out of college and still new at the commodities business and it was stressful. One particular Monday night I was driving through downtown Seattle. If you have never been there you have a higher than normal concentration of homeless, drunks and punks.

All stressed out and not focusing on my driving I nearly hit a skateboarding punk in an intersection. I put my palms up to let him know it was my bad. Well, this tall skinny long haired punk takes his skateboard and swings at and breaks my headlight.

I jump out of the car and the punk and his buddy skateboarder start giving me shit and I'm yelling about my headlight. As I face the tall guy out of the corner of my eye I see movement.

My sports reflexes kick in and I duck the other dude trying to take my head off with his skateboard. It hits my shoulder and hurts but I can function. I immediately turn towards him with a straight right to the jaw, he crumples to the ground. Glad for my Golden Gloves training at the Boys Club.

Instinctively I duck expecting an attack from the first punk. Once again I dodge a skateboard aimed toward my head. Do these punks practice using these things as weapons?

He's raised it again to try another attack and I hit him hard in the face. I hear something break. I am in a blind rage and I continue to hit this son of a bitch. I must have got in 3 or 4 more shots before I am wrapped up in a bear hug from behind. It's the cops.

I end up in the back of the police car. Outside an ambulance pulls up and there is another police car on the other side of the intersection with lights on. There aremany people hanging around to see the action. I pray there is no one out there that recognizes me.

Fortunately there are witnesses that let the police know I was attacked first and it was two of them and one of me. Someone even had a phone video showing that they were the instigators.

They get my information and let me go. They tell me I will likely be contacted in the next few days. The following afternoon I got the call from the cops. They ask me to come by later in the afternoon to make a statement, and I do.

Here's what happened: there is no doubt in anyone's mind that I was defending myself. There was plenty of evidence to support this. Turns out the first guy I hit has a dislocated jaw and will need extensive dental work to repair his shattered mouth. The second guy has a broken nose and a broken orbital bone. Because of the severity of the beating I need to see an assistant district attorney.

We had a long discussion and she said there will be no charges against me but mandated mental health counseling. Anger management is part of mental health. I was assigned group therapy every Wednesday night for the next 8 weeks at Swedish Hospital. I probably could have fought it, but I knew I needed to do something.

Truth be known, this counseling really helped me and changed my life in a couple of ways. I learned to stop myself when I would begin to get angry, slow down, think about the situation, analyze it and make a plan. All the time I take deep breaths to slow down. Deep breaths . . . deep breaths.

It really was helping. Friends and people at work commented that I seemed more relaxed, I was in a better mood more often. I didn't get mad as much and I laughed more. I also started attracting more women. Maybe it was my anger that was scaring them off before.

Speaking of women, Swedish Hospital is where I met Hilary. I noticed her in the hallways, this incredibly sexy looking woman who had a hint of sadness about her. One night after the counseling session I asked her to have coffee, surprisingly she agreed. I truly believe

without the counseling I was getting I would never have asked her.

My goal was to get her in bed, and we eventually did all that, but along the way, I started to like her. I was a little unclear if she liked me too, but she kept accepting when I continued to ask her out. She would tell me I was different from others she had dated. At that time I didn't know if that was good or bad.

Eventually we wound up in my bed and she certainly knew what to do and was vocal in telling me what she liked.

As we were lying there she asked, "So is this our last date?" and looked over at me.

I was actually thinking of an exit strategy. I liked her and I just found out she was great in bed, but I really wasn't looking for a commitment. I guess I took too long to answer because she quietly started to cry.

"Wait, wait wait." I said. "No one's saying last date at least I'm not. Now tell me what's with all the tears." I asked.

We talk and she tells me how great I am and how I'm so different from the usual guys and how that all the doctors are self absorbed assholes.

I don't question her too much about all these asshole doctors but I'm sure there are a few stories. I think about Hilary; great looking. Fun to be with. Has a brain, not an airhead. Likes sex and is good at it. No real weaknesses.

We continue to date and well, by now you know we have stayed together. At least for now.

Back to Hawaii and the present.

