Perseverance

While the crashing waves soothed Hank’s mind, the warm sand beneath and the bright sun above swaddled him into a moment’s rest. There was nothing quite like a warm beach in Hawaii to comfort the soul and set it free.

The crosswinds blew in gentle gusts across the sand and the still and quiet seemed suspended in time. A few deep breaths and he was almost lost to sleep when the sound of familiar footsteps roused him. He heard the plop of his friend Jerry sit down and squinted as he looked up to see an arm extending a cool bottle of iced tea in his direction.

“Nice. Thanks for getting that,” Hank said as he rolled up to take the drink from Jerry’s hand.

“Sure thing. Nothing like a fresh beverage and a cool breeze on your face to top off a day at the beach.” Jerry took a swig of his iced tea and let out a satisfied sound.

Jerry was the easygoing type, adaptable to any situation and quite content to spend a whole day—and the day after and the day after that and so on—doing nothing on the beach. Hank admired that. For himself, it seemed the possibilities of the future and the responsibilities of the present never seemed to fully let go of their grip. A day swaddled in the ocean sun was just what he needed to unwind, but as soon as his feet hit the pavement towards their place, his busy mind was set in motion again. “You know that it’s been six months already since we got here?” Hank mused.

“Seems like a lifetime ago, though. It’s amazing we made it this far, huh?” Jerry wondered. “Can’t say I have any complaints.” He leaned back and placed his hands behind his head. “I think I could do this forever.”

Hank half-smiled and looked out towards the ocean. Although it had its ways of comfort, today the endless horizon just reminded him of the endless job hunting they had been doing since they had arrived. It seemed like they were in a state of limbo with no prospects to lead them to a destination. “Yeah, I guess,” he replied. “I keep thinking about how much longer we have left, though. Y’know?”

Hank looked back at Jerry, more seriously than Jerry expected. “Something the matter?” he asked as he sat up. “What’s on your mind?”

“We came here with nothing but our savings and dreams of a fresh start, and all the time off was nice and all, but our savings won’t last forever. What are we gonna do if we don’t get jobs?”

“Ah, that again?” Jerry resumed his restful pose. “Everything’s gonna work out in its own time. No worries! Jerry threw up his hand in the shape of a y with his best pidgin accent. “Shaka, brah. Tomorrow’s a new day. We’ve got that job fair to go to, remember? Let tomorrow worry about itself and just enjoy the rest of the day! We’ve done all the prep we can do.”

Hank nodded, thankful that his friend was there to slow him down when his mind raced forward. If he hadn’t been there this whole time, Hank would have never made it this far. He thought back to the circumstances that brought them here. Hank had lost everything important to him in a fiery accident—he shook his head like an etch-a-sketch to erase the thought. After that, the series of temporary work he acquired had threatened to suck out the last breaths of life he was willing to breathe. When Jerry, who had no family of his own to rely on anymore either, had suggested they start afresh somewhere new, Hawai’i was what they decided on. Each had become the other’s support through this adventure—Jerry by way of calm and optimism, and Hank through pragmatic perseverance.

Roused from his thoughts by the sweat dripping on his skin from the bottle of iced tea, Hank cracked it open and lifted it to salute his friend. “Shoots. Here’s to a good day tomorrow.”

_____________________________________________

The job fair was going as good as a job fair could go, but it was exhausting. “I didn’t realize how much stamina it would take to present myself over and over to all of these prospective employers,” Hank observed.

“Yeah, but we have a few potential interviews later, so our investment may pay off! All in good time, my friend. Keep up that persevering spirit!”

Hank thought about the persevering spirit. Six months of job hunting here in Hawaii after a year of uncertainty and temporary gigs on the mainland. How long do you hold on to hope before you give up, knowing that at any moment the answers could come?

As the duo made their way down the hall to the final cluster of booths, a man in a light grey suit approached them. “Howzit! You guys look like you’ve almost made it through all the booths, but I haven’t seen you yet! My name is Pearson, and I am a recruiter for a local estate. I’m just about to wrap up my work here today, and I thought I’d make some rounds really quick to recruit anyone I’d missed. If you’d like to find out more about the work available with us, come to our orientation on Thursday. We’ve recruited a crew of candidates, and we’ll be taking that day to interview you and assess your skills.”

He paused as the duo stared blankly at him. “We’d like to give you a chance to rest up and be at your best. That’s why we’re not interviewing today.”

“Do we need to meet any requirements in order to attend?” Hank inquired.

“Consider talking with me the only qualification you need.” Mr. Pearson smiled. “Here’s the address. Just give them my name when you arrive.”

