The Ohana Part 38

Jackie watched as Meg cried.

"And I'm your sister Jackie." Jackie shared a group hug with Christina and Meg.

"I tried to find you," Christina told Meg in the car, "but I ran into stone walls wherever I went. I finally gave up after a few years. When you called, I admit, I was shocked."

Jackie glanced into the rear view mirror and saw Meg smile. She continued driving down the freeway to Was.h.i.+ngton Place, the gubernatorial mansion Meg would be soon vacating.

"Your parents did a wonderful job raising you," Meg said.

"You would've loved my parents," Christina squeezed her hand. "They had been married fifteen years when they adopted me. They used to tell me I was their gift from G.o.d."

"What happened to them?" Jackie asked.

"Mom died of cancer about five years ago and Dad was so devastated, he soon followed. I think he wanted to die." Christina tilted her head. "Have you ever loved anyone so much you wanted to die if they died?"

"I don't know," Meg replied. "Maybe."

Christina sighed. "I don't know either. I love my husband Scott." She gave a small laugh. "I started dating him when I was fourteen. Honestly, I'm not sure I feel toward him the way my folks felt about each other. Sometimes I think I'm missing out on something. But maybe I will after thirty years of marriage."

"Your parents were a good example."

Christina sighed before speaking. "So my step-father is the governor of Hawaii? I thought I'd be met by a chauffeured limousine." She laughed again. "To tell you the truth, I was kind of looking forward to it. I've never been in one."

"You will before this trip is over," Meg promised. "Jackie and I wanted to be alone with you. Even Sean was kind enough to respect my wishes. He's very anxious to meet you, by the way."

"What's he like?" Christina asked.

"Handsome, charming, and successful," Jackie replied from the front seat. "What else did you expect?"

"And he's married to my aunt, your sister?" Jackie asked Meg.

"Yes. I know it sounds kind of kinky, but we were together before he started dating Katherine."

Jackie glanced at the mirror in time to see her half-sister's eyes widened. "I thought Honolulu was a big city? It sounds just as complicated and entangled as any small town. Of course, Durango has become a big small town."

"What's it like living there?" Meg asked.

"Its home for me; I was raised there." Christina shrugged. "It's a mountain town. Scott and I raise Paints and Arabs. We'd love to have you over there. My folks were third-generation ranchers. About twelve years ago they decided it was too much for them and handed it over to us. At the time, Scott was a lawyer in Denver and we decided we had enough of the city and moved. It's a real working ranch and although it's a lot of work, we love it."

"What about your children?" Jackie asked.

"Tyler and Amber are in high school. It's a great place to raise kids. By the way, they're being tested as we speak. They volunteered before I asked them. They're great kids, we're really lucky," Christina replied. "They really want to meet you, but I wanted to spend some time alone with you first."

"Wanted to make sure I was okay?" Meg smiled.

Christina grinned. "Something like that."

"I can't wait to meet my grandchildren." Meg sighed. "And I'd love to see your ranch. I've never been to Colorado and I've never been on a working ranch."

"You're in for a surprise," Christina told her. "We'll make a real cowgirl out of you yet."

Looking at Christina was like looking at a young Meg.

Sean was thrilled when Christina hugged everyone at the party in her honor, including Katherine, Patrick, and Sheryl. Christina was so expansive and relaxed, she was a pleasure to be around. She had no pretensions about her; she was who she was. She had Bridgett's effusive personality.

After embracing the entire family, Christina beamed at them with tears in her eyes and said, "I've always wanted a family as I was an only child of two only children. I can't believe how lucky I am. I not only have a family, I have a clan!"

Everyone laughed.

"Now that you're in Hawaii," Danny told her, "you better learn the Hawaiian word for family."

"Okay," Christina said with a sweet sigh. "What's the word for family?"

"Ohana," Sean said with a smile. "This is our ohana."

Chapter Fifty.

Honolulu: 1979 The bone marrow transplant was successful. Sean sat next to Ashley's bed six weeks later and held her hand. She smiled.

Sean lifted her hand to his lips. The first crucial six weeks after the transplant was finally over. During that time Ashley had lived in a bubble, unable to have human contact of any kind. After the transplant, the doctors explained, she would have no resistance to infection. Because of it, she had to be kept in a sterile environment until she built up her resistance.

"Thank you Grandpa," she said to him. "I love you."

Tears came to Sean's eyes. "I love you too."

"I'm sorry, but I'm kind of tired."

"Don't apologize. You just get some rest." Sean got up to leave.

"Please stay here," Ashley begged. "I can't talk right now, but I don't want to be alone."

"Someone will be here at all times. We're all taking turns." Sean returned to his chair.

"Thanks Grandpa." Ashley's voice trailed away. "Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"Thank Tyler for me. He saved my life."

"He knows. I'm so proud of both of you."

Ashley closed her eyes, a little smile on her face. She looked vulnerable and pretty lying on the white cotton sheets. Her hair had started to grow out; it looked like an aureole around her face.

"How is she?" Mary asked as she walked into the room a few hours later.

Sean turned. "She was up for just a bit, but she's resting now. She's very tired."

"You must be too." Mary put her hand on his shoulder, and he patted it. "Thank you, Sean. I'll take over now."

"You don't have to thank me. She's my granddaughter too."

"You've been a terrific grandfather."

"I'm surprised myself. I'm a better grandfather than I was a father. I regret not having spent more time with my sons." Sean looked at Mary for a moment. "You look lovely, Mary."

Mary smiled. "For an older woman."

Sean raised his brows. "If you're old, what does that make me?"

"Unfortunately, it's still a man's world. I suppose they would label you distinguished. Women are just old."

"I'm feeling old these days."

