Walking on Water: A Novel (25 page)

“It took me a bit longer than that,” I said.

“I’m sure it did. Where are you?”

“I’m on Big Pine Key. So, in three and a half hours you’ll probably catch me around Sugarloaf Key. You won’t miss me—I’m the guy with the big pack walking along the side of the road.”

“I can’t wait,” she said. “I’ll try not to hit you.”

“Much appreciated,” I replied.

By lunchtime I had passed through a series of small keys with interesting names: Little Torch Key, Big Torch Key, Ramrod Key, Summerland Key, and, finally, Sugarloaf
Key, where I was passed by a young woman wearing a blue polka-dot bikini and driving a mint-green scooter with a cooler on the back. She personified the uninhibited spirit I expected of the islands. She looked like a party waiting to happen.

Around two o’clock I was passing by Sugarloaf Shores when I heard a car horn honking behind me. I turned back to see a bright yellow Mustang convertible with its top down, flashing its lights. It took me a moment to realize it was Nicole and Kailamai. They slowed by my side and blew kisses, then pulled off the road, jumped out of the car, and ran to me.

“You made it,” I said.

“We went topless the whole way,” Kailamai said.

Nicole shook her head. “The car top was down,” she said. “Which is why I look like I did my hair in a wind tunnel.”

I shrugged off my pack and hugged the women.

“The weather is so nice here,” Nicole said. “I can’t believe it’s December.”

“It’s like twenty degrees in Spokane,” Kailamai said. “I think I’m moving here after school.”

“How far have you walked today?” Nicole asked.

“About fourteen miles,” I said.

“Where will you be stopping for the day?”

“In about six more miles. Saddlebunch Keys.”

Nicole processed the information. “Okay, we’ll go on to Key West and check into our hotel, then I’ll book a restaurant in Saddle . . . back . . .”

“Saddle
bunch
,” I said.

“Saddlebunch,” she repeated. “That’s an odd name. Anyway, I’ll make reservations and we’ll have dinner together. How long will it take you to get there?”

“Maybe an hour and a half,” I said.

“Okay, we’ll hurry.” She hugged me again. “It’s so good to see you. We’re so excited for you.”

“Yeah, you’re the man,” Kailamai said. “The walking man.”

I waved at them, watched their car disappear, then picked up my pack and trudged on after them.

Nicole called me an hour later. “We’re checked in,” she said. “We’re staying at the beachside Marriott. It’s not even fifty yards from the entrance to Key West. The clerk helped me make reservations at a restaurant called Kaya Island Eats. I said we’d be there at six fifteen.”

“About forty-five minutes,” I said, looking at my watch. “That’s good. I’m about a half hour from Saddlebunch Keys right now. Where’s the restaurant?”

“It’s on the highway, so you’ll pass right by it. But we’ll wait out front for you. Kailamai and I are headed there right now.”

“I’ll see you there,” I said.

I put my phone back in my pocket. It took me about forty minutes to reach the restaurant. As I approached I could see Nicole standing alone out front, next to the Mustang.

“Where’s Kailamai?” I asked.

“She’s inside. They seated us a little early.”

“Can I put my pack in the car?”

“Of course.” I stored my pack in the trunk, and we went inside. Our table was next to a large window and had a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. Kailamai was holding a drink with a pink umbrella.

“What are you drinking?” Nicole asked.

“Piña colada,” Kailamai said. “Don’t worry. It’s virgin.”

“It better be.”

Kailamai smiled at me. “How was your walk?”

“You mean from Seattle or from Sugarloaf Key?”

“Both.”

“Long,” I said. I pulled out Nicole’s chair, and she sat down. Then I sat between the ladies.

“I bet you’re hungry,” Nicole said.

“Famished.” I looked over the menu. The selections were as colorful as the restaurant. I ordered the Chicken Cherryaki, chicken covered with teriyaki sauce and black cherry preserves, and Scott’s Tomato Salad with Mozzarella and Mascarpone. Kailamai ordered the Jamaican Jerk Wings with goat cheese, and Nicole had the No Worries Shrimp Curry, glazed shrimp with coconut red curry sauce.

Nicole also ordered a bottle of wine. The wine list was the most interesting I’d ever seen, and she ended up selecting a bottle called Hey Mambo Kinky Pink Rosé, which claimed to taste like strawberries, soft plums, and apricots.

She poured the wine, then lifted her glass to me. “We should toast the completion of your walk.”

“It’s too soon,” I said.

“It ain’t over until the fat lady crosses the finish line,” Kailamai said.

Nicole grinned. “I think you said that wrong.”

