CHAPTER TWENTY:
DEMANDING UNDERSTANDING

Two days had passed since Leera had crossed paths with Gantu, and she had not seen nor heard from him since. At first she thought she could dismiss this because of the rain, but it had cleared rather quickly and the few clouds remaining over Kauai did not seem threatening enough to discourage Gantu from visiting her. By Monday afternoon, she could not stand the wait any longer.

"I don't suppose there's any way we can contact Gantu, is there?" she asked her husband.

"His ship's got a communications console, but I have no idea what the contact code is," Pleakley replied as he sat at his sewing machine repairing one of Leera's dresses.

Leera was sitting up in bed reading a parenting magazine, or at least trying to read. Ever since she'd run into Gantu, she could hardly stop thinking about him.

"Well, I'm getting worried. I mean, he should have at least called by now. I've really been looking forward to talking to him. It's been so long. He's such a nice guy. A sweetheart, really. I know you find that hard to believe, but he is."

"Yeah, well, it'd be nice if he'd show that side of him more often," Pleakley muttered, not looking up from his work.

Leera set her magazine down on the bedside table. "Well, if you want to see that side of him, why don't you go see for yourself? You said he lives nearby, right? We could go see him now."

This time Pleakley looked up. He stared at Leera as though she were crazy.

"You're joking, right? You really wanna take the dune buggy three miles over hideously, horribly, hurl-your-guts-out road just to visit Gantu? You know how miserable you get with your morning sickness."

"Yeah, but it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Yeah but — but — there's also the even bigger risk of going into labor prematurely! Don't tell me you're willing to take a risk like that just to see him!"

Leera looked absently at her belly, rubbing the spot where she cold feel the baby kicking. "Well, it's almost due anyway. One less week in the womb shouldn't hurt it."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Pleakley said. "Don't you realize the health risks involved? I was born prematurely and I was the sickliest little thing you've ever seen! Oh, it was terrible! I know, Mom told me. I was so frail and — "

"Chill out, Drama Queen," Leera scolded. "That's a different story entirely. You were born way sooner than this one's going to be. Even if it comes now it'll be just fine. Jumba said so."

"Uh-huh. An experiment's devouring buildings downtown and turning people into pigs and Jumba says everything's just fine."

Leera got out of bed. "Whatever you say, dear," she sighed, slipping her feet into her sandals. "Well, I don't see how you can just sit there in the corner gathering dust on such a nice day. You can come with me if you'd like. I'm going to go find Gantu, with or without you."

"You really are serious about this, aren't you?" Pleakley received a solemn look in reply. He sighed. "Alright. You win. We'll go find Gantu. But can you at least wait till I'm finished here? I hate to say it, but you've stretched the living heck out of the elastic band in the waist of this dress. I have to replace it, and that's no easy task."

"And how long is that going to take?" Leera asked impatiently.

"I dunno, maybe fifteen, twenty minutes. This is the first time I've had to replace the elastic in anything."

"Oh, well, sorry! That sort of thing tends to happen when two people have to share the same set of clothes."

"Aw, come on, Leera. I don't wear all your clothes. In fact, I think I only wore this dress once, at that luau a few months back."

"That's not what I meant, Wendy. I meant me and the baby."

Pleakley blushed. "Oh. Right."

Leera sighed, kicking off her sandals. "Just hurry up and fix it. But after that, no more delays. No excuses, no nothing. I'm going to find Gantu today, with or without your help, even if it's the last thing I do."

"I told you I'd take you, honey," Pleakley reminded her. "But I want to finish this first. It's almost done. Just give me twenty minutes tops, alright?"

Leera sighed again, sounding a bit frustrated. "Alright." She sat down on the corner of the bed, watching her husband work.

Pleakley, uncomfortable under his wife's watchful eye, cleared his throat and tried to change the subject.

"So, uh, when did you want to have the baby shower? We could have it on Wednesday, after Lilo gets home from school. The weather report says it'll be nice and sunny. We can have it down at the lagoon. How's that sound?"

"Mm, I don't know. I don't want to set a date yet until I talk to Gantu. I want to invite him to the shower."

Pleakley groaned inwardly. Ever since Saturday morning, hardly an hour had gone by without some mention of Gantu. It was all Leera would talk about, and it was getting on his nerves.

"Okay," he said, with no emotion.

"You're really okay with that?" Leera asked him.

"Yeah, sure. I mean, why shouldn't I be? Even if I weren't okay with it you'd probably wail on me or make me feel guilty until I said yes. So go ahead and invite the big dummy."

"WHAT did you say!"

"Nothing! I didn't mean — it just slipped out! I'm sorry, okay? It's just — I already told you how it's been with Gantu around, always wrecking the house and stealing the experiments. Big Dummy was just a nickname that stuck. I'm sorry. Really. I know how you feel about him."

Leera calmed down. "He really is a good person, Wendy. You'll see. He's done so much for me, and you have to give him credit for that."

