4 Kaua'i Me a River (21 page)

“About eighty.”

“
Eighty
?
That’s bigger than my biggest beach wedding all year.”

“Yeah,
but don’t worry. I’m not gonna ask you to help with it or anything. Because…”
She paused and I heard a drumroll in my head.  “Because I’m asking you to be Moke’s
akua
-mother, his ‘goddess’-mother!”

Judging
from the ‘ta-dah’ in her voice I figured she expected me to squeal in delight.

“
Mahalo
,
I’m so honored.” I said. I clasped my hands to my chest to make up for the lack
of a squeal. In my mind I was wondering what it meant to be someone’s ‘goddess-mother’.
I’d never heard of such a thing, so I had no idea what I’d just signed on for.

“When
should I show up?” I said.

“We’re
going to start around four in the afternoon. Afterwards, Hatch has offered to tap
a keg and lay out some heavy
pu’pu’s
. It’ll be fun.”

I love
the word
pu’pu
. It’s what locals call ‘appetizers.’ Since I deal with
mainlanders who want appetizers at their wedding dinner, I’m used to jumping in
with a clarification when a caterer mentions
pu’pus
and the bride grimaces
in disgust.

“Sounds
great. So eighty people, huh?”

“Yep. And
you and Hatch have both agreed to be Moke’s
akua
-parents. I’m so
excited.” She leaned in for another tight hug.

Hatch had
agreed to be the
akua
-father? Great. I wasn’t sure of what I’d gotten
myself into, but regardless of the job description, I had less than a day to tidy
up a big hole in my relationship fence.

***

Farrah told
me Hatch had gone to work that morning, which meant he’d be off the next two days.
I called his cell.

“Decker,”
he said. There was no way he didn’t know it was me. He’d even programmed in a special
ring tone just for me.

“Hi
‘Decker’,” I said. I regretted it immediately. I tried to come up with a good
save but he jumped in first.

“Hi,
yourself. So, how is Hawaii’s newest heiress doing this fine afternoon?”

Busted. I
didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah,”
he went on. “Nice of you to clue me in on the high points of your life. What’d
you think? That I wouldn’t find out?”

“Who told
you?” As if I didn’t know.

“Who
cares? What matters is it wasn’t you.”

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to keep it from you, but it’s not a done deal.”

“What’s
going on, Pali? One minute I feel like we’re making headway and the next I feel
like I’m on the bottom of the pile.”

“A lot
has happened, Hatch. You’ve been busy and I’ve been gone—”

He cut me
off. “Sorry. Hear that? We’re getting called out. I promised to help a guy move
tomorrow. So, I guess I’ll see you on Saturday at the kids’ baptism.”

The only
saving grace was I could hear the siren going off in the station. Seems he
really did need to go.

***

On Friday
I got up early and went down to the Palace of Pain. I hadn’t slept well and I
was sure it showed. When I pulled up, Sifu Doug was hosing down a mat in the
alley.

“
Aloha
,
Sifu,” I said.

“
Aloha
,
Pali. How you doin’? I hear Farrah’s going to be moving back to her apartment.
Seems the
hanai
thing is working out okay.” He followed me inside.

“Yeah, it
turned out good.” I waited. Sifu Doug was a sixth degree black belt. He knew
how to time his attack.

“You down
here to practice? Sorry to say, but you look kinda gnarly.”

“I feel
gnarly. Not much sleep last night.”

“You
having man trouble again?”

I nodded.
“That and a few other things.”

“Tell you
what. You buy me a Gatorade and you can tell me about it. I don’t have classes
‘til ten.”

“How
about I get in an hour of practice and then I’ll buy you that Gatorade?”

“Deal.”

I kicked
and punched for nearly an hour but my heart wasn’t in it. My body felt weakened
by the weight of the last six days. I plugged quarters into the vending machine
and joined Doug in his office.

I handed
him an orange Gatorade. “What’re you working on?”

