by MJ Brannigan
“Is that why you invited her?” Auntie asked, looking up, under a slight furrow between her eyebrows.
“Well, yes… but I do like her too, if that’s what you mean.” Kamea answered, with her hands open wide, as though to give in to Auntie’s insights.
Auntie took Kamea’s hands in hers, and closing her eyes, pulled them to her heart. “I see flowers for you, keiki… from the one that loves you… the right one for you. I see you swimming up from the bottom of the sea, and into a lei of plumeria—yellow plumeria is what I see. That’s how you’ll know the one, no matter who she is. You’re a woman of the sea, like the old-time people. The one for you will know it and love that about you, too. No worries, keiki. All in good time.” Auntie patted her hand before releasing her gentle grip.
“Your friend Rebecca, she will be okay if she follows her heart, no worries. She is a good person, even if a little confused right now. She’s been going through a rough year.”
“Yeah, that bad breakup last year; left her kinda messed up, I guess. But flowers? No rainbows?” Kamea chuckled and winked, attempting to lighten the moment.
“Flowers for you, keiki. You already saw your rainbow,” she replied, her index finger raised to the ceiling in a gentle tease.
“I’m not so sure I want to be with someone right now though, Auntie. None of my relationships have worked out very well—not in any hurry to jump into one with a tourist, even if she seems a little different.” Kamea replied.
“When you are with the right one, keiki, it will only add good things to your life. It won’t mean giving up who you are, remember that. The one who loves you will love you for who you are—not what they want you to be, and not to make you into something else to please them. But for Rebecca, yes. She still gotta see a rainbow to help her figure things out in her heart.”
“I’m wondering if she will even show,” Kamea said, looking out over the friends and family gathered around the house.
“Well, she knows she’s welcome. If she follows her heart and puts the doubt thoughts away that keep holding her back, she’ll come. All up to her.”
“K den. Thanks, Auntie. Let’s see what happens these next few days. I might be getting myself all twisted up for nothin’.”
Kamea motioned outside: “Lemme go and say hi to some more family. I see Aheahe is here—she made Rebecca laugh a lot at the clinic.”
* * *
After a visit with Aheahe, some more cousins and friends, and a nice talk with her sweet Uncle Leo, JonJon and Brenda pulled in. JonJon swaggered a little more than walked, and Kamea prepared for some sort of teasing remark she knew was to come.
“Is your new girlfriend coming?” JonJon asked, with a little wink, and his usual big, broad smile.
Kamea punched him in the arm.
“Ouch, Cuz! That one hurt!” he jumped back laughing, only to be hit in the other arm by Brenda.
“Be nice to your cousin,” she said, giving him the look that only a significant other can burn into their partner.
“I’m just kiddin’—you know that,” he said, not sure which bruised arm to massage first. “But how’s she doin’ anyway? She seem okay?”
“We had coffee this morning when I took her to her rental car. She looked like she was over it pretty well—didn’t seem as though anything hurt at all. I was a bit surprised—thought she’d complain at least a little.”
“That’s good; Maui is good for healing too. A full night’s sleep did her some good too, I would think,” he continued. “You did invite her, right?” he stepped back, not sure if he would have to endure another punch to the arm.
“Yeah,” Kamea waved a little not-to-worry sign to JonJon. “She seemed like she was going to come by when I dropped her off at least. We’ll see.”
“Well, I’m gonna help Uncle Leo with wood for the fire later,” JonJon replied, excusing himself. “She might be the one!” he said looking back, as soon as he got a safe distance from the two women, now shaking their heads, hands on their hips.
“He can be such a knob at times, can’t he?” Brenda said, watching him trot away.
“Yeah, but ya can’t help but love the guy. He’s more big brother than cousin, and I don’t know what I’d have done without him lookin’ out for me all these years,” Kamea replied.
Kamea busied herself saying hello and catching up with relatives she hadn’t seen in a while. She thought that maybe, just maybe, her parents might have come over from Oahu. But no. It wasn’t that she was in any hurry to see them. But for her older sister’s birthday, she thought her Mom, at least, would have taken the flight over.