"I do, but — " Pleakley paused, biting his lip. Did he dare continue and state what he really thought?

"But what?" Leera asked.

"Well, it just seems to me that he was just doing his duty. Sure he helped you, but that's what anyone in his position would have done."

"But you don't know Gantu like I do. He went above and beyond the call of duty when he became my friend. There was a bond between us that I've never shared with any other person."

"Not even me?" Pleakley asked.

Leera looked at him for a long moment, then dropped her eye to the floor. "No. not even you. But it's not like we have any less of a bond!" she added hastily. "It's just… different. Like the bond you share with your mother. Or Uncle Gidgel. Or Nani. Or Lilo. Or… anyone. They're not the same as the bond we share with each other, and they're not any more or any less important. They're just as unique as the person you share them with. Understand?"

"I guess so," Pleakley sighed. "I've been trying to understand a lot these past few days, and I gotta tell you, it hasn't been easy."

"I really appreciate it, Wendy. Now hurry up and finish so we can go."

"Okay." He turned back to the sewing machine. After a few minutes, he stopped to untangle some threads. Without the noise from the machine, he was aware of a small sound behind him. He turned to find Leera half reclining on the bed, holding her belly and sobbing.

"Honey? What's wrong? What is it?" He rushed over to her. "Are you hurting?"

"No. I'm fine. I just… I want to talk to Gantu. It's important."

"But — can't you tell me? I'm right here. Tell me."

"Oh Wendy, I — you wouldn't understand."

"And Gantu would?" Pleakley asked incredulously.

"He was there for me when I needed him, and I — "

"Only because it was his duty."

"Maybe the rescue part was, but do you think it was duty that made him come to see me in the hospital every day and bring me flowers and sit and talk to me? He did those things because he's a good, caring person!"

"Unless he had some ulterior motive," Pleakley mumbled.

"What? You actually think he wanted…" Leera trailed off, then her face darkened with fury. "How dare you! How dare you even think that about him! Gantu is one of the best friends I ever had and I love him!"

Pleakley gasped, staring at his wife in shock. Leera sighed in annoyance.

"Not that way, Wendy. I love a lot of people: you, your mother, Uncle Gidgel, Lilo… but that doesn't mean I — "

"Too late," Pleakley interrupted her. "The truth is out now. You love Gantu and that's okay by me. But dammit, Leera, what am I? Chopped liver? You keep talking about him like he's your savior! He just happened to be in the right place at the right time, that's all! So why is it so darn important to go talk to him?"

"Because at least he can understand what I went through! He was there for me right after it happened and he's — "

"Only because I didn't get there first!" Pleakley yelled, startling both himself and Leera. "Don't you think I would have been there for you if you had just said something? All you had to do was pick up the phone and call me, and I would have been there in a heartbeat! But no. I didn't even find out until nearly three years later that you were… you were…" he trailed off, a sickened look on his face. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat and continued. "Dammit Leera, why? Why didn't you tell me? Didn't you trust me? I love you! I've always loved you! Don't you trust me at all?"

At this, Leera broke eye contact and dropped her gaze to the floor. "Of course I do," she said in a tiny voice, "but back then I… I wasn't so sure."

Hearing this, Pleakley's jaw dropped. He could only stare speechless at his wife. After a moment, Leera looked back up at him and her lip trembled.

"I told you you wouldn't understand. You have no idea what it was like! After what happened… I didn't think I could ever trust any man ever again. But Gantu… I don't know. I had to trust him. I had no choice. If I wanted to live, if I wanted to go on… and I didn't think I could… I had to trust someone. Even for just a moment. And he was the only one there at the time."

For a long moment Pleakley said nothing. He couldn't.

"I'm sorry," Leera whispered, climbing out of bed and moving toward the door.

"You can't go to him again," Pleakley said, making her stop in her tracks.

"And why not?" she demanded.

Pleakley stood up, looking her square in the eye. "Because I f— I for— ," he took a deep breath and blurted out, "I forbid it!" The instant the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. If looks could kill, then Leera had gone into overkill. Pleakley shuddered under her ice-cold glare.

"Nobody forbids me. Not even you." And with that she turned and stalked out the door. Pleakley sat there, momentarily stunned, then got up to follow her.

"No! Wait! Leera, please!" He caught up with her at the top of the staircase. "Please listen to me!" He cried, grabbing her wrist.

"No!" Leera shouted, trying to pull away. "If you really understood, you'd let me go!"

"But I just— "

"NO!" Leera screamed, yanking her arm out of his grasp. The sudden motion made her stagger backwards, and one of her feet met open air. She swung her arms out to steady herself, then another foot missed the step. It seemed to happen in slow motion: Pleakley watched, horrified, as Leera fell down the stairs. It was a short flight; only three steps, but as he watched, they seemed to go on forever. Leera kept falling and falling and falling and Pleakley kept screaming and screaming and screaming.

She hit the bottom with a sickening thud, sprawled on her side.