The Hawaiian Quilt

by Brunstetter, Wanda E. ; Brunstetter, Jean;

  Middlebury

  “Miriam, it’s good to see you.” Peggy Eash smiled when Mandy’s mother entered her quilt-and-fabric store on Monday morning. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

  “I need some thread.”

  “Well, you know where the notions are kept.” Peggy pointed to the notions aisle.

  Miriam nodded, picked up a shopping basket, and headed down the aisle. She had almost reached the thread display when she noticed Peggy’s son Gideon. “I’m surprised to see you here this afternoon. Aren’t you still working at the upholstery shop?”

  “Things are a little slow there right now, so I have the day off. I’m helping unload a shipment of fabric and some other things that came in this morning.” He brushed his dark hair off his forehead.

  “I’m sure she appreciates your help, especially with Barbara gone.” Miriam picked out two spools of thread then stepped aside so Gideon could set down the box he held.

  “Have you heard anything from Mandy?” he asked, kneeling beside the box.

  “We talked for a while last night.” She dropped the thread into her basket.

  “Are she and her friends still on the boat?”

  “Jah. They should be almost to Hawaii by now. They’re scheduled to reach land tomorrow.”

  “How’s Mandy doing?” He looked up at her with a curious expression.

  “She’s fine, but Ellen got seasick on Saturday.”

  Gideon’s forehead wrinkled. “You’d never get me on a boat for all those days. I’d probably be grank as soon as I got on board.”

  “From what Mandy said, the ship is quite large, so unless the waters get really rough, I wouldn’t think the boat would sway too much.” Miriam picked out a few more spools of thread. “I hope she’s enjoying herself and will return with lots of good memories.”

  “Aren’t you worried about your dochder being so far from home?”

  “I’m not fond of the idea, but as you know, Mandy is twenty years old. I certainly couldn’t forbid her to go. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.” Miriam pursed her lips. Although if I had my way, Mandy would be here right now—not off on a cruise to see what Hawaii is all about.

  “I didn’t want her to go,” Gideon admitted, “but I gave her my blessing.”

  “If you’d asked her not to go, maybe she would have stayed. As long as you two have been courting, I would think she’d want to please you and not go gallivanting off to see what a tropical island looks like.”

  “If I’d asked Mandy to stay, she might have resented me, and it could have affected our relationship.” Gideon began pulling new skeins of yarn from the box.

  “You may be right.” Miriam hoped Mandy appreciated her boyfriend and would make a commitment to join the church soon. Maybe after this trip, she would settle down and take life more seriously.

  Chapter 4

  The Island of Maui

  Since Mandy and her friends had stayed up late Monday night, visiting and looking at the stars and the full moon, it was hard to get up the next morning. However, the excitement of arriving at the port in Maui and the sounds of people in the hallway talking got them all out of bed.

  Mandy and Barbara had signed up to go with a tour group to the visitors’ center at the Haleakalā volcanic crater, as well as the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. Sadie and Ellen would tour the huge aquarium at Maui Ocean Center and explore the town of Lahaina, where many shops and restaurants were located.

  Watching from one of the decks as the ship entered the harbor with a smaller boat guiding it into place, Mandy’s enthusiasm mounted. After seeing nothing but water for the last four days, it was a thrill to finally spot some green. She could hardly wait to step on dry land and view the beautiful sights awaiting them.

  Lahaina

  “Wish we could have gone on a tour watching for humpback whales,” Sadie commented as she and Ellen, along with the others in their tour group, started their walk through what appeared to be quite an old town. “Unfortunately from what I read in the brochure, the whales won’t migrate here from Alaska until December.”

  “I agree it’s a disappointment, but it’ll be fun to do some shopping.” Ellen gestured to an enormous tree with a twisted trunk, growing across the street. “That tree is certainly unusual. I wonder what it’s called.”

