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One Year Later
Kala and Sammy were fussing with her lei.
“It’s fine,” Joely said.
She was barefoot and wore a white sundress. Holt had insisted she wear this huge white hat with the big brim so she wasn’t lobster red by the time the ceremony ended.
“I don’t know why you didn’t want to get married at one of Tetsuo’s properties,” Kala sniffed, bobby pinning her veil onto the hat.
“We wanted it to be at the resort.”
“Because you two don’t spend enough time here,” Sammy said.
Joely picked out an Aloha patterned dress for her with bright red hibiscus flowers and splashes of purple lavender leaves on a cream background. Sammy was also barefoot.
Kala, of course, was in an evening gown and three inch heels. Joely wasn’t sure how she was going to walk on the beach in those, but she had other things to worry about.
“Is Dude sober?” she asked Sammy.
Sammy shrugged. “How can you tell?”
She had a point.
Amelia and Michaela came in, dressed the same as Sammy.
“They’re almost ready for you,” Amelia said, handing her an iced glass of pog.
“Marcus made Dude promise to behave,” Michaela said, giving her a quick hug.
“Is everybody getting along out there?” Joely asked.
“So far so good. Holt hasn’t hit his father. Dude and Marcus haven’t gotten into a screaming match with Tetsuo. And the band is sober.” Amelia gave her a shaka.
Makoa had arranged for the music. He was going to play the steel drums. Hani and Kai were on ukuleles and Mel was going to sing.
Holt probably would have preferred that his father not show up at all, which was why Makoa made him part of the band.
That and Mel was taking on more responsibility at Palekaiko, now that Holt was only working there part time. They split their days working part of the week at the ranch and part of the week at the resort.
It was the best of both worlds. Joely knew that they would have to choose eventually. But for right now, Tetsuo was satisfied that Holt was training to be foreman and would take over once Joe retired. And while Joely knew her heart would always call this resort home, she was looking forward to her new adventure Upcountry.
But not for a couple of more years yet.
She couldn’t help comparing today with her first wedding ceremony. Instead of being on a beach at sunset, surrounded by friends and family, Joely had stood in too tight shoes and wore a rented suit dress while standing in front of a justice of the peace. Joely didn’t remember feeling anything but relieved. She certainly didn’t feel like her heart was going to burst from love, like she did today.
Timothy was out of her life for good. And after today, when she said the word husband, it would only mean Holt.
Over the past year, Joely used her remote access to monitor Timothy’s correspondence. There hadn’t been a single mention of her. She wasn’t sure what transpired between Tetsuo and Timothy, while Holt took Sammy to the airport that day, but it had been enough to scare him away.
However, he still sexted Cami and shared videos with her, which Joely wouldn’t open even if her life depended on it. She also found out by spying on their non-sexual chats that it was obvious that Cami was on Tetsuo’s payroll. And so was Timothy. Or at least, if he wasn’t getting a paycheck from Tetsuo, his continued existence was how he was being compensated for his cooperation.
While Holt wanted to fire Cami on the spot, Amelia and Joely convinced him that it would help them control the information they wanted Tetsuo to have. It was always better to know who the snitch was than not.
When Makoa pounded out the first couple of bars of Here Comes the Bride, Joely got a case of butterflies in her stomach.
“They’re playing your song,” Sammy said.
Linking arms with Kala and Sammy, Joely walked out of the pavilion and into the sun. Amelia and Michaela followed, carrying thick bouquets of plumeria and roses. After a few sinking steps in the sand, Kala cursed and kicked off her shoes.
Their guests stood on either side of the makeshift aisle. At the end of the walkway, Holt looked confident and sure of himself standing next to Dude and Mike.
Mike looked nervous.
Dude smirked.
She smiled back at him, her nerves fleeing into the wind.
As the waves crashed down, soft ukulele music played until she stood next to Holt.
“You look beautiful,” he said, removing the veil and kissing her.
“Hey,” Dude said. “That’s not until da end of the program, bruddah. Take it easy.”
Holt rolled his eyes.
Dude took a swig of his Cerveza and cleared his throat.
“I think I speak for everyone here, that it’s about fucking time these two tied the knot.”
There were a few whoops and cheers at that.
“Wahine, dis guy has had hearts in his eyes from the moment he saw you. Brah,” Dude turned to Holt. “You could have tripped over her tongue every time you walked by with a surfboard.”
Joely sighed. He wasn’t wrong. But it was still embarrassing.
“Do you love her?”
“With all my heart,” Holt said.
Joely’s eyes grew misty, and she leaned her cheek against his arm.
“What about you, Sistah?”
“I love him too.”
“Well, that’s the easy part. There’s going to be a lot of outside forces gonna want to tear that apart. Whether it’s because of jealousy or because Fate is a fickle bitch. But you’ve got each other, so you’re already ahead of the game. Got it?”
Joely nodded.
“Holt, do you promise not to be a pin head and fire this girl when she gets into trouble.”
“Uh, I do?”
“Joely, do you promise to involve Holt in all your harebrained schemes.”
“Sure, yeah. I guess.” She grinned up at him.
“K’den. Hey parrot head, you up. Give me the rings.”
Mike jolted and tapped his pockets before pulling out two simple gold bands. Dude took them from him and handed him a wooden bowl filled with water.
“For you guys in the cheap seats, this here is a Koa wood bowl. I dipped it into the ocean a few minutes ago. That symbolizes me washing away anything that’s in the past. This is a fresh start. Their future comes brand new from the ocean, clean and pure.” Dude held up a leaf. “This is a Ti leaf.” He dropped it into the bowl and swirled it around in the water. “Koa is a hardwood. That represents a strong foundation for your marriage. The leaf is a symbol of island life. It represents good fortune and blessings of happiness.”
Dude cupped some of the water in his hand and sprinkled it over the rings.
“Ei-Ah Eha-No. Ka Malohia Oh-Na-Lani. Mea A-Ku A-Pau.” He chanted that a few times.
Holt leaned in and whispered in her ear. “He’s saying, may peace from above rest upon you and remain with you now and forever.”
“Say it aloud for the crowd, big guy,” Dude said.
Holt repeated himself, and the guests clapped.
“Take these.” Dude handed them each other’s ring.
“Joely, this is your last chance. If you run now, I’ll trip him so you can get away.”
“No way,” she said.
“Good. Put the ring on his finger and say the words.”
Joely held Holt’s hand. “Today, I’m marrying my best friend. My lover. And my heart’s desire. Thank you for accepting me for who I am, flaws and all. And showing me that I deserve to be loved.” She slid the ring on his finger.
“Hold on a minute. Sand got in my eye.” Dude wiped his face on his sleeve. “Your turn,” he said to Holt.
“Today, I’m marrying the love of my life. The one who makes me smile, think, and laugh. I can’t wait to grow old with you and share every day with my beautiful wife. Aloha wau ia oe.”
Joely’s hand was shaking when he pushed the ring on her finger.
“Okay, now you can kiss her. But make it quick. We want to hit the buffet and open bar.
Joely leapt into his arms as Makoa and the boys struck up The Hawaiian Wedding Song, Ke Kali Nei Au. Mel even sounded a little like Elvis Presley when he crooned out the words.
The End
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Thank you for reading!
– Jamie