Chapter 21

Betsy topped the hill leading into town at a nice sedate run. At least, it was sedate for her. She was purposefully keeping her pace slow, so as to not look too anxious.

Her eyes went immediately to the little store below. She smiled upon seeing that Chuck was seated outside. She frowned when he got out of his chair and raced into the store. She smiled when he came back out of the store carrying a sign. He held it up for her to see. It read, “Stop and try my Hawaiian Fruit Blast.” Her smile turned into a huge grin.

Checking around to make sure there wasn’t a fat man in the way, Betsy slowed down when she got closer to the store. She walked the last fifty feet, cooling off a little.

“Hello, Betsy.”

“Hello, Chuck.”

Chuck wrapped her in his arms and gave her a kiss.

“I’m looking forward to tonight.”

“Me, too,” Betsy said.

“Dinner and a movie?”

“Sounds great,” Betsy said. She paused and then added, “My friend from school is here with her boyfriend. Do you think it would be possible to double-date with them?”

“No problem. I’d like to met your friends,” Chuck said.

He had chosen a movie thinking that it would give them a chance to keep a little control over their libidos. If Gary hadn’t opened the front door at the end of their date last week, Chuck was pretty sure they would have ended up naked on the front porch. Although he would have enjoyed it, he didn’t want to push Betsy into doing anything she didn’t want to do. The idea of a double-date worked just fine for him.

“I’m relieved to hear that,” Betsy said.

Chuck said, “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll bring out a glass of Hawaiian Fruit Blast?”

“That sounds great,” Betsy said.

While Chuck went into the store, Betsy went over to one of the chairs. Before sitting down, she took a moment to look around at the garden. She noticed that he had one of those old fashioned lawnmowers that had the blade that spun when it was pushed. She went over to examine it. She bent down to get a closer look at the cutting mechanism.

Chuck came out of the store carrying two glasses of Hawaiian Fruit Blast. He was disappointed that she wasn’t seated in a chair, until he spotted her bent over by the lawnmower. He took in her ass and strong legs. His hands shook so hard that he nearly spilled the drinks.

He muttered, “Whoa! Calm down, boy.”

He put the drinks on the small table that stood between the two chairs. He looked over at her. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

He muttered, “A double-date is a really good idea.”

Betsy turned and looked at him. She asked, “Did you say something?”

“The drinks are here,” Chuck said.

Betsy returned to where the chairs were and took a seat. She picked up one of the glasses and took a sip from it. The flavors burst in her mouth. She licked her lips. Chuck leaned forward and watched the progress of her tongue.

“I’ve been looking forward to having one of these all week,” Betsy said.

Chuck sat down and tried to calm down as he said, “I just made that batch.”

“It’s really good,” Betsy said.

She rubbed the chilled glass across the bare skin of her upper chest. Since her eyes were looking down at his crotch, she had a good idea of how he reacted, but didn’t correlate that to her actions with the glass. She was just happy that he was pleased to see her.

After taking a calming breath, Chuck asked, “How was your week at sea?”

“I tagged three sharks,” Betsy said.

“I guess that’s good,” Chuck said.

Betsy said, “It is good. The tracking tags are working correctly, and I got genetic samples. You can’t really ask for much better than that.”

“Are you going out next week?”

“No. I’m going to the lab and do the analysis work on the genetic samples. The electronics guys are going to have to fix some minor problems on the boat. We’ll probably head out the week after next,” Betsy answered.

“I might be able to swing over to Oahu. Maybe we can met up there and I can see your boat.”

“That would be great.”

Betsy took another sip of her drink. She said, “I hope you aren’t upset about the double-date thing.”

“No. Actually, I think it is a great idea. I’m looking forward to meeting your friends,” Chuck said.

“It’s just Sally and Steve,” Betsy said.

“Do they live here on the island?”

“No. They go to school with me. I had them come here so that I could work a little on their training,” Betsy said.

“What training?”

“Martial arts.”

“You teach martial arts?” Chuck asked.

“Yes.”

“I guess you compete,” Chuck said trying to dredge up what little he knew about the martial arts from his memory.

He remembered something about most martial arts instructors completed in tournaments. Although, he wasn’t sure if it was the students who competed to advance in rank. He swore that he would look that up so he could talk a little more knowledgeably about it with her over dinner.

“I quit competing after the Olympics.”

“After you won the gold in track?”

“No. After I won gold medals in Judo and Karate.”

“So you must be pretty good,” Chuck said.

“I guess you could say that,” Betsy said.

“What belt do you have?”

