Mari & Ilna-you guys are quite simply the best of the best. Awesome doesn't even begin to describe you. I can never possibly express how much fun this is for me and how glad I am to be on this ride with the two of you. Two years and still going strong. Here's to many more!
Sandy-You are all that and a big bag of salt and vinegar chips.
REAL Worlders-HERE WE GO! You guys have been absolutely amazing over the last two years and I am so very grateful you're all along on this adventure with us. As always I'm woefully behind on responding to reviews-ok let's be honest I haven't responded to one in months, years possibly-but PLEASE know that every word is read and appreciated and treasured and my lack of response is truly nothing more than a case of not enough hours in a day.
Coming Together
McGarrett Rollins Home
Friday 7:05 A.M.
Steve and Cammie entered the kitchen after their morning run to find Catherine leaning on the island, staring at her phone with her eyebrows knit together and a puzzled look on her face.
"What's up?" he asked when she barely acknowledged their presence.
"I just called the Hilton Hawaiian Village to make sure everything is set for this afternoon when the wedding guests start arriving," she said without looking up.
He filled Cammie's bowl with fresh, cold water then grabbed a bottle from the refrigerator for himself. "You look concerned. Is there a problem?"
"No," she huffed lightly, finally looking at him. "But Simon at the reception desk said Boris left strict instructions, and I quote, 'When Lieutenant Rollins calls tell her I have everything under control so she can relax.'"
Steve grinned. "Boris knows you."
"I wasn't trying to … I just wanted to make sure … " Catherine's voice trailed off and she couldn't help but smile as she realized she was doing exactly what Boris knew she would do.
Steve stepped beside her with a grin and nudged her hip with his own.
"Fine," she admitted as she attempted to school her features, "I was micro-managing a little."
"A little?" His voice held an unmistakably teasing tone.
"I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly," Catherine sighed. "Between the plane flights and the hotels and food this is an expensive trip for the people coming in from the mainland. I want to make sure they have a good time."
Steve dropped his arm around her shoulders. "I know. But Boris and your mom are handling this. Do you think either one of them is going to let something fall through the cracks?"
"No, I guess not," she acknowledged.
"That's right." Steve kissed her on the cheek. "So stop worrying. I'm gonna jump in the shower."
"Kono texted and said Hikaru Kurosawa's financial records arrived overnight. I'm gonna head in early so we can go over them."
"Ok, sounds good. I'll see you at the office." Steve headed out of the kitchen and when he reached the bottom of the stairs he called over his shoulder, "No stopping by the Hilton on your way."
Danny Williams' Camaro
10:00 A.M.
"What time is Nonna's plane arriving?" Steve asked as he and Danny made their way back towards headquarters after interviewing the ex-girlfriend of a suspected drug runner.
"Four o'clock."
"Were your folks and your sisters able to get on the same flight?"
"Yep," Danny smirked. "The entire clan is winging their way towards the island as we speak. I hope Oahu is ready for the Jersey invasion. I'm afraid it might not know what's about to hit it."
"Maybe not," Steve said distractedly.
"Is there some problem?" Danny asked. It was clear Steve was only half listening to what he said.
"What? No. Well not really. Cath is a little worried, that's all."
"Worried about what?"
"She knows, we both know," Steve said, "What a big financial outlay this trip is for people and … "
"You guys don't need to worry about that," Danny cut him off. "At least not when it comes to my family."
Steve stopped at a red light and turned to face his best man. "Why's that?"
"Well, for one thing," Danny explained, "Nonna had the ticket Grace and I gave her for Christmas ... so her flight is covered. And thanks to Delta Airlines and their miles that never expire all the other flights were taken care of."
"That's good," Steve nodded as the light turned green. "We hadn't thought about that possibility."
"If there's one thing we Jersey Italians are good at, besides cooking, it's working a deal," Danny smirked. "Apparently we're not alone though, have you seen the deal Boris got on the rooms at the Hilton?"
"I did," Steve smiled, clearly impressed.
"Well you don't know the half of it," Danny grinned. "After the first time she met the two of you Nonna said she knew she'd be travelling to Hawaii for your wedding someday … because every soul on the planet knew it except the two of you … but anyway, she signed up for the Hilton HHonors Rewards program. Got my mom and dad to do it too. And Angela and Sal. And Theresa. You get the picture."
Steve chuckled and Danny continued.
