“Thanks,” she told him when it seemed he had applied more than enough.
“You know, you have beautiful skin.”
She felt her cheeks getting warmer. “And it’s turning a beautiful shade of pink too, isn’t it?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Megan shoved her things back into her bag and slid her feet into her flip-flops. “I think I need to get some shade,” she said as she stood up.
“And something to drink?” he offered.
She nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.”
They walked over to the nearby hotel kiosk and got pineapple smoothies, then found a shady spot to drink them.
“Are you okay?” Marcus asked as he wiped the cool drink over his brow. “You seem kind of agitated or something.”
“Sorry.” Megan frowned. The truth was, she was still thinking about the conversation that they almost had in Hana. But she wasn’t about to bring that up again. “Actually, I’m concerned about Lelani.” Then she told Marcus about how Lelani had been doubting her ability to adequately care for her own daughter. “And I encouraged her.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, it’s easy for me to sit there and say, hey, no big deal. Sure, you can do that, Lelani. Go ahead, be a single mom, even though you work at Nordstrom and rent a room. I mean babies are expensive, Marcus. You have to buy diapers and baby food and there are doctor bills, and what about day care? I’ve heard it’s really expensive.”
“All good points.”
“So where do I get off telling her that it’s best for Emma to be with her?”
“Because you know Lelani loves her. And because you’ve seen Lelani’s mother in action.”
Megan nodded. “I know we’re supposed to love everyone, Marcus. But that woman makes it hard.”
“She’s a little on the cold side.” He grinned. “Like ice cold.”
“But even so, how is Lelani going to do all that? I mean she’s already looking for jobs here, and a cheap place to live. But Maui is expensive. And then there’s the whole court battle.” Megan shook her head. “Lelani is a strong person in some ways, but not when it comes to confrontation. She’s a peacemaker at heart.”
“Maybe she’ll toughen up.”
“Or maybe they’ll crush her.” Megan thought of another thing. “And she won’t have us around—or Gil—to help her. She’ll be all alone.”
“It does sound kind of dismal.”
“Maybe I should call her and take it back. I mean what if she was having second thoughts for a legitimate reason? What if her instincts are telling her that Emma is better off here?”
“Maybe we should just pray for her.”
Megan was surprised. She knew that Marcus had been changing, that he’d been drawing closer to God and taking his faith more seriously. But he had never said anything quite like that before. “You mean, you and me? Praying together?”
He gave her a half smile. “Why not?”
And so right there, amid all the tourists and busyness of a popular resort during spring break, Marcus and Megan bowed their heads and prayed for Lelani. They prayed for her to have wise discernment, for God to lead her, and finally for Emma’s best interests. Then Marcus said amen and grinned. “See, what was wrong with that?”
“Nothing. That was great. Thanks!”
They sat quietly, watching the tourists going to and from the beach, children throwing tantrums, couples holding hands—and the whole while Megan kept wondering what it was that Marcus had been going to tell her in Hana. Still, she was determined not to bring it up.
“This has been a great week,” she said finally.
“Yeah. Who knew Maui was this cool?”
“Or how fun it would be to vacation with all your friends?” She sighed happily. “I mean despite the drama with Lelani’s parents. But we knew what we were getting into before we came.”
“It’s been cool having time to think.” Marcus turned to her now. “To really examine my life, to consider who I am and where I’m going, and how that compares to who I want to be, where I’d rather go. Those are things I don’t usually take the time to reflect on.”
“I guess we get caught up in the daily grind.” Megan studied him as he looked out toward the ocean with a thoughtful expression. “So … who do you want to be, Marcus. Where do you want to go?”
He frowned now. “Well, I know this much. I don’t want to be an investment broker anymore.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“What then?”
“I was going to tell you something in Hana.”
She took in a quick breath. “In Hana?”
“You know when you were talking about being a missionary?”
“Well, I was kind of rambling, Marcus. I mean it’s not that I really plan on being a missionary, although I must admit I admire people who give up everything to go serve others. I do think I want to be a teacher. Maybe not just an art teacher, even though it was my focus in college. Mostly I just want to be involved in young people’s lives—and to make a difference.”
“Yes, that’s it. I want to make a difference too.”
“That’s great.”
“I’m just not sure how to go about it.”
“Maybe you just need to ask God to lead you.” She felt relieved to know that what had been on his mind had not been marriage after all. And then she felt slightly disappointed, which left her feeling rather confused. Didn’t she even know her own mind? Or her own heart?
“I know that some people wouldn’t think this was such a big deal,” he told her. “I mean to want to make a difference. But before, like when I was in college and just starting out in business, I was always so certain that I wanted a successful career more than anything. I wanted to be a millionaire by the time I hit thirty.” He laughed. “Now that seems so stupid and shallow. What was I thinking?”
