Due to confidentiality reasons, I cannot reveal who our angel was that helped us achieve a dream—a trip to Hawaii while Dennis was still able to get around, albeit with a cane and going slowly. Our angel arranged our airfare and hotel to be "gratis" and all we had to do was take spending money and our credit cards. Dennis and I have been going to Waikiki since the late 1980s, with a couple of trips to Kauai thrown in for special occasions. Since the late 1990s we've been staying at a 15-room hotel that caters to the gay community; it's called "Cabana at Waikiki" and is located about one and one-half blocks from the beach. The section of the beach that we've always gone to is a bit farther down the walkway; if you were to measure the distance from our hotel to that section of the beach, I'd guess one-quarter mile. Dennis was a real trooper as we walked to the beach 6 of the 7 days we were there. If he'd get tired along the way, he'd say, "Bench coming up." We'd stop until he regained his breath and strength and continued. We walked quite a bit while we were there and Dennis was glad to get home so he wouldn't have to walk so much.
The trip itself was perfect. We had a wonderful time; Dennis was thoroughly enjoying himself. A former co-worker who is more of a friend was attending the University of Hawaii and we connected with her while there. Purnima borrowed her mother's car and drove to our hotel. We had a short visit at the hotel room, shared a joint, then went out to dinner. We ate at a Chinese restaurant that she knew about; it was great catching up with each other and what was going on in our lives. She had been back in India for the previous 6 years and was getting more schooling at UH. After dinner, she drove us around downtown Honolulu, their Chinatown section, past the palace (which is lit up at night), then back to our hotel. We've been keeping up with each other through Facebook.
The next night after her visit, we celebrated our 30th anniversary a couple months early (that's why we were on the trip) by going out to dinner at the main restaurant at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the famous "Pink Palace"—due to its pink stucco facade. When we had eaten at the restaurant on our 25th anniversary, the entire decor was pink—tablecloths, napkins, the salt and pepper shakers, the china, candles on the table—you name it, it was pink. This time, the restaurant had undergone a renovation—the "pink" was gone. The interior was now cream colored with a wall of windows overlooking a covered patio area, which in turn had 5 or 6 individually-draped cabanas. When I had made our dinner reservation a few days previously, I had mentioned to the man at the front desk that we had enjoyed our dinner on our 25th and we were back for our 30th. While I wasn't expecting anything special, I was, at a minimum, hoping for a nice table. He said he'd mark the reservation (I had also perceived that he was gay and figured our respective "gaydars" were working). I was quite surprised when we arrived.
We got to the restaurant about 5:45pm for our 6pm reservation. We had taken a taxi as the walk would have been too much for Dennis to endure, that's why we were a bit early. We found a couple of large rocking chairs under a covered veranda area and waited a few minutes. Upon approaching the desk and giving my name, the hostess looked up, smiled and said, "Happy anniversary, boys! 30 years? Really?"
We both smiled and responded, "That's right. We were also here on our 25th."
"Well, welcome back. I'm sure you're going to enjoy our new menu. We have some very exciting items. Please follow me this way," she said, turning and walking towards the outdoor patio area. As we crossed through the doorway, she looked over her shoulder, smiled and said, "We usually charge $150 for a cabana table, but we are waiving that tonight for your anniversary."
"Why, thank you so much," I gasped. "That is so kind of you and the restaurant."
As we were being seated, she flipped over a card that had been on the table. It read "Happy Anniversary."
I asked her if she could take a photo of us, as I had my camera with me. She did (the photo came out beautifully). The entire evening was just one treat after the other. They really treated us royally. It was a wonderful way to spend our last night in Waikiki. And all thanks to our special angel.
I would be remiss to also mention this was the first time Dennis had used the wheelchair services provided by the airlines and got addicted to it very quickly. He loved being pushed through the airport, being pushed in front of everyone else in line. And of course, I got to enjoy the benefit of that as well.
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