Mary: San Diego

November 7th, 2008: Josh and I touched down at San Diego International Airport early this morning and unlike Yoshida I have nothing but positive things to say about the flying experience, though the fact that Josh and I were the only passengers and we whiled away the flight by sipping champagne and napping in fully reclined chairs might have had a little something to do with it. If this is life as a fugitive, I wish I had been wanted for a crime I didn't commit a long time ago.

After our arrival we argued over what car to rent. I wanted a BMW or Mercedes Benz- something that wouldn't attract attention, while Josh insisted on attempting to locate a "Lotus Esprit" based on the merits it displayed in, as he put it, "That Bond movie where it turned into a submarine". I'm embarrassed to reveal how long we argued over the issue standing on the tarmac, but eventually we decided to compromise, find some middle ground and do what I said.

Our five-star hotel was located right on a curved, perfectly manicured, golden beach- the Pacific's blue water glittering alluringly right outside our bedroom windows. Once the valet parked the Benz I headed straight to my room, changed into my swimsuit and wandered out onto the beach to make phone calls and soak up the sunshine, the temperature a perfectly comfortable seventy-four degrees. Meanwhile, Josh went to his room, closed the curtains, turned off the lights and began playing video games for four straight hours, grudgingly agreeing to pause at one o'clock to meet me for lunch.

By the time I sat down at our table at the hotel's poolside restaurant I had secured two meetings for later that day with representatives from the Coast Guard and the shipping company that owned the Liberator. Josh- fifteen minutes late for our lunch- staggered out of the hotel shielding his eyes and snarling at the sun. Over lunch he touted his recent war record in Halo, gloating over his virtual victories against what I assumed were random, hooky-playing fourteen year-olds in other parts of the world.

"I'm just impressed that when you stepped outside you didn't burst into flames."

"Don't jinx me." He washed down the last of his enchiladas with a long gulp from a margarita and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "You want me to go along to these meetings? Nice swimsuit, by the way. I was wondering if you ever wore anything but business suits."

I sighed. "See, you started out doing great there, but then you kept talking. Next time you should shut up a bit earlier."

"Whenabouts? The jinx part, the meetings part, the-"

"The sooner the better. I'll go to the first one alone. It's a meeting with the Coast Guard and their rep sounded a touch bland for your tastes." I rose from the table, preparing to go back to my room and change for my appointments. "In the meantime you can do battle with your prepubescent nemeses."

Josh waved me off. "Those little bastards can shoot the wings off a fly. The younger the tougher in video games. You pray you get matched up with someone old in their late-thirties or-" He stopped, the realization dawning on his face. "Um. This was one of those stop-talking times, wasn't it?"

"And how old do you think I am, exactly?" I crossed my arms, subconsciously reaching for the gun that was usually there.

To his credit Josh only looked flustered for a moment, then stood up and looked me right in the eye. "The right age. I look at you and think... you're just right, that's all." I kept expecting him to say something else or break eye contact, but he just kept looking right at me. Finally the bus boy lumbered up and started clearing our table, mumbling that other customers were waiting to eat.

As I made my own excuses and began heading up to my room, Josh said behind me, "Is this going to be one of those things where you write a post about it and you saw it totally different from how I thought it was?"

"I don't know what it was."

He took a moment, then nodded and fled to the outdoor bar, braving the "elements" for the sake of another margarita. I went to my room, changed and left for my first appointment.