Heeeeeyyyy!
Sorry for the extremely long upload you guys! This was quite the chapter to write, but here it is!
Now, this is part of the story where things get a little mature as we progress, so be warned there will be a lot triggering moments as you carry on. (And yes there is triggering moments in this chapter as well, so I apologize in advance if any of the scenes you become triggered by any of the scenes here) :/
Either way, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Nine: Aohe pilipili aina mai
"Are you sure this is safe!?" Moana asked as she sat in the back of the motorcycle with her hands on Maui's shoulders, and his daughters sitting between them, with white child-sized helmets on their heads.
"Oh yeah, totally safe!" Maui replied as he zigzagged through traffic, Moana immediately closed her eyes and laid her head against Maui's back. She hunched forward towering over the girls in a protective fashion.
"But you're not wearing a helmet!" She argued.
"Welcome to Hawaii!" He replied before he let out an excited cry after he increased the speed just within the fifty-five mph speed limit, "CHEEHOO!"
Moana gripped his shoulders tighter and kept her eyes tightly shut as he swerved to the left and reminded him, "It's currently against the law for cyclists to ride without wear a helmet!"
He shouted back, "Like I said, welcome to Hawaii, where wearing helmets is my choice!"
Tala leaned to the side, peeking her head out and called out to Moana as the uncovered parts of her wavy hair rattled against the speeding wind, "Where are we going, Aunty?" A puzzled look slowly plastered itself on her young face the very second she saw how scared Moana was, and then she turned to her father and asked him, "Why is Aunty making funny faces?"
Maui then turned to look at the side mirror and noticed the frightened look on Moana's face. Finally, he slowed down just a bit. Moana felt the change in pace and slowly opened her eyes, and noticed Maui looking at her over his shoulder.
"What?" She asked gently.
"Somebody's got trust issues." He stated with a cheeky grin on his face.
Moana rolled her eyes for a minute and then panicked as shouted, "Maui keep your eyes on the road!"
He quickly veered his bike to the right just in the nick of time. Moana and the girls screamed due to the sudden sharp turn. Moana quickly put left arm forward to catch the two girls, in case they fell.
Fortunately, Maui got his bike back on balance and continued on driving all the way to Pearl City Shopping Center. Tala's eyes widened as she saw the sign to one of her favorite restaurants. Chuck E Cheese.
Tala squealed, "Chucky Cheese!"
Maui turned toward the parking lot, and slowed down before he stopped, and turned the motorcycle's engine off. A shaken Moana slowly straightened up and sat there with a petrified look on her face.
He turned to her and said, "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
Moana slowly eased up and quickly started to slip off his bike. "Whoooa!" Maui quickly lifted his left hand and caught her as she nearly tripped. "Easy there, Mrs Twinkle toes."
Moana narrowed her eyes as she slowly stood up straight and he slowly pulled his hand back. She finally undid her half-knot, letting her long wavy-curly hair flow down as she fixed it up.
Tala commented, "You got pretty hair, Aunty!" Moana stopped, paused and turned to her in the middle of finger brushing her hair. Tala gave her a dimpled smile as she said, "You got really pretty hair," She then turned to her father and asked, "Doesn't Aunty have pretty hair, Daddy?"
Maui raised an eyebrow for a moment and shrugged, "It's okay."
Moana rolled her eyes at his response and turned to Tala with a smile on her face as she styled her hair up to another half topknot and adjusted her carry-on purse. "Thank you, Tala."
"Can we go in now?" Hinatea grumbled as she took off her helmet. Tala eagerly took off her own helmet and got down the same time Maui climbed off his bike. Hina then grabbed Tala's hand and the two immediately started to run toward the restaurant.
Maui quickly grabbed her arm and slowly pulled the two of them back. "Whoawhoawhoa! Slow down there shark-bait!" He let them go the minute they stood beside him. "We're all gonna head in together, okay?"
Hinatea groaned and Tala replied, "Okay!"
IIIIIIIIIIII
The girls entered the restaurant with an excited shrill before they immediately ran for the games. Maui then called out to them, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Girls!" The two stopped and reluctantly walked back toward their father and Moana. Maui reminded them as he looked down and pressed his closed fists against his hips, "Orders first, games later."
"Sorry, Dad…" Hina sighed.
"Okay, Papa!" Tala excitedly replied before she ran off to find them a table. Hinatea followed her soon after. Maui eased up and walked behind her with Moana trailing behind after him.
IIIIIIIIIIII
The four of them sat down on a booth, with Moana, Tala and Hina sitting on one side and Maui sitting on the other side. Hinatea reached for her soda as Tala eagerly ate her large cheese pizza. Maui quickly grabbed her cup and took a test taste first. He let the liquid sit on his tongue for about ten seconds before he swallowed. "You're good."
Moana raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him.
Maui raised an eyebrow as well, "What?" He asked shrugging before he casually explained. "I'm just making sure it isn't strawberry flavored."
"I see." Moana replied, "Allergies?"
Hinatea then interjected, "I'm right here you know."
Maui gave her a knowing look, "Grown-ups talking here." Hina sighed and remained silent before she took a sip of her soda. Maui turned to Moana again and informed her, "She's allergic to strawberries."
She raised an eyebrow, "You mean the flavoring?"
He clarified nodding his head once, "Both flavoring and the natural stuff."
Moana raised an eyebrow and asked, "And where did she get that from?"
"Lani," Maui replied smiling. He then let out a single chuckle and spoke out with obvious endearment. "It turns—turned out that she was allergic to strawberries too… that's one more thing Hina got from her." He felt the butterflies fluttering in his stomach and that sense of calm whenever he spoke about her, and then came that sense of guilt once more.
Suddenly he took a deep breath and began to push his feelings down, and then he spotted Hina trying to reach for another slice of pizza—and then he beat her to it.
Hina's eyes went wide for a second before she looked up and glared at him. "Hey! That's mine!" She exclaimed.
Maui took a big bite and declared, "Sorry. You snooze you lose," He turned and saw the daring look on his daughter's face and he immediately knew what was about to do. "Don't even think about it, young lady. Tables aren't for feet or slippers."
Hina groaned, "Fine…" Before she took another slice of pizza. Maui excused him for a minute. Moana turned and watched as he headed over to the salad bar and returned to set a large bowl of One Trip Salad on the table.
"What!? Are these all vegetables?" Hina exclaimed, she then looked around for the guilty party, "Who ordered all vegetables?"
Maui grabbed the tongs and her plate replied as he used it to grip a handful and put it on her plate, "I did. And you're going to eat them quietly and like it." Hinatea groaned as she picked up her fork before she reluctantly started eating her salad first.
He sat back down and turned to Tala, and then gestured her to give him her plate. Tala grunted and reluctantly handed her plate to him. Moana picked up her own plate and reached over for the salad.
IIIIIIIIIIII
With their pizza mostly gone and the salad bowl completely empty, the girls finally rushed off to buy tokens for the games, leaving Maui and Moana to sit across one another. Maui watched the servers walking by back and forth, and started tapping his fingers against the table.
Moana raised an eyebrow, "What are you waiting for?"
Maui stopped tapping his fingers and answered. "Dessert."
She leaned back with wide-eyes, "Dessert?"
He nodded and explained, "Yup. It's better to have dessert after lunch—you burn more calories that way."
Moana nodded, obviously impressed by that knowledge. "So, you're a part-time dietitian now?"
He scoffed and said, "What? You think I was born with these muscles? Nope. I had to work hard for these babies like everybody else and I'm not about to stop now."
She raised an eyebrow, "And I take it you have a six-pack?"
He quickly dismissed her claims with a wave of his hand, "You kidding? Six packs aren't functional—unless you're a bodybuilder. And I have nooo interest going down that road."
Her eyebrow remained raised as she stated with a sarcastic undertone, "Oh really?"
"Yes really." Maui replied, "I wanna look good and healthy. And I already look good, so now all I have to do focus on being healthy."
Moana then added, "You can be a bodybuilder and be healthy too."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head in dismissal before he started tapping his fingers on the table once more.
"The Maui I knew wouldn't miss a chance for fame and glory." She remarked.
He scoffed, "The Maui you knew wasn't a father or husband." He paused and then let out a sigh, "But this Maui has other priorities." He then turned to the basketball machine game, where the sounds of his daughter's laughter echoed, and watched as they both started shooting the balls through the hoops. A small dimpled smile slowly etched across his lips. "I remember when Lani used to play that with them."
Moana smiled as she turned to watch the girls taking turns to shoot the hoops. She noted. "It's good to see them getting along so well."
He smiled and said, "That's all Lani's doing."
Moana raised an eyebrow after she turned to him and then added, "Really? And you had nothing to do with it?"
"Nope." He replied, "When Lani was pregnant with Tala, I had to work double time."
She nodded in understanding before she looked around at the chain with a fond smile on her face. "I remember when this place first opened here."
Maui raised an eyebrow, "When did it open?"
"Sometime in the eighties." She answered as her smile widened a bit. "Lani and I loved coming here every summer while we were growing up."