“I like
the green better,” he said eying my bottle. I handed it over. I recognize an
alpha move when I see one. “I’m doing a little bookkeeping,” he said. Then he
grinned. “Unlike some people, I gotta keep track of my money. I didn’t have a
rich daddy.”

“So you
heard.”

“Of
course I heard. Whaddaya think this is, Antarctica? You tell somebody somethin’
juicy, it’s gonna drip down.”

“Well, I
guess my father leaving me a bunch of money is big gossip around here, but that’s
not what’s on my mind.”

“Oh yeah?
What’s more important than thirty million bucks?”

“I’m not
getting thirty million. It’ll be around half that.”

“Well,
whether it’s a couple million or a hundred million, it’s still millions more
than I’ll ever see. So what’s keeping you up nights?”

“I
suppose it’s useless to swear you to secrecy,” I said.

“I’m
better than most, but you know it’s like holding your breath. As hard as you
try, everyone cracks.”

I told
him how my relationship with Hatch had become strained to the breaking point.
I’d missed his awards banquet; he’d had to take in Farrah and her kid when they
were no longer welcome at my place; and now he’d learned about my inheritance
through a third party rather than from me.

“I read in
The Maui News
Hatch made Rookie of the Year,” said Doug. “That’s a big
deal. Why didn’t you go with him?”

“I didn’t
mean to. I had a new dress and everything. But one of my father’s ex-wives was on
her way out of town and she called and asked me to meet her in Honolulu. She said
she’d tell me about my mother being killed. And then I couldn’t get a flight
back here in time for the banquet.”

“Whoa,
whoa, whoa. What’s that? Your say you mother was
killed
? Like murdered?”

“Yeah.
It’s an awful story.” I filled him in on the details.

“The
police chief’s kid killed your mom?”    

“Yep.”

Doug
seemed to consider the enormity of the accusation.

Then he said,
“Wow. And it happened thirty years ago?”

“Yes, but
there’s no statute of limitations on murder.”

“Yeah, I
know. So, what are you gonna do about it?”

“Right
now it’s just hearsay,” I said. “I don’t have any evidence.”

“Well,
maybe when you come into all that dough you’ll be able to hire somebody. You
know, like a private eye or something.” He paused, then went on. “And that brings
up the next question. Why’d you keep Hatch in the dark about your dad leaving
you the big bucks?"

“Because
the lawyer says I won’t see any of it for months, maybe a year or more. I
didn’t think it was appropriate to tell Hatch until it was a done deal.”

“Appropriate?
Really? Let me tell you something, Pali. If Lani kept me in the dark about something
as big as that, I’d be totally steamed. Especially if she’d already blabbed to other
people.”

“I know. I
should’ve told him. But I still haven’t decided if I’m going to take any of it.
I was worried he might try to change my mind.”

“What’re
you talkin’ about? Of course you’re gonna take it. It’s yours.”

“I don’t
know. I’ve been noticing people with money. And you know what? They never seem
to be decent people. My dad sure wasn’t decent. Leaving my mom, who I now know
was his
wife
, and then dumping me off on Auntie Mana.”

He shot
me a sardonic smile. “Tell you what. I’ll do you a favor. You take the money.
If it turns you all mean and nasty, I’ll take it off your hands. No worries
‘cuz everybody knows I’m already mean and nasty.”

He walked
me to the door. “
Mahalo
for the Gatorade. But don’t expect me to buy the
next round.” He gave me a little punch in the shoulder.

I bowed in
respect and went out to my car. I spent the rest of Friday down in Kahului
shopping for baptism gifts. I still wasn’t sure what it meant to be a
‘goddess-mother.’ But I was pretty sure gifts were part of the deal.

CHAPTER 26

On
Saturday morning Steve knocked on my bedroom door. “Hey sleepy-head,” he said.
“It’s almost ten-thirty.”  

