Sara rolled her car into the parking lot next to Kamekona's food truck and turned off the engine. After breakfast she had spoken to Doris on the phone and arranged to meet her for lunch before she went to her daily physiotherapy. It was shortly before twelve, there were already a few cars here. She had deliberately placed herself on the edge, so there was a slight chance that she wasn't completely blocked afterwards. No sooner had she opened the door and put her first foot on the floor when Nahele stood in front of her as if out of nowhere. "Hey, Sara. May I help you?"
"Wait a minute." She pulled her bag and canes from the passenger seat. "Take these, please." He took everything and took a step back so that she could slowly get out. "Thank you."
"No problem. Nice to see you. How are you?" He asked. He handed the canes back to her and hugged her.
"Don't ask, but what the heck. Do you still have a place for me and a guest?"
"Your guest is already here and we have reserved a table for you. What would you like to eat? Your garlic special?" He led her to a table on the edge, where Doris was already sitting with a drink. There was even a parasol set up.
"Is this new or is it just for me?"
"VIP service, little Sista!" Called Kamekona, who came towards her.
"Please don't knock me over," Sara asked quickly as he spread his arms, but he hugged her with a caution that was surprising given his physique. "Absolutely not. We take good care of you. What would you like to eat?"
After he let go of her, she ordered: "Your butter shrimp, please. No garlic today. My stomach isn't ready for that yet."
"All right. And an iced tea with it. And I made very fresh Haupia, this morning." He was still proud that it had been the first thing she had eaten and kept in the hospital. They had just barely stopped him from advertising it.
"Thank you. Maybe later. Just the shrimp for now."
"That's okay. And if you need something, just holler."
She smiled at him, then sat down on the bench while he went back into the food truck. "Hello, Doris."
"Hi Sara. You have already fully arrived in the ohana, as I can see."
"They accepted me very quickly, both with Five-0 and with the rest of Steve's friends on the island. Even if, contrary to Kawika's assumption, I still haven't found a Hawaiian in my family tree."
"Did he say that?" Doris looked surprised.
"Mhm." Sara sipped the iced tea that Nahele put in front of her. "Thank you."
"Shrimps are coming soon", he announced, then he continued with the tray.
"How are you today?"
"As good or bad as yesterday. Just less tired at the moment because I haven't seen my therapist yet. Have you arrived safely on the island?"
Doris nodded. "The climate is more pleasant than where I last stayed. And it's nice to be home again. "
"I know that feeling. When you travel a lot for the job ... "
"Steve said, you were in the Navy."
Sara waited a moment to answer, because Kamekona himself was serving two plates of butter shrimp. When he went on, she looked at Doris more closely, because she had heard something from her last sentence. She held her gaze. She ate a bite, then replied, "Interesting poker face. Let me reconstruct your last night: You left our suite, then you drove to your hotel. You made a few calls, maybe checked your notebook and got some information about your new daughter-in-law. Steve has always kept a low profile about your 'work for the government', but if I get it right, you don't necessarily work as a secretary, you have some access. That means you now know where I come from and probably, at least roughly, also what I spend my days with, apart from part-time in the HR department. I'm right, right?"
She continued to eat while Doris was evidently considering an answer. Finally, she said quietly, "Anyway, I think the mother and her two little boys are very happy to have their dad back."
That confirmed Sara's suspicion. They ate in silence for a while, until Kamekona passed them again. "Well, ladies, do you like it? Is made with a lot of love."
"Thanks, it's really, really good," Sara replied.
"You eat like a bird. Do you really like it?"
"Yes. I just have to go a little slower. Will you do me a favor?"
"Yes, of course, always", Kamekona nodded and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Save a portion of Haupia, I'll pick it up later on the way back after therapy. Then I can reward myself a little."
He smiled broadly. "There is nothing better. I'll go and put something aside for you."
"Thank you."
As he went on, Doris asked: "Does Steve know what you're doing?"
"He knows about as much about my Navy job as I do about his."
"That says everything and nothing."
"It will have to be enough for you. It's enough for him too."
"Okay," Doris finally replied drawn out and nodded. "Okay. That is something you two have to figure out between you."
"Don't worry, we will. And it would be nice, even if you are currently on the island, if you would stay out of it. We're both pretty grown up, we can do that. You don't have to protest, Steve told me a lot after he noticed shortly after his marriage proposal that he hadn't even told me you were alive. And no, I don't intend to discuss your story here and now. I lack the energy - and the will."
"Okay. You said there will be two funerals, one in the church and the funeral on the beach. Unusual. Does that have something to do with your roots in Columbia?"
"A little. I wasn't raised to be a believer, but I feel like this is the way to go. My intuition has served me well many times, and Steve thinks it's okay too. I am also a little concerned about respect for the customs of this island. But above all it feels right to me."
Doris nodded. "Then do it like this. Can I be there? I noticed that there isn't much left of your family."
"My brother-in-law and niece are coming from New Jersey. And I can do without what remains. You can decide whether you want to paddle out with us or wait on the beach with Kamekona and a few others. On the Saturday after church there is a snack at Dannys. Then on Sunday on the beach. Nothing big." Sara checked the clock on her cell phone.
"You probably have to go. If there's anything else I can help Steve and you with, just let me know. I'll take it easy for the next few days. Just call."
"Thank you. Yes, my physiotherapist is waiting."
As if he had suspected that she was going to leave, Nahele reappeared. "Are you getting along?"
"Yes, just damn it slowly." Under his watchful eyes and the observation of Doris, she worked her way up and out of the picnic bench. "You see, I'm standing on both of my feet. Ah, no!" She cursed.
"What's going on?"
"I put my car on the edge so that nobody can park next to my door. Now check this out! How can one be so stupid and blind? The car is clearly marked with the handicap sign, right? I mean, I hate to use that thing, but right now there is no other way." She pointed to a blue SUV standing across the hood of the Prius and was robbing her of any chance of driving away. "How in God's name am I supposed to get out of there and to my appointment? With a crane? Or should I call Duke, it'll take forever!"
In the meantime, Kamekona had also noticed her. "Little Sista, what's wrong?"
"Look", Nahele pointed towards the parking lot. His boss looked at Sara's car. "Somebody needs glasses. Wait a minute." He cleared his throat, then raised his voice. "People, listen up!" Some heads at the tables turned to him. "Who owns the blue SUV that is standing over there? The owner has thirty seconds to report or my boys will push it away. And we are not squeamish!"
It took a moment, then a man in his early thirties answered who was sitting at one of the other tables with his companion and sipping a glass of coconut water. Kamekona went to him. "Buddy, I don't know where you got your driver's license. But you absolutely need to have your eyes examined. There's a car there. There are signs on them. They say that you have to keep space free for this car. And you and your girl here, you each have two healthy feet, you can park somewhere else and walk the few meters. So now you swing your bum and drive your car away. Otherwise we will help."
He glared at the man, who looked from him to Sara, then obviously realized that it would be a good idea to get up and drive the SUV away. Kamekona waited with crossed arms until the man was at his car, then came back to her table.
"Thank you, Kamekona. To be so fucking helpless is driving me crazy. If it weren't for my bad legs, I would have given the idiot a sermon myself. Maybe I would have held either my ID card or my weapon under his nose."
Nahele put her hand on her arm. "You will be back, Sara, for sure. Have a look at what you've done in less than two weeks. You will be dancing again by Labor Day weekend at the latest, definitely."
"Thank you for your trust, Nahele. But I can only do that if I go to PT now. Thanks for your help."
The man had parked his SUV and so she could go.