Lelani
Lelani woke up wondering where she was, then remembered she was in Maui, in her parents’ guesthouse, on the couch. She’d just been through round one with her mother. And now she heard female voices in the kitchen area. It sounded like Megan and Kendall.
“I’m awake,” called Lelani as she stood and stretched. “I hope my mother and I haven’t been too upsetting.”
“Not at all,” said Megan as she handed Lelani a glass of iced tea.
“And don’t worry about me,” said Kendall. “I’m used to family fights.”
“Unfortunately, that was just the beginning,” said Lelani.
“I was wondering,” began Megan, “if you maybe need a lawyer.”
Lelani nodded. “Yes. I’ve thought of that. And there’s a family friend that I—”
“A family friend?” Megan looked concerned. “But your mother might—”
“Clara isn’t terribly fond of my mother,” Lelani explained.
“Maybe you should give her a call,” suggested Kendall.
“I might do that. But first I want to talk to my dad. Without my mom around.” Lelani shook her head. “That won’t be easy.”
“Why not?” asked Megan.
“Because he will try to avoid it.”
“Why?” asked Kendall.
“Because he knows my mom will get mad.” Lelani sighed. “And if there’s one thing my dad cannot stand, it’s to have Alana Porter mad at him. He will do almost anything to avoid it.”
“Even turn his back on his own daughter?” Megan frowned. “I’d think he’d be glad to see you.”
“You think that because you have a normal family,” Lelani pointed out. “Your parents both loved you.”
Megan shrugged. “Even so, maybe you should give your dad a chance.”
“I agree with Megan.” Kendall smiled coyly. “Dads usually have a soft spot for their little girls.”
“Except that Emma—rather, Kala—is his little girl now.”
Kendall frowned. “Oh, that is tricky.”
“Is your dad home?” asked Megan.
“It’s hard to say.” Lelani opened a sliding door to let the breeze into the guesthouse. “But if he is home, there won’t be a chance of getting to him without my mom finding out.”
“Maybe we can run interference for you,” offered Kendall.
Lelani considered this. “Maybe.”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on your house,” Kendall told her. “Spying to see if any cars are leaving the driveway.”
“Seriously?” Lelani was shocked.
“She has,” confirmed Megan. “I told her what happened and—”
“And I was worried your mom might take off with your baby.”
“Oh, I don’t think she’d—”
“No,” said Kendall, “I’ve seen it happen time and again on Lifetime TV.”
“But that’s not really real—”
“It is real,” protested Kendall as she peeked out the window. “Those are true stories.”
“Dramatized true stories,” Megan corrected.
“Anyway, I’ve been watching, and no cars have come or gone.”
“Don’t worry,” Lelani assured them, “my mother won’t sneak around to get her way. She’ll come right out in the open. It usually works for her.”
“But what about your dad?” Megan persisted. “I’m sure he’d at least want to see you, wouldn’t he?”
Lelani considered this. “Yes, you’re right. He would.” She looked at Kendall and Megan. “And I think he’d like to meet my friends too.”
For the second time, Lelani went through the backyard to the main house. But this time, instead of ringing the bell and waiting for Meri, she went around to the family room wing off the pool. It was her dad’s favorite place to watch TV. She hoped her mother was at the other end of the house with Emma.
“Hi, Daddy,” said Lelani as she walked through the open door off the pool.
His face lit up but then quickly turned somber. “Hello, Lelani.” He pushed himself up from his leather recliner, smoothed his hair, which was even sparser than the last time she’d seen him, and then gave her a tentative hug. She could tell he was watching the doorway to see if his wife was about to pop in and catch him in an open display of affection. Then he stepped back and she introduced her friends.
He was polite but cool. And suspicious.
“I’m guessing that my mother told you I tried to kidnap Emma.”
He nodded. “Something like that.”
“Well, I wasn’t trying to steal her. I just wanted to see her.” Lelani smiled. “Can you blame me for that, Daddy? She’s such a sweetie. I can’t believe how she’s grown.”
He softened now. “Yes. She’s trying to take steps now. Did you see her walk?”
“No, I didn’t have a chance before—”
“Lelani,” her mother’s voice cut through the room like a sword. “And you’ve brought your friends.”
So Lelani turned and introduced Kendall. Her mother was dressed now, looking sleek and sophisticated in a pale yellow sheath dress and matching sandal flats. And pearls. Lelani wondered what the special occasion was. Her mother usually reserved her pearls for going out or entertaining.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kendall,” her mother said politely. “And nice to see you again, Megan. Are you girls enjoying your stay?”
“Yes,” said Kendall. “You have a beautiful place, Mrs. Porter. And Maui, or what I’ve seen of it, is absolutely gorgeous.”
“We like our little island.” Her mother smiled—perfectly—and motioned to the pale blue sectional. “Won’t you girls sit down? Can I get you anything? Meri makes a lovely papaya smoothie.”
Megan glanced at Lelani and Lelani said, “Sure, smoothies sound great.” She knew this would distract her mother for a couple of minutes. And as soon as she was out of earshot, Lelani turned to her dad. “I need to talk to you, Daddy, in private.”
“Well … your mother won’t like—”
But Lelani was already grabbing his hand and tugging him. “Come on, Daddy. You can’t let that woman boss you around forever.”
