Benjamin sat motionless at his table. A Tūī hangs overhead, gorging on Pōhutukawa blossoms. He was insatiable, flitting from one to the next and then back again.
If he had to choose, this spot on the Wellington waterfront, just before the boathouses, was his favourite of any spot anywhere. And he had been manywheres. Benjamin made his living making people happy, or that is how he liked to tell it.
Cinomon, as she liked to be called, came back from the toilet. A faint waft of vomit and coffee left her mouth as she said, “I missed you, Benny. Where have you been hiding?” Her beautiful face was marred by her choices. Benjamin looked at the girl he knew as Sandy. He didn’t feel anything anymore. A bag of oatmeal where his heart used to be, he just said, “Cin, you know me, always downhill, never on the lifts.”
She smiled at him. A deep and empty smile. He saw her give up in that moment. She picked up her brown lightning and looked out at the kids on the beach.
“Do you remember when that was us, Benny?” not looking at him. Sunshine hit her dark brown hair. She was gorgeous. One of the most beautiful people in any room. Sweet, kind, beautiful. The holy trinity of trouble.
“Yeah, Nah, Cin. I’m a different person now. ‘Never look back,’ Just like the song says, bro.”
