Suddenly Luke stood up and made a dash toward them. She tracked his every effortless step, and he made it to shelter a few seconds before the sky opened up and unleashed raindrops the size of jellyfish. There were plenty of places he could have looked, but he half turned toward their table and locked eyes with Minnow. His face went from surprise to the stirrings of a smile to something darker. She had to rip her gaze away.
“Isn’t that your friend?” Nalu said.
No way was she going to get into it now.
“Yeah, that’s Luke.”
Her heart hurt and was beating too fast, like tiny bird wings fighting for flight.
“You not going to invite him over?”
Minnow gave him a cold glare. “There’s no room at the table.”
Cliff pushed out his seat and stood. “Wepauanyway. Let’s head back. I got some things to take care of.”
Woody swallowed his last piece of coconut cake and Minnow put hers in a to-go box. When they walked out, Luke was still standing there—she could see him out of the side of her eye. This time she forced herself not to look. His pull was too strong and she couldn’t be swayed right now. Not that he wanted anything to do with her anyway. But as she passed, she swore he said her name out loud. Or maybe it was just the song of the rain on the roof.
Journal Entry
From the journal of Minnow Gray
Hawai‘i, February 28, 1998
Woody told me that to dream of sharks often signifies the spirit of a loved one coming to visit, usually to give guidance or offer protection—especially in times of heightened significance. I might not have believed him a month ago, but I do now.
Chapter 28
The Gift
Makana:gift, present; reward, award, donation, prize
The dreams came all night long. Storms and sharks and Layla. In one of them Minnow was standing on a coral head, pregnant and ready to give birth. It was peculiar, though, because she had no idea who the father was. Contractions started and she sat down on the rock, spread her legs and a rush of baby sharks poured out, splashing into the water and swimming all around her. They kept coming and coming, their small fins all tipped in red. Soon she was surrounded by hundreds or maybe thousands of tiny sharks and her heart swelled with a fullness she had never known before.
In the morning Woody was working on a leak in the roof, while Cliff had driven off last night sometime after Minnow had fallen into bed exhausted. Now she and Nalu were on the way to the hospital and she felt even less rested. With all the tossing and turning and dry-mouth, her sleep had been shitty, to say the least.
She rubbed her eyes. “When we get there, pull around back. I don’t want to run into anyone on the way in.”
Nalu was quiet for a moment, then said, “Did something happenbetween you and Greenwood? That look you two gave each other last night. It felt...” He paused, fishing for the right word.
Minnow finished his sentence. “Complicated.”
“Maybe. But I was going to say loaded. He’s into you, for real kine.”
She wished she didn’t care, but she did. “We had a hot moment a couple of nights ago but I told him I was leaving and it’s like he went numb. His entire vibe changed, and then he told me he’s not the man I think he is.”
He hit the steering wheel. “See, I told you. I like the guy, but something is off about him being here. Staying at the hotel and that fancy boat. What fisherman can afford that?”
“I know. And he said he grew up with orcas in the San Juans. He seems so connected to them and the islands. Which makes me wonder why he would leave that for Hawai?i.”
“Who knows. Maybe he’s running from something.”
“I think he is.”
One shoulder lifted. “You should ask him point-blank.”
“I already have.”
“He does seem like a badass, though, in and out of the water. I can see why you would dig him.”
