He stepped through the door into a perfume of flowers and burnt jet
fuel. White clouds ballooned over green mountain ridges. Heat waves
eddied on the tarmac. The passengers moved quickly into the terminal
and dispersed.
A young woman with brown skin and black hair, dressed in shorts and
halter top, held a sign that read: Polynesian Paradise Adventures. She
put a lei around Oliver's neck and directed him to a bus where he
waited half an hour while other vacationers collected their luggage and
boarded in small groups. The flowers in his lei were white with yellow
centers. They had the same sweet smell that had greeted him at the
airplane door. "Plumeria," the hostess told him.
The bus passed through an industrial area and then along the shore by
several blocks of downtown business buildings, a marina, a park, and a
large shopping mall. They entered an avenue congested with high-rise
hotels and condominiums. "Waikiki," the hostess announced. The bus
stopped in front of a nondescript hotel, and the hostess wished them a
good vacation. "You have your discount coupons," she said.
"Where's the beach?" someone called.
"Over there." She pointed across an avenue choked with cars, taxis, and
buses.
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