In December 1991, I got dumped by the guy who I thought was the love of my life. Oh, that deep, sexy voice! A month later, the guy who would become my husband asked me out, and the date went pretty well. A week after that, in the middle of our second date, this guy Michael said, “Hey, wanna go to Maui for a week? I know a way we can fly for free, and I have a cool place we can stay for free too.
Some friends of a friend are housesitting — I guess it used to be Rock Hudson’s mansion.” Michael, who’d never been in a long-term relationship before, was all in on the two of us from the very beginning. But by my mid-20s, I’d already been in three long-term-ish relationships in a row, and I wasn’t looking for anything serious.
Plus, I was secretly hoping that the guy who had just dumped me might eventually change his mind and want me back. Even if I looking for a relationship, it would be crazy to go away to Hawaii for a week with someone I’d just met. Then again, who was I to pass up a free trip to Hawaii? Especially if we’d be staying in Rock Hudson’s former mansion.
So I said, “Sure, why not?” I'd been to Hawaii before In college, I’d had a close friend from Oahu, and I’d visited him on that island, but I’d never been to Maui before. When we landed, I was slightly disappointed — just like before — that no one greeted me with a Hawaiian lei. Maui was also more arid than I expected, not lush and tropical.
But I liked the island’s laid-back vibe. .