He smiled as his eyes scanned the establishment as he replied, "She told me." His smile widened as he was happy to report, "And those were the happiest moments of her life."
She chuckled once and added, "Any time away from her mother was the happiest moment of her life."
Maui frowned for a moment before he slowly nodded in agreement, and there was that feeling of confusion once more; what kind of parent would hate their child that so much?
"Listen Maui," Moana began, "I wanted to apologize for last night, and I said some things I shouldn't have—"
He held his hand up to stop her and added casually, "Let's just say we both said some things that shouldn't have been said, and you pay for lunch."
Moana gave him a lopsided smile before she held his hand out to him for a handshake. "Deal."
IIIIIIIIIIII
She hadn't even made to the apartment door when the sounds of men singing echoed down from inside her home. Aroha quickly made her way to her front door with two brown paper bags settled in her arms. She turned and pushed the door open with her shoulder.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
Aroha looked down as the sound of a beer can roll across her now sticky floor, and right there in her adjoined living room was her uncle playing the guitar, stringing and singing along the chords to Homegrown's song Herbs. His rough, gravelly voice was surprising in tune to the reggae music, and his projection was powerful… he was starting to get drunk. Her eyes slowly gazed up at the three obvious urban Maori men sitting on her couch, one of them she recognized to be an old friend of her father and uncle's, Uncle Huaki. She had fond memories of him from her childhood.
Her eyes slowly holding cans in their hands and at least a dozen empty ones sitting all over her once clean coffee table.
She took three steps toward the kitchen; the sound of her footsteps caught her uncle's attention. He put the guitar down and grabbed a beer can as he turned to Aroha while she put the groceries on the counter.
Huaki then turned his head and said, "Aroha, is that you, girl? Shit last time I saw ya, you were a wee girl. But look at ya, yer a grown ass woman now. Kei te pēhea koe?"
Aroha smiled and replied, "I'm all good Uncle Huaki."
"Wha'dya doing standing 'round there, girl?" Nikau waved her over, "Come over here and meet my mates!"
Aroha walked hesitantly toward her living room and crossed her arms protectively over her chest, covering whatever exposed seemingly 'indecent' skin the top of her midnight blue sleeveless mid-length round neck muumuu failed to cover.
He waved her over to come closer, "Oi fellas, tūtaki tōku irāmutu, Aroha."
Two of them nodded their heads up in acknowledgement and greeted her with a simple, "Kia ora." Before turning to Nikau once more and said, "Chur bro."
To which Nikau replied as he was about to take another swing of his beer, "Chur bruthas." He turned to Aroha after taking a sip and asked with a slight slur in his voice, "Hey, you got anything good to feed my mates, eh girl?"
Aroha cast one hesitant gaze to her uncle's guests in her home, and turned to face him, and answered. "Nothing but veggies, cheese and milk."
Nikau rolled his eyes and then he turned back to his three friends, "Can ya believe that shit? How's a man suppose to feed his mates just fucking veggies, eh?" He then turned to his twenty-one-year-old niece and ranted, "Ya need to get some meat in yer bones, girl. All this 'save the animals' shit is fucking yer head up."
She remained silent and looked at her uncle's guests, and saw at least two nodding and agreeing with her uncle's words. Huaki on the other hand simply drank his beer and stayed out it. Finally, she said, "I'll go whip something up."
Nikau finally spoke out as he waved her back over to where he sat. "Hey, hold it, hold it, hold it." Before he pulled at least two hundred dollars from his pocket. "Go on buy us some mīti, girl. Get the good stuff."
Aroha remained stone-faced as she grasped the money with her fingers. "Where'd you get all this money, Uncle?"
He answered with a slightly proud tone in his voice. "Got 'em by winning the gigis on ESPN." Aroha gave him a simple polite smile. Nikau bobbed his head lightly and then added, "Get something good for yerself too, girl. Ya hear?"
Her smile widened a little, "Yeah, I hear. Cheers, Uncle Nick."
IIIIIIIIIIII
"You did not think that!" Maui exclaimed feigning his feelings of insult as Moana started bringing up past moments… specifically, their first meeting.
"Oh yes, I did." Moana replied with a chuckle and grin, "Your ego was bigger than your head."
He scoffed at her claims and took a long sip of his soda, and then looked away to watch the servers walking by carrying trays to other customers, all the while the wild screams and then he slowly glanced over to where Hina and Tala were playing in the jungle gym along with the other kids in the restaurants.
Where were their desserts?
Saving whatever little bit of dignity he had, Maui stood up and told Moana, "I'll be right back." And then proceeded to find the manager to complain about the extremely slow service.
She simply rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement. He was just as impatient as he was ten years ago. She slowly turned her attention to the atmosphere of the bustling restaurant. Honestly, she felt a little bit bad for the staff having to go around tending the now overcrowded restaurant.
Suddenly she heard Tala shouting, "It's Chucky!" And soon the children left the jungle gym and rushed to where the show going to begin.
Moana giggled as a sense of nostalgia slowly crept in as the children all gathered in front of Chucky as he began dancing, prompting them to follow his moves. DING! She heard her phone vibrating from her carry-on purse. Thinking it was a message from work, she opened her purse and reached in for her iPhone. She pressed the home button and saw that she received one message that chilled her to the bone. Not because of the notification or the words No Caller I.D connected with the message itself. But, the context was what chilled her to the bone.
It read: Found you.
DING! The next message read: This isn't over.
DING! It read: You can change your number, you can change your address, but I will find you, and I will end you.
Moana immediately stood up and began scanning the restaurant attentively as dread slowly hammered more her fortress of security down… a hundred bricks at a time.
DING!
DING!
She looked down at the message, expecting to see another bone-chilling sentence… instead, he'd sent two pictures of a house. One was the exterior of Uncle Kahua's house and the other was taken right in front of big windows. Her blood ran cold when she saw the image. It was of her and Tala, taken the day they did dishes together.
Her knees started to buckle, and the earth shook beneath her feet. But she held it together enough not to collapse down on the chair. Instead, she kept looking around the restaurant.
'Where is he?' She thought in a panic, unaware that Maui came back emptyhanded and was getting ready to sit back down, till he saw her standing up with a petrified look on her face.
"You okay…?" He asked with obvious hesitance.
Moana slowly took notice of him and took a deep breath as she squeezed her iPhone in her hands. "I'm fine." Finally, she sat down, prompting him to sit back down in his seat.
His gaze shifted between the distant look in her eyes to her tense white knuckles clutching her expensive phone with enough force to almost break it. His security guard instincts started swirling in his gut. "Gimme your phone."
She looked up at him with wide eyes, obviously confused and surprised by his strange request. "Excuse me?" She replied.
He repeated with a firm tone, "Give me your phone." Moana didn't seem to react fast enough and before her mind could register it, he'd pluck her phone out of her hands.
Moana finally regain some sense of reality back and demanded in a soft voice, "What are you doing?" She immediately clammed up at the serious expression on his face. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know his thoughts. She confirmed his assumption. "It's him."
Maui took a deep breath and looked up at Moana before he very slowly put her phone upside down on the table and slowly towered over her and uttered two simple words. "Outside. Now." With that, he left the table and walked off.
Moana reached over for her phone, grabbed her purse and followed him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Tala called out as she rushed toward the table holding a long line of tickets in her hands and was completely puzzled at the sight before her. "Daddy?" She quickly turned to her right and watched—studied the other customers before her. "Daddy?" Her little feet quickly turned around as she quickly ran back to the gaming area. "Hina! Hina! Hina!" She spotted her older sister playing a shooting game. She rushed over and tugged her shirt, "Daddy and Aunty Moana are gone!"
Hinatea immediately whirled in the direction of their table. They were gone. She tried not to panic and relief when she spotted them outside. Hina quickly grabbed her sister's hand pulled her along.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Hina immediately stopped in her tracks and looked on from inside. Tala nearly ran outside and she grabbed her little sister by the shoulders, causing her to look up in confusion. Hina put her fingers to her lips and went, shhhh… before she reached over for her sister's hand. Tala pulled her fists up to her chest and clenched them tightly.
Hinatea rolled her eyes and muttered, "Whatever." Before she walked off away from the entrance. Tala looked back to watch her leave and then turned back to the door once Hina had left. She saw her father pacing back and forth with an aggravated look on his face.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Tension filled the air between them as Moana watched him pacing about. Finally, Maui stopped in his tracks and let his back face her. He put his hands on his hips and took several deep breaths.
She took a step forward, "Maui—"
"Don't talk to me." He snapped, stopping her in her tracks before he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I need to think right now, okay?" Moana slowly lowered her head and kept her gaze closed for a few minutes until she heard him let out another deep breath. She lifted her head and stared on as he slowly turned around.
"Listen, I know this none of this is your fault, and I wanna help you Mo. I really do, but if he's gonna involve my daughters in his game, then I gotta put my girls' safety first." He took a deep reluctant breath, "And right now, you're a danger to all of us. Especially my girls." These next words were the hardest things he'd had to say, "I want you to stay away from them."
She nodded in agreement, "I understand."
