4 Kaua'i Me a River (22 page)

They
scampered off and he turned to me. “Wow, I’d almost forgotten what you look
like. Did your chauffeur drop you off?”

“Please don’t
start,” I said. “Today is so important to Farrah. Can we can talk later?”

“Fine by
me. But who knows? Donald Trump may show up and, uh, trump me. Do you and ‘the
Donald’ have any financial tips you want to share with a lowly hose jockey?” He
smiled, but there was more hurt in his voice than humor.

“Okay,
I’d hoped we could talk about this later, but I’ll give you the punch line now.
I’m not taking the money. I’ve got seven brothers and sisters who want it a heckuva
lot more than I do.”

“Is it
really thirty mil?”

“No, more
like ten or twelve. But the will’s in probate and the estate’s got to be
liquidated so it’ll take months, maybe a year, to know how much.”

“Then
what’s the rush? Maybe you should wait and see how you feel when it’s a done
deal before you go giving it away.”

“That’s
why I didn’t say anything. I don’t want to feel pressured to—”

Steve
yelled that he needed us for pictures and I waved. “Be right there.”

I turned
to Hatch. “Before this gets underway, I want to apologize one more time for
missing your awards banquet,” I said. “I got so caught up with my family stuff,
I haven’t been able to think straight.”

“No need
to apologize. I’m sorry if I acted like a jerk. And I’m real sorry about what
happened to your mom. It sucks.”

“It
does.”

“Did you
find out any more?” he said.

“Yeah. I’ll
tell you about it later.”

 He
leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Okay, you got it. But now we’ve got to go
smile for the camera. This is Farrah and Shadow’s day.”

“Shadow? Oh
yeah, I’d forgotten her name.”

“She probably
made it up,” he said. “But I’ve noticed around here that bogus names are the norm
rather than the exception.”

Touché,
Mr. Decker.

A huge
crowd gathered on the beach and a
kahuna
arrived to give the blessing.
The guy had to weigh two-fifty, maybe three hundred, pounds. When he finished,
he announced it was time for the baptism. Farrah and Shadow followed him to the
waterline. He reached down and dipped his hand in the surf and turned toward
the twins. The little girls’ eyes were locked on each other as the
kahuna
trickled
drops on their heads and chanted in Hawaiian. He turned to Shadow and she clarified
which name went with each girl. The
kahuna
nodded and repeated the names
while the girls hid behind their hands trying to conceal giggles.

Then it
was Farrah’s turn. She was wearing her favorite billowy lavender caftan. As she
clutched the baby on the windswept beach it seemed as if she might get caught
in a gust and become airborne like the kite-surfers out on the horizon.

Once
again the
kahuna
chanted and put his hand in the surf. He dribbled water
on the baby’s head while saying his name. Moke’s eyes went wide from the shock
of the cold water but he didn’t make a sound.

The crowd
whistled and applauded and the
kahuna
thanked everyone for coming. Then
Hatch invited the entire crowd over to his place for beer and food.

***

When the
keg was empty and the last of the stragglers had headed home, I started picking
up trash and stuffing it in black plastic bags. Steve had driven Farrah and Moke
to her apartment and Shadow and the girls had gone to bed in Hatch’s guest bedroom.

I was
tying off a bag when I felt strong arms encircling me from behind.

“I sure
hope this is Hatch,” I said, “Because I’m not in the mood for a
big
kahuna
love blessing tonight.”

He
laughed. “Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”

I turned and
looked into his face. It felt so good to gaze into those familiar warm brown eyes
and take in that cocky grin. “I’ve missed you,” I said.

“I’ve
missed you too. You know, I have a houseful of girls but I’ve never felt more
alone.”

“Maybe
it’s because half of your ‘girls’ were under five, and the other half were busy
being mommys.”

“Could
be. I like family life, but this past week it wasn’t
my
family. You know
what I’m saying?”

I nodded.

“So, we’re
good?” I said. “I mean, I know I’ve been neglecting you lately but ever since
we went to Kaua'i it’s been one thing after another.”

