Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
T hey discharge Kimo early in the morning. I think it might have something to do with me shadowing the doctor, asking intricate, detailed questions about home care for Kimo’s stitches and what I should be on the lookout for in terms of head trauma and when he’ll be able to get back to strenuous activity like exercising and sex and are there any painkillers he shouldn’t use and should he avoid alcohol and for how long...? And so on and so forth. All perfectly reasonable questions, I think you’ll agree, but the next thing I know, the nurse is all but shooing us out of the room. “He’s fine. Home rest will be the best thing for him. Go home .”
Luckily, Kimo is just as eager to get out of there. “I feel fine!” he reassures me when I worry, out loud, that he might be leaving prematurely.
I notice, though, that he isn’t above playing up the severity of his injury when it serves him. After the elevator door closes on us, and we’re alone together, he groans and leans his weight on me. “Oh, man. I feel a little unsteady. Can I hold on to you?”
My nerves are instantly on high alert. “Are you okay? Should we go find the doctor?”
Kimo leans heavily on me, pushing me back against the wall. One hand snakes down to cup my ass. “Just need something to hold on to for a moment,” he murmurs into my shoulder. His other hand slides down to cup my other butt cheek.
I roll my eyes, smiling despite myself. “Feel better?” I deadpan.
“Mmm. My strength does appear to be returning, but I better hold on a minute just to be sure.” His head dips down a bit further so he’s nuzzling my breasts. “This could be the cure. Let me keep doing this to find out...”
“Kimo!” Laughing, I shove him away from me, though not too hard.
By the time we’re in the parking lot, Kimo sees he has some missed calls from Jay, most likely due to the bad reception inside the hospital. Kimo calls him back right away, and I watch anxiously as Kimo paces up and down the rows of cars, deep in conversation.
When he returns to me, he looks dazed. “Pika confessed. Thad and Stan confronted him with phone records and some kind of CCTV footage they found, and he confessed. Not just to them—he made an actual statement to the police and everything.”
My eyes widen. I was right...? Even though I was the one to suggest it, I guess I didn’t believe it could all be that easy, since my mouth drops open with genuine shock. “To the kidnappings?” I clarify, just to make sure I haven’t misunderstood.
“He was behind all of them, except for the first one,” Kimo confirms. “I guess that’s what gave him the idea to stage fake kidnappings to try to get me to sign over my money. He’s being detained, and the custody case is being dismissed. Jay thinks Pika might be able to work out some kind of plea bargain if he signs away his parental rights and agrees not to sue for custody again, but he’ll be in touch once he’s spoken with Pika’s lawyer.”
“Kimo! That’s amazing.” I pull him into a tight embrace, as all the while my mind races. It’s all so much, so fast. Pika won’t be able to hurt Kimo anymore. The kidnappings will stop. Nalani and Makoa will be safe and happy and in Kimo’s custody.
Kimo will be free to go back to Hawai’i.
I can’t focus on that part now, though. I’m too genuinely thrilled for him, for the kids, for Aunty Kapono. This is everything they’ve wanted. Now their family can be safe and together. “I’m so happy for you,” I tell him sincerely.
Kimo remains silent. It takes me a moment to process that he’s crying. He laughs self-consciously, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hands, when I pull back to look at him. “What a big baby, huh?”
“Kimo.” The rush of tenderness I feel for this man nearly knocks me off my feet. He’s such a good man. I’ve been so lucky to get to know him. “Come here.”
I embrace him, holding him tight as he battles through the powerful emotions. Excitement. Relief. But also, the terror that comes when you get the thing you’ve always wanted and can’t quite believe it’s real. That’s a feeling I understand all too well. I’ll hold him for as long as he needs me.
...until I feel one cheeky hand sliding down to squeeze my butt again. “Kimo!” I snap at him, though I’m laughing.
“Sorry. Feeling unsteady again.”
I push away from him. “Come on, naughty boy. Let’s get you home...”
* * *
On the way home, we brainstorm how best to tell the kids. Kimo doesn’t want to scare them by telling them that their dad might be going to prison, and he doesn’t want to sour them against Pika by telling them he was behind the kidnappings. Someday, if Pika rehabilitates and grows up, he might want to have a real relationship with his kids, and Kimo doesn’t want to turn him into an evil bogeyman. When the kids are a bit older and can understand it better, he’ll tell them the whole truth. For now, he decides, he’ll explain that Pika made a mistake and needs some time to make it right, so for the time being they’ll need to stay with Kimo.
The kids cheer when they hear the news they’ll be staying with Kimo. Aunty Kapono bursts into tears. I watch Kimo wrap her up in his arms, and then he pulls the kids over so they’re all huddled together, and I feel like my heart is too big for my chest. I am so, so happy for them.
I also know I don’t belong here for this moment. The only question is how to tactfully excuse myself.
“We need to celebrate!” Kimo enthuses after a moment. “What should we do?”
“Chuck E. Cheese!” the kids shout in near unison.
Despite my worry about overstepping my boundaries, I have to laugh at their enthusiasm. I remember how much Alina and Sasha loved it there when we were kids. I guess some things never change. I suppose I must have loved it at some point, too, though it’s hard for me to remember what it was like being a kid; it passed me by so quickly.
“I should go,” I speak up before any half-hearted invitations can be extended—or worse, before Kimo pulls me aside and tells me this is a family thing and he’ll call me later. “I have so much work to catch up on.”
Kimo looks personally affronted by this news. “Mattie, you have to come.” He levels me with a faux-stern look. “Don’t make me play the kidnapping card.”