  “It’s a banyan,” their tour guide explained. “A lot of them grow here on Maui.” Everyone stopped walking as she told about this particular tree, and how it covered over two-thirds of an acre, with a dozen main trunks. “The Banyan tree was originally brought to Maui from India and planted over 140 years ago. Back then it was only eight feet tall, but now it’s grown to a height of sixty feet.”

  Sadie tipped her head back, shielding her eyes from the bright glare of the sun as she studied the monstrous tree. It was nothing like any of the trees they had back home.

  With her camera ready, Sadie suggested she and Ellen take their picture by the Banyan tree. Since neither of them had joined the church yet and they wouldn’t put their photos on display, it should be okay. Handing her camera to an older woman who was on the tour, they posed for a picture.

  After the photo was taken, they continued the tour, pausing along the waterfront to watch some of the boats going in and out of the harbor. It was a clear, sunny day, and Sadie was glad she’d remembered her sunglasses.

  Everyone went their own way for a while, visiting shops. They would regroup at a set time to board the bus that would take them to the Maui Ocean Center. Sadie looked forward to going because she’d read a beautiful pamphlet describing the center’s unique attractions.

  “Let’s get one of those.” Ellen pointed to a Hawaiian Shave Ice stand. “It looks similar to an ice-cream cone, only I’ve heard it’s more refreshing.”

  “Jah, let’s do.” As Sadie and Ellen started walking, Sadie bumped her toe against the sidewalk and lost her footing. She regained her balance in time to right herself, and kept going.

  “Are you okay?” Ellen clasped Sadie’s arm.

  “I’m fine. Jarred my back a bit, but at least I didn’t fall. It was embarrassing, but it could have been worse.” Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Sadie moved on.

  When they stepped up to the stand, Sadie studied all the different flavors they offered. “Now I don’t know which one to choose.”

  “Think I’ll try a coconut-flavored shave ice.” Ellen reached into her purse for the money. “As soon as you decide, we can order, and it’ll be my treat.”

  “Danki.” Sadie continued to study the list of flavors and finally decided on a li hing mui, which meant “salted plum.” In case she didn’t care for the taste, she added a bit of cherry flavor to it, as well.

  They sat on a bench to eat the delightful, cooling treats and watched the people from all walks of life passing by. Sadie had thought people might stare, wondering about their plain clothes, but with so many others representing different parts of the world, their way of dressing seemed to go unnoticed.

  When they were almost finished with their shave ice, Sadie noticed some syrup from the bottom of the paper cone had dripped out. “Oh, no!” She pointed to the front of her blue dress. “I hope it won’t leave a stain.” She threw the remainder of the treat in a nearby garbage can.

  “I packed some stain applicator for the trip,” Ellen said. “When we get back to the ship you can put some on your dress. Good thing we brought extra clothes with us.”

  “It’s also good we had our picture taken before this happened.”

  “Let’s look for a restroom so you can try to get some of the mess out now,” Ellen suggested.

  Sadie picked up her tote bag and held it in front of her dress. “If I can’t get the syrup out with soap and water, I’ll carry my bag in front of me the rest of the day.”

  Ellen snickered.

  After they located the public restrooms, Sadie took care of the stain as best as she could. Following that, they went into a few of the shops. In one, she spotted some p
etrified shark’s teeth.

  “Were those found here on Maui?” Ellen asked the woman behind the counter.

  “No, they were actually discovered off the shores of Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico.”

  Sadie thought it would be strange to buy something found in Florida when they were here on Maui, but then she’d also seen souvenirs and clothing in some of the shops that had been made in other countries.

  “I’m looking for something inexpensive to take home to my family,” Ellen said after they left the store selling shark teeth. “And I’d like it to be useful.”

  “I saw some Hawaiian-made purses at one of the shops. Those might be nice for the women in your family. There are some wooden items in this shop right here that might be useful.” Sadie stepped up to the window for a closer look. “What do you think? Should we go inside and look around?”

  Ellen drew in her lower lip and squinted. “Maybe I’ll wait till we visit some of the other islands before I buy any gifts. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunities to shop.”

  Sadie shrugged. “Okay, but if we see something along the way that catches our eye, we ought to get it because you never know if you’ll see anything like it again.”

