Chapter 22
As the days neared the Christmas break, Peter and Kaila prepared for what they knew would be a long time before they would see each other again. Peter would be going home to the Big Island to spend the holiday with his family and Kaila would be spending one week in Maui and the remainder in Oahu with her mother. It would be weeks without each other, but at least they would still be able to stay in contact via phone, email and instant message.
Leilanai had saved enough money to pay for her and Kari’s flight to visit their mom and Uncle Lupe was gracious enough to pay for Kaila’s ticket so she could go too. He knew what it meant to his sister to be able to see her three daughters at Christmas even though she could not afford to fly them over.
It was mid-December and the students were finishing up exams and getting ready to break for the holidays. It was the day before Peter was to fly out for the long break. He was doing chores out on the school grounds and Kaila was working in the school office. She was filing papers when she peered out the window to see Peter gathering palm fronds on the ground to cart them off. She watched him as he worked steadily and with dedication. A feeling of warmth cascaded over her as she watched. She loved him even more as each day passed. Although both of their futures were uncertain with graduation only months away, she knew she wanted to be a part of his life. All she could feel was a tremendous pull towards him that nothing or no one could impart. All she knew was it was there to stay and that she loved him deeply.
After she was done filing she went outside in the warm breeze. She looked for him in hopes he would almost be done with his chores as well. Like clockwork, Peter came rounding the corner towards the dorms. She smiled broadly as he approached. She was wanting to kiss him the instant she saw him but held back as they were at school.
“Hey there, handsome man,” she said sweetly.
Peter smiled lovingly back at her and answered, “Hi baby. I was hoping I would see you.”
That was music to her ears. She was hoping the same thing. “Oh yeah? Me too. I was watching you from the window this morning. Looks like you got a workout.”
“Yeah, I don’t mind. Good for the soul. Hey, what are you doing after we do the Christmas choir thing down at the mall?”
Kaila shrugged and said, “I dunno. What’d you have in mind? I’m up for anything since you are leaving tomorrow.”
“I have a surprise for you that I want to show you afterwards,” Peter said, smiling deviously. “Right down by the Banyan Tree Square in town. We can leave from the mall.”
“Oooo!” Kaila exclaimed. “I like the sound of that. I can’t wait!” She wanted to grab him and plant a huge kiss on his lips, but she behaved. “I have to say I’ve never really liked surprises, but for some reason with you I don’t mind.”
“Oh you don’t?”
“Well, it’s just the way things have been growing up,” she began. “I never liked them because not all surprises are good surprises. Like with my mom and stuff.”
“Well, I promise. This is a good one,” Peter assured her.
“Good!” Kaila said cheerfully. “I’m all in with you. Do your worst, Mr. Lane!”
The boarder’s choir all assembled at the Cannery Mall to put on an outdoor Christmas concert for shoppers and holiday revelers. All of them dressed in matching red shirts and dark pants. A small crowd gathered in front of the mall to watch them sing many well-known Christmas favorites. By now the boarders had been singing together for several months so the choir sounded wonderful and Mrs. Song was extremely pleased with them. The crowd clapped politely after ever number they sang.
Soon the short concert was over and the students were dismissed for the afternoon. Kaila and Peter immediately jumped on her scooter and headed for the square in downtown Lahaina.
“Let’s get a space where you can leave it for a couple hours,” Peter suggested.
“Hmmm, you definitely have my curiosity,” she yelled back to him. “I’ll find a space in the lot on Prison Street.”
She parked her scooter and they headed towards the big banyan tree in the square. They walked under the large tree towards the back right corner near the Pioneer Inn.
“Where in the world are you taking me?” she wondered aloud.
“You’ll see,” Peter answered as he led her across the square.
Behind the old courthouse and the Pioneer Inn was a small marina mainly used by local businesses running ferries to and from Lanai and Molokai. But there were also local vendors that offered various outings on the water such as snorkeling and scuba trips, dinner cruises and last, but not least, whale watching expeditions.
Peter stopped short of the marina and looked down the sea wall at all the various kiosks for each business. He read them all, looking for the one they were going on.
“Oh my gosh!” Kaila burst out. “Are we going out on the water?”
Peter smiled from ear to ear. “Yep!” He found the attendant house he was looking for and approached it. “I have tickets for the 1:30 trip, please. Under Peter Lane.”
The attendant at the desk handed him the tickets saying, “Aloha. Here you go. Thanks for sailing with us. Boarding starts in ten minutes.”