She shrugged.
“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you. I haven’t told anyone else.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him, wondering what more she could or should say. But just then her cell rang. “Maybe that’s Lelani,” she said as she fished it out of her beach bag. “Nope, it’s Kendall.”
“Maybe her Maui man has proposed and she’s inviting you to be in the wedding.”
Megan shushed him and answered. “Hey, Kendall, how are you doing?”
“Great. I just remembered something I wanted to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“Have you considered becoming a pirate?”
“Huh?” Megan was confused. “Did you say pirate?”
“Yeah.” Now Kendall giggled.
“You had a blow to your head, right?”
“Yeah, I’m just joking with you. But didn’t you say you wanted to find a teaching job?”
“Yes.” Megan waited to see what that had to do with being a pirate.
“Well, when I was in the hospital and my mind was kind of wandering, I remembered this woman I met in the maternity department.”
“Kendall, are you okay?”
“Come on, Megan, hear me out. We were at Macy’s. She was a teacher at the same middle school that I went to. The Madison Middle School Pirates.”
“And?”
“And this lady was pregnant, like really pregnant. I meant to tell you before we left for Maui that you should go there and apply for her job, but I forgot.”
“Oh.”
“If it’ll help, you can use me as a recommendation. I used to be a cheerleader there.”
“Are you drinking?”
“No, of course not. I’m pregnant, remember?”
“Yeah.” Megan used her finger to do the crazy gesture on the side of her head, and
Marcus just laughed.
“I was afraid if I didn’t tell you now, I’d forget again.”
“Okay.” Megan smiled. “How is your arm? Lelani was concerned that they hadn’t put a cast on it last night, when we stopped in. Did they do that yet?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve got this ugly green plastic thing around it, and it aches some, but the doctor gave me some pain medication. Do you know where I am right now?”
“Uh, are you still on the island?”
“Sure. I am sitting here in the shade, drinking a virgin piña colada on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.”
“And, uh, your friend?” Megan refrained from saying Maui man.
“Killiki.”
“He’s with you now?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Megan wanted to ask if Kendall was aware that Killiki was a plumber but controlled herself. Why spoil Kendall’s last full day in Maui? “Well, thanks for the teaching tip. I guess I’ll see you—”
“Don’t hang up yet. I was wondering how Lelani’s doing. I tried her cell, but it’s off. Did you hear how her chat with her dad went?”
“I haven’t heard from her.”
“Oh. I just hope she’s all right.” Kendall sounded genuinely concerned. It was touching to see her caring about someone else for a change.
“Marcus and I prayed for her.” Megan had no idea why she told Kendall that, not that it mattered one way or the other.
“Wow, so did we!”
“Huh?” Megan tossed Marcus a puzzled look.
“We prayed for her too, Megan.”
“Really? You prayed for Lelani? You and, uh, Klikity?
“Keel-lee-kee,” Kendall said slowly. “Killiki.”
“Right. Killiki. You guys prayed together?” Now Marcus was looking at Megan with a puzzled expression and she just shrugged.
“We certainly did.”
“Well, that’s very cool, Kendall.”
“So, Megan, if you hear from her, could you give me a call?”
“Absolutely.”
“And, oh yeah, in case anyone wonders, Killiki is taking me to a luau tonight.”
“That’s great!”
“Yeah. I was so bummed about missing out on last night, and Killiki has this good friend who’s having an authentic luau—not the kind you buy tickets for—but the real deal where they bury the pig in the sand and everything.”
“Very cool. Have fun!”
“Thanks.”
After Megan hung up, she turned and looked at Marcus.
“Did Kendall tell you that she and Killiki were praying together?”
“That’s what she said.” Megan giggled. “I wanted to ask her what kind of pain meds she was taking, but I managed to control myself.”
Marcus just shook his head. “Well, that is pretty mind-blowing.”
“Makes me think that God is really up to something.”
Thirty
Lelani
It was close to noon by the time Lelani’s dad showed up at the appointed spot on the beach not far from their home. It was a place that she and her dad had claimed as their own when Lelani first began surfing. They had even constructed a palm-branch shelter that her dad reinforced at regular intervals. Naturally, it was gone now. But the memories still lingered, and Lelani marveled at how much her dad had changed over the past few years, how he had hardened. He didn’t even surf anymore.
Lelani had been waiting on the beach long enough to get extremely anxious, which eventually reminded her to pray. But all she could pray was for God to have his way, and for Emma to end up in the place that was best for her. Even if that wasn’t with Lelani.
“Sorry to make you wait,” he said when he joined her. “Something came up.”
