Makayla looked around the Customs area of the airport from her place in line. There was a sea of people arriving from all over the world. Her lips curved upward when she saw a harried mother trying to grab a wayward toddler in front of her. The smile turned to a sympathetic grimace when the little boy started crying when his mother picked him up. Several people standing behind her gave the woman an annoyed glance.
Makayla started to turn away when she noticed that the woman had dropped her passport on the ground when she had bent to pick up the little boy. With a murmur, she motioned for the two people behind her to go ahead. With a tired sigh, she waited until they had passed her before she stooped to retrieve the fallen documents.
“You dropped this,” she murmured, glancing at the woman’s name on the open passport. “Would you like some help, Hsu?”
“Oh, yes, please,” the woman stuttered, startled, before she breathed out a tired sigh. “It has been a long trip.”
“Where are you traveling from?” Makayla asked politely, adjusting the diaper bag that had fallen off the handle of the stroller before she pushed the baby carriage forward along with her own carry-on.
“Seattle,” Hsu replied with a grateful smile. “Thank you so much for your help.”
“You’re welcome,” Makayla replied with a sympathetic grin. “My name is Makayla, by the way.”
“That is a beautiful name,” Hsu responded, moving forward with the line. She gave a relieved groan when she saw they were next and awkwardly adjusted the little boy who had finally fallen asleep on her shoulder. “I think I can put him in the stroller now.”
“Oh, yes,” Makayla said, quickly moving the diaper bag so that Hsu could carefully place the sleeping boy in the stroller.
“Where are you from, Makayla?” Hsu asked politely, straightening and placing a hand on her lower back before she took the diaper bag Makayla was holding. “He is getting heavy.”
“I’m from Florida,” Makayla said, adjusting her backpack on her right shoulder. “He looks it. How old is he?”
“He will be three next month,” Hsu replied before she turned to the Customs agent. “Thank you again for your help, Makayla. I hope you have a pleasant visit in Hong Kong.”
“You too, and good luck!” Makayla replied, watching as Hsu pushed the stroller up to the window.
A moment later, it was Makayla’s turn. She walked up and presented her passport. The agent behind the window briefly glanced up at her and then down at her passport.
“What is the purpose of your visit?” The agent asked in a cool, disinterested voice.
“Vacation,” Makayla replied with a polite smile.
“Are you traveling alone?” The man asked, suddenly more focused on her when he looked up from her photo to her face.
“No, I’m joining my grandfather who is already here,” she replied, keeping the smile on her face, even though the man’s sudden assessing gaze was making her uncomfortable.
“How long will you be staying?” The agent asked with a smile.
“A week,” Makayla answered.
She quietly answered several more questions before she breathed a sigh of relief when he stamped her passport and handed it back to her. She quickly passed through the gate and into the main section of the airport. She was relieved to get out of the crush of people. Fortunately, she was able to bypass the wait for baggage claim. Twenty minutes later, she was in a taxi heading for the marina where her grandfather was docked at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Shelter Bay.
Sinking back into the seat, she stared at the tall buildings and crowded streets. She didn’t even want to think about how the taxi driver was able to navigate through the streets without hitting either a pedestrian or another car. All the sights, sounds, and colorful assortment of people were overwhelming for her exhausted brain.
“Is this your first visit to Hong Kong?” The driver asked, glancing up in the mirror before returning his gaze to the road in front of him.
“Yes,” Makayla answered, staring out the window.
“You have friends here? I can tell you the best places to go for young people,” he said, laying his hand on the horn when a car cut in front of him. “There are lots of young people here.”
Makayla shook her head. She knew he would think she was strange if she told him she preferred to be in places where there weren’t that many people, or buildings. That was one reason she had gone into the field of study that she had chosen in college. As a marine biologist, she could escape from the mad rush of urban life and spend most of her time either in a lab or on a research ship.
“No, thank you,” Makayla finally replied when she realized that the driver was waiting for her response. “I’m meeting up with someone.”
“Okay,” the driver replied.
He finally took the hint that she wasn’t a very talkative passenger and refocused his attention on the traffic instead of her. She knew she was attractive and was used to drawing men’s attention. It wasn’t that she was a beauty. She wasn’t delusional enough about her looks to think that. It wasn’t until she had overheard a couple of guys talking about her in one of her classes that she finally realized what it was about her that drew attention.
It wasn’t her looks, but her attitude and appearance of aloofness that was like a red flag to guys. They liked the challenge of trying to get her to open up for them. She had never been very social and really didn’t care to be around a lot of people. It had taken a while to finally figure out it was a defense mechanism – a wall between her and the world. Deep down, she knew it was probably because of the way she had been raised. Oh, she didn’t blame her mom. Her mom had enough baggage without Makayla adding to the load. Makayla had learned at an early age that life could suck, and she didn’t want to fall into the same dark hole that her mom had.
Her gaze softened when she thought of her mother. Her mom had been doing so much better since she married Arnie Hanover three years ago. Makayla liked Arnie. He had been there for her mom, supporting her, encouraging her, and calmly waiting until her mom was ready to take control of her own life. It was something that Makayla had secretly wished for through the years, but had doubted would ever happen.
Pushing the memories back into the box that she kept them in, she refocused on the landscape. It took her a moment to realize they were already traveling outside of the city. It would take almost an hour to get to the yacht club. Henry, her grandfather, had offered to pick her up, but Makayla had told him it didn’t make sense for both of them to spend the money to take a taxi to and from the airport. It would give her time to unwind as well.
Makayla leaned her head back and closed her eyes. At twenty-two, she was fortunate enough to be in a better position than most girls her age. Her father had died before she was born, but he had left a trust fund that she had inherited when she turned twenty-one. The fund had grown over the last twenty plus years, and while she wasn’t wealthy by most standards, she had a nice nest egg that had allowed her to focus on her education without having to worry about how she would pay for it. Between the trust fund income and the summer internships that she had worked, she had never had to touch the principal to live on. It also helped that she didn’t need much. When living in a small dorm room or on a research ship, there wasn’t a lot of room for material things.
Makayla opened her eyes when she felt the taxi slow down and turn. She blinked her eyes to clear the gritty tiredness from them. She sat forward when she realized that they were turning into the yacht club.
She quickly fumbled for the information her grandfather had sent her and her passport to show identification to the security guard at the gate. She pressed the button on the window when the guard leaned down to talk to the cab driver.
“I’m here to see Henry Summerlin,” she stated, holding out the documents showing Henry’s membership card and her ID. “He should have notified you that I was coming.”
“Good afternoon, Ms. Summerlin. Welcome to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club,” the security guard greeted in a polite professional tone. He glanced at the documents before returning them to her. “Mr. Summerlin is located in E40. Please go down to the turning circle. It will be located on the third turn. Have a nice day.”
“Thank you,” Makayla murmured, impressed with the efficiency of the guard.
Her gaze swept over the man’s immaculate uniform of dark bluish-gray pressed slacks and white short-sleeved shirt with the emblem of the yacht club on the shoulders. The man’s black hair was cut close to his head, and his dark brown eyes were as warm as his greeting. A small, relaxed smile curved Makayla’s lips. The journey from the airport had been less stressful than she had feared.
Within minutes, the red and white taxi drew to a stop at the beginning of a long dock. She could see the numbers depicting the dock slips in several different languages. She quickly leaned forward and paid the driver before grabbing her carry-on and backpack. She drew in a deep breath, relieved to have finally arrived from Florida, pushed open the door, and stiffly slid out of the taxi.