Kaila began jumping up and down in excitement just like a little kid. “We’re going on a whale-watching trip? Oh my gosh, Peter! You are the sweetest!! This is so great, I can’t believe it!” She hugged his neck tightly and gave him lots of kisses. “Oh man, this is definitely a good surprise, ha ha!”
They went and stood in the line for boarding. “I figured you’d like that. I’ve never been either so I’m looking forward to it. I called ahead and they said lots of them are out there now. Besides, I wanted to do something nice for you, for us, for Christmas.”
“It’s a perfect Christmas gift. Thank you!” she kissed him again. She did not care if people were around. “But didn’t it cost you a lot?”
He shrugged modestly. “Nah, I’ve been saving for a long time. From helping my dad on some landscaping jobs and with my mom at the coffee plantation.”
“You are just the sweetest. I love you, Peter.”
He put his arm around her as they boarded the large vessel for their harbor cruise and said warmly to her, “I love you, too.”
Soon, the large boat was full of passengers eager to see the humpback whales up closely. The boat pushed back from the pier and then slowly maneuvered around before it headed out to sea. Kaila and Peter stood along the rails as did many of the other tourists.
The breeze flowed through her hair as she laughed out loud. “Ha ha! I feel like a tourist!” She felt around in her back pocket and produced her smartphone. “And thank God I have my phone to take pictures! Come here, let’s take one now.” Peter stood next to her with his arm around her and she held her phone out in front of them and snapped a selfie. She kissed him on the cheek. “Our first photo together. I love it.” She cradled the phone in the shadow of her arm to look at the picture she had just taken.
“No, the first one was down at Napili Beach,” Peter reminded her. “With that old couple.”
“Oh that’s right,” Kaila said, recalling the day. “Gosh I wish we had that one too. I bet we look cute!”
“Of course we do!” Peter said. He peered out over the water and began looking for any sign of whales as they ventured further out. “Let’s keep a sharp eye out.” Kaila put her phone away and watched with him.
Within minutes the captain of the ship announced a sighting on the port side opposite of where Peter and Kaila were. A lot of commotion could be heard from that side as it was obvious they had spotted something.
Kaila shrieked and grabbed Peter by the hand. “Come on! They are over here!”
They quickly ran to the other side of the ship and luckily found a place along the railing again. For a moment they could not see anything in the dark blue waters. Kaila looked everywhere, frantically trying to see what everyone else was looking at. Suddenly a tremendous humpback whale emerged on the
surface alongside the ship right underneath where Kaila and Peter were standing. The huge mammal slowly swam alongside, as if being curious of the people onboard. They could see the large hump rise above the water and one could nearly see its entire length. Its exposed body was long and slender with large dimples around its face. Small barnacles flanked its side in little patches, but otherwise the whale had rubbery smooth hide.
“Augh!! There he is!” Kaila shouted. They both leaned out and looked at the large whale in astonishment.
“Oh man, it’s huge!!” Peter exclaimed.
The whale let out a loud burst of air from its blowhole as it swam by, startling the passengers. Kaila laughed in delight. “Ha ha! Look at him!” Suddenly another whale appeared a few yards out from the other one. It quickly went under after taking a breath of air and its enormous tail lifted high in the air as it dove. Cameras started clicking and the crowd gasped in awe and oohed and ahed at the amazing site.
“Oh my gosh, my camera! What am I thinking?” Kaila shrieked. “Ha ha, I’m so excited I nearly forgot.” She quickly handed it to Peter. “Here quick, you’re better at this than me.” He took the phone and got it ready for another opportunity. Soon whales were surfacing all around the ship. “This is incredible! Who knew there were so many? And look how docile they are.”
There were smaller boats in the area giving private tours to smaller groups of people as well. Peter noticed a whale swimming directly towards the small craft. “Whoa, check that out!” he said, pointing towards the boat. Several people watched in astonishment as the large whale swam towards the small boat and disappeared underneath and then resurfaced on the other side of the boat. “Wow, I bet those people are freakin’ out, ha ha! They got a really close look.”
“Oh man, I wanta jump out and swim with them, ha ha!” Kaila said. “They are so big!”
They walked from side to side to get the best viewing spot as the ship trawled around in the channel. The boat never left the area between Maui and Lanai as it was the best spot to view them. The channel was a perfect sanctuary for the whales during the winter months as they were surrounded by islands on every side. As the tour continued, Kaila and Peter soon learned from the captain that the whales will not eat the entire time they are in Hawaii. They only will give birth to their young during this time and will not eat until they migrate north to the shores off Canada and Alaska the coming spring.
