“Whoa,” Josh called from the back of the motorbike, “Left side, left side… concentrate.”
“Sorry,” I called back over my shoulder as we circled the crossroad shrine on the wrong side. I’m generally pretty good at driving on the opposite side of the road, as they do here in Indonesia, but I still get a little confused when navigating a roundabout.
Josh looked at his watch and yelled, “Can’t you go any faster! I really need to catch Julie before she gets on the ferry to back to Bali. Come on man, crank her open…. Let those horses run.”
Julie, Josh and I had just spent a week at the Treehouse Hostel at Atuh Beach on Nusa Penida. That’s a small island just off Bali. The Beach is quite remote and to get there you need to go on one of the worst paved roads I’ve ever seen, it’s just full of potholes. Actually, there are more potholes than road.
But once you get there, it’s worth it. There’s fabulous white sand, great surfing nearby, and a pristine reef for snorkelling only a hundred yards offshore. Unfortunately, there’s no fancy accommodation there, only a few guesthouses without electricity, built in the trees. Josh and I rented one. We’re both writers and wanted solitude to work on our separate novels, and in the evenings, discuss characters and plot over beer.
The solitude didn’t last long. Julie moved into the Treehouse next door. She was gorgeous and a writer as well. Once she and Josh met, they became inseparable, taking to each other like bees and honey. I felt like a fifth wheel, whenever the three of us got together for supper and drinks. After a while, I just didn’t bother tagging along, I could see there was a serious romance budding. A couple of days later, Josh moved into Julie’s treehouse.
Normally, both Josh and I write on our computers, but the treehouse didn’t have electricity, so we both worked on paper. Having the desk in our place, all to myself, made writing easier; but on the downside, Josh used Julie as his sounding board for his novel, instead of me. I missed that.
Then everything came unglued this morning. I had convinced Josh to go snorkelling with me before lunch, I needed a swim buddy. When we got back, Julie’s Treehouse was empty. Julie had left, checked out without telling him.
That drove Josh crazy! With lost, puppy love, eyes he was cursing and almost crying at the same time. He begged me to take him to the ferry dock so he could catch Julie before she left.
That was about an hour ago, and unfortunately, we arrived two minutes too late. We saw the ferry pushing off from the pier and Josh quickly jumped off the motorbike and ran, yelling at Julie. I stayed behind; I didn’t want to get involved.
Josh looked really dejected when he came back. I tried to comfort him saying, “Josh, I know you loved her, but it was only a summer love, a vacation love… these things never work out in real life.”
He looked at me with a deep hurt in his eyes and said, “You got it all wrong Ted, she ran off with my manuscript!”