Here Today, Gone to Maui

Table of Contents

 

 

More praise for the novels of Carol Snow

“Snow’s humorous, wise debut serves up romance with a bit of social commentary on the state of singledom and the benefits of maturity in a youth- and romance-obsessed society.”

 

“[A] witty, entertaining read.”
—
Kim Alexander, XM Satellite Radio

 

“Often hilarious, frequently poignant . . . This is a wonderful book, with well-developed characters and interesting plot twists that make it a joy to read.”
—Romantic Times

 

“
Been There, Done That
is a totally unique story with heartbreak, a look at what your college student is really doing, and how friendships and relationships change before our eyes. A book that will make you think,
Been There, Done That
will introduce you to a different sort of romance.”
—Romance Reviews Today

 

“Using humor as a delightful way to lampoon contemporary life, Carol Snow provides . . . a terrific investigative tale filled with pleasant but surprising twists.”
—The Best Reviews

 

“Carol Snow dares to explore some ‘what ifs’ of college life in a novel full of zany adventures, reflecting the wisdom of an adult revisiting the past and trying not to make the same mistakes. The author’s subtle digs at ethics in journalism are right on target for her character’s development, but this story has plenty of surprises.
Been There, Done That
is insightful and fun, with a hint of mystery and romance.”
—Fresh Fiction

“With its entertaining combination of a realistically flawed heroine, sharp writing, and tart humor,
Getting Warmer
is absolutely delightful.”
—Booklist

 

“[Snow] cleverly combines wit and drama in a page-turning novel. Readers will be drawn to the primary characters with their effortless charm and unique ability to reinvent themselves when meeting new people. Snow’s charismatic writing style is superb, making this a true winner.”
—Romantic Times

 

“Another great read exploring the lives and loves of likable emerging young women. This refreshingly honest story reveals some funny, sexy and meaningful moments, and that’s no lie!”

 

“A fast-paced story and interesting people.”

 

“
Getting Warmer
is a terrific look at relationships . . . The support cast, mostly those connected to the school, her family, or his stalker, enhance the prime romance while two other love stories also provide depth.”
—The Best Reviews

 

“Carol Snow does a wonderful job creating realistic, likable characters. Natalie is genuinely flawed, and readers can’t help but like her for it . . . I’ll be waiting on pins and needles for her next release.”
—Curled Up with a Good Book

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

HERE TODAY, GONE TO MAUI

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2009 by Carol Snow

 

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without
permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the
author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY
^®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition: January 2009

 

eISBN : 978-1-440-66031-3

 

 

I couldn’t have written this book without a lot of help (and my husband’s frequent-flier miles).

For sharing their expertise, I’d like to thank divers Kris Billeter and Rebecca Topping; human resource maven Rita Mould; and Sergeant Jamie Becraft of the Maui Police Department. Any inaccuracies in this book are entirely my own fault, and I look forward to hearing about them in Amazon reviews and anonymous email messages.

Thank you, as always, to Cindy Hwang, Leis Pederson, Stephanie Kip Rostan, Monika Verma, and all of the other talented people at Berkley Books and the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

Thanks to my parents, Tom and Peggy Snow, for their vacation wisdom; Jeff and Diane Palumbo for the tour of Wailea; and Mel and Marilyn Rueben for their terrible taste in T-shirts.

And, finally, to the people of Maui:
Mahalo
for sharing your beautiful land.

In the weeks leading up to my Maui vacation with Jimmy, I considered all of the things that could go wrong.

Illness ranked pretty high. I could catch a cold, which in turn could mutate into a sinus infection—hardly a rarity in this dirty Southern Californian air, and notoriously resistant to antibiotics. I could contract food poisoning or one of those nasty tummy bugs that my coworkers occasionally import from their kids. I could get the flu (some odd and potentially lethal strain not included in my annual shot), conjunctivitis, or shingles (which are reputed to be extremely painful, despite the comical name).

As our travel date approached without a cough, itch, or looming workplace epidemic, I turned my attention to traffic. Jimmy and I live at opposite ends of Orange County—he on the fashionable end (Laguna Beach) and I in the not-so-fashionable, forty-minutes-inland town of Brea, which is the Spanish word for “tar.” Actually, Brea is a nice, unpretentious, wholesome kind of town—just the kind of place where you’d like to raise your kids, if you have them.

I don’t.

Jimmy offered to drive to the airport because my car was nicer and more apt to be stolen. Without traffic, Jimmy could make it from Laguna Beach to Brea to LAX in an hour and a half. But since we weren’t planning to drive at three o’clock in the morning on a Sunday, we could assume there would be traffic. With traffic, the trip could take three hours. Or five.

There are some things you just can’t control.

Like flight delays. Or cancellations.

The odds of weather problems between Los Angeles and Maui were slim (though not impossible), but the flight originated in Atlanta and had to cross the entire country before embarking on the final tropical leg. After ten years here, I’d practically forgotten about weather, which Californians define as anything over a hundred degrees or under sixty, but I knew it was out there. I watched the Weather Channel. At least, I had ever since Jimmy asked me to spend a week with him in Maui.

There was an inch of snow in Denver. It was ten below in Chicago. In Brisbane, Australia, the month was the driest on record. (There’s only so much they can say about local conditions on the Weather Channel, and I found the international segments oddly compelling.) But as for the weather between Atlanta and Los Angeles, and Los Angeles and Maui? The skies were clear.

It wasn’t until Jimmy showed up at my condo on the day of our flight that I realized what all of my worrying had been about. He was an hour early—a relationship first. When I saw him standing in my doorway in a pale blue polo shirt, his sunglasses hanging from a cord around his neck, I burst into giddy laughter, equal parts joy and relief.

I had never really been concerned about sinus infections, I realized. About traffic or flight delays. All of that was just a diversion, a way to avoid thinking about the worst possibility of all.

I was afraid that Jimmy wouldn’t show up.

I didn’t think he’d stand me up or anything—he wasn’t that unreliable. But he had a way of calling at the last minute, as I was applying my mascara or turning off the Weather Channel. Stuck in a meeting, he’d say. Buried with work. He’d make it up to me, he’d promise. Cross his heart and hope to die.

And today he’d come through. If a trip to Maui wasn’t making it up to me, what was?

I never once worried about what would happen once we landed in Maui, after we’d gathered our luggage and set off for the resort.

As long as Jimmy showed up, the week would be perfect.