Looks like everything is ready to go, Rod thought, as he took one last look around.
He retraced his way back through the restaurant and bar to go home, satisfied he’d done everything he could to make Mike’s party a success.
Rod didn’t notice a huge man with bleached blond hair sitting at the bar, learning from the bartender all about a special bachelor’s party tomorrow night. It was being held for a popular TV weather reporter named Mike Kapahu.
Chapter 17
Rod went home and opened the door. All the lights were out, so he knew Michelle was still over at Heather’s place. He retraced his steps and knocked on Heather’s door.
“It’s open,” Heather called out.
Rod went inside and down the short hallway to the living room.
What he saw surprised him so much he stood still, watching for a while.
Mike was sitting on the floor, cross legged in the middle of the living room carpet. Three little girls were sitting in front of him. They were probably the cutest tots he’d ever seen. They were endearing and beautiful and looked just like Michelle, with long curly black hair.
Mike, who’d previously said they should be wary of any children sired by Omar, was having an animated conversation with the children. “What’s your favorite food?” he asked finally, glancing at Rod and winking.
“Ice cream!” one of the dark eyed girls said, with a big grin.
“Do you have a favorite flavor?”
“Cherry Garcia!” the light eyed girl said.
“Oh my gosh! I just happen to have some in the kitchen. Come with me!”
The three girls trotted after Mike into the kitchen.
Rod had been so entranced with the girls he hadn’t noticed a Hawaiian woman sitting on the couch with Heather and Michelle. She was holding up a tiny frothy pink dress with a pink satin sash. “These flower-girl dresses are so cute.”
So that’s Leilanie, Rod thought, the woman who was raising Michelle’s biological children.
Michelle got up and went over to Rod. She led him by the hand. “I want you to meet Leilanie; mother of the three little girls.”
Rod went over to Leilanie and shook her hand.
“This is Rod, my…ah, boyfriend,” Michelle said, stumbling over the words.
“Tell it like it is,” Heather said, drolly. “Rod is Michelle’s live-in lover.”
“I’m happy to meet you,” Leilanie said, nodding gravely at him.
Rod noticed her small stature and typical Hawaiian beauty. So this woman had raised the girls from birth. The surprise to him was how young she was.
He suddenly realized how gut wrenching it must be for Michelle to lose her own children to someone else. They were so precious and beautiful. But Michelle seemed to have perfect confidence Leilanie was doing a good job. It sure couldn’t be easy; the kids seemed extremely energetic.
Mike and the girls came out of the kitchen with bowls of ice cream for everyone.
Even Flash, the dog, got a tiny bowl all his own. Everyone dug in.
“It’s way past the girl’s bedtime,” Leilanie said a little later, after they’d all finished eating. “I better get them in the car and go home. But I wanted to tell you about something strange, Michelle. There are these two pretty French women who seem to be following me around. I can’t help but think Omar has something to do with it.”
“How long has it been going on?” Michelle asked, alarmed.
“A couple of weeks. They’re everywhere I go, and it’s making me crazy. Their accent is from Southern France, where Omar’s home is. And the other odd thing is that I believe someone tried to break in my back door while the kids and I were at the beach. The boy next door saw him. A big guy with blond hair. I think your spells prevented him from getting inside, Michelle. I believe he tried to get through the kitchen window, too. It was cracked.
“Then later,” Leilanie continued, “I found some tool he must have dropped by the back door. I checked the internet and found out it was part of a professional lock-pick set.”
“Did you call the police?” Rod asked. He’d been listening to the conversation.
Leilanie shook her head.
Rod said, “I’ll notify the Kaneohe Police station right now. Ask for systematic patrols of your house.”
Leilanie smiled, “Thanks, Rod. I never thought of doing that.”
Rod went into the kitchen where it was quiet and contacted the police station, telling them exactly what Leilanie had said. The sergeant he talked to said he would certainly make sure to tell his patrol officers to make drive-bys of Leilanie’s house on their scheduled rounds.
Rod went back into the living room. The children had finished their treat, and were now, with full tummy’s, falling asleep on the floor.
After watching the children wilt down on the carpet with closed eyes, like beautiful flowers closing at night, Michelle said, “I’ll help you carry them to your car.”
“I am not asleep,” Petal said, frowning and opening one eye. She went immediately back to sleep.
“I’ll carry one,” Rod said. He wanted to see one of the children up close. He gently scooped the girl called Ivory off of the floor and looked into her tiny little face resting in the crook of his arm. Damn she was beautiful. Thick black lashes, her mouth pink and soft as rose petals, so tiny and vulnerable. He had a sudden feeling that he would protect this little girl with his life. It was odd, this sudden surge of male protectiveness. It took him by surprise.
“You sure she’s not too heavy for you,” Rod asked when Michelle picked up Petal.
Michelle shook her head, smiled, and said, “I love holding her.”
Leilanie bent down and lifted Shelly gently into a fireman’s carry, over her shoulder. “They’re getting so heavy, this is the only way I can carry them anymore.”
Rod smiled. Shelly’s waist was bent over Leilanie’s shoulder, head and arms dangling down her back. The little girl didn’t wake up, even though she was half upside-down.
