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REWARD IF FOUND
OUR HOTEL SITS right on the beach and we can see and smell the ocean from the small
open-air lobby. We’re greeted with alohas and more leis. Olly gives his to me so that I
now have three layered around my neck. A bellhop in a bright yellow-and- white Hawaiian
shirt offers to retrieve our nonexistent luggage. Olly makes a noise about our baggage
coming later and steers us around him before he can question us further.
I nudge Olly toward the check-in counter and give him our paperwork.
“Welcome to Maui, Mr. and Mrs. Whittier,” says the woman at the desk. He doesn’t
correct her mistake, just pulls me closer and gives me a loud smack on the lips.
“Mahalo very much,” he says, grinning wildly.
“You’ll be joining us for…two nights.”
Olly looks to me for confirmation and I nod.
A few keystrokes later the woman tells us that, though it’s still early, our room is
already ready. She gives us a key and property map and tells us about the complimentary
continental breakfast buffet.
“Enjoy your honeymoon!” She winks and sends us on our way.
*
The room is small, very small, and decorated much like the lobby, with teak furniture and
large pictures of bright tropical flowers. Our balcony—called a lanai—overlooks a small
garden and a parking lot.
From the center of the room, I turn a 360 to see what’s considered necessary in a
temporary home—television, a small fridge, an enormous closet, a desk and chair. I turn
another 360 trying to figure out what’s missing.
“Olly, where are our beds? Where do we sleep?”
He looks momentarily confused until he spots something. “Oh, you mean this?” He
walks over to what I thought was an enormous closet, grips the two handles near the top
and pulls to reveal a bed. “Voilà,” he says. “The very model of modern-day, space-saving
efficiency. The height of style and comfort, of convenience and practicality. I give you the
Murphy bed.”
“Who is Murphy?” I ask, still surprised that a bed came out of the wall.
“The inventor of this bed,” he says, winking.
With the bed unfolded, the room feels even smaller. We both stare at it for longer than
is strictly necessary. Olly turns to look at me. I’m blushing even before he says:
“Just the one bed.” His voice is neutral, but his eyes aren’t. The look in his eyes makes