Page 34 of Pau Hana: Cat cozy Humor Mystery (Paradise Crime Cozy Mystery Book 5)

Aunt Faeand I arrived for the rehearsal and walked into the lobby of the Hotel Hana to discover Edith and Josie clinging to each other beside the fountain like a couple of orphaned capuchin monkeys. Edith’s face was drained of color. Josie had a glazed look in her large brown eyes and was sucking deep breaths of oxygen through her cannula.

“What’s going on, ladies?” I said.

“It’s Lola,” murmured Edith. “She’s here.”

I’d forgotten all about Lola’s crazed vow to sabotage the wedding. I whipped my head around. “Where is she?”

“In the indoor chapel celebration room we’re using. She’s raving about locking everyone out.” Josie leaned in and whispered, “I think she may have been drinking earlier.” Even through the closed doors, Lola’s yelling echoed above the peaceful Hawaiian instrumental music playing in the open-air lobby.

Aunt Fae pulled out her cell phone and walked away, punching in a number.

Elle Beane appeared, gorgeous in a fitted orange dress that made the most of her toned figure. In a strained but chipper tone, she asked for everyone to gather in the hotel bar. “We’re putting finishing touches on the chapel arrangements, so let’s practice the ceremony in there instead,” she said.

“I’m so mortified,” said Edith, a tear sliding down her cheek. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about this,” she said to Josie.

“Don’t be. We simply won’t let her ruin our day.” Josie pulled herself up to her full height and jutted out her chin. She had to tug on her oxygen line to get a bit more length, but it did nothing to diminish her regal countenance. Her eyes fixed on the entrance to the bar. She swept a stunning monstera leaf patterned pareo over her shoulder. “This is our time, ku’uipo,” Josie said, taking Edith’s arm. “We will not allow hewa uhane to take even one bit of joy from us.”

“What does that mean?” Edith said.

Josie clasped both her hands over Edith’s and gazed into her partner’s face. “Actually, I just made a little Hawaiian to English pun. In Hawaiian, a hewa uhane is an evil spirit. And what is happening here is truly the work of alcoholic spirits, which for your daughter are the very embodiment of evil, wouldn’t you agree?”

Edith nodded and did her best to smile.

“Now, come on. Let’s go.” She sallied forth, and short Edith had to trot to keep up with statuesque Josie’s longer stride.

I made eye contact with the other bridesmaids, Pearl and Clara from the Red Hat Society. We all trooped into the bar area, where tables had been moved aside for us to stand. The officiant, a Hawaiian priest who was a relative of Josie’s, ran us through the short program. The ceremony on Sunday was going to include a procession into the chapel, an exchange of vows, a short musical interlude by Artie, and then a reverse procession out to the reception area.

Fifteen minutes after the rehearsal started in the bar, we all reentered the lobby. I glimpsed Aunt Fae confiding with a tall, elegantly dressed woman with coffee-toned skin and an elaborate hairstyle of expertly coiled tiny braids. Where had I seen her before?

I squinted my eyes, as if closing off the scene in front of me would help jog my memory.

Ah, yes. That was Betty, Lola’s alcoholism sponsor. Aunt Fae must have been calling her before the rehearsal began.

Elle waved us over to a banquet room where the rehearsal dinner was getting underway. I held up a finger, alerting her that we’d be in as soon as we could, and I approached Aunt Fae and her companion.

“Betty,” I said, extending my hand. “Kat Smith. I think we met at a Red Hat gathering some months ago.”

“Oh, yes. I remember it well. I believe you’ve seen Lola at what we in the program refer to as ‘rock bottom.’ On behalf of my ‘sponsee,’ may I extend an apology? I feel horrible she has chosen to abandon all the good work she’s done, especially at a wonderful event such as this.”

Lola’s sponsor shouldn’t be offering apologies instead of the woman herself. But then, I have a thing about personal responsibility. “It’s nice of you to come. Are you going to try to talk to her?”

“Of course.” Betty adjusted clinking gold bangles on her arm. “I’ll try to get her to a meeting right now.”

