“What I know is that it’s a waste of resources to put on an actual wedding when all we really need is to get the rumor mill going with a lightly staged shot of JJ shopping for a ring. Isn’t that right, JJ?”
He was still trying to untangle the layers of presumption in that statement when Keoki spoke up.
“You like black pearls?” he asked Hildy.
“Yes, please,” she purred. “Do you know a place?”
“And do they also sell ukuleles?” Uncle Richard interrupted.
Hildy spun her stool to stare at him. “How much apology jewelry have you bought over the years? In all that time, have youeverseen a combination jeweler and music store?”
Jean raised her hand. “Pawnshops.”
“There! You see, Hildy?” her uncle crowed, though Jefferson would eat the spiky part of a pineapple if the CEO of Johnson Media had ever set foot in one himself.
“That caramel smells really, really perfect,” Keoki said with an urgency that drew everyone’s attention back to the stove. Libby yanked the saucepan off the heat.
“About my uke,” Uncle Richard began, breaking off when Hildy made a throat-slitting gesture.
“Add that to the you-don’t-say list,” Hildy interrupted. “Ukulele or nothing for you, and personally I vote nothing.”
“It’s not for me. I thought Albie would like one. He was always very musical.”
Hildy eyed him skeptically. “You mean before his voice changed?”
“You could go to PCC,” Keoki said, cementing Jefferson’s impression of him as the peacemaker of the group. “They have everything. Jewelry, ukuleles, Dole whip—”
“Yes!” Libby burst out.
For a beat, it seemed like she was really excited about Dole whip, whatever that was. Then they noticed the perfectly brownedcrepe resting (mostly) in the pan. If Jefferson hadn’t been holding his camera, he would have clapped.
“Darn,” Uncle Richard said. “I missed it. I’ll catch the next one.”
“Easy come, easy go.” Hildy’s voice turned syrupy. “Why don’t you eat the first one, Uncle Richard? I know your blood sugar gets low in the morning.”
There was something to be said for the Good Niece/Bad Niece routine, because her uncle brightened at this scrap of encouragement.
“Thank you, Hildy. Don’t mind if I do.”
The erstwhile housekeeper handed him a plate. It was the most domestic gesture Jefferson had seen from her yet.
“I’ll make a few calls, and then we can get our shopping on.” Hildy glanced at their hostess. “Is that okay with you, Lillibet?”
Libby wiped her forehead with the inside of her elbow, smearing batter all the way to her hairline before offering a weary thumbs-up.
“She’ll need to freshen up first,” Jean said, throwing her a dish towel.
Chapter 21
lovelillibetI reject the tyranny of birthstones. Each of us should be allowed to choose the gem that best represents our inner being, in the same way that it would make more sense if we got to name ourselves, rather than accepting the one imposed on us before we have a chance to assume our final form.
Love, Lillibet
Image: Shells peek from a tangle of kelp.
#treatyourself #youareprecious #chooseyourself
It was late afternoon by the time Libby herded the entire crew down the highway to Laie. Their destination, Hukilau Marketplace, was a collection of shops, restaurants, and souvenir stands that filled the entrance plaza at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was absolutely geared toward tourists, but with offerings that attracted the occasional local, too—more for the food than for the aloha shirts and ukuleles.
