Chapter 2

Myah never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings. While caring for her mother she had often stuffed down the hopelessness and fear she felt, plastering smiles across her face and drowning her emotions in ice cream and mindless tv. She was always careful not to upset the few friends she had, not wanting to risk weirding them out with the medical issues she dealt with on a daily basis. It wasn't until moving in with Steve that she had started to deal with the repercussions of repressing her own feelings and being honest about what she thought and felt with those around her. Steve had proven time and again that he wasn't going to abandon her. A few months wasn't going to undo years of emotional baggage, and Myah still found herself struggling to set her own boundaries, and often pressing against those set out for her. She also still hated the idea of upsetting or hurting someone else's feelings. When Kamekona had proudly set a steaming plate in front of her and announced she was amongst the first to try his new offering of pineapple and spam pancakes, she had been speechless. She shot a desperate look at Nahele, who was discreetly emptying his plate into the trash can. Considering her brother normally ate anything and everything in sight, and then went back for seconds, this was not a good sign.

Kamekona started to turn and nearly caught Nahele in the act, but Myah spoke up quickly, deciding she'd rather have his back, just in case she needed to call in a favor herself. "So I've had blueberries in pancakes… but never pineapple. Or spam."

"Trust me…" the chef's chest puffed out with pride. "Soon everybody will be gunning for this recipe… but you can remember, you had it here first."

"Do I put syrup on it?" Myah actually loved pancakes and thought the semi healthy recipe that Steve favored with oats and bananas, was delicious. Nahele had decided that Steve's normal role of drill sergeant had fallen to him that morning and when Myah had learned that Kamekona was making pancakes, she thought that might make up for the workout her brother had just put them through. Bear crawling and wheelbarrowing their way across the yard had not been enjoyable.

"You can. I also recommend peanut butter!"

"Okay." Myah took a deep breath. "So you've tried it?"

"No, keiki, the first batch goes to the princess McGarrett!"

"Aw, I like the sound of that." she couldn't help but smile. "Tell Dad and Nehele that's what they have to start calling me."

"Yeah, right." Nahele scoffed. "Anyway… uh… Joel's picking me up in just a few. I'll see you at work, Kamekona."

"Sure, sure… hey, does Joel want to come in and try some pancakes?"

"Oh, I'm sure he does." Myah said quickly, sending a smirk Nahele's way.

He glowered in return. "No, we're good. I told him I'd help him with his mom's float for that charity parade."

If Myah hadn't had plans of her own that day she would have begged him to take her along. Partially to escape the pancakes sitting in front of her and partially because she'd been curious what it'd be like to hang out with Nahele and his friends. Getting to decorate a float would be a bonus.

"Well, keep your head on straight and don't be late for the lunch rush." Kamekona said. "Myah, you need to try these while they're hot. I make no guarantees for taste if they get cold."

"Right." Myah took a deep breath and speered a bite onto her fork. She loved pineapple and thought that maybe spam wasn't too far off from ham. Unfortunately as she had feared the pineapple had not melded well with the pancake batter and the spam had too soft a texture and its saltiness did not play well with the fruit. It was disgusting and Myah barely managed to choke the one bite down. "I'm really sorry." She coughed and then took a big gulp of water. Feeling terrible, she ducked her head.

Kamekona's sigh did not make her feel any better. "You sure? Maybe you didn't get the right combination of flavors. Try another bite."

Unable to refuse, Myah did and was unable to even swallow the bite, reflexively spitting it back out onto her plate. "Maybe you could finish this? I'm just not very hungry this morning." This wasn't true, of course. She was starving.

"I'll take it. It's okay, keiki," he sighed. "Perhaps the tastes of my refined palate are not ready to be shared with the masses."

"Probably." Myah agreed.

A short time later, she was relating the story to Mary Ann McGarrett, who had picked her up in preparation for shopping for her daughter's room makeover. Mary shook her head. "You've got to be smarter. I remember when I first came back to the island, Steve left me with Kamekona. It only took a few questions to distract him and that was all I needed to get out of there."

"I do like Kamekona." Myah said. "And I usually like his cooking. Just not this. And I hate having a babysitter."

