Love, Unexpected

by Ra'Chael Ohara

  “I’m going to come,” Kulani yells seconds before I feel his warm seed shoot inside me.

  “Shit, Aria. I swear it gets better with you every time,” he says after we clean up and climb back in bed. I smile when he pulls me over to his side of the bed and lays my head on his chest.

  “What happens now?”

  My heart pounds at his question, mainly because I don’t know what he means by it. Is he asking what happens now with us? I know what I want to happen. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I hope he wants the same thing.

  “What do you mean?” I ask softly.

  “I mean, how long are we here until we can go back to Hawaii?” We. My mind is stuck on that word.

  I sit up and look at him. “We?”

  “Yeah, we.” He grins. “I told you I’m here for you. That means now and forever. I’m not getting back on a plane for Hawaii unless your sweet ass is sitting in the chair next to me.”

  He gets a glimpse of my wide smile before I wrap my arms around his neck for a hug. “I love you.”

  “Back at ya, babe.”

  “I can’t leave for at least two more days. I have to testify,” I say, looking in his eyes.

  He moves the hair away from my face. “How do you feel about the trial?”

  It’s the second time I’ve been asked that, but this time my answer is simple and honest. “Scared.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Kulani says with a sympathetic smile. “But I’m going with you, and I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

  I give him a genuine smile, but there is one thing we haven’t talked about, one thing I’ve refused to talk about that has me second-guessing my move back to Hawaii.

  “What’s that look, Aria? You don’t want to come back to Hawaii?”

  “I do,” I say, and he relaxes right away. “It’s just…Seth.” I don’t need to explain any further.

  “Well, problem solved, then. Roger believed you and Layla, and he gave Seth a choice—leave or he was going to turn him in.”

  “Really?” I’m completely shocked that Roger took our side. I mean, anyone who’s had more than one conversation with Seth knows he’s slime, but still, that’s his son.

  “Really. I kind of wish that he would have just turned him in, but with you gone and Layla’s incident happening so long ago, none of us thought any charges would stick.”

  I agree, but I can’t deny how happy I am that he’s gone and I don’t have to see him anymore.

  “So, tomorrow, I plan on holding you hostage in this bed all day, but is there anything you want to do before we leave New York?” Kulani asks after we lay back down.

  “Actually, I was hoping you would come somewhere with me.” I yawn.

  “Anywhere, Aria. I’d go anywhere with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Saying Goodbye

  “Are you ready?” Kulani asks. It’s the morning of the trial and we are currently standing on the sidewalk in front of my childhood home. Two nights ago, when Kulani asked me if there was anywhere I wanted to go, I had this house in mind. I want more of Momma’s things, and I want to say goodbye.

  “I don’t know,” I mumble.

  “Hey, look at me.” I turn and see Kulani give me a small smile. “You’re strong, Aria.” I can’t hold back my snort. “No. You are. I wish you could see just how strong you are. Look at what you’ve already been through; look at what you’ve survived. You can do this. Go in this house and say goodbye, then you’re gonna go in that courthouse and get justice for your mom. After today, it’ll be over. We’re going back to Hawaii and I’m gonna do my damn best to give you the life you deserve.”

  “Have I told you how much I love you?” I ask before burying my face in his chest.

  “Not today.”

  That earns a giggle. After a deep, calming breath, I turn back toward my old home.

  “Let’s get this over with.”

  ***

  I’ve been scouring my rundown house for two hours, looking for anything that had a good memory attached to it to take back to Hawaii with me. I almost made it through the entire search without crying.

  When we first walked into the house, I was embarrassed by the state it was in. It had been so long since I had been here that I thought, maybe, I made it seem worse in my mind than it actually was.

  Nope. It’s just as dirty and gross as it was the day I left. Kulani, unsurprisingly, picked up on my embarrassment and shut it down. “Don’t do that, baby. This house isn’t you, and it isn’t your mom. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  After that, I got over it and started searching for treasures. Like I said, everything was the same except for the kitchen floor. The linoleum that was soaked in my mother’s blood has been torn out.

  As hard as it was to hold back the tears, I did. I continued to hold them back until I found the only picture I have of me and my dad together. I was a newborn wearing nothing but a diaper. My dad is sitting in the chair he died in, wearing nothing but his sweatpants. My head is resting on his bare chest while his hands are wrapped around me, almost protectively.

  To an outsider looking in, I’m sure they would see nothing but love between a father and his newborn daughter. Who knows, maybe he did feel that love in the beginning. Maybe he did, at one point in his life, desire to build that unbreakable bond between us, but that’s not the father I got.

  “Are you okay?” Kulani asks quietly as he wraps his arms around me from behind.

  “This is all I ever wanted,” I whisper. “I wouldn’t have cared that we were poor or that we didn’t have the best of everything. I just wanted a normal family and a father who loved me and my mom the way we deserved.”

  “I know, baby.”

  “Now my mom is sitting in an urn while I get to live the life we always dreamed of. She won’t ever watch me get married or have kids. It’s not fair, Kulani. I deserve to have my mom here with me. I hate Sal for taking her from me, but I hate Papi more! It’s his fault she’s gone and I don’t know how I’m ever going to forgive him for that.”

