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“You will for sure. Once you get to know the girls and see how much fun high school can be.”
Now I’m the one pretending.
“But if we can, let’s spend part of our summers here. Maybe I can come for spring break or Thanksgiving. Okay?”
“Okay. I’ll do my best to make that happen.”
“I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“If you could, would you want to be here? For good I mean. If you didn’t have the restaurant and my schooling wasn’t already paid for.”
“Alana, how can I possibly answer that? I do have the restaurant and I have paid.”
“Answer it honestly.”
Crap.
“I guess if things were different I’d want to stay here. But they aren’t, so what difference does it make? My restaurant took a long time to become a steady success. I couldn’t just walk away from that. And the tuition isn’t refundable even if I wanted it to be.”
“What about Leilani? Are you in love or something?”
I pause but just for a moment before laying all the cards out.
“Yes, Alana. I love her.”
By the tone of her voice, this bit of news is encouragement.
“Well, how do you think that’s going to work out for you? You’ll be in California and she’ll be here? What if she finds someone else?”
That one stings.
“When you love someone you find a way. Even if you have to sacrifice.”
“You and I love each other, Dad. Why can’t we find a way?”
Now she had to go and use my own words against me. I can’t fight that fight right now.
“I’m meeting Noa here. Can we talk more tonight?”
“Yeah. Okay. Just don’t forget.”
“How could I forget about my girl?”
We end the call, and I sit in the heaviness of the moment for awhile. I can’t see a way out. Like a man stuck in quicksand, struggling won’t get me anywhere. No matter how much I wish it could. I get out and head inside, hoping restaurant business will take me away from the more important issues whirling in my mind.
The sound of a hammer and voices greet me at the door. Walking past the entry, I see how much has been done in the last few days. It is coming together beautifully.
“Hey, bro!” Noa calls across the room.
He watches the main attraction. Big Lucky is ten feet up, applying color to the sketched out mural on the dining room wall facing the sea. It’s fantastic looking, even though the vibrant colors have just begun to be applied. I see Pele and in the background her sister. The bird, his nest, and three eggs are in the left foreground corner. The entire composition looks well thought out, as if all the components were always meant to be seen together.
“Wow! Looks great, Lucky!”
“Thanks. The audience likes it so far.”
At the entrance to the kitchen, Oscar stands watching with Akoni and a few of the servers in training. Everyone is amazed by the images taking shape.
