by Sieni A. M.
“Lana, you know very well that when I say I’m going to do something, I always do.” Sera pulled back, her smile waning. “My God, look at you! You’ve lost so much weight…” she trailed off, eyes glistening with moisture.
Alana squeezed her hands. “I’m okay, Sera. It’s behind me.” From the corner of her eye she noticed Manu stiffen at her words. Alana ignored him and focused on the best friend in front of her. “You’re here now and that’s all that matters. We have a wedding to look forward to, lots of family, lots of food, lots of sightseeing.”
Alana smiled to erase the look of concern on Sera’s face. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, and Sera gave her a look that said she wasn’t convinced. For the moment, she seemed willing to help her friend in any way she could, even if that meant temporarily burying the problem.
She wrapped her arm around Alana’s. “I’ve heard so much about this place that I finally had to check it out for myself just so I don’t feel left out anymore.”
She nudged Manu in the ribs, and he hugged her around the shoulders. Picking up her bag, they crossed the street to the car park area. Manu’s truck was parked a few rows away, and the three friends meandered their way over. Once they were settled in, he started the forty minute journey towards Alana’s home. Sera enjoyed the village setting and traditional homes, flourishing gardens adorning the front yards, children walking along the road waving and shouting in greeting. They passed the main town area with its busy market stalls of fresh fruits and vegetables, women chasing flies away from the fish caught early that day, and shoppers shielding themselves from the sun’s rays in the shade of looming department stores.
The wedding was a few days away, and Alana’s house was buzzing with activity. Family and friends from overseas were flying in to take up residence in her house and in the homes of her uncles and aunties. She had been evicted out of her room to cater for their guests, and she and Sera were going to be camping out in the living room. Her grandparents had already arrived from the States bringing the fresh smell of laundry softener, gifts, and wedding supplies galore with them.
When Alana met Kane, she liked him immediately. She was taken by his friendly nature and his intelligent and humorous wit and decided he was a great match for her sister. She could see just how happy they were together and couldn’t help rolling her eyes at their bantering which ultimately led to snuggles and make-up kisses. When that happened, Sala couldn’t help her smart comments, which would successfully draw out small smiles from Alana. He arrived before his family and friends, and Malia immediately put him to work picking people up from the airport, driving around to run errands, and meeting and greeting their extended family. Alana was impressed that he handled the craziness that was her family so well.
When they pulled up to her house, warm light radiated from within, and the sounds of laughter drifted out through the open louvers. The dinner her family was hosting was well under way. Earlier Alana had attempted to help Sala prepare the sumptuous meal of soya sauce and lemon chicken with baked vegetables. When she burned the rice for the second time in a row, Sala chased her out of the kitchen, and she was immediately delegated to deep clean the floors and bathrooms. It wasn’t because she didn’t know how to cook. She just didn’t know how to cook the cursed rice.
They entered the living room and were immediately overwhelmed by the number of family members that took up every corner in the small space. Alana’s cousins were sitting idly on the couches and floor while the elders were seated around the dining room table eating and talking. Some of the children were running around on the porch outside while their parents chastised them to sit nicely on the mat and eat their food. Alana relished in the noise. She had always loved family gatherings, savoring in its friendly chatter and affection. It was a chaotic symphony of various ages and personalities that somehow clicked well together. Tonight, however, she wasn’t her usual jovial self. She pushed past it for Sera’s sake, though, and plastered a smile on her face.
“Sera!” her mother came forward and engulfed her in a warm embrace. “Your presence here has already brightened my daughter’s eyes.” She smiled. “You are very welcome. You can put your bag down and come meet the family.”
Perlita kissed Alana on the cheek and patted Manu on the back. Alana led her around the room and introduced Sera to her grandparents and extended family.
“So good to see you again, Sera. Welcome to Samoa,” her uncle Solo said between greasy mouthfuls of food.
Malia came forward and hugged her. “Sera, I’m so happy you could make it for the wedding of the decade!” she trilled.
