Megan
“I wonder what it would feel like to have grown up in a place like Maui,” Megan mused as she and Marcus took a break on a beach in Hana. It felt good to have the solid ground beneath her and the warmth of the sun above. The Road to Hana, about fifty winding miles of thick jungle vegetation and numerous beautiful waterfalls along the way, had taken more than three hours to travel. And Megan was not ready to get back in the Jeep yet.
“It’s sure a different world here.” Marcus picked up a handful of sand, letting the grains trickle like fountains between his fingers. “I think I’m starting to understand the island mentality.”
“What mentality?” Megan curled her toes into the sand, digging them down to where it was cooler.
“You know, the why-work-if-you-can-play mentality.”
“Oh, right.” Megan remembered what Lelani had told them about how most Hawaiians worked to live, not lived to work. They valued an extra day at the beach more than a fatter paycheck at the end of the week. “Well, if I lived here, I’d probably adopt a Hawaiian work ethic myself.” She chuckled. “In fact, I wouldn’t mind taking work less seriously at home too.”
“Really?” Marcus looked curiously at her. “You always seem like such a driven sort of worker.”
“I do?” Megan considered this.
“Yeah, I’m not saying you’re a workaholic, but you really do work hard.”
She nodded. “I get that from my dad.”
“And I’m not saying it’s bad”—Marcus leaned back and looked at the sky—“but do you ever wonder what your dad thinks about all that work now?”
“You mean … like he’s probably not up there in heaven going, ‘Man, I wish I’d worked more.’” She sighed. “At least he enjoyed his work. He was a great architect, and he loved what he did.”
“I guess that would make a difference.”
“Do you love what you do?”
“I used to think I loved it, but now I think I really just loved the money.” Marcus laughed. “Investment brokers used to make more. But now, even if I made more, I still wouldn’t love it. I might not even like it.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“To pay the bills, to keep the wolf from the door.” He turned and looked at her. “How about you? I haven’t heard you saying anything positive about your job these last few weeks.”
“Because I pretty much loathe my job.”
“Even after Cynthia gave you a raise and a week off?”
“That was nice. And I plan to go back and work hard in return, but …”
“But?”
“I’m going to get more serious about finding a teaching job.”
“Do you think you’d love to teach?”
“More than I’d love helping to decorate rich people’s houses.”
“Teachers don’t make much money.”
“I don’t need much money.”
“You know, since we’ve been going to church, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.”
“Like what?”
“Like what I want to do with my life.”
She turned and looked at him. “What do you want to do with your life?”
“I want to make a difference.”
“I know what you mean,” admitted Megan. “I want to make a difference too. I’ve been thinking about that Hawaiian princess that I was reading about at lunchtime.”
“The one born in the cave?”
“Yeah. Ka’ahumanu.”
“I can’t believe you can remember her name, let alone pronounce it right.”
“I sort of made a point to remember it. I wanted to ask Lelani if she was related to her. I mean there are some similarities. Ka’ahumanu had a home in Lahaina, and they’re both tall, intelligent, beautiful Hawaiian women.”
“Except Lelani doesn’t have any tattoos.”
“Not that you know of anyway.”
“Does she?”
Megan laughed. “I don’t know. But I haven’t seen any.”
“Anyway, back to Ka-ah-what’s-her-name.”
“Ka’ahumanu. She was a woman who made a huge difference. Her influence on this island is really profound.”
“Uh-huh?” Marcus leaned back into the sand again. “Tell me more.”
Megan leaned back too. “First of all, she married well.”
Marcus laughed. “Yes, considering she was born in a cave.”
“But after her royal husband died, she did a lot for her people. She made laws to protect their religious practices, which in turn allowed Christianity into the island.”
“Which was kind of a mixed blessing, don’t you think?”
“I think some of the missionaries took advantage of the wealth of this land—and of the culture. But you have to give credit to some, like the missionaries who taught Princess Ka’ahumanu to read and write and introduced her to Christ. They made a difference too.”
“So Princess Ka-ah was a Christian?”
“Yes.” Megan punched him in the arm. “I already told you all this at lunch, don’t you listen to me?”
“Well, you were reading the back of the menu and I was reading the inside since I was hungry. Sorry.”
“Anyway, after she became a Christian, she did a lot of things to help and protect her people. She was an amazing leader—especially for a woman back in the eighteen hundreds.”
“So you want to grow up and be like Ka-ah-hoo-ha?”
“Ka’ahumanu.” Megan laughed. “Actually you were a little closer that time. But, yes, I wouldn’t mind doing something influential in my life. I don’t aspire to be a Hawaiian princess. But I’d like to make a difference. I suppose I could be a missionary.”
“A missionary?” Marcus sat up and stared at her.
“I know. It sounds crazy, but I’ve actually thought about it from time to time.”
“What would you do?”
“Well, I’ve heard that there’s a need for teachers in a lot of places. And I do have my teaching credentials.”