“In the American way of describing it, I’m a Grandmaster,” Betsy said.

“I guess you are good,” Chuck said. “Have you ever had to use it?”

“Yes,” Betsy answered. Wanting to change the subject, Betsy asked, “So what did you do this week?”

“I spent most of it looking at potential investment opportunities,” Chuck said.

“Did you find anything attractive?”

“Not really. I don’t like what I see happening to the economy,” Chuck said with a frown.

Betsy said, “I know what you mean. About the only thing I’ve found lately that seems worthwhile investing in, is a fishing boat.”

“A fishing boat?”

Betsy said, “One of the crew members is saving up to buy a fishing boat. After hearing her talk about it, I’ve thought about investing in her boat.”

“That’s pretty small time, isn’t it?”

“I’m looking at investing in the person rather than the business. Debbie’s a pretty good person. I think she gave me some good advice,” Betsy said.

“I always look at the person first,” Chuck said.

Betsy said, “My brother is really big on investing in smaller concerns rather than stocks and bonds.”

Well aware of who her brother was, Chuck said, “I’ve been following what he’s been doing with the Fusion Foundation funds. He’s diversified their holdings into farms, food processing plants, and small manufacturing firms. He’s dropped almost all of the service industries and financial companies.”

Betsy said, “I know. What about you? What are you investing in?”

“I’ve kept with smaller chains, like supermarkets, convenience stores, and repair places. My last big investment was in a chain that repairs the brakes on cars.”

“Why those sectors?”

“I figure that if the economy tanks, people still need to eat. Plus, they’ll fix things rather than replace them.”

“Smart,” Betsy said.

Chuck said, “I was kind of happy when I realized what your brother was doing with the Fusion Foundation funds. Everyone was telling me to put money into the financial companies to take advantage of the credit card derivatives market, but I don’t trust them. When I saw what your brother was doing, I felt justified in leaving them alone.”

“There’s such a thing as a credit card derivative?”

“Yes. It’s the same as the home loan derivatives, except rather than applying to home loans they apply to credit card loans. There is also a car loan derivatives market. They all come with the same kinds of risks except the consequences of failure in credit card and car loan derivative markets are even worse. If someone defaults on a home loan, the bank owns the house. If someone defaults on a credit card, the bank owns air,” Chuck said.

“Did you say that people are speculating in the credit card derivatives market?”

“Yes.”

Betsy thought about what William had said about a major economic collapse. He had given her a glimpse of the future, but Chuck had just filled in a lot of the blanks. If people defaulted on home loans, car loans, and credit card debt all at the same time, the entire financial basis of the civilized world could collapse. Governments could fall. In short, all money could disappear almost overnight.

Betsy said, “I’m buying a fishing boat.”

“Why?”

“I think that it is one of the best investments possible at the current time,” Betsy said.

“Do you want to know the saddest thing?”

“What?”

“I agree with you,” Chuck said. “If the economy tanks, there won’t be a single tourist in Hawaii. Every hotel on the beach will close. Nearly every restaurant will shut down. All of the souvenir places will close. The only source of revenue for the state will be pineapples and fish.”

“What about all of import/export businesses?”

“What money will we be using for importing and exporting things?” Chuck asked.

“You’re right,” Betsy said.

William had said that there wouldn’t be a billionaire left, after the economy collapsed. At the time, it had seemed impossible to her. Now that she started to understand how the collapse might happen, she would have been surprised to learn if any millionaires would be left.

“Maybe.”

Chuck leaned back in his chair and thought about it. He hadn’t really given much thought to what would happen if the credit card derivatives market collapsed. That put a whole new spin on things and it would have far reaching consequences.

William’s investment activities of the past few years suddenly made a lot more sense to him. He didn’t know anything about William other than what he had observed in how he was handling the Fusion Foundation investments. As a nonprofit organization, its financial transactions were public record.

Then he recalled that William was a servant of the Two-Sided One. Why would a servant of the Two-Sided One be so involved with finance? The answer to that question made him uneasy. The only answer he could come up with, was that William was providing a service to the Gods and Goddesses with each investment.

After a minute of silence, he said, “This changes things. I’m going to have to re-examine my investment strategy. I’ve got a hell of a lot of work ahead of me.”

“What about our date?” Betsy asked.

“What about it?”

“Is it still on?”

Chuck snorted and replied, “Even a volcanic eruption won’t stop me from showing up at your door at seven tonight, with flowers and chocolates in hand. If necessary, I’ll bring a bag of marshmallows and we’ll roast them over the volcano.”

“That sounds romantic,” Betsy said with a laugh.