“Lola’s over there, in the chapel. Let’s see if you can talk some sense into her,” said Aunt Fae.

We left Betty to give Lola her best attempt at an intervention and headed for the banquet room. The large area had been sectioned smaller with a long accordion wall, and Edith and Josie were already seated at the end of a long table. In the few minutes Aunt Fae and I had been conferring with Betty, someone had instructed the waitstaff to remove all the wineglasses from the table. The guests, including family members I didn’t know and the other bridesmaids, were quiet. It was as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for someone in charge to explain what was going on. The waitstaff stood in the doorway but no one moved.

Elle bustled in and hit a switch on the wall. Immediately, Hawaiian slack-key guitar rarified the air. She then whispered something to a guy manning the freestanding bar, where a host of fancy drinks filled a large tray. Then, she turned and addressed the table.

“We have a wonderful treat for you all this evening,” she said. “Kai is a ‘mocktail’ master. He’s here to show you all the fabulous ways you can enjoy a healthy, alcohol-free drink that tastes as good as any tropical cocktail on the island. Kai, tell the people here what you’re featuring tonight.”

Kai, a tall, powerfully built man wearing a black and white aloha shirt that seemed like it had been tailored to show off his wide shoulders, took a quick bow. “I’ve got three beauties for you this evening. First, the ‘Moody Maui.’ It’s like a Blue Hawaiian, but instead of rum and blue cura?ao, I’m using pineapple and guava juices, and a wild blueberry syrup. The second one is the ‘Happy Honeycreeper.’ It’s got hibiscus and cardamom flavors along with bright notes of cherry juice. The final one is the ‘Hula Moon,’ a creation using ginger ale, a touch of light cream and almond. Each drink comes with a tropical fruit pick and tiny umbrella.”

Kai held up a fruit pick with a pineapple chunk, slice of mango and a piece of apple banana in one hand and a pink paper umbrella in the other, as if demonstrating how festive the mocktails would look. The guests went over to choose their drinks. I overheard Edith say to Josie, “Was this your idea? It’s wonderful.”

“I wish I could take credit,” said Josie. “But Elle came up with this all on her own.”

I picked up a Hula Moon and took a seat beside Aunt Fae as we waited for the food service to begin. Even surrounded by the other guests, I missed Keone. After the past week of relationship bumps and blunders, I didn’t think I could take another romance-related occasion without him.

Half an hour into the dinner, Lola appeared in the doorway. Edith stiffened in her seat.

Lola was a wreck: mascara streaks ran through her thick foundation makeup. Her brassy blonde hair seemed like it hadn’t seen a brush. She wore all black: black pants, a black shirt, and even a small black veiled headband. Her funereal appearance said it all. For her, her mother’s impending wedding was a tragedy.

“Relax, mother,” Lola said. “I’m here to say something and then I’ll leave.”

Betty, standing just behind Lola, gave her a nudge. The two of them came inside the banquet room. “I need to make amends to those I’ve harmed with my drinking. I want to say, ‘I’m sorry’ for what happened earlier. I didn’t really want to ruin your wedding, but I thought you?—”

Betty nudged her again.

“Right,” said Lola. “I’m not here to make excuses. I just came to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ If you don’t want me to come to the wedding tomorrow, I won’t.”

Another nudge.

“But if I do come, I will not make a scene and will wish you and Josie all the best.” Lola turned and raised her eyebrows at Betty as if asking if she’d said enough. Betty nodded.

Edith straightened her gown and went over to her daughter. “I also want to make amends. I made a mistake in not including you in my decision to marry Josie. I should have explained why. I apologize for leaving you out of such an important decision.”

The two women reached for each other. Josie got up and joined the hug. One by one the people in the room got up and joined in as if they’d all wordlessly decided to go for the Guinness World Record for largest group hug.

I held back since that wasn’t my thing. Elle came over to me and whispered, “I’m aware of your touch ‘thing.’ Someday I’ll tell you about my water ‘thing.’”

After a delicious and satisfying dinner, Aunt Fae and I were heading out to the parking lot in the pitch black of a Hana night, when Keone popped out from between two cars.

