Chapter 15
PALLAS
While his team had spent most of the day helping to set up the static displays, including an Osprey like the one they used as a transport, a good number of the team stuck around to either enjoy the festival or help out.
Pallas was only too happy to help out while he was waiting for Kawehi to get there.
He was kind of surprised that Axl hadn't run for the hills.
He was watching the open hangar doors almost as much as he was.
"Hey, mister!"
Pallas looked down and saw three little girls looking up at him. They were all wearing Girl Scout uniforms of some kind. While he probably wouldn't get to know their names, one had a pair of braids, another had hair that came down to her chin and the last had a ponytail, probably the most accurate name for a hair style.
"Yes?"
Braids was the one at the front of the trio. She pointed at the Osprey that he was standing next to. "Do you fly this thing?"
He shook his head. "No, but I've traveled in it a lot."
The little girl with a short bob cut folded her arms across her chest. "You guys use planes? I thought planes were Air Force."
He nodded. "They do have planes, but the Marines do, too."
Ponytail reared back. "What? What about the Army?"
He nodded. "Army has pilots and so does the Navy."
"Navy?" Pixie was back in the conversation. "They're in the water, right? Navy. Ocean. Submarines and stuff."
Braids shook her head, one of the bows at the end of her braids whipping around her head started to untie itself. "Remember Top Gun? He's Navy."
Pixie narrowed her eyes. "They flew fighter planes. Remember when Goose-" she cupped one hand around her mouth and whispered, "died."
Ponytail nodded. "Yeah. They have planes, but they're on battleships."
Pallas bent his knees to crouch down and look at the girls almost straight in the eye. "You're all right. Sometimes we also have to cooperate to get ourselves around the world to help people."
Pixie shook her head as her brow furrowed. "If you have to help each other, why not just have one big military?"
"I doubt that would work. At least now, I mean." Braids was trying to retie her bow, frowning at it as she spoke. "You know that fight your dad and my dad were having about girls being in the Boy Scouts?"
Pixie nodded her head solemnly. "Yeah?"
"I'm guessing it's like that. Some people like it just the way it is for whatever reason. And some people like to change things and see if that works." She sighed and gave up the ghost, letting the ribbon ends go. "I don't really care but I'm betting some people are going to be really unhappy."
Pallas squinted at the three in the oddly lit area of tarmac. "Are you three eighty or eight?"
Pixie looked right at him and gave him the definitive answer. "We're ten!"
"I knew it," he addressed the girls. "And you're all smart. I can tell."
Braids turned her head slightly to the side. "Right. You better not forget it." The three girls nodded before Braids spoke up again. "So, are you going to give us a tour or just stand around down here?"
Pixie looked up at the interior of the Osprey and then turned back to look at him. "One day I'm going to fly something like this."
He grinned. "As a Marine pilot?"
She shrugged. "I'll have to think about it, but I don't mind Pink Camo. What branch of the military has pink camo?"
"Uh... I don't think they do."
Pixie shrugged. "It's okay. I don't mind. I like a lot of colors. I'll be okay."
She reached up and took his hand.
As they walked inside the Osprey with a couple of adults wearing matching T-shirts with a troop number on the front, Pallas smiled. The girls were smart. Really smart. He wondered what it would be like to have a little girl. Would she be as forthright with her speech? Would she walk right up to people and ask questions?
He thought of Kawehi and then his own personality. They were both pretty reserved people as it was, but together, they were... different.
Better.
Maybe if they had a daughter, she'd have the best of both of their characters.
He hoped so.
"Mister?" He looked down near his free hand. Braids was standing there, an impish look on her face. "Think we can get a ride in this thing tonight?"
Pallas shook his head. "Sorry, we don't have a pilot available."
Braids shrugged. "Can we kick the tires?"
Behind her, Pallas thought he saw Braids' mother. She had her teeth clenched together and a nervous look about her.
"I don't think it would be good for the tires."
Pixie tugged on the hand she was holding. "It's okay, who needs tires on a plane?"
"Well, tires are very important on a plane."
Ponytail walked up until they were nearly toe-to-toe. "There aren't any roads in space."
"Or in the air." Pixie again.
Braids was starting to take her carefully braided hair apart. "So what about the wheels? My dad says that wheels don't matter when you're in the air."
He had to agree. "Sure. I get that, but when you're landing, wheels are pretty awesome to have."
The little girl shrugged then looked up at him again. "Can I sit in the pilot's chair?"
"Sure." He walked them all up to the front.
KAWEHI
The only breath of space they got was going through the metal detectors at the entrance of the hangar, but once inside it was an absolute crush. When they shifted around a corner of the maze of tables and booths, Kawehi managed a full chest breath. "Wow."
Maile shook her head and tried to take a step to the side but was nudged closer again. "I can't wait to get out on the other side. If this was a club, I'd be okay, but you know what this reminds me of?"
Kawehi turned her head. "Hmm?"
"Those videos they showed us about cows being led to slaughter."
Kawehi's nose scrunched up a little. "Not a great image in my head. Thanks."
Maile shrugged and that jostled Kawehi a little.