“Hang on
a second,” I got up and slipped on the kimono Hatch had bought me in Kaua'i and
I felt a pang of sadness.

I opened
the door. Steve was leaning against the doorframe. “You know we’ve got that
baptism today,” he said.

“Yeah,
but it isn’t until four.”

“But
we’re taking formal pictures at two-thirty. And it takes about a half-hour to
get down there, and we’ve got to find a place to park, and I’ve got to set up
my gear, and—”

“Okay,
okay. You go on ahead. I’ll meet you down there at two-thirty.”

He shot
me his
tsk tsk
look. “There are about a hundred people coming and it’s
Saturday. No way you’ll find a parking spot within a half-mile of Ho’okipia.”

“I
thought Farrah said she’d invited eighty people.”

“She
called last night. It’s now up to nearly a hundred.”

“Sheesh.
Okay, give me half an hour.”

I took a
shower and even shaved my legs. Then I slipped on a clean pair of white capris,
a bright aloha print shirt and a pair of white
rubba slippas
with little
painted flowers. Since Steve was going to be taking pictures I took my time
swiping on mascara and blushing my cheekbones. I glossed up my lips and checked
my image in the mirror. Not bad. I grabbed my beach bag purse and went to get
something to eat to tide me over.    

I pushed
through the kitchen door.

“Is that what
you’re wearing?” said Steve.

I looked
down to see if I’d missed a big soy sauce stain on my pants or something.
“Yeah. What’s the problem?”

“Well,
from what I’ve been told, you’re supposed to be the ‘goddess-mother’. But I
don’t see much ‘goddess’ goin’ on with those crop pants and that tired old aloha
shirt. Do you need me to explain the concept of professional photos?”

“Give me another
minute.”

I charged
back into my room and dug through my top drawer for the pearl ‘amulet’ Farrah
had given me for my birthday. I put it around my neck but after three tries I
still couldn’t get the clasp to work.

Steve
stood in my bedroom doorway. “Oh, get over here.” He fastened it and then put
both hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face him. “Look, Pali. I’ve
got something to say and I hope you take it in the spirit of love and
friendship.”

“Well,
that’s an ominous lead-in,” I said.

“I know.
But I want you to listen. Lately, you’ve been really caught up in this thing
with your mom, and I totally understand. But you’ve already missed your
boyfriend’s big night and today is a huge day for your best friend. Do I need
to say more?”

I looked
down. “I’ve got it, and you’re right.”

“So,
let’s go down there and put on the happy face. And if you don’t kiss and make
up with Hatch, I’ll be beyond disappointed in you. Although it pains me to
point it out, you’re not getting any younger and you’re still very single.”

“Okay, don’t
push it. I already said you’re right.”

 We hardly
spoke as Steve drove us down to the baptism. I was rehearsing my kiss-up speech.

***

Steve got
a good spot in the first row of parking. As I helped him lug his camera gear
down to the beach I tried to spot Farrah. So far, no sign of her.

“Do you
know exactly where we’re supposed to meet?” I said.

“She said
she’d be on the opposite side from Pavilions, near the lifeguard shack. That
would be about where we’re standing now.”

“Since she’s
got a bunch of kids to corral she’s probably running a little late,” I said. In
the spirit of ‘it’s Farrah’s big day’ I wouldn’t dream of mentioning she hadn’t
been on time for much of anything since the third grade.

Hatch’s
truck pulled into view. When he parked, it was like watching a clown act as
more and more people climbed out. First Farrah and the baby got out of the cab.
They were followed by Hatch and a fireman friend of his. Then the twins’ mother
emerged dragging a diaper bag. In the open bed of the truck, Rain and Echo
began climbing out over the sides. Farrah went to help, but she had her hands
full with Moke.

I ran over
and unlatched the tailgate. Hatch came up behind me.

“Uh,
thanks,” he said. “I’ve got it.” He plucked one little girl and then the other
from the truck bed.