Chapter 26
Three mischievous, snickering, shadowy figures ran across Honoapiilani Highway in the cover of darkness. It was early Sunday evening when Vince and the Kapule brothers made one last ditch effort to catch a glimpse of the mysterious ‘Fat Mazy.’
Oki worried out loud, saying, “I’m not sure we should be doing this. Don’t you guys remember what Tua said?”
“Shhh!” Vince scolded. “Keep your voice down. We are almost there.” They crouched down on the corner away from the street lights across from Mazy’s house. “All right, let’s keep outta sight as much as possible. Remember what Tua said. I have a plan.”
“That’s what I’m trying to say, doofus,” Oki griped, rolling his eyes.
“What’s your big plan?” Kai whispered.
“OK,” Vince began. “This is what we’re gonna do. When we -”
Suddenly, the porch light switched on at Mazy’s house and the front door opened slowly.
“Oh geez!” Vince gasped and instinctively put his arm up to quiet the others. “Get back! Get back behind these shrubs!”
The three boys quickly ducked around the corner and nearly dove into some bushes. They made sure they were not heard or seen as they tried their best to keep watching the front door through the leaves and branches. A person emerged from the house, but they could not see him or her clearly yet.
“Oh geez! Somebody’s comin’ out!” Oki whispered.
“Shut up!” Vince hissed back.
They watched closely as they heard a young man say goodnight to an unseen person in the house and then walk down the porch steps towards the street. Both brother’s jaws dropped and Oki and Kai put their hands up to their mouths.
Vince’s eyes widened with his jaw dropping to the ground as well. “Is that – Fin?” He leaned closer through the shrub to get a better look. “Holy crap, it is! It is Fin!” All three boys were about to burst. But Vince waved his hand for them to keep calm. “Shh, shh!” They watched as Fin turned up the street towards the school, walking in a hurry. After he was out of sight all three boys began to laugh as hard as they could. “Come on, come on. Let’s go. We’ll get spotted for sure.” They quickly went another way before heading back towards the school.
“Oh my gosh! Can you believe that guy?” Oki exclaimed.
“All this time,” Vince added. “No wonder he never said anything when we were always joking about that lady. Well that son of a gun. How about that? He is Mr. Suave, I have to admit. I told you guys, she must be the foxiest chick you’ve ever seen.”
“Suave?” Kai said excitedly. “Hell man, he’s a legend!”
Oki started shaking his head. “Nope. I ain’t buyin’ it. I still think she’s as big as a house. There’s gotta be some other explanation.”
They headed back to the school as it was almost curfew. When they arrived Vince made a beeline for his room. He walked in to find Peter sitting at his desk staring at the wall. “Hey man,” Vince said excitedly. “You are not gonna freakin’ believe this!” He looked at Peter sideways as he did not budge or even look up. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing,” Peter answered. Of course he was lying though. He had spent the entire day trying to talk to Kaila. He called, sent her online messages and even waited outside her dorm. He went to church but she was not there either. He felt sick to his stomach knowing he could not talk to her and feared the worst. He knew it was not good. He thought there was no way she would avoid him purposely. He knew her aunt and uncle were keeping her away. But not seeing her was agony. He sobbed countless times throughout the day, knowing how much pain and embarrassment he caused her. But he knew all he had to do was see her face to face and they could talk it over. He sensed her pain and sadness. He could feel what she was feeling and it ripped away at his heart.
“Still can’t find her, huh?” Vince asked.
“No, I’ve tried everything. It’s killin’ me, man.”
Vince forgot about Fin for a moment. He could see his roommate was in despair. “Hey, just give her time, man. She’ll come around. She loves you, right?”
“Yeah,” Peter answered, his hands trembling.
“Ain’t nothin’ stronger than that, buddy. Just hang in there. She’ll come around when you least expect it.”
Peter nodded and looked over at him appreciatively. “Thanks, man. I hope so.”
He tried calling her and messaging her again that night, but still he received no reply. By the next morning he had hardly slept at all. He was hopeful she would be down at the pig pens for morning chores. But she was nowhere to be seen. His heart sank when he realized she would not be coming. He knew she must be at school, but obviously got assigned to another detail. He spent the hour tending to the pigs alone. He stood and sobbed as he could not control his emotions. His heart ached to see her and to talk with her.
At lunch he finally caught a glimpse of her in the cafeteria. His heart leapt inside his chest when he saw her. He was also quite relieved she was still at school. He knew they could not keep her away with less than a month to go.
She looked very sad. Her head was down as she stared at her tray and did not eat. Peter was not hungry, so he put his tray at the window and slowly walked over to her table. His hands shook as he approached her. She sat by herself, fumbling with her fork. He sat next to her. He could sense that she knew it was him.
“Hey,” he said softly. “Are you OK? I – I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I tried to call and instant message. I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.”
She just stared at her untouched food. He waited desperately for her to say something. Finally she did. “I know you have. But I can’t talk to you. I’m sorry.” She immediately got up and left her tray on the table and Peter sitting there in disbelief.
