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NOELANI SAT IN THE wooden chair located in Alani's nursery, her left hand held aloft in front of her and the seat underneath her rocking back and forth.
Truth be told, Noelani had yet to get used to the weight of the ring. The mixture of the size of the gems and the huge show of commitment was making that certain finger heavy. She kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the appearance of the ring to get easier to swallow but Jalen had proposed five days ago and it still felt like she was trying to swallow a golfball.
She began to twist the ring by the band around her finger over and over again, too immersed in her thoughts to focus on anything else.
Once again, the vision of Noelani in 1950's garb ran through her head like Usain Bolt, the image effectively chilling her to the bone.
The sound of someone rapping a finger against the closed door caused Noelani to blink and then look up, "Come in."
Her mother, Anela, peeked her head in, "My granddaughter up?"
Noelani shook her head, "She's not here. Jalen took her to his moms."
"What are you doing in here then?" Anela entered the room and closed the white door behind her.
Noelani lifted one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug, "I think better in here. I don't know."
"Thinking about what?" Anela crossed to the other side of the room, where the window was placed and flicked up one of the blinds to peer outside.
Noelani remained quiet, turning her head down to her hands placed on her lap.
"Noelani, I asked you a question." Anela raised a brow then pushed back her long wavy hair, once black, now turning gray.
Noelani smiled at her mother, "Full name? Really, mom?"
"I thought it would work," Anela chuckled a little, "But what's on your mind? Bounce off of me."
Noelani pursed her lips a little, "You know that Alani's never been to Hawaii? She doesn't know where she's from."
"She knows where she's from," Anela replied in a casual tone before turning away from the window, "This is where she's from. She's gonna be a California girl for life but that's okay."
Noelani glanced up at her mother before continuing to twist the ring around her finger. The movement caught Anela's eye and she crossed the room once more in three strides to take her left hand, "I never did get a chance to see the ring up close. This is super pretty."
