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 Sun and Sea 06 A James Gang Story by Mike C

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   "Brenda thinks it has more potential here that just a couple of boats."
Amanda explained, "The island is only two square miles and Bentels own the
top half, and while the north coast, where the resort is, has the no-take
law, the western side, which faces the shallow Bahama straits, does not. 
There's also a small natural harbor there which looks good for a marina.

   "Colin's basically used up his reserve, and there is pressure for him to
sell, but I think they would rather work with us than give it to the banks.
So...  and since Bren was under orders to report here anyways...  she
figured she'll kill two birds with one visit." Amanda sighed.  "A resort! I
like that!  Do you have anything besides maps on board that will tell me
more about the area?"

   I went below and brought up a stack, "Mostly brochures, a Frommers, and
a Vanishing Point Guide to the Bahamas: anecdotal, and quite
anti-big-business, but seems to have a bit of information on everything..."

   "Give it here," Amanda took it, "Go somewhere and...  do whatever you
two do when you're together." She dismissed us.

   "Don't wait up, Mom!" Sherri laughed, taking my hand and leading me on
the dock.

   "Curfew is ten!" Came after us.

   "We'll call if we have to stay over at a seedy motel!"

   "Don't expect the boat to be here if you return late!"

   "I-eee..." I dragged Sherri quickly down the pier.

   We went by Marsh's brightly lit club house and past two more watering
places belonging to other marinas.

   "They must think Yacht Club means the same thing as Bar around here!"

   "Boats and booze are synonymous in Southern Florida.  Even notice how
much drinking is done on boats?"

   "Yeah - sign of wealth...  drunks on a boat!" She laughed.

   I put my arm around her and she snuggled close.

   "I miss being with you," She said quietly.

   "You've had a tough two months."

   "It was hard work and most of the time I was too busy to think too much.
Todd and Kelly were good to me."

   "But they weren't with you this last time."

   "No, the Japan thing came up kind of suddenly.  They were still on their
extended honeymoon with Laura - which they needed so much.  Benetton wanted
a big do for their new store in Nagoya, their last planned megastore in
Japan.  For ethnic reasons, they did not want anyone fair-skinned, blonde
or tall - or too expensive!  I'd just been offered the Polo deal, but it
sounded a fun trip before starting school.  Nine days in exotic Japan!"

   "So you liked it?"

   "Most of it was amazing.  I liked Tokyo a lot."

   "Was that where you landed?"

   "No, our plane took us to Fukuoka, in the south - five girls, two boys
and two photographers.  Benetton wanted us to visit as many of their stores
as we can.  I think they deliberately started at a small store in a small
city to gave us newbies some time to get over the culture shock - the
houses, the people, the food, the clothes...  even their cars drove on the
wrong side.  The Benetton guide was very good, she told us a bit about the
culture, and the history as we went.

   "After that we traveled through some of the prettiest countryside, to
Hiroshima, where Benetton had their first megastore.  Of course we visited
the Peace Memorial...  They had mannequins showing how their flesh was
melting off their body..." She shuddered and leaned against me.

   After a while she resumed, "But that night, they made it up to us by
taking those of us who ate red meat to the steakhouse at the top of the
hotel.  Apparently Hiroshima is trying to outdo Kobe for their beef, so
they brought out like an 80-oz slab of porterhouse, and I tell you, the
thing was a gorgeous pinky red from the fat marbling through it!  You
would've come just looking at it!" She laughed, "So I ate an extra helping
for you!" She turned and kissed me.  "The chef was just amazing, the CARE
he put into his food!  It was cooked on a teppen, just like your friend
Gary this afternoon!  Anyway, the guy, his name was Roo, or something like
that, he charred it on both sides, and cut off slices as it cooked.  I
asked for rare and so I got mine first, and I've never had beef that
tender! And tasty!"

   "Damn, can you hear my stomach rumbling?  And I'm salivating just
listening to you!"

   "Oh, the best part was that he kept the inch-thick hunk of fat, and kept
it sizzling on the griddle all the time.  After we all ate our fill, he
served the sliced up rind, with all the oil rendered out of it, and...  I
don't have words for it...  it was crunchy, tasty and...  just DELICIOUS!
And later, even better..."

   "Even better than Hiroshima beef?"

   "Oh yeah!  That night I had the horniest dream of you!  I had a tatami
room - y'know, a futon without the frame, right on the floor, and it had
the thinnest walls.  I was sure everyone heard me screaming that night!"
She rubbed herself on my arm, "You were SO hot!"

   "And you?"

   "I must been pretty wild too, cos I woke up with my legs wrapped around
the mattress and the blankets, everything!  Then I took a shower, and got
myself off again thinking of you!" She giggled, "And all the time, they
thought I was the biggest prude around!"

   "Remind me to get you some red meat soon!"

   "No, the meat's for YOU!" She kissed me again, "I want a repeat
performance!"

