Page 8 of Keeping Kama

The door banged shut behind him, leaving Leia and Derek alone for the first time since the meeting began. Derek rubbed his hands together, before shoving them into his pants pockets. Palpable silence followed, making his skin crawl. Leia reached out and straightened a few piles of papers on her desk. Without glancing at him, Leia moved to tossing a few things from her drawers into the trash.

Derek said the first thing that came to his mind, “I’m really sorry I almost hit you with my car.”

A long pause followed, and Leia shifted toward him. “You need to be more careful when you’re driving early in the morning. I can’t tell you how many close calls I’ve had with reckless drivers like you.” Shaking her head, Leia picked up a pack of post-it notes from the top of her desk and moved them to a drawer. Leia didn’t appear to want to continue the conversation.

“Do you always run so early in the morning?” asked Derek.

Leia glanced quickly toward the door, no doubt wanting Kai to return. Derek tracked her gaze. With Kai nowhere in sight, Leia said, “Yes.” She brushed her hair once more over her shoulder. The long, dark strands glistened from the sunlight peeking through the window next to her. Then to his surprise, Leia added, “I’m a teacher. I’ve gotten used to getting up early to run. Even in the summer, when I don’t have to rush off to work, I still get up early to run. It’s nice to be up before everyone else.”

“I wish I could say I was an early riser,” replied Derek.

“It’s not for everyone.” Picking up another stack of papers, Leia leafed through them.

“Are you training for anything?” Derek stepped closer to her desk. “Or do you run for the joy of it?”

Setting the rearranged papers back down on her desk, Leia said, “I’m training for the Honolulu marathon in December.” Walking around her desk, Leia sat down on the corner of it. She placed her palms flat on both sides of her.

Derek took two steps to Kai’s desk, sitting on the edge of it. Their knees nearly grazed one another’s. “A marathon— wow.” Derek nodded. “I’m impressed.”

Leia kept her gaze on the trailer door, but without prompting, she revealed, “I hope to run every major world marathon someday. The ones they have in London, Tokyo, and Berlin, but on a teacher’s salary …” Leia scoffed, “I don’t know when I’ll manage it. So, when the sign-up rolls around for the Honolulu marathon, I sign up again out of convenience.” Lifting her hand, Leia examined her fingernails.

Derek crossed his ankles in front of himself. “How many marathons have you run?”

Leia’s shoulders relaxed as she crossed her ankles too. “I lost count at twenty,” said Leia with a half-smile.

Nearly choking on his own saliva, Derek exclaimed, “Twenty!” His eyes dilated. “That’s unbelievable.”

Leia shrugged though she appeared pleased with herself. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Umm,” Derek placed a hand over his chest and continued, “It is to me. I only tried to run a marathon once. I did all the training, but the night before I ate some bad seafood. I couldn’t get out of bed to make it to the race. I never tried again.” He sighed. “I still regret it. It’s on my bucket list. But I can’t kick my booty into gear to try and train again.”

A slight shift and Leia finally looked at him. “You need to do it.” Her gaze captivated him. “Life’s too short to live with regrets. You never know what will happen.” Railroad tracks formed on her forehead. With a heavy sigh, she added, “Just look what happened to my dad, Noa.”

After Derek contemplated for a moment, he asked, “What happened to Noa? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Leia bit her bottom lip. “He had …” Then she waved a hand. “The point is, don’t wait, Derek. If it’s something you’ve always wanted to do. Then do it. You could run a marathon. You look like you’re already in decent shape. Just start training and stop waiting.”

Derek started to ask, “Would you ever want to go running—” but was interrupted by the creaking door.

Kai entered, closing the door behind him. Quickly, Derek stood, overly aware of his casual demeanor with Leia.

Proudly, Kai presented a t-shirt and pair of flip flops and said, “I didn’t know your size, but I pegged you for a medium.” He strode the five steps to Derek.

Graciously, Derek took the t-shirt and flip flops from Kai, Derek replied, “Medium works. Where should I change?”

Kai pointed to the only other door in the trailer. “There’s a bathroom in there.”

“Okay, give me a second.” Derek moved toward the bathroom. “I’ll be quick.”

“Take your time.” He smiled brightly, putting Derek at ease. “You’re in Hawaii, you know, island time.”

Without a further word, Derek entered the small bathroom. Taking off his button-down shirt, Derek pulled the tight shirt over his head. Leia remarked earlier that he was a guy who looked like he worked out, a comment he thoroughly wanted to unpack later. But Derek wondered if he had gained weight. This shirt was super snug. Was this really a medium? Derek attempted to reach for the tag behind him to double check the size, but he failed to see what it said. Instead, Derek tugged the ends of his shirt down a few more times, but the cotton material felt like Teflon.

As he stared at his appearance in the tiny mirror over the sink, Derek couldn’t help but laugh. He looked absurd. The shirt looked like it belonged to a toddler and made him look like he was a gym rat trying too hard to show off his physique. But Derek didn’t have another shirt and didn’t want to ask for a different one. Next, he removed his oxford loafers and socks, replacing them with flip flops a good two sizes too big. Dang … he laughed again as he peered down at himself. This certainly was going to raise an eyebrow or two.

With nothing else to do, Derek gathered his items in his arms and exited the bathroom. Without meeting Leia’s gaze, Derek set his shoes and clothing on a chair next to his bag of mangos.

Kai chuckled. “You look … ridiculous.”

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