Kendall giggled, and that seemed to trigger something in Lelani’s dad, because he simply nodded and said, “Fine. Let’s go.”
Before her mother returned, Lelani and her dad slipped out the back, and she led him past the guesthouse directly to the beach.
“You know that you’re going to get me into trouble, don’t you?” he warned.
“You’re already in trouble,” she pointed out as she hurried down the beach and away from the house. “The trouble began when you sided with Mom to keep my child.”
“What?” He stopped walking and turned and looked at her like she was crazy. “You’re the one who took off, Lelani. You’re the one who left her baby for her parents to raise.”
She looked into his eyes. “Is that what she told you?”
“It’s what I know.”
“No, it’s what my mother has brainwashed you to believe.”
“You were miserable here, Lelani. Everyone could see it. You were unable to care for your child. You didn’t even want to. Your mother took over your responsibilities because you refused to—”
“That is not true!”
“Oh, you can call it the baby blues or whatever you like, but I saw you, Lelani. You hid out in the guesthouse with dirty hair and ratty clothes. You wouldn’t speak to anyone. You were a mess.” He shook his head. “And I kind of understood. But to leave everything just hanging the way you did, well, I don’t—”
“My mother forced me to go. You don’t know that?”
“She thought it might help you to get away.”
Lelani felt like screaming. How could her dad be so gullible? Or maybe he didn’t care. Maybe he just wanted to believe his wife’s spin. Maybe it was just easier.
“I agreed with her, Lelani, I thought you needed a year in the mainland to clear your head and figure out whether you wanted to return to med school.”
“I didn’t know what I wanted, Dad. When mother refused to let me be with my baby and—”
“Alana didn’t refuse to let you be with Kala—”
“Emma! Her name is Emma.”
“Fine. Emma. Kala. Whatever. Your mother did not—”
“She hired a nanny, Dad. Even before I came home from the hospital, she hired Ginger to care for Emma.”
“Because she thought you needed help.”
“NO!” Lelani shook her fist at him. “Because she wanted Emma for herself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lelani. What parents, at our age, want to start a family over again? Your mother was simply trying to help you. And then you fell apart and—”
“No, Daddy.” Lelani’s voice grew calm now. “My mother hired Ginger to take over the baby, and before I could do a thing, she moved Emma to my old room, and then she moved me out to the guesthouse. When I said I was going to care for Emma myself, she told me that I couldn’t.”
“Well, you couldn’t.”
“Sure, I didn’t have a job or money, but I wanted to care for my own baby. I wanted to be a mother. I just needed a little help.”
“We helped you, Lelani.” Her dad wiped the sweat from his brow, then shook his head. “And you were nothing but ungrateful. That’s probably why I agreed with your mother. I thought you might learn to appreciate all that you have, all that I’ve worked so hard to give you, if you didn’t have it to take for granted anymore. I thought it might knock some sense into that stubborn head of yours and maybe you’d come—”
“It’s useless!” Lelani closed her eyes and shook her head to keep herself from screaming.
“We should go back to the house,” her father said quietly.
Lelani opened her eyes and willed herself to be calm. “Yes, Daddy, you should go back. It’s clear that Alana Porter has you under her thumb and there is nothing I can do to make you see the truth. Nothing I can do to change the fact that you are controlled by your wife and probably always will be. But at least I tried.” She smiled sadly at him and, despite all the emotions raging within her, she felt sorry for her father. “But I still love you, Daddy. And no matter what happens, I’ll always be your little girl.”
Then she turned away from him and ran as fast as she could go down the beach in the opposite direction of the house. She ran and ran and ran. She thought she could run forever, but the beach finally came to an end, and she was forced to stop.
Out of breath, she turned and looked back. Her father was nowhere to be seen. He’d probably returned to the house to report that Lelani had lost her mind and gone screaming down the beach. Well, fine. Maybe she had lost her mind.
She walked out into the surf and let the ocean swallow her. The water felt chilly against her hot skin at first, and then delicious as she adjusted to it. She went under, allowing the coolness to seep into her scalp before she swam out a ways and just relaxed. She had always felt comforted by the ocean, and sometimes the gentle waves reminded her of a loving parent holding a child, rocking it gently. She stretched out her arms and legs, allowing the rolling surf to sway her back and forth. Her sundress swirled about, sometimes twisting around her body and sometimes floating free like a jellyfish. When she finally tired, she slowly swam back to shore.
With her dripping dress clinging to her, she walked a few feet from the ocean’s edge and collapsed on the wet sand. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Somehow, this was going to turn out all right. She couldn’t explain why, or even wrap her mind around the way she felt, but out there in the waves she had imagined herself resting in the hands of God. She had let go of some things and entrusted them to him. And she knew that everything was going to be okay.
Maybe not for her parents. But for Emma and Lelani, it was going to turn out all right. Because Lelani knew, the instant she laid eyes on Emma this morning, that they belonged together, and that neither of them could ever be really happy unless they were together.
Because of that, Lelani knew that she would do whatever it took to care for Emma. She would work hard, maybe go back to school, whatever. Emma would have the best that life could give. Oh, she might not have the expensive luxuries that her grandparents offered, but she would have enough. More than enough. And she would have love—the kind of love that would allow Emma to grow up to be whatever it was she wanted to be, and the kind of love that would forgive, again and again. This is what Lelani knew in her heart.