   "Deal, baby." I kissed her sincerely.

   We walked down the wide palm-lined boulevard which was downtown Daytona,
with its dozens of eating and drinking places, now looking a little forlorn
with only a handful of customers in each of them.

   We followed a path and stood at the railing over the water.  "The real
party central is on the other side of the waterway." I pointed, "That is
the real Daytona beach, where they drive the dune buggies and stripped down
jeeps right on the sand.  And where the keg parties and the wet T-shirt
contests are held."

   "You sound like you have first hand experience!"

   "I took Sara down there once - just to be able to say we've done it."

   "You couldn't talk her into competing?"

   "She said she'll do it when her ratings needed a boost." I laughed,
"Although we did a preview later...  So what happened after your sexy
night?"

   "Oh...  The next three days were the busiest...  Osaka, Kyoto, then
Nagoya.  Oh and Kobe too, and the real Kobe beef steak, but it was kinda
anticlimactic...  Heh, anticlimactic, get it?  - cos I didn't have NEARLY
as climactic a dream as when I was in Hiroshima!  Nagoya was like Osaka,
lots of people, and buildings.  But then in the middle of the business
district, you see a shrine, all quiet and outer-worldly, complete with a
bubbling brook you can wash you hands, along with the taint of the outside
world, down the drain.  You can even write your problems on a slate, and
then they'll burn it at the end of the day, and poof, no more problems!

   "You'll see Gucci-suits walking and talking with ladies in traditional
kimonos, or the wildest tattoos and piercings next to them.  The most
amazing was a large chrome and steel office building, and right behind it,
on a hill, was the Shogun's palace from, like the 13th century.  In that
way, Japan is full of contradictions, but mostly I find they can embrace
both old and new without conflicts - which is something people from the
west have problems with.  Everything need not be black-or-white.  Maybe you
DO need like 3000 years of culture to figure that out!"

   "Or maybe they're not as social-conscious as we are."

   "No...  I don't think that's it.  They're as capitalistic as anyone, and
their society is still very male-centric, but the women just accept it. 
The big-city Japanese are very snobbish, but they do it in a nice way -
it's like, yeah, we know where you're coming from: we don't buy it, but
we're too cool to tell you about it!"

   "And you don't mind?"

   "Hell, no!  If they want to treat me like royalty so they can feel
superior, then more power to them!  Although most of the Japanese I meet
outside of the cities are genuinely friendly and warm."

   "So you did your big bash in Nagoya, that's it?"

   "Oh no!  After the grand opening, Mr Benetton took us on the Bullet
train all the way to Sapporo - that's where their northern-most store is.
And, of course, home of the Instant Noodle!  That's where they supposedly
invented miso ramen and we had something called Okinomi Aki there.  A weird
omelet with a crepe on it, and on that they pile veggies, a bit of meat,
and noodles, then this not-quite-tasty sauce is poured over it.  Not one of
my favorites." She leaned close and whispered, "Guess which meal was my
favorite?" She pulled my head down and kissed me then gently tasted me with
her tongue.  "I get SO wet each time I just think about it!" She looked
around, "Is there a law here that says you can't put your arm around me and
touch me a little?"

   "Probably, but..." I grazed her breast with my hand and she held it
tight against herself.

   "Mmmm, I can sort of empathize with the wet T-shirt contest...  There is
something naughty and delicious with flirting with the law!" Then she
stopped and gasped, "Oh my god!  I'm turning into Amanda!"

   "No...  I don't feel that at all...  Maybe if I try the other side?"

   "Mmmm, here..." She leaned on the railing and tugged me behind her, "Now
you can put both hands on me...  Yeah..." She wiggled her ass on me a bit,
"This is a fine way to hang out!"

   "Hmmm, and you're right, you feel twice as delicious now!"

   "Or twice like Mandie!" She leaned back and kissed me, "And you know
this is the second time I've made out in public!"

   "Yeah, if I recall, the first time, you offered to do the sucking
thing..."

   "Mmmm, yeah!  Offer still stands...  Although it'll be a challenge out
in the open like this..." She glanced around, "How 'bout you go over to the
tree there and sort of lean against it...  The bush next to it should hide
me..."

   "I think the cops will want to know why the whole tree is shaking!"

   "If I do it right, it'll only be a minute...  two at most..."

   "I'd rather stay here like this and listen to your adventure."

   "Really?"

   "Really - it's best if we wait a little."

   "Isn't that usually the girl's line?"

   "When you're right, you're right!"

   "You know it's because I am so freaking happy to see you, and to be with
you that it's making me so crazy!"

   "And that's a good thing - let's keep it that way."

   "Yeah, when you're right, you're irresistible!" She giggled and gave me
another kiss.  "Where was I?"

   "Sapporo and ramen."