Laughing, Kawehi caught sight of a bathroom door just behind a booth offering local snacks. "Hey," she had to lean down a little as the volume of the room had gotten louder. "I think we're going to be in here for a bit. I'm going to make my way toward the bathroom."
Her arm was caught by her cousin. "I'll come with you."
"If you want, but with how slow the crowd is moving, I can probably get back to you before you get to the door."
Maile gave her a look that was more of a grimace. "Okay, but I don't know how you're gonna find me in this crush."
"Then come with me. There might be another way out of the hangar that we can see from the wall."
The two of them managed to change direction in the crowd and head toward the marked bathroom door along the wall.
NICK
He saw the two in the crowd and rolled his eyes as Maile started to follow Kawehi through the crowd.
Kawehi's cousin didn't like him. At. All.
The feeling was mutual.
Sure, she'd come to the wedding with the rest of the family, crowding into the tiny office for their civil ceremony, but she'd made it very clear behind Kawehi's back that she was watching him.
And that was one of the reasons he was so relieved to get away from the islands.
Welcoming? Hospitality? Right.
He leaned out from his place along the way and saw where they were heading.
Nice.
Kawehi was heading toward the bathroom. He should have known that was where she was heading. She was always the one to plan ahead.
He'd be the one wanting to get in and get to the fun.
They really sucked as a couple. He'd thought that they would be better than that. He thought she would have been grateful for all the attention he'd shown her. All the love he'd showered on her, but she was always going to work in the alley. Her family owned it! Why would she have to go to work all the time?
When he was home, he wanted to enjoy himself. He wanted a wife who was sweet and loving. He wanted a wife who was there when he got home. Someone who made his home a happy place. Not someone who worked more than he did!
He felt a muscle tick in his jaw, and he could feel his face heating up with anger.
Pushing away from the wall, he moved along the wall just outside of the table maze and moved closer to the bathroom. He'd been to the bowling alley looking for her but heard that she was taking the night off to go to the festival with her 'boyfriend.'
Yeah, they were going to have a talk.
If she was taking nights off for this guy but not for him? Yeah, they had something to talk about before they figured out how to get himself free of this mess with Charmaine.
He hadn't gone more than three of four steps before his phone went off.
Fuck!
He stopped and jammed his finger into the button to answer the call. "What?"
"Oh no! You did NOT just answer the phone like you're mad, Nicki! I'm the one who should be mad here!"
Nick snarled at himself silently. "Sorry, baby. There's so much noise here and people everywhere. I'm mad at them not you, sweetness."
"Right." She huffed and he could almost see her arms folded under her incredible, not so God given rack. "Why are you at the base? Didn't you say she lives off base?"
"Baby, I'm on base because she's here! I heard that she's got a date with her boyfriend tonight. Did you hear that? Her boyfriend! See? I told you it's all a huge mistake."
"A mistake? Her filing divorce papers is a mistake?"
He should have picked his words more carefully. Charmaine was always finding something to pick at him on.
"Baby, baby... I'll explain everything later, but I think I see her in the crowd. I've got to go so I can talk to her and figure this out. I love you, sweetheart."
"Right. If you love me, Nicki, then you better fix this. Because since you left, Daddy's been talking to his lawyers. He's ready to dissolve our marriage and sue you for all kinds of things. He's really mad."
Nick could believe it. He'd already had her daddy rip him a new one before he left, but he would bet that the two had been fanning each other's flames since he'd gotten on a plane to Hawaii.
"He says that if you don't figure this out, he's going to make you wish you'd never seen me, but I love you, Nicki. I love being your wife, so you better fix this because Daddy doesn't do empty threats."
"Yeah. Yeah. I love you too, baby. This is all just a bad dream, okay?" Nick knew his voice sounded thin and shaky even to his own ears.
He put his phone closer to his ear as the noise from the crowded room rose again and he covered his other ear with his free hand. "I'm going to fix this, okay? You'll see, baby. I'll come home and this will all be something we laugh over years from now."
"Right, sure. You better be telling the truth, because right now, Daddy says that everything coming out of your mouth is pure bullshit."
"Not when it comes to you, baby. Not when it's about you."
"Awww... See? You do love me."
"Of course, sweetie. I'll always love you."
"Kisses!"
And then the phone call ended, and he lowered his hands back down to his side. One hand brushed by the pocket that held a declaration form in it that Charmaine's daddy had drawn up for Kawehi to sign. That, at least, would get the ball rolling on his end. Charmaine's daddy was a scary motherfucker when it came to his baby girl. He might be all genial smiles and act like Andy Griffith when he was happy, but one tear from his daughter turned him into an evil asshole.
An asshole, that quite frankly, scared the shit out of him.
Nick had no doubts that her father would bury him under a woodshed somewhere if he didn't get the paper signed.
It didn't matter to him that Nick said he'd figure it out. Nope. Charmaine's daddy wanted things done his way because his daughter was involved. Nick had thought about reminding him that his life in Hawaii was before he met Charmaine, but one look at the wicked letter opener that he'd been holding in his hand had Nick keeping quiet about his own thoughts.
Maybe it was going to be easier this way. If her daddy had lawyers worth their salt, then it could be just as easy as signing a paper. Right?