Kaila watched the whales in astonishment. She had lived in Oahu and Maui all her life but had never seen the humpback whales this close up and personal before. She was in complete awe of them. “Wow,” she said. “I had no idea there were so many! You even see little ones. I wonder how old some of these calves are. They were probably born here!”
“Yeah, who knows?” Peter commented. “Could be days or weeks. I’m getting some good shots with your phone too.”
“Great! Thank you.” She curled her arm inside his and kissed him on the cheek as they continued to watch.
Without warning, one of the captain’s crewmembers shouted from the upper deck, “Thar she blows! Full breach! Starboard side!”
Peter and Kaila were on the right side this time. They quickly looked in the direction he was pointing to witness a whale soar out of the water into the air and slowly fall on its back with a tremendous splash. Its massive fins extended outward on either side and made equally impressive slaps on the water as the giant whale gracefully flopped on its back.
“Whoa!” the entire boatload of people shouted.
“I got it!” Peter shouted. “I got a shot of it!”
“That was amazing!!” Kaila exclaimed excitedly as well. “This is so freaking cool!” They stared at each other in disbelief. “Oh man, Peter. I am never going to forget this day.”
“Ha ha! Me neither!” Peter answered. “I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ve lived here all my life.”
Soon another whale emerged adjacent to the ship and again Kaila and Peter were in perfect position to see it. Peter snapped photos of the great mammal as it passed underneath them along the surface.
“That is so close. I could almost reach out and touch her,” Kaila said.
“Oh wow, I saw its eyes. She was looking right at us! Did you see that?” He showed her the photo on her smartphone. “You can see it in the picture too. I think she smiled at us.”
“Ha ha! Yes! I see it!” she cried out as she threw her arms around him. “You know, this is going to help me so much on my paper. I can’t begin to tell you. I am loving this! Thank you! Thank you!” They turned their attention to one another for a moment as he took her in his arms and passionately kissed her.
“Yes, your paper is another reason why I thought this would be good. I’m loving this too,” he said softly. “Every minute of it. Especially you. I am so in love with you.”
“I love you too, Peter! So much.” She kissed him softly again and they embraced each other close.
The captain announced they must start heading back to the port as their time was up. The crowd groaned but at least they were treated to a wonderful display of nature. People stayed glued to the railings as the boat inched closer to Lahaina, looking for any other signs of whales. As they drew closer to shore, the less they saw of the large animals.
They held one another as they rode back in to shore. Kaila watched the beautiful scene in front of them that was Lahaina and the West Maui Mountains. The tall green-covered hills dotted the skyline in a magnificent display. As they sloped downward the terrain turned from green to brown as it was drier closer to the shoreline.
“Look. You can see the ‘L’ above our school,” Kaila pointed out. Peter looked where she was pointing and he soon found the letter high upon the mountain, looking like a small spec from the great distance. “Pretty soon they will be lighting that for us.”
“Yep, in just a few short months.”
Kaila gulped somewhat, realizing the gravity of the thought that graduation was coming very soon. “It will be so amazing to see that, knowing it’s for our class.” Peter nodded. She paused for a moment, thinking deeply about what was to come. “What are we going to do, Peter?” she whispered. “What if you have to leave after we graduate?”
Peter did not hesitate in answering. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m never going to leave you.” She held him tightly and tried not to think about such things. “I know I don’t have the kind of money Koni Boy does. I know he buys Leilani anything she wants and can probably even provide a nice fancy home and land. I know there is no way I can compete with that. But still, you won’t have to worry.
Kaila pulled away and looked him in the eye. “You think I need any of that stuff? Pika, I would eat ramen noodles with you every day if I had to. That’s how much I love you.”
Peter’s heart welled up inside him when she said that. He pulled her in close once again and breathed a heavy sigh. It was the most romantic and loving thing anyone had every said to him. And he knew she meant it.
The next day, early in the morning, Kaila parked her scooter in front of the Kahului airport. Peter had his backpack flung on his back.
Kaila looked somber. It was only two and half weeks but she still did not want to be without him for even a day. She was going to miss him immensely. “You got everything?” she asked.
“Everything but you,” Peter said suavely. She buried her head on his shoulder. “Yes I do.” He saw how sad she looked. “Hey, it’s OK. It’s just the holidays. You know I will miss you too.”
“I know,” she sniffed. “I hate it anyway. Promise me this is the last time you leave me.”
Peter caressed her face lovingly and said, “I promise.” He kissed her long and passionately and then said farewell to her. “I love you.” He began to hurry to the check-in and then turned and shouted back, raising his phone in the air, “We’ll keep in touch every day!”
She fought back tears as she nodded and waved to him. She stood on the sidewalk until he disappeared into the terminal.
/>