“Where’s Kane?” Alana asked.
“He’s on his way—”
“Alana!” Aunt Malae snapped. “Bring the potato salad over here.”
Alana’s mother led Sera and Manu to the table laden with food. “Please help yourselves. As you can tell, we started already, but there’s plenty to go round.”
They happily obliged, piling their plates with steamed oysters, taro in coconut cream, chicken and vegetable curry, pork adobo, and coleslaw. Alana’s stomach grumbled at the sight. She picked up the salad and took it over to her aunty who took two large scoops and plopped it onto her plate. She returned to the table and filled her plate and joined her friends. They found a place on the floor and ate in comfortable silence, listening to her younger cousins throw jabs at each other. When the meal was over, someone suggested an open mic competition. The room was divided into two teams mixed between old and young.
With Alana and Sera placed in the same group, Sera turned to Manu and mouthed, “You’re going down.”
“Bring it.” He smirked from across the room.
After they listened to several eighties songs butchered to death by her aunts and endured a very flat number by Uncle Solo, Sera treated them to an exceptional performance of Zoe’s Sunshine on a Rainy Day—the result naturally eliciting loud cheers and points in favor of her team. When Manu took the mic, the younger cousins prepped and pumped him up as if he were stepping into a boxing ring. He flexed his muscles, cracked his neck, and gave Alana a little wink. She shook her head and couldn’t help the small smile that warmed her face. Always the dramatic performer, she thought. Her eyes widened when he chose Justin Wellington’s Island Girl. It was a soulful reggae ballad that she loved, a tribute to a Pacific woman praising her qualities and attributes. It didn’t surprise her that the man could sing. Was there anything he couldn’t do? Alana laughed when he walked towards her grandmother who was sitting leisurely on one of the couches and began to sing to her on bended knee, wooing her with the lyrics.
“Island girl, will you be my shelter... she got genuine beauty and a natural glow... she always cares for her family... she’s my treasure, my everything... she never ask for anything, but she will always give everything...I’ve been through oceans to finally find you island girl...”
Her grandmother chuckled and patted him on the arm. Lusia, her cousin’s two-year old daughter, waddled over and sat down on Alana’s lap, and Alana kissed her on the top of her hair which smelled faintly of coconut oil. She blushed outwardly when Manu suddenly stood and walked to where she sat, continuing the song as the crowd accompanied with woops and cheers. So bold. The overly-confident Manu. Why did it seem like he was singing about her? As she stifled that thought, movement in her peripheral vision drew her attention to the front door.
Kane had arrived and Malia was walking to where he was standing. There was someone else with him. Curious, Alana glanced past her sister to the new arrival and froze. Familiar blue eyes had already sought her out in the room, gazing at her where she sat humbly on the mat gripping tightly to Lusia’s little body. Lusia wriggled out of her embrace and ran off to her mother. Without her little protective cushion, Alana’s chest tightened, the air in her lungs abandoning her, leaving her light headed and dizzy.
What in the world was Chase Malek doing in her house?
Chapter 12
Alana sat fixed to her place o
n the floor and stared at Chase. She made no move to go to him even when her mother and relatives got up from their chairs to meet him. Kane introduced his friend, and he greeted her family with politeness, shaking their hands and treating them to his charming smile. He was dressed casually in dark jeans and black shirt, a leather messenger bag slung across his broad chest. He wore rugged Timberland boots that easily gave his height another couple inches, adding to his already looming presence in the room. His hair was stylishly disheveled from traveling and a dark shadow graced his masculine jaw line. He was breathtaking and Alana’s heart raced at the sight of him. She swallowed hard and cursed her body’s reaction.
“Who is that?” Sera breathed next to her.
Before she could form an answer, Malia gestured to them to come forward. Great. It was one thing to sit safely on the floor, but now she had to come face to face with him. Suddenly she felt very self-conscious. If it wasn’t for Sera’s tugging she would have delayed the inevitable longer. Reluctantly, she stood and walked over to where the group was still congregated near the door.