——————————

At the intersection on Alii I pull over to gather my thoughts. I don't know if anything has happened but I now know Banks MO. My goal is to extract Hilary and myself from his web. After I do that I'm going to need to have a serious plan for Hilary. As Clarence once told me, "good relationships are built on trust." Our foundation currently was not nearly as firm as I would like it.

I do consider canceling my trip but I am setting up for a big move in the next few weeks. The market is ripe for profit. With a little more knowledge I know I will get from the conference and more importantly from Dan, my climatologist genius friend. I am confident I can make the right moves.

I am calm, I am in surveillance mode and I am going to see what the fuck is going on with Hilary and Banks.

She gets home Monday night and she is in a bad mood. I try to think how to approach her but the time is not right. I know if I push things at the wrong moment it could backfire and it will be much more difficult to get any information.

Tuesday night is a little different. She is calmer, friendlier after work and we enjoy a nice dinner. I tell her that Clarence and Lynn are taking me to the airport Wednesday and could she pick me up a week from Friday? She agrees.

"Hilary," I ask. "Are you sure you can't come with me? It will be like a vacation," I know it's a long shot but I have to try.

She does not even consider the possibility and quickly dismisses it citing work as the reason.

I then begin to broach the uncomfortable subject of Banks. I tell her that I think we need to distance ourselves a bit from him. I tell her with no specifics I have heard some negative things about him. I ask her to stay away from him while I'm gone.

She erupts. How dare I say these things about our friend. Banks listens to her and has begun to counsel her and she is feeling so much better about herself, she adds. Now I want her to not hang out with him while I am gone for 2 weeks and she has no other friends!? She's pissed and now I'm getting pissed.

"I don't trust him and you shouldn't either." I state.

"Here we go with the jealousy again." She says. And then it goes downhill from here.

She ends up sleeping in the guest room, even after I attempt to apologize. This night has really gone sideways.

I get a kiss and a brief hug before I leave for the airport but it is less than warm. I feel like our marriage is on the brink and she has no clue how serious our situation is. I remember a bumper sticker I once saw, the opening line is "if you love something set it free" on line 2 it goes on "if it doesn't come back hunt it down and kill it." I felt that was appropriate for the present situation.

With the time change it is evening when I land. I get a rental car and head for the Marriott. It's 9:30 Pacific Time which makes it 6:30 PM in Hawaii. I didn't phone her that night. I'm tired.

The next day is the ag conference and I gather some good information. I chat with several people afterwards and learn more that is helpful. I'm entering my notes on my iPad and someone says there's a cocktail party in the next ballroom.

Checking my watch it's a little after 6 PM PST meaning it's 3 PM in Hawaii. I try calling Hilary. She does not pick up. I have a few cocktails and enough hors 'd'oeuvres that I don't need dinner. About 8:30 I tried calling again and there was no answer.

The conference winds up Friday mid afternoon. I feel like the information I've gotten has been helpful. As I'm entering more notes Hilary calls.

"Hey, how is the conference?" She asks. And we discussed my trip so far.

"I tried to call you yesterday, what have you been up to?" I ask. I want to find out what she is doing but I'm walking on eggshells. Getting into a big fight about Banks would not be good.

She says normal stuff, running errands, grocery shopping etc. I ask her if she hit the beach yesterday, and she says yes for a little while. I ask which beach, she hesitates and says Kua Bay. I really want to ask if Banks was with her, but I don't.

I ask what her plans are for the weekend. She tells me no Pau Hana tonight and that she is planning a quiet weekend. I tell her I love her as we hang up. That phone call went well. My strategy is to be nice and loving to her. If Banks is trying to seduce her, I'm hoping her love for me will overcome his advances.

On Saturday I head for the Bain's house in Federal Way. They used to be our neighbors in Tacoma when I was growing up. Mr & Mrs Bain are nice people and it's always good to see them.

As I said, Dan is odd. He literally lives in his parents basement but it's not as weird as you might think it would be. One of Dan's habits is that he is an absolute neat freak. The basement is spotless and organized. He has file cabinets and bookshelves with everything catalogued and organized.

He is sitting at his desk which is smack in the middle of the basement. Two giant monitors are on the desk. A small cot where he sleeps is in a corner. Dan is wearing slacks and a short sleeve button down shirt. He rarely leaves the house. I can tell he's glad to see me. I don't expect he will get many guests.

