Big Island Nicole

I was 22 she was 18 or maybe 19. She was gorgeous, hapa girl... Just a Hawaiian mutt of a mix, but she definetely got the good of all the ethnicities she could claim... dark curly hair, toned legs and a petite little body... and a smile and eyes that just beamed a lively hood she really enjoyed, and a personality that matched. I met her where she worked, a local brew haus called Hapa's, through my room mate at the time Nick. Anytime I went there, usually Mondays to listen to Willie K I looked to sit in her section. She knew I would be there. We could talk, to the annoyance of her other customers, about anything and normally we did. She was spoken for though... She dated guys who would never appreciate her...

And so it went on like that for 6 or 8 months. We would laugh and talk and then finally my chance came. A friend of hers told me she had broken it off with her boyfriend a few weeks before and she really wanted a guy who appreciated her. She hinted, more like slapped my dumb Italian ass across the head with a 2 x4, that if I asked, my Big Island Nicole would give me her number and let me take her out. So, towards last call I asked and I got the number...

Not wanting to seem overly eager, my dumbass waited a few days before I called her. No answer, just her voice on a voicemail. I left my message and my number and waited. Two weeks later, I bumped into her room mate and best friend. Something had happened and Nicole had to return to the Big Island. She hoped to be back soon, but was unsure when that would be.

So I waited. Months passed and before I knew it a year had gone by. She still had not returned. Willie K never sounded the same to me again. To this day, 12 years later, there was a sadness I could not explain when I would hear him play, or listen to his albums. It was the memory of my Big Island Nicole that made him a sad memory of Maui for me... At least now I know why.