He took
the trash bag out of my hand and put an arm around my shoulder. “We’re good. C’mon,
let’s go sit on the
lanai
. I’ve got work in the morning, but I’d like
you to catch me up on everything.”

I told
him about Peggy getting drunk and dying in a car wreck. I told him when I went
over to get my birth certificate I’d learned my mom and dad had been married. Then
I launched into the full story about how my mom died.

“So, this
thirty-year-old your dad married knew the whole story?” he said.

 “Apparently. I guess at the end
my dad felt bad about everything. I mean, he never got in touch with me. And he
married the sister of the guy who killed my mom. The whole situation is weird.”

“At least now you know,” he
said.

“Well, I don’t know everything.
I know AJ was involved, but who was the other guy?”

“Does it matter? It doesn’t
change the outcome.”

“True,” I said. “But as you know,
there’s no statute of limitations on murder. If I can find the other guy I may
have a witness.”

 “Yeah, but be careful. You’re
talking about a killer and a reluctant witness. Don’t expect the guilty party
to come clean, and don’t expect the witness to talk, even after all this time.”

He slapped his hands on his
knees. “But hey, enough about that. Do you want to see my rookie award?”

He went in the house and brought
out a citation written in fine calligraphy. It bore an official-looking gold
seal and it was framed in an expensive-looking koa-wood frame.

“Wow, this didn’t come out of a
computer,” I said.

“Nope, it’s the real deal. I
wish you could’ve been there. It was great. If I ever had second thoughts about
switching careers, I don’t anymore.”

I hugged him. “I’m so proud of
you. I’m sorry my messy life got in the way of me being there.”

“Yeah, well just so you’re there
when I make fire chief. I’ll order Cristal champagne, and I’m gonna put it on
your tab.” He laughed.

“About the money—”

The screen door creaked open and
Shadow came out on the porch. She wore a clingy tissue-thin camisole, red bikini
underpants, and a scowl. She stepped in front of Hatch and crossed her arms but
it was too late for me to erase the image of her high firm breasts and erect nipples.
“Hatch, don’t you have to be at work in the morning?”

“Uh, I guess.” He looked over at
me. Even in the feeble glow of the porch light I spotted the shame in his eyes.

“Well, then I think you’d better
come to bed,” she said.  She reached out and touched a fingertip to his lips. “I’ve
been waiting.”

She shot me a smug look and then
flounced back inside the house.

“I better go,” I said. I was up
and off the lanai in four strides.

Hatch got up. “Hey, I’m sorry
you saw that. She promised me she’d cool it when you were here. But I can’t—”

“Do us both a favor, Hatch, and go
inside. I’ll get a ride home from Steve.”

“But Pali…”

 I headed down the moonlit
driveway and never looked back.

CHAPTER 27

As I
worked the keypad on the gate, I heard the screen door slam. I called Steve. Since
it was Saturday night I was pretty sure he’d probably gone to the Ball and
Chain after dropping off Farrah.

“Hey, Pali,”
he said, answering just before it would’ve gone to voicemail.

 I stuttered
out his name. My throat was barely allowing enough air to pass to speak.

“Are you
okay?” he said. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” I
managed. “Would you mind picking me up?”

“Where
are you?”

“At Hatch’s.”

“And
Hatch can’t take you home because…?” He seemed to put two and two together
pretty fast. “Uh-oh, did something bad happen?”

“Yep,” I
said.

“I’m
leaving right now.”

“Thanks. I’ll
be outside by the gate.”

I paced
along the ornate wrought-iron gate outside the compound. After what seemed like
a half-mile of pacing, I saw the headlights on Steve’s Jetta come into view.
The lights looked smeary. I guess I’d been crying.

“What
happened?” said Steve.

“I found
out why Hatch was so eager to take in Shadow.”  

“What?”

I told
him about Shadow slinking out on the lanai and Hatch admitting they’d been
sleeping together.

“He came
right out and owned up?”