“I saw this YouTube video of a bike race. About fifty feet before the finish line the guy who’s in first place raises his hands to celebrate his victory, but his tire hits something and he crashes. By the time he gets going again, the second- and third-place guys have crossed the finish line.”

“I get it,” Nicole said. “No premature celebrating. Then what should we toast?”

“How about the two of you being here with me?” I said.

“That works,” she said. “To being together.”

“And the sun,” Kailamai added. “It’s pretty nice too.”

“And the sun,” I said.

We clinked each other’s glasses. The wine was as fruity as promised. Nicole’s phone rang, and she checked to see who was calling. “I need to take this,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

I looked at Kailamai. “Sounds important.”

Kailamai just shrugged, then asked, “What time will you reach Key West tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure. Probably around noon. When our waitress returns I’ll ask exactly how many miles we are from Key West.”

It was about five minutes before Nicole returned. “Sorry about that,” she said, sliding into her seat.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Everything’s fine,” she said, smiling.

Our waitress came over to the table with our food. She set down our plates, then asked, “Does everything look all right?”

“Everything looks beautiful,” Nicole said.

“Great. Anything else?”

“I have a question,” I said. “About how far are we from Key West?”

“Not far,” she said. “It’s just down the road. About twenty minutes.”

“He means walking,” Kailamai said.

She looked back at me. “No, it’s too far to walk. I could call you a taxi.”

Nicole said, “He just walked all the way here from Seattle.”

She looked back at me. “Across the country?”

I nodded.

“In that case, it’s really close. Maybe eleven miles.”

“Thank you,” I said.

She walked away.

“How long will that take you?” Nicole asked.

“A little less than three hours. I’ll probably start a little later.”

“So, depending on when you leave, you’ll reach Key West by early afternoon.”

I nodded. “That’s about right.”

“I still can’t believe you’re really here,” Kailamai said. “Do you remember our first day walking together? I had never even heard of Key West. I asked you if you knew how to get there.”

I smiled. “Yes. That was right before you asked me if I believed in aliens.”

“You remember that?”

“How could I forget? You had a theory that aliens are really just humans in the future, so they aren’t traveling in spaceships but time machines.”

“I can’t believe your memory,” Kailamai said. “You’ve got to admit it makes sense.”

“I remember the first time I saw you,” Nicole said. “I was just outside Waterville with a flat tire.”

“You had lost your lug nuts,” I said.

She grinned. “That sounds rude.”

I laughed. “Then you told me that you didn’t need any help because your husband was on his way.”

“What was I supposed to say? I was completely alone when this long-haired, unshaven stranger shows up out of nowhere . . . even though you were pretty gorgeous.”

“I’m glad you got that flat,” I said.

Nicole’s countenance turned more serious. “Thank God for flat tires.”

“Sometimes life is like that,” Kailamai said. “Things that seem bad at the time are really blessings.”

Nicole took another sip of wine. “Sometimes.”

The food was delicious, and after our main course we shared a piece of key lime pie, the first I’d had since reaching the keys. I wasn’t used to taking so much time to eat, and it was dark outside when we finished. I asked the restaurant’s hostess where I could find the nearest hotel. She replied, “Key West.”

“Why don’t we just drive to Key West and you can stay at the Marriott with us?” Nicole said. “Then I could just bring you back in the morning.”

“You can’t do that,” Kailamai said. “That would be anticlimactic.”

“She’s right,” I said. “It’s okay. I passed a camping area about a mile back. I can do one last night in my tent.”

“Can we at least drive you there?” Nicole asked.

“Of course.”

I got in the car with them, and we drove back along the highway to where I had seen the camping area. It was on the beach, and the only amenities were a crude, single-pipe shower and concrete fire pits. We set up my tent using the car’s lights to illuminate the grounds.

“Remember the night we met?” Kailamai said. “It’s hard to believe that we slept together in this very tent.”

“You were trusting,” I said.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she said. “You’d just saved me from being raped.”

“Do you still pray?” I asked.

“Every night. Except now I spend more time thanking God for what I have than asking for what I don’t.”

“You’ve always been that way,” I said. “That’s what I like most about you.”

“I thought it was my jokes,” she replied.

After we had finished setting up the tent, we gathered some wood, then lit a fire and sat around it, the orange, lapping flames illuminating our faces. The sky was a brilliant blue velvet with sequin stars.

“This is living,” Kailamai said. “You’re lucky that you’ve gotten to do so much of this.”

“It’s better with friends,” I replied.

We sat around the fire and talked for nearly an hour. Finally Nicole said, “It’s late; we better let you get some sleep. Kailamai, would you wait in the car for a minute while I talk to Alan?”