“Kaila, wait!” Peter called out. But she was out of the cafeteria quickly. He got up to go after her, but Taney had been watching from the serving line. She stepped out from behind the counter to stop him.
“Just let her go, Peter,” Taney said. “You don’t know what she went through at her house the other night.”
“That’s why I need to talk to her,” Peter said desperately. “Taney, please.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Give her time, OK? She’s traumatized right now. And she’s got graduation to worry about. For her sake, give her time.”
Peter looked very flustered. Tears welled up in his eyes. “Taney, I’m a mess too. If I could just talk to her…”
“I know you love her. She knows that too. Don’t worry, OK?”
Peter reluctantly flopped down at the table next to Kaila’s deserted lunch. He put his head in his hands and tried to contain himself. He sadly picked up her tray and placed it in the return window.
He had gone through several days with no word from her. She was not answering any of his calls or messages. He began to lock himself away in his room and was barely eating enough. Every thought of her just made him break down and cry again. He tried to hide it from his roommate but Vince knew he was terribly distraught.
After dinner on Friday evening Peter decided to wander around the campus just like he and Kaila had done countless times together. He ended up at the steps of the girls’ dorm, hoping by some miracle Kaila would come walking out the door. He leaned against the railing and faced the view towards the sea. He had never been so sad in all his life. Inside the dorm was the girl he loved more than anything, but he could not speak with her. He truly did not know what to do.
Suddenly he heard the door open and a voice spoke to him. His stomach lurched with butterflies in hearing Kaila’s voice and instantly he became nervous. It was her!
“Hey,” she simply said. He turned around to see her, his sad eyes looking at her, his hands trembling.
“Hey!” he finally said.
“I was sitting by the dart board. And I saw you through the window.”
Peter gulped and searched for something to say. He had never been so h
appy to see a person in all his life. “Do you wanta take a walk?”
She breathed a heavy sigh with her hands in her pockets and answered, “Sure.”
They began to slowly walk down the main road in front of the school. The sun was setting over the islands and the sky was brilliantly painted with a vast array of colors. “Thank you for coming out,” he began. “I’ve missed you terribly.”
She stared at the ground as they walked. “I’ve missed you too.”
“Kaila, I’m sorry about what happened. I know I put you in a terrible spot. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I know how mad they must be at me. It’s been hard though not seeing you.”
“Yes, they are very upset with you,” she answered. “They even called my mom. They don’t want me to see you anymore.”
“No, that can’t happen,” Peter pleaded. “They don’t understand, I’m not part of that stuff anymore. I know it looked bad but I know you believe me.”
“It doesn’t matter to them. And you are the one who doesn’t understand.” She stopped walking and looked straight at him. “I owe everything I have to my aunt and uncle. I wouldn’t be here without their help. And my mom knows that. They know I’m going to college and they don’t want anything to stand in the way of that. And I understand that. They just see you as some guy with no direction in life after graduation who would just be holding me back.”
“And how do you see me?” Peter asked flatly. She turned away though. She could not look him in the eyes. “Kaila, please. Do you really see me that way too? I know that you don’t.”
She sobbed slightly and would not turn around. “No, of course I don’t. But they still won’t let me see you anymore. They want us to end it.”
“Kaila no, please look at me.” He gently put his hand on her shoulder. “Please look at me.”
“I can’t,” she whimpered. “I have no control when I look into your eyes.”
“Baby, what we have can never end. You know it as well as I. We found something in each other that is the most precious thing in the world. We found true love, Kaila! True love! You know how rare that is? Most people go through their whole lives never experiencing it. Even some married couples can’t even say that. But we have! And you know it’s true. You even said so yourself. We’ve talked about how incredible this feeling is, this connection we have. We can’t explain it, but we just know! We just know it, baby! I know you are the one for me. I have known since the day I first saw you. That feeling in the pit of your stomach, in my very soul, that you just can’t explain.” His words poured out as he began to tremble. Tears streaked down his face. “Kaila… you are the love of my life!”
She turned around trembling and sobbing as well and looked in his eyes. “I know, Pika. As you are mine.”
“I would do anything for you, baby. You know that. We have such deep love for one another. We are bound together by something no words can describe. It never ends. It cannot be stopped. And I can assure you, I will never give up on our love. I am yours forever, Kaila.”
She began to sob uncontrollably. She understood the gravity of what he had just said. He truly wanted to spend his life with her. He tried to embrace her but she would not let him. Through her tears she finally said what he never wanted to hear. “It just won’t work.”
“It can work, Kaila! I love you. And I know you love me too. I can feel it! Don’t you understand? To be able to actually feel someone’s love for you? It’s the most amazing thing ever!”
Tears were streaming down her face as she listened to him plead with her. But she only shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Peter. I can’t talk to you anymore. You can’t contact me anymore and we can’t see each other anymore. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.” She left him standing there in the road stunned.
“Kaila, please!” he cried out loud. “Please don’t do this! Please.” He cried uncontrollably as she walked away leaving him there. “Please no!” Her words ripped through him like a dagger. He fell to his knees in despair. He cried until his words became a whisper. “Please don’t go. Please.” But it was too late.