Authors: Colleen Coble
Leia tipped her head to the side and strained to hear. Sure enough, the tinkle of water on rocks came to her ears. “I think it’s that way,” she said, pointing to the north.
“That would be the direction of the ocean.” His voice rose, and he started off in the direction from which she’d heard the sound.
They passed through a stand of mangrove trees and entered a lovely meadow sparkling with wildflowers and sunshine. A brook rushed over rocks, creating the noise that had drawn them. There was a bowl-shaped depression in the middle of the area. The opposite side was lined with rocks, some of them loosened and fallen into a heap.
“I’d say we found the fishpond,” Bane remarked, his voice deep with satisfaction.
“Where do we even look?” She didn’t want to go into the trees again. She felt safe here, secluded from prying eyes. In the jungle, she had felt as though someone was peering at them, especially in that place of utter quiet. Her grandmother gave a soft sigh and began to fall. “Bane!” Leia leaped to try to catch
Tûtû
, but Bane was there first. He caught Ipo in his arms and eased her to the ground. Leia knelt beside her grandmother and felt the carotid artery for a pulse. “Her pulse is thready. We need to get her to the hospital.”
Bane whipped out his cell phone and looked at it. He groaned. “No signal.”
“I’m not leaving you here alone,” Leia said. “Can we carry her out?”
“We’ll have to.” Bane lifted Ipo in his arms and started for the path.
C
heck my cell phone and see if we have a signal yet,” Bane panted. His muscles burned from the strain. Though Ipo didn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds, she was hard to carry as a deadweight. He labored to pull air into his lungs as he rested a few minutes while Leia dug his cell phone out of his shirt pocket. At least she wasn’t refusing to use it.
“Still no signal.” Leia snapped it closed. She pressed her fingers against her grandmother’s neck. “Her pulse is still weak, and she has dyspnea. Shortness of breath,” she amended when he raised his eye-brows. “Classic signs of a myocardial infarction.”
At least he knew that meant heart attack. “Let’s get going again.” Bane picked up Ipo and followed Leia along the path with renewed urgency. “How much farther?”
“Not far. Just through the trees. I’m going to run and call the clinic.” She put on a burst of speed and disappeared through the monkeypod trees. Ajax ran after her. A few moments later, he heard the slam of the front door. The sound encouraged him. His arms and back aching, he hurried through the last of the trees and broke through the jungle into Ipo’s backyard. Pua honked and waddled to meet them. He’d never seen a more welcome sight. Nearly groaning under the weight, he labored the last few feet to the house.
Leia was coming back through as he reached the door. “I called the clinic. They’ll be ready for her. They have a defibrillator unit too.”
He nodded. “Open the backseat door to your grandmother’s car,” he gasped. She ran to the car and flung open the door. The stale odor of disuse rushed out. Nearly losing his grip on Ipo, he managed to get her on the seat then gently laid her down.
“I’ll get in back with her,” Leia said. She tossed him the keys and scrambled inside and slapped the door behind her.
Bane ran to the driver’s side. “Stay here, boy,” he told the dog. He started the engine and tromped on the gas. The car tires spit gravel as he accelerated out of the driveway. “How’s she doing?”
“I think she’s had a heart attack.” Leia’s gaze met his in the rearview mirror. “Pray, Bane. She has to make it.”
“I’ve been praying the whole time.” He pressed harder on the accelerator. They reached the edge of town, and he drove past the town sign that read Peace to All Who Enter. He hoped the mantra worked for Ipo. “Where is the clinic?”
“That building.” She leaned over the back of the seat and pointed to a small white building.
Bane parked and flung open his door. He grabbed Ipo’s arms and managed to get her upright. Putting his hands under her arms, he started to lift her from the car. His muscles screamed in protest. He gritted his teeth and kept on going.
“She’s coming to!” Leia put her hand on his arm. “Wait a minute, let her sit up.”
He steadied Ipo on the backseat. She was blinking her eyes, but she didn’t seem to be aware of her surroundings. “Any water?”
Leia nodded. “In the trunk.” He tossed Leia the keys, and she ran to get the water. When she returned, he held the bottle to Ipo’s lips.
She managed to take a sip, then coughed and waved it away. “Don’t fuss. I’m fine.”