He looked down for a moment and saw the distant look in her eyes. "How're you gonna get home?"
She slowly snapped back to reality and replied solemnly, "I'll call an Uber."
He paused for a moment, "Are you gonna to be okay?"
"I'll be fine." She replied with a reassuring smile on her face.
"You sure?" He asked her again.
She quickly nodded, "I'm sure. Anyway, I'll cover the bill and you better go."
He could practically see the emotional crack spreading its lines further and further in that wall of security she'd put around herself. Part of him wanted to help her, but the instincts to protect his family outweighed that urge and he immediately turned to walk back inside and stopped.
Her car was back at his house. Her car was back at his house.
"Your car's still at my place." He reminded her as he slowly turned around. Moana slowly raised her head and hugged herself as she turned to face him, obviously surprised by what she thought he was suggesting?
He couldn't believe that he was going to say this, "After you foot the bill, we're all heading home."
IIIIIIIIIIII
Click.
Aroha opened the door once more and carefully walked into her apartment only to be welcomed by the sound of multiple snores from her living room. She immediately headed over to the kitchen, and gently placed the brown paper bags on the counter. She then looked over, her uncle had fallen asleep on her couch, one of his guests were sleeping on her armchair and the other two on the floor with their backs against the armchair.
She sighed and shook her head and proceeded to take the meat out of the paper bags. The sounds of rustling woke her uncle from his light nap.
He reached over for his half-finished beer can and started drinking once more. Finally, he turned to where she stood and asked with an obvious slur in his voice, "Where the fuck ya been?"
Aroha said as she started unpacking the meat, "I'd take that tone out of your voice if I were you."
"What?" Nikau retorted, "I didn't hear an answer from ya, girl."
"I said I'd take that tone outta your voice—"
"Is that back-talk I hear!?" He shouted, and out of nowhere, Aroha found herself being dragged out of the kitchen by her dress.
Her screaming protests woke her uncle's guests and to their surprise, saw him pushing Aroha to the floor as Nikau stood screaming over her crying form, "What'd I tell you about talking back to me, eh? You never disrespect your elders—"
Huaki jumped to his feet and grabbed him by the arm. "Take it easy Nick, she's just a kid!"
A shaking Aroha slowly pulled herself up from the floor and stood tall, trying hard not to let any more of her tears fall as she told him with gritted teeth. "Get out."
"You gonna kick me outta my own house—"
"This isn't your house!" Aroha shout back, "You're not the one paying rent every bloody month!" Despite his drunken mind, her words—the sharp tone in her voice shut him up. She continued on as she pressed her hands on her hips, "I want you to get out, cool yer head and take your mates with you."
She continued holding her head high as she replied, "You hear me, Uncle Nick? I'm not 'bout to let myself get pushed around in my own flat while you bloody act like Jake the muss. Get out." She then turned to all of them and shouted as she pointed at her door. "Now get out, the whole lot of ya before I call the bloody the cops!"
Nikau stood there in complete disbelief—in a complete shame that he had been disrespected. But Huaki saw Nikau was about to smack her with all he's got, and grabbed him by the arm, urging him as he pulled him along, "Hey come on man, let's go. Let's go."
She stood there, still holding her head high as she watched all of them leave.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Forty-five minutes later,
Maui finally parked his bike home. Hina threw off and jumped off her father's motorbike, leaving him there to shake his head in disbelief. He then turned back to make sure Moana was okay. Fortunately, she appeared calmer than she did before.
A small smile made its way to his face before he offered her a hand.
Moana looked up at him and gave him a polite smile before she accepted his offer. Slowly, she heaved one leg over to one side and carefully climbed down.
Once off, she turned to face him and spoke, "Maui, I know how hard this is—"
He shrugged his shoulders and replied, " Hey, it's the least I can do." He paused, "So, I guess you'll be leaving now." He then turned as Tala slowly unclipped her helmet and asked her, "Tala, let's say goodbye to Aunty Moana, okay?"
"I don't wanna," Tala replied with a flat tone in her voice. Finally, she placed her helmet behind her and quickly got off before Maui could even ask about her attitude.
"Never mind, Maui." Moana replied, "I really should go." She looked up at him with a grateful a smile on her face, "Thank you for coming."
He gave her a soft smirk and replied. "You're welcome."
IIIIIIIIIIII
Hina glanced quickly at the front door as Maui entered and closed the door behind him. She paused for a moment as a nagging feeling started scratching the back of her mind, there was something she wanted to ask him, and then it clicked. "Oh yeah! Daddy, why's the door blue now?"
Maui turned, "Hina, you mind leaving me and your sister alone for a few minutes?"
She raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
Maui raised a knowing eyebrow and told her, "That's between me and your sister, now go on."
Hina let out an annoyed sigh and promptly got off the couch before she left for her room.
Maui walked over to the sofa and turned the TV off before he sat down beside her.
"So," He began, "What's with the attitude?"
Tala remained silent for a few minutes before she looked up at him and replied, "I don't like her no more."
He doubled back and turned away for a moment as he tried to process what she just said. He slowly shook his head in disbelief and immediately turned back to face her, "What? But I thought you'd like Moana?"
She pulled her knees up to her chest and declared, "No I don't."
"Tala—"
She jumped off the couch and said, "She's stinky and I don't like her!" Before she ran off and headed upstairs.
"Tala!" He shouted.
SLAM!
He sighed exasperatedly as he shook his head in confusion. Why was she acting like this? He couldn't grasp it—then a thought came rushing into his head, she couldn't have heard their conversation? 'Could she?'
He got off the couch and then left to head upstairs.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Knock… Knock…
Maui quickly turned the doorknob and stepped inside his daughters' room.
Hinatea looked over at him and asked, "Can I get back to watching TV now?"
Maui nodded and stepped to one side as Hina rushed out and hurried down the stairs. He turned and saw his little Tala sitting by the windowsill, gazing at the thickets of palm trees and other native fauna. He took a deep breath and walked over toward her. Finally, he sat down next to her and asked, "So, you gonna tell me what's bothering you or not?"
Tala slowly turned him and said, "I don't like Aunty Moana anymore."
"And why is that?" Maui asked. She remained silent and he pressed on. "Tala."
Finally, she answered, "She made you mad."
Guilt slowly etched its way toward his eyes when the realization hit. She had been watching after all.
Maui sighed for a moment and began with, "I'm not mad at her. But, ummm… something's happened and it's not safe to be around her right now."
Tala looked up at him, "Why?"
He sighed and answered simply with, "Well… it's grown-up stuff." He then turned to her and added, "Right now, it's not safe to be around her at this time. Okay?"
Tala slowly nodded, "Okay Papa."
He smiled, "Now, how about you put on your swimsuit on and lets all head out to the beach."
Her eyes immediately perked up and she cheered, "Yay!"
Maui chuckled as she hopped off the windowsill and rushed to her dresser. Finally, he stood up to leave the room and head downstairs to give his eldest daughter the good news.
IIIIIIIIIIII
By two in the afternoon, Moana finally pulled up to Kameālohas' drive, and was surprised to see Waiola and Kahua standing outside… talking to two Sheriffs. Apprehension immediately filled her entire being and she quickly shut turned off her engine and stepped out of her car.
Seven steps later, she finally saw the reason for all the commotion. Their tires had been slashed and their windshield broke open. Her whole body froze in place as the sense of violation vibrated through her like an inner church bell.
Kahua saw her in the corner of his eye and immediately gave her a reassuring smile. Waiola, on the other hand, had a worried look on her face, she then turned and noticed Moana's presence. Kahua's eyes shifted between Moana and his wife's, and he took a deep breath.
But, there was nothing that could be done—Moana's worst fears had already been confirmed. Her ex-husband had found her… and now they were involved, and this was all her fault.
"Thank you, officers," Kahua said politely before the two sheriffs turned and headed their way. He watched as they both entered their cars and left. Finally, he put his arm around his wife's shoulders and then turned to Moana. "What's wrong, ocean?" He asked her.
Moana quickly shook her head and took a deep breath, "I'm so so sorry."
Waiola let out a short sharp sigh before she turned to the young woman before her. "I know you are Moana. But… you can't stay here." Kahua opened his mouth to object and immediately shut it back up when he saw the sharp look on his wife's face. Waiola then continued, "I'm sorry too, honey. Believe me when I say this. We want to have you here too—"
Moana interjected, "That's okay, Aunty. I understand. Thank you for all you've done."
Kahua then smiled and told her, "Don't thank us just yet." Moana raised an eyebrow. He quickly pulled his arm off his wife's shoulder and then ran inside the house. Waiola immediately rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
He finally made it to the front door and quickly entered.
Moana stood beside Waiola, still completely puzzled for a few seconds, then her eyes widened in shock as a certain two came out behind Kahua as he exited.
Moana took a step forward in shock. "Mom? Dad?"
Tui turned to her as he placed his hand on his wife's shoulders, and gave her an affirmative nod. Tui slowly pulled his arm off Sina's shoulders and stepped to one side as their daughter rushed over toward her mother's opened arms.
