The Aloha Spirit
Page 30
Dolores drew a shaky breath. “The Hawaiians believe in the spirit of aloha, in mutual affection with no obligation asked. You have always loved me like that. With aloha, each person is important to every other person, and we all live together better than we can alone. Noelani and Maria taught me more than they know about love and marriage, but you, Alberto, taught me the most about aloha. With you, aloha always felt joyous. I know you love me without expectation, but I also know you want to marry me more than anything in the world.” She paused. “Wake up, my love, and I will marry you. We will find a way. Just wake up and come back to me. I cannot live without you. I never want to live without you. Please, Alberto, come back to me. I love you. Aloha au ia ‘oe.”
Her words faded to silence behind the ever-present mechanical noises of Alberto’s life.
“Excuse me?”
Dolores startled at the words from the doorway. Turning quickly, she saw a police officer hesitating, an odd look on his face. “Mrs. Medeiros?”
“Yes?” He ran a hand over his close-cropped hair.
“Your daughters told me you would be here. I’m here to tell you we found Manolo Medeiros in San Francisco. Your husband?” She nodded. “Took us a while to identify him. I’m sorry to tell you he’d dead, ma’am.”
Stunned into a vacuum of feelings, Dolores didn’t know what to say. Euphoria and guilt warred inside her. She shook her head, not wanting to hope it was true and be denied. The officer nodded at her and left the room.
“Oh … Alberto …” Her voice sounded ragged. She stopped talking for fear of tears.
Ever so faintly, she felt his hand tighten around hers. She squeezed back, and his eyes opened. She watched recognition wash the fog away. His lips moved and she leaned forward to hear him say, “Aloha, my love.”
GLOSSARY
LATIN CATHOLIC PHRASES
Per istam sanctan unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam, indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per visum, audtiotum, odorátum, gustum et locutiónem, tactum, gressum deliquisti.
Through this Holy Unction [oil], and through the great goodness of His mercy, may God pardon thee whatever sins thou hast committed by evil use of sight, hearing, smell, taste and speech, touch, ability to walk.
Em Nome do Pai e do Filho e do Espírito Santo
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
AUTHOR’S NOTE & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The character of Dolores was inspired by my husband’s grandmother. Despite a difficult childhood, she was one of the most wonderful women I’ve ever met. Everyone was welcome at her house, no matter the time of day or night, no matter how many friends they brought with them. Everyone was ohana. As a native Californian, I cannot presume to fully comprehend what a Hawaiian means when referring to the spirit of aloha. Although Grandma was born in Hawai’i, of Spanish descent, she was raised by native Hawaiians and lived in the islands into adulthood. On my many visits to Hawai’i, the local people have been welcoming, with positive attitudes and respect for all life. It’s how Grandma lived her life every day, and I hope I’ve done justice to the notion of aloha.
The events of Dolores’s life mirror Grandma’s as much as I could research. I know her childhood was hard. I know her marriage was hard. The rest is fictionalized for the sake of the story. I began delving into her story to try to understand how someone could be strong enough to find her own role models and persevere. Thank you to my late mother-in-law and her sisters for their family stories. I hope I’ve done them justice.
During the five years I spent writing The Aloha Spirit, I earned a master’s degree in fiction writing from Lindenwood University. Many of the chapters were workshopped during that program. Thank you especially to Dr. Wm. Anthony Connolly, who believed in this novel from the beginning.
Thank you, too, to the Northern California chapter of the Historical Novel Society, whose members critiqued much of the book. Special thanks to Melanie Spiller and Mark Dooley for their detailed editing.
Thank you to Brooke Warner, Lauren Wise, and the others at She Writes Press and Sparkpoint Studio for their work to bring this book to life.
Finally, thank you to my husband, sons, and daughter-in-law who provided encouragement when the words just weren’t coming out right.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit: William E. Ulleseit
LINDA ULLESEIT, born and raised in Saratoga, California, has an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. She is a member of the Hawaii Writers Guild, Marketing Chair for Women Writing the West, and a founding member of Paper Lantern Writers. Linda is the author of Under the Almond Trees, which was a semifinalist in the Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Contest, and The Aloha Spirit, to be released in 2020. Linda believes in the unspoken power of women living ordinary lives. Her books are the stories of women in her family who were extraordinary but unsung. She recently retired from teaching elementary school and now enjoys writing full time as well as cooking, leatherworking, reading, gardening, spending time with her family, and taking long walks with her dogs. She currently lives in San Jose with her husband. They have two adult sons and two yellow Labradors.
For more about Linda and her books, visit:
ulleseit.com
SELECTED TITLES FROM SHE WRITES PRESS
She Writes Press is an independent publishing company founded to serve women writers everywhere. Visit us at www.shewritespress.com.
Faint Promise of Rain by Anjali Mitter Duva. $16.95, 978-1-938314-97-1. Adhira, a young girl born to a family of Hindu temple dancers, is raised to be dutiful—but ultimately, as the world around her changes, it is her own bold choice that will determine the fate of her family and of their tradition.
The Belief in Angels by J. Dylan Yates. $16.95, 978-1-938314-64-3. From the Majdonek death camp to a volatile hippie household on the East Coast, this narrative of tragedy, survival, and hope spans more than fifty years, from the 1920s to the 1970s.
In a Silent Way by Mary Jo Hetzel. $16.95, 978-1-63152-135-5. When Jeanna Kendall—a young white teacher at a progressive urban school—becomes involved with a community activist group, she finds herself grappling with issues of racism, sexism, and oppression of various shades in both her professional and personal life.
Shrug by Lisa Braver Moss. $16.95, 978-1631526381. It’s the 1960s, and teenager Martha Goldenthal just wants to do well at Berkeley High and have a normal life—but how can she when her mother is needy and destructive and her father is a raging batterer who disdains academia? When her mother abandons the family, Martha must stand up to her father to fulfill her vision of going to college.
Eliza Waite by Ashley Sweeney. $16.95, 978-1-63152-058-7. When Eliza Waite chooses to leave a stagnant life in rural Washington State and join the masses traveling north to Alaska in 1898 during the tumultuous Klondike Gold Rush, she encounters challenges and successes in both business and love.
South of Everything by Audrey Taylor Gonzalez. $16.95, 978-1-63152-949-8. A powerful parable about the changing South after World War II, told through the eyes of young white woman whose friendship with her parents’ black servant, Old Thomas, initiates her into a world of magic and spiritual richness.