The Aloha Quilt (31 page)

“I’m not leaving until the end of March.” Months away, plenty of time for—for what?
Bonnie wasn’t sure what he wanted, what she wanted.

“Eh, well—” He shrugged and sighed, and she understood what that meant. What did it
matter whether she was leaving in four months or four days? She was leaving, so what
was the point of getting involved and setting themselves up for heartache?

There was nothing more to say, so they rode in silence the rest of the way back to
the inn. Hinano walked her to the door, but when she thanked him for the wonderful
day, he grinned and said it was his pleasure, but he didn’t put his hands on her shoulders
again, he didn’t kiss her, and he said nothing more to suggest that they might make
that second trip to Oahu so he could show her the beautiful view from the summit of
Diamond Head.

Chapter Eleven
 

For days afterward, Claire and Midori pressed Bonnie for details about her excursion
to Oahu with Hinano. Bonnie shared every detail about her impressions of the Queen’s
Quilt—which her friends had already seen—but said nothing of the kiss, nothing to
imply that the sightseeing trip had been a date in the romantic sense, nothing to
suggest it was an outing that might ever be repeated. They drew their own conclusions.
Midori eyed her curiously for a few days and had one heated phone conversation with
her nephew that she abruptly ended when Bonnie entered the room, but otherwise she
never mentioned Hinano. Claire, naturally, was less able to conceal her expectations
for the aftermath of the date, which she insisted upon calling it. “Do you think you’ll
go out with him again?” she asked one evening.

Bonnie furrowed her brow as if she had not considered it until that moment. “I guess
so, if he thinks of something else I should add to the campers’ itinerary.”

Claire fell into the habit of looking up expectantly whenever Bonnie’s cell phone
rang, frowning in puzzlement each time she learned that the caller wasn’t Hinano.
Over time, her
frowns turned into scowls. “He still hasn’t called?” she demanded a week later.

“Who hasn’t called?” Bonnie asked.

“Hinano, of course.”

“He’s called his aunt.”

“What about you?”

“Why should he call me? We’re friends, that’s all. I’m not sure where you got the
idea that there’s anything more going on between us. I’m still married, Claire.”

“In name only.”

“But that’s enough. I’m married, and I’m not dating anyone until I’m not.”

Bonnie wasn’t sure whether she was fooling anyone, but she was determined to try.
Claire insisted upon being indignant on her behalf. Once Bonnie even caught her exploring
the revenge websites again, although as usual Claire closed her web browser the moment
Bonnie stepped into the office.

“What are you trying to hide?” she teased to deflect attention from her own issues,
but when Claire blanched and fumbled to explain, Bonnie assured her she was only joking.

Sometimes she was tempted to call Hinano with the excuse that she needed more information
about some of the items on his list of must-see Maui attractions, and once she almost
stopped by his music shop to ask him about his grandmother’s antique Hawaiian flag
quilt. Each time she managed to talk herself out of doing anything potentially embarrassing.
Hinano was right. They were better off as friends. She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t
find Hinano attractive, that she didn’t wish she could spend more time in his company
getting to know him better, that she didn’t imagine what it would be like to be in
his arms—but she was still married, and that meant something to her. She hadn’t been
with anyone but Craig in
more than thirty years, and it was unsettling to find herself dealing with emotions
and desires that she had never expected to feel again, and wondering what Hinano felt
and wanted. And not knowing. And being both eager and afraid to find out.

But in the end it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be in Hawaii long enough for anything
real or lasting to develop between them. And yet she couldn’t be sorry that she had
fallen for him or that he had, maybe, fallen for her. She had assumed that she was
long past the time in her life when anyone would find her attractive or desirable,
and it felt good to be proven wrong, to be admired by a man who possessed so many
qualities that she herself admired. His absence and the thought of what might have
been pained her, but she knew in time those feelings would pass and she would learn
to think of him fondly and without regret.

In the meantime, it was better not to see him, which made a sad joke of the idea that
they were friends.

Christmas approached, and at last C.J. and his family arrived for their much-anticipated
visit. Claire gave them the best rooms in the inn, and Bonnie enjoyed showing them
all of her favorite places in Lahaina. The children loved the beaches and the stories
Midori told them of Christmas in Hawaii—of Santa arriving in an outrigger canoe instead
of the sleigh he preferred for colder climates, of children leaving sushi and juice
for him on Christmas Eve instead of cookies, of Hawaiian residents buying Christmas
trees shipped from the mainland in refrigerated containers while others decorated
backyard palm trees, and of celebrating with
kanikapila
, informal parties with music, after church services. Midori taught them how to say
Mele Kalikimaka
instead of Merry Christmas, to make the
shaka
sign, a fist with thumb and pinky extended, to say
aloha
.

On Christmas Eve, Bonnie called family and friends back
on the mainland and phoned Elm Creek Manor to ask Sylvia to pass along her good wishes
and thanks to the other Elm Creek Quilters. They had sent her a Christmas box full
of treats to remind her of home, including Anna’s delicious quilt block cookies, a
new CD from her favorite Pennsylvania folk ensemble, Simple Gifts, and a bundle of
fat quarters with the pattern of her beloved homespun plaids but in delightfully bright
tropical colors. Bonnie felt her heart softening toward her estranged friends as she
unwrapped each small treasure, reminded anew of how well they knew her and how much
they still cared.

Perhaps if she returned to Elm Creek Manor in the spring, things between them could
be as they had always been.