“He said
he’d told her to ‘cool it’ when I was around. And then he acted guilty as hell that
he’d gotten caught.”

“Wow,
that sure doesn’t sound like Boy Scout Hatch. I mean, a homeless teenager with
three kids?” said Steve. “Yikes.”

“Well, technically
she just has two kids now since she’s handed Moke over to Farrah. Hatch told me
he was enjoying ‘family life.’ And, you know, maybe I’m partially to blame. I
haven’t been much of a girlfriend for the past couple of weeks.”

“OMG,
listen to yourself. Don’t even try to get me to believe you think this is okay,
because it’s not. For a whole raft of reasons.”

“Yeah, but
we both know how much Hatch loves to save people,” I said. “Why do you think
they made him Rookie of the Year?”

***

I woke up on Sunday and it took
me a minute to remember what’d happened the night before. I headed to the
kitchen for coffee before even running a brush through my hair.

“Uh-oh, looks like someone’s
already letting herself go,” said Steve. “Here.” He handed me a huge mug of
black coffee.

“Cream? Sugar?” I said.

“It’s just fat and carbs, hon.
You really need to steer clear of that stuff now that you’re back on the
market.”

I pushed him aside and rummaged
through the refrigerator. I grabbed the creamer and slammed it down on the
counter.

“Excuse me, I need to get to the
sugar,” I said, wagging a finger at the cabinet behind him. “I’d suggest you
step aside. This is not a good morning to get between me and my vices.”  

He took a giant step sideways. “I
predict in six months you’ll have ten million reasons you’ll be glad you’re rid
of Hatch Decker. Maybe more.” 

“Don’t take any bets on that
because, more than ever, I’ve decided there’s no way I’m taking that money. You
know what they say, money changes everything.”

“Oh yeah, like you couldn’t use
a few changes in your life? How about getting a decent set of wheels? That
thing you call a car is more rust than metal. And how great would it be to pay
off this house and not sweat the mortgage every month? Think about it, Pali, you
could buy a new house. An enormous mansion down at the beach.”

“I don’t want an enormous
mansion. I want things to go back to the way they were. Before I found out my
dad was a rich jerk and my mom was bashed in the head with a baseball bat. I
should never have gone to Kaua'i. I should’ve done like wife number five and just
not shown up.”

 Steve rubbed his thumb and
fingertips together. “You may not realize it now, but if you’ll just allow yourself
to embrace the Paris Hilton lifestyle I’m sure you’d come to love it. It’s time
to let go of the old to make room for the new.”

I dragged myself back to the bathroom
for a shower. I’d convinced myself I didn’t want Phil’s money, but maybe Steve had
a point. A fresh start. I liked the sound of that.

***

After a slovenly Sunday I made
myself go to work on Monday. I might be an ‘heiress-in-waiting’ but the
‘in-waiting’ part reminded me I still needed to book a few weddings for the
foreseeable future.

I fiddled around on my website
and put up an ad offering a twenty-percent discount to couples who booked
within the next month. It took me longer than I’d expected and soon my stomach
was growling. I saved the changes and went next door to the Gadda to get
something to eat. I considered grabbing a yogurt, then nixed that idea. Nope,
what I wanted was some Little Debbie’s. I hadn’t eaten a Little Debbie’s Devil
Square since college. We used to call them ‘dorm crack.’

As usual, Farrah was busy with a
customer when I came in. She had Moke crammed into a baby sling across her
breast, and although I’d never say it, she looked kind of kangaroo-ish. I
waited until she was free and then I plunked a white box of Devil Squares on
the counter.

“You sure you don’t want to
reconsider?” she said. “You know, they don’t call them ‘Devil’ Squares for
nothing.”

“One-hundred-percent sure.”

“Well, do you have a permission
slip from Sifu Doug? I don’t want him calling the cops and accusing me of aiding
and abetting.”

“Just ring ‘em up, okay?”

She punched in the sale on her
ancient cash register and then hesitated before handing over my change.