“We aren't married,” Parker bellowed.
“Damn right we aren't, and we aren't going to get married, either. I wouldn't marry you with your archaic ideas if you were the last man on earth!”
“Get in this damn car before I pick you up and throw you in it,” Parker bellowed again.
“Kiss my ass, Parker Grayson.”
“Where did you learn to talk like that? You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“From my brother and his friends. I am not ashamed of myself. Now, get the hell out of my way before I push that car you're sitting in over the edge.”
From the set of her jaw and the murderous look in her eye, Parker knew she meant business. A sick feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. In the few hours they'd spent together, he'd realized he really liked the feisty young woman. There was no doubt in his mind that Daniel was right. He could see the two of them watching their children growing up, traveling together, growing old together.
Is she right? If
she
is, what does that make
me?
Mattie would say
a horse's patoot.
“Fine, do it your way, Miss Smart-Ass.”
“I'd rather be a smart-ass than a jackass,” Annie shot back.
Shit, shit, shit. How could
something
so perfect suddenly turn so ugly
and
hateful?
Was she overreacting? Of course she was, but she wasn't backing down. She'd had it with people, men in particular, who thought of women as second-class citizens.
What seemed like an eternity later, Annie limped into the airport parking lot, Parker gliding along behind her in the plantation car. “Just put my bags on the curb.”
Parker stood facing her. He removed his sunglasses. “If my father were alive, he'd take a switch to me for allowing you to walk to the airport.”
“Is that the same father who cut his daughters out of his will? If so, forget it. I've walked longer distances in my life.”
“Annie, I'm sorry. I'm not sure what it is I'm sorry about. If it's a word, I've said it. You don't understand.”
A second later Annie was in his face. “You see, you're wrong. I do understand. What I understand is you are a greedy son of a bitch like my brother Tom was. I forgave him because he's my brother. You, on the other hand, have no excuses. You probably have more money than I could ever dream about. I'll just bet you a thousand pounds of coffee if we planned on getting married the first two words out of your mouth would be prenuptial agreement. Ah, I see by the stricken look on your face I'm right. Now, that's a modern, eighties legal agreement. Why would that be good enough for you and yet the old way of disinheriting your sisters is still good. I rest my case. If I decide to buy your coffee, I'll be in touch.”
“Annie, we're both adults. Can't we go into the bar, sit down, and talk? I'd like to try and explain the way it is.”
She was in his face again, their noses almost touching. “I'll tell you what, Parker Grayson. You go talk to your sisters. Be an honest, open, big brother and ask them what they think and feel and how they felt when they knew they were cut off because they were
just
women.
If they tell you it's fine with them, call me and I'll come back here. I'd like to meet six women who feel like you
think
they do. If I prove right, you supply my coffee for a full year.
Free
. Here,” she said, throwing the leis he'd made for her, at him.
Annie stalked off. Parker watched her until she was out of sight. Suddenly the sun dimmed and the sick feeling returned to the pit of his stomach. He wished he was a little boy again so he could cry.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“You don't seem very happy, Parker. Is something wrong?” Mattie asked. “The house is in readiness. I cooked everything you asked me to cook. The presents for your sisters are all under the tree. It is a joyful time. You always loved Christmas, so why don't we sit down and talk about it? I would have to be blind as well as deaf not to know you haven't been the same since Miss Clark left, back in July. Five months is a very long time, Parker. I've never asked what went wrong. Sometimes talking about things helps.”
“There isn't all that much to talk about, Mattie. Nothing much has changed. Miss Clark's visit was for business purposes. She chastised me for the way I do ... did things. The truth is, my culture is none of her business. She's one of those modern eighties women everyone talks about. I did like her tremendously until she started... It's not important. I don't think I could ever feel the same about her. She was so ... I don't know, brash, uncouth, so ... mainland.”
“Do not tell me a lie, Parker. Your eyes tell me something different. You never did talk to your sisters, did you?”
“No. I was going to do that today. They didn't want to come, Mattie. I guess that bothers me.”
“This is the first time you invited your sisters to their old home in many years. Why would you think they should be overjoyed to visit you now?”
“They have husbands and children. I thought, old times, memories, that sort of thing might appeal to them. They wouldn't come for dinner, so I settled for lunch. They want to leave right afterward, which tells me I should have scuttled the whole idea the moment it entered my mind.”
“And that surprises you?”
“Doesn't it surprise you, Mattie?”