“Whew! You startled me,” I said.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to go inside; I was on my way home and decided to stop in, hoping to talk to you.”

Aunt Fae waved a hand. “You two take all the time you need. I’ll catch a ride with one of the Red Hat gals. I’m about tuckered out.”

“No worries, Auntie,” he said. “I’ll make sure she gets home in plenty of time for her beauty sleep.”

Aunt Fae made a pfft sound. “Even in the dark I can see she looks even more beautiful now that you’re here.”

I rolled my eyes; she was definitely in favor of ‘K K’ becoming a permanent fixture. We watched as Aunt Fae made her way back to the lobby.

“Want to go get a drink inside?” Keone said. “Or sit in my truck?”

I explained about the alcohol-free rehearsal, and how everyone had made amends. “I’d feel guilty having a drink after all that booze-related drama.”

“Then I guess that means we stay here,” he said.

We got into his Toyota truck. As I shut the passenger door, I realized I hadn’t been inside it for nearly a week. The little feathered warrior helmet hanging from the rearview mirror made me recall our first date so many months ago. Since then, we’d been working and hanging out together almost daily at the K K office. The fact that we usually went on dates at least a couple of nights a week as well made the long hiatus feel ominous.

“You want to tell me about taking the promotion?” I said. “When are you leaving?”

“Never one to beat around the bush, are you?”

“I like to say what needs to be said. If you’re making plans that don’t include me, I need to know.”

“Kat, that’s what I want to get a handle on.” His eyes gleamed in the dim light, and so did his white pilot uniform. Did he have to still be wearing that for this talk? Unfair! “The thing is, I don’t know what you’re thinking about ?us.’” He made air quotes for that word. “One minute we’re a couple, and then wham! Something happens and you’re pushing me away. I can’t get a read on where this is going.”

I rolled my lips inward and pinched down; everything that came to mind to say sounded whiny or defensive. He was right.

“And lately I don’t even know what’s going on with you and the hermit thing. First you tell me you’re handling it well, and then you admit?—”

“Seriously? Is this what you wanted to talk about? Let me assure you, I’d like to know myself. It’s not a simple matter, Keone. It might sound crazy, but it’s like that little girl who died out there was me. I shouldn’t see it that way, because Aunt Fae was the best guardian ever, but for whatever reason, I felt abandoned, just like that girl. Right now, I can’t reconcile my part in causing her death. It’s hard to give energy to things like ?us’ with that going on.”

Keone stayed silent.

I took a breath. “I need to get beyond this, I know. Sophie Smithson gave me the name of a psychologist. I should probably call her.”

“You said that before, but have you done that?”

I didn’t answer; we both knew the answer.

“I want us to have a future, Kat. I love you, you know? But I’m in the dark here about what you want for us, and this conversation isn’t telling me anything about that. If I hang around waiting to find out what’s what with you, I’m going to miss this opportunity, and I’ll regret that later.”

“So, you’re taking the job?”

“It’s a good opportunity. A natural progression in my career.”

“Fine. I need to get home now.”

I got out, slammed the door, and weaved through the lot to where Sharkey was parked. I didn’t get inside, though. I stood next to my vehicle, hoping he’d follow. Hoping Mr. K would press past the wall I’d thrown at him. Hoping he’d love me enough to want me in spite of my brokenness.

Instead, I watched as the red taillights on Keone’s truck receded into the inky dark of the Hana Highway.

“Oh, dangnabbit. I’m going to lose him.” I leaned over and rested my forehead on Sharkey’s roof. I banged the metal gently with my head; it was my head that had sabotaged “us.”

As I got in and turned the key, I tuned in to myself. Part of me felt empty and alone, but another part was relieved. I didn’t have to live up to his expectations and end up letting him down. I already had done that.

But I’d done enough “fake it ‘til you make it” to last a lifetime in the Secret Service; I couldn’t pretend the explosion and everything about it hadn’t brought up my past. I’d told Keone as honestly as I could what was going on with me. He didn’t want to live in limbo, and now there wasn’t going to be an “us” to worry about.