Big Island

Tiffany arrived on Hawai’i Island, otherwise known as the Big Island; her sense of humour, though dry, made her pick the Island she did over the seven other islands of the Island, bringing a dry smile to her face. Where else is a big fat, shapeless British girl supposed to go for her forced vacation if not to the big island? She had to travel for over 19 hours to get there and was already very cranky. The flight was from London to California, approximately 11 hours, and California to Hawai’i was another five hours 40 mins. The extra two hours were spent in California getting the aircraft checked and stuff that only the pilot understood and had tried explaining to a disinterested Tiffany.

Tiffany Windsor wasn’t ready for the beautiful view she witnessed as her plane landed. There are no direct flights to Hawai’i from the U.K. It was a privately chartered plane that brought her in; aside from the crew, she had her assistant and her best friend on board.

The death of her mother was still fresh. Tiffany was still grieving, but she knew that if she didn’t follow the instructions her mother left as conditions for collecting her inheritance, all of it would go to charity. Not as if Tiffany cared; the money in her trust fund would be okay for her to live well, but according to her Friend Sophie, why leave what is yours to charity when it can provide you with an extraordinary life?

Her private plane landed at the Kona International Airport. Getting through customs didn’t take long, and for this, she was glad; her best friend Sophie was busy taking selfies, but Tiffany wasn’t up to it. So it was with enormous relief that she waved when she saw the chauffeur holding a placard with her name. She was glad that she gave her assistant Beth the go-ahead to put everything that would make their holiday worthwhile together.

As soon as they entered the limousine, Tiffany allowed herself the luxury of a nap. She heard the chauffeur telling Sophie that their hotel accommodation was very close to the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

The drive to their hotel from the airport was about two hours, and she slept all through; Sophie’s nudge woke her up.

The hotel staff services were efficient, and in less than fifteen minutes, she was already in her apart hotel when Beth was making reservations; she wasn’t sure she was going to like it but walking to the place and seeing the beautiful view from the windows she instantly fell in love with it.

They settle into their rooms, each to one since it has three bedrooms and a very spacious lounge. Sophie and Beth dropped their luggage in their rooms before they went to Tiffany’s room to assist her in unpacking. Beth put away Tiffany’s clothes into the different closets made available for just that. Sophie noticed that Tiffany seemed to be far away. She hoped it wasn’t as if she was going moody once again, the pensive look on her face was beginning to make both Beth and Sophie, but then suddenly, she smiled and nodded her head several times.

Beth and Sophie had known Tiffany for over a decade, and that look meant nothing but mischief. Still, they waited to know that Tiffany only shared when she was ready.

‘Sophie, you are going to be me for the next four weeks,’ Tiffany blurted out and watched as a look of total disbelief took over Sophie’s face.

‘The last time I took a public picture was seven years ago when my father died’…. Tiffany remembered how hurtful it was to lose her father. He had died in a car crash; the irony was that he was a car racer for over twenty years, and then he waited until after retirement when he had planned to go on a world cruise with his wife and daughter to get himself killed in a crash just a week to the trip. Tiffany knew neither she nor her mother ever got over the loss; they had different ways of showing it. While her mother plunged herself into creating beautiful designs in the fashion world, a career she had been in just as long as her late father had been a car racer. Tiffany, on the other hand, dropped out of school and refused to do anything except indulge in comfort eating. The more she abandoned it, the bigger she became, and so over the years, beautiful slender Tiffany became unrecognizable as her beauty got lost in wads of flesh….

‘So, no one will know I am me; I don’t want to deal with reporters just in case word gets out that I am on this island. So, you are me, and I am you.

As Sophie tried to argue, Tiffany shushed her and walked out of the room to the lounge, saying as she went, ‘I need a drink.’

In the same hotel, Santiago Pierre was on his bed. He had arrived three days earlier but hadn’t stepped out of his bedroom. He was still grieving; he hadn’t lost anyone to the cruel hands of death. He had lost his model girlfriend to a wealthier man because she had lost her job when millionaire Vanessa Windsor had died earlier in the year. According to her, Tiffany, the spoilt brat of a child that is the only surviving heiress, had told them to fold up because she believed the devotion and dedication of her mother to the business was what killed her less than eight years after her father.

