Tim Clinton - Why You Do the Things You Do: The Secret to Healthy Relationships

Anyone who goes too far alone... goes mad.

JEWISH PROVERB

W here have you been? Sandras voice was harsh and accusing. Do you have any idea how late you are?

A thirty-four-year-old mother of two, Sandra had bright blue eyes and brown, highlighted hair. She was wearing her new bathing suit and a bright floral cover-up as she scolded her husband, Mike, who stood framed in the hotel-room doorway, his expression both taken aback and laced with weariness. Had they been at home in Virginia, he would have expected to be accosted at the door like this; here, though, he had expected a truce.

You see, he and Sandra were in Hawaiia perk of Mikes success. Whats more, it was February, and much of America was locked in ice and snow. Virginia had been pitched into a deep freeze, cursed by unusually icy temperatures and whipped by nail-sharp winds. Had he thought it would make a difference, Mike would have pointed outagainthat they were missing all that and that the world they were in was perfumed by orchids, hibiscus, and royal tuberoses, fragrances carried along by warm, balmy sea breezes.

They were at a luxury hotel on Poipu Beach, Kauai, an island Mike loved. He was a computer systems engineer whod decided a decade earlier to go into computer salesand he was good at it. Every year since then, hed made his numbers, and Sandra had accompanied him on one of these award trips. Last year it had been a week in Cancun, the year before some resort in the Dominican Republic, and next yearaccording to the rumorsa seven-day Caribbean cruise.

Why isnt she happy? Mike wondered incredulously. How can she not be happyin Hawaii? The place even smells happy.

Sandra herself believed she should be happy on her vacation. But she wasnt. And the longer shed waited for Mike, the less happy shed becomeand the angrier. After all, what good was it to be in a place like Kauai and spend it alone? Well, okay, she wasnt always alone, but she might as well be. Like this morning, when they were scheduled to go snorkeling. A boat was leaving in less than fifteen minutes. And only now did Mike show up. And he knew how much she loved to snorkel. The first time shed gone was nearly six years ago when the award trip was to the Virgin Islands. Since then, snorkeling, when offered, had been the highlight of the trips for her. And hed ignored all that and been late too late for them to go. Why? Because of a stupid meeting. A hastily called thing that had already interrupted their lanai breakfast buffet and now threatened to ruin not only her afternoon but her whole Hawaii experience.