Mary searched his eyes with her own. "Is anything wrong, Sean?"

Sean sighed. "Katherine wants a divorce."

"But you've been married for such a long time." Mary shook her head. "It seems silly to get a divorce at our age. At this point in our lives, most people settle into their situation. They either resolve it or at least learn to live with their differences."

"I'm entirely at fault. First of all, she loved me but I married her for all the wrong reasons. I didn't love her the way she wanted to be loved. In the beginning, I was proud of her and the status she brought me. I loved her for that and for giving me two sons. Maybe I never really loved her. When she found out I had two daughters by two different women, one of them her sister, it too much for Katherine. I can't say I blame her."

"I'm sorry Sean."

"Don't be. It was twenty years late in coming."

"Still, I'm sorry."

They were silent for a while.

Sean asked suddenly, "What about you? I haven't seen much of Mark through this ordeal. Have all these revelations affected your relations.h.i.+p?"

Mary hesitated.

Before she could answer, Sean leaned back in his chair. "Mary, are you happy with Mark or have you, as you put it, just settled in and resolved your differences?"

Mary walked over to the window that looked out onto the courtyard. "I don't know what happiness is. I've grown accustomed to our relations.h.i.+p. My marriage is like an old shoe I've worn for many years. It may not be wonderful, but it serves its purpose."

"Didn't you ever want more than that?"

"Of course." Mary turned to face him. "I once thought it was possible to have a marriage where pa.s.sion never died."

"I think we all did." Sean stood. "We had pa.s.sion together, even if it was only for a night." He searched her eyes. "I've never forgotten our night together. We've never talked about it, but I want you to know it was special for me. Not just a one night stand."

Mary flushed. "Thank you for telling me. I thought we had magic together."

Sean took her chin in his hand and lifted her face to him. "You're still as beautiful as you were then. Nothing's changed."

Mary bit her lip. "And you're handsomer than ever." She looked down. "I still have the music box."

Sean kissed her then, a gentle, yearning kiss. When Mary stepped back he said, "If I offended you, I'm sorry."

"No," she shook her head. "It was an innocent kiss. It made me think of how we were once young and full of hope. Everything was possible then."

Sean released her. "When we were young, we still had our dreams."

"Dreams of love."

"Dreams of pa.s.sion," Sean continued.

"What happened to all those dreams?" Mary asked.

Sean shrugged. "We grew up."

"That's the pity of it," Mary replied.

Epilogue.

Hawaii 1995.

Mary sat on the sandy beach and watched the surf break on the coral reef a hundred feet back from the sh.o.r.eline. It was an idyllic Sunday on Kahala Beach. The kind of warm, sunny day that made her feel good about the world and at peace with herself and mankind. People strolled on the beach. They smiled as children busied themselves with seash.e.l.ls, sand crabs, fish, and other fanciful creations they created out of the wet sand. Watching the children at play made her think about how much she adored her grandchildren. She discovered being a grandmother was somehow different. The tension of being a parent and having to do everything right no longer existed. A grandparent could relax and enjoy their grandchildren without worrying about ruining them for life because of something they did or didn't do.

This generation was obsessed with doing everything perfectly lest they traumatize their children and ruin their chances of becoming successful. They were too worried about building self-esteem. They kept their precious charges relentlessly over-scheduled so they could become well-rounded individuals who wouldn't fall behind their peers intellectually, athletically, or emotionally. Not everything had to be a learning experience, Mary thought. Life had a way of making you learn through experience-whether you liked it or not.

As she enjoyed the sun, she reflected on her life and how much things had changed in Hawaii. It was ironic the j.a.panese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 in order to take over the islands and succeeded in taking over the island economy in 1985.

The j.a.panese came in droves and snapped up prime real estate all over the islands, driving prices to dizzying heights. Prices of prestigious properties in Diamond Head and Kahala tripled and quadrupled in less than a year. It got so crazy a tear down in interior Kahala on a 10,000 square foot lot sold for over a million dollars. People sold their properties, retired, and moved to the mainland with their newfound wealth. Kahala Avenue, the crown jewel of Hawaiian real estate, once the exclusive enclave of haoles, was now heavily populated by j.a.panese nationals.

Then came the sobering nineties when real estate prices crashed and Hawaii went into an extended recession.

The invasion of the j.a.panese prompted thoughts of Mitsuo. She thought her heart would break in two when he married Sadako. Looking around at her surroundings, it seemed as if it had happened in another life, another time.

Funny, she ran into Mitsuo a few years ago and he gave her such an odd look. Although he had aged terribly, his dark, sparkling eyes were still the same. Sadder, older, wearier, but still unmistakably Mitsuo. They looked at each other from across the years and Mary thought of all their unfulfilled promises. She once thought he was the great love of her life, and in that moment, frozen in time forever, she realized she had been his. A year later, she read his obituary in the paper, and cried over all those unrealized promises. If she and Mitsuo had been braver and less dutiful and demanded their happiness, how different her life would have turned out. But it wasn't meant to be.

She wondered, no, prayed, Mark was happy. George had died of lung cancer soon after Ashley's operation. Surprisingly, he left a small fortune to his younger brother and money to his sisters. It enraged Sarah and her children, but they ultimately decided fighting the will would be too expensive. In any case, they inherited a huge fortune of their own.

The money changed everything. Mary gave Mark the divorce he wanted and he married a beautiful thirty-year old Korean bar girl and went to live in Vegas. At first, Mary resisted the idea. It seemed foolish to get a divorce after so many years of marriage. But, it turned out to be an easy divorce; Mary took the restaurant and gave Mark everything else. Every now and then she heard about him through their children. But he, too, seemed like a distant memory.