“Wow. That’s kind of mind-blowing, Megan.”
She nodded. “I’ve never actually told anyone before. I guess I sort of thought that if you’re supposed to be a missionary, well, God would call you to it.”
“Like, ‘Yoo-hoo, Megan, God on the line. Can you please go teach African children to read and write?’”
Megan laughed, then punched him again. “No, silly. Not like that. And if I’d known you were going to make fun of me, I never would’ve told you in the first place. Sheesh.”
“I’m not making fun of you. Not really. In fact, this interests me … a lot.”
“What interests you? That I might hop on a boat and head off to regions unknown and teach orphans and you’d never hear from me again?”
He shook his head. “That’s definitely not what interests me.”
“What then?”
“Well …” He looked slightly uncomfortable now. “I’m not sure I’m ready to say it just yet.”
A tiny alarm went off in Megan, and she wasn’t even sure why. She had just teased him about heading to the ends of the earth and he had said he didn’t like that idea and that he had something to say, except he wasn’t ready to say it yet. Or maybe she wasn’t ready to hear it yet. Surely, he wasn’t about to pop the question, was he? No, that was crazy.
“Oh, dear!” She picked up her cell phone. “It’s after three and we told Anna and Edmond we’d pick—”
“Let’s go!” Marcus was on his feet, reaching down to pull her up to him. And then, to her surprise, he pulled her into a hug. “You’re one great girl, Megan.”
“Well, thanks.” She smiled up at him.
“And now we better rock and roll.” He chuckled as they hurried to the parking lot. “I guess we’re already getting sucked into Maui time.”
Fortunately, Edmond and Anna must’ve been sucked into Maui time too, because they came walking up to the prearranged meeting place only seconds after the Jeep pulled up.
“Sorry to be late,” said Anna. She set a shopping bag in the back. “But we found some great-looking fruit to take back to the guesthouse.”
“Oh, that’s okay.” Marcus winked at Megan. “We haven’t been waiting too long.”
“So,” Megan produced a map. “We can either go back the way we came, or we can continue on around the east side of the island.”
“Which might be quicker,” said Marcus.
“And it might be more interesting,” added Edmond, “since we’ll see more of the island that way.”
So it was decided. But Megan was surprised at the difference in the terrain. “I feel like we’ve gone to another place,” she said as they rode through what actually seemed like a desert. “Look, there’s another cactus.”
“Are you sure we’re still in Maui?” asked Anna.
“Well, since we haven’t taken any boats or bridges,” teased Marcus.
“Or stepped into the Twilight Zone,” added Edmond.
“It says here,” Megan read from her brochure, “that this is the dry side of the island. Because of the weather pattern and trade winds, most of the moisture ends up on the west side, which explains why it’s so green over where we’re staying.” Then Megan went on to read other statistics about weather, elevation, and history.
“You’re a good travel guide,” called out Anna from the back.
“And a great teacher,” added Edmond.
Marcus nudged Megan with his elbow. “See, maybe God is calling.”
Megan just laughed. But then she wondered. Maybe God was calling. At least he might be calling her to teach. That seemed fairly obvious. As far as being a missionary, well, maybe that was simply Maui calling.
She glanced at Marcus now. He actually looked quite attractive in his aviator sunglasses and worn khaki ball cap. Already he was sporting the beginnings of a pretty nice tan. His profile, the straight nose and strong chin, was just as handsome as always, although it looked like he’d forgotten to shave this morning, which only added to those rugged good looks. He didn’t notice her looking, because his attention was tightly focused on navigating the Jeep to avoid potholes in this washboard stretch of road.
She turned away and wondered what it was that he’d been about to tell her on the beach this afternoon. Why had it suddenly felt awkward and quiet between them? Or had she simply imagined that? No, she didn’t think so. She couldn’t deny feeling hugely relieved when she realized they needed to get Anna and Edmond. Otherwise, what would’ve happened? Was he really about to ask her to marry him?
Seriously, what would she have told him if he’d made a genuine, honest-to-goodness proposal? Would she have been able to speak at all? She imagined herself with her jaw hanging open, too stunned to respond. Lovely image.
Megan had no doubt that some girls, take Kendall for instance, would think it wildly romantic to receive a proposal in a place like Maui. Perhaps at the right time, it would be wonderful, sweet, and memorable. Unfortunately, Megan didn’t feel ready for that kind of commitment. Not just yet. She sure hoped that Marcus didn’t either. But, just in case, she began rehearsing a response in her head. Something honest but kind, direct but open-ended.
Then Megan began to question herself. Why should she tell him no? Didn’t she love him? Yes, she thought that she did. She felt like she did. But marriage? She was only twenty-four. Okay, almost twenty-five. He was only a year older. He didn’t even like his job. And she didn’t like her job. No, she decided, neither of them was ready for a big commitment like marriage. Were they?