  Haleakalā Crater

  “Did you ever see anything so strange?” Barbara asked as she and Mandy stood with several others at one of the observation areas, looking at the lava formations.

  “Seems like we’ve landed on the moon.” Mandy giggled. “Course, I’ve never been to the moon, so I really can’t say.”

  Barbara tipped her head back and looked up. “Did you hear that gedumor?”

  “What noise?”

  “It sounded like geese honking.”

  “Oh, those are the nēnē geese,” their guide explained. “They’re an endangered species and live on the wooded slopes of Haleakalā.”

  Mandy took out her camera and snapped several photos of the surrounding area. She could see for miles, clear out into the ocean. There was no way she could ever describe this unusual place without showing her family and friends a few pictures. She felt thankful she’d come to Hawaii, and what they were seeing today was only the beginning.

  On the Cruise Ship

  After Sadie and Ellen boarded the ship again, they headed for their room to get ready for the evening meal. They found Barbara and Mandy there.

  “We had a good time today.” Ellen yawned. “I’m tired, but no worse for wear.”

  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t wait to eat.” Mandy gave a sheepish smile when her stomach growled. “I’ve snacked on a few roasted macadamia nuts. It’s hard not to get carried away because they’re so good.”

  “I tried a couple of them, but they’re not as appealing to me, so I’ve been snacking on chips.” Barbara sat in a chair with a bag of Hawaiian-style chips in her lap. “You’re all welcome to try some if you want.”

  “Those sound tempting.” Ellen walked over and reached into the bag. “They even smell good.”

  “What’s on the front of your dress?” Mandy pointed.

  “Ellen and I had some shave ice today. Mine ended up leaking on me.” Sadie helped herself to a few macadamia nuts. “These are so good.” She glanced at the clock. “There’s still a little time before we head up for dinner, so I’m going to change out of this dress, put some stain remover on the spot, and soak it in the sink.”

  “Hopefully it’ll come clean.” Mandy moved to the window with her camera to take a few pictures of the beautiful sunset. “Would you look at that? We’re seeing the hand of God again, jah?”

  During dinner, the girls talked about the things they’d seen that day.

  “The best part for me,” Barbara said, “was visiting the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. It was beautiful, and I bought a few lavender gifts at the Gallery Gift Shop to take home for family.”

  “It was a nice place to visit,” Mandy agreed, while reaching for her glass of water.

  “What was it like?” Ellen asked.

  Eyes sparkling like fireflies on a hot summer night, Barbara told about the breathtaking views and walking paths. “It was interesting to hear the history of how the farm came to be, and we got to see and smell the pretty lavender plants.”

  “We were thankful for our tour guide, who explained everything,” Mandy interjected. “It was so peaceful. We wished we could have stayed longer.”

  “That’s how I felt when the group Sadie and I were with visited the Maui Ocean Center.” Ellen blotted her lips with a cloth napkin. “My favorite part was the outdoor turtle lagoon. It was fun to see the turtles playing in the water and basking in the sandy area provided for them.”

  Sadie took a bite of roast beef, then set her fork down. “Watching the turtles was enjoyable, but the best part for me at the ocean center was the indoor part of the aquarium, where we saw many species of native Hawaiian fish.”

  Ellen smiled. “After our tour we ate lunch at the Aquarium Reef Café and browsed the gift shop, where they had all kinds of treasures.”

  “Did you buy anything?” Mandy asked.

  “No, I’m waiting until we get to the next island in the morning.”

  “Speaking of which…” Mandy tilted her head. “I hear the ship’s motor running below, which means we’re getting ready to leave port.” I can hardly wait to see what adventures await on Oahu tomorrow.

  Chapter 5

  The Island of Oahu

  Mandy shivered in anticipation as she waited to leave the ship. She and Sadie would tour Pearl Harbor while Barbara and Ellen explored the Polynesian Cultural Center. There wasn’t time to go on both tours, so the four friends had decided to split up and then share their experiences during dinner. Later on, they’d also exchange pictures.