Yes, he knew she must be going through deep sadness, significantly so when her mother had slumped and died while working; however, throwing workers out on the street didn’t make any sense to him.

He heard from the grapevine that she was going to be coming to this island for about a month, and he was determined to make her realise that life didn’t revolve around just her.

For his plans to be a success, he had even volunteered to assist in the gymnasium within the premises of the hotel—knowing fully well that the daughter of the late beautiful Vanessa Windsor would be a health and fitness freak.

The knock on his door made him get up to check who was there; when he opened the door, it was the bearer of good news, a cousin-in-law who worked at the hotel came to tell that the heiress had arrived with two other ladies and that they were lodged in the most expensive three-bedroom suite in the hotel.

He thanked him and decided it was time to freshen up and get to the gym; checking his time, he saw that it was mid-afternoon. The likelihood that Tiffany and her friends would want to check out all the amenities on the hotel grounds today couldn’t be ruled out.

Santiago had only spent twenty minutes when he turned around to see the three girls walk into the gym; the minute he saw the slender one with blonde hair, he sensed she was the heiress; the other two, he guessed, were her friends or staff.

If the circumstances had been different, he would have probably liked her but knowing she indirectly caused the breakup of a relationship of over five years, he just couldn’t. He knew better than to show how displeased he was with her in public but when she came close and introduced herself. He knew it was obvious he didn’t like her; however, he felt more at ease with the plump one. Her eyes looked kind, and she was beautiful. If only she could lose just a few pounds.

Tiffany instantly liked the Santiago guy; she guessed he should be Spanish, and to make conversation, she asked him whether he was Spanish.

‘Spanish mother, French father, but I am an American; my name means Saint James, my dear.

He ignored Sophie, whom he had mistaken for Tiffany because she introduced herself as Tiffany. Looking directly at Tiffany, who has been introduced as Sophie, he continued, ‘I was named after Saint James the Great, who, according to history, visited and was later buried in the Iberian Peninsula.’

Tiffany noticed that Santiago wasn’t friendly to Sophie, and instantly, she knew that it was because he thought Sophie was her. At that minute, her face lost colour. He noticed and asked her whether she needed to sit down. Without saying a word, she nodded, and he led her to where the seats were. He noticed that the two others wanted to come, but he dissuaded them, and when Tiffany nodded in agreement, Beth and Sophie continued to look around the gym.

Santiago ensured she was sitting before he walked away, only to return a few minutes later with a water bottle. She told him she was okay and didn’t need it, but he insisted, so she opened the water bottle and took a few sips.

He came to sit beside her and looked at Sophie, whom he thought was Tiffany. He asked,’ is she a nice person? Tiffany almost choked on the water she was drinking. She quickly composed herself, and, nodding in the affirmative, she asked, ‘Why would you think otherwise?’

‘I only met Tiffany Windsor today, but those who have known her for years say she is spoilt, selfish, and conceited.

Tiffany looked away so he wouldn’t notice how horrified his unkind words made her. Her response wasn’t more like a whisper, ‘That’s not true!’

‘I know she is your friend, and you probably care about her because you are already used to accepting her spoilt ways. How many years have you known her?

Her response was, ‘all my life.’

Santiago was taken aback by her response feeling it was a bit extreme, whereas, to Tiffany, whom he thought was Sophie, that was nothing but the truth.

When they returned to their room, Tiffany was expecting Sophie to talk about how bad she felt at being neglected by Santiago, but she didn’t seem to mind. It was obvious that she was enjoying her status as Tiffany Windsor.

The weeks went so fast and it was quite interesting for all of them, especially Tiffany, who was enjoying her relationship with the handsome Santiago. He went on all their sightseeing trips from the Hapuna Beach park to the historic Kailua Village and other fun places like Keahou, Kealakekua Bay, and Waimea Santiago always showed he preferred the company of Tiffany, who he thought was Sophie.

