2 Empath (29 page)

My dad opened the door and gestured for me to enter first. Emilio, who had been warned of our coming by the nurse, was sitting upright in bed. Despite the fact that he was now attached to any number of tubes and wires, he already looked better than when we left him.

“Hello again,” I said softly.

Emilio smiled at me, his dark eyes sparkling. Then he caught sight of my father. For several seconds, he seemed frozen with shock. Then his whole face beamed. “Mitchell,” he said, as if making a declaration. He extended his hand. “I’m Emilio.”

My dad stepped forward. The two men shook hands. It was a shake like any other handshake. I stayed where I was, watching nervously. Seeing them together, there could be no doubt as to the resemblance. My dad’s poise and posture, his entire military attitude, had come directly from Albin Thompson, no genes required. But in both face and form, he was a younger, ever-so-slightly more Hawaiian-looking version of Emilio.

The men studied each other practically without blinking. “I always liked Albin,” Emilio said after a moment. “He was a good man — very kind to Kalia. She was a beautiful girl, and when she first started working at the base, some of the airmen gave her a hard time. Albin saw what was happening and put a stop to it. I was grateful for that. Kept me out of jail.”

My dad smiled. “Doesn’t surprise me a bit. He was a chivalrous soul, my… father.” He stumbled a bit over the last word.

“Your
father,”
Emilio repeated firmly, nodding. His eyes moistened. “I adopted a son myself. My Sammy’s gone now. But I’ll always be his father.”

For a moment neither man spoke, and I could feel my own eyes moistening. But Emilio’s next words were steady and casual. “So, my granddaughter here tells me you were a pilot. What did you fly? Fighters? Cargo?”

My dad pulled up the chair and sat down. “Fighters!” he said with enthusiasm.

Emilio’s face lit up. “F16s?”

“F-16A,” my dad said proudly. “F-15C too.”

“The F15s are double engine, right?”

“Yep. Pratt and Whitney F100s.”

Are you kidding me?
I thought with amazement.
Is that it?
They were going to cover in less than thirty seconds the emotional aspects of a parent-child reunion nearly sixty years in the making? I waited another moment, then, shaking my head, I tuned out their unaccountably lively discussion of plane guts and sidled toward the door.

Neither of them seemed to notice as I slipped out to join my mother and Zane in the hall. My mom’s face was strained, but hopeful. Zane, I noticed, did a sharp double-take in the area just over my shoulder as I was closing the door.

“Well?” my mom asked. “What’s happening?”

“They’re talking about airplane engines,” I said dully.

My mother’s face broke into a smile. “Oh, that’s wonderful!” she exclaimed.

My eyebrows arched.

“They’re going to get along just fine, then,” she explained. “Do you think I could go in, now?”

“Be my guest.” My mom opened the door and slipped inside. I could hear my dad introducing her as the door swung closed again.

I looked at Zane, all at once feeling totally exhausted. He smiled back at me sympathetically. “Long day?”

I nodded. “The longest. But it doesn’t matter. We found Emilio in time.” A wave of moisture welled up behind my eyes as I thought of the alternative. For the men to miss each other in time,
again…
It was unthinkable. “I can see now why Kalia was so determined. She really did come back to save a life. I hope she can find some peace now.”

“Oh,” he said gently, throwing an arm around my shoulders. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

Comfort. Warmth. Safety. Joy. Excitement…

The effect of his touch was as strong as ever, though it was becoming less shocking as I grew used to it. And I could definitely grow used to it.

“You saw her again, didn’t you?” I asked. “Inside the room with them?”

He nodded. “Just the briefest of flashes. I don’t think she had the strength for anything more. But she wanted me to see her face. She wanted you, and everyone else, to know that she’s very,
very
happy.”

His arm was still around my shoulders, and unlike the last time he had tried to hold me, he didn’t seem quite so tense about keeping it there. Since we were standing in the middle of a busy hospital corridor, I didn’t expect the semi-hug to lead to anything more. Still, it was progress.

“She’s not the only one,” I smiled back.

