Booktree.ng_Forgotten-Witness

“Suit yourself, darling. Off you go.”
Ten minutes later she was back and renewed. The flip-flops
outside the bathroom door were orange with pineapple shaped
jewels on top. She put her muddied sandals and purse by the
front door. When she got back, the girls were where she had
left them and Stephen was behind a Tiki bar. The wood was
dark and the front was covered in rattan. Josie had seen one
like it at a vintage shop on Pacific Coast Highway and the
store was asking a pretty penny for it. This one was longer and
in better condition.
“This is amazing.” She slid onto a bar stool and ran her
hand along the smooth, dark wood.
“Koa wood; the most precious of all precious woods; the
revered tree of the gods. It’s ancient. The tree is protected now.
This was a doorway in King Kamaiama’s palace. I came to it
by a trade from the man who was the son of the man who
carved the piece out of an ancient tree. What will you have?”
“Do you have a beer?” she asked, marveling at how long he
could speak without a breath.
“We have whatever your heart desires.”
Stephen grabbed two glasses, uniquely fashioned with thick
rounded bottoms, an air bubble floating inside. Next came a
glass decanter blown by the same artist. He popped the stopper
and Josie smelled the distinctive scent of Scotch whiskey. He
poured and pushed one glass toward Josie.
“Fine stuff.”
She was about to decline when he reached below the bar
and came up with an ice-cold bottle of beer, twisted the cap
and set it in front of her. That was followed by a can of
Macadamia nuts.
“There you have it. What you want: a beer. What you don’t
think you want but you really should want: my very best
scotch. And what you need: sustenance.” He drew up a stool
opposite her, picked up his glass and toasted: “To your health
and the health of every beautiful woman who walks the earth.”