"They were worried that since they got such a good deal they wouldn't be able to use their rewards points but once again Boris worked his magic and voila … they were able to add in their rewards discount on top of the already low price."
"Remind me to thank Boris for everything he's doing," Steve smiled. "He's really going above and beyond on this wedding."
"In this particular instance … and only in this one instance ... it's actually good you took so long getting around to finally popping the question. Give the Williams clan enough forewarning and we can make any trip more affordable."
"I'll tell Catherine," Steve chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be relieved."
Honolulu International Airport
Baggage Claim
4:20 P.M.
"What a wonderful surprise," Nonna said as she led her small group of travelers across the airport towards the smiling faces waving at her. "Bambina," she said as she wrapped Grace in a tight hug. "I'm so happy to see you."
"I'm happy to see you too," Grace beamed as she returned the hug. "I'm so excited you're here."
"I'm excited too," Nonna said happily as she turned towards the people standing beside Grace. "And what a nice surprise it is to see all of you. I didn't know we'd have such a big welcoming party."
"Steve, Catherine and Danny got delayed on a case so they called and asked if I could bring Grace to the airport and I was more than happy to," Jenna explained as Grace moved on to hug her grandparents and welcome everyone to the island. "Of course the kids couldn't wait to see you again so they all begged to come along."
"I couldn't be more thrilled," Nonna said sincerely as she hugged Jenna and each of the Allen children in turn. "Let me make some introductions here. This is my daughter Clara and her husband Eddie. My granddaughter Angela, her husband Sal and their daughter Francesca. And my granddaughter Theresa and her son Eric."
"Pleased to meet you all," Jenna said. "And these are my children … "
"Let me guess," Theresa cut her off with a smile. "Cody, Casey, Dylan, Kaitlyn and Jacob," she smiled as she pointed to each one correctly.
"That's right," Jenna smiled. "How did you know?"
"My grandmother told us all about your family after she got back from her visit at Christmas. And showed us lots of pictures. I feel like I know you already."
"That's very sweet," Jenna said as she smiled at Nonna.
"Look," Jacob pointed excitedly as the man standing a short distance away holding a sign reading 'McGarrett/Rollins Party'. "Boris sent a man with a bus to take everyone back to the hotel."
"Well, wasn't that nice of him," Nonna replied. "Very thoughtful. I'll have to remember to thank him."
"He showed us the bus earlier and guess what?" Jacob was vibrating with excitement. "There's a tv AND a bathroom."
"You don't say," Nonna grinned at the exuberant young boy.
Jacob nodded enthusiastically. "It's not like the bus I ride to school."
"Danny said you should go ahead and head to the hotel and he'll meet you there as soon as he can. Catherine's parents and her grandmother will be arriving soon so we're gonna wait here for them," Jenna said.
"Are we gonna get to ride on the bus?" Jacob asked hopefully.
"Not today," Jenna chuckled. "We have our van."
"Darn," her youngest son said dejectedly.
"What time are the Rollins' arriving?" Nonna asked.
Jenna checked her watch. "About half an hour actually."
"Maybe we can just wait," Nonna suggested as she looked at the rest of her family who all nodded their agreement. "Then we can ride over to the hotel together and maybe Jacob can ride with us." She winked at the suddenly happy again young boy. "With your permission of course."
"Can I, Mom? Pleeeeeeease," he begged.
"That's a very nice offer but he can be a handful when he's excited," Jenna said warily.
"He sounds like Danny when he was young, " Clara smiled. "We have plenty of experience with energetic boys."
"I'll be good, Mom. I promise. Pleeeeeeeease."
"Ok," Jenna acquiesced. "What do you say to Nonna?"
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jacob said as he hugged her tightly around the waist.
"You are most welcome, dear boy. Perhaps Kaitlyn would like to ride along as well so we can discuss the cookies we're going to be baking this week."
"Really?" Kaitlyn smiled broadly. "Can I?"
"Sure, why not," Jenna nodded.
"Yay! Thanks, Mom."
Jenna explained to the bus driver there would be a short delay as Sal and Eric headed off to retrieve the luggage and the rest of the group settled in on several benches to wait.
In no time the Allen children were all listening with fascination as Angela described the blizzard that trapped them in their house for three days just the previous month. When Sal returned with the luggage he settled in beside his wife and described trying to shovel the giant mountain of snow.
