Racing to You ✓

30 | ka hale (home)

As Deandre had a tiny break in between his races, he indeed got to tag along with my family to Hawaii. I was bouncing off the walls with so much excitement that my parents had to apologise for my behaviour and assure Deandre that not all of our Hawaiian relatives were like me.

We started off doing touristy things -- swimming with dolphins with Dolphin Quest Oahu, visiting Manoa Falls, taking photos at the Diamond Head, and pretending I was a long-lost princess when we passed by the Iolani Palance. But the part of the trip we were looking forward to the most was the reunion with my ohana, my family.

My aunts, uncles, and cousins all welcomed him with open arms, but I had warned him that my grandparents would need a bit more convincing. The older generation all around the world definitely lived in a less multicultural, globalised world, and prejudices still ran rampant. For my family, that was directed towards non-locals. 

"Ah, Leilani," Tūtū, my grandmother chided. "He's not Hawaiian." 

"He's a nice person," I argued. "That's all that matters."

Tūtū Kane -- my grandfather -- had grunted. "Many nice Hawaiian boys."

It was only when they watched as Deandre complimented Māmā's poi, and dug into Makua's Loco Moco like there was no tomorrow, that they warmed up to him. 

"Didn't I tell you I make a mean Loco Moco?" Makua beamed. 

Deandre was nearly inhaling the food. I laughed and fake-frowned at Makua. "Shh, don't interrupt." 

When Deandre was helping Tūtū to clean up, I managed to sneak away for a quick moment, gathering my surprise from my cousin who made me promise to return a favour. When I returned, Tūtū was still telling Deandre embarrassing stories of my childhood, such as the time I was learning to fish with Tūtū Kane but ended up toppling over the side of the boat and screamed that it was karma coming back to bite me. 

"Deandre?" I asked innocently. "Can you come here for a while?"

Tūtū saw how I was attempting to hide something behind my back, and sighed with a smile. Deandre excused himself and headed towards me with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

I whipped out the small bouquet of hibiscuses from behind my back. "Surprise! These are for you."

He eyed the flowers, then dragged his gaze back up to meet mine. 

I faltered. "If you don't want them--"

"Who said I didn't?" He demanded, taking the flowers from me. "I just never received flowers before, so I didn't really know how to react." 

"Well, you've gotten some now," I countered. 

He smiled shyly, tilted my chin up so he could give my forehead a kiss. "Yes, thank you."

I grinned and grabbed his hand. "Let's get ready for family night!"

Family night was a tradition where we split into different groups and prepared performances for entertainment. Some danced, including me who performed a hula alongside my cousins, aunt and Tūtū. The stars of the night were definitely my parents though -- Māmā danced as Makua sang, with my uncles strumming and plucking their instruments. 

I watched Makua admiring Māmā as she moved to his voice, the pure love in his gaze making my heart melt. Māmā was also beautifully emoting the song lyrics, and I was overcome by gratitude. I glanced to Deandre beside me and was stunned by the raw emotion on his face. He caught me watching him, which made him hack out a dry cough. I smirked at his awkwardness, lacing my fingers with his and pulled him close. 

His eyes locked with mine. Deandre had always been a man of few words, but I didn't really need him to tell me how he felt as I could see the truth in his eyes, the care in his actions. I could not imagine going through all the ups and downs with anyone else. Our journey with each other had only just begun, and we had a long way to go, but we should also take pride in how far we had come. 

I rested my head on his shoulder and took in all the love that surrounded us in the room. 

My life was far from perfect, but it was definitely far from being imperfect too. 

- END -

Thank you so much for reading! Below are some videos that inspired this chapter.