by Kay Hadashi
She turned the book sideways and traced the girlish handwriting with her eyes.
Stay cool and have an awesome summer! See ya next year!
“Oh brother. We weren’t even friends and you were telling me to stay cool?” She looked through the book for Ozzy Simpson, possibly Katie’s brother and Melanie’s old nemesis from her teen years. Not finding him, she opened an earlier yearbook. “There you are. Only two pictures?”
She found his yearbook portrait toward the back. Flipping to the other page that was listed as him being in the book, it was the page dedicated to set of twins at the school. There had been four pairs of twin altogether, none of which she remembered. Katie’s picture was there on the page, but without someone with her.
“But there are their names, right below her picture. Katie and Ozzy Simpson. It has to be them. How many Ozzy Simpsons can there be on Maui?”
She closed the book and collected the others to show Detective Nakatani when she had the chance. Grabbing her gym bag, she found Trinh waiting and they left for the pool. Both were tired of talking about the investigation and about Dottie’s hospitalization, so they discussed Georgie on the way to the pool.
“I don’t care what she looks like, I like her,” Trinh said.
“She’s still only seventeen and she knows too much about meth and pushers, if you ask me.”
“Just because she knows more about something than we do doesn’t make her guilty of doing it. You and I are the two biggest idiots on the island when it comes to breaking the law.”
Melanie laughed. “And for some reason that’s a bad thing.”
“How’s everything at home?”
“We share a wall between our homes, Trinh. You know about my home life better than I do.”
“I don’t hear a peep out of you guys anymore. Not the throes of passion every Friday evening or even arguing.”
“A lot more arguing than passion lately. Speaking of which, what’s up with Harmon? Packing your bags yet?”
“Started packing stuff today,” Trinh said.
“I was kidding. You’re serious about moving in with him?”
“He wants to give it a try before getting married again, and I’m too lonely without him. The kids are excited about it.”
“Apparently I’m not shopping for a wedding gift anytime soon.” Melanie parked her pickup at the pool. The lot was crowded for late afternoon, more so than usual. “I hope the lap lanes aren’t too busy.”
“I hope the lifeguard isn’t too busy,” Trinh said.
“The new one? He is kind of hot. Wait, are you thinking of…”
“If he asks again, I am.”
“He asked you out?” Melanie said as they went into the locker room to change clothes.
“Twice. And I think he wanted more than just a date.”
“What about Harmon?”
“Harmon can get his own lifeguard.”
“Oh.”
“I’m kidding, Mel.”
Melanie tossed her gym bag down on a bench and started disrobing. “Just once I wish someone would be honest with me.”
“You really are uptight. What’s eating you, anyway? You’re a crab at work and I haven’t see you smile in a month.”
Melanie stepped into her swimsuit and pulled it up. “Josh is taking up sides and is sticking with his parents.”
“Can hardly blame him. They’re his family.”
“So are I and the kids. But if there’s some sort of problem, he turns it into a conflict, and then finds a way to blame it on me. The hospital isn’t good enough for them because I work there, the college isn’t big enough because it’s on the island where I grew up, the beaches are junk because he has to share them with other people who look more like me and not like him. To listen to him talk about it, his life really sucks because he has to live on Maui while I’m here.”
“I didn’t know it had become that bad.”
“We don’t talk anymore, just snipe at each other. We don’t try to hide it from Thérèse anymore. But he’s taken up sides and is sticking with his parents, not with me and the kids.”
“Are you talking to anyone about all this?” Trinh asked.
“Like I have time to go to group.”
“You have time for swimming.”
“It’s my only escape. For an hour or two a week, nobody can bother me while I’m taking laps. If I went to group, all I’d do is try to figure out what I want to share with strangers while listening to them go on about their own crap. Forget it.”
“That’s pretty selfish, Mel.”
“Isn’t that what therapy is? An hour of self-pity and selfishness once a week? Otherwise, I don’t see the point. I can go to…”
“To where?” Trinh asked. “Your bench?”
“It’s nice there. Going there makes me calm, most of the time.”
Trinh shoved her gym bag into a locker. “I don’t know what it is with you and that bench, but your obsession with it seems kinda nutty if you ask me.”
Changed into swimsuits, they took their caps and goggles out to the pool deck. Dark clouds had drifted over the West Maui Mountains and a few raindrops pattered on the pool deck, something most Mauians barely noticed. Afternoon rain showers rarely lasted long in the tropics, and they were going to get wet swimming anyway.
Halfway to the pool, Melanie stopped. “Oh, great.”
“What?” Trinh asked, looking where Melanie was looking. “Oh, him.”
Instead of continuing on to the small concession area in one corner of the pool deck, Andrew walked over to them, wearing only a swimsuit and a grin on his face. “Well, look. Maui’s holier-than-thou bishopric. Oh, I mean the mayor and her little sidekick.”
Melanie wasn’t taking his bait. “Did you get back those incident reports from my office, Andrew?”
“Yes, and I had my secretary shred them now that they were useless.”