Tui turned to Kahua and said, "Thank you for everything, Kahua."
Kahua replied with an enthusiastic smile, "Ah, no need to thank us, brah, we're all family here."
Sina gave Moana a big hug, and kept her hands on her daughter's shoulders as she asked, "Are you alright, my little minnow?"
"I'm okay Mom, I'm okay," Moana replied as Waiola walked over to the two. Sina then pulled her hands off Moana's shoulders and went over to give Waiola a hug. "Thank you for taking her in, Waiola."
"Of course." Waiola replied, "I just wish it were different circumstances."
Sina nodded in understanding.
"Where will you be staying?" Waiola asked.
"Our family home," Sina replied.
Waiola nodded in approval before she turned to Moana and then gave her a hug. "Be safe."
Moana hugged her back, "Thank you, Aunty."
Waiola and Sina turned to the sound of their husbands' laughter. The two then started giggling as they turned to one another. Moana smiled to hear the sounds of their laughter, and for a moment she felt everything was going to be alright.
After a few minutes of chit-chat, Sina gave Waiola another hug of gratitude, and looked over at her husband, just to double check if it was time for them to go?
Tui nodded in confirmation and turned to his wife and daughter as he waited by his daughter's car.
"Bye Aunty." Moana replied, "I'll keep in touch."
Waiola nodded, "You stay safe, okay? Keep your tracks short."
Moana nodded, "I will."
IIIIIIIIIIII
4 PM,
Maui sat down on the beach towel, wearing his favorite earthy green swimming trunks with brown shark patterns, watching as his daughters played near the shore. He looked around at all the various tourists and a couple of locals walking around the sand. Some of them sunbathing, and others taking pictures, carrying large surfboards underneath their shoulders as they rushed to the water.
He fought the urge to roll his eyes and these tourists, but part of him felt a pang of envy. Oh, how would he love to go surfing again. But, it wouldn't be the same. Not without Lani surfing along beside him. He slowly pulled his eyes up to this chest and stared down at the surfacers riding the waves as the ocean made his long thick curly hair flutter. He took a big whiff of the salty air, and thoughts of his late wife started to echo through.
Lani loved the waves—heck, she loved everything about the ocean. That was the only reason she worked as a part-time lifeguard in these sort of places… who would've thought she died doing what she loved the most?
IIIIIIIIIIII
28th March 2017,
Maui sped through the highways in his secondhand red four-door Jeep Wrangler, with his heart in his throat. A million thoughts raced in his brain. He'd gotten a call at work—no, not 'a call' it was the call. The call he'd never dream in a million years he'd ever get. Maui kept pressing his hand on the klaxon over and over and over again till he finally saw an opening.
He couldn't remember how long it took for him to reach Kapiolani Medical Center, all he could remember rushing in down into the hall and making a mad dash for the reception desk.
A second later he felt his heart soaring when he heard his eldest daughter calling out to him. "Daddy!" He turned around and saw Hinatea still wearing her dark blue one-piece bathing suit, running straight to him. Maui immediately got down on his knees and pulled her into his arms.
"Papa!" Tala came barreling through with tears in her eyes, still wearing her pink bathing suit with the thin lavender nylon frills sewn around the waist. He stretched out his left arm and pulled her close.
He began trying to settle them down with gentle shushes while the two of them kept blubbering about their mother. Then one of the emergency room staff walked over toward the small family with a nurse following her in tow.
"Mr Tuputala?"
He looked up and saw the female brown haired and green eyed doctor with the slightly sunburnt tanned skin. "Yeah?" He replied.
She slowly nodded in affirmation and turned to the nurse, and then whispered something to her. The nurse nodded and ushered the two sisters to the play area.
Once alone her warm and welcoming expression turned to that of dread, and finally sympathy. Maui slowly stood up as he felt his heart slowly starting to sink.
IIIIIIIIIIII
The music blasted out the speakers as the cool, the lights that glowed beneath the bar counter's surface, the different brands of booze sitting there––calling Nikau and his friends to have more drinks.
"Can you believe this shit?" Nikau spoke the slur in his voice becoming more obvious after drinking what must've been his seventh or eighth cup of beer. "Kicked out by my own blood." He turned to his drinking buddies with sluggish movements, "She doesn't know good she has it?" He then took another chug of his beer as he started rambling, "Twenty-one and ain't married. Fuck." He turned away for a moment and then he quickly turned his head to them again. "Eh, you know what she needs fellas? A chap, y'know a husband, a couple 'em kids."
Huaki then said, "Never mind that bro, y'know how kids are these days. No respect."
Nikau let out a scoff of agreement and looked away as he muttered. "Bloody kids." He then turned and noticed that his three buddies had finished their drinks. "Oi, wanna another round of piss fellas? It's my shout."
"Nah, cheers, we've all had our fill bro," Huaki replied being the soberest one of the group as the other two slowly nodded in agreement.
"What? I'm suddenly not good enough fer ya?" Nikau then spoke out, now getting angrier by the second as he suddenly jumped to his feet, knocking the barstool down. "I'm only good fer ya as my money's worth, eh!? You wanna a one-out is that it!? Come on! I'll knock yer fucking head off—"
Huaki then rose to his feet and told him off. "Chill out bro—"
SMACK!
With one punch he managed to knock Huaki down to the floor. Fists were flying, and the new customers who tried to break up the fight were knocked down to the floor and unfortunately became caught up in the fight. Within seconds, what started as a small fight between two, phased into an overall brawl.
The bouncers for that afternoon sprang into action and finally managed to separate the group.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Beep… Beep… Beep…
The tune to Aloha 'oe echoed inside his mind as he stepped forth into the ICU, he was led into one of closed off sections. The doctor reached for the curtain and pulled it to one side.
The first thing Maui saw was his unconscious wife lying there on the hospital bed dressed in a hospital gown. The second thing he saw was the wires that connected the reading machines to her covered chest, and the heart monitor that stood right above her.
What shocked him the most was that her long beautiful wavy hair was gone… all of it was hastily shaved off with a buzzer, and more wires were connected to the side of her head.
His heart broke even more at the sight of the breathing tube wedged inside her sweet sounding lips, and that invasive feeding tube was pushed up inside her right nostril or that horrible breathing tube forced down her throat. Thankfully he couldn't see any noticeable bruises anywhere on her peaceful face.
His thoughts immediately honed in on her and how she laid there sleeping… that's right she was just sleeping and she could wake up any day now—
"…brain dead." That was the only word his mind had managed to take in as the doctor then began explaining more and more medical terms—it sounded like a foreign language to him.
All the while he couldn't even begin to grasp that this was even remotely real. It couldn't be. He slowly began shaking his head in deniable. Finally, he felt the doctor place a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
"Mr Tuputala, I promise you we'll do what we can. But we can't guarantee that she'll ever regain consciousness."
"She's gonna wake up again. Just give her a bit of time."
The doctor nodded, "I'll leave you two alone for a moment." She then turned around and left the ICU.
Maui slowly turned to the bed and carefully walked over to her side, and pulled her hand from under the blanket and grasped it tight before he lifted it up to press his lips against her knuckles. He lifted his head and kept his eyes set firmly at her face. Carefully he placed her hand down and reached over to brush his thumb against her soft skin. "I'm here baby, I'm right here." He whispered before he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the corner of her still lips.
He stayed with her for a whole hour and had to be physically pulled away when his limited visit had come to an end. All the while he had a hard time convincing himself that any of this was even remotely real.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Soon, he had the hardest task of all, informing their daughters, Waiola, Uncle Kahua and all of their six children the terrible news. And that was all… he couldn't be bothered calling her parents. No way, no how. He knew that they—her mother especially—would just use this situation and turn into a pity fest, and he was in no mood to deal with her drama or crocodile tears.
He had enough of that.
Maui sat down in the waiting room, trying to keep it together as Tala and Hinatea kept asking about where her mother was? Soon, the sounds of rushed echoed in front of him, and he looked up to see Kahua standing, with his back hunched over as he took several deep breaths, proof that he'd had run all the way here.
Waiola, all five of their daughters and Hiapo came rushing over. "Where is she?" Waiola asked with a worried tone in her voice.
Maui looked up at her for a moment and then turned to his daughters. "Why don't you and Hiapo go and wait by the play area, okay?"
"But we were just there!" Hinatea pointed out.
"When can we see Mama?" Tala asked.
Hiapo walked over and took their hands, "C'mon girls."
"But we wanna see Mama." The two sisters protested as Hiapo took their hands and led them away.
Maui then turned to look at Waiola, Kahua and their five daughters before he took a deep breath and answered, "She's in Intensive Care." Waiola slowly put her hand over her mouth while Kahua put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder.
Aimata then took a step forward and asked the question that filled everyone's mind. "How bad is she?"
Maui looked up at her and said, "Bad, but I know she's gonna better."
Aimata walked over and sat down beside him. She then grabbed his hand. "We'll pray for her, okay?"
He looked up at her and gave her a watery smile as he placed his hand upon hers."Thank you."
Soon the nurse came up toward the family with a small stack of forms stuck on a clipboard. "Excuse me," The nurse greeted, "Which one of you is the patient's next of kin?"