“Come!” Nalani begs me, pulling on my hand, and Makoa shouts at the top of his lungs, “Let’s go!!!” which isn’t directed specifically at me, but still feels like I’m being included in his enthusiasm.
I can’t help the quick glance I dart at Aunty Kapono as I brace myself for her snide comment. To my surprise, she smiles at me. “Tell your work it can wait. I can speak to your boss if you need me to.”
“She will, too,” Kimo mutters to me. “Don’t call her on her bluff.”
I’m so stunned by Aunty Kapono’s kind words, her smile , I say nothing. For a moment, I actually wonder if she’s plotting to poison my pizza, but I decide it isn’t likely. Not impossible , but not likely. “O-okay,” I stammer finally. “I’ll come.”
“Wonderful.” Aunty Kapono shoos Kimo toward the stairs. “You, go wash off all those hospital germs and put on some proper clothes. Kids, go find your shoes—matching ones!”
Everyone disperses, leaving me alone with Aunty Kapono. She’s still smiling at me, but it feels like a trap. I gulp.
“Come sit a moment and chat with me.” The way Aunty Kapono says it, it’s not a request. I woodenly follow her, taking the seat she motions me toward, but sitting on the edge of the chair, in case I need to make a quick escape.
For a long moment, she just regards me. I regard her, too, but with nowhere near her level of calm. I’m afraid if my eyes get any wider they’re going to pop out of my head.
“Do you love my son?” she asks me finally.
I wish this couch would swallow me whole. I’ve barely been able to admit this to Kimo. I’ve barely been able to admit this to myself. Am I going to have to admit this to everyone in Kimo’s family, too?
But because Aunty Kapono’s expression tells me she both suffers no fools and takes no prisoners, I sigh and squirm uncomfortably. “Yeeeees?” It’s probably the least convincing way that anyone has ever confessed to loving someone. I clear my throat and try again. “Yes. I...care a great deal for him.” Not wanting her to misread me like she did before with the “not the girlfriend” comment, I realize I’ll need to show more enthusiasm. “I love him, okay? I love him!”
“Why?”
Oh, God. Some of the sisters in my order had warned me that I would be punished for breaking my vows, but I didn’t know it would be this awful. “Because he’s...good. He’s a terrible dresser and a terrible singer, but a good cook. He makes me laugh. He makes me feel...safe.” I press my eyes shut, unable to look at her as I say the next part. “He’s only been in my life a short time, but I already don’t know what I’ll do without him.”
Silence. I crack open an eye to see Aunty Kapono smiling at me again. This is the Aunty Kapono I suspected was there from day one. She is all warmth and kindness, and for the first time, I see what Kimo inherited from her. “I owe you an apology, Matilda. Kimo...his heart is so big. He trusts so easily. He’s had people take advantage of that, even before the money, but you can imagine it only got worse afterward. I couldn’t bear to see his heart broken again. But when I saw the way you rallied people to find him, how you forced him to finally get that security detail I’ve been nagging at him to get for over a year...I couldn’t be blind to it anymore. I know you really care. And I’m sorry I didn’t see that before.”
To my surprise, she leans forward and hugs me. I reciprocate, but I’m so surprised, I’m sure my body is stiff as a board. This is going to take some getting used to.
Still, I smile hopefully at her as she pulls back, beaming at me as she squeezes my face. “So pretty. And tall. You’re going to give my son beautiful babies, aren’t you?”
A shocked, choking sound escapes my throat. Boy, she doesn’t mess around, does she? Yesterday she hated my guts, and now she can’t wait for me to start producing grandchildren. “Uhhh...”
As with before, though, Aunty Kapono’s statement didn’t seem to be a question so much as a proclamation. “And don’t worry about your job. You’ll be able to get one easy in Hilo. I know everyone there is to know.”
At the h-word, something heavy and leaden sinks in my stomach. “Oh, well, I’m not sure that, uh...”
“We’ll need to get back before Labor Day, before the kids start school, so you might want to give your notice soon.”
I force myself to say the words. “Kimo hasn’t asked me to go.”
For one, stupid moment, I hope that Aunty Kapono will have some logical explanation to offer, that she’ll wave away Kimo’s behavior, tell me of course it’s as serious for him as it is for me. But the look of surprise on her face is all the confirmation I need that what Kimo and I have is about to be over.
“Oh,” she says uncertainly, frowning to herself. Then she blinks, and forces a smile at me. “Well, we can figure all that out later. Where are those kids...?”
She rises to her feet and hustles out of the room—eager, I’m sure, to get away from the awkwardness of having basically confirmed to me that Kimo is planning on breaking up with me before he goes back to Hawai’i.
For a moment, I just sit on the couch, listening to Aunty Kapono scold the kids for getting distracted by something in the backyard, and to Kimo singing off-key in the upstairs shower. Kimo . I should have known. I should have known that someone who could love so easily couldn’t be trusted to love for long.
The thing is, I don’t even blame him. I’m not angry at him for breaking my heart. I’m surprised to find I don’t even regret it. It was so, so perfect, even if it wasn’t meant to be mine.
But I also can’t just wait for the Band-Aid to be peeled off slowly. Kimo will try to be kind about it, I know, try to soften the blow, but that will be the thing that kills me—clinging to the rock of hope, as the waves keep bashing me up against it.
I let myself out quietly. When I’m a few blocks away and no longer able to keep myself from sobbing, I call the only person I’m confident will be there for me, no matter what.
“What is it?” Helen asks when she hears my sobs. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry to keep needing you for things—” I start, but she cuts me off swiftly.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Matilda. I’m here. What do you need?”