“You what? I made several notes of where processes need to be looked at. There are way too many incidents of…”
He put up his hand stopping her. “Not your problem, Melanie. In fact, not even pharmaceutical problems at the hospital are your problem. I checked with the other members of the administration and they agree with me.”
“Good for them, but only one has experience as a clinician. You really need to form a task force to look into…”
“Forget it, Melanie. We’re not forming anything, especially something a middle-aged incompetent surgeon nags us about.”
Unable to keep from being baited by him, she stepped closer. “Incompetent? Where do you get that idea?”
Trinh tried pulling her back. “Mel, forget about that guy. Let’s just go for a swim.”
“Yeah, Mel,” he said in a mocking falsetto. “Listen to your little harpy friend and go for your swim.”
“Hey!”
It was Melanie’s turn to restrain Trinh. “What’s your problem, Andrew? Why are you on the offensive so much lately? Usually you just give us a sneer and walk away.”
“You really want to know what it is that bothers me so much about you, Doctor Kato?” he said in a loud voice, too loud for the close distance between them. “Or should I call you Mayor Kato here at the swimming pool?”
“Forget you.” She tried getting past him to go to the pool, but he stopped her. She noticed the sunbathers nearby and the people standing in line at the concession stand were all now watching the spat.
“No, not forget me. Let me tell you why I think you’re incompetent, both as a doctor and as mayor. First, I found out you had something of a disastrous weekend at the hospital. Two patients under your care died, while another four were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. And that doesn’t count the others that are languishing in pain in other hospital beds. But here you are, taking a swim at the pool instead of caring for them. Maybe they’re better off without your care?”
“That’s not how it is, and you…”
“And then in the election for mayor, you ran on the law and
order campaign, but how many murders have there been on Maui since you were elected? Five? Seems like an awful lot for such a small island.”
Melanie could see out of the corner of her eye a small crowd was forming around them. “Andrew…”
“Even as a proud mother, you don’t seem to care about your small daughter and baby. Here you are at the pool, having fun while a teenage punk rocker nanny takes care of the kids. And what about your mother-in-law, close to death, lying in a bed just days after critical brain surgery, and once again, here you are having fun instead of visiting her and providing support for your husband in his time of need.”
“What’s wrong with you, Andrew?” she asked. She knew her face had turned red from embarrassment, even if he was twisting everything sideways.
“It’s not what’s wrong with me, but what’s wrong with our mayor, doctor, mother, and wife. You’re finally being exposed as the fraud that you really are, Kato. Or are you a con artist like everyone else on this island?”
“Con artist? When have I ever conned you about anything?”
“This whole stupid island is one big con. Come to Maui and live in paradise. Come to Maui and work with the best. Come to Maui and find your inner happiness. What a crock.”
“Sorry you’re not happy, Andrew, but I don’t see how that’s my problem.”
“I’m making it your problem. Just as soon as I can manage it, I’m having your license to practice medicine in this state revoked and you run out of the hospital on a rail. That will make me tremendously happy.”
“Be careful, Andrew,” Trinh started to say.
“My license revoked?” Melanie asked. This was a new low, even for Andrew.
“Not that you ever should have got one. What was the name of your fraudulent medical school? Golden Gate Charm School for college dropouts?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the one and only medical school in the entire country that could be bothered with accepting you as a student, which also happens to be the most expensive. You had to buy your way in with your daddy’s money. And then at the end of your training, they kept you back for two more years of remedial training.”
“That’s called a fellowship, Andrew.”
“It’s called fraud, Kato. Just like that stupid tattoo on your chest. Air Force Special Forces? Come on. Everybody knows the Air Force doesn’t have Special Forces. Is the Air Force even really the military? If it is, it has to be the weakest branch.”
“Hey!” Trinh said. She had also been in the Air Force. “You have no idea how hard Melanie worked.”
“Never mind, Trinh. Just let him blow his hot air.”
“Yeah, Trinh. Just let me blow my hot air.” He turned slightly to face her. “Yes, your trusty sidekick. Unmarried mother of three. You’re as much of a fraud as Kato.”
“Huh?”
“Everything you have, you got because of her, Trinket. Kato told me all about it years ago. She got you into the military, found you a man to keep you warm at night, at least until you were done having enough babies. Oh, and the funny part was that she was in love with him also. Probably still is! Then what? He found someone better than the two of you, that’s what. She built you your little house, she found you a job at the hospital, she even took you on as her Vice Mayor. You’ve never done anything on your own, have you, Trinket? Everything has come from the boss of your life, Melanie Kato.”
“You’re disgusting, Andrew,” Melanie hissed.
“Doesn’t matter what you think, Kato. What matters is where you’re going next, and that’s most likely working as a maid at the resort. Or maybe you can get a job working as a waitress in your own bar? Isn’t that what daughters of unmarried mothers do? Work at the resort and in Mommy’s bar for tips?”
Melanie felt a dozen pairs of eyes on her. All she really wanted to do was slap him, but she also knew that was exactly what he wanted, just to incite an even bigger conflict. Maybe he still felt slighted from being embarrassed in the past and it was all coming out now. But it was just too psycho to respond to.