Maui immediately stood up and replied, "That would be me."
The nurse nodded and jotted it down before she asked, "And how are you related to the patient?"
Maui took a deep breath and answered solemnly, "I'm her husband."
IIIIIIIIIIII
"Daddy!" Tala called out, "Wanna build sandcastles?"
Maui smiled and replied as he slowly stood up, "Prepare to be amazed girls! You're dealing with the king of sandcastles."
Tala started bouncing in excitement as he came walking over. Hinatea dutifully handed their father the sand bucket. Maui then got down on his knees and started filling the bucket with moist sand and patted its bottom till it was nice and smooth. Out of nowhere Tala laid down on the sand and requested, "Bury me, Papa!"
Maui chuckled and asked, "You sure?"
"Yes!" Tala replied.
He raised an eyebrow and then turned to Hinatea and spotted the all too familiar smile on her face, "So, my trusty assistant, shall we bury her?"
Hinatea saluted and replied, "Ay, ay, Captain!"
Tala let out an excited squeal when Hina started pushing the sand over her little sister. Maui then shoved sand forward over Tala's little body covering her midsection and her calves.
"Keep going, Papa!" Tala cheered on as he and her sister kept going, till only her head and feet were sticking out.
Maui finally pulled himself back for a moment and said, "I think that's enough for now." He cupped his own chin in thought and then turned to his trusty assistant. "So, sandcastle beside her?"
Hinatea grinned and replied, "Sandcastle beside her."
Maui turned back to Tala and said, "Alright kiddo, now I need you to stay very still."
"Okay, Papa!" Tala giggled as she stayed still as a statue as her father and sister spent the next few minutes building the sandcastle next to her tiny dune. Maui then poked the tip of her little nose with a small flag, made together using a tiny twig and leaf, and stuck it on the top of the sandcastle. Tala lifted her head slightly and smiled widely.
Then a familiar boyish cry echoed in the direction of the waves. Hina quickly got up, prompting Tala to rush out of her little sand dune and inevitably caused the sandcastle to crumple over.
Maui rolled his eyes and shook his head and watched as his daughters ran straight toward where Hiapo could be seen surfing. He then lifted his head when the two went a little too deep into the water. "Girls!" He yelled from the top of his lungs. The two minuscule forms of his daughters quickly whirled around at the sound of his voice. He told them, "Stay where the waves won't knock you down!"
He looked on as Hinatea grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her along closer to the beach. He let out a sigh of relief as he slowly turned to retract back to their spot.
Maui let out an amused scoff as he continued on watching his daughters playing in the sand.
Soon, he spotted Hiapo swimming on his surfboard forward to shore and toward his two young second cousins were waiting for him. A small lopsided dimpled smile peered on his left cheek as his daughters then surrounded Hiapo, where Tala began tugging on his arm, and Hina then started begging him to take them both surfing on his board, and they kept going on and on and on, till he finally agreed to take them.
Maui let out a deep chuckle as his daughters quickly got on the front of Hiapo's surfboard, and off they went to the water.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Nikau wandered aimlessly the streets in a drunken stupor, bumping into people and walking straight through groups without a care in the world or for those who all walked around him. Following his instincts, that was all he knew. Bloody Maui. Bloody little Aroha. Bloody rich Pākehā folk who looked down on him.
He continued walking on without a care in the world, until an unfortunate young mixed couple and shouted in his drunken rage, "Fuck off! Don'cha know who I am? Huh?" Nikau slowly started to stalk the couple, each time they tried to get away. The young Hawaiian man immediately got in front of his ashy brown-haired and green-eyed girlfriend and said to Nikau with his hands half-raised in front of him as he slowly walked backwards, prompting his girlfriend to walk backwards as well. "Hey, take it easy dude. We don't want any trouble—"
Nikau suddenly lunged at the young woman's boyfriend, knocking him down to the ground and started raining his fists down, all the while he screamed. "I'll teach ya to bloody disrespect me, boy! Ya hear!"
The young woman then got behind him and started pounding him as hard as she could all the while, "Get off him! Get off him you psycho!"
IIIIIIIIIIII
Aroha winced as she started dabbing a cold towel to her right cheek, trying to stop the faint hint of blue from becoming darker on her tanned skin, and then started dabbing it against her bruised shoulder.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
She turned away from the bathroom mirror in confusion, and the sound of loud urgent knocks continued. Aroha immediately put the towel down and walked out of her bathroom.
She made her way to her front door as the knocks carried on. She cautiously opened the door, and to her surprise, it was Huaki standing outside, slightly bloodied up and worst for wear. He turned to her and asked, "You alright?"
Aroha took a deep breath, "I'm better off than you are right now." She then opened the door wider for him. "Come in."
Huaki immediately stepped inside and glanced around her apartment. "He hasn't been 'round here has he?"
She frowned and said, "After what he did to me, not a chance."
Huaki bit the corner of his lip and hissed, "Shit!" He started pacing around her living room.
Once again she took his wounds to consideration, "Lemme get a first-aid kit."
Huaki waved her concerns off, "Never mind that 'Roha, the important thing is we find him and his sorry drunk ass before he starts smacking people over."
Aroha didn't think twice and rushed over to her key basket, quickly grabbed Nikau's car keys and said, "We're taking his car. Come on!" Huaki immediately ran out after her.
The two then jumped into Nikau's rental car, and Aroha turned on the engine. She then pulled out of the carpark and set the gear to drive. "Where'd you last see him?"
"Some bar close to North King Street."
"A bar?" She exclaimed, "What the hell he's going to a bar for?" Her question passed through his ears as he kept an eye out for him. "Can you turn the radio on Uncle?"
He turned to her for a moment, "What?"
She replied as she kept her eyes on the road, "Can you turn the radio? Y'know, switch on the news station. Who knows, there might be something on there."
Huaki then turned the dial on the radio and started switching through the channels till he finally found the right channel. He and Aroha listened closely for any sort of clue or description that remotely matched her uncle's appearance. About five minutes after the mundane everyday reports regarding the latest celebrity news, US politics.
At last, there was a police report regarding an unprovoked attack of a young couple near the area of North King Place, and the perpetrator was a drunken man of Hawaiian or Pacific Island descent, ranging between the age of thirty to thirty-nine, with medium build, and that he was wearing a black sleeveless tank top with long dark brown cargo pants.
Huaki was heard muttering, "Fricking dumbass."
Aroha quickly made the turn toward in the direction of that specific street as they both continued keeping an eye out, till she stated. "Can you take charge, Uncle? I gotta keep my eyes on the road."
Huaki replied hastily without taking his glances away from the sidewalks. "Yeah sure." His eyes darted, his shoulders became rigid and finally, he turned to Aroha and asked, "You got to something to smoke? Or something to sniff?"
She replied, "Nah, I stay away from that stuff, Uncle."
"You a clean girl, eh?" He remarked, grinning as he tapped his own temple. "Smart. Don't end up like us poor sorry lot, hey?"
That put a small smile on her face as she replied, "Āe."
Huaki then clapped on the dashboard as they nearly drove passed a bar. "Aroha, stop here. This pub right here." She quickly put the backlights to signal other drivers as she started to parallel park. Huaki went out the very second she'd unlocked the car and made a mad dash for the pub. Aroha locked the door and rushed out after him.
IIIIIIIIIIII
The two were surprised to find the pub was modestly crowded, and that Aroha certainly wasn't expecting to see Aimata up on the small stage, holding a putting up the microphone stand, wearing a mid-length strapless dark blue dress and three-inch black open heels.
Aroha then quickly snapped out of it and quickly approached her.
Aimata heard the sound of hurried footsteps heading toward the stage. "Aroha?" She appeared equally as surprised to see her there and saw the bruises on her face and upper arm, she quickly got off the stage and quickly went over to her. "Are you okay—"
Aroha quickly answered, "I'm fine, I just had a trip, that's all."
Aimata immediately crossed her arms over her chest and raised a suspicious eyebrow before she stated, "Quit lying. He did it, didn't he?" Aroha remained silent. She took a deep breath and started to mutter under her breath, "That motherf—"
Aroha cut her off and asked, "He hasn't been 'round here has he?"
"No…?" Aimata replied, this time eying her with confusion. "Aroha, please tell me you're not looking for—look what he did to you—"
Aroha interjected, "He's still my uncle."
Aimata then gave her a no-nonsense look as she stated very clearly. "Families don't hurt each other like that. Ever. Toxic people, on the other hand, do." She then put her hands on her hips, "Next time I see him, I'm calling the cops, period."
Aimata then looked over behind Aroha and called out, "Hey you." Huaki jerked back in shock and quickly looked around wondering who she was looking at. Aimata then looked straight at him, "Yeah, you with the goatee." She then pointed to where her eyes were, "My eyes… are up here."
Aroha let out a frustrated sigh and turned around to pull Huaki out of the pub and ignored his protests as he spoke out, "Hey, hey, hey, 'Roha wait—at least lemme ask for her number—"
Aimata let out a deep sigh and shook her head. He was quite an awful man to remember, and she also recalled the way he'd smugly announced that he was, in fact, one of Maui's mysterious brothers. If that was indeed the case, then that made them family through marriage.