“
Tûtû
, you are not fine.” Leia peered at her watch. “You’ve been unconscious for nearly forty-five minutes. We’re taking you to the clinic.”
Ipo folded her hands over her chest. “I’m not going in, Leia.”
“You have to go. A nurse needs to check you out, and we’ll need to transport you to the hospital.”
“Take me home.” Ipo thrust out her chin.
Bane’s gaze met Leia’s. Short of manhandling Ipo into the building, he didn’t know what to do. He saw the same helplessness he felt reflected on Leia’s face. Looking back at Ipo, he saw she was getting more color in her face.
Leia took her grandmother’s pulse. “Let me see if the nurse will come out here.” She jogged to the clinic and disappeared inside. A few moments later she and the nurse came hurrying back to the car. The nurse took Ipo’s blood pressure first. Ipo flinched as the blood-pressure cuff expanded. The nurse listened through the stethoscope, then pulled it down around her neck. “Your pressure is a little low. You really need to be in the hospital where a doctor can check you out.”
“You’re the only doctor I need. I’m tired, Leia.” Ipo’s voice was querulous. “Take me home so I can rest.”
Leia sighed. “Let’s wait on the helicopter and see if the technicians can convince her,” she whispered to Bane and the nurse. “At least she’s lucid.”
“I’m not deaf—or dead yet. I can hear you. And they’re not talking me into going either.” Ipo took the water bottle from Bane’s hand and sipped it. “We need to go back to find the treasure. Or did we get it already?”
“No, we didn’t. But you’re in no shape to go traipsing through the jungle.” Bane shut the door and got in the car. Leia thanked the nurse, then went around and got in beside her grandmother in the back. By the time they got back to Ipo’s house, she was acting her normal self. She talked with Leia about making
kapa
and was telling her where to gather special berries to make dye. He didn’t know what to think. One thing was sure—they weren’t finding the treasure today.
T
ûtû
insisted Leia cancel the arrival of the helicopter, and she reluctantly agreed. Her grandmother seemed fine now, and no one could force her into going in for treatment. Ipo agreed to tell her doctor about it at her visit later in the week, and Leia had to be content with that promise. Malia arrived to spend some time with their grandmother.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay? I promised Candace I’d stop by the dive shop while Kaia is out sightseeing with Mano and Annie,” Leia said.
“Go, go,” Malia said. “We’ll be fine. Leave Ajax with us. He’ll protect us.”
They took Leia’s bike to the pier and took the boat around to Kaunakakai, where they got Leia’s car. There was a familiar van out-side the dive shop when they pulled up. “Hans is here.” Leia nodded toward the lettering on the side of the van. “He’s got a lot of nerve to bother her.” She jumped out and ran toward the front door. She heard shouting as she neared the door and put on an extra burst of speed. Before she could enter, the door flew open, and Aberg Hans barreled through. His face was even redder than usual, but he was smiling. He paused when he saw Bane behind her. Anger flashed over his face, and he brushed past Leia.
Bane blocked his escape. “What are you doing here?”
“I don’t see a badge on your chest. It’s none of your business.” Hans tried to go around him, but Bane sidestepped into his path again. “Get out of my way, Oana. This doesn’t concern you.”
Candace came to the door. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet. “He came to tell me he’s bought the building.”
“What?” Leia and Bane said in unison.
Hans was smiling again. “I want you out by next week. It belongs to me now, and I’m going to bulldoze it down myself.” His voice was ripe with satisfaction.
Leia directed a glance at Bane. “How could my mother do such a thing?”
A worried frown crouched between his eyes. “Is she in financial trouble?”
Candace leaned her head against the wall. “If she’d only told me it was for sale, I would have gone to the bank and tried to get a loan.”
“Look,” Bane said to Hans. “Let her buy it from you. Have a heart. She has to have a way to raise her baby by herself.”
Hans laughed. “I don’t think so. I heard you found the treasure ship. That will see to her needs. I’ve got all I want.” He stepped past Bane, and this time Bane didn’t block him. The big man strode to the van and drove off.
As the sound of the motor faded, Candace wilted even more. “What am I going to do?” She put her face in her hands.
Leia embraced her. “Maybe we can find you another building.”
“You know how impossible it is to find a waterfront—and how expensive.” She shook her head. “It’s over.” Candace wilted against the doorjamb.