  Kulani turns me around and pulls me in for hug. “I can’t tell you what to do because I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. I see red just thinking about it, but I know what holding on to hate and anger does. It slowly tears you apart. You don’t have to find a way to forgive him, but you have to find a way to let go.”

  I know he’s right. I have to let go, but that is way easier said than done.

  “Is that all you’re bringing?” Kulani asks a little while later.

  I look down at the picture of my mom and me, the gold cross necklace she always wore around her neck, and at the picture of Papi holding me and smile. “Yeah.”

  Kulani grabs the picture of my mom. “She’s beautiful, sweetheart. You look just like her.”

  “Everyone says that.” I smile. “I even got her feisty temper.”

  “Really?” Kulani acts shocked. “I hadn’t noticed.”

  I laugh and act like I’m gonna punch him in the gut, but before I can reach him, he grabs me around the neck. “Who’s Rocky now?” He jokes before giving me a peck on the top of my head and letting me go.

  I turn around to take one last look at the home that holds not just my nightmare of a childhood, but all the memories of my momma. In this moment, I can almost feel my mom telling me to move on from this place.

  I realize now that it really doesn’t matter what zip code I live in. My mom will always be with me. Kulani pulls me to his side. “You ready to go?”

  “I’m ready.”

  ***

  For the second time today, I find myself standing on the sidewalk. This time I’m staring at the courthouse. “I think I’m going to be sick,” I mumble. Kulani doesn’t try to pump me up and encourage me to go in. He knows I need a couple of minutes.

  I didn’t let myself think about what it would be like to have to face the man responsible for taking my mom from me. I’m not prepared for the rush of
emotions that overcome me.

  I need a whole lot longer than a few minutes to prepare myself, but, unfortunately, I don’t even get that. I hear a rush of voices and the clicks of camera’s as an SUV rolls up to the main entrance.

  I suck in a breath when the driver gets out, opens the passenger door, and lets Salazar out. He looks far too good to have spent the last couple of months in prison. He’s wearing a suit that screams money, and his hair is gelled and brushed back perfectly. The only hint that he’s not a lawyer comes from the handcuffs around his wrist, and even then they’re in the front of him and not behind him, like they should be.

  He looks like a man who was arrested for money laundering, not one who is facing life behind bars for a double homicide. He must feel my eyes on him because as soon as his feet touch the ground, his eyes come to me. My blood runs cold when he grins at me before being ushered inside.

  “Come on, baby.” Kulani grabs my hand and guides me inside the side entrance. As soon as we’re inside, I see Kendrick waiting for us, as promised.

  “Hey, man.” He greets Kulani first with a handshake. Then he turns to me and asks, “You ready to get this over with, sweetheart?”

  I give him a small smile as a response. It’s the only kind of response I’m capable of right now. I’m afraid if I open my mouth, I’ll make good on my earlier statement and really be sick.

  We follow Kendrick to a small conference room down the hall, where I meet the prosecuting attorney. For the next grueling hour, I go over every detail of that night with the attorney. I don’t do this once and I don’t do it twice. I go over that night a hundred times before the hour is up.

  I’m also warned of all the tricks the defense will try to play on me. Apparently, I can look forward to them trying to trap me in a lie or what they will try to portray as one. I know this is supposed to make me nervous, but I’m not.

  I know what I’m going to say—the truth. I’ve relived that night numerous times in my dreams. They can say what they want, but nothing will detour me from the truth.

  “Okay, Aria, you have two choices here. You can stay here until it’s your turn to take the stand or you can sit in the audience. Be warned that Salazar will try to get to you. He’ll attempt to intimidate you with stare downs or callous smiles. No matter what he does, do not react. All that will do is hurt us and our case,” the attorney says.

  “I want to be in the courtroom.”

  “Okay, then. I’ll see you out there.”

  “How are you feeling?” Kulani asks after Kendrick and the attorney walk out of the room.

  “I’m as okay as I’m going to get. I just want to get it over with so I can move on with my life.”

  “I know, and we will move on with our lives. I’m gonna open our Surf School. You’re going to go to college to do whatever you choose. This is just a bump along the way.”

  Kendrick pokes his head in. “It’s starting, Aria.”

  “You got this, baby,” Kulani assures me. He grabs my hand.

  I follow Kendrick into the large court room and down the long aisle until we reach the first row of seats, right behind the prosecuting lawyer’s table. Kulani and I sit down and wait for twenty minutes. All the while, I feel all the eyes of everyone in the courtroom.

  A wave of nausea hits me when the bailiff escorts Sal out from the back. At first, I’m a coward. I squeeze my eyes shut, not ready to face him, but then I feel Kulani’s hand take hold of mine and I pull strength from him.

  I watch as they escort him to his seat. I watch as he sits back casually, seemingly without a care in the world.

  I stand when the judge enters the court room, and I sit when I’m allowed to. I can’t explain what I feel right now. I’m so numb. For the first time in my life, I have shut any and all emotion off. I’m on the outside of my body watching as all of this goes on.

  In spite of the state I’m in, I listen closely as each side states their opening argument. I pay extra attention to the judge’s face, trying in vain to see what side he’s leaning on, but it’s no use. He just looks grumpy.

