House of the Hanging Jade (27 page)

They both looked at me. I shook my head. “No. I definitely don't.”

Marcus looked from his father to me and said, “You're lucky Dad was around to take care of the guy. He might have hurt you even worse.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to say anything without going to pieces. “I'm glad you're okay,” Marcus said, then he took a snack and went out to wait for Liko.

Lars stepped closer to me and brushed his hand across my cheek very lightly. “I'm so glad I was home today. I don't even want to think of what would have happened if you had been here alone when Geoffrey showed up.”

I shuddered. “I don't want to think about it, either.” He kissed my lips ever so gently.

“Aren't you afraid that someone's going to see?” I asked.

“Not anymore. I learned this morning that I don't care who sees.” He kissed me again.

And indeed, someone did see. Justine made a tiny noise in the doorway and Lars and I turned to stare at her.

“What's going on?” she asked in her high-pitched voice.

Lars answered her. “Justine, it's probably time for you and your brother to know that Kailani and I have become very fond of each other.”

“But you and Mom—” she began.

“Are getting a divorce,” he finished. “Neither your mom nor I have been happy for a long time. Your mom is beginning a new life without me, and it's time for me to begin a new life too. Kailani makes me happy. And I think,” he said as he looked at me, “I make her happy too.”

I nodded. Justine looked from Lars to me and back to Lars. “Does Marcus know?”

“I don't think so,” Lars said. “I think it's time to tell him, though.”

Justine stood and nodded, not moving from the doorway.

“Move,” Marcus ordered from behind her. “I have to get in there.”

Justine slipped into the kitchen, watching her father. She raised her eyebrows at him, nodding toward Marcus.

“Marcus, there's something we need to discuss.”

“What?” Marcus asked, shoving a handful of rice cracker mix in his mouth.

“Kailani and I are—uh—in a relationship.”

Marcus cocked his head. “What do you mean by that?”

“It means that we're going to be spending a lot more time together and that I'd like you and Justine to get to know her better.”

Marcus nodded slowly. “Okay. What about Mom?”

“What about your mom?” Lars asked.

“Does Mom know about you and
her
?” Marcus asked, jerking his head in my direction.

“If she doesn't, she will soon,” Lars replied.

“Actually, she does know,” I spoke up. All eyes focused on me. “She asked me about it earlier. She's not mad, and she understands.” I looked at Marcus, hoping he too, could understand. I glanced at Lars, who was looking at me in surprise.

“I didn't know that,” he said.

“I just hadn't had a chance to talk to you about it yet.”

Marcus took his snack and walked out to the lanai.

I looked at Lars. “He didn't seem thrilled.”

“I know, but he's got a lot on his mind. I think he'll love the idea once he gets used to it. If Barbie can get used to it, Marcus certainly can.”

He kissed me again and went back to his office. Liko came looking for me just a few minutes later. “What did the doctors tell Barbie?”

“They said the baby is probably fine, since she didn't hit the ground that hard and the baby is still so tiny.”

“That's a relief.”

“Yeah.” Liko seemed pensive.

“What's up?” I asked.

“I asked her about the baby's father on the way home.”

“And?”

“She thinks it's me.”

Though I had known that was certainly a possibility, it came as a shock to hear Liko say it.

“But she's not sure?”

“She seemed pretty sure.”

“So what's next?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Lars will find out sooner or later. I should probably sit down and tell him like a man.” When I didn't say anything, he asked, “What do you think?”

“I agree—I guess. Is there a possibility that you and Barbie will raise the baby together?”

“I didn't ask her that.”

“Do you want to be involved in raising the child?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell her. Even if she doesn't want you involved, she can't keep you away from the baby if you're the father.
If
you're the father,” I repeated.

“So you think I should tell the kids?”

“You and Barbie need to make that decision together, but I would think you'd want Marcus and Justine to know before the baby is born.”

His shoulders slumped a bit and he looked tired. “Sort out your thoughts, and then go talk to Barbie and tell her what you want,” I advised.

“I will.”

I didn't see Liko again that evening except from a distance on the lanai. After he helped both kids with their homework, he vanished to the guesthouse and didn't return to the main house for dinner.

I served dinner to Barbie and the kids in the small dining area that night, because the wind was howling across the lanai. The kids and Liko had difficulty keeping their books and papers from flying away while they did homework, so I decided the small dining area would be calmer. I returned to the kitchen after I served the meal. I could hear knives and forks tinkling against the plates, but there wasn't much conversation until dinner was almost over.

“Mom, Kailani told us you know about her and Dad. How can you let her keep working here when she and Dad are fooling around?” Marcus asked.

“Because she's a very good cook and because it really doesn't bother me,” she answered simply.

“Why doesn't it bother you?” Justine piped up.

“I believe your father likes Kailani because she's everything I'm not, and that makes her interesting to him. I'm a medical professional; she's basically a servant. I've got classic European features; she has the plain features of the island natives. I'm sure your father finds that exotic, at least for now.”

I rolled my eyes.

She continued. “I care about the way I'm dressed, she obviously doesn't. You see? There are lots of things that separate me from Kailani.”

“But he chose her,” Justine said, a hint of confusion in her voice.

“That's because your father has decided he no longer wants to be married, Justine dear, and he wants to see what else is available,” Barbie replied, the tiniest hint of an edge in her tone.

“How do you two feel about it?” Barbie asked after a few moments of silence.

