Ova Da Rainbow: HAWAII'S STORY (3)

Puakenikeni

May, 1966

As promised, Hawaiʻi took Linda and her father on the best tour she could think of. It was all for Linda, really, filled with bright colours. They went by Chinatown, which Hawaiʻi was about to introduce them to an old friend... before she remembered May was gone.

Sometimes she caught herself slipping, lowering her guard. She would launch into some story and have to stop herself before she revealed too much. There was something about Linda that made it hard to lie to her, so she avoided talking about things she'd have to lie about whenever possible.

Their day ended on the pier, where Linda had wanted to stop to feed the fish. It was a nice day, almost over. Hawaiʻi smiled a little at the girl and her excitement, and closed her eyes. "So, Mr. Southgate, what did you think?"

"It was amazing. I couldn't help but notice that everyone knew very little about Miss Hawaiʻi."

"Oh, she's very secretive." Hawaiʻi laughed, taking off her slipper and dipping her foot in the water. "Lives alone in the middle of nowhere when she's not in that country world. A lot of people think she's given up on the islands."

"Why would that be?" Bobby asked, interest in his voice.

"Because she hates tourists." Hawaiʻi grinned. "Sure, once you're here she'll be really nice and friendly, but that woman will talk smack behind your back for years to come."

"You seem to know a lot about her." Bobby said.

"Only common knowledge. And I pride myself to know a bit." Hawaiʻi shrugged. "Why? Can't a lady know things?"

"I will say that it could be dangerous for a woman to know so much. Aren't you getting a little old to be this aloof?" Bobby asked, and Hawaiʻi rolled her eyes. "Ever think about settling down?"

"Twenty.... Twenty is not that old." Hawaiʻi said, forgetting what age she was supposed to be. "And I'm fine with my life right now."

Bobby looked sceptical, but seemed to shrug it off. "So, do you know why I moved here?"

"Just from bits and pieces from Linda." Hawaiʻi said, shrugging. "It wasn't my business, so I didn't pry too much."

That was a lie. She often tried to phrase questions just to get more information about Linda's home life. It sort of scared her half the time.

"It's not really a story I like to tell people." Bobby said, sighing. "But Linda likes you, and it seems she's given a lot of information to you as it is."

"It's really nothing." Hawaiʻi said, waving her hand.

"I moved here because my sister Penelope's husband asked me too. Penelope... she's... different. Always has been." Bobby said, sighing. "Anyways... Linda's mother and I disagreed on moving here. Our marriage had already taken a turn for the worse, so I had figured she would pull something like this."

Hawaiʻi couldn't help but feel like there was a bit of truth in his words. Linda had praised her father every time they talked about him, and this did follow up with everything Linda had said before. Part of it made Hawaiʻi feel bad about judging Bobby so harshly in the beginning. Maybe she was just paranoid.

"After 10 years of marriage, I thought my life was set. I never saw it coming. Now she's living in the family home that I worked so hard to provide for Linda and her." Bobby said, and shrugged. "Oh well, it's been nice in the islands, you know? Lots of new things. And the work here isn't that shabby, and Linda can go to a nice school for half the year.

"You're a good father." Hawaiʻi said, smiling. She then looked back at Linda, who was busy throwing bread to the fish in the pier. "When is she going back to the mainland?