On Christmas Day, Claire, Midori, and Bonnie hosted a Christmas luau for their guests,
with a delicious buffet and a succulent roast pig cooked in the new underground
imu
Eric had built. Hinano and some of his friends came to celebrate and provide the
musical entertainment, but Kai did not accompany them. When the band took a break
and Bonnie managed to catch Hinano alone, she asked him how he was managing without
his son. Hinano managed a smile and said that he was doing okay but he planned to
smother his sorrows with his aunt’s fantastic cooking. It was their first conversation
since their trip to Oahu, and after they ran out of things to catch up on, they exchanged
a few awkward smiles before Hinano said, “This is stupid. Come here.” He wrapped her
in a bear hug, planted a kiss on her cheek, and murmured, “Mele Kalikimaka, snowbird.”

It felt wonderful to have his arms around her, and yet sad, because he released her
so quickly and he could have made the same gesture to any other woman at the party.
She was indeed no more than a friend to him, and she would have to content herself
with that.

Aside from those moments, Bonnie enjoyed spending the holiday week with her son and
his family, but all too soon the days passed and the time came to prepare for their
return journey. On his last day in Hawaii, C.J. asked Bonnie if he could accompany
her on her morning walk. Since her tall, athletic son typically began each day with
a brisk, eight-mile run, rain or shine, Bonnie knew he was more interested in talking
to her alone than the exercise.

They had not spoken about Craig during C.J.’s visit except on Christmas Day, when
Bonnie had urged him to call his father. C.J. had flatly refused, and seeing Bonnie’s
distress, Julie suggested that she have the children call and wish their grandfather
a Merry Christmas instead. C.J. had settled for that, but he brushed off Bonnie’s
protests that he couldn’t refuse to speak to his father forever. “We have nothing
to say to each other,” C.J. told her while Julie took the children out to the lanai
where the reception on her cell phone was better. “What he did is unforgivable and
I’ve lost all respect for him.”

After all Craig had done, how could Bonnie persuade her son otherwise?

They had almost reached Courthouse Square when C.J. abruptly changed the subject from
his travel plans to his father. “Dad’s pressuring all three of us to give him your
address and new phone number,” he said. “Tammy tells him not to put her in the middle
anytime he brings any of this up, but Barry’s wavering. Last time I spoke to him,
he told me he feels sorry for Dad and thinks that all you two need is a chance to
talk and you’ll work everything out.”

“Barry can’t really believe that,” said Bonnie, astonished. “I’ve told him we passed
that point long ago.”

“But that was before Terri dumped Dad,” said C.J., rushing through the other woman’s
name as if to minimize the sting.

Bonnie stopped short. “She did what?”

“She broke it off after she was subpoenaed. You knew about that, right?”

“Yes, she was going to testify about Craig’s adultery. But the hearing was cancelled
when Craig stopped claiming he was trying to reconcile with me.”

“The damage was already done. Her ex-husband heard about the subpoena and the truth
came out. He’s taking her to court to get sole custody of their children.”

“Oh, those poor kids, to have their home thrown into such chaos.” Then she had another
thought. “How do you know all this?”

“Dad told Barry and Barry told me. Terri told Dad that their relationship is over,
she has to put her children first, and that he shouldn’t contact her ever again.”

Bonnie resumed her walk at a brisker pace. “It’s too bad she didn’t put her children
first from the beginning. All this ugliness could have been avoided.”

“Dad’s frantic,” said C.J., catching up to her in two quick strides. “He’s tried everything
to reach Terri short of showing up on her front porch, but she won’t have anything
to do with him.”

“So even though your father clearly prefers his other woman, Barry assumes now that
your father’s single, so to speak—”

“He’ll come running back to you.”

Bonnie sighed. Her poor youngest baby, so hopeful, so mistaken. “Could you talk some
sense into him?”

“I’ve tried and so has Tammy. He won’t listen. I thought you should know.”

Bonnie thanked him and resolved to send Barry a loving but firm email as soon as they
returned to the inn. He had to accept the hard, bitter truth that she and Craig were
finished.

And so, apparently, were Craig and Terri. Bonnie wanted not to care, but she couldn’t
help a tiny glimmer of satisfaction that their passionate romance had fizzled as soon
as reality had dumped a cold bucket of water upon it.

After C.J. and his family departed, the inn seemed quiet and lonely without her grandchildren’s
happy patter and their inexhaustible supply of hugs and kisses and questions. The
new year came, and once the holiday bustle had subsided, Bonnie again found solace
and contentment in her Pineapple Patch quilt. Every day, no matter how busy she was
preparing for the upcoming teacher interviews, she made time to add a few stitches
to her quilt, joining the emerald green appliqué to the creamy ivory background. Midori
often complimented her on her progress, as did the Laulima Quilters. Soon, they assured
her, she would be ready to layer and baste the finished top, and they would be ready
ro assist her with threaded needles.

A few days into the new year, Bonnie and Darren had a long phone conference to discuss
the divorce proceedings, which were at last back on course. Any relief Bonnie might
have felt was quashed when Darren told her about Craig’s reaction to the news, given
to him in a meeting with their lawyers, that Bonnie had sold her share of Elm Creek
Quilts and that he would receive only $2,500 as his half of the profits. He had overturned
a chair, thrown a glass of water against the wall, and lunged across the table at
Darren shouting threats. Security had come running to escort him from the building.