“No. One always wants to know they can go home. This was your sisters' home as well as yours. When you returned from the mainland it became
your
home. There is a piece of paper in the courthouse that says this is so. Your sisters have never come here uninvited. Your nieces and nephews know nothing of this beautiful place. Once you went surfing with them, Parker. Once.”
“There aren't enough hours in the day for me to keep going back and forth to the Big Island. They have fathers. They have each other.”
“And you wonder why they don't wish to join you for this little luncheon. I think you just answered your own question.”
“I guess what you're trying to tell me is my sisters don't like me very much.”
“That is an accurate assessment, Parker.”
“Do they resent me, Mattie?”
“Yes, Parker, they do.”
“Then why didn't they say something? Why didn't
you
say something?”
“It wasn't my place.”
“The hell it wasn't. You don't have the least bit of trouble telling me anything else. Why couldn't you tell me that?”
“That is family business. It is not my business. When was the last time you called any of your sisters just to say hello, how are you? I see. The answer is never.”
“I have to leave now to pick them up at the airport.”
“Where are the leis?”
“Leis?” Parker said, a stupid look on his face.
Exasperated, Mattie said, “Yes, leis for your sisters. It would be the nice thing to do. It is, after all, our custom.”
“They live here, Mattie. They aren't coming from the mainland.”
Mattie's shoulders stiffened. “You will wait right here, Parker, and you will not move,” she said sternly. She was back almost instantly with six breathtaking leis. “I made them a short while ago. You will place one around each sister's neck and kiss her cheek. Do you understand me, Parker?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Be sure to tell them how pretty they are. They are, you know.”
“I know that,” Parker said, shuffling his feet. “Is there anything else, Mattie, that's lacking in the manners department?”
“Ask George.”
Â
Â
They weren't just pretty, they were beautiful. And they were his sisters. For a moment, Parker felt overwhelmed when they walked toward him. They waited expectantly as he draped a lei around each of them and then kissed them. “I'm glad you came,” he said sincerely. He waited for them to respond and when they didn't, he ushered them through the airport and out to his waiting car.
They sat stiffly and primly, much the way Annie had sat back in the summer, when he'd driven her to the airport. This was not going to be an easy visit. The six of them responded when he spoke to them but volunteered nothing to the conversation. He was relieved when they reached the house. He stepped back when all six of them ran to Mattie and George, who welcomed them with open arms. There was nothing shy about them now. They chattered and giggled like little girls, the little sisters he remembered. He suddenly felt like an outsider when he heard Lela, the oldest say, “My God, this banyan tree is bigger than the house. I remember the day Mama planted it. She said it would grow big and strong like... Parker.”
“Guess she was right about that,” Teke, the second oldest said. “What's with this command performance, Mattie? I wanted to tell him to stuff his invitation, but Lela said we had to come.” A deep frown etched itself on Parker's forehead at his sister's biting words.
“I don't want any fruit punch, Mattie. However, I'll take a double shot of Jack Daniel's on the rocks,” Cassie said.
“I'll have a beer,” Mahala said boisterously.
“Me too,” Jana said.
“Scotch on the rocks for me,” Kiki, the youngest said. “Smells good in here. Whatcha making, Mattie?”
“All your favorites,” Mattie replied.
“Why?” the six sisters asked in unison.
“Your brother asked me to,” Mattie said flatly.
Kiki whirled around. “Okay, big brother, now that you have us here, what's the drill? What do you want from us? You already have everything. In case you need a transfusion, count me out.” Parker listened in horror as the rest of his sisters muttered the same words.
“Why don't we go into the library and have a little talk before lunch. Bring your drinks.”
“Nice tree,” Lela said, walking past the Christmas tree. “It's bigger than my whole living room.”
“You must have a lot of friends or are all those presents for Mattie and George?” Teke said.
This was not going the way he'd planned. “Actually, they're for all of you.”
“Really,” Kiki drawled. “We didn't bring one for you. That means we can't accept yours. Money is always tight around this time of year. 'Course you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Parker?”
Money was tight around this time of year. That didn't make any sense. “I didn't expect you to bring me a present.”
“Let's cut the bullshit, Parker, and get to the chase. Why are we here?” Kiki said, gulping at her drink.
“What happened to you? What happened to all of you? You were never like this. You're Hawaiian women. You talk like...” For one split second he was going to say, like Annie. “It's not nice,” he said lamely.
“We grew up. Guess you didn't notice. You being so busy here running things and all,” Jana said tightly.