“Alana, Sera, this is Chase Malek. He’s Kane’s oldest friend and the best man,” Malia said, smiling.
Kane’s friend? What? Alana frowned. What were the odds? Sera boldly stepped forward and practically launched herself a little too forcefully.
Gripping his hand, she batted her eyes and crooned, “Such a pleasure to meet you, Chase. Is this your first time to Samoa? It’s mine. Perhaps we can discover it together?”
Alana groaned, embarrassed for her friend’s obvious behavior. He smiled politely before shifting his gaze to Alana’s face.
“Actually, I’ve visited before.” His eyes found hers and they bore deeply as she observed the blue darkening and flaring briefly with anger. His brows drew together, momentarily marring his features. It was a fleeting motion, too quick for anyone else to notice, but Alana had caught it. His eyes suddenly clouded, crushing the emotion before she could decipher its meaning.
Gee, it’s nice to see you too.
She shifted uneasily and interrogated her mind with questions. Was he upset with her? Was he warning her off any future questions she had about his ability? Did he think he would return and not run into her? What about the way he made her feel before he left last time? Did she just imagine how good that physical contact felt?
“Do you two know each other?” Malia asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.
Chase answered for the both of them. “I came to Samoa for business a couple months ago. I did some work at the hospital, and that’s where Alana and I met.”
“Oh, don’t be so modest, Mr. Malek.” Manu came from behind him and clapped his hand on his shoulder. “Chase here donated millions to the hospital. Because of him we have all sorts of new equipment.”
Alana noted that when they stood together, Manu’s size and height was slightly dwarfed by Chase’s. But where Manu was rugby-player bulky, Chase was tall and muscular—the body of an athlete, she imagined. Stop thinking about his body.
Chase shrugged the comment away, clearly annoyed with the glorified attention he was generating. He returned his gaze to Alana and frowned. What was his problem? How dare he have the audacity to give her the evil eye in her own home? It was too crazy of a coincidence that he was here now playing a big part in her family’s wedding, but he didn’t have to make it unpleasant for her by being a prick.
“Millions?” Sera choked out, her eyes ogling Chase.
The conversation was cut off abruptly when her mother called out to them to say goodbye to some of the guests who were leaving for the night. Alana sighed in relief, happy to step away from the intensity that surrounded Chase Malek. She walked outside and said farewell to her uncles and aunts, giving hugs to her little cousins and promising babysitting duties to their parents. She felt his gaze on her back watching her interactions with her extended family but ignored it. She wasn’t going to allow him to affect her, even though secretly she feared he already had. He confused her, sending her mind spinning in a whirlpool. He needed to also leave, she concluded. Soon.
“David, your uncle Solo and aunty Malae need to be dropped off. Can you drive them home?” Perlita called from the front yard.
“I’ll do it!” Alana said a little too enthusiastically.
She wanted nothing more than an excuse to escape the house for a while and hoped that when she returned Chase and Kane would have left by then. Malia had organized accommodations for Kane at a five star resort on the south coast of the island. She figured Chase was most likely staying there as well with some of his friends from university who had yet to arrive for the wedding. It was a resort Alana rarely visited—the last time being for a grand fashion show where she went to support an old classmate from high school—but when she did, she felt like she had taken a mini trip to paradise. It wasn’t difficult to see that it was the perfect place for Malia and Kane to spend their honeymoon (after Malia made Kane boot out his buddies from there first, of course).
Alana snatched the keys away from David and headed to his vehicle parked in the driveway.
“Come on, Uncle and Aunty, let’s go,” she said hurriedly. She wasted little time, shutting her door and revving up the engine before they even had a chance to step in. She turned sideways to click her belt in place.
When she straightened, she shot a couple inches off her seat and screamed. “Holy crap! You scared me!”
