Todd casually slipped a lei over Paula’s head and brushed her cheek with an aloha kiss.
Paula responded by enthusiastically throwing her arms around Todd’s neck and returning the kiss to his right cheek.
That does it, Paula! Stay away. Don’t you dare touch him again!
“It’s really quite a story,” Mom said with a laugh.
They began walking toward the parking lot, and Paula slid in right next to Todd, looking up at him like a dreamy-eyed Miss Piggy gushing over Kermit.
This time the Piggy-Kermie image did not initiate a giggle inside Christy. Instead, every possessive, jealous response Christy had within her sprang into action.
She grabbed Todd’s arm and said coyly, “So this is why you said we’d have such a good time! You knew I was coming all along, didn’t you? How could you keep this a secret, Todd?”
Paula followed Christy’s example by clutching Todd’s other arm and declaring in her most exuberant manner, “You’ve got to teach me how to surf, Todd! Promise me you’ll teach me! Okay? Promise? I just have to learn how to surf. That’s like my ultimate, all-time dream!”
Poor Todd, Christy thought. Without warning, you’ve been pounced on by two Miss Piggys. It’s up to you, Kermit the Todd. Which one of us is it going to be?
Bob interrupted before Todd had a chance to respond to either of the “Piggys.”
“Marti and David went ahead in the van with all the luggage. The five of us are going to squeeze into the other car we rented. It’s only about a forty-five-minute drive to the condo.”
“We don’t mind!” Paula said pertly. “We just can’t believe we’re finally here! And these flowers!” Paula used her free hand to lift the two leis to breathe in their fragrance.
“What are these?” she asked Todd. “I love them!”
“Plumeria. The big white and pink ones are plumeria, and the little white ones are tuberose.”
“Oh, I love them! They smell so … so … exotic!” Paula went on, still clinging to Todd.
“You told me about the plumeria before,” Christy said, slightly tugging on his arm, hoping for Todd’s full attention. “Weren’t these the kind of flowers you could smell on the way to school when you lived here?”
“Yeah.” Todd turned his head to look completely at Christy. “You remember me telling you that?”
Yes, Todd, oh yes! I remember everything you tell me. Ignore her; look at me! I’m the one who’s been listening to you for more than a year. Don’t let Paula come between us.
Bob stopped in front of a red Jeep. “Tight squeeze. What do you think? Will you three be okay in the back?”
Paula broke into one of her squealing sessions and scrambled into the backseat. “A Jeep! I’ve always wanted to ride in a Jeep! And a red one too! I’m not kidding! This is like one of my all-time biggest dreams! Can you believe this? Come on, you guys, let’s hit it!”
She stood up in the middle of the backseat and held on to the roll bar, acting like she was in some kind of dune buggy race. The wild wind had totally destroyed their hair when they came out of the terminal, and now Paula’s short ends stuck up even more dramatically.
Bob helped Mom into the front seat, and Paula positioned herself snugly in the middle of the backseat. Christy stood her ground in the parking lot, fuming that Paula would try to pull off this seating maneuver, guaranteeing she’d sit next to Todd.
Todd began to climb into the backseat when Uncle Bob said, “You know, it’s just a suggestion, but you kids might consider letting the person with the longest legs sit in the middle. Like I said, it’s a tight squeeze, and long legs can fall asleep back there awfully quick.”
Paula slid to the side behind the driver’s seat. “You win, Todd! You have the longest legs.” Then she patted the seat, indicating right where he should sit.
Todd obliged. Christy made a less-than-graceful entrance and wondered how Paula managed to “gazelle” her way in so easily.
Bob was right. It was a tight squeeze, and Christy, being the last one in, found she had only enough room to sit on one hip, with her long legs crossed and tangled together. Mom fortunately was able to scoot her seat forward, allowing Christy a few more inches of wiggle space.
Paula chattered on, holding Todd’s attention while Bob put the Jeep in gear and hummed through the parking lot, down the narrow streets, past the airport, and out of town.