After what seemed like such a long time dragging by, trying to stifle the little bit of nerves she was feeling in her stomach, Kamea saw Rebecca’s white rental car drive by slowly on the car-lined road. It sent a small electric bolt through her at the sight.
She reached into the cooler and pulled out another beer for her friend and headed in her direction.
Kamea stood, looking at Rebecca, who had stopped on her way towards the house. She had watched her long enough to see her get out of the car and look about to take in her surroundings. Then, after a few steps towards the banana trees, stood there in front of them, eyes closed and face turned towards the sunlight. Was she hesitating? Was she feeling the sun, the breeze? Kamea wondered.
The moments of her backlit figure standing there, holding a bouquet of flowers to her chest, and surrounded by such varied greens in the late afternoon light—the light creating a halo of gold in her curly hair, hitting her white sundress, and turning its edges gold. What little shadow there was; a pale ultramarine hue—the purple-blue of reflected sky. Oh, my, Kamea thought, the beauty of the sight flooding her. This was something to paint. My God. She was beautiful.
Not wanting to break the spell, but also not wanting to face the possibility of Rebecca changing her mind and heading back towards her car, Kamea held off as long as she could before she called out her name.
She stood, feeling somewhat silly—holding a beer in each hand, almost like a little girl, hoping her crush would take notice and not run away. Kamea couldn’t help but smile as Rebecca met her gaze, seemed almost to relax her pose and walk towards her, mirroring her smile and warming her heart. The nerves in her stomach melted away.
* * *
Later that night, Kamea lay on her bed at Auntie’s, looking up at the ceiling. She still kept a room for her to come home to after all these years. The party was long over, the last few stragglers leaving about an hour before. The sound of waves, breaking on not-too-distant rocks hadn’t yet lulled her to sleep. The blue light from a moon that would soon turn full created dancing patterns of leaves across her bedspread. She was thinking of Rebecca.
She seemed to have a good time, Kamea thought. It looked as though she loved listening to Uncle Leo’s slack key. Mimi joined him on the uke a few times, and Rebecca had a smile pasted on her face the entire time.
Why was she still thinking about this woman? She was so beautiful in Kamea’s eyes. She had a gentle spirit about her that told her she could never do harm to anyone but herself. But wasn’t she going back home to the mainland in a few weeks? Kamea wanted the feelings she had for Rebecca to leave her alone. But it was a sweet, tortuous desire that would not go away anytime soon, it appeared. What was she supposed to do?
Kamea’s hands had been full when Rebecca arrived, holding their beers, and there was just a little spark when they touched, passing one to her friend. On the bench in the warmth of firelight, their hands brushed more than once, and Kamea wondered if Rebecca felt it too? There were long glances at one another during the music, ending only in soft smiles.
A wink from JonJon finally made Kamea excuse herself and get up to find something else to occupy her for a little while—filling plates for the guests, handing out sweet cakes—and ignoring JonJon’s “I told you so” look that followed her around the fire.
Kamea walked Rebecca to her car when she announced that she best be go
ing. She seemed to enjoy her time with Kamea’s family and friends. Some even invited her to come and visit them before going back to the mainland. “You’re welcome anytime,” most of them said to her.
Kamea stood in front of Rebecca, keeping her hands confined to the safety of her pockets. Rebecca, leaning on her closed car door, hands tucked behind her. Kamea wanted to hold her, but nerves got the better of her, and so they continued small talk; Kamea digging in the soft ground with her flops.
When finally, Rebecca moved to open the car door to leave, Kamea took her free hand in hers, stopping Rebecca, who then turned to embrace her.
Kamea reflected on the feeling of Rebecca’s soft breath against her cheek, on her neck, and the warmth of her hands in the square of her back as they hugged. This time, Kamea hadn’t felt the need to pull away. When they did part, Kamea let her fingers run the length of Rebecca’s arms and into waiting hands that held hers for a little longer, before giving them a gentle squeeze to end the moment.