Leia led her friend inside and made her sit down. Bane went to fix them all a cup of coffee. “I haven’t wanted to pry about your finances, but do you need any money?” She had a little set aside, not much, but enough to buy some groceries.
“I’ve got enough for now, but it won’t last long.” Candace tossed a tissue onto the counter, where it joined several other wadded ones. She put on a brave smile.
Money never lasted long here, not with the costs of living in Hawai’i. “Well, if you need some help, I’ll be glad to share what I have.”
“You’re so sweet, Leia. But don’t worry about me.”
A request that would be hard to grant. Leia curled her fingers into her palms. Tony’s death and Candace’s plight was yet another reason to wonder why God acted the way he sometimes did. What was the use of all these trials? “Let’s go talk to my mother,” she said to Bane.
She simmered in silence as they drove to her parents’ house. Ingrid had to have been planning this when they talked last. A sale like that didn’t happen overnight. What could have possessed her mother to do it?
Ingrid met them at the door. “Leia, Bane, what a nice surprise.” Her smile vanished. “Is something wrong?”
“Why did you sell the Aloha Dive Shop building to Aberg Hans?” Leia’s voice vibrated with fury. “I didn’t even know you knew him.”
Her mother turned and went down the hall to the living room. Leia and Bane followed. A light floral scent from the candle on the hall table permeated the air, confirming how her mother was all about possessing the right image, not real substance. “How could you?” Leia demanded. “That was all Candace had.”
“It was a business decision. He offered me more than anyone else would pay. She can relocate to somewhere else.”
“Where? Mama, she’s pregnant, alone, and scared. This will crush her.”
“Always looking back and never forward, isn’t that right, Leia? You always think with your heart and not your head. My investments are what have paid for the boat you use and the car you drive. Before you question my judgment, remember that you all rely on me for food to eat and a roof over your heads.”
It was all Leia could do not to physically flinch. “You always extract a price for your generosity, don’t you? You give, then expect us all to kowtow to your demands.”
“What demands? Is it unreasonable to want you to live up to your potential?” Her mother spread out her hands with the palms up. “You could have been the best doctor in the country, Leia.”
“It’s not what I want, Mama! I can’t be the perfect daughter you always wanted.” Leia touched the scar on her lip. “I can’t control who I am inside. I don’t trust drugs, scalpels, and anesthetics. I want to help the body heal naturally. Why is it so wrong to pursue my own path?”
“It’s another way you look back, Leia, another way of not facing the future and the reality of modern life.” Her mother turned with a jerky movement. “I’m done, Leia. Do whatever you want, but don’t come crying to me to pick up the pieces.”
Leia flushed hot then went cold. Her auntie was right—her mother wasn’t capable of unconditional love. “Very well, Mama. Sell the building, stick the money in the bank. I don’t think it will make you happy. And certainly none of us can. We can’t live up to your expectations.” Her fingers were cold as she dug in the pocket of her shorts. “Here, you can have the keys to the car and the boat.”
Her mother waved away the keys. “The car was your graduation gift.”
“And the boat is my gift to you from this minute on.” Her father spoke from the doorway. “What’s going on here, Ingrid?”
“Just your daughter being unappreciative as usual.”
Leia had never been so happy to see her father. He stepped next to her and put his arm around her. She sagged against his bulk and wished she could disappear under his arm. “It’s fine,
Makua
. Mama and I have finally come to an understanding. I won’t expect her to love me, and she won’t expect me to be perfect.”
Akoni turned to his wife. “What have you been saying to Leia?” he demanded.
“Let’s end this discussion right now. I’m going to make some tea. Anyone want any? Bane?” Ingrid’s smile was brittle as she turned to Bane.
He shook his head. Leia’s gaze met his, and she looked away from the sympathy in his eyes.
T
he sun was just barely peeking over the edge of the horizon. Bane stepped outside while Ajax did his business. He watched the mist rise in the warmth of the morning. Ipo was clear-eyed this morning and was happily gathering orchids in the garden to make leis with Malia.
Leia slung her backpack over her shoulder. “Call me if you need me,” she told Malia.
Malia tried to hand her a cell phone, but Leia pushed it away. “It would be so much easier if you’d take my cell phone.”
“I can call on the ship-to-shore phone.”