The adventure of riding in the Jeep in the warm air thrilled Christy until they were out of town. Then Bob picked up speed and zipped past the sugarcane fields. Christy’s hair whipped her face mercilessly. It became impossible to hear anyone talking, except Paula, who had no difficulty yelling her sentences of excitement.
She asked Todd what everything was as they passed it, and he was gracious enough to answer once for Paula, then lean forward and give the same explanation to Mom and Christy. He pointed out the pineapple fields, an old sugarcane mill, and the cloud-covered top of Haleakala, a ten-thousand-foot volcanic crater.
When they could see the ocean, he pointed out the neighboring islands of Molokini and Kahoolawe and then the pineapple island, Lanai, when it came into view.
They entered a short tunnel dug through the black volcanic rock, and for one wonderful moment the wind couldn’t tease Christy’s hair. She pulled all the tiny strands out of her eyes and mouth. Paula, of course, didn’t have that problem with her new short haircut.
The ride was annoying but not terrible. Being in the Jeep and next to Todd was a wonderful feeling in itself. Christy felt relieved, though, when they stopped at a red light in the first real town they came to and Bob said, “Our condo is about ten miles up the road. You guys going to make it?”
“Sure!” Paula answered for all of them.
Todd leaned over and told Christy, “This is Lahaina.”
“Is this where you lived?” she asked.
“Yeah, when I was a kid. It’s a great old town. A lot of history. One hundred and fifty years ago the whalers and sailors used to spend their winters here. But before the Westerners came, when it was unspoiled, the Hawaiian royalty lived here—surfed here too.”
“Really?” Christy asked. “Have you ever surfed in the same spot?”
Todd nodded. “My friend Kimo and I used to go there after school, and all the older guys would make fun of us because Kimo used a long board that belonged to his dad. Funky old wooden thing. Then one day this guy came to the beach and offered Kimo big bucks for the board to put it on display in some museum.”
“I bet the older guys stopped laughing then!” Christy said.
The light turned green, and they were on the move again, the wind scattering Todd’s answer. The wind, however, did not scatter his expression. He looked directly at her and smiled a real, honest Todd smile that showed his dimple. He’d been resting both his arms across the backseat for some time, but now he put his right hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Christy returned the warm smile, wishing she could completely relax and disconnect all her jealous, competitive feelings. She felt self-conscious about how her windblown hair must look. She also was uncomfortably aware that when Todd squeezed her shoulder, as romantic as that was, his arm crushed all the beautiful flowers on the back part of her lei.
Come on, Christy! Lighten up! You’re in Maui. Why are you worried about squished flowers and messed-up hair? He just squeezed your shoulder, not Paula’s. He’s glad you’re here!
Paula didn’t appear to feel self-conscious about anything as she eagerly pointed and said, “That’s more sugarcane, right?”
Todd nodded and talked directly to Paula, pointing out something on her side of the Jeep. Bob kept driving past condominium complexes until they finally pulled into an underground parking lot and parked the Jeep next to a light blue minivan.
The squeals of delight and excitement started all over again as they tumbled into the elevator and joked about their windswept hair. Even Todd’s short sandy-blond hair looked ruffled.
Bob’s two condos, located on the sixth floor, both had their front doors open, and the balmy sounds of Hawaiian music floated from one of the stereos.
“You made it!” Marti said when they converged on her. She looked startled. “We’ve only been here a few minutes, it seems. David went down to the pool, and I was about to call all the airlines to see which flight you were coming in on.”
It took her only a minute to regain her composure before starting in on room assignments. Christy and Paula were given the guest bedroom to share, and Mom had the master bedroom in that same unit. Todd and David shared the guest bedroom in the condo next door, and Bob and Marti, of course, had the master bedroom.
“Point me toward my luggage,” Paula said. “I want to change and hit the beach!”
Marti pointed, and Paula called over her shoulder, “Oh, Mr. Surf Instructor? Are you ready for my first lesson?”