They said good-bye to Heather and Mike and went down to Leilanie’s car.
While Leilanie put one child in her car seat, Rod sidestepped over to Michelle and whispered, “I think we should keep this one,” he said, indicating the child in his arms.
Michelle nodded solemnly. “I’d love to have one, or all three. But we can’t separate the girls. They would be so sad. And Leilanie would be completely devastated.”
Rod understood, but he felt a sense of loss when Leilanie took Ivory out of his arms to place her in a car seat.
He reminded himself that Michelle was having his baby in about six months. He could hardly wait.
On the night of Mike’s bachelor party, Rod was the designated driver. Mike could get totally inebriated if he chose to.
Driving to the party with Mike in the passenger seat, Rod said, “I was a little surprised last night. You had been adamant about keeping a distance from Omar and Michelle’s little girls. What happened?”
“I was bewitched,” Mike said, and laughed. “Those kids are adorable, and so funny. You should have heard them talk. It was nonstop, very animated, and I found myself having fun with them. Next thing you know, I lost all the warnings in my head about Omar being their father. I liked them a lot. And Leilanie seems to be a great mom.”
“Yeah. Me too about the girls, but Leilanie is so young. She couldn’t be much more than twenty. Michelle trusts her. I’m worried that Omar might try to get them.”
“I was worried too, but maybe Omar doesn’t want them,” Mike said. “He wanted children with paranormal abilities. They sure seemed normal to me. But I don’t know. Michelle is normal, but she has the supernatural gifts.”
When they got close to the restaurant, Rod pulled off to the side of the road and stopped. “Need to use my cell,” he said to Mike. He dialed the bartender he’d hired for the party.
“Hi Matt. I wondered how things are going. Mike’s here with me in the car,” he added.
“Smashing so far,
” Matt said softly, so Mike wouldn’t hear. “About forty people are here already. Get your butts over here. The DJ is playing, everyone has drinks, and they’re all admiring the Go-Go dancers on stage.”
“Great, see you in ten,” Rod said, clicking off the cell and taking off again.
When they walked in the door, Matt, the bartender, sent off a loud blast from a kazoo. It sounded like a crazy, noisy, duck-quack, but got everyone’s attention fast.
Then everyone stood up, held up their glasses, and sang, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” The words had been changed though, about an imminent ball and chain locked to Mike’s ankle forever.
A drink was pushed into Mike’s hand as the singing went on.
When it ended, everyone chugged whatever drink they had in hand.
Mike was surrounded by men slapping him on the back with congratulations, and some dire warnings that things would never be the same again after he was married.
Mike did a surprised double-take a little while later when Professor Vincent Middleton sauntered casually into the party. They had become fast friends when Omar abducted Michelle and took her to Mexico. They both had been involved in rescuing her.
At that time, when Mike, a pragmatic scientist, saw paranormal events created by Michelle and Omar, he and the professor had spent hours on the phone discussing the subject. It was a big leap for Mike to become a believer.
They did the manly hug, slapping each other on the back. The professor confessed that Heather made him promise not to tell Mike that he was coming in from California today, so it would be a big surprise.
As Mike was busy drinking and talking to his friends, Rod looked around. The lighting had been lowered in the room, with red spotlights on the dancers on stage. They were skimpily attired in what looked like string bikinis. Rod had hired four women, so each one had a half hour of dancing, then a half hour off to rest.
There were two topless waitresses weaving through the tables serving drinks. But some men preferred sitting at the bar. On the bar, and on each table, was a platter of finger foods and peanuts for the party guests.
Another loud quack from the kazoo, and a huge cake was pulled by the waitresses from the storage room behind the bar to right below the stage.
A flourish of drum beats from the DJ riveted everyone’s attention. And then a topless woman popped out of the cake. She was abundantly endowed and showed this off by shimmering her shoulders so her boobs bounced. She stepped out of the cake and climbed the steps to the stage. An erotic dance began with plenty of bumps and grinds.
Rod had adamantly said, no total nudity at the party, so she was wearing a thong, but it didn’t leave much to the imagination.
There were whistles and cat-calls as she danced. Then she went over to Mike’s table and sat in his lap, putting her arms around his neck, giving him a lap dance, her breasts almost in his face. Mike laughed, but seemed stupefied and greatly embarrassed, his face turning red.
The cake dancer finally stood up and went back to the cake and slipped gracefully inside. The top closed around the girl. Then the waitresses pulled the cake and girl again into the back room.
The room lights went out and a screen rolled down above the stage. Then there was a slide show. Mike’s picture. Heather’s picture. Pictures of them together on the beach. Pictures of them at home, at restaurants, and with friends. The DJ was now playing soft music as the pictures continued.
After the pictorial display of the couple, a woman went on the stage and performed some very gymnastic moves on the pole. She was wearing a tight body suit that left little to the imagination, with tights on her legs. Her pole-dance was a beautiful display of strength and limberness. She made each move look effortless.
Everyone stood up and applauded when her pole-dance ended.
