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I bit my lip. Part of me wanted to sing out from the rooftops I was happy again, that I was having the best sex of my life with a man who didn’t need a roadmap to my clitoris, but what was happening between Cooper and me was our little secret and for now, I was going to enjoy guarding it.
Mahina shoved my bag of groceries toward me looking expectant, and then playfully irritated when I merely thanked her and smiled coyly before grabbing my groceries and leaving.
The Town Hall was just across the road and a few doors down, so I crossed the quiet street, groceries in hand and made my way to the mayor’s office, thinking all the while how delighted Mahina would be if she knew the details of what was going on between me and Cooper.
“Good morning, ma’am,” a young woman called from the front desk.
“Hi, I was told to drop by to speak with the mayor. My name is Haley Ellis.”
“Oh! You’re the one helping the kids with the mural. My niece Leela is in that group. She can’t stop talking about how much fun she’s having.”
“That’s awesome,” I smiled. “Leela is such a natural talent.”
The receptionist beamed. “She is, but it’s been so hard to get her to come out of her shell. I’m glad she feels comfortable enough with you to let her talent shine.”
Before I could respond, Mayor Khaled appeared. “Ms. Ellis, I’m so happy you could stop by.”
He reached out, shaking my hand, “Mayor, please call me Haley.”
“Haley, it is then. I wanted to thank you for your dedicated work with the kids. I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback from their parents and I’m quite impressed by what I saw at the community center.”
“Well thank you, but that’s the kids' hard work,” I said swiftly, but he was quick to dismiss that idea.
“Haley, let me level with you. I’ve known most of those children for their whole lives and while they are talented, they haven’t excelled until you came on along. So it’s got me thinking...”
I raised a questioning eyebrow, not sure where he was going with this. “Our public school is quite small, and the budget is not big enough for an art teacher. But there is a budget for an instructor at the community center. Ironic, I know, considering the repairs it requires, but I’m sure I don’t have to explain how archaic and nonsensical town allocations can be. That’s something I’m trying to change, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make.”
“At the risk of sounding rude, Mayor, what is the point?” I asked, eager to know what he was getting at. Mayor Khaled seemed like a genuinely nice man, but I was a little burnt out on circular political talk because of Marcus. I very much wanted him to cut to the chase.
“I’m asking you to consider teaching some art classes at the community center whenever you’re available.”
I stood there silent for a moment because I didn't know what to say. I was flattered, of course, but—would that mean staying in Hanalei permanently?
"Well, I, uh... I'm very flattered Mayor Khaled, but I still haven't decided what my long-term plans are."
He looked at me thoughtfully. "Well, I was certainly hoping we could make a citizen out of you yet, but I'd be willing to settle for classes for a few weeks. At least it would be something for the kids and adults alike to take part in. I can't tell you how many of those kids' parents have expressed an interest in learning how to do what you're teaching their children."
I felt all the warm tingles over the compliment, but still, "Oh, I don't think it's anything they couldn't learn from a YouTube video."
That's when the mayor leveled his case at me. "With all due respect, Haley, you're wrong. I've seen that mural you're working on with the kids, and it encapsulates the spirit of Hanalei. The kids are really taking pride in what it means to be a part of this town and to be a part of the island. I don't think they could've gotten that from any video online. It took someone who had just as much appreciation for this place to help them express the love for their home."
I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. It wasn't like I didn't get the occasional compliment at the school I worked at and I loved working with the kids, but I had to admit being here with these kids felt different. They were so eager to learn, and I'm guessing part of that was the novelty of it. There wasn't an art program in their school, but they had such beautiful inspiration in their homeland.
I nodded then. "Well, in that case, I think we could make a couple of days a week work. Would that be sufficient?"
The mayor grinned. "That would be perfect."
Little by little, I was becoming part of the fabric of Hanalei, and surprisingly, I loved it. I always thought I enjoyed being anonymous in San Diego. For the most part, people left me alone, didn't expect too much from me, and they definitely didn'task me any probing questions. It was comforting to know all of my neighbors' names and most of their life stories and that they knew mine.
I'm sure they talked about me behind my back, as is common in small towns, but I never got the sense it was mean spirited. They were just talking and Lord knows it was a juicy story so if it were me, I’d gossip about it too. So I let them go on about it as long as I didn't have to relive it for the millionth time.
As I left the mayor's office, my phone buzzed, and I glanced at it, seeing it was a California number. It looked like the same one from the journalist who has been trying to convince me to do a sit-down interview about Marcus. Despite his relentless attempts, I couldn't bring myself to block his number and I didn't know why.
I hit the decline button and made my way home. When I ran into Cooper, who was waxing his board after a lesson with a client, I stopped short. "Hi, beautiful," he said with a smile, and my stomach flipped. He said it so casually, and yet I believed every word. There was no spin, no manipulation. Cooper meant what he said, and said what he meant, and I missed having somebody in my life who I could trust to be that transparent.
My smile must've faltered because Cooper looked concerned. "What? You don't like me calling you beautiful now?"
I shook my head. "No, I just remembered something... a chore I need to take care of."