“Have anything else to get off your chest, Andrew?”
“Only that when this current murder investigation is done, you won’t be swimming at the pool whenever you want. You’ll be behind bars where con artists and murderers belong.”
Melanie had no other option than to stare at him in silence until he walked away. He had lobbed so many grenades at her, it would take an hour of argument to defend herself, and to what point? It would only be an argument in public at the community pool. She would look exactly like what he wanted, a woman griping at a man. There was no way of defending herself right then.
Once he was gone and standing in line at the concession stand, Melanie turned back for the locker room.
“Where are you going?” Trinh asked.
“Lost interest in taking a swim.”
They quickly changed back into clothes and went out to the pickup.
“What was all that about you getting me jobs?” Trinh asked as they rode along.
“Nothing. Just forget it.”
“Why didn’t you slap that guy? I wanted to belt him.”
“That was exactly what he wanted.”
“But we looked pretty stupid leaving like that, like we felt guilty about something.”
Melanie did her best not to speed down the highway. All she wanted was to get home and hide for a while. She also wondered what the point of Andrew’s relentless attack was. “I’m considering it a tactical retreat, at least until we can figure out what his problem was.”
“Well, you better believe you and me are having a little talk about what he said. I got my jobs on my own.”
When Melanie parked at home, both Josh and Georgie’s cars were there. Trinh made a beeline for her side of the house while Melanie went in her back door. Two large takeout pizza boxes were on the kitchen table, several slices already missing. She went to the living room, where Josh and Pop were eating pizza on the couch, watching TV. Thérèse was on the floor working on half a slice of her own.
“That’s dinner? Oh, hello, by the way.”
“Hi Momma.”
“Where’s the baby?”
Josh pointed to the far side of the house. “Georgie is giving him a bath.”
Melanie went down the hall to the bedroom and took over from the nanny bathing Chance. “You’re done for the day. If you want pizza, there’s plenty of it. But if you want to wait, I’m making something else for Thérèse and me.”
“I think I’ll wait. Anything I can get started?”
“Put some water on to boil and get a wok out.”
“Everything okay?” Georgie asked softly.
“Not really, but it’s not your problem. I think I mentioned there would be days like this, right?”
“You said something like that.”
“Well, after dinner, you might want to go for a walk, because it’s going to get a whole lot worse.”
Somehow, Josh and Pop had picked up on the negative vibe that was headed in their direction, and as soon as they were done eating, they went back to the hospital to visit Dottie. That gave Melanie the chance to give Thérèse a bath in the unexpected peace and quiet at home.
“Okay, done. Time to dry you off. You’re getting tall, you know that?”
“Momma, why for we have pizza and then noodlies and vegeterbles? I thought pizza was for parties?”
“Yep, it’s for special occasions, not for everyday.”
“Daddy and Grandpop liked the pizza better.”
“Well, if they like pizza so much, they can eat somewhere else.” She finished drying the girl. “Here, put on your jammies.”
“We’re not gonna go see Grandmother?”
“Not this evening, Sweetie. Tomorrow, I promise. She’ll be sitting in a chair by then and talking a lot more.” They went to the girl’s bedroom where Thérèse climbed into bed. “What kind of beddy-bye story do you want tonight, little girl?”
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“Can Georgie tell me beddy-bye?”
“If you want. Why do you want her?”
“Georgie’s stories are better than yours.”
That stung. “Okay. What friend is going to sleep with you tonight? I bet Dino, right?”
“Can I have Mermie Mermaid?”
Melanie got the toy off the shelf.
“Momma, can we get another teddy bear?”
“Maybe one of these days but not yet.”
“When?”
“When there’s no more trouble.”
“Pwomise?”
“I promise!”
When Melanie sent Georgie in to tell Thérèse a bedtime story, she went to play with Chance. She left the lights off in the bedroom, hoping an early night of sleep would come to her mind. Instead, she heard the sound of Josh’s SUV park at the side of the house. When he came in, she left the bed. Putting the baby in his bassinet, she began to carry that toward the bedroom door.
“Where are you going with Chance?” he asked, watching.
“Oh, you know his name?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s supposed to mean when was the last time you acted like a father to him?”
“What are you talking about?”
She dismissed his question with a wave of her hand. “We’ll be sleeping in Thérèse’s room. Maybe you’ve seen her riding a tricycle around the house? This tall, bad grammar, likes dinosaurs.”
Georgie was long gone from her story telling but Thérèse was still awake when Melanie took Chance’s bassinet into her room. It was a crowd on the single bed, but Melanie shared the bed with her daughter.
“Can I sleep with you and Mermie?”
“You and Daddy have a fight?”
“No, but we will tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Melanie got to the OR lunchroom the next morning, there was a group of nurses crowded around the newspaper, one of them reading out loud. When they saw Melanie, they stopped reading and tried to hide the newspaper behind them.
“What’s so interesting in the paper this morning? Suddenly there’s peace on Earth and goodwill toward mayors?”