“We should eat dinner out on the terrace. It’s a beautiful night,” I continue while following her lead.
“We are eating out on the terrace. This is the lanai to your bedroom.”
I feel a tightness tug at the skin on my forehead. What in the world is she talking about? I’ve been having family dinners out on that terrace for more than half of my life. I glance over my shoulder toward the open glass doors. Maybe she’s confused.
When we arrive at the bottom of the open stairwell, I spot a gathering on the other side of the kitchen.
“The terrace,” Keiki says, pointing toward the crowd.
I hate when my mind feels like it has been spinning in dizzying circles for hours. It’s hard to question myself—whether my thoughts are accurate or incoherent. It’s times like this when I prefer to remain quiet and unresponsive to whatever I’m questioning.
“Here she is! Mom, we thought you were going to make us eat without you tonight.”
“Lewis?” I call out. “I haven’t seen you in so long. Where have you been?”
He walks toward me with concern edging fine lines into his aging features. He takes my hand from Keiki and pulls me along but stops before stepping outside.
“Mom, look at me.”
“Why do you keep calling me Mom? Is this another prank you and James are pulling on me? You know I don’t enjoy your wild jokes very much.”
“It’s me, Carter, your son.”
I lift my hand to touch his face, trying to understand what he’s saying.
“Mom, is everything okay?” The voice comes from behind us, from outside.
“Leah, she needs a minute,” Lewis—or Carter says.
“Makena, why is he calling you Leah?” Is everyone playing games with me tonight?
“Mom, Makena is my daughter, with Cliff, your son-in-law. And Carter is here with Julia, your daughter-in-law, with their three sons.”
“What on earth—” I step forward, taking a closer look outside at what must be two dozen people. “Who are all these people here? I’m unprepared for such a large festivity.” I run my fingers through my hair that I didn’t tend to today and I peer down at the night gown I’ve been resting in most of the afternoon.
“We’re your family, every one of us. You have two married children, four grandchildren and their spouses, and five great-grandchildren ... so far. Look what you’ve done.”
I scan every face, feeling a familiar warmth in my chest, but my thoughts are scattered. “I’m trying to do the numbers in my head, which never fares well for me, but there are over seventeen of you out there,” I say.
“No one can say she isn’t still sharp as a tack with numbers,” Carter jests.
He sounds so much like Lewis, it’s uncanny.
“There are more than seventeen out there. James’s family is here too. He had two wonderful daughters, both are married, two grandchildren who have also married, and one great-granddaughter, if you can believe it.”
“If I wasn’t losing my mind, I still wouldn’t be able to keep up with you right now. Exactly, how big is our family?”
“Pretty big,” Leah says with Makena’s matching smile.
“Hi Gran,” Makena walks in, confirming she and her mother are in fact two different people who look almost identical. They look like me, or the way I once looked. Makena places a kiss on my cheek. “I’m so sorry for Daniel taking so much of your time today. He’s fascinated by your story about the war, but I know you don’t like to talk about it much. I told him to go easy on you, though he said you were happy to keep talking.”
I don’t recall a time when I wasn’t happy to share my stories from the war. “Of course, darling. It was my pleasure. Daniel is such a wonderful man. I’m so glad you have met a nice man to date.”
“Oh—” Makena chirps, but Leah nudges her as if I don’t see their interaction.
“What about Lewis? Where is his family?”
“But, Gran,” Makena tries to respond.