Chase stood, bracing the door frame with his forearms. His presence was so overbearing, his stance all taut and rigid, and she fumbled to roll down the glass. His body covered the entire frame of the window, completely blocking any view beyond. He was close enough that Alana could smell the spicy warmth of his skin and the crispness of his shirt.
“What are you doing?” she asked shakily.
“I’m coming with you,” his voice rumbled. “We need to talk.”
Before she could respond with a strongly worded retort, he launched himself smoothly at the back of the truck with little effort and settled himself comfortably against the hatch. She pinched her lips together and glared at him. He glowered back and nodded once as if to finalize his decision. When Alana glanced at who remained left of her family and friends on the front lawn, she saw the raised eyebrows and questioning looks. Manu, on the other hand, scowled at Chase. His fists were balled tightly in preparation for something Alana did not have the state of mind to contemplate.
The old Hilux dipped and creaked from the combined weights of her uncle and aunty as they clambered in. Uncle Solo seated himself beside Alana while Aunty Malae sat behind him in the double cab truck. Alana reversed the vehicle and shot out of the driveway, aiming to hit every pot hole in sight to make the journey a most pleasant one for the straggler at the back. She chanced a glance in the rear view mirror, but it was too dark to make out anything.
“That was a good evening, ay, Alana? I sang well, huh?” her uncle Solo asked.
Her aunt snorted. “Kane is a very nice young man. Malia is a very lucky girl,” she said.
Alana was too distracted to contribute to the conversation that was going on in the car. Her thoughts were too shuffled and wrapped up in the talk Chase was determined to have with her that he had to ruin her plan of escape.
“And what about his friend? He is the one that donated all that money to the hospital,” her uncle declared. “Such a generous man.”
“And a very rich one at that. We must find him a nice Samoan girl while he is here,” Aunt Malae responded.
Uncle Solo grunted in approval. “What about you, Alana?”
That snapped her out of her reverie. “Huh? What?”
“Your aunty is suggesting that you and Kane’s friend will make a good couple.”
Oh no, Alana thought. It was so typical of her aunt to play matchmaker. Of course it definitely helped matters that this particular man was palagi and hugely wealthy. Double points for Samoan parents. And double those points for the extended family because once you married a Samoan
woman, you married her entire family. That meant providing for them financially. For life. But what Alana knew and they didn’t was that Chase was a very complicated man with some serious issues. Issues related to manipulating light and bringing back the dead. She shivered at the memory. Perhaps tonight she would get the answers she so curiously sought after. Her pulse picked up at the prospect.
“Judging by the way he wanted to come with us...” her aunt raised her eyebrows and wiggled them about teasingly. Then her tone changed. “Don’t mess this up, Alana. You’re a big girl now. Finished with university. It’s time to think about the next stage in life. If he wants to talk to you, you talk to him and don’t scare him off,” she admonished.
Alana sighed heavily. He was more likely to scare her. She was grateful to finally reach their home before the conversation carried further in that direction. The last thing she wanted was for her aunt and uncle to meddle in her affairs where Chase was involved. She had enough scrambled thoughts to decode that she could do without the interference.
Aunt Malae hopped out and shrilled a little too cheerily, “Oh, Chase? Come sit in the front with Alana, dear.”
Alana rolled her eyes. Could her aunt be any more transparent? The woman had no shame. The truck bounced when he jumped off the back, the impact slamming Alana’s heart to her chest. She braced the steering wheel and refused to look at the farewell he was giving her aunt and uncle.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gasolo, Mrs. Gasolo,” his voice resonated before he got into the front passenger seat and shut the door.
“You kids drive home safe now, okay?” her aunt said, smiling before pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes in warning towards Alana.
The look told her not to mess up any possible relationship with the man seated next to her. And then if that wasn’t warning enough she switched to Samoan.
“Watch this boy, Alana. Don’t let him slip through your fingertips. He’s a fine catch and good for this family. If it wasn’t too late we could have arranged a double wedding.”