  I snap back to reality when I hear my lawyer say, “We call Gianna Donatelli to the stand.” My mouth goes dry and my legs turn to noodles.

  Kulani leans over and softly kisses my temple. “You can do this, baby.”

  On shaky legs, I stand and walk to the stand. I swear on the Bible and take my seat.

  My eyes move on their own accord and instantly lock with Sal. He gives me a calculated smile and a look that dares me to utter a word. I shrink under his stare. I know that my attorney is talking to me, but I can’t hear over the rushing in my ears. I close my eyes again when the courtroom starts to spin.

  I don’t know what made me look at him, but when I open my eyes, they seek out Kulani. I see him mouth, ‘I love you,’ and my whole being instantly calms. I look my attorney in the eyes when she asks me to retell the events of that night.

  I look at Sal, the man who took everything from me, the man who’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars if I have to fight for it until my last breath.

  “I was walking home from work…”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I Should Have Known Better

  “Babe,” Kulani whispers before nudging me awake. I open my eyes, but slam them closed again when the light from the window blinds me. “I’m going to the shop, sweetheart. I’ll be back tonight.”

  I can’t be sure, but I think I mumble a response because I hear him chuckle. “Love you, baby,” he says after kissing my forehead.

  I’ve been back in Hawaii for a month, and I can honestly say I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. After I testified in court, Kulani and I wasted no time getting on a plane and getting out of New York. I had already done all that I could do to get justice for my mom. There was no need to look at Sal any longer.

  I had planned to live with Camille and Layla when I got back, but Kulani had other ideas. I came back to find all the stuff that I had left behind at Layla’s already at his house. When he pulled up to his house and told me about his plans, I didn’t argue. What would be the point? I want to be there, in his house. In fact, there’s nowhere else I would rather be.

  I feel like New York brought us closer. The lie that I was holding in for so long, the one that I was so scared would ruin us, did the complete opposite. The last few weeks, Kulani has been spending the majority of his days getting the surf shop ready. Usually I’m with him, but I enrolled in the local college and have started taking classes to become a case worker for children who are victims of abuse.

  I must have fallen back asleep because my alarm clock suddenly starts screeching from the nightstand. I smile when, two minutes later, I hear Layla yell from the living room, “You better be ready!”

  “Almost done!”

  I jump out of the bed and run to the bathroom. I asked Layla to go shopping with me. I plan to buy a pretty dress with some sexy lingerie and make Kulani a nice dinner tonight to celebrate the opening of his Surf School and to thank him for everything he’s done for me.

  “So, are you going to tell me how New York went?” Layla asks while we’re shopping.

  “Which part?”

  “All of it.”

  “Well, obviously Kulani and I worked out our stuff.”

  “Just like I knew you would.” She smiles.

  “And the rest of New York? It was scary, sad, emotional, but needed. I wouldn’t say that I forgive my papi, but I have moved on from the past. I realize that I never would have been able to truly be with Kulani or be happy if I didn’t. New York will always be a part of me, but Hawaii is where I’m destined to be.”

  “I’m glad you came back. Life was boring without you.” She laughs.

  “What’s new with you?”

  “Well, you know that Kendrick moved in with us, but what I didn’t tell you is that I’m moving out, and Mom and Kendrick are getting married.”

  Wide eyed, I turn to her and see her beaming.

  �
�Wait, back up. They’re getting married? That’s amazing!”

  “I know. Kendrick even asked for my permission. Like I would say no. I’ve never seen my mom so happy.”

  “Why are you moving out?” I knew Layla would be happy for her mom, so I’m surprised that she’s deciding to move.

  “Well, Pika asked me to move in with him, since he lives only minutes from the college.”

  I stop and grab Layla’s arm to turn her toward me. “College?”

  “Yep, you’re looking at your new classmate. Well, we won’t be in the same classes or anything, but still. I’m a college girl!”

  “That’s amazing, Layla.” I pull her in for a hug. “What are you going for?” I ask when I pull away.

  “A grief counselor,” she responds. She seems almost embarrassed about it. I have no clue why, though. I can completely see her as a counselor. She’s such a light and happy person and incredibly wise. I don’t know how I would have survived this rollercoaster my life has been without her.

  “I know what Seth did to me and you could have been a lot worse and has been a lot worse for so many women. Thinking about it makes me ill. I want to help women who have suffered. I want to give them hope.”

  “That’s beautiful. I could totally see you as a counselor. You’ve helped me in ways I cannot even begin to thank you for. I love you, Lay.”

  “I love you too,” she cries before pulling me in for another embrace. “Okay, enough of this. Let’s go get some sexy undies for your man and then attempt to cook him a meal that won’t make him sick.”

  ***

  Just as I’m putting the potatoes on the oven, my phone beeps with a message from Kulani letting me know he’s going to be on his way home soon. After checking to make sure dinner is edible, I make my way down the hall.

  I smile when I see all the pictures that line the hall. Starting with the one of my mother, there’s some of me and Layla, Kendrick and Camille, and even some of Kulani, Layla, Pika, and me. They are my family.