  Mandy chose Pearl Harbor because she’d studied the World War II attack and was saddened to think how many people lost their lives because of it. Sadie was also interested in history, and especially wanted to visit the USS Arizona Memorial, which she’d heard was one of the most popular visitor attractions in Hawaii.

  “I’m eager to see the cultural center. The brochure I have mentions it’s a forty-two-acre lagoon park.” Ellen placed the brochures in her tote bag. “We’ll be able to see Polynesian dance, costumes, and songs, and learn how they used to live. From the pictures I’ve seen, it appears to be a special place with natural beauty, showcasing the culture of the Pacific. There will be so much to see and do, all in a single day.”

  “I’m excited, too,” Barbara agreed. “It will be interesting to learn about the various aspects of Polynesian culture.”

  “Oh, look, there’s a beautiful reggeboge! It must be raining somewhere on the island.”

  Mandy looked in the direction Sadie pointed. Sure enough. A gorgeous rainbow spanned the sky. Its bright colors pierced the clouds, captivating her as she admired the rainbow’s beauty. Looking closer, she noticed a double rainbow, but the colors were in reverse of the brighter one.

  Mandy thought about the Bible passage where God placed a rainbow in the sky after the flood as a promise to never again destroy the earth by water. Whenever she saw a rainbow, she remembered God’s promise, and it made her feel closer to Him. Our heavenly Father created many wonderful things for our enjoyment, she thought. Too bad some people take them for granted or don’t notice at all.

  Polynesian Cultural Center

  “This is fun!” Ellen could hardly contain herself as she and Barbara sat in a canoe.

  Their paddling guide led them through a lovely lagoon, slowly maneuvering from one end of the cultural center to the other. After spending most of the morning on their feet, looking at many of the exhibits, it felt good to sit and enjoy a more leisurely pace. She’d picked up a disposable camera at the first gift shop they’d visited and had already taken several pictures. Her camera wasn’t fancy like the digital one Mandy purchased before leaving on their trip, but it would capture some of the special places Ellen was seeing today. Tomorrow, she’d also have more picture-t
aking opportunities when they visited the island of Kauai.

  She leaned back, closing her eyes for a brief time, enjoying the perfumed fragrances in the air. “Can you smell the flowers?” Ellen tilted her head farther and sniffed deeply, to catch more of the pleasant aroma.

  Turning to face her, their handsome young guide spoke up. “The fragrance you’re enjoying is from the gardenia flower growing over there.” He pointed toward the bank of the man-made freshwater lagoon. “They do smell wonderful.”

  Barbara smiled. “I agree. The scent of those flowers is so different than any we have back home.”

  “Where are you two from?” he asked.

  “Middlebury, Indiana,” Ellen replied.

  “You’re a long way from home. How do you like Hawaii so far?”

  Ellen’s cheeks felt hot as she murmured, “It’s amazing.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” Barbara dipped her hand into the water as they glided quietly along.

  “Maybe you’ll come back someday. We see a lot of returning guests here at our center.” He winked at her.

  Stifling a snicker, Ellen exchanged looks with her friend. Then to ease her embarrassment, Barbara leaned closer to Ellen and whispered, “What should we do after this?”

  “I’m hungerich, so maybe we should eat lunch.”

  “Sounds good to me. There’s a snack stand at the Marquesas Village inside the center.”

  “They have good food, and the prices aren’t bad.” Their guide smiled and winked at Barbara again.

  Ellen wondered if he was flirting with her friend. If so, she was glad Barbara wasn’t flirting back.

  “Thank you for the information.” Barbara turned to look at Ellen. “After we eat, maybe we should stop by the Polynesian Marketplace, which has many handcrafted items. I bet we can find some nice things to buy.”

  “They do have some interesting items,” their guide interjected.

  “I need to be careful not to spend all my money in one place,” Ellen said. “We still have two islands to see, not to mention our stop in Ensenada, Mexico, before returning to Los Angeles.”