Chapter 24

I was back in the swimsuit. And it was no longer clammy. But I hadn’t really thought, when I put it on, that I would actually wind up back at the community pool. I had been sure I could talk Zane into taking me to the beach instead. After all, we were due for a celebration. Emilio had not only started dialysis, but had sworn to become a model patient, and his doctors were optimistic for a full recovery. My dad had stayed with him well into the night and then had sat up chatting excitedly to my mother for most of the rest of it. Or so she had told me at breakfast. Personally, I had slept like a baby.

Now, at last, I was ready for some
fun.

What I was getting instead was torture.

“Stop looking so glum!” Zane chastised merrily as we approached the gate. “Oh look. There’s Lacey.”

I lifted my head and saw Lacey, her swim bag thrown over her shoulder, approaching us from the inside. She had obviously just ended her shift, but she did not look like a girl who was happy to be free for the day. Her head hung, her shoulders hunched, and her feet kicked idly at litter along the ground as she moved. I couldn’t
feel
Lacey all that well, but even at the distance I stood now, her misery hung about her like a shroud.

“Oh no,” I said in a whisper. “It’s happened.” I stepped forward to meet her. “Hi, Lacey.”

She looked up at me, her blue eyes distracted and dim, her lids puffy. Most of her face was puffy. Her lips curved into the briefest of superficial smiles, then pursed again. “Hi, Kali. Zane. How’s it going?”

“All right,” I answered gently. “Are you okay?”

She tossed her head with a snort. “That obvious, huh? Oh well. Might as well tell you — Ty and I are done. Like,
totally
done.”

“I’m sorry,” I said genuinely. I hated to see her hurting so much, even if I wasn’t sorry she had broken it off with Ty. That jerk didn’t come close to deserving her.

“I’ll be okay,” she said with a shrug, bucking up her voice. “It’s all good, right?”

“It’s going to get much better,” I said firmly. “I’m sure of it.” She was probably mad at Matt right now, too. But she would get over it. I gave her a quick hug and smiled encouragingly.

“Thanks, Kali,” she said, her voice breaking a little. She turned away from us. “Catch you guys later, okay?”

We agreed, and she passed us and moved toward the exit. But we had only gone a couple steps when she called to us over her shoulder. “Hey, Zane?”

“Yes?” he answered.

“You got a brother?”

He smiled sadly. “Sorry.”

Lacey swore out loud and kept walking.

I sighed. “I’ll text her later.”

“She did look pretty wretched,” Zane said with concern.

I smiled at him. “It’s going to take a lot of ice cream. But don’t worry; I’m an old pro. Tara and I have been through it with Kylee a hundred times.”

Zane studied me thoughtfully. “You’re going to miss those two, aren’t you?”

A wave of sadness washed over me. “A lot. But it won’t be forever. I’m already trying to sell them both on the University of Hawaii.”

We sat our stuff down near a deck chair, and I looked out over the crowd with a grimace. The pool wasn’t as packed as before, but it was bad enough. Why were there always so many teenaged girls hanging around, laying out? Didn’t they have sun in their own backyards?

Zane pulled off his shirt. Female heads turned. Then the random giggling began. As always, he seemed not to notice. Did he act any different when I wasn’t around?

I opened my mouth to speak.

“Don’t even try it,” he interrupted. “Whatever your scheme is to get out of this, it won’t work. I’m not that easy.”

I grumbled under my breath. “Tell me about it.”

His eyes twinkled fiendishly. Aside from the one accidental kiss on the hair (which I had to agree didn’t count) my plan was going poorly. Yesterday had been such an emotional minefield, and had ended so wonderfully, I was sure I could break down his defenses the minute we were alone. He must have thought so too, because when he took my mom and me home from the hospital, he had refused to even get out of the car, claiming he was exhausted and had an early surf date with some neighbor guy. Since his hair was still wet with seawater and full of sand when he picked me up today, I figured at least part of the excuse was true. But there was no question what game he was playing.

What was annoying was that he was winning it.

“Do you, or do you not, want to see three generations of Lam-Thompsons out surfing the North Shore someday?” he asked cheerfully, gesturing me towards the pool.

I followed, dragging my feet. “What are you talking about?”

“Emilio, of course!” he answered, surprised. “I bet he was a grom in the glory days of Makaha. Once your dad gets in some practice, I guarantee the two of them will be out there ripping together.”

“What makes you think Emilio is a surfer?” I asked.

