As I walked out of the dressing room in my deep red one piece, I leaned over the counter of the Surf Shop. I studied each board, deciding on which one to use for today's activities. "Trying to find the one?" Gary asked, interrupting my thoughts.
He was standing in the the corner of the shop putting shirts into a box. "Still have her?" I asked with a half smile on my face.
"Lani?" Gary scoffed, "That old girl has been waiting for you."
I smiled and watched as Ethan escaped from the back and brought her in. She was a creme colored board with, pops of sapphire Hawaiian flowers gliding down. Gary had her custom made in Hawaii ages ago.
I reached over the counter to grab Lani. I ran my fingers over the edges and beamed at the view of her. It had been a while since I took her out. I guess I just got caught up in other things during our summers and stopped surfing. Even Melanie had stopped surfing, because of her time-consuming job.
"I don't think I ever told you why I named her Lani," Gary assumed, "You were very young at the time."
I looked up from the board and stared at Gary, waiting for his response. My brother gathered to the side of Gary to listen.
Gary glanced at Ethan, then back at me. "Well Ethan, let's start with yours."
"Kekoa?" Ethan chuckled, "To be honest I always thought that was a weird name."
"Well, when you were younger you looked out for your sisters unlike any brother I've ever seen before. You would make sure no other boy was messing with them, and you always acted brave. So Kekoa in Hawaiian meant Warrior."
"Sounds about right," Ethan boasted.
Gary chuckled, "Son, you still have a lot more to learn. Wives are different than sisters."
"What about Melanie's? What does Kumu mean?" I asked.
"Ahhh...Kumu means teacher. Melanie was a great surf teacher," Gary recalled, "She caught the hang of the waves so quickly that she taught you and your brother the tricks. It's a shame though," He paused. "She was one of my best students, it's kind of unfortunate that I haven't seen her surf in a while."
As much as Gary loved me and my brother, he really loved my sister. She was always into surfing and often taught the younger levels. She stopped, though, because she believed there was no job in it. Gary had offered to help train her for professional competitions, but when she entered college she left it behind. Now, while my brother loves surfing, he prefers making the boards and holding up the shop. But, when they were younger, Ethan would always watch Melanie surf and help guide her. Sometimes they would be out on the sand for hours upon hours just constantly perfecting each other's surfing. Sometimes my brother would ask Gary for help in making new boards for Melanie to try.
I shifted my stance as Gary grabbed a toothpick and placed it on the edge of his mouth.
"Quinn, my dear, your board Lani means Heaven and Sky."
