When he stopped at the red light, Steve glanced one more time at Sara in the passenger seat of his car. She had barely said a word all morning. The day before, she has been really living up for a short time when they picked up her brother-in-law and niece from the airport in the late afternoon. His wife had reluctantly used the wheelchair to spare herself a little for what was to come.
It was her own, which had been folded up and well packed in the garage since her arrival until she was hospitalized. The sight of the vehicle when they had unpacked the container with the rest of her belongings had surprised him, but her explanation that a wheelchair individually adapted to her needs was available when needed had made sense to him.
She had angrily refused the offer to push her. On the way through the airport building she had stayed next to him without any problems, their ID cards had also given them access to the security area. They had taken Eddie with them, who at first sniffed around the vehicle suspiciously, but then quickly understood what it was all about and naturally stayed by Sara's side. Zoe and the retriever had become close friends immediately. He'd liked Liam straight away. They had booked a room for the two of them in their hotel and then had dinner with them in their suite after they had made a detour on the way back to show them their house. Zoe was completely casual with Sara's handicap and she had romped around with Eddie until they fell asleep snuggled together.
Liam had hired a rental car so that he and his daughter would be independent, and they had already driven to the church near the Iolani Palace. His mother was with him and Sara in the car, space at the church was limited, and some of her guests were parked at the headquarters. They drove over the last intersection, then he turned into the driveway to the church. At the same moment when he noticed, irritated, two men in black suits next to the church door, they had expressly asked for colored clothes, Sara escaped: "My God, please say that this is not true!"
"What's going on?" He asked while he parked the pickup in the parking lot reserved for them.
"Over there."
She pointed outside, to the end of the courtyard, where a black limousine was parked, the chauffeur leaning against the driver's door. Next to it was a black SUV.
"None of our people drives such a car. Who is this?"
"Good question," came the back seat. "Looks important."
"She thinks she's important."
Before he could ask any further questions, Danny came to the car and opened the passenger door. "Sara, I'm terribly sorry. This woman is ... "
"I can imagine, Danny."
"Partner, please explain to me, who is this about?" Asked Steve impatiently.
"Mrs. Anderson has just arrived here with a big entourage. I placed the Men in Black out there, no guns in the chrurch. And the other guy who was there is a guest over at the HPD. Does Pierre Mirault ring a bell, Sara?"
First came a groan as an answer, then his wife explained: "This is the European version of JDK. Another pushy paparazzo. Don't say she managed to get him a visa."
"She did."
While reporting, Danny had circled the car and his mother had got out too. "And what did you do with her?"
"She sits between Kamekona and Chin, looks like a crow, all in black."
He noticed Sara shaking her head with her hand over her mouth. "Sara?"
She laughed ironically. "Sorry, the idea is absurd. Remember, my mother grew up in Charleston with views from the Civil War era. And he puts her between these two of all people."
Danny grinned briefly. "That seemed like the safest option to me. She is well guarded there and furthest away from you. And from Liam and Zoe, your brother-in-law was absolutely horrified when he saw them."
"I believe that."
Doris cleared her throat. "I'm assuming that she wasn't invited. Take your time." His mother made her way towards the entrance.
"In any case, everyone is already there. We'll start when you're ready," Danny explained.
"Thank you, Danny. I just have to ..." He saw Sara grab her cell phone, then he watched intently as she called Kawika and asked him to come into town with two of his boys.
"What do you fear?" He asked when she had hung up.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I can't tell you, I have a bad feeling. Wherever she got her information from, this gig is just the beginning."
Danny cleared his throat. "I don't know what you've already experienced with her ..."
"How many days do you have to listen to the short version?"
"OK. What is certain, however, is that she is definitely outnumbered here. There are a bunch of people in there who are absolutely on your side."
"We can clarify later why she is here. Can you do it? "Steve asked when the church bell rang.
"As if I had another choice." He lifted her out of the car, but when he tried to give her the canes, she refused. "Danny may have managed to get rid of the photographer, but I'm not going to go to church with canes under her eyes."
"Sara ..."
"You are here, Danny might help me too ..."
"Absolutely."
"If you support me, it'll work. The church is not that big."
He could tell that she wasn't going to give in. Not while knowing in the back of her mind that her mother was in there. "Okay." He locked the car, then she hooked into his and Dannys arm. The first steps were uncertain, but then she found her rhythm.
It was almost silent in the church when they walked up the hall. Everyone was up. In the front rows he saw their ohana, further back several visitors who he suspected were Navy. Finally they reached the first row where the pastor was waiting for them. Sara thanked Danny, who sat in the second row between Nahele and Grace, right behind their seats. In the next row sat Rachel and Charlie, next to whom Jerry and the rest of the team had lined up.
They greeted the pastor, then took a seat next to Liam. Steve looked across the hall to the bench opposite, where Kamekona was showing a big grin. Next to him sat a woman in jet black, and on the aisle side Chin, who rolled his eyes briefly. Behind him sat his cousin Kono with her husband and Lou Grover with his family.
Steve put his arm around Sara as the pastor spoke. His son's small white urn was embedded in a lake of flowers in front of the altar. Next to it was the photo that the nurse had taken when Sara held the baby for the first time. She had been still very weak, he had helped her hold the little one. He had taken her to the pediatric intensive care unit in a wheelchair, the baby had been wired and under surveillance, but with a nurse within shouting distance they had allowed them to spend a few minutes with their son. The following day they had also been able to be with him for some time. When Sara was allowed to hold her son for the third time, his heart had already stopped beating. Steve swallowed. He got practically nothing of the priest's words, only when Liam got up and went to the microphone with a piece of paper in hand, did he focus again.