Then there were the strippers, three of them, dancing to their own music on the stage, one after another. They each started out wearing regular clothing, and with a lot of posturing, their clothes seemed to magically disappear until they were almost naked.
Now the show was over, but guys were roaming around the room still, talking to their friends.
Mike had been given numerous drinks and he slurred when he went stumbling with a lack of balance over to Rod. “This was the best bachelor party ever!” He patted Rod on the shoulder. “You really outdid yourself.”
The bartender, Matt, started serving coffee to those who felt the need after imbibing a little too liberally. He confiscated a few car keys and called Uber for those he felt couldn’t drive safely.
There were many guys moving about, saying good-bye to their friends.
No one noticed a huge blond man peering in the doorway. His eyes were latched onto Rod.
Chapter 18
Rod and Mike stood in the doorway as guys left, slapping their shoulders and muttering about how great the bachelor party was. Mike received more wedding congratulations, with guys saying sincerely that they’d be at the actual wedding next week; wouldn’t miss it.
Rod went around to all the women who had performed or served drinks at the tables, giving each a generous tip as they left.
Finally all the guests had gone and only Matt was left, cleaning up the bar.
Mike was slumped on a bar stool, slurping at a hot cup of coffee, trying to sober up.
Rod folded up a couple hundred dollar bills and poked them into the bartender’s shirt pocket, feeling Matt had really added to this event with his fast bartending skills and piercing kazoo duck calls. He was the last to leave, protesting that he’d already been paid, that the tip Rod gave him was far too generous.
Then it was just Rod and Mike in the room.
Rod helped Mike off the barstool and held his arm to steady him. Mike was reeling from side to side as he attempted to walk, moving completely off balance.
“Take it easy, buddy” Rod said, holding Mike steady. “We want to get you home to Heather in one piece.”
Mike grinned and slurred, “Home to Heather…home to Heather. Doesn’t that sound great? Isn’t that the best ever? Home to Heather.”
“It is the best, man. I’m going home to Michelle, and I can’t wait.”
With that, they exited the party room and started down the long hallway, moving slowly and carefully because Mike could easily careen sideways and bounce off the narrow hallway walls in his condition.
They passed the ‘gents’ bathroom in the hallway.
There was a swishing sound.
Mike tried to check out the strange noises coming from behind them. There were swift steps pounding. Mike was athletic and strong, but slowed down now, a little dizzy with drink. Turning his head made him lose his balance.
Rod tried to steady Mike, and stumbled sideways himself, barely escaping the knife from behind, aimed at the middle of his back.
Mike yelled with pain when the knife missed the target and sliced his arm, right through his jacket.
Rod let go of Mike and turned around. There was an enormous blond man wielding a stiletto. The knife was about six inches long, and wickedly sharp. Now it was aimed at Rod’s heart.
Mike recovered his balance, tuned around and saw the man with the knife. In the blink of an eye, adrenalin hit. Talk about a quick sobering.
Mike grabbed at Rod, pulled him to the side, and the big knife welding guy missed his fatal blow. The knife embedded itself into the wall beside Rod. The big guy pulled it out and started stalking toward Rod again.
Now it was Rod and Mike against one giant man with a knife.
Rod was fully alert, and had a fleeting moment, a puzzled feeling that he’d seen this guy somewhere before. Then he was too busy to follow up on the thought. He was fighting for his life.
The giant guy grimaced, his lips in a snarl showing teeth like Chicklets, and chopped with the knife again, this time connecting, plunging it into the side of Rod’s shoulder and chest. The man pulled his knife out of Rod’s shoulder and started to swipe at him again, aiming the knife at Rod’s heart.
The man backed up fast, smacking Mike hard against the wall, knocking the breath out of him. Knocking Mike right off of his back.
Mike fell on the floor, but jumped up quickly, grabbing for the guy’s knife welding hand. It was the wrong thing to do, and he knew it when his hand slipped on the big guy’s disgustingly sweaty hand. Sizzling pain went through his right hand as it slid over the blade.
Then Mike was circling, punching the guy as hard as he could, at his kidney and kicking the back of his knees. His slashed hand felt like it was burning off each time he connected. Mike hit him hard as he could, but the guy seemed impervious to pain.
Rod tried to punch and fight back as well, but he was badly hurt. Both he and Mike teamed up and began dodging around fast to split the guy’s attention. It was hard, because of the narrow corridor, to maneuver around the giant guy.
Rod was gasping with the pain in his shoulder, but he managed to yell. “Help, help! Someone’s trying to kill us.”
Mike nodded at Rod, getting his breath back. He yelled too. “Help. Help.”
The restaurant was closing down with last call, but lots of workers and patrons were still there. Maybe someone would hear them. The guy with the knife was so gigantic and strong, they needed immediate aid.
Then a man appeared at the entrance of the hallway from the dining area. He had a towel over his shoulder and was balancing a tray full of drinks. He dropped the tray with a crash and started yelling, too.
The knife disappeared and the big blond guy ran straight into the waiter, knocking him down in his haste to flee.
When the attacker ran away, the pain from their injuries hit both Rod and Mike hard.
Magical Legacy Page 10