Twenty minutes slowly crawl by and Aya returns. She’s dressed in a bathing suit with a coverup sundress. “I put my suit on in case you want to go swimming later.”
“Why are you so upset? Will you tell me now?” I ask her.
“I’m not upset,” she says. “Let’s just go.”
“Aya, you’re my daughter and I know when you’re upset. I don’t like it when you’re not happy, baby.”
“I kind of thought Kai would still be here this morning,” she says.
“Kai doesn’t live here. You know that, right?” Trust me, I wish she were still here this morning too, but I wouldn’t have let Aya see that even if she was. The last thing I’m going to do is get her hopes up about a potential future with a woman until I’m certain it’s going to work out.
“We have an extra bedroom,” Aya says.
Oh, to be innocent and think the way a seven-year-old thinks would make my life so much easier. “I know, but she has her own house.” Explaining this to Aya while I’m also trying to figure out why Kai took off is making the confusion in my head worse. I just want to stop talking about it, but there’s no way around this.
“Ready to go?”
“Are we still seeing Kai tonight at the luau?”
“I think so,” I tell her. In truth, I don’t know at this moment.
She sighs and heads for the door. It’s like she’s heartbroken and has no clue why. It can’t possibly be because Kai wasn’t here when she woke up this morning, and I know Kai wouldn’t have told her she’d be here, especially seeing as she couldn’t even say goodbye to me last night.
We pull up to the hotel, and I park the truck closer to the pool area so we can go around the back side of the hotel, rather than through the lobby where people have gotten to know me a little too well. “You’re going to have fun at the kids’ club,” I tell her.
“Are you going to hang out with Kai while I’m there?”
“Nah, I’m just going to rent a surfboard for a bit and relax. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure,” she says. “Don’t get hurt again.”
“Thanks, little miss. I’m good.” I hit a piece of coral one time and cut my foot, and now she thinks I’m asking to end up in the hospital every time I go surfing in the mildest waves available in Hawaii. I’m not a natural born surfer seeing as I’m from Texas, but I’ve picked it up over the years and find it to be a good way to release tension.
There’s a small cabana off to the side of the pools with a wooden sign and the word “kids” spelled upside down and backward. There’s a small door, meant for kids only, and a check-in process that keeps them safe in there. It’s a cute little spot.
I sign Aya in and give her a kiss on the forehead. “Have fun, baby. I’ll be back in two hours, and we’ll go swimming.”
“Okay,” she says in the same monotone sound she’s been struggling through all morning.
My aggravation is at a high level, and I’m having a rough time with this. Aya is more than a handful when she gets this way, but having Kai to add to the pile of things bugging me is making this way worse.
Before I head over to the beach rental shop, I’m going to peek into the pool area to see if Kai is working. I’m sure if she is, she’ll just give me the cold shoulder like she normally does when she’s working, but I need some kind of answer, even if it’s a roll of her eyes. Then, at least I’ll know she’s annoyed at something.
I cross the pool deck and see another lifeguard in Kai’s seat. Great. I continue through the area and pass by the bar where I spot Lea working. “Hey Denver!” she shouts over.
“Mahalo,” I respond. “What’s happening?” I’m playing it cool in case she doesn’t know anything. Knowing as much, or as little, as I do about Kai, I suspect no one knows what’s going on in her head. Even her sister.
“You must be lonely today without the opportunity to tease my sister at the pool,” she snickers as she continues cleaning down the bar top.
“Yeah,” I laugh back, playing it off like I know.
“She seemed fine yesterday. She’s never called out of work before, so I think she’s got food poisoning or something. She must feel really crappy .”
Maybe she got sick? That still doesn’t explain why she didn’t respond to my call in some way. “Is she going to the doctor?”
“Nah, she said she’ll be fine. I guess it just needs to work its way through her system. She says that when she’s beating the crap out of Aunt Flo, too.” Aunt Flo? Oh God. Yeah, that’s not the case. I can attest to that at least.
“Lovely,” I tell her.
