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At Kahuluie airport we had almost an hour until the next shuttle arrived at one o clock. We had just missed the midnight shuttle and I was glad that we did. This also must have been the first time in my life that I was glad for having to wait at an airport. With great joy I also realized that I no longer wished that shuttle would never come.
The wait didn't delay us. It gave us plenty of time, though, for one last stroll and a cup of coffee in peace. The air was moist and aromatic. We walked arm in arm in the dim moonlight and held each other close. The thought that this may indeed be our last day on the island, in not forever, grew stronger. The feeling emerged that this might indeed be our last day. The feeling grew to such force that I nearly protested out loud; NO; no; no; that can't be! - There will be a tomorrow - and it will be as beautiful as we care to make it! I didn't voice those words.
We strolled back to the terminal more quickly now. I would have loved to run. I was happy in the night. As soon as we came near the terminal, I excused myself and sneaked away into the souvenir shop. Luckily the shop was still open. The storekeeper said it was because of the shuttle flights, which kept coming in all night.
I bought Jennie the most delicate, red coral necklace the shop had, and two cups of coffees as a decoy, and a package of chewing gum. I kept the necklace well hidden until we were on the plane and back in the air.
As we where alone in the plane, I brought the necklace out and placed it in her hand. Tears formed in her eyes as she asked if this was the souvenir that should not be bought until the last day.
"Yes!" I nodded and laid the necklace on her neck. "This may be our last day on the island, or maybe our last day altogether. It certainly has been our last day of exile from each other," I added. "It is fit, therefore, Jennie, that a souvenir be bought to remember those moments by, to celebrate the way in which the conventional has ended, the celebrate the last day of the Old World and the joy of seeing it disappear from the horizon."
I grinned at her as I closed the clasp and moved back to see how it would compliment her wonderful charm. It did full justice to it. "May this gift adorn my lovely female friend who brings out the female in me," I whispered to her.
She smiled back at me.
Maybe an emergency shuttle isn't the most likely place to celebrate the beginning of something that may never fully be. The plane was filthy. There was a sour stench in the air. There were no snacks or drinks served. But for me, this filthy plane was fit enough to celebrate our 'continuous' beginning. The physical surroundings no longer seemed to matter. Not even hope seemed to matter. The moment itself, just being alive, was enough.
Jennie looked down at the necklace that blended well with the black velvet of her dress.
"Tomorrow, perhaps," I said to her, softly, "I may need to buy you another present like this for another reason, and maybe another again, the day after, and at all the days after that."
Her smile faded. She turned to me and whispered as it were a state secret; "Do you think there is the slightest possibility that I could have been infected by the man at the airport? The man at the airport said that he had the AIDS virus. It didn't matter, then."
I shook my head. "Hack no! It takes more than a single kiss, no matter how intimate, to become infected." I almost laughed. "And even if you were infected; so what?" I said. I began stroking her hair as we faced one another. Thinking in terms of years suddenly was like thinking in terms of eternity. "I wish we had the kind of a future where all of this matters," I repeated. "What matters is, what happens here, today, now! And even if it should happen, against all odds, that you have become infected and the world should hold together for many more decades and centuries, a cure for AIDS may not be far off when this happens, so don't worry my love."
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