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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Poised to score
>> Honolulu
The Warriors blocked two punts in the first half, turned them into 10 points and led at halftime, 17-6. Jasmine Kekai and Cruz MacKenzie celebrated every touchdown, field goal and even first down with hugs, kisses and squeezes.
Football as foreplay was a new concept, but one to which Cruz took immediately. By halftime, they were both breathless and left in the middle of the UH marching band's tribute to Don Ho. Walking out of the gate, Cruz heard the public address announcer intone: "Would the Aloha Skydive field representative report to the press box, please." But Jasmine walked with her hand on his okole, and he forgot about Dillon Tanonaka.
Cruz drove as quickly as he could back to Jasmine's condo. While she went to "freshen up," he watched the second half on TV. The bad guys were driving for a score and had just completed a 35-yard pass to the Warriors' 20 when Kimo Limbo, the Rainbows' play-by-play announcer, said: "Oh my god ... we've just been handed a note ... this is horrible.
"The reason the skydivers we were expecting during pre-game festivities didn't ... police have just confirmed ... the Aloha Skydive plane crashed into Pearl Harbor. Of the 11 people on board, nine are confirmed dead. Oh god, this terrible ... First and 10, Cougars on the Rainbow 20 ..."
Jasmine came out of the bathroom wearing a peach silk robe and a pained expression, sat down heavily on the other end of the couch.
"Oh, Cruz, I'm so sorry." She explained that her time of the month arrived two days early, and therefore their first time would again be delayed.
"Is the invitation to sleep over still open?"
"If you want to."
"I just want to be close to you."
She complained of cramps and Cruz massaged her back and finally felt her body relax. She rolled onto her side, pulled him to her and for the second time in a week Jasmine fell asleep on his shoulder. After 15 minutes, she twitched and shifted. With his free hand, he reached for the remote control and switched on the bedroom TV, turned the volume low. Lisa Gamble, who had been at the game, was reporting live from the shores of Pearl Harbor.
"The nine people who went down with the plane were all pronounced dead at the scene," she said. "Two men jumped from the plane as it spun out of control toward the water. One was struck by the tail and was killed. The other survived and has been taken by ambulance to Kaiser, where he is listed in good condition. Police have not yet announced the names of the victims or the survivor, pending notification of next of kin."
Cruz hoped Dillon Tanonaka was the lone survivor.
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Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek. His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin. He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com