As they accepted the business card, the man gave Hank a pat on shoulder. “Keep at it, Hank, you’re closer now than ever to finding what you’re looking for.” And with that, the man in grey sauntered off. Hank wondered why he didn’t have a booth.

“I guess that guy doesn’t have a booth?” Jerry mused. “Maybe he just prefers to be mobile to get his job done faster.”

“Just what I was thinking. I wonder why he approached us?”

“Who cares? He probably just needs to get his quota filled before the end of the day. We’ve got another interview geared up for Thursday!”

“Yeah, I guess so. Where is this place, anyway?”

_____________________________________________

Thursday had arrived, and Hank and Jerry were standing at the front of the gate to what appeared to be an expensive and handsome estate. “Did that guy mention us being invited to a mansion?” Hank looked at Jerry. “No, right? Like, I’m not dreaming here…THIS is where we’re being interviewed?”

“Yeah, what a great break for us, huh?” Jerry never lost his optimism. “I wonder what kind of work they’ll have us do here.”

They passed through the gates after saying that Pearson had invited them, and they were led up to the house. Upon entering the atrium, the guys found twenty other people had gathered. They were informed that they were going to go on a tour, and a small orientation was being given about what would happen throughout the day.

Jerry, with a short attention span as always, left the orientation and slipped quietly to towards a posh office on the left. When Hank noticed, he quickly slipped away to follow. “Hey—psst, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Just give me a second. I want to check out the workings of the owner’s life. You know, what does a successful person like this keep on his desk? We’re not missing anything important right now, anyway.”

Hank rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, your curiosity may jeopardize both of our job opportunities! Check it out later when we are hired and can actually ask the owner about his life.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Jerry loved taking risks. “We’ll catch up with the group in a minute. If you really are worried about our job security, why don’t you keep your eye on the door to see if anyone is coming.”

Hank usually loved his friend’s adventurous side because it sparked his own love of exploration and adventure, but this was one of those times he felt the risk outweighed the benefits. Still, he knew that Jerry was immovable once his curiosity was piqued, so he went to the door as asked. After all of the interviews on Tuesday, he wondered if this would be their final chance to get a job.

Just then Jerry exclaimed, “Hey, Hank, look at this little black book! It seems to be a collection of memos regarding a family inheritance!”

Hank, not even mildly stirred to interest, kept his eyes on the group. “I’m sure it’s not quite that spectacular.”

“This little book is like a draft of a will or something. It even has a ledger of assets and short letters towards the future heir…like somebody wanted to pass on more than just their wealth.”

“Sure. Hey, Jerry, they’re heading out of the atrium. We gotta go.” Hank turned away from the door to see that Jerry had picked up the book and was reading with intense focus. “JERRY!”

“HANK!” Jerry looked up suddenly. “Your name is in this!”

“What?” Hank came over and examined closely where Jerry was pointing. “Hank Gardner. Isn’t that your name?”



“Yeah.”

“You could be heir to an entire fortune!”

“What? I’m sure that’s not what this means.”

“You bet it is, look! ‘Hank Gardner shall inherit the estate at the age of 30 and become director of the business, keeping in mind all that follows.’”

Hank was doubtful. “I mean, a simple Google search turns up plenty of people with the same name. So that doesn’t mean anything. And I’m still 22.”

“Yeah, but what are the chances that this book exists in the home that you’ve been invited to…and THAT because a random recruiter talked to you at a job fair? What if it wasn’t chance that he talked to you? What if they traced you to Hawaii and they’ve been looking for you? You could be a long-lost heir!” Jerry was talking faster and louder in his excitement.

Hank lowered his voice. “Shh. All the same, don’t you think they’d approach me more directly about it? Why the whole charade of a job interview? What if…”

“Mr. Hank.”

Hank swung around, startled, to see a man standing in the office doorway. His stomach leapt into his chest at the fear of being caught snooping and by the fleeting thought that this man might know his name because he really was an heir.

“I see you’ve found the book.”

“Wh-what?” mumbled Hank. “No, sir, we didn’t find anything really. I mean, we weren’t really looking. We just came in to admire the room for a bit, but we’re really sorry. We’ll get going right away.”

“No, have a seat,” the man replied as he gestured toward the chairs. “You’re not in trouble. At some point today I would have brought you into this office anyway.” As the man eased into his chair, Hank observed that he appeared to be a local in his 40s with an easy-going manner…or maybe that was just the floral aloha shirt.

The man looked Hank in the eye and began, “I have spent a great deal of time wondering how to bring this up, but your friend here already did. You are an heir to everything I own, and, starting today, you have the opportunity to work for me. Let me give you this.” He reached out and handed Hank a debit card. "This account has $20,000 dollars in it, and your future depends largely upon how you choose to use it.”