“I am courting you Kathryn.” Lennie was at the Ala Moana Hotel standing out side of Rumors Night Club. In the background I could hear the music playing. It was a duet between Nat King Cole and his daughter Natalie Cole. It was a recording of Unforgettable. “I came outside where I could call you. I’m just standing here listening to the music and pretending that I’m dancing with you. It’s so strange, but I would rather be out here, talking to you on the phone, than in there dancing with one of the women.”
Going dancing at Rumors Night Club was Lennie’s Friday night ritual. He had been doing it for several years. It had been part of his weight loss program when he had arrived back in Hawai’i after leaving his wife in 2002. At that point, out of years of stress and emotional eating, he had weighed a staggering 325 lbs. Through better eating habits, his Friday night dancing and the Bragg exercise class on the beach, outside Fort DeRussy in Waikiki and his love of swimming, he had lost 75 pounds. Now he was looking pretty good; six-foot-one, a head of thick, wavy, dark hair and well muscled. He didn’t have trouble finding someone to dance with.
“Just think”, I was saying, “in a couple of weeks I will be there.” The 3 months had been shortened when I saw a seat sale on West Jet. My arrival date was now March 26, a mere 3 weeks away. “I can’t wait to go dancing with you.”, I said. “Did I ever tell you that I took dance lessons at Fred Astaire?” “No, you didn’t. I never took any lessons, but I have about 25 moves and I’m a strong leader.” I love a strong lead dancer, I thought to myself and I imagined us whirling around the floor. “Because I’m a good dancer”, he was continuing, “I got a free European Cruise a couple of years ago.” “A free cruise? How did you manage that?” “Well, I saw this ad for dance partners on a cruise ship. You see, there are always more women than men on cruises and the women want someone to dance with, so I signed up for it. I had to go to a dance studio and prove that I could dance and get the owner to certify me as qualified and that was it. So I signed up on this cruise that went from Japan to Russia and some ports in Europe. Because I was considered entertainment, I got the use of everything on the ship that the passengers got.” “How much did you have to dance?”, I asked. “Not that much; just 45 minutes after lunch, and 45 minutes both before and after dinner. I had to wear grey pants and a navy blazer and we weren’t supposed to dance with a woman twice before having danced with everyone. And guess what Baby? I always had the biggest lineup. The women liked dancing with me because I’m such a fun guy.” Somehow I already knew this. Lennie was the kind of dancer that didn’t care if he got all the steps right; he didn’t care if the woman broke into the lead once in a while; as long as you were both having fun. “I’m going back in to get some more exercise. You don’t mind do you – that I know you’re coming and I’m dancing with other women?” “No, of course not. Why would I mind when you’ve been doing it for years?” “Good.”, Lennie said, “I don’t want you to be jealous. You know what I do? I look for the fattest and most unattractive lady and I ask her to dance. You should see the way their face lights up and while they’re dancing, they’re waving to their friends to get their attention, like ‘Hey, look at me with this guy.’ It makes their night, and it gives them bragging rights to make them feel good.” So, he was also kind. We both liked the underdog stories and he was doing his part. No, I could not wait to be dancing with him.
Lennie hung up the phone and went back inside Rumors while I replayed
Unforgettable in my mind. It really was only 3 weeks now before we would meet. One of my friends from the dog park told me that West Jet flew out of Hamilton and that they occasionally had seat sales. As luck would have it, when I went on to their web site, there it was – a 3-day-only seat sale. I had immediately called Lennie. “Well, why don’t you book it before it’s gone?” “I don’t know how. I’ve never bought anything over the Internet. I’ve never bought anything over the phone either.” I heard him sigh. “Well, it’s the only way that you’re going to get here.”, he said. A frustrating (for him) hour later he had managed to convince me that the airline people would not use my credit card if I gave them the number. It was safe and secure and the majority of people in North America did this all the time. So it was done. I had my flight booked for a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks. Exhausted from dealing with my creditcardphobia he said that he was going to take a nap. But, even though it was six hours later here, I felt empowered by my new Internet knowledge. I went back on to the West Jet site. There were more seat sales. My return flight would bring me back to Hamilton in mid-April. There was another seat in the middle of May that was on sale, but the only one that I could find for a return flight was five weeks after. Oh well, I would stay for five weeks on my second trip. And it was done. I had now booked a second flight to Hawai’i for five weeks before even having met Lennie.
In the meantime, he had been asking me to send him some more photos of myself. I know that he wanted some pin-up shots, but like he had said, “I know that’s not your style Baby.” He had recalled stories that he told me of women that were dying to have him invite them to Hawai’i and sent him nude shots with their first e-mails. Usually that had been enough for him to block them from his list. But he wanted something cute. So I had set up my tripod
and taken some shots of me in a sarong and talking on the phone and in a swimsuit. Lennie would like these. The photo of me in the sarong would become one of his favorites and the one that he uploaded into his phone as his background. I had had this sarong for over 25 years. I had kept it for the day that I would be brave enough to travel to Hawai’i. Now that day was drawing near.
About an hour and a half later Lennie had woken up from his nap. My phone rang and I grabbed it on the first ring. “Hi Honey”, I said brightly. “Guess what I did?” “What Baby?” “I went back on the West Jet site and booked a second flight; for five weeks.” There was silence. The silence was followed by nervous laughter and then he said, “That’s my girl. Go straight for the throat.” I wasn’t sure what he meant by that. “That’s alright, isn’t it? I think that we are both going to get along and the worst that can happen is that I have to cancel it and West Jet has this bank account thing that I can put the cancelled ticket into or even sell it to someone else.” I was talking too fast. “It’s okay Baby. It was just a surprise, that’s all.” Later I would find out how much of a surprise it was to him. He would tell me a year later that he had thought that I might be just a two week fling and that me booking that second flight before we had even met had helped to cement our relationship.
A couple of hours later he called me and said, “Guess what I’m doing?” “What?”, I asked. “I’m cleaning up the house for your arrival. I’ve got my handyman and cleaning lady helping me. We’re throwing out stuff and cleaning the place up. I’m doing it for you, Kathryn. I’m starting to nest.”
Kathryn
www.kathrynsmith.com