The driver shrugs. "I mean, my brother owns a pawn shop across town. I can wake him up, but he's not going to be happy."
"He'll be happy." I pull out my wallet. "I promise."
***
It's occurring to me, as I look through the selection, that Meg might not appreciate a pawned engagement ring.
I could propose without one, of course, but that's not the same. At this point I think I know her pretty well. I don't think she'll actually care. In fact, she'll probably appreciate that I didn't really contribute to the blood diamond industry. But if you have even a hint of the superstitious about you, there is something odd about starting a relationship with an edge of desperation, failure, and revenge.
Then again, this is us.
The cab driver's brother looks tired but alert, his eyes glittering at my expensive look. No matter how I dress it down, I still stink of money, and it actually comes in handy in situations like this.
At first.
"How much for that one?" I'm pointing to something delicate and vintage in white gold, and I know next to nothing about jewelry, but I have a feeling Meg will like it. It looks like it'll fit on her finger. It's not too ostentatious, not by a long shot, but it sort of reminds me of a necklace I know she likes.
The driver - whose name, it turns out, is Peter - looks at his brother, and his brother looks at him.
"Uh…two thousand," the shop owner says, finally.
I frown at him. "It has to be worth more than that."
I'm normally a very good negotiator, but I don't actually enjoy ripping people off. Not when it comes to something like this.
He laughs. "Nobody else is gonna pay me that much for it. But if you want to peel off a few extra bills, I won't cry myself to sleep."
I do end up overpaying for it, mostly because I got the man out of bed, and he wraps it up in tissue paper for me.
"No box?" I don't know why that surprises me.
"Drop it in a glass of champagne," he suggests. "Chicks love that shit."
There's an ominous crashing sound outside. "What the fuck is that?" I ask Peter, who looks like he's already calculating his cut of the pile of cash.
"The rain," he says, simply. "What the hell did you expect, coming here during monsoon season?"
I've got to laugh. I didn't even think to research the fucking weather in fucking Hawaii before I planned my trip, because Meg used to handle all my travel arrangements and I don't know how to be a normal human.
"It doesn't sound like rain. It sounds like the fucking apocalypse," I remark, shoving the ring in my pocket.
"It's not so bad. But we should hurry before any of the roads get flooded out."
Well, fuck me.
***
The worn-out wipers on Peter's car are working overtime, but it hardly helps. His radio is blasting, Beyoncé telling me that if I like it, I should put a ring on it.
I'm trying.
I lean forward. "Why aren't we moving?"
"Remember what I said about the roads being flooded out?" He grins at me. "They got rain where you're from?"
He knows he's already earned his tip, and then some, so he's poking fun at me. I know I'm dangerously close to Meg waking up - she's been sleeping for a long time now. I wore her out thoroughly.
And I don't even have my fucking phone, to tell her where I am.
This whole thing is insane, and I'm insane, but at least I've got Beyoncé backing up my decision. I could do worse.
I could do a lot worse.
"My dad has this joke he likes," Peter says. "You know what the best thing about Hawaii is?"
"Well?"
"The weather. You know what the worst thing about Hawaii is?"
I have a pretty good idea. "The weather?"
He grins in the rearview. "You're catching on quick."
"Fuck it." I pull a wad of cash out of my wallet, and toss it on the front seat. "Thanks for everything, Peter, but I'm going on foot."
"It's over five miles from here," he points out, looking slightly worried.
"Do I look frail to you?"
"Well, no, but…" He shakes his head. "You really love this girl, don't you?"
"I do." My hand's on the door. "At least you've got a good story out of this. You can laugh at me later."
"Nah." He grins. "I remember what it was like when I met my wife. That's how you know it's right - even though you know you've got all the time in the world, it feels like you can't wait. Are you gonna get married here?"
"I hope so," I tell him. He digs a business card out of a pile of junk on his passenger seat, and hands it to me.
"This is a good place to have something last-minute," he says. "They sort of cater to that kind of thing. And unlike my brother, they probably won't try to rip you off just 'cause you're a rich haole."
I tuck the card into my wallet. "Mahalo, Peter."
"Aloha, my friend. Good luck." He shakes my hand before I step out into the torrential rain.
***
All the smart people have sought shelter. Tourists certainly aren't going anywhere, and the locals are staring at the crazy haole trudging through the streets, completely drenched to the bone.
"You okay?" an old man shouts to me as I pass by. He's sitting on his porch, watching he world go by.
"Yeah," I shout back, over the sound of rain. "I've got to go propose to my girl."
He laughs, but I don't think he's laughing at me.
More importantly, I don't care.
I end up wading through almost a foot of water when I reach the spot where it's flooded out. But I know I'm close, now. Even with the warmth of the air, I'm starting to feel slightly chilled.
The lights of the hotel stand out like a beacon, making me walk a little faster, though the exhaustion of my journey and my sleepless night are starting to catch up with me. When I finally get inside, the rain's slowed to a drizzle, and the front desk clerk only looks up when she hears my shoes squeaking on the marble floor.
The elevator ride seems to take ages. I take a deep breath before I knock on the door.
Meg's fiddling with the lock almost instantly. I hear her curse as she struggles with the sticky deadbolt, and then the door yanks open.
"Where the hell - oh my God, Ryn…" Her eyes go wide as she stares at me, stifling a bewildered laugh. "Are okay? Why are you…"
"Got stuck in the rain," I tell her, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'll be fine once you wring me out."
She lets a little bit of the laugh out as she hugs me tightly. "You look like a drowned rat, babe. What the fuck was so important in the middle of a storm?"