The day he told her the reason for disliking Tiffany Windsor so much. He saw tears in her eyes, thinking she was Sophie; he hugged her and said for the umpteen time that Tiffany didn’t deserve her as a friend. He, however, assured her that he was getting over his former girlfriend and that he never knew the trip would do him so much good.

Tiffany, on the other hand, didn’t know how she was going to tell him that losing her mother wasn’t the only reason she shut down her mother’s empire but deep down, even when her father was still around, both always seemed to come after her mother’s business. She also didn’t know how to tell him she had become so fat because she indulged in comfort eating, thinking that it would cause her mother to slow down on work and create time for her. It never happened. Then one day, she got a phone call from her mum’s office saying she had slumped and had been rushed to the hospital, but she was long gone before anyone could help her.

She died of a heart attack, but Tiffany knew her mother had died of a broken heart.

Looking at Santiago judging her friend, thinking she was her, made her feel so guilty, but since Sophie didn’t mind, she kept mute and continued enjoying all the love and attention she was receiving from him. She enjoyed the exercises and the time he dedicated to her. She was also happy when he told her that she had helped him overcome his heartbreak.

Her eating habits improved significantly; within three weeks, she realised she had lost a little over 3kg. She felt a lot healthier as well.

Santiago was a blessing, especially to her. He didn’t mind Beth, but he tolerated Sophie.

Tiffany was the one he liked the most, and he encouraged her to do exercises and cut down on junk food. Tiffany was glad she had allowed Beth to pack gym outfits even though she was so sure she wouldn’t need them, but she ended up practically being in them most times.

The day Santiago invited them to explore the tropical rainforests of Hilo and the Hamakua coasts with him was one expedition she would never forget, not only because that was the day he almost kissed her but because that was the day everything she had built with Santiago came crumbling down.

She had panicked when she saw a Jackson’s chameleon; she wasn't sure what it was, but when she saw three horns on the reptile's head, she screamed and practically jumped into Santiago’s strong arms. The scared chameleon darted away. All would have been fine, but Sophie ran towards her and called out her name, asking if she was okay. A surprised Santiago looked at the two of them as the realisation of their switch game dawned on him. He removed his arms around her, looking from one to the other, shaking his head in disbelief; he turned and walked away.

Tiffany couldn’t sleep all night; she tossed and turned when she decided to see Santiago in the morning to explain to him the reason for their switch.

As early as 7 am, she called Santiago’s room, but it kept ringing, so she decided to call the hotel reception. That was when she was told that Mr. Pierre had left early and returned to California.

Tiffany’s heart felt as if it was being squeezed; she couldn’t respond when the receptionist asked her if that was all she needed to know…….

Two years later, she had just finished addressing hundreds of guests who had come to grace the occasion of the opening of the New York branch of Vanessa’s range of wears which made it the fifth branch, an additional two than what her mother was overseeing when she was alive. The past two years have been so successful. A bit overwhelming, but because Tiffany was smart enough to reemploy all her late mother’s workers, getting the business back on track wasn’t so challenging. The more she got involved, the more she realised she had so much of her mother in her. So many times, she regretted not exchanging contact details with Santiago during that Hawai’i vacation. She looked at her reflection and saw a younger version of her late mother. She was used to everyone always pointing that out, and she didn’t mind. She had dropped to a size twelve, and it felt good.

Tiffany needed a bit of fresh air; as she moved towards the opened double doors, she placed her half-filled glass of wine into the tray of the bartender that walked past. She stepped outside and right into the arms of a man that seemed so familiar but unexpected. She raised her face to see who it was; at the same time, he spoke, ‘congratulations, you deserve a holiday,’ and in his hands were two travel tickets to Hawai’i; she turned around to see Sophie and Beth smiling and nodding in agreement. They both knew about the surprise stunt Santiago had just pulled; she was glad to see him, and she was also glad she didn’t have to explain things.

THE END