Ha.
He continued along the wall, keeping an eye on the bathroom door for any movement.
KAWEHI
"Oh! Look at that!"
Kawehi felt Maile's hand on her arm.
"They have samples!"
Laughing inside at her cousin's obvious glee, Kawehi shook her head. "Go ahead and taste. I really need to go to the bathroom now."
Maile waved over her shoulder. "Go. I'll be here."
Kawehi's laugh was more of a snort. "I'll be right back."
She turned away from her cousin but turned right back. "Oh... if they have some cuttlefish can you get me one?"
Maile turned to look at her. "Are you going to eat that here? In front of a hot guy? That stuff is kinda smelly."
Kawehi shrugged. "I'll save it for later, but if he's going to be around for a while, I'm not giving up snacks. I'll be right back."
Maile was back to perusing the samples before Kawehi turned back around.
There were so many great snacks in Hawaii, but yes, some of them would be unconventional to people from the continental US. There was just such a mix of cultures in the islands and that mix had created some awesome foods and given the residents of the state access to an incredible amount of deliciousness.
Dom was already a fan of a bunch of dishes popular in Hawaii, who knows what he'd think of cuttlefish.
Smiling, she reached out to push open the bathroom door, but before she could reach it, another hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadows.
Kawehi found her back against the wall and the air rushed out of her lungs. "Nick!"
His smile, which she'd once thought was handsome, looked hard and cold now. "Hey, honey. Imagine my surprise when I heard you were going to be coming here to see your boyfriend!"
It took her a few seconds to process the words he'd just said.
"You're upset that I'm here to see a man when you're married again? Ow!"
His grip on her hand was crushing.
"Let go of-"
He slapped his hand over her mouth. "Shut up!" He hissed out the words. "Shut the fuck up. If you weren't here to see your boyfriend, we could have settled this already. I went to the bowling alley and found out that you'd taken the night off. Can you believe how it felt to hear that when you couldn't be bothered to take a night off to be with me?"
She wanted to bite the inside of his hand, but she held back. With the ambient noise in the room, she doubted anyone would hear her scream. And if she made him angrier, he could do some damage before she got anyone's attention.
"Well, we're going to have a little talk, okay? You and me, all by our lonesome. Got it?"
She glared at him, seething.
"Got it?"
Realizing that he wasn't going to take his hand away from her mouth without some sort of response, she nodded as much as she could move her head.
"I want to be clear. You make a sound. You do anything to draw attention to us. I'm not going to be happy and while I never put a hand on you before, you can damn well be sure that I don't care about that anymore."
She believed him. The radiating pain she felt in her hand was enough to convince her, but there was a hardness in his eyes that she'd never seen before.
Boredom? Sure. Frustration. Absolutely. Nick was always upset at how much she worked, but she'd never seen him bright-eyed with anger as he was now.
So she nodded.
What else could she do?
"Good." He smiled, but she didn't feel it or any relief. "Let's walk."
He took his hand off of her mouth but kept a hold of her hand in his.
They were both about the same height, so their hands were nearly the same size, but his hold on her was punishing and he'd twisted her arm around to her back. With that awkward position, she couldn't really do much to get away. So she walked.
And hoped.
NICK
It was nice that he'd caught her at an event on base.
He didn't remember much about Kailua town or the area around their house, but he knew the base. He knew how close they were to the water and how far away he could get her away from the crowds.
With all of the security around the areas open to the public, he doubted anyone would see or come to check on them, and given that he'd brought and worn his uniform, he could play off his presence there.
"You know what kind of trouble you've caused me?"
She didn't look at him. She didn't even speak.
Well, he could do something about that.
He gave her hand a squeeze. "Answer me."
"You said to be quiet."
"Well," he snarled in the dark, "we're not going to be near anyone out here. Talk."
"I found out that you were married. I didn't know before I saw the video from the process servers."
"That doesn't do me any good. Charmaine's father is a scary fucker."
Kawehi tensed up and almost stumbled. He pulled up on her hand to keep her moving and she cried out.
"Shut up."
"It hurts." She spoke quietly but he could hear it in her tone.
"Then keep walking. I need to get you to sign something."
"What? What do you think I'm going to sign."
"Charmaine's daddy has some damn good attorneys. They drafted up a document that's going to take care of everything. I just need you to sign it and I'll leave you alone."
Nick saw the light of the moon shining off of the water of Kaneohe Bay and eased up on the pace.
"Out here?" She looked around them. "I'm not signing anything out here."
He swung her around to face him and remembered the last time he'd seen her in the moonlight like this.
Those were happier times.
Easier times.
Before he figured out that life with her wasn't going to be as fun as he was hoping.
"We can go back to the house and sign it there if it makes you happier, but you are signing it."
"Fine, we'll go back to the house, but-"
He saw her eyes look back at the hangar and yanked on her hand, pulling her up against him.
"No buts. You're signing it. We can drag this out and go to the house or you can just sign it here and go back to your date."
He looked over her shoulder at the dark expanse of water at the end of the runway. Going through the courts at all could take forever. Standing there with the bay stretching behind her, he realized that there were easier ways of dealing with this issue.