Marcus spoke first. “I think it sucks. Everything is ruined.”

“I feel funny around Kailani,” Justine added.

“Well, I really don't think your father's interest in Kailani is going to last. So don't worry about that. And Marcus, you'll see that it will be better for everyone once the divorce is final. I'll be happier, and someday you'll be happier too.”

I couldn't listen to their conversation any longer. I took a tray with plates of dessert out and set them down in silence. When I returned to the kitchen, I didn't bother eavesdropping on them—I went right to my den and sat down, flipping through television channels impatiently.

How dare she insinuate that the relationship between me and Lars was just a temporary fling? She has no knowledge of real love, real trust, real companionship. That's where we really differ.
I was furious.
How dare she imply to the kids that the divorce was simply because Lars didn't want to be married anymore? That she was blameless?

I waited to clear the table until they all went their separate ways. I couldn't look at any of them. It was no wonder Justine felt weird and Marcus was angry about the situation between me and Lars. Barbie was feeding them lies about us, letting them believe the divorce was the result of Lars's wandering eye.

Over the next few days, things were tense and quiet. I spent as little time around Barbie as I could. The kids didn't want much to do with me; Liko was only around to help with their schoolwork, and Lars was on O'ahu for business. Barbie recovered quickly, following her faint on the rocks, but she was still experiencing the sickness that went hand in hand with pregnancy.

She asked one evening if I would prepare a tray for her so she could eat dinner in her room. When I returned to see if she had finished her meal, I could hear voices from her sitting room. She was talking to Liko.

“. . . to be a part of your life when the baby is born. I want to help raise her. Or him,” he was saying.

Barbie murmured something, but I couldn't quite hear.

“We don't have to get married. I just want to be involved, that's all.”

“How come you're going there?” Liko asked.

Where?
I strained my ears to hear better.

“I'll visit you, then.”

More mumbled words.

“You can't keep me away from the baby. I have a right to be involved.”

I could hear a chair being scraped across the floor and I knew Liko would be heading downstairs any minute. I turned around and went down to the hallway below. When I heard his foot on the step above, I started up the stairs again. He looked glum.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“I'll tell you later.”

I continued up to Barbie's room and retrieved the tray. She thanked me from the bathroom, where I could see her puffy-eyed reflection in the mirror.

“Is everything okay, Barbie?”

“Not really,” she sniffled. “I've made quite a mess of things, haven't I?”

“It'll all work out,” I answered sympathetically. I felt sorry for her, despite the decisions she had made that had brought her to this place in her life.

“I'm not so sure. I'm moving to California when the baby is born,” she said.

I was surprised to hear it. “Really?” I asked dumbly.

She nodded. “I never wanted to leave there in the first place, but I understand why Lars brought us here. It was partly my fault.” I wanted to say it had been almost exclusively her fault, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Did Liko tell you he's the father of the baby?” she asked.

“Yes. Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Positive.”

It was none of my business, but I asked anyway. “Are you going to tell the kids?”

She looked at me sideways, as if agreeing that it was none of my business, but she answered. “We'll have to. Liko and I.” She put her head in her hands. “What a mess.”

“When are you going to tell them?”

“When the time is right.”

That was my cue to stop asking questions and leave her alone. I went back downstairs and continued making dinner for the rest of the family. Lars was due home in just a little while, and he had texted me that he'd like to have dinner with the kids.

It was wonderful to see him when he got home. He kissed me the way I wanted him to, not caring whether anyone saw us, and gave me a necklace he had bought in Honolulu.

I served dinner to him and the kids at the dining table on the lanai. He was full of stories of the surfers he had met on his business trip and some of their accomplishments. Marcus, especially, was in awe. “I'd love to spend more time on the water, Dad.”

Lars looked at him pointedly. “You keep those grades up and I'll see what can be done.”

Marcus grinned. I took dessert out for them and Justine noticed my necklace. “Where did you get that? It's really pretty.”

I fingered the dainty silver chain. “Your dad gave it to me.”

Justine beamed. “I love it. Maybe I can wear it sometime?” she asked.
Maybe she's thawing a bit
, I thought happily.

I laughed. “Of course you can.” Lars watched us happily, a big smile spreading across his face.

Later that night, when the homework was done and everyone had gone their separate ways, I was in the kitchen preparing the kids' school lunches for the next day. Liko came looking for me.

“Can you talk?” he asked.

“Sure. What's up?” He walked over to where I was standing, looking out at the dark Pacific waters with the moon glinting on the waves. He took a knife and helped me slice vegetables.

“Barbie is moving to California after the baby is born.”

“I know. She told me.”

“What should I do?”

“About what?”

“About seeing the baby.”

“I guess you'll have to move to California. Or at least visit often.”

“I can't move to California. I wouldn't fit in. I belong in Hawaii. But I want the baby to grow up knowing me. I want him to know his dad. Or her dad.”

“I don't know, Liko. That's a tough one.”

“I know,” he said miserably.

We were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't hear someone stealing quietly into the room. By the time I noticed anyone standing behind us, it was too late.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. Marcus stood with his back against the refrigerator, a small gun gleaming in his hand.

I dropped the knife I was holding. Liko, startled, turned around to see what I was looking at. I heard him inhale sharply.

“Marcus, what are you doing?” he asked.

“I came for Kailani because she's ruined everything. But it's a good thing I got here when I did, because now I know she's not the only one. You got my mom pregnant, didn't you?”