ANs in Chapter 1

Chapter 3 (3/?)

Esther finished wiping off the kitchen counter and closed the dishwasher door just as Steve entered the room and placed the baby monitor on the island.

"It's great you were here to give Angie her lunch and put her down for her nap," she said. "That was a welcome surprise."

Steve smiled. "Danny's in LA for the weekend with Gabby for her college roommate's wedding and Chin and Kono have been in court all day. I finished up all the paperwork on my desk, so I figured I'd come home early. If a case comes up I can get the call here just as easy as there." Getting home in the middle of a work day was an unexpected treat and he planned to enjoy every minute of it.

"Actually … " Esther twisted her hands nervously, "I'm glad you're here. There's something I want to talk to you about."

She'd been dreading this conversation.

Steve had been nothing but supportive of her new novel right from the start, but she couldn't go any further without clearing the arrival of a new character with him.

She owed him that.

If he objected, she'd have to come up with a new idea.

"Is everything ok?" he asked as she appeared lost in her own thoughts.

"Everything's fine, I just … " She took a deep breath. "There are a few things about the book I need to discuss with you."

"Okay." He picked up the monitor. "Should we talk on the deck?"

Esther nodded and they made their way outside. She busied herself gathering up the toys from her morning play session with Angie until Steve cleared his throat.

"Sorry." Her tone was slightly flustered. "I should just say what I need to say."

"I think that would be best," Steve agreed.

"Okay." Esther pulled up a chair facing him. "In the next part of the story I want to introduce some new characters. People who are involved on the other side."

"The bad guys." Steve kept his tone light in an attempt to put her at ease.

"Yes," she nodded. "Although not every one of them is necessarily evil. There are … shades of gray involved."

Steve took a sip of water. "I'm not sure I'm seeing the problem."

"What I want is something, or someone rather, who can join the two parts of the story together in a way that ratchets up the emotions on both sides," she explained. "Someone that throws a wrench into the idea that this story is all about good versus evil and that there is no emotional cost for the good guys in destroying the bad guys."

Steve nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

Esther took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

Best to just tear off the band aid.

"My plan is to introduce a new character with ties to both sides." She watched his face carefully for a reaction. "A woman who has been estranged from her family for many years and who has gotten herself involved in a few shady deals while working overseas."

Steve's eyes narrowed slightly.

"She's largely managed to keep her business and personal lives separate until now," Esther continued. "But this job is different. This time there are members of her family on the other side."

"Ahh." Steve's jaw tightened.

He hadn't seen this coming.

She wanted to write Doris into the story.

"Obviously if you'd rather I not I won't do it," Esther said emphatically. "I just … I had the idea and I needed to at least ask you if there was any way … if it would be ok with you … I mean she would make a great addition to the story."

She watched as Steve processed the idea.

"I can give you some time to think about it," she offered.

"No, it's okay." Steve gave her a reassuring look. "I was just surprised. I wasn't expecting that."

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." He took another drink of water. "I guess it does make sense that someone like her would make a great character for a story like yours. I just hadn't thought about the possibility. Did you mention this to Catherine?"

"Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first."

Steve nodded.

He'd made his peace with his relationship with his mother but still he wasn't sure he wanted to pick at that particular scab at this point in his life. Even in fictionalized form.

He searched for the right words to express what he was feeling and finally settled on, "It's complicated."

"I know," Esther assured him. "And I would never want to do anything to make it worse. I just thought that, for this story, it would add a great layer."

"I'm sure it would." Steve took a deep breath.

He'd accepted the fact that the characters in the book were based on their family and friends, but he was afraid Doris might be a bridge too far. And it wasn't only his feelings he had to consider. There was Catherine. And Mary. How would they feel about having that aspect of their lives laid out for all Esther's readers to see?

"Doris has hurt a lot of people," he pointed out. "Some of the wounds are finally starting to heal and I don't think reopening them at this point is a good idea."

"I understand." Esther nodded. "And I would never write anything that I thought was going to do that. It's just that …" She searched for the right words. "Sometimes the only real way to know a wound is healed is to test it and prove to yourself you're stronger."

Steve's eyes met hers and he considered her words.

"How did you get so smart?" he asked with a small smile.

She blushed. "I want you to know I appreciate how great you've been about this book and if you don't want me to go in this direction, I won't."

"It's just that the characters are so recognizable," he sighed. "There are a lot of people on the island who know Doris, or knew her, and I'm not sure how I feel about them thinking they're reading about my relationship with my mother. It's been hard enough thinking about them knowing they're reading a character based on me."

"But they won't know that by the time the story is finished," Esther said.

Steve's face registered his confusion. Even for people who only knew about their lives from public accounts the characters were pretty easy to identify. "Why not?"

"I understand that right now the characters are pretty much carbon copies of you and Catherine and everyone else. That's because writing a mystery/crime story is such a new experience for me that I thought it would be easier to write it using people I know who have experienced situations like the ones in the story," Esther explained. "It's been really helpful."

At Steve's puzzled look she realized something very important.

"Oh no!" she gasped. "Did I forget to explain that once the story is done I'll go back and edit things to make the characters less recognizable to anyone who might read it?"

"Yes." Steve chuckled with relief. "You forgot to mention that."

"I'm so sorry," Esther apologized as her cheeks reddened. "I can't believe I did that. I have so much respect for you and Catherine, and everyone else involved. I would never want you to think I was exploiting your lives for the sake of a story. I mean certain similarities will always be there but in the end these characters won't be direct copies. That's just a tool I'm using to help me during the writing process."

"Well, I am happy to hear that." Steve smiled. "Though personally I love the character of Diana and don't think you should change anything about her."

Esther grinned. "Kamekona thinks Trevor should be taller, and heavier, and that he should be a crime solving entrepreneur instead of a cop."

Steve laughed. "I'm sure he does."

His phone buzzed with an incoming text and he pulled it from his pocket. "Catherine is going to be home a little early too." He smiled as he read the message.

The monitor came alive with the sound of Angie cooing softly as if she sensed the news and Steve smiled happily.

Maybe Esther was right about testing old wounds.

"I think you should write whoever you want into your story," he said confidently. 'I can't wait to see what you come up with."

THE END

Stay tuned for Chapter 4 next Friday

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