“The baby,” she said out loud. “Well, I didn’t hurt my stomach, that I’m sure of. But, I don’t know if that type of scare or trauma can do any damage to a baby. I just don’t know. I mean, I’ve never ...” Now it was Michelle’s turn to be at a loss for words.
“Do you have a doctor here on the island?” Daniel asked.
Michelle gave him a funny look and laughed. “Yeah, I do.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows in question as Michelle continued. “He’s my godfather.”
His eyebrows rolled up and then back down as if to say: Oooohhhhh. Daniel smiled back at Michelle and waited as she thought the situation over.
“I haven’t seen him in eight years of course,” she said as she reached for her phone. “But he’s also Kaiko’s doctor. So she would have his number. I guess I should call her.”
As he watched her, Daniel wondered how she would play it off with Kaiko. He assumed she hadn’t told anyone else about the pregnancy.
Michelle dialed the number and held the phone up to her ear. “Hi Kaiko, it’s Michelle.” She waited a moment and then laughed. “Oh, I wasn’t sure because we don’t talk that often.”
She looked at Daniel and smiled. “I was wondering if you had Uncle Kela’s number?” She waited as Daniel watched, curiosity rising. “Uh-huh, no, no, I’m fine. It’s just that I fell,” she stopped abruptly and Daniel could hear Kaiko’s voice rise on the other end of the phone. After several seconds, Michelle continued.
“No, no, I’m fine, really.” Another pause and then, “Well, I’m sure it is. But that’s why I wanted to see Uncle Kela. Better safe than sorry, right?” She looked at Daniel knowingly.
After several more seconds, Michelle smiled into the phone. “Thanks, Kaiko, I really appreciate it.” Another pause and then, “Of course. I know you wouldn’t. I love you too, bye.” She disconnected and swiped her finger across her phone several times until she got to her text messages.
“Well, how did that go?” Daniel asked, wondering how she could have gotten that number without raising Kaiko’s curiosity.
Michelle tapped her finger on the phone, held it up to her ear and looked at Daniel. “Oh, it was fine. She knows I’m pregnant and she was concerned too.”
This time Daniel’s eyebrows took on a whole new level of surprise. “She knew? When did you tell her?” Daniel wondered what else Kaiko knew. How close were these two? Had Michelle shared any other secrets, like perhaps her true feelings for him, with Kaiko?
“Hi, can I please speak to Dr. Nawahine. This is his goddaughter Michelle Clemens.” Michelle walked in a circle as her feet played with stones on the dirt path. Her head snapped up with a look of a child on Christmas morning when Kela answered. “Yes! Hi, Uncle Kela! I know,” she tried to keep talking. Every time Michelle tried to open her mouth to say more than a word, she was cut off by the loud voice on the other end. Michelle looked up at Daniel and smiled sheepishly.
Finally, after her Uncle Kela had gotten everything out of his system, Michelle was allowed to talk. “Well, you too. I know. But Uncle Kela, I was wondering if I could stop by and see you?” The voice on the other end of the phone filled with renewed excitement and Daniel could hear the voice say: of course!
Michelle looked at Daniel again and then took a deep breath. “Uncle Kela, can I come by now?” This time, the voice on the other end was barely audible. Daniel could only make out soft noises as Michelle nodded her head and responded with uh-huhs. She smiled into the phone one last time. “Thank you, Uncle Kela.” Then she hung up.
She looked up at Daniel and then at the farmhouse in the distance. “Okay, looks like we’re going this way,” she said as she pointed to a path that forked off of the trail they were on.
Daniel glanced in the direction Michelle pointed and saw a wide road not far from where they were now. Michelle continued, “Uncle Kela, well, he’s not really my uncle. He’s a good friend of the family and actually went to school with my mom. He has been like an uncle to me and my brother and sister our whole lives. His wife is Lottie’s godmother. Anyhow,” she waved her hand as if to brush off the small talk. “He’s also our family’s OBGYN. Kaiko sees him too so I figured she’d have his number. You know, I haven’t seen him in so long. He didn’t even know I was back. I feel bad for him having to find out this way, with me wanting to see him professionally rather than just personally.”
They started walking to the wide road ahead and Michelle looked at Daniel. She saw the look of confusion on his face and realized why. “Oh, Kaiko knows I’m pregnant. I told her last night,” Michelle said matter-of-factly.
Daniel continued walking and thought what an interesting girl Michelle was. She was so full of history, family heritage, and had the most interesting relationships. He figured Kaiko and she had rekindled their close friendship since she had returned to the island. Or perhaps they had remained close the entire time she had been gone. All he was sure of was that Kaiko was lucky to have such a good friend as Michelle. And that he was glad Michelle agreed to get looked at after the fall.
They arrived at the wide road and turned right towards the ocean. Daniel realized that they were parallel to the road leading to Trinity Ranch. He assumed Michelle wanted to go this way so as not to raise suspicion with anyone at the ranch. Dr. Nawahine’s office was on the main road in Haleiwa and was just blocks from where they were. They passed some small shops, a barber shop, a hairdresser and a few restaurants, including the Hula Surf Burger, on their way to the doctor’s office. They arrived just as Kela’s assistant was packing her things up for the day.
