“What are you staring at?” Alex’s eyes followed hers. “Do you know him?”

“No. He looks familiar.” She averted her eyes toward the lagoon.

“He looks like a local, not a tourist.”

The man came back into view as he slipped into the water. She could hear the smack of his flippers.

Jorden laughed. “I don’t know him, but he’s kind of cute.” She winked at Alex and made him laugh. She then gazed at the lagoon again. The stranger was no longer in sight; that’s the way she would keep it with Matt.

Wednesday evening arrived too quickly.

“It won’t be long now,” Alex kept saying, “The month of May will be here before you know it, and we’ll be back together.” Neither wanted the night to end. They made love knowing the morning sun would soon come up. It didn’t seem fair to be so close and then to be torn apart again.

Jorden tried to hold back tears as she boarded the plane. Alex had driven her to the airport for her ten o’clock flight; his flight to Vietnam would leave later in the afternoon. Tearfully, unable to stop them, she waved goodbye.

Jorden reached her seat and sank back into the cushion. Closing her eyes, she could see them riding the waves and rolling back to the shoreline. That was life, high and low with space between. Hawaii was one of the highs.

Chapter 30: Return to Columbus, Georgia, Thursday, January 22, 1970

Chapter 30

Return to Columbus, Georgia, Thursday, January 22, 1970

Jorden sat on the runway at the Honolulu airport, wishing it was five days earlier. She and Alex had such little time. It didn’t seem fair they were leaving each other again. She had a great time, five carefree days and no controversy between them—much better than this time last year. The rose-tinted illusions of romance had dimmed sooner than she had expected.

***

Previous Year - Columbus, Georgia, January 1969

Jorden wished they had more time together. Alex’s life seemed to be consumed with work. He complained there were too many meetings, with never enough time for his regular work. He even maintained he skirted the job to fit time in for her. She found his excuses hard to believe.

With extra time, Jorden and Jim Stone, a fellow teacher, decided to start a new math project. They would add a section on the stock market. The general premise was to teach the students how to buy and sell shares of stock in order to make a profit. Jorden remembered Jim’s enthusiasm.

“This is a great idea—only I don’t know much about the stock market,” Jorden confessed.

“We’ll learn it together, starting at the local library.”