"May I ask what you are doing here?"
Steve, after swimming together and taking Sara back to the shore, had done his usual workload and found his fiancee in the kitchen. There was a big basket on the table, she was standing at the sideboard, cutting something into pieces.
"I'm preparing a picnic basket."
"Did I miss something?"
"Not directly. But I think I figured out what an aneurysm face is. "
"Excuse me?" Steve asked perplexed.
"You've been sneaking around your surfboard for three days. And whenever you feel unobserved, you pull that face. Now I know why. "
He crossed his arms. "Now I'm curious."
Sara turned to him. Her face was serious. "Nahele called earlier. He asked if you might have changed your mind. I asked him what it was about. Then he told me that you traditionally ride the first wave of the year together after New Year. And that you canceled him. Today the waves would be so great, if you didn't want to come after all. Steve, please promise me something. "
"What?"
"Never cancel meetings with your friends, or activities with Nahele or anyone else, because of me. No exaggerated consideration on me. You mustn't completely shut down your own life just because I'm here now. I have no problem if you go surfing with him. "
"Sara, I just didn't want to leave you alone. You're leaving the day after tomorrow ... "
He didn't get any further, she interrupted him. "So what? I'll be back in three weeks. Why are you making it so complicated? I prepare a picnic for us, pack a good book, you put your board onto the car and off we go. You dive into the waves, I enjoy the sun and the wind and put my feet into the water a bit. If I can't or don't want to go with you somewhere, I'll say so. Do you understand that?", she asked insistently.
He nodded. "Yes. Yes, I understand. I'm sorry, I ... I'll practice that. Talk more. To ask until I know better. What did you arrange with Nahele?"
"I'll pack a picnic basket, and as soon as you get back from swimming, we'll go. He said he was where you usually meet. I'm just going to finish this, then I'll change and we can go. "
"Sara?"
"Yes?"
"I love you." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, then ran outside and packed his board on the car.
Ten minutes later, they were on their way to the north coast with Eddie on the bed. They drove through Honolulu and then along the Kamehameha Highway. A thought occurred to him while driving. Shortly before Pupukea he drove off the highway and steered the car towards Waimea.
"The waves are in the other direction. I have learned as much about Hawaii to know they can be found on the water, "joked Sara.
"I know. I want to introduce you to someone."
"OK."
Instead of asking further questions, she watched the woods through which they were driving with interest. He drove slower when they reached the first houses. It was little more than a shadow that he saw coming from the right, at the same time Sara shouted "Steve!", He hit the brakes hard and turned the car sideways. He hadn't even turned off the engine when Sara had already opened the passenger door and slid off the seat. A look back told him that Eddie had disappeared from the bed. He jumped out and ran around the car. Sara was sitting on the street, a boy of maybe three years in her arms, sobbing and clinging to her. Eddie stood next to her and nudged her back, fawning his tail.
"The boy allright?"
"Yes. He got startled and bruised his knees. That's all. - Steve? ", She said alarmed. He raised his head. An older man had stepped out of a plot of land next to the street, a rifle at the ready. Steve stood between him and Sara. Eddie growled behind him. "Easy. Nothing happened to the boy. "
"Get away from the dog," the man ordered in Hawaiian.
He answered him in his language. "The dog is mine. He is not a threat to the boy. Can you see it? - Eddie, car!" Steve ordered. He glanced at the retriever, who seemed to look at him in disbelief, but then obeyed, jumped through the open passenger door, and squeezed between the seats onto the back seat.
"Who are you?" Asked the old man.
"I'm Steve McGarrett. I am a friend of Kawika, I wanted to visit him."
"Kawika is not here. He is on the beach. "
"Thank you. Do you know where the boy belongs? Then we'll take him home."
The man lowered the rifle. "Eluana!" He called loudly. A woman came up to Sara from his neighboring property. She bubbled out a Hawaiian stream of words of which Steve understood only half, his fiancee simply nothing. He went to Sara, reached under her arms and pulled her and the boy up. She gave the boy to the woman who was obviously his mother. He tried to calm down the woman who finally thanked him and walked towards her house with the boy who had stopped crying and looked at Sara with fascination. Then he helped Sara back into the car.
"The boy is answering to Keiki. That means simply child," he explained. "Eluana is his mother. He ran out of the house in an unobserved moment. There's little traffic out here, he hasn't learned how dangerous it is. She thanked you."
"I understood that much. I have to get learning more of the language when I'm here. And the man? "
"He thought Eddie was a stray who wanted to attack the little one. The threat was not on you. "
"How comforting, considering that he had a shotgun in his hand," Sara replied ironically. "Who did you want to introduce me to now?"
"Kawika. I've already told you about him. Unfortunately, a meeting in July did not work. The man said he could be found on the beach. The chance was fifty-fifty that he was up in the village or there."
They drove a little further, then Steve pulled into a parking lot overlooking the beach. Sara looked around. "And you wanted to keep that from me? Shame on you."
"Okay, okay. I got it. Nahele is over there.", he pointed towards the water. She followed his lead and discovered his protege who was carrying his surfboard ashore.
"Looks like he has already tested the waves for you."
Nahele waved to them when he discovered them, rammed his board into the sand and ran to them.
"Hey Sara. It's great you were able to persuade him. Hey Steve. "
"He needed a little telling-off. Are you taking the basket, please? "
"Sure. Hey Eddie." He scratched the dog Sara had let out of the car. Sara reached for her shoulder bag and folding chair, Steve took his board, then they walked to the beach. She stopped short of the edge of the sand. "It's good here. A little shade and a good look. Come on, off with you. I'll just manage to spread a blanket by
myself. "
"Sara ..." Steve tried to contradict.
"All men step away," she ordered in the best officer tone. That worked. The men ran towards the water, Eddie danced around them. She spread out her blanket, opened the chair, and settled on it.
Thank you for the nice comments, I'm glad to read you like the story. There's a lot more to come on this one, and a Part 2 is going to follow.