"Doesn't make sense to me." Mary shook her wispy blond hair from her face. "You're allowed to babysit my daughter but you can't take care of yourself while he's gone? I don't think Steve's thought this one through. I mean, we were practically raising ourselves at your age."

Myah didn't respond to this. She was aware that both Mary and Steve had struggled when their father had sent them away, but that Mary especially had had a hard time of it, turning to drugs, alcohol and any unhealthy vice she could think of. Myah had not been aware of Mary participating in any of those activities since she had known her, but imagined she had cleaned her life up dramatically when she'd adopted Joan. Her naturally rebellious personality still shone through, and Myah could easily see her as a hardcore partier. Joanie was singing softly to herself in the backseat, her little feet swinging back and forth. Myah smiled at her and playfully tugged on her foot. "Are you excited, Joanie-bear? Ready to decorate your room like a mermaid?"

"Well, actually…" Mary sighed, "I'm not so sure now. I read that neutral, calm colors are actually the way to go, because toddlers need a peaceful space with specific shades to facilitate optimal brain development."

Myah stared at her. "Did you memorize that?"

"Shut up!" Mary laughed, not taking offense. "So I'm thinking creams and mint, but I'm not sure how that would work with a mermaid theme."

"But you love bright colors. Joanie does too."

"I know… but I have to think about what's best for her. I don't want to cause her to be behind developmentally."

"Well, we can do whatever you want, but I think just having a cheerful, fun space will be the best thing for her. You know, so she can use her imagination and play with her friends. I guess she's too little to have friends over yet, right?"

"I didn't even think about that." Mary moaned. She guided the car into a parking spot and then leaned forward over the steering wheel. "We can't do cream and mint, her friends will all think she's weird!"

"They're not very good friends then." Myah muttered. "So mermaid then?"

"I guess…" Mary shot a worried look over her shoulder at her daughter who was pointing at a palm tree next to them, clearly unaware of her mother's inner turmoil. Mary seemed to calm down when they entered the store and almost immediately found an adorable bedding set printed with sea shells. The cart was soon loaded with mermaid curtains, lamps, wall decals and a rug. Myah had to push the cart carefully as the load made it difficult to see where she was going, let alone to make any necessary tight turns. She had also gotten a glimpse at a couple of the price tags and was starting to wonder how Mary was going to pay for all of it. She didn't know for sure, but had caught the tail end of enough conversations to guess that Steve helped cover some of Mary and Joan's monthly expenses. She knew he wouldn't deny Joanie nice things for her room, but also wasn't sure he would think wall decals that cost nearly $150 were a necessity. The toddler bedding itself was close to $300. She was trying to decide if and how she could discreetly ask, when Mary picked up a large quilted mermaid doll and handed it down to Joan, who shook her head and pointed at a stuffed elephant and babbled out an adorable attempt at the word.

"No, baby girl, you don't want an elephant. You want a mermaid! You're a little mermaid in Hawaii!"

Joanie had been buckled into her stroller for over an hour at this point and had started showing signs of being tired and hungry. To be refused the elephant at this point was clearly too much and she burst into tears and shoved the stuffed mermaid away.

Mary appeared to be almost in tears herself, as she tried to comfort her daughter and Myah stood by, feeling completely helpless. "Maybe she could just hold the elephant for a little bit?" she offered hesitantly.

"But she wants it more than the mermaid." Mary was almost in despair.

"Maybe we could leave the cart here and go get some food?" Myah wasn't sure she could deal with both blonds crying. She was still starving herself, as the one bite of pineapple and spam pancakes was all she'd had that morning. Thankfully Mary agreed and Myah was able to park the cart and let a sales associate know they would be coming back later. Joanie's tears slowed to pathetic whimpers, as she was temporarily pacified by the fruit pouch Mary had handed her. The food court nearby offered multiple options. They got in line at a place that offered kids meals and Myah pulled out her wallet to get some cash. When the three of them finally sat down at a table she was almost as excited to dig into her burrito bowl as Joanie was about her chicken nuggets.

"So you have a credit card?" Mary asked offhandedly.