We spend some time talking about our past history, our old neighborhood and people we grew up with. Honestly for me it is a pleasant and enjoyable time that I get to spend with Dan socially.

I'm not sure how he makes his money or who specifically pays him. I do know he makes money. He charts these elaborate computer models of weather taking in all types of data using current and historical information. He's tried to explain it to me before but I quickly get lost. As I said Dan is brilliant.

I have asked him before if he ever provides information to people in my business. He tells me no. If there is one thing you can count on with Dan, he is totally honest.

I have a list of things I want to ask him. I need to keep him on task or we will rift off into topics that may take hours to get through. I ask him these specific questions and I also ask him to chart a couple of weather patterns for the next 90 days or so and introduce different factors into the equation.

His Mom brings us lunch and we continue to talk for a few more hours. Then I leave. I tell him I'll call him and he says please don't. Dan dislikes the telephone. He will send the weather charts I have asked him for within 24 hours.

I try to call Hilary that evening and once again I get voice mail. On Sunday I go for a run. I get back to my hotel and start working on trading strategy based on the information I've gathered. I have a very good feeling about this. I have never done this deep a dive before.

Hilary and I connect finally. She seems excited to talk to me. This is a good sign I think. She asks me about my conference and my visit with Dan Bain. She sounds very upbeat. I tell her she sounds happy.

"Oh Bryan, I just love it here. Hawaii has been everything I wanted it to be and more. I love the weather, I love our condo, and even work is better than I thought. I am just really enjoying our decision to move." She exclaims.

This makes me happy. It was really my decision to move and there was some reluctance from Hilary. I am glad she likes Hawaii as much as me. I ask her what brought on this sudden exuberance?

"I've been talking to Banks and he is helping me understand myself better and what life experiences are all about." She gushes on.

I'm silent. I start to get extremely pissed. I'm taking so many deep breaths I may pass out. I wonder what type of bullshit this asshole is feeding her. After hearing Corey's story I have a pretty good idea.

"Oh really," I calmly say. "Tell me about how he is helping you." I ask trying to keep as calm as possible.

I sit and listen to her go on about her feelings, what life has to offer, expanding her horizons and finding true happiness in all aspects of her life. How Banks is making her aware of things that explain some of her negative feelings.

I'm starting to get nauseous. I'm afraid I'm going to blow up. I use one of my anger management techniques and quietly but firmly disengage from the conversation. I told her I will call her this week.

I'm thinking about this situation. Corey's story about Kiki continued to replay in my head. I had a couple of choices: 1. I could book a flight home and intercede. That was out. I'm not doing that. 2. Trust that she loves me too much to ever give in to him. I'd say at this point that's 50-50. 3. Accept the fact that they have or will have sex and divorce her. This was painful to think about. I began to develop a plan.

My week of mentorship actually went well. My trainee was a young man named Michael Rodriguez. Mike was hard working and eager to learn. Each day I took several hours to study my own trading. The markets are calm and Dan's weather projections were so far on target. I had this plan for my trading over the next few weeks that should make me a lot of money.

Monday I don't call Hilary nor does she call me, I know she's working. Tuesday morning she calls about 10 AM Pacific Time. I'm at work and we only talk a few minutes. The exuberance from our previous phone call continues.

The week goes by quickly and it is suddenly the end the of work day on Thursday. My flight leaves Sea-Tac tomorrow morning. I ask my trainee Michael Rodriguez out for a beer to celebrate his apprenticeship. It's a nice evening and we talk about trading mostly.

On the flight home I find myself relatively calm about what I may find out about the situation with Hilary and Banks. If he and all his bullshit has seduced her - it's over. What I do about is still being formulated. If no seduction happens then my strategy will be to slowly and firmly remove Banks from our lives.

The flight arrives in Kona about 4 PM. One of the small things I like about Kona is the quaint airport. Everything is outside, few interior buildings. Hilary picks me up at the curb.

Hilary is in a good mood. A little strange but good. She is talking a lot, laughing a lot and smiling a lot. She asks me about my trip and when I start telling her about the Bain's or my mentoree or whatever, it's as if she's not really interested She will ask me another question before I'm even done answering the previous one. Odd.