"That's a lot snow," Casey said as she tried to wrap her mind around the thought of it.
"You could make the biggest snowman ever with all that snow," Jacob clapped his hands.
"Or have a big snowball battle like we did when Uncle Steve and Auntie Catherine were there," Grace added.
"Some winter you'll have to come to New Jersey to visit," Nonna grinned. "We'll show you what lots of snow is like."
"That'd be raw," Dylan said.
"Can we, Mom?" Casey asked, caught up in the excitement.
"We'll talk about it," Jenna smiled.
"You're always welcome," Nonna said sincerely.
Before the discussion could go any further Jenna glanced at the board and saw that the Rollins' plane had arrived on time. Ten minutes later Elizabeth, Joseph and Grandma Ang appeared, chatting happily with another smiling couple as they approached.
Jenna quickly explained that Catherine and Steve had been delayed and while Nonna and Grandma Ang embraced Elizabeth and Clara made introductions all around.
"These are the Staglers. Bill and Kathie," Elizabeth said as she pointed to the couple accompanying them.
"Are you Carrie's mom and dad?" Grace asked.
"Yes," Kathie nodded. "And you must be Grace. The co-maid of honor. We've heard so much about you."
Grace grinned. "Carrie is awesome. I can totally see why she's Auntie Cath's best friend. She's funny and smart and super nice."
"Well, thank you, sweetheart," Kathie grinned. "We think so, but it's always nice to hear it from other people."
Jacob once again explained that Boris had arranged a bus and after gathering the Rollins' and Staglers' luggage the entire group headed for the parking lot for the short trip to the hotel. All of the Allen children ended up riding on the bus while Jenna followed in her van.
As the group was getting checked in, Jenna received a text from Catherine saying they'd wrapped the case and would be there in about an hour. When she passed the word along Nonna and Grandma Ang insisted they should all gather for a celebratory arrival dinner.
"Did you know we have a dedicated concierge for our group?" Eddie said as he and Sal joined the others waiting across the lobby.
"Really?" Angela asked excitedly. "That's awesome."
"It was Boris' idea," Elizabeth said as Joseph and Bill Stagler joined the group. "He really does think of absolutely everything. He figured some of the group might want to do some sightseeing or check out what's going on on the island. So he arranged for a private concierge to handle anything that comes up. I'll check with him and see where we can all get in for dinner as a group tonight and let everyone know," she offered.
Sounds good," they all agreed and they headed off to their rooms to freshen up.
Tropics Bar & Grill
Hilton Hawaiian Village
Friday 7:00 P.M.
Steve, Catherine and Danny entered to find their friends and families seated at several tables with exquisite views of the beach and ocean.
"There's my girl," Joseph said as soon as he spotted them. He and Elizabeth jumped up and hugged both Catherine and Steve as Danny greeted Nonna, his parents and the rest of his family.
After greeting her parents Steve and Catherine went immediately to Nonna and Grandma Ang who were seated side by side.
"Sorry we're late," Catherine said as she hugged each of the women warmly. "We got hung up on a case."
"I understand," Grandma Ang smiled. "I'm just happy you're both here and safe."
"We've been well entertained, bella," Nonna assured her. "Thank you for sending such a wonderful welcoming party."
Catherine and Steve made their way happily around the tables greeting everyone else, making it clear how truly happy they were everyone was able to make it.
"Are you kidding," Sal teased. "I've been waiting since two Christmases ago for a chance to see that Marquis in your garage."
"It's ready and waiting," Steve grinned.
As the two of them, along with Danny, took their seats, Jacob stood up on his chair at the table he was sharing with Sal, Angela, Francesca, Theresa and Eric. "Hey guess what, Aunt Catherine and Uncle Steve? I learned a new word in Italian."
Really?" they asked in unison.
"Yep." Jacob looked at Angela who nodded reassuringly and said, "La Famiglia. It means family."
"Very good," Nonna beamed as Steve and Catherine smiled.
"We sure have a big la famiglia, don't we?" Jacob giggled as he threw his arms out to indicate the entire group.
"We sure do," Catherine chuckled. "And there are more people coming tomorrow."
Jacob's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "Really?" Suddenly his face brightened as a thought occurred to him. "Do I get to ride on the fancy bus again?"
END PART 1
Look for more arrivals tomorrow as our 15-day wedding marathon kicks off
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