“The big kahuna surf instructor,” Bob intercepted, “is on wallpaper duty this afternoon, I’m afraid. You girls go on down to the pool. It should only take us another two or three hours to get the wallpaper up in the bathroom.”
“Yeah,” Todd said good-naturedly, “two or three Hawaiian hours.”
“What’s that?” Christy asked.
“You’ll find out. People around here are on ‘island time.’ Two or three hours Hawaiian time usually turns out to be half a day mainland time.” With a smile to Christy, he added, “The big kahuna boss says I can have tomorrow off if I work real hard today. You want to see what we’ve done so far?”
Christy followed Todd around the condo, admiring the freshly painted walls and listening patiently to him explain how tricky it had been to peel off the three layers of wallpaper in the hallway. Todd obviously took real pride in his work, and that was fun for her to see.
When he went back to work with Bob, Christy stepped into the living room. She could hear Paula’s laughter bubbling up from the pool below, where she and David had begun a splash war. Mom and Marti stood on the front balcony, or lanai, as Marti called it, looking past Paula and David in the pool and admiring the turquoise-blue Pacific.
Christy joined them, breathing in the moist tropical air and noticing the perfectly clear blue sky. Everything looked exactly as she thought Hawaii would—tall palm trees swaying in the breeze, caramel-colored sand kissed endlessly by gentle white-laced waves, lounge chairs around a sparkling swimming pool, and Paula swimming in her new hot pink bikini.
Paula swimming in her new hot pink bikini!
Christy’s first instinct was a “sisterly” one—she’d tattle. “Mom,” she began very determinedly, “I need to talk to you about a few things.”
“Yes?” Mom looked surprised, probably because Christy usually didn’t come across so forcefully.
“Would you like me to leave?” Marti asked.
“No, it’s something you both need to know. It’s about Paula.”
Mom and Marti gave Christy their full attention.
“First of all, I found her one-piece bathing suit in the dirty clothes last night. I put it in my suitcase because I didn’t know if she forgot it or if maybe she was trying not to bring it.”
“But I paid for her new one.” Marti looked over the edge of the lanai. “She’s wearing the new one, so what’s the problem?”
Christy looked to Mom for backup.
Mom explained that she’d talked to Paula about wearing the one-piece for swimming, especially around the guys. “I think her mother would want her to dress a little more modestly than the pink bathing suit.”
Marti laughed and looked at Mom as if she couldn’t believe her own sister could be so prudish. “Around the guys? For goodness sake! That’s David down there swimming with her. David barely knows the difference between boys and girls yet. Certainly she doesn’t need to wear a one-piece for David’s sake!”
Mom didn’t answer.
Christy tried to reason with her aunt. “It doesn’t matter if it’s David or … or … Kermit the Frog! The point is, she said she’d wear the one-piece when she went swimming, and then she left it at my house. I think she did it on purpose, because she didn’t even miss it when she got here and changed to go swimming. She just put on the pink one, and now she’s swimming in it.”
Marti gave Christy another look that made her feel like a miserable little snitch. “She looks perfectly modest to me. I think you’re being childish, Christina. Could it be that you’re jealous of Paula’s lovely figure?”
Christy ignored the question and kept going, realizing she wouldn’t get anywhere with Marti on the bathing suit issue and not at all desiring to be openly compared with Paula in any area.
“Never mind the bathing suit, then. The main thing I wanted to talk to you both about was what happened at the airport. We weren’t exactly chased by anyone. Paula thought she saw some movie star, and we started to follow him and got lost. It was all our fault.”
Christy felt better for telling what really happened. What confused her were Mom’s and Marti’s responses.
Mom shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to say, Christy. Everything worked out. I actually think the problem was Marti letting you go on your own in the first place.”
“They were only going to get gum,” Marti snapped back at Mom. “I believed they were old enough and responsible enough to do that!”
“At an airport, Martha? Didn’t you think it would be slightly risky and that they might get lost?” Mom looked mad—not with Christy, but with her sister.