   "Yeah, so...  oh, and the bullet train is amazing, they travel the
length of Japan and they're never more than 5 minutes early or late. 
Unbelievably punctual, and that's one reason they can feel so frigging
superior to us!  The trains are wonderfully clean and comfortable too!  We
saw a couple of guys from Australia and they had each bought a weekly pass.
They sleep on the train, and wherever the train is when they wake, the
spend the day touring, then they get on the train again to spend the night.
The pass is like $300, but they can spend that just for a night's stay in
the larger cities...

   "And so, of course there's the Sapporo Beer, they're famous because of
the water there, which flows out of the ground at a place called Jozankei,
just a bit outside of the city.  There are piped-in hot spring baths in
town, and at the hotels, but you can go to the top of the valley where the
water is boiling up from cracks in the earth, and, over the centuries, the
water has worn holes in the ground and they are like natural bathtubs.  The
Japanese just strip and wade into them - too hot?  Just try the ones
further downstream!

   "They also drop whole raw eggs in the water at the top, and by the time
they reach the bottom, they are cooked!  Maybe they have signs saying
'runny, or 'medium' or 'hard-boiled'!" She laughed, "But they'd be in
Japanese and I wouldn't understand it!  And sometimes the eggs get lost
when they tumble into the holes, but it's considered great luck if you find
one at the bottom of one.

   "The next day we again took the Bullet to Mt Fuji for some promo shots
at the new motorway, in preparation for the Grand Prix.  In the afternoon
we visited Hakone, and the lake where Gary Ozawa's great-great-grand-uncle
had his concubines.  We were supposed to do shots with Fuji in the
background but it was overcast all day.

   "So the last 2 days we were in Tokyo, which is like a world unto itself.
The streets are busy 24/7, lights and madness everywhere.  That's where Mr
Benetton took us to eat fugu sushi, which is like poisonous all over, but
only 30% of it is really fatal.  The chefs have to go to fugu school for 2
years before they're even allowed to touch one!  I guess we were lucky cos
nobody in our party died from it, although we all had heart attacks when we
saw the bill!  It was a million yen, which works out to like $110 per
person!

   "The guys went clubbing and I stayed to wander the ginza.  I had a 'Lost
in Translation' moment there, with 'Bladerunner' thrown in - everything was
like a comic book, from what they were wearing, to the music and the noise.
I have never seen or felt anything so alien!  They have entire streets
lined with vending machines that sells everything - even TV-sets and
umbrellas!  You can order an entire meal - you push buttons on a menu, pay,
and pick it up around the corner where they actually cook and package it!
And then the video arcades - elbow to elbow kids, and the stuff is nothing
like what's over here.  And in the back is this huge room packed with
pachenko machines, like plinko on the TV game shows, where you drop little
metal balls and see it bounce off nail as it goes to the bottom.  There
were thousands, I mean literally THOUSANDS of people playing it!

   "But I will tell you, the place is spotless, nobody spits or throws
anything on the ground.  I bet if you wanted to, you could sleep right on
the sidewalk, and they'll probably walk around you and nod and smile.  It's
just so different from what everything I thought a big city was like!"

   "Let's head back now," She said after a pause, "The wind's picking up."

   We started walking and she tucked herself under my arm.  "Make sure you
keep your hands on me so I don't catch a cold..." She grinned up at me,
"Ahh yeah,...  So I went to bed early cos I was taking a tour at 5am the
next day to see the fish market.  Imagine an entire street of warehouses,
full of fresh caught seafood, mostly blue tuna, and the buyers wander
through, checking them out.  They have a tiny scalpel which they use to
take slivers of meat from the tail of the fish, for tasting.  We had to
watch in every direction; they were so hectic, and people were constantly
crashing through with wheelbarrows and mini-golf-carts.  Then afterwards
they took us to a tiny shop next door, where we had the same fish as
sashimi!  Imagine!  Breakfast at 7 am, on fresh-caught tuna!

   "Now we get to the last little bit of my story.  We get to the big
airport at Narito, and we had 3 hours before our flight, and the press was
everywhere trying to get the last few shots in.  I checked in and, in one
side of the waiting area, they have a capsule hotel...  How can I describe
them?  Think of the drawers at the morgue, for dead bodies, but double the
size.  Yeah, exactly, and for twenty dollars, you can climb in and have a
snooze."

   "Did you try it?"

   "Of course - I KNEW you'd want a first hand report!  It's really clean,
like everything else, and everything smells new - not just washed, but
new-new.  There's a clock radio on a shelf with hand towels and tissue, and
space for a book or two.  There's even a pop down TV and it's not
claustrophobic at all.  I actually went to sleep in it!  Well--" She
whispered, "I went to sleep after I touched myself - I couldn't help it...
I knew I was coming home to you!"



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   (C) Copyright 2001-2008.  MikeC.  All Rights Reserved.  All Reproduction
for fee or profit forbidden.

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