Myah was busy chewing the delicious fork full of rice, shredded chicken, beans and corn, and was caught off guard at the question. "Yeah, but it's for emergencies only. I'm not allowed to use it otherwise."

"Well, what counts as an emergency?"

"Uh… well, I don't know, I guess if something happened, and I got stranded without a ride or if someone was hurt-"

"You're going to pay their medical bills?"

"I guess that's not a good example."

"Right exactly. I think that'll be helpful, because this stuff is a little more expensive than I thought."

Myah felt her heart sink and her defenses rise as she realized the direction this conversation was heading. "I'm sure we can find some things that are a little cheaper. We were only at one store."

Mary shook her head. "I don't want my daughter to feel like she's second class. It's like you said, when her friends come over, I don't want them to think I skimped on her."

"I don't think two year olds have very high standards." Myah eyed Joanie who was licking the ketchup off her chicken nuggets contentedly.

"Well I do. I just… you know my mom died when I was little. I barely remember her. And it screwed me up! I feel like I missed out on everything a little girl should have. I don't want Joanie to feel that way, ever."

"I don't think she will. I know you love her so much." Myah protested.

Mary shook her head. "I'm not trying to dump this on you, but I feel completely inadequate as a mom most of the time. But at least I'm going to give her the things I never had. A cute room, hula lessons."

"She's going to take hula?" Myah tried to lighten the mood a little.

"If I have anything to say about it, she will. The school I want her to go to, their instructor is the best on the island and they're going to be performing at the Bennet Charity Festival next week."

"Oh, yeah, Nahele's helping make a float for that." Myah recalled.

"I'm going to be there, and I will be getting in good with that woman if it's the last thing I do." Mary's determination and focus on the topic reminded Myah of Steve. Most of the time the two seemed so different that she could almost forget they were siblings.

"El-phant!" Joanie called out joyfully, having spotted another child carrying the coveted stuffed elephant.

"I didn't even know she liked elephants." Mary said sadly. "What if she hates the mermaid room?"

"Well… what if we didn't do a hardcore theme?" Myah was feeling more inspired now, with food finally on her belly. "What if we did more of a colorful, whimsical room that would inspire her to be interested in lots of things?"

"Myah, you're a genius. My brilliant girl doesn't like just one thing, she likes lots of things! Joanie, we're getting that elephant!"

Myah breathed a sigh of relief at the new plan. "And I bet we could find other less expensive stuff if we didn't just shop at Pottery Barn."

"No, I definitely want to go back there. You're right though, we completely limited ourselves before."

Back at the store, Myah couldn't help but be a little embarrassed as Mary grabbed an empty cart and informed the sales associate they didn't need anything from the previous one that was piled high with the now unwanted mermaid items. Joanie crowed with delight and hugged the stuffed elephant to her chest and Mary looked on triumphantly, clearly feeling that she was back in the saddle in regards to her quest for perfect motherhood. When they stumbled upon a toddler's quilt covered in pink, bright blue, purple and gray elephants, they both squealed.

"So we should definitely go with this." Myah said, hefting the bedding into the cart. "And the rest of the room can match these colors." As they continued around the store, Myah found she had to be careful what she suggested, because anything that she pointed out, Mary grabbed for the cart. She was clearly in a much better mood now that the plan had changed to generally whimsical versus the strict theme, and Myah couldn't help but feel enthusiastic as well. She pushed her concern regarding Mary's comment about the credit card to the back of her mind, hoping Steve's sister hadn't been serious. When they finally decided to check out and the total came to almost seven hundred dollars, Myah's jaw dropped. Mary however, didn't miss a beat and looked at Myah expectantly.

"This definitely counts as an emergency."

"I don't know…"

"Seriously, do you think Steve would say no to his only niece having a nice room?" she motioned to Joanie who had fallen asleep in her stroller, still clutching the elephant.