“If you hadn’t been so late getting us to the airport, none of this would’ve happened! We would’ve had plenty of time. So don’t try to blame me that you were late!”
A strange, choking pause followed. Mom retreated, putting up her hands in silent surrender. Christy wondered how many times over the years her mom had been the one to back down from her determined sister.
“Christy,” Marti said in a sugary controlled voice, “it would appear to me that you’re experiencing some sort of sisterly jealousy here with Paula. This is to be expected. After all, you two grew up together. You’ve been apart for a long time, and now it would be easy for you to be critical of her for many things just because she’s different from you. But that’s not fair to Paula, now is it?”
Are you talking about Paula and me or you and my mother? Christy gave a slight nod, which she knew Marti was waiting for.
“Now.” Marti put her shoulders back and stuck out her chin. “We are in paradise, and I suggest we all put the past behind us and concentrate on having a wonderful week together.”
With a wide smile and an air of confidence that made Christy wince, Marti turned to Mom. “Margaret? Why don’t we get ourselves something to drink? A diet soda? Christy, you really should go down to the pool and have some fun.”
Christy watched as her mother dutifully followed Marti into the kitchen, leaving her alone on the lanai. Her wad of angry thoughts stuck to the inside of her stomach like a pack of chewed bubble gum.
You don’t understand! This is serious! Paula is telling lies and getting away with it. She wants a boyfriend—my boyfriend—and she’ll do anything to go home with a “victory” to tell her friends about.
“Aren’t you going to join the others at the pool, Christy?” Marti called out in her silvery voice from the kitchen.
Everything inside Christy wanted to shout back, “No! Stop trying to run my life!” She held her tongue and her composure and walked past her mom and aunt without looking at them. Then stepping out the door and retreating into the condo next door, where her things were, Christy flopped onto the couch.
I’m going to show Paula that she can’t play any of her cutesy games around me! Maybe she can get away with it with everyone else, but I see right through her. And Todd will too!
Jumping up, Christy went straight to her suitcase and yanked out Paula’s “forgotten” one-piece bathing suit. She laid it out in the middle of Paula’s bed.
“Where did this come from?” Paula asked i
n an accusing tone, pointing at her old bathing suit on her bed. She and Christy had just come back from several hours down at the pool.
“Oh, I found it back at my house,” Christy answered in her most innocent voice. “I thought maybe you’d forgotten it, so I brought it along for you. Now you’ll have a bathing suit to swim in since you said you were only going to sunbathe in the bikini.”
Paula didn’t answer with words, but her face said plenty. She was fuming.
The rest of the evening, Paula ignored Christy and did her best to amuse and entertain everyone else, especially Todd.
Bob took all of them to dinner at a seafood restaurant that was within walking distance. The air felt as balmy as it had when they arrived in the afternoon. A sweet breeze was blowing that puffed up the short sleeves of Christy’s white T-shirt. Todd was in front of the group with David, and Christy was stuck in the back with Uncle Bob. Paula ended up in the middle between Mom and Marti, talking and laughing loud enough for all of them to hear.
At the restaurant, Mom, Bob, and Marti sat at one table, and Todd, Christy, Paula, and David sat at the table next to them.
“Order whatever you want, kids,” Bob said over his shoulder.
“I want either macaroni and cheese or a hamburger.”
“David, this is a seafood restaurant. You should order fish like everybody else,” Christy said.
“I’m not having fish,” Paula announced. “I hate fish!”
“You might like the fish here,” Todd said, looking over his menu. “They have a great variety, and it’s all fresh. You want to try some opakapaka? Or how about some hapu’upu’u?”
“No, thank you! I have a rule about not eating anything I can’t pronounce!” Paula smiled cutely and snapped her menu closed. “I’m having the New York steak, medium rare, so there.”
“How about you, Christy?” Todd asked.
He was sitting next to her, and she’d accidentally bumped his knee twice already. Now that he was looking at her, she could feel herself blushing. Or was the heat on her cheeks coming from a tiny bit of sunburn?