“You must be Michelle,” said Marta as she greeted Michelle and Daniel. “And this is ...?”
“I’m a friend of the family, Daniel.” He stuck his hand out for a handshake and Marta took it. She gave him the once-over and judging by the look on her face, she probably assumed he was the baby’s father.
She handed a clipboard with a stack of papers to Michelle and said, “Okey-dokey. Just fill these out and I’ll let Dr. Nawahine—” Marta’s words were chopped off by the arrival of the largest and happiest face Daniel had ever seen.
“Micha! Micha, Micha! My little girl!” Dr. Po’Okela Nawahine walked out of his office and straight over to Michelle, taking her tiny face into his enormous hands. He towered over her standing at least six feet six inches tall and well over 300 pounds. He looked down at his tiny goddaughter and smiled before he swallowed her up in his arms. The only part of Michelle Daniel could still see was her long brown hair and her feet. He wondered if this giant’s hug would do more damage to Michelle’s baby than the fall had.
“Hi Uncle Kela,” was Michelle’s muffled reply. Kela let her free of his embrace but kept his giant hands on her tiny arms as he held her out to get a good look at her.
“How have you been my dear? It’s been so long! You look, you look ...” Kela couldn’t continue. His eyes welled up and emotion overcame him. He pulled Michelle in close again and this time released her quickly.
“So, who is this?” Kela turned all of his attention to Daniel, who hadn’t even thought he had been noticed by this magnificent Polynesian.
“Kela,” Michelle said, smiling up at her godfather, “This is my friend Daniel. And no—he’s not.” Her statement had no effect on Kela whatsoever. He showed no expression except one of welcome as he put his thick hand out to Daniel.
Daniel shook the mitt and smiled without saying a word. He would have felt out of place at any obstetrician’s office. But the fact that this was Michelle’s godfather made him even more uncomfortable.
Kela turned to Marta and immediately donned his professional demeanor. “Marta, no paperwork today. I’ll get the information another time. Please dress for one more appointment and make my goddaughter comfortable. I’ll wash up and be there in a moment.”
He turned back to Michelle as the casual, loving Kela kissed her on the forehead and then turned and disappeared into a door marked EXIT.
Marta set the clipboard on the desk, took Michelle through a door and around a corner to a triage area. Michelle was measured, weighed and had her blood pressure taken. Marta charted her information and then led her to a small room with a table, a counter and two chairs. She handed Michelle a paper gown and told her to undress from the waist down and then left the room.
A few moments later, Michelle heard a knock on the door, and Kela and Marta entered. Kela was all business and began doing an examination of the uterus and fetus. He told Michelle that everything felt okay and asked her some questions.
“Any pain, any cramping? Did you fall on your stomach? Did anything fall on your belly?” Michelle answered no to them all.
“Okay Michelle,” said Kela. He smiled broadly as he wheeled a machine next to her head. “Would you like to see your baby?”
Michelle’s heart skipped a beat. See my baby, she thought? My baby? See it? Until now, Michelle hadn’t really thought about the pregnancy in viable terms. She hadn’t been able to think of the life growing inside of her as a real baby. It was just a thing. It was a problem, an inconvenience, actually. But at that moment, the moment her godfather asked her if she wanted to see her child, she felt the reality of it all come crashing down.
She looked at Kela and nodded as tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. He smiled knowingly and squeezed her hand. Kela pulled his stool next to the bed and heaved himself down onto it. He reached up to the machine, grabbed the wand from the side clip and then grabbed a bottle. He tapped the bottle a few times and then squeezed a glob of gel onto Michelle’s exposed belly. She jumped at the sensation of the cold gel hitting her warm skin. Kela went about his business pressing buttons on the machine next to her. After a few seconds, he took the wand, placed it in the center of the gel and then began to swirl it around. He turned the machine toward Michelle so she could see the screen.
She looked and saw a small computer display showing all sorts of vital signs and numbers across the top in white letters. The background of the display was black, and Michelle couldn’t make anything out except gray areas and white lines. The image on the machine kept shifting and sliding around and Michelle could see it jump with every beat of her heart. She was fascinated as she watched the image change and move.
Kela pressed down gently on her stomach and then slowed down over a spot just below her belly button. He pushed a little more firmly and then clicked a few buttons on the machine as he held the wand still.
“See, look right there,” he said, pointing with his free hand to the still image he caught on the computer display. “Do you see it?”
Michelle blinked and craned her neck, trying to make out the image. She shook her head slowly, not able to see what Kela was seeing.
“Here,” Kela said, turning the screen further in her direction. He moved the wand slowly over her belly and clicked a few more buttons on the computer. “Now, you see that now?”
Michelle caught her breath as her eyes fixed on the image. There, in between the black and white static on the screen, was a single gray blob that looked like a tadpole. Michelle could make out a huge head shape at the top and swore she saw something move inside it when Kela unfroze the screen.