Myah actually didn't know for sure what Steve would say. In spite of having lived with him for quite some time, she honestly didn't know. He hadn't given her a budget when she'd redone her room when she'd first moved in, but he also hadn't entrusted her with the credit card, rather giving it to Kono for safekeeping. He always gave her cash when she went out with her friends, but she was not an exorbitant spender and it had never occurred to her to spend more than she really needed, and she always returned whatever she didn't use to him after the fact. When he'd given her the credit card, his tone had been stern and his words had been, "You don't touch this unless it's an emergency, you understand me?" Myah now kicked herself for not asking him to clarify what exactly would quantify as an emergency. Also, being pretty sure that he supplemented Mary and Joan's income already, did seem to tip the scale in the favor of the answer that he'd be okay with them using the card.

"Myah!" Mary was getting inpatient, as was the sales associate behind the counter.

"Okay." Myah handed the card over, and then tried to focus on Joanie's adorable sleeping face. "Whatever happens, this is for you, Joanie-bear."

Their last stop was at the hardware store and took much less time, with them having decided in the car to paint the walls a bright pink and soft gray, which not only matched the bedding, but fit Mary's bill for a calm color to promote brain development. Myah handed the card over without hesitation when they checked out.

When Mary dropped Myah off at home that afternoon, she was exhausted. The bedroom was ready for painting, but she had had to clear all the furniture out, remove the light fixtures, patch a few holes and tape. Thankfully it was painted a dull white and since there was primer mixed in with the paint, she would be able to start the next day. If I can even move, she moaned to herself. And I don't care what he says, Nahele is not forcing me into a workout tomorrow. Not when I'm doing this physical labor. She needed a shower, but couldn't bring herself to get up off the couch. She did dutifully send Kamekona a text letting him know she was home, but then fell asleep.

A firm knock on the door brought her to a sitting position and she rubbed her bleary eyes. The knock came again and Myah tried to discreetly look through the window. It was Lynn Downey, Steve's ex-girlfriend. Myah sat still for a moment unsure of what she should do. She hadn't seen Lynn since Steve had adopted them, and she had made it pretty clear that she did not agree with that choice. Still Myah supposed that Lynn couldn't be all bad, because after all, Steve had chosen to date her for quite a while, and she was also friends with another family friend, Ellie, who Myah liked very much. But she couldn't imagine Lynn would be happy to see her now. She considered pretending she wasn't there, but that seemed immature and the island was too small to guarantee they wouldn't run into each other again. With some trepidation, she pulled open the door.

"Oh!" Lynn seemed caught off guard. "Hi, Myah. I'm sorry to bother you. Is your Uncle Steve here?"

Myah pursed her lips together, knowing that what she was about to say was going to make her sound like a brat, but she was unable to help herself. "Actually it's dad, now. And no, he's not here." Her words clearly had their intended effect and Lynn shifted back and forth uncomfortably. Her discomfort actually made Myah feel a twinge of regret. "Do you need something? Do you want to come in?" she forced those last words out and stepped to the side, holding the door open, as an invitation.

"Uh… yes. Thank you." When Lynn stepped through the door, she took a long glance around the house, and Myah had the strong feeling that she missed the place. She wondered if Lynn had imagined herself marrying Steve and moving into the beachhouse. She decided now wasn't the time to explore the idea of what life would have been like, had that happened and cleared her throat, and even forced what she hoped was a genuine looking smile.

"Like I said, I'm sorry to bother you. I left some clothes upstairs. I wouldn't care but I'm pretty sure there was a pin attached to one of the blouses. It was my mom's and I'd hate to lose it. Do you mind?"

"Oh, no of course, not. Just… uh… do you want to tell me where you left them and I can grab them…"

"It'd be easier if I just got them, hon." Lynn turned and quickly made her way up the stairs towards Steve's room. Feeling very uncomfortable with the woman moving about her house with the familiarity that Lynn was doing, Myah quickly followed her.

"Of course." Lynn had stopped just inside the room. "That impeccably made bed."

Myah wrinkled her nose at the implication that Lynn had memory of the bed. Deciding to disrupt any gross memories that the woman might be enjoying, Myah launched herself onto the bed, startling Lynn and the perfectly placed pillows. Her movement thankfully shocked Lynn out of her reverie and she turned to the chest, and carefully kneeling, she opened the bottom drawer and removed what looked like three blouses. "Here they are." She frowned after examining them. "I don't see the pin. Steve… your dad didn't mention finding a pin, did he?"