“How about we do that? You know, have a fire on the beach and roast marshmallows after dinner?”

“Now that really sounds romantic,” Betsy said.

Chuck said, “Let your friends know.”

Betsy said, “You know. I’ve got a better idea. How about we have a Luau on the beach behind my house?”

“That’s an interesting idea,” Chuck said.

“Let’s do it.”

“Great,” Chuck said.

Betsy said, “I guess I should run on home and get things ready for the date.”

“Sure,” Chuck said. “What should I bring?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything,” Betsy said meaning that Charlie would be taking care of everything, while she ran around the house trying to figure out what to wear.

Chuck said, “How about I bring along a couple gallons of Hawaiian Fruit Blast.”

“Great. I’ll let Sally and Steve know what to expect,” Betsy said.

It was thirty minutes later before Betsy actually ran off. Their good-bye lasted a little longer than either had expected. It was the arrival of a customer that finally brought it to an end.

As promised, Chuck showed up at the house with flowers and chocolates in hand at seven o’clock sharp. He was dressed in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with sandals on his feet. He knocked on the door with the vain hope Betsy that would answer it.

Upon answering the door, Gary grinned and cooed, “Oh! That’s so sweet. You brought me flowers and chocolates.”

Somewhat speechless for a second, Chuck looked at him trying to figure out a witty retort, but was unable to come up with one.

“The flowers and chocolates are not for you. Sorry,” he said.

Gary laughed as he said, “Come in. Betsy and Sally are still getting ready.”

“I figured that would be the case. Don’t worry, I’m not disappointed. In fact, I came on time just so I could watch you clean your gun,” Chuck said.

Grinning broadly, Gary said, “Sorry to disappoint you. Today, I’m target practicing. Would you like to hold up a target or two?”

“As exciting as that sounds, I’d rather not.”

“I don’t blame you,” Gary said. He gestured over at Steve and said, “You haven’t met Steve yet. He’s Sally’s date.”

Betsy and Sally entered the room. Seeing them out of the corner of his eye, Gary continued, “Steve, this is Chuck. You know, the big hunky smart guy who shall be the father of Betsy’s children ... if I remember how she described him correctly.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Betsy said.

Sally and Steve burst into laughter since that was exactly how Betsy had described him after she had returned from her run. Chuck stood there with his mouth opening and closing. Betsy had turned a rather unnatural red color that spread from head to toe.

Gary said, “You can’t kill me, yet. I’m the cook.”

Betsy growled. When she heard a laugh from above, she glared at the ceiling and said, “I’m glad you find this so funny.”

Chuck handed Betsy the flowers and chocolates and said, “I brought these for you.”

“Oh! That’s so sweet. You brought me flowers and chocolates,” Betsy cooed.

Chuck shot a glance over at Gary who just smiled back at him. Betsy and Sally, unaware of the earlier exchange between Chuck and Gary, didn’t understand the meaning of the current exchange. Steve, who had heard how Gary had greeted Chuck, was having a hard time keeping from laughing.

“It’s a party, folks. Let’s get to the beach,” Gary shouted while rubbing his hands together excitedly.

Chuck said, “I’ve got some stuff in my car.”

Steve said, “I’ll help you with it. It’ll give us a chance to plot the demise of Gary.”

“I like you already,” Chuck said.

Betsy said, “There’s no need to plot. His time is limited and is to be measured in hours.”

Sally said, “Before you start killing Gary, you have to put those beautiful flowers in some water.”

Gary said, “I’ll meet you all at the beach.”

While Betsy and Sally put the flowers into a vase with water, Steve and Chuck carried in a five gallon insulated water carrier filled with Hawaiian Fruit Blast. There was a package of red plastic cups, along with a couple of bags of large marshmallows on top of the lid. Steve was holding a handful of wire marshmallow sticks in his free hand, while Chuck had a bunch of flower leis hanging from his free hand.

Betsy and Sally quickly relieved the men of the flowered leis, cups, marshmallows, and marshmallow sticks. The two men followed them out to the beach, while appreciating the view presented by two attractive women wearing bikini tops and shorts. Once again, Chuck was thankful this was a double-date.

While they walked, Betsy said, “I have to apologize. It turns out that you can’t start a proper Hawaiian Luau at eleven in the morning on the day of the Luau. It seems that you have to start preparing the site real early in the morning ... like about 4 AM.”

“I know that. I only remembered after you left,” Chuck said.

“So we kind of had to improvise a beach party with fish, chicken, and beef cooked over a grill. It’s kind of a barbecue version of a Luau.”