Mon Unexpected Travel Buddies

The "Ideal" Type

There was only a day left until Payton had to leave. The pair agreed to visit a wildlife conservation center to immerse themselves in the bewildering beauty of Mother Nature, and to put in some volunteer work. The center is also known to be the temporary home of the critically endangered Hawksbill turtles. Both Monisha and Payton claim to adore turtles. And although informed of animal rights, both have no experience in animal welfare. They were invested in making their trip out-of-the-ordinary, so they thought: what better way to end the trip than by tending to baby turtles?

The center was in a remote location roughly an hour away from their resort. The public transportation available to them rarely travelled to the area. They could rent a car, but there was unexpectedly a lot of documentation required for it. Seeing that it would be difficult for them to rent a car to drive, they established it would be better for them to hire a private car with the inclusion of a driver. They put in a request for the driver to pick them up after lunch.

"To be honest, I'm bummed about having to go back to Seoul tomorrow." Payton did seem like he had been 'psyched out' the whole morning. He skipped his usual heavy breakfast, and he wasn't cracking jokes one after the other.

"So that's what this is about. I figured you weren't yourself." Monisha also noticed he was teasing her less since they left the dive shop. She didn't let it bother her, but she knew then he wasn't in the right headspace.

"My vacation hasn't ended but I already have the post-holiday blues," Payton sighed. "The only therapy I know for this is to extend my stay."

He jerked his head towards the front desk of the resort. He was seriously considering stretching out his holiday. Monisha watched him look aimlessly towards that direction as they sat across each other in the lobby, waiting for their hired car.

"You can't," uttered Monisha in the sternest way her jovial self could. She has always had a great sense of responsibility and commitment towards work—it shows in her work ethic. "You told me before that this trip alone is already a headache for your manager."

"Well, I think this one's going to be my headache." Payton raised his brows as if pointing towards the man that stepped out of the black sedan, walking towards them.

"Mr. Lee... and Ms. Osman?" inquired the towering, bronze-skinned beefcake in a buttoned floral shirt that looked like it was two sizes too small for him and his arms without a doubt.

"Yes, and you must be... late?" Payton could only see his reflection from this man's Ray-Bans. He had to move his peering eyes away, then found himself fixated on this man's chest that appeared to be ripping its way out. Is he for real? He didn't think this was appropriate clothing at all.

"I'm Tama, your chauffeur this afternoon. I'm sorry, but I just started a week ago, so I got lost on my way here," apologized their hired driver.

Monisha giggled at the interaction. She has high expectations that this would turn things around, especially for Payton. She wants him to have a lot of fun on their last day together. After all, he's made this trip nothing but extraordinarily fun for her, even though she’s only presented him with inconveniences one after the other.

"Beautiful lady," said Tama as he opened the car door for Monisha. They arrived at the parking lot of their destination. He steps away as she gets out of the car.

"Aren't you going to hold the door for me too?" Payton remarked sarcastically. "I paid for half; I should at least be getting the same kind of service the 'beautiful lady' gets."

Monisha breaks into laughter, and as it fades it turns into a smile as she looks towards Tama. He smiles back at her, and, perhaps only out of habit, winks. This was Payton’s observation.

Wait. There it is again: the tension. But before Payton could even think about it for long, Monisha grabs him by the arm. They didn't have much time to waste, and they had a lot to check off their to-do list. One top of their list: rescue injured turtles, and ignorantly be astonished about coconut crabs.

“You should tag along, Tama!” was the cue to Monisha’s scheme.

Now Tama wasn’t the type to turn down a lady’s offer, but he was certain that it wasn’t included in the package they paid for. They need to pay extra for a tour guide is how he strongly felt about the proposal. Not that Monisha intended for him to be their tour guide, but he was simple-minded, and he was only there to do business.

“I can call the office and ask if you can change your package,” phrased Tama professionally.

“Sorry, change the package to what?” a puzzled Monisha asked.

“To include a tour guide,” he beamed.

Payton felt a rush of dopamine throughout his body. He couldn’t hide his joyous, victorious look. He didn’t understand what overcame him, but it was a moment of euphoria—he was transported to sporadic short-lived moments of winning a war, being awarded a gold medal, and being crowned a king.

“I don’t mean as a tour guide! I just meant as a new acquaintance,” was Monisha’s forthright opinion that pulled Payton out of his trance. He was hauled so roughly he felt his soul crash into his physical being. His body was aching, and his blood was boiling.

Why does she want to hang around with this annoying musclehead?

Of course, Payton knew that their driver was no ‘musclehead’. He appeared a decent man, and carried himself professionally. Heck, he wasn’t as painful to talk to compared to their diving instructor who couldn’t make up his mind about his accent. But something about Tama was getting on Payton’s nerves.

“Let’s not waste time negotiating. We’re not paying extra for him to come with us. If he doesn’t want to, he has the right not to,” Payton finally breaks his silence.

Monisha glanced at a sulky Payton. She wasn’t just going to give up. But she thought it best to terminate the plan prematurely and focus instead on ticking off everything on their to-do list. There’s another day to hang-out with Tama, and potentially get to know him more.

The two proceeded to queue at the information center. They needed to pay the entrance fee and grab a mini map of the site. They promised Tama they would be back in two to three hours.

"How would you describe your ideal type?"

"He has to be a gentle soul."

The two were taking a break from the scorching heat and the disappointment. They were not any help to the turtles; they were inexperienced and posed a risk to them instead. They also scared away the crabs by gushing about how they had never seen anything as big as them. All they could do was walk around and take bad photos of animals behind fences. Alternatively, they were quenching their thirsts while observing a couple that queued for Iced Americanos from the same food truck they bought from. The girl had no remarkable features, they mused, but the guy looked like he only ever did upper chest exercises in the gym. Was it a trend on the island?

"No. I meant physically." Payton looked pensive for a moment, the paper straw resting on his lower lip.

Monisha dragged her chair closer to Payton. She leaned forward, then pressed herself even closer, incidentally sinking his slender yet toned arm in between her rather full bosom. "I like them busty," she whispered. "What about you?"

He nearly saw the doorway to heaven, Payton thought, as he choked on a sip of his bitter drink. He coughed several times, and finally managed to clear his throat.

"M-me too."