Ohana is number one. That's what both her parents had drilled into her, her brother, sisters and Lani as they were growing up. Aimata then rushed out the door exactly a second after they left, and caught Aroha just as she was about to enter the familiar looking car.
Aimata called out to her as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey." She paused for a moment, "I think you're crazy, but I'm gonna help you find him. But if I do, I'm taking his sorry butt to the police station."
"Why're you interested now?" Aroha asked.
Aimata took a deep breath and said, "Because we're family, and families help each other."
IIIIIIIIIIII
An hour had passed by the time the sun started to set, Maui felt it was time for them to get going. He finally packed up his beach towel into his beach bag, slung over his shoulder and headed down toward the shore as everyone else was getting ready to go.
Hiapo swam over to the beach with the girls sitting at the front of his surfboard.
"Had fun?" Maui asked as he looked down at them with a smile on his face.
"Uh-huh!" Tala replied seconds before she jumped off the board. "Can we come back tomorrow, Papa?"
"Sure—"
"And can you come surfing with us?" Hina interjected.
His heart skipped a beat and for a moment he felt a loss for words. So, he stood there silent and still as stone. Then, a small voice cracked through his throat as he hesitantly answered. "Ummm… well… I'll think about it okay?"
Hina frowned for a moment and muttered, "I knew it."
Maui narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Knew what?"
"Nothing," Hina replied before she stood up and grabbed her sister's hand. "C'mon Tala." And pulled her away.
Maui turned to Hiapo, who stood behind him with his surfboard tucked under his left arm. Hiapo simply shrugged his shoulders, but Maui felt that he knew more than he was letting on.
"What's going on?" Maui asked him.
"You should really be asking her, brah, not me," Hiapo replied. Maui then gave him an annoyed frown and then shoved him backwards into the wet sand in retaliation, before he carried on out of the beach.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Maui pushed the trolley through the aisles of Cheap Market, looking through each of the different products, keeping an eye out for the lowest prices he could find.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Tala yelled out suddenly as she came rushing over, carrying a bag of her favorite snacks, "Can we get these, pleeeeaaaase!" Before he could even a word in Hinatea then came running over, holding her own bag of snacks and started begging him as well.
"Hey, Hey, Hey, kids." Maui finally spoke out before he put his foot down. "First thing, keep it down, we're at the store. Second thing, you can only get one okay? So one of you have to put your snacks back."
Tala turned to her sister, ready to play rock, paper, scissors, but was surprised to find her putting her snack back on the shelf, before she walked back over toward them, and immediately grabbed her sister's snack to put in the trolley.
Maui gave her a proud smile as she came walking over, and then frowned when he saw the expression on his eldest daughter's face. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
Hina shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Nothing." She then looked up at him, "Are we done yet?"
He sighed, "Not yet, there's still three more things on the list."
"Oh… okay." She replied.
Maui took a deep breath and then knelt down to her level, "Tell you what, if you get the next three things on the list, I'll make your favorite dessert for tonight, how does that sound?"
Hinatea paused for a moment and then quickly shook her head.
He then paused and tried to think of a way to make her smile, then he suggested, "How about your favorite dinner?" He paused for a moment and then asked, "Well, what do you want then?"
She shrugged her dispirited shoulders and stood there with her head tilted away from him.
He let out a long sigh and muttered, "Okay then…"
"Oh look, Allie, it's one of your little friends!" A cheerful older woman was heard stating a few feet behind the family.
"Mom, they're not my friends," Allison replied with obvious hostility as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Her red-haired mother quickly pushed her trolley, the bottom of her light blue muumuu flutteredas she scurried her way toward the family. "Yoohoo! Maui!"
Maui slowly stood up and greeted her politely with a slow awkward wave and awkward smile, "Hi, Mrs Williams…"
She stopped right beside him, "I've been meaning to get back to you about the girls' play date."
Allison then groaned beside her, "Moooooom—"
Mrs Williams continued, "But I've just been so gosh darn busy, I completely forgot!"
Maui then replied with a shrug, "Real life issues, right?"
He fought hard not to cringe at the sound of her excited gasp as leaned forward to his daughters' level, and affectionately pinched Hina's cheek as she said, "Where does the time go? You two were still in diapers last time I saw you!" She finally pulled her fingers away from Hina's cheek and looked up at Maui as the eight-year-old girl rubbed her pinched cheek.
Suddenly her eyes perked up, and it was clear to all of them there, that a brilliant idea had popped into her mind. "How about, we set the playdate on the night of Allison's slumber party?"
"MOOOOOOM!" Allison grunted through gritted teeth with obvious disgust on her face.
But her over exuberant mother carried on, "It'll be like killing two birds with one stone! And it'll be a good chance for Hina to have girl-time with her friends!"
Maui paused for a moment, "Uhhh… Mrs Williams—"
Allison's mother then said with a friendly tone, "Oh, don't be shy, call me Rachel."
Maui finally could get a word in and told her politely, "Rachel, I'll have a think about it… and I'll call you later, okay?"
Rachel Williams then stated, "Well, I'll be keeping an eye out for your call!"
Maui let out a nervous chuckle and replied politely, "And… I'll be looking forward to letting you know."
Allison crossed her arms once more and muttered, "Oh great…"
Rachel then pushed her trolley forward and said with her thick southern accent as she waved, "Aloha!"
Maui waved back. "Aloha."
IIIIIIIIIIII
Later that night,
"Dad?" Hina called out as she slowly made her way to the living room, dressed in her favorite Finding Nemo pajamas.
Maui immediately turned the TV off and turned toward the archway. "Hey, why aren't you in bed?"
Hinatea paused for a moment and finally asked him, "You're not gonna make me go to Allison's… are you?"
He replied, "Nah," And dismissed the idea with a wave of his arm, "Don't worry about it. From what I can tell, Allison didn't seem thrilled about it either."
"So… I don't have to go?" She asked hesitantly.
Maui raised an eyebrow, "What do you think?"
She giggled and said, "No."
He smiled and pointed out, "Well, there's your answer! Now, bed—"
She asked, "What were you watching?"
Maui smiled and then switched the TV on. Hinatea watched from where she stood as from the archway and listened as a woman sang:
"The hills are alive,
With the sound of music—"
"Who's that?" Hina asked as she stared at the short blonde haired woman on the screen.
Maui turned to her with a surprised look on his face, "You don't know who Julie Andrews is?" His shock only increased when he saw shaking her head. There was no way he was going to let her go without knowing who Julie Andrews is. Finally, he patted the cushion next to him. "Come on."
Hina quickly rushed over to the sofa and immediately sat down beside him.
Maui then grabbed the bowl of popcorn he'd prepared and noted with a nostalgic smile on his face, "Now, this is what I call a classic." He then passed the bowl toward her.
"It looks old." Hina remarked as she grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuff it in her mouth, and asked right after she swallowed, "When did it come out?"
Maui tilted his head slightly in thought and replied with a shrug, "Nineteen sixty-five, I think?"
Hina paused for a moment and then asked, "How old are you now, Dad?"
He turned and gave her a questioning look.
She shrugged her shoulders and replied innocently, "What? I just wanna know."
"Thirty." He answered reluctantly, and that's when he saw the calculating look on her face as she began the subtractions in her head. His expression turned to one of annoyance.
Then a puzzled look overcame as she stated, "That doesn't make any sense."
Maui simply raised an eyebrow and asked with his closed fist pressed against his cheek, "What doesn't make any sense?"
She specified, "How could you've watched it when you weren't even born in nineteen-sixty-five?"
He then pointed out, "Hina, ever thought that it was possible I watched after it came out in nineteen-sixty-five?"
She paused for a moment and said, "Ummmm… yes?"
Maui then ended the issue with, "Well, there you go." She opened her mouth, but he quickly put his finger to his lips and said, "Shh! Now, watch the movie."
Hinatea gave him an annoyed look and turned back to watch the movie, immediately had a questionable look on her face as she saw nuns—singing and complaining about somebody named Maria and pinning clouds down? "What kinda movie is this…?" She muttered.
Her father shushed her again without even taking his eyes off the screen. Hina rolled her eyes and reluctantly continued watching the boring movie.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Click! With a push of a button, the TV shut off and Maui turned to his right. "Whaddya think, shark—"
Hina sat up with a quick snort and clicked her tongue several times. She then turned to face him with her half opened eyes. "Huh?"
An endearing dimpled smile slowly etched on his left cheek, "C'mon kiddo." He leaned forward and lifted her up against his shoulder. Hina rested her head against his shoulder as he carried out of the living room and upstairs to the bedroom she and Tala shared.
"Dad," Hina called out to him, "When can I have own room?"
"When we move into a bigger house." He replied with an assuring smile on his face.
She yawned, "When?"
"Someday, soon." He smiled at the sounds of her snores as she slept. "I promise." He whispered as he slowly opened her bedroom door.