“Didn’t you see his tattoos?”

I had noticed that Emilio’s arms were tattooed, but I hadn’t looked closely. “What about them?”

Zane chuckled. “Trust me. He’s a surfer. It would be a shame for you to break the family tradition, don’t you think?” He jumped into the water, turned around, and held out his hands for me.

I hesitated, but only a little. The battle of Zane’s arms versus my fear of water was no longer any contest. What was so scary about a little water, anyway? I had been standing in it up to my armpits the other day.

I jumped in. But maddeningly, as soon as I was safely on my feet, he pulled his hands away from me like I was a hot potato.

“You know,” I said accusingly. “A girl could get a complex.”

His jaw muscles tightened. He moved close enough that he could not be overheard. “Look, Kali. Not that you aren’t the bravest girl I’ve ever met or anything, because you are. But before you write
me
off as a total wimp… I’m not convinced we’re feeling the same thing, here.”

An intriguing thought. “No?”

“
No.
I touch you, and you seem to feel all fuzzy kittens and apple pie and homemade cocoa and space heaters and God only knows what else.”

I grinned. “Sounds about right. Including the something else. But what’s so scary about that?”

He groaned. “I’m telling you, it’s different for me.” He studied my face a moment. “You know, Emilio was right. You do have Kalia’s eyes.”

I frowned at the change of subject. “Mine look nothing like hers!”

“They’re not the same color,” he agreed. “But they have the same intelligent, yet innocent, yet oh-so-enticing lights dancing in them. Your poor grandfathers didn’t stand a chance.”

I had no response to that. He turned away and led me toward a less crowded area of the pool. “Which reminds me,” he added. “Have you thought about the fact that you can see shadows of living people, too?”

I stopped short, irritated at yet another random change of subject. But then I paused to think about it. “You’re right. I saw Emilio at the cemetery. I knew there was something odd about that! I always just assumed I was seeing dead people. But I guess the shadows don’t all have to be.”

I mulled the idea over. Highly charged, emotional moments — burning their energy into space like images on photographic film… Had I left shadows of
myself
around? “I wonder if there’s a shadow of us,” I mused, looking at him. “When we met again at Ehukai.”

He looked thoughtful. “Interesting question. Could you feel the emotions of a shadow me?”

“Ooh,” I smiled. “That could be fun.”

Zane looked mildly alarmed. He stepped away from me again. “Let’s get down to business. First lesson: kicking.”

A gaggle of girls sitting on the side of the pool began to giggle.

“He’s just her teacher!”

I gritted my teeth. How stupid did bikini #1 have to be to think we couldn’t hear her? Most likely she didn’t care. Most likely, she was sending a message to Zane that she’d be willing to hook up the second he clocked out.

I sighed.

To my surprise, Zane sighed too. “Self-confidence, Kali,” he said quietly. “You can swim whenever you
believe
you can swim. I promise.”

I didn’t want to talk about swimming. Self-confidence was a different issue. Did I have reason to
be
self-confident?

The girls were still tittering and squealing. He was ignoring them. I was trying to. “Be straight with me,” I begged. “Do I have anything to worry about with girls like that?”

He smiled at me, his eyes holding mine. “Absolutely nothing,” he assured, quoting me. Then, although he didn’t know it, he quoted himself. “Don’t ever doubt it, Kali.”

And I didn’t.

I grinned at him through moistening eyes. “Then will you take me to the beach now and forget this learning-to-swim crap?”

He drew himself up with a frown. “Not a chance. I’m a man of my word, and if I have to go another day without kissing you, I’m going to lose my mind. You are
going
to swim, dammit. Right now.”

He leaned away from me and backstroked to a position about ten feet away. “Don’t make me call you a wuss,” he taunted.

He was being so uncharacteristically demanding, I had to laugh. So, he
wanted
to kiss me, did he? Whatever he felt from our supercharged interactions was powerful enough to totally freak him out, but like any surfer, he must consider the thrill worth the risk.

“Swim over here, Kali,” he ordered. “Just do it.”

“She can’t!” bikini #2 declared with a laugh.

“How old is she, anyway?” bikini #3 chided.

“It’s been ten minutes,” bikini #1 reported. “You think lessons last for thirty?”