"No."

"It must be here, somewhere." Lynn opened up another drawer and began shuffling around, before cocking her head and pulling out a small velvet covered box. "Oh my gosh…"

Myah sat frozen as she watched Lynn open up the box to reveal a diamond ring that glistened all the way across the room. Lynn's eyes filled with tears.

"He was going to ask me to marry him. I knew it."

Myah couldn't even respond as her throat had gone completely dry at the sight of the ring and at the sound of Lynn's words. The woman suddenly reached into the same drawer she had found the ring in and pulled out a receipt. Reading it, her jaw dropped and her gaze hardened. She crumpled the receipt and all but threw the ring back into the drawer. "What does he think I am, some cheap rebound relationship! That asshole!" She snatched up her clothes and stomped towards the door. Myah had to give her credit for pausing briefly and saying, "I'm sorry, Myah. Goodbye." before rushing down the stairs and slamming the door.

The sound of the nearby ocean sounded softly through the window, as Myah sat still on Steve's bed staring at his dresser, the drawer still open. After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly moved over to the dresser where she sat on the floor. Hesitantly she grabbed the box with the ring and couldn't help but admire it. Then she picked up the receipt and carefully smoothed it out, before studying it to try and figure out what had set Lynn off and made her positive the ring hadn't been intended for her. Nothing jumped out at her, but Myah was so focused she didn't even hear Nahele climbing the stairs, until he poked his head in the room and yelped, "What are you doing?!"

Startled, Myah screamed. "You scared me!"

"Because you're sitting there going through Dad's stuff!" Nahele hissed. "Seriously, what are you doing?!"

"This is not what it looks like, I swear."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. Lynn was here."

"Lynn?"

"Yeah, she said she left some clothes with her mother's pin attached." Myah quickly recounted the story to Nahele, whose stern gaze gradually calmed.

"So I just can't figure out how she knew this wasn't for her."

Sighing, Nahele took hold of the receipt. "It's the date. They weren't dating yet when he bought this."

"Oh. Wow, okay, that makes sense. Who was he dating when he bought this then? Who's it for?"

Nahele shrugged, not looking inclined to finish the conversation.

"Come on, if you know you have to tell me. You were here before me."

"I guess… it had to have been for Catherine. I'm pretty sure I actually picked this up for him. He had me pick up a package from this jewelry store, but I didn't know what it was."

"Catherine…" Myah said the name slowly. "I thought you said they weren't serious."

"No, I think they were, but she got re-deployed or something. I didn't know her well."

Myah growled in frustration and leaned back against the bed. "I don't want to know this! I want dad to come home! If he was here, I wouldn't have to worry about any of this."

"You didn't have to let Lynn in."

"I was trying to be polite!"

Nahele chuckled, but looked sympathetic. "Look, just put it back. You can't do anything about it now."

"Why do you think she said no?"

"Who?"

"Catherine."

"I have no idea. Seriously, just put his stuff back."

Myah carefully set the ring in the drawer next to the now wrinkled receipt. "He's going to know."

"Well, then you can ask about the ring."

"Yeah, right. Right after he spanks me for going through his stuff."

Nahele sighed. "It wasn't on purpose."

"I know. I'm seriously so tired right now, I can't even think straight."

"Are you hungry? I brought you shrimp truck dinner."

Myah brightened slightly at that news. "I may be able to stay awake for that." She quickly made her best attempt at straightening Steve's bed, before following Nahele downstairs where she collapsed in the recliner with the carton of steaming shrimp and rice carefully positioned on her lap. "Thanks. Hey… when Dad gave us the emergency credit cards, what do you think he meant by emergency?"

Nahele stared at her. "You really need the definition of an emergency?"

H50 H50 H50

Author's Note: Thank you so much to all the people who took the time to read and especially to review. You guys really knocked it out of the park with the first chapter and that really made my week. It's been a rough few days with some family drama and writing and H50 have definitely been my safe space. Hope you guys had a good weekend and hope this shows up correctly on the site. I noticed that intermittently this story was disappearing. I don't know lol.