Parker stared at his sisters. He thought he saw disgust on all their faces. Disgust with him. It was all a bad dream. Annie Clark was preying on his mind and taking her revenge on him through his dreams. He shook his head to try to clear his thoughts. “Let's all sit down. I want to talk to you about something that concerns all of us.”
“You know what, Parker, you're about ten years too late. None of us gives a shit what you want or don't want. Ah, I see my language offends you. That's just tough. Spit it out. What do you want from us? Wait a minute, I know what he wants,” Lela said as she whirled around to face her sisters. “He wants absolution.. Guess what, big brother, we're fresh out. That about sums up our contribution to this little visit. You called, we came, and now we're going. We can get a burger in town. George can drive us back to the airport.”
Parker's jaw dropped when all six sisters set their glasses down on cue and turned to follow Lela to the door.
“Goddamn it! Get back here and sit down. I told you I want to talk to you. You're going to sit and listen whether you like it or not.”
Teke whirled around at the speed of light. With her index finger she jabbed at the center of her brother's neck. “You see, that's where you're wrong. You gave up the right to tell any of us what to do. What do you say, girls, should we let him have it?”
They converged on him as one, backing him up to the sofa and pushing him down. Teke walked around to the back and held his shoulders to prevent him from getting up. Her grip was like a vise.
It wasn't a dream, it was a black, ugly nightmare. And from the looks of things he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon.
“I think I'll go first since I'm the oldest,” Lela said.
The others nodded as they picked up their drinks. They were smiling now at his discomfort. The funny thing was, in his dream each one of his sisters looked like Annie Clark. Only it wasn't a dream.
“When you were born, Parker, this house was full of joy and happiness. It was like Christmas. Mama's miracle son. We were just little girls then, but we remember. Five days after your birth, Mama planted the banyan tree. I was holding you in my arms as we watched her dig out the dirt. It was something she had to do. Of course we didn't understand what it all meant to her. By planting the tree she thought you would live forever. She had become very frail and was too old to have a child at that time. Like most women, she wanted to give her husband a son.
“We raised you, Parker, not Mama, not Mattie. We did it because we loved you. We pulled you around in the wagon, we taught you to swim, to jump in the pools, hide behind the falls. We taught you to climb the monkeypod tree and taught you how to ride your first bicycle and when you fell off you had six nurses in attendance. We made sure you brushed your teeth and took your bath. We even. followed you on your first dates and hid in the bushes so you wouldn't see us. We begged and pleaded with Papa until he couldn't stand our pestering, to get you your first car. We combed your hair and took you to church. We showered you with love and shared everything in our lives with you.
“And then, one day, you didn't need us anymore. Papa decided it was time for you to learn the coffee business because one day it would be all
yours.
Mama died, and Papa decided it was time to marry us all off. We didn't have anything to say about it. I wanted to be a schoolteacher. Teke wanted to study music. Jana wanted to be an artist. Cassie had dreams of being an entertainer. Mahala wanted to study law. Kiki was the one who wanted to learn the coffee business. None of our dreams came true.
“We mistakenly thought when Papa died that you would share your life and your fortune with us. Did I leave anything out?”
“Only that we hate his guts,” Kiki said, finishing her drink.
Parker flinched. “I thought you were all married and happy. You never came here. I thought...”
“It's the same old bullshit,” Teke said.
“Why are we bothering with this? Let's go back to town,” Cassie said.
Teke yanked at her brother's head pulling it backward. She leaned down, her eyes boring into his. “You're never going to be happy, Parker. In your heart, tradition and culture be damned. You know you were wrong. We were part of this family long before you came along. You think about that while we go back to town.”
“Okay, enough is enough!” Parker roared. “I don't need to think about it. That's all I've done for the past five months. All of you are right. Yes, I was deaf, dumb, blind, and stupid. When you didn't say anything, I accepted the fact that you accepted the conditions of Papa's will. I never knew you had hopes and dreams. That in itself was incredibly stupid on my part. I thought all you wanted was to get married and have families. Again, that was stupid on my part. I want to make it right. I will make it right. It's not too late. I want us to share equally and evenly. I want you to know you can come here to this house anytime you want. You do not need an invitation. Your rooms are just like they were when you left. Mattie kept them that way for you. I'd like all your children to come here and enjoy the same life you had when you lived here. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to do this. The business will now have seven equal partners. Kiki, if you want, I could really use an assistant. If you don't like that word, how would you like to be working partner.”
“What's the catch? Why are you being so generous all of a sudden?” Jana asked.
“What do we have to do in return for this generosity?” Mahala asked suspiciously.