17. ‘Ōlena

17

‘ōlena

B y pickup time on Monday, ‘ōlena's head was fuzzy with exhaustion. Two small businesses and two small girls left little time to celebrate their engagement… and anyway, she wasn't sure how to treat this engagement to the man she had divorced five years before.

The engagement had been announced quietly, without any ceremony or fuss.

She almost felt embarrassed about the whole thing, as if getting married a second time shone a spotlight on their flaws and failings as a couple. Yes, she was excited to get married again… but there was a shame clinging to that excitement that she couldn't quite shake.

The weekend had passed in a blur of errands done with both girls in tow. Nate was busy in the orchard, where the lychee was ripening faster than he could pick it, and ‘ōlena was reluctant to lean too heavily on her parents for childcare after her dad's health scare.

"Remember to send Mateo with a raincoat tomorrow," ‘ōlena told his dad, "and a set of spare clothes."

She wasn't one to keep the kids indoors during sunshowers, but that sometimes resulted in sopping, chilled children if their families hadn't kept their school bags well stocked. Mateo had wound up in a pair of sweatpants from the lost and found and a spare Pualena Playschool swim shirt.

While her girls played outside with friends and Nell cleaned up the chaos of the day, ‘ōlena worked her way through some of the administrative tasks that kept Pualena Playschool running. She ordered more art supplies, transferred money to Nell's bank account, and sent emails hounding parents who were late with that month's fees.

By the time she finished, the shadow of the mauna had overtaken the playground. Dusk came early to Pualena, and ‘ōlena's to-do list only ever seemed to grow longer.

With her ever-hungry beast of a business sated, at least for the day, ‘ōlena collected her girls and drove the short distance to her parents' house for dinner. Nate was there already, stranded on the lanai with a bottle of beer in hand. ‘ōlena was surprised to see it, both her fiance at rest and the beer, which was one of the many things that Mahina had banned from the house after Manō's heart attack. The bottle must have come from her brother's place, farther back on the property.

Nate set the drink aside and rose to greet the girls, who crashed into him with enthusiastic hugs before running through the backyard in search of ‘Iolani.

"You're here early," ‘ōlena said. He greeted her with a kiss.

"We've got company."

"What do you mean?"

Before he could answer, the screen door banged open and a woman appeared on the lanai. She had dye-black hair and a lime-green shirt. Darlene.

‘ōlena hadn't seen her in over five years, and the girls had only seen her on the occasional weekend or holiday when their dad was home from work.

"There you are," Darlene shouted. "We were expecting you hours ago! Where are my grandbabies?"

"They ran to the backyard." Nathan's voice carried up to the lanai without shouting.

"Well what did you let them do that for?" She disappeared back into the house without waiting for an answer.

‘ōlena realized that her mouth was hanging open, and she pressed her lips together. She would never understand how that woman had produced a man as solid and steady as Nate.

"She flew in today." His voice carried an unspoken apology. "No warning, unless you count texting me her arrival time as she was boarding a plane."

‘ōlena took a step backwards, letting the door of her van hold her up. "Where's she staying?"

"My place." Nate had basically moved into the little rental with her and the girls, but he still had a place in town that he had signed a six-month lease on when he moved back to the island full time. It was bigger than ‘ōlena's house, but the location wasn't great and there was a musty smell to the place that she didn't like.

‘ōlena tore her eyes away from her parents' front door and looked up at Nate. "How long is she staying?"

"Until the wedding, apparently."

A laugh bubbled up from her chest, amusement tinged with hysteria. "We haven't even set a date yet."

He started to answer, then looked up at the house when the door opened again. Kekoa came out carrying a plate of food in one hand and a beer in the other, apparently looking for a more peaceful place to eat.

"Come on," ‘ōlena said with a sigh. "Standing out here won't make it any easier."

They walked through Mahina's front garden, which was bright with color and slightly overgrown after the chaos of the past few weeks.

"Careful, sis," Kekoa said as they walked up the steps. "They've got a binder."

Luana and Kiki were inside, apparently roped in by their paternal grandmother through the back door. They each had a plate piled high with fried chicken and mac salad; takeout containers littered the counters. Mahina stood guard in the kitchen, glaring daggers at her husband if he so much as looked at the forbidden food.

"There you are!" Darlene said. "Moving slow today? I guess that shouldn't surprise me. Come on through, I'll make you a plate."

‘ōlena walked into the kitchen and mechanically spooned food onto a plate, then sat down next to Luana with a heavy sigh. Her day had been too long and too tiring to deal with this well.

She hardly registered the chatter between her mother and Darlene until she heard Mahina ask, "How long will you be staying?"

"Until we see these two safely married. I wanted to come early and help with the planning. They eloped once already. I figure they owe us a proper wedding this time."

Nate gave ‘ōlena a wary, apologetic look. If anything was going to make them want to elope again, it was Darlene and her machinations. But the girls were so excited to be a part of the ceremony this time… and she knew them well enough to know that if they kept it to just the four of them, they would refuse to count that as a real wedding.

"They haven't even set a date yet," Mahina was saying.

"Well of course not," Darlene scoffed. "You can't set a date without venues."

She set a heavy binder on the table with a thump and used one of its color-coded tabs to open it to a middle page. "Now, this church is a bit small, but they have availability as soon as next week."

‘ōlena looked between Nate and Mahina, stunned. She said little as Darlene gave them the grand tour through the binder she had created. Finally, after the girls had watched an entire movie with Manō, Darlene declared that she was ready to go home and rest. She gathered up the binder in both arms, walked to the door, and turned to look expectantly at her son.

"I'll be out in a minute, Mom."

When the door closed behind her, Mahina covered a spluttering laugh with one hand.

"This is crazy," ‘ōlena said.

"At least you won't have to hire a wedding planner," her mom told her.

"I wasn't planning on it."

Mahina patted her shoulder. "We'll figure something out."

"And soon!" Manō added from the living room.

"I guess I should be flattered that she's this excited to have me as a daughter-in-law again."

"She was furious with me when I let you go," Nate said quietly.

"I thought she never liked me."

His mouth quirked towards a smile. "It's the principle of the thing."

Mahina chuckled and shook her head. "I may not have a binder to prove it, but I feel more or less the same way. We're all glad to see the family mended and together again."

"And the sooner you get hitched," Manō muttered from the living room, "the sooner she can go home."

"We could always elope," Nate said into her ear.

"I couldn't do that to the girls," she told him.

The truth was, she was looking forward to a wedding too. A real one this time, celebrated by and with their community.

She was an intensely private person, and a private ceremony had felt right the first time around. At first, she had been tempted to do the same thing again. There was an appeal to the idea of quietly paving over their mistakes and moving forward. But she didn't want shame to keep her from what she truly wanted: to celebrate this new beginning with their friends and family.

She hadn't shown anyone, not even Nate, but she had basically created her own binder. It was digital, a virtual pile of links and photos and other inspiration. If she printed it out, it would dwarf Darlene's.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want to marry you. I want a real wedding, with everyone we love. And I want to do it soon. Like, really soon, before your mom books a venue and bulldozes her way through the whole thing."

"But where?" Mahina asked.

A grin spread over Nate's face, warm and slow. "I know just the place."