“That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” Kela said as he froze the screen once more and released the wand. “And it looks just fine.”
Michelle sat speechless. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the image on the screen. My baby, she thought. That’s my baby. There’s actually a little human being growing inside of me. That’s my child. It has a head and heart. It’s alive inside of me. And it’s healthy. The tears came spilling over the edge of her wide eyes, and Kela handed her a tissue for her eyes as Marta came around the other side and cleaned the gel from her stomach.
“Thank you, Marta,” he said to his assistant. “Now,” he turned to Michelle. “I’ll give you a minute to get dressed and then I’ll see you in my office.” He smiled and left. Marta finished cleaning up and exited the room behind him, leaving Michelle alone with her baby and her thoughts.
Several minutes later, Michelle entered Kela’s modest office and sat across the large mahogany desk from her godfather. He spun around in his chair and sat back with nothing but love on his face.
“You and your baby are fine. I would say, from the size of the baby,” he said, looking at his computer screen, “that you are about six weeks along.” Kela reached onto his desk, found the folder he was looking for and slid it across the desk. Michelle reached for it and opened it to find her file with all of her personal information, her anticipated due date and pictures from the ultrasound machine. She ran her fingers over the black and white images, letting the reality again sink in before looking up to Kela.
“Po’ Okela, thank you so much, Uncle.” She smiled and knew she didn’t have to say another word. Aside from doctor client privilege, Kela also knew about family honor. He was one of only a handful of obstetric and gynecological doctors on this side of the island, and he knew most of the families. If a girl was in trouble, she knew she could come to him for guidance, medical care of direction—all in complete confidence. Kela Nawahine was respected by his employees, patients and the community. And he was respected, revered and loved deeply by those fortunate enough to be able to call him family and friend.
Michelle got up, walked around the desk and planted a soft kiss on Kela’s cheek before she left the office and walked out to the waiting room. Daniel stood up when he saw her enter the room with the folder in her hand. His face was full of worry but the fear melted away when he saw the expression of calm and certainty on Michelle. She smiled and nodded to him as she walked over. She opened the folder, brought out the images of her unborn child and held them up to him.
Daniel looked down, put his hand out to touch them and then stopped as if he was worried he would injure the baby by touching the picture. He had the nerves of a new father and was so protective that when he did take the pictures, he held them delicately by their edges. He looked down in awe as Michelle pointed out the location of the baby and heartbeat. He had seen ultrasounds before when his friends had babies, but he had never been so moved by one as he was now.
Standing alone with Michelle, who just days ago had been a complete stranger, standing with her now in this intimate moment, looking at pictures of the new life growing inside her, was almost too much to bear. Daniel wanted to throw the folder down and sweep Michelle up in his arms and tell her how deeply he loved her and how much he was attracted to her. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything but be the honorable man he knew he was supposed to be. He had made a commitment to Kimberly and was doing everything he could to avoid keeping that commitment. But now the time had come. He had crossed an emotional line with Michelle that he knew was dangerous and there might be no coming back from.
“What’s wrong?” Michelle asked, too caught up in her own feelings to imagine what Daniel was thinking.
“It’s nothing,” he said abruptly, putting the pictures back in the folder and closing it up. “It’s just getting late, and I have a big day tomorrow.” He thanked Marta and said good-bye as he escorted Michelle outside.
Michelle slipped the folder into her backpack and they began walking back toward the ranch in silence. She was lost in thought about her baby, feeling like it was the first time she could freely think about the baby. She had been so worried about anyone finding out, so concerned about what other people thought. But now that Kaiko, Lilo, and her mother knew, she could breathe a little easier. The only person left to worry about was her father. But Michelle didn’t want to spend the energy worrying about him right now.
Daniel walked beside Michelle, unsure what to do with his feelings. He was so grateful that Michelle’s baby was okay. But he was so frustrated that he couldn’t share in the joy with her. He knew she had feelings for him, he could sense it. And he certainly had feelings for her. But he swore he would be honorable. He had to figure out what to do about Kimberly and the wedding before he did anything else. He had been praying and asking for direction and thought he knew where God wanted him to be. But he needed to get home and see Kimberly and be sure one way or the other before he made any decisions.
They finally reached the ranch just as the sun began to play with the tops of the trees. The white farmhouse lit up with a golden hue from the sun, and Daniel and Michelle made their way up the wooden steps. Larry, Elizabeth, and George were just sitting down to dinner when they arrived.
“So kids, how was the hike?” asked George as he winked to Elizabeth.
Michelle and Daniel looked at each other, knowing they couldn’t keep the entire day a secret. Without speaking it out loud, they both silently agreed to reveal part of the day’s events.
“I fell through the rope bridge,” was all Michelle had to say. Everyone jumped up and ran to her, checking her for injuries. They asked for all the details, and Michelle sat down at the table and filled them in as Kahili fixed her a cold towel and an even colder drink. When she got to the part about Daniel saving her, all eyes turