The Hawaiian Quilt (19 page)

“Whew! It sure can get humid here.” Mandy wiped the perspiration from her forehead with a handkerchief. “I wonder if it’s going to rain.” She and Ellen had spent most of the afternoon pulling weeds in Luana’s garden. It hadn’t been so bad when they’d first come out, but as the sun grew higher, the heat increased, along with the muggy air. “This isn’t the kind of weather they’re having back home. Isn’t it strange to be doing this type of work in December?”

Ellen nodded.

“Think how nice it would be if we could garden all year. Our lives would be a lot different, jah?”

“You’re right.” Ellen paused for a drink of water. “Speaking of home, how did your conversation with Gideon go?”

Mandy swatted at a pesky fly buzzing her head. “Not well. I could hear the disappointment in his voice, and he seemed offended. In fact, when I told him we wouldn’t be back for Christmas, he got kind of huffy.”

“It’s no wonder, Mandy. He misses you.”

“I miss him, too, but we’re needed here right now.”

Ellen sighed. “The hardest part of being gone from home for me is missing Christmas with my family.”

“I’ll miss my family, as well, but we can celebrate the holiday with Luana and Makaio, like we did Thanksgiving. To me, they’re starting to feel like family.” Mandy thought about the delicious turkey dinner Luana had prepared with their help. In addition to Ailani and Oke joining them, Luana had invited the four guests at the bed-and-breakfast to enjoy the holiday meal with them. Mandy was impressed with her hospitality and kindness. It was one more similarity to the way her Amish family and friends reacted to those who visited their homes.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready to take a break.” Ellen set her small shovel aside, stood, and flexed her back. “Let’s go inside and see if Luana needs us to do anything else.”

“If not, maybe we can do something fun before supper.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Why don’t we go to the beach? You haven’t been there yet, and it’s a perfect day with no wind at all.”

“I don’t know.” Ellen’s eyes blinked rapidly as she tapped her chin. “With the sun being so hot, we might get burned.”

“We have our sunscreen.” Mandy gathered up her weeding utensils and was almost to the house when Ken’s rig pulled in.

“Aloha!” he called after he got out of his SUV. “I brought some eggs and poultry.”

Mandy waited for him to join them on the grass. “Luana will be glad, because we’re getting low on eggs.”

“I can take the box inside to her,” Ellen offered.

“You don’t have to. I’ll take it myself.” Ken smiled. “What have you two been up to this afternoon?”

“Weeding, but now we’re ready for a break.” Mandy returned his smile.

“I could use one myself. How’d you like to join me for a hot dog and some shave ice?”

“Is it really called
shave ice
, or did you leave off the
d
?” Mandy questioned.

“Nope. Here in Hawaii, it’s known as shave ice.”

Mandy smiled at Ellen. “Seems like we learn new things about Hawaii all the time.”

Ellen nodded quickly before making her way to the house.

“So do you want to get something to eat with me?” Ken asked.

Mandy nodded. “Could we go to the beach for a bit when we’re done eating? Ellen hasn’t been there yet since we arrived on Kauai.”

“Not a problem. As soon as I give the eggs to Luana, I’d be happy to take you both there.”

As Ellen walked barefoot along the shoreline with Ken and Mandy, she noticed how well they got along. The way they laughed and talked nonstop, walking close to each other, made it almost seem as if they were a courting couple. Of course, how could it be? Mandy’s boyfriend was waiting for her back home.

When Ellen stepped into the water, she couldn’t get over how warm it felt. The waves lapped against her ankles as the sand moved slowly away, tickling her bare feet.

“Hey, look at the seal over there!” Ken pointed as the creature swam out of the water and came onto the beach.

“Do you see many seals here?” Mandy asked, reaching into her satchel for her camera.

“Not all the time, so it’s worth a few pictures.”

They watched the seal awhile, then moved down the beach, visiting and walking in the surf. The edge of Mandy’s dress had gotten wet, and Ellen noticed hers had, too. It was hard to guess where the water would hit her legs as it rolled onto the beach. The breeze blowing on her face felt good, as the sun warmed her exposed skin.

“Hey, come take a look at this.” Ken stopped walking and bent down to scoop something off the sand.

“What is it?” Ellen moved closer.

“It’s a piece of coral.” Ken held it out. “You’ll find pieces like this in many places on the beach.”

“It reminds me of a head of cauliflower, only it’s tan instead of white.” Ellen reached out to touch it.

“We should each take a small piece,” Mandy suggested. “Then, when we return home, we can have part of the island with us.”

Ellen felt a bit of relief.
At least Mandy is talking about going home. I hope this means she has no crazy ideas about staying here on Kauai. If she did, there would be a lot of disappointed people back home
.

I
’ve said this before, but I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate your help.” Luana examined a vase as she, Mandy, and Ellen went through some things she planned to sell at her two-day yard sale, which would start the next day. “You both have been a God-send to us.”

“We’re glad to do it.” Mandy hoped they would make enough money to help with Makaio’s hospital bills. He had health insurance, but it didn’t cover all his medical expenses. Luana had mentioned they’d also receive some aid from their church, and several people had brought things over for them to sell at the yard sale. It did Mandy’s heart good to see how the people from Makaio and Luana’s church had rallied to help them out financially. It reminded her of how things were done at home when an Amish church member had a need.

“You have a lot of nice items here.” Ellen held a photo of pink primroses.

“The picture you’re holding used to hang in one of our guest rooms, but we replaced it sometime ago with a painting a friend made for us.” Luana sighed. “Unfortunately, we can’t keep everything. Since the primrose picture is a reproduction I found at our local thrift store, it doesn’t have any real sentimental value.” She picked up a small photograph. “This, on the other hand, has a lot of sentimental value.”

“What is it?” Mandy leaned toward Luana as she handed her the photo.

“It’s a picture of the quilt Makaio and I received as a wedding present from my parents.” Sighing, she lifted her hands and let them fall into her lap. “It’s been missing since we moved here from the Big Island.”

“It looks like a beautiful quilt.” Mandy looked closer at the picture. “The detail is beautiful, and I like the blue and white colors.”

Tears welled in Luana’s dark eyes as she nodded. “My mother made it. She even sewed Makaio’s and my initials in one corner of the quilt.” After Mandy handed the picture back to her, Luana stared at it with a somber expression. “I fear my mother’s precious wedding gift may have been thrown out or accidentally given to charity before our move.”

Mandy clasped Luana’s hand, gently squeezing her fingers. “It’s hard to lose something meaningful.”

“It is, but life moves on, and I try to remember not to focus on
things
.” Luana smiled. “Our relationship to God and people is what truly counts.”

Friday morning, things were hectic at the B&B. Every room was booked, and Luana had to make sure breakfast was ready for her guests, as well as check that everything was set up as it should be for the yard sale later on. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be open to the public until ten, which gave her enough time to feed her guests first. She was thankful Ellen and Mandy had offered to go outside right after breakfast, in case anyone showed up early.

When Makaio first woke up, he’d complained about his leg bothering him, but now, as they sat down for their morning meal, he shared with their guests some information about Kauai and said he’d be willing to answer any questions about island living.

“One thing you should be aware of is the vog,” Makaio announced, reaching for his cup of coffee.

“What’s a vog?” Ellen asked, as she served more coffee to their guests.

“I’d like to hear about this, as well,” a middle-aged woman from Oregon said.

“The vog is sort of like fog, only it’s from the volcanic ash on the Big Island.” Makaio’s nose twitched. “Depending on the intensity of the ash, it can bother some people, causing sneezing, congestion, and burning eyes.”

“I hope it doesn’t occur during our time here,” the woman said. “I have enough problems with allergies and such.”

“Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with it.” Luana gestured to the bowl of miso soup, along with some chopped green onions, small cubed tofu, and steamed white rice. “Miso soup is from Japan. Some people on this island enjoy having it for breakfast.”

“Not me,” Makaio announced with a shake of his head. “I prefer Spam and eggs.”

Luana rolled her eyes.
Some things never change
.

From the minute the yard sale opened, until a few minutes before it was time to close up for the day, things had been busy.

“We did well today. I think there were some tourists browsing the tables. They seemed interested in the jewelry and wooden knickknacks I had for sale.” Luana smiled. “Thank you, Ellen and Mandy. I couldn’t have done it without your help. I’m glad Ailani was up to staying with her father while we were out here in the yard today, too.”

“We were happy to help.” Ellen picked up a roll of plastic. Then she and Mandy covered everything on the tables and furniture in case it rained during the night.

“Luana, I have a question. What kind of birds are those?” Mandy pointed to several small birds on the lawn. “They look like miniature doves.”

“You’re right, they are. They’re zebra doves, and you’ll find them all over the Hawaiian Islands.”

“They sure are cute,” Ellen commented.

“Yes, but they can be quite brazen—especially when there’s food around. When we eat outside, I’ve seen them swoop right down and, if we’re not looking, steal whatever’s on our plates.” Luana yawned. “Oh my. This is one night I wish I didn’t have to fix supper.” She rubbed a sore spot on her back. “I’m exhausted.”

“Don’t worry about supper,” Mandy said. “Ellen and I will take care of it. Why don’t you go inside and put up your feet? We’ll be in to get things started as soon as we gather up the empty boxes.”

“Mahalo.” Luana gave them both a hug and hurried into the house, thankful yet again for everything the young women had done.