Slowly, he crept toward the queen sized bed and carefully laid Hina down on her side of the bed. Finally, he gently pulled the blanket up and tucked it beneath her chin.
Hina's eyes fluttered from the touch and she smiled while giving him a tired stare. "Love you, Dad." She whispered.
Maui leaned forward and gave a fatherly kiss on the forehead, "G'night shark-bait, I love you too. More than you ever know."
"Can you sing me a song?" She asked.
He chuckled and asked, "Will it help you sleep?" A wide smile perched through his lips as she nodded. "Okay, what song do you wanna hear?"
She replied, "The one the dad sang to everybody when he played guitar."
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want me to play guitar too?"
"Yeah." She replied with a slight grin.
"Okay, wait right there," Maui told her as he stood up and left to grab his guitar.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Hina laid her head back on her pillow and smiled as her father strummed the guitar. Soon, he slowly started to play the chords from heart and soon he began singing:
"Edelweiss, Edelweiss,
Every morning you greet me—"
IIIIIIIIIIII
"We're nearly out of gas!" Aroha noted as she took one quick glance on the meter.
Huaki told her as he continued keeping an eye out. "I've got enough money to fill her up." Soon his aim changed and now, he had was looking out for a gas station.
The car drove on for a few more minutes before it slowly came to a stop. Aroha tried turning the key to start the engine once more, but it wouldn't start. She then looked at the meter once again, the indicator was set on E for empty. A soft frustrated sigh escaped her lips.
Headlights then shut off from behind them and Aimata immediately stepped out of her car. Aroha pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of her uncle's rental car. "We're out of gas." She explained.
Aimata walked back over to her car and opened the passenger door, "Get in."
Aroha quickly got in, Huaki then raced to the back seat and climbed in after her.
And soon they were on the road again, searching the sidewalks, streets and more bars, but he was nowhere to be found. "Where could he be?" Aroha asked herself after they drove for nearly a mile.
Huaki then asked her, "Have you checked Tikitiki's house?"
Aimata scrunched her nose in confusion, "Tikitiki? Who's Tikitiki?"
Huaki then leaned over toward Aimata's seat and stated, "Maui Tauheke, sista. Nick's baby brother."
Aimata then corrected him, "You mean Maui Tuputala."
"Tuputala?" Huaki exclaimed, "For real? He took his mother's name?" Aimata gave him a confused stare through the rearview mirror.
Huaki let out a long sigh, "Can't say I don't blame the poor bastard. He's more Tuputala than Tauheke anyway, eh?"
Aimata remained silent, but Aroha had a sneaking suspicion and turned back to him. "Hey Uncle, why'd you mention Uncle Maui's house? What's the story?" He immediately hesitated but Aroha remained firm, "What's the story?"
Huaki then admitted, "It's your granddad's doing, 'Roha. He's the one who'd sent yer uncle here in the first place."
The apprehension became clear in Aroha's voice as she asked, "What for?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat and said, "He needs money, girl. That's what for. Your granddad's flat out broke and your other uncles don't wanna help him out—"
Aimata pressed her foot on the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden sharp stop. Finally, she turned to face Huaki with narrowed eyes. "I'm sorry, his father needs his widowed son's money?"
"Yeah," Huaki admitted, " He does."
Aroha then said, "What? He tired of living off the dole, eh?"
Huaki was surprised by the hostility in her voice and immediately tried to calm the situation down, "Hey, 'Roha it ain't like that—"
Aroha then opened the passenger door and turned to face him. "Y'know what, I'm tired about hearing his bloody excuses!"
SLAM!
Aimata then turned her head back to Huaki, and said with obvious disapproval, "Get out of my car."
Huaki quickly got out and shut the door, and stood there. Aimata then stepped out and called Aroha, "Get in, I'll drive you back to your place."
The young Maori woman stopped in her tracks and paused for a moment, before she finally took her offer, and quickly walked back inside the car. Aimata quickly locked her car before Huaki could even open the back door, and sped off. Leaving him there in the dust.
Aroha turned to her for a moment and said, "You really gonna just leave him there."
"He'll be alright, he's a big boy now." Aimata remarked, "Do you mind if we make a quick stop?"
Aroha turned to her, "A quick stop? Where?"
Aimata replied, "You'll see."
IIIIIIIIIIII
"Bless my homeland,
Forever." He played the last note and smiled to see his eldest daughter, now fast asleep. Carefully, he stood up and slowly crept out of the room before he quietly shut the door behind him.
Maui let out a soft sigh of relief as he softly made his way downstairs and walked down the hallway before he turned right and headed back to the living room. He sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV, and then started skimming through all the local channels—the only channels he had and sighed when there was nothing good on.
Click. And the TV faded to black. Now, what could he do? Read a book? Play some old DVDs or watch home movies for the next three hours?
Any normal person would just open a laptop and watch YouTube videos. If only he had a laptop… or internet.
Luxuries. He told him, they were luxuries that he couldn't afford. Not anymore.
"Home movies it is…" He muttered to himself as he stood up and headed over to his home movies shelf.
His eyes scanned each of the labels. Our wedding, Hinatea's birth, Hina's 1st Birthday, Hina's first day at the beach… and so on and so forth. Then he finally found the one he was looking. Tala's birth. He pulled the small home DVD off the shelf and inserted it into the DVD player.
Finally, he grabbed the remote and pressed play, and then sat down to watch the magical memory on the screen before him.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Maui pointed the camera right at her. "Hey there Pretty Mama, how're you feeling?"
Lani looked up at him from the hospital bed and took a deep breath before she rested her head on her pillow and her hands upon her full pregnant belly. "Tired." She replied with a sleepy smile on her face, "And in pain."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," She replied as she lifted two fingers, "The contractions are two minutes apart."
He then chuckled and then turned the camera to video their three-year-old Hinatea as she sat down on the chair. "Hear that shark-bait? You're gonna be a big sister soon."
Hina lifted stopped playing with her dress and looked up at him, making her curly pigtails bounce as she spoke, "Baby?"
He chuckled and asked, "Yep, and where's the baby?" Hina paused for a moment and then pointed to her mother. He chuckled once more, "Is the baby in Mama's tummy?"
"Tummy," Hina replied before she climbed off the chair, and raced over to where Lani laid and then pointed directly to her mother's stomach. She then turned to the camera with an expectant look on her face.
He then spoke out in a cheery tone. "That's right, shark-bait, there's the baby."
"Baby?" Hina said still pointing. Maui continued holding the camera as he moved closer to her and lifted her up. Finally, he turned the camera around to face them.
He turned toher and asked, "So, big sister to be, you got anything to say?"
Hinatea then lifted one finger and started waving it around in an 'Oh no you don't' manner' and declared, "Nappy is my nappy, you can't have it!"
Lani and Maui chuckled at the same time, and Lani assured her. "Don't worry, the baby has her own bed, Hina."
"No nappy for baby?" Hinatea asked.
"No nappy for baby," Lani confirmed off screen after a couple of giggles. "Are you happy now?"
"Yeah!" Hina replied as she pressed herself up against her father's arm.
The video then cut off to about eight hours later.
Lani laid her head at an angle, with her eyes and lips tightly shut as her shaking hand tightly gripped the edge of the pillow. Soft groans and grimaces escaped her lips.
The midwives and nurses had already prepared the forceps for precautionary measure.
Maui then said, "Here Uncle Kahua, take the camera." And soon he walked over by his wife's side and gave her his hand. Lani grasped his hand and laid her head against his shoulder before she took a deep shaking breath. "Oooooh…" She groaned again and again before she let out a sharp cry, then her instincts took over and with the added encouragement of the staff, she started pushing.
Kahua quickly zoomed in, trying to avoid the sensitive moments and focused primarily on Lani's head, face and shoulders. She then let out several sharp cries followed as she then pushed once more.
Soon, Kahua then slowly panned over to Maui to see his reaction and saw his eyes widen as Lani let out quick paced pained cries as she softly stated that she couldn't do it for the second time.
"Hey, hey," Maui spoke out, "You're stronger than you know."
Lani slowly shook her head and whimpered, "I can't… I can't…"
"Yes you can, yes you can." He said to her encouragingly, "You did it once, you can do it again."
Lani then leaned forward and pushed, pushed, and pushed. A few minutes passed and a second set of cries filled the room. Kahua then zoomed out just in time to see the nurses lying a little baby on Lani's chest, as they started all admiring the newborn.
Lani then let out several tears of joy as she held their second child close to her. Maui slowly placed his two digits softly on the back of the baby's head and said after giving her a soft kiss on the lips. "You did it, our little Tala's here."
The video had two quick cuts. The first one was of him cutting Tala's cord with scissors, and the last cut switched to Hinatea.
Hina looked up at the camera as she sat down on the chair, holding a newborn baby, swaddled in a white and pink blanket with a tiny pink cap on her little head, and then she looked down at her little sister before looking up at the camera with a bewildered look on her face. "Baby?"
Lani smiled as she spoke out to their eldest daughter, "Hina this is your little sister Tala."