But the moment hadn’t ended—Kamea’s lying in bed, still lingering on the night passed as a testament to that. She wrapped her arms around her chest as though to give herself a hug, holding herself as Rebecca might, if she were here with her, then turned on her side as sleep found her and took her to dreams. She hoped there would be dreams of Rebecca.
CHAPTER 10 - REBECCA
Driving back to the B&B, Rebecca’s skin still tingled from Kamea’s touch. Did this woman like her that much? The way she looked at me, touched me—I thought she didn’t want to get involved with anyone? Mixed signals? Yep. But what did it all mean? What should I do?
Rebecca had given Kamea her cell number in case she wanted to get a hold of her for anything. Soon after, all she could think was; what would she want to get a hold of me for? What was I thinking?
But Kamea took Rebecca’s new phone when she showed it to her, scrolled to her contacts, and put in her info. “There, she said. When you wanna take a hike up to the pools I was telling you about, just let me know. Even if it’s just to talk, have coffee, or if you need anything, just call. No worries, ‘K den?”
It warmed her to think of Kamea—those eyes, she thought. It is so difficult not to stare into them. But what now? Maybe I’ll take her up on the offer of a hike in the next day or so. But maybe I should spend some time on my own first. Don’t want to appear too needy. Would tomorrow be too soon to call her?
Standing in the little parking lot of the B&B, Rebecca looked up through the canopy of branches swaying in the moonlight. A partial arc of light hung in the light of the almost-full moon. It seemed to have bands when she looked a little closer. There were subtle colors in each band, like a little rainbow from the light of the moon. How was this possible?
She remembered Auntie’s vision of a rainbow for her, but this couldn’t be what she meant, could it? She had been thinking of Kamea. But what did this ‘almost’ rainbow in the moonlight have to do with what she was thinking?
* * *
Once inside and getting ready for bed, she looked closer at the face in the mirror as she removed what little makeup she had bothered to put on. It seems as though few women wore makeup here—the breeze and moist air wreaking havoc on anyone who tried.
She looked closer at the few wrinkles around her eyes. She didn’t look too old yet, she thought. At least not as old as she had felt in recent months. Still, the past year had taken some of the light from her eyes, the spring from her step. The joy she felt arise in her at the sight—even the thought of Kamea—was the best she had felt on the inside in a long time.
Kamea could make her laugh, make her feel important. She couldn’t help but be thankful for that. She wished they had met under other circumstances, and not a rescue. But for a few cuts and bruises, she was none the worse for the incident. She seemed to be better off for it actually—just not the path she would have wanted, given the choice.
She thought about tonight by the fire. Uncle Leo’s slack key was so calming and lulled her into a beautiful place. That, a few beers, and Kamea’s lovely face by the light of the fire. It couldn’t get any better.
As she pulled the covers over her, sliding into bed, Rebecca wondered what it might be like if Kamea were lying here. It took no effort to imagine getting in next to her, to feel her warmth, and be enveloped her in her arms.
Lord, she thought. I have to either move forward with Kamea and see where it goes—if it can go anywhere—or just forget about it altogether. At this point, there was a little time to see where things might go, but not so much time it could be wasted. She had another ten days or so on her vacation to figure out if getting closer to Kamea would be either wisdom or foolishness.
And what would she do if they actually hit it off? Well, she supposed, there might be a way to move here, and live. Could she uproot herself from the former way of life she knew?
Why am I thinking about this now? So soon? She knew how ridiculous it seemed.
But she rarely saw her design clients anymore. Most everything happened via email and phone now. Being local seemed to be just a holdover from the old days when you met with a client in person to talk over and show your work. Maybe they wouldn’t mind if she worked from here? If they wanted to see her, there was always Skype.
All the thoughts of ‘what if?’ kept her tossing and turning. Her mind was making plans in a half sleep, yet she was not sleepy enough to rest. She couldn’t ignore a gift that felt like a new lease on life. Her life had been saved for something—was it just to go back to Detroit and learn to appreciate what she had?