The way he said something told Lelani it was her mother that had come up. Had she figured out where he was sneaking off to? Did she suspect he was talking to his daughter? Lelani glanced nervously down the beach toward the house.
“I think it’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry to put you in this position, Dad,” she began carefully. “And before we get into this, I want to say to you what I said to Mother yesterday. I am really appreciative of how you’ve cared for Emma. I’m sorry that I was unable to do more for her after she was born. So much was happening then. And when Mother hired a nanny and separated me from Emma, well, I did get pretty depressed.”
“I know.”
Lelani took a deep breath. “I wish I’d had the strength to have taken Emma then, but I was confused and, like Mother said, I had no way to care for a child. I could barely care for myself. And I knew that I would be cut off if I didn’t leave and so—”
“Cut off?” His voice was tinged in anger.
“Just financially,” Lelani added. “I knew that I didn’t deserve to go back to college and, in the state that I was in, I didn’t even think I was capable of going back. I felt guilty and sad, and I knew that I’d squandered your money—”
“I never said anything like that!”
“Maybe not in words, but Mother did. I could see the disappointment in your eyes.”
“Sure, I was disappointed. And I was sad. But I never planned to cut you off, Lelani. Not financially or any other way.” He looked directly into her eyes now. “You must know that.”
She bit her lip.
“You do know that, don’t you?”
“All I know is what my mother told me. You weren’t really around much at the time, Daddy.”
“I know. It was a pretty uncomfortable time. Your mother was very unhappy.”
“And ashamed. I know she was terribly ashamed. And so were you.”
“At first. But good grief, you’re not the first girl to have a baby outside of marriage, and you won’t be the last. I got over it.”
“Really?”
“It wasn’t so easy for your mother. You know how she is. She puts such great stock in … you know, certain things.”
“Like appearances.”
He nodded.
“Anyway, Daddy, I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I never really told you that before. But I want you to know that I am. And I hope you can forgive me someday.”
“I already do forgive you, Lelani.”
“Thank you.”
“But, as you know, your mother hasn’t.”
“I know.”
“So where does this leave us?”
“Well, as you know, I am not willing to give up my daughter. I love her dearly, Daddy, and I will fight for her. I have an attorney. I am gathering what I’ll need to go to court.”
He looked shocked now.
“Didn’t Mother tell you this?”
He shook his head. “She said that you’re crazy and that you planned to bring more shame on us and that you’d probably be out camping on the beach.”
“She said that?” Lelani rubbed a hand over her forehead and then wondered why that should surprise her.
“Words to that effect.”
“Well, I’m not crazy. But I am driven. I love Emma and I know that I can be a good mother to her. I know that I need to remain in Maui until the court date.”
“Court date?”
“For Emma’s custody. Clara Chan is handling my case.”
“Clara?”
“Yes. She’s wonderful.”
“She’s a good woman.”
“She said you were a good man. In fact, she encouraged me to speak to you.”
“But why do you need to do this? Why do you need to go to court? Why make this into such an ugly thing when all we’ve done is to care for your child until you were able—”
“Until I was able?” Lelani stared at him. “Is that what you trul
y believe?”
“That’s what I agreed to.”
“Until I was able …” Lelani considered this. “And who is supposed to determine if I am able, Daddy?”
He shrugged. “Well, you, I suppose.”
“I am able.”
He looked at her and nodded. “I believe you.”
“So why can’t I have my child?”
He shrugged again.
“Because of my mother.”
He said nothing, just drew a line in the sand, making it deeper and deeper.
“Because my mother has turned this into a power game, and she plans to win.”
“She is a strong woman.”
“But is she motivated by love, Daddy? Does she really love Emma?”
“Yes, of course she does.”
“But I’ve been here a week. I’ve sneaked into Emma’s nursery over and over again. I’ve played with her and aggravated Ginger. But is Mother ever with Emma?”
“She spends some time with Emma.”
“When? Do you see her?”
“No, but I go to work. And then there’s Ginger. Emma is well cared for, Lelani. You can see that, can’t you?”
“But I love her, Daddy. She’s my baby. And I really love her.”
“I know you do. I can see that. But, think about this, Lelani. If you have Emma, you’ll be forced to work to support her. Who will care for her then? Not you.”
Lelani pondered this.
“So, really, what difference would it make? At least Emma has stability here. She’s not going to some dirty day-care center, staying among strangers.”
“Do you think I’d let anyone watch her that I didn’t know and trust?”
“I’m just saying.”
“And I’m saying that I can take care of her. She is my daughter. If you and Mother stand in my way, we will let the court decide. I can’t promise that it won’t get ugly.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, of course not.” Lelani looked into his eyes again. “You know what would make me happier than anything, Daddy?”
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