Hina paused and seemed fixated on something about Tala's face. "Button?" Without any warning, Hina raised her little fingers up to Tala's nose and pushed it down really hard. Tala immediately started wailing from the sudden painful pressure. Maui quickly went over and gently lifted Tala off Hina's arms and off-camera went back to give her back to Lani.
Hina then turned to the camera with a confused look, before her lower lip started to quiver, her face scrunched up and small sobs slowly ensued before they developed to ear-piercing wails.
Maui then came back to view and Hina lifted her arms to him. He chuckled as he picked her up and settled her into his arms. "Hey, why're you crying baby?"
Hina then said in-between sobs, "I don't know… that's—not—a-a-a—b-button!"
Maui simply chuckled and patted his crying daughter's back as she buried her head against his short-sleeved light blue buttoned up shirt.
Kahua then turned the camera toward an eight-year-old Hiapo and asked while trying to sound one of the boys, "Heya dude, what do you think of your awesome new baby niece?"
Hiapo immediately covered his face with his hands for a moment and told him. "Dad, stop, you're not cool okay?"
Kahua simply laughed from behind the camera and asked again, "You excited to have another niece, there Hi-hi?"
A mortified Hiapo then scolded him. "Dad! Stop!" He then glared at his father as he started laughing.
Kahua then apologized sincerely, "Okay, okay, sorry Hiapo, I was just having a little fun." He then asked, "But how does it feel to have a baby niece again?"
Hiapo gave him a confused look and pointed out, "Ummmm, isn't she my second cousin?"
Kahua laughed once more and explained, "We count by generations son, so you and Lani are from the same generation, therefore Hina and Tala are your nieces."
Hiapo blinked and said, "I'm only eight."
"Yeah?" Kahua replied.
"I'm only eight," Hiapo repeated with more emphasis to his young age.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Knock. Knock.
Maui paused the home movie and turned to face his front door. Knock. Knock. He slowly stood up from the couch and cautiously made his way toward the door, where he could see a faint shape through the cotton blinds. He could tell immediately that it was a woman and rolled his eyes. Finally, he opened the door. "Moana, I thought I told you—"
"Hi to you too." Aimata greeted.
Maui's eyes widen and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Aimata it's just you… I thought—"
She raised an eyebrow and told him, "I know exactly who you thought I was."
He crossed his arms over his chest, "So? To what do I owe the pleasure for this late night visit?"
Aimata opened her mouth and the sound of a car door opening echoed below them. She paused and turned to look behind her. Maui lifted his chin up and squinted his eyes for a moment to see who was coming up.
Seconds later he felt his chest growing tight, and the air leaving his lungs. A young woman with his late sister's face was walking up the two-level stairs to his porch.
Aimata slowly turned her head back to face Maui and saw the pale look on his face.
Finally, Aroha made it all the way to the top of the porch.
Aroha swallowed the lump in her throat as she greeted, "Hello Uncle."
Maui's mouth hung open for a few minutes before the words then formed back into his head and came out of his mouth, "Are you… Aroha?"
IIIIIIIIIIII
"Hey, you want anything to eat?" Maui asked as he immediately walked over to his fridge.
"No thank you, Uncle," Aroha replied as she stood by the archway, joining the kitchen and the living room. "We're not staying long."
Maui paused for a moment and slowly closed the fridge door. He then turned to her and Aimata with one eyebrow raised. "Okay…?"
Aimata then took a step forward, "Look, Maui." She began, "We're here to warn you—"
Aroha cut her off, "Uncle Nick's loose and he's off his head with drink."
Maui doubled back slightly and then noticed the bruises on her cheek and arm. "What happened—"
Aroha let out a soft chuckle and said, "Oh… well, y'know how fellas get when they've had too much p—"
Maui lifted his hand up as he instinctively switched into daddy mode, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hold it." He looked her in the eyes and said, "That is no excuse for any man to lay his hands on a woman, ever." He paused for a moment and said, "And I'm not gonna have that type of attitude in my house. Period." His security training kicked in and he had a sneaking suspicion, "Has he been staying with you?"
Aroha looked down as she reluctantly nodded. He took a deep breath and glanced over at Aimata, who appeared quite shocked to hear the news. She then turned to Maui and told her, "I'll let her stay with me—"
"No." Maui told her firmly, "Look, this is my business now—she's my part of my family—"
"Mine too, Maui," Aimata replied. "She became part of my family the very second you married Lani—"
He held his hands up in front of her and stated, "Okay, that concept ended the day Lani died. Alright, this is none of your business—"
Aroha looked up at both of them and said, "She's right. Uncle Maui, she's family too."
Aimata then remembered Aroha was an adult now and let out a long sigh, "Well, you're already twenty-one, so you decide who you want to stay with?"
Aroha slowly switched her gaze from her to Maui and made a decision. "I think I'll stay here."
Aimata nodded and looked up at him, "Okay, now I gotta get back to work."
Maui raised an eyebrow and pointed out, "I didn't know they had nighttime school counselling."
Aimata then told him with a playful snicker, "I have a part-time job too, y'know." Before she headed out and closed the door behind her.
IIIIIIIIIIII
Aroha was surprised to feel the soft cotton blanket beneath her skin and admired the cooling material on her fingertips.
Knock. Knock.
She turned toward the door and called out, "C'min." Maui opened the door, carrying a pair of women's pajamas over his arm.
"Ummm… here," He said sheepishly as he handed her the clothes, "I hope they fit."
Aroha gave him a soft smile and replied, "Thanks." Before she gently reached for them. Her eyes gazed over at the design and said, "They're pretty."
Maui had a proud smile on his face as he stated, "Yeah, my wife made them herself."
"She's so talented—" She paused for a moment and corrected herself, "Sorry, I meant was. She was so talented." Her head turned to look at him and saw the somber look on his face.
"Yeah… she was." He said in a sad whisper.
Aroha then put the clothes down and stood up. "Do ya wanna a hug?" He turned to her with a puzzled look on his face and she asked again, "Do you wanna a hug?"
He hesitated for a moment and then told her, "Okay, slow down there, you sure you want to hug somebody you just—"
"We're from the same whakapapa aren't we?" Aroha reminded him, "That's a good enough reason for me."
His eyes shifted, the word then rang a sense of familiarity through his distance memories. Whakapapa—genealogy—family-tree. They were from the same family tree… and that took priority over everything else.
Her voice then brought him back. "If you don't want one—"
He cut her off and said, "A hug sounds good." He saw a smile forming on the corners of her lips as she walked over toward him as he opened his arm out to her.
She wrapped her arms around him and started rubbing comforting circles on his clothed back. "I'm sorry for yer loss, Uncle."
He patted her back and replied, "Thanks Aroha."
She looked up at him and said, "You can call 'Roha if you want? That's what everyone calls me."
"Nah," He replied as he slowly pulled his arm off her shoulders. "Aroha sounds way better." He paused for a moment and took one good look at her, and a sharp emotional pang struck his heart. "You look just like your aunt."
She smiled nervously, "So they say." Then added, "I wish I could've met them." She paused as she looked down for a moment and then asked, "What was Aunt Lani like?"
He took a deep slow breath and forced a smile, "She was pretty shy, soft-spoken and not very confident. When I first saw her." He stopped and gave himself a minute before he continued. "Over time, her confident side would pop out. But, she'd mistake that for arrogance."
Aroha then asked, "Why is that?"
"Her parents—well, her mom would take her best qualities and twist it around so much that… her best qualities became her worst qualities."
Aroha gave her uncle a pitiful stare and said, "Was she a good mum?"
Maui turned to her with a proud smile on her face. "She was a great mom." He chuckled, "One of the greatest mothers I'd ever seen." His expression slowly turned somber as he sadly added, "She'd would've given up her life for our girls."
"If you don't mind me asking?" She began, "How did she pass on?"
Maui took a deep shaking breath as he bit the corner of his lower lip, and closed his eyes to take another deep breath as he said with tears filling the corners of his eyes. "She died saving someone else's little boy from drowning in the sea, during a bad storm."
Aroha put her hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to—"
He immediately shook his head and tried to pull himself together as he told her firmly, "No. I want you—I want the world to know what a great woman she was." He took a quick breath and continued on, "She was technically already gone by the time they'd rescued her…"
She heard the emphasis in his voice, it was clear he was trying to wash clean of whatever guilt he had lingering his heart as he continued, "But the doctors tried anyway, and she spent seven days lying in hospital brain dead—basically she became a vegetable… and at the end of the day, I made the decision to have them pull the plug."
He closed his eyes and his voice carried on the heavy weight of the whole world as he told her, "I gave up on her…"
List of terminologies:
Tūtaki tōku irāmutu, Aroha: Meet my niece, Aroha. (This might be grammatically incorrect, but I tried with what I've learned about te reo Maori guys)
Muumuu: A Hawaiian dress.
Kei te pēhea koe? : How are you? Koe= "You" (when speaking to only one person)
Mīti: The Maori word for meat.
Aohe pilipili aina mai: A Hawaiian proverb that translates to: No where's near land.
Pākehā: The Maori word for European.