Right now, the way she was beginning to feel here on Maui, going back to the same-old, same-old would feel like settling. Settling is what she had been doing for much of her life. Look where it got her.
Her last thoughts before sleep were of Kamea’s touch: the way it felt when she caressed the length of her arms after their embrace. She squeezed herself at the thought and finally drifted off to sleep.
* * *
The next morning, there were no clouds to obscure the sun. Just the morning light and a gentle breeze blowing out of the north, and up-slope from the sea. She splashed her face and pulled on some shorts and a t-shirt, thinking she would just head down the hill to the general store for her cup of morning coffee.
Teeth brushed, and hair pulled into a ponytail through her baseball cap; on she went, down the hill. There were a few people there already, picking up snacks and coffee for the long day’s drive to Hana. She lingered for a moment as she looked down the road—the same road to Auntie’s and last night. Better get my coffee, she thought.
Sitting on the porch in the same seat as the previous morning, Rebecca scrolled through her new phone. She hadn’t taken the time to set it up completely yet; connecting to the Cloud, her email, contacts and such. She doubted anyone would have tried to get a hold of her anyway, but it took her mind off Kamea as she set about to restore as much as she could.
“Hey again,” she heard from someone who’s footfall she had just heard coming up the steps. It was Laura. “All by yourself today?” she asked.
“Oh, hi… yes. Just got my phone back; well, a new one, actually. The other got ruined, so…” Why am I so nervous?
“No Kamea this morning?” Laura asked, looking around and then tilting her head down and to the side.
“Oh, well, no.” I haven’t seen her since yesterday. I’m not sure what she’s doing today.
“Gotta watch out for that one,” Laura said, bangles tinkling as she ran her hands through her big mop of hair.
“What… what do you mean?” Rebecca replied, a quizzed look on her face.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. Kamea’s lovely—a sweetheart, but at the first sign of commitment, she’ll hightail it away. I don’t know if you two have started seeing each other or anything, but…”
“No,” Rebecca interrupted her. “We just met under unusual circumstances the other day. Just friends is all. Plus, I’m only here for a few weeks, anyway.” Why was she ta
lking herself out of this already?
“I’m sorry—it wouldn’t be any of my business if you guys hooked up. Don’t mean to intrude. It’s just that she’s pretty and got that Polynesian exotic thing going for her, but I wouldn’t want a sweet girl to get all attached on vacation, just to get her heart broken. But I’m speaking out of turn. Like I said, none of my business.”
Rebecca was thinking Laura knew exactly what she was doing, what she was saying. The jilted ex-lover. She knew the type. It didn’t take much to see through it, well… perhaps if she were a few years younger, less experienced, she might well have not. Still. It planted a seed of doubt about the whole Kamea thing that she didn’t like.
Rebecca changed the subject; “Are you going back up to the farm you were talking about yesterday?”
“Makena’s? Yes. I volunteer about two or three mornings a week. I have my own communal property a few miles away. Some things grow better up there at that altitude, though, so I exchange time for produce. It works out pretty well.”
“Kamea told me you loved to get into the dirt—um, grow things, organic and such,” Rebecca said.
“Yeah. Things grow like crazy here. But that means the weeds grow like crazy here too. Keeps me busy, but I love it, yeah. Well, let me get my coffee and get out of your hair. You should come by the farm sometime if you’d like. It’s just outside Makawao. Have you been there yet?”
“No, not yet—maybe, we’ll see,” Rebecca replied.
“It’s just past Makawao on the road you take going through town. Makena’s, about a half-mile past the light, you can’t miss it.” Laura said.
“Um, thanks. I’ll maybe go up that way in the next day or so.”
“Great! Maybe I’ll run into you up that way then too. I’ll be there tomorrow morning for sure. Stop by and I’ll give you a tour. Maybe I can show you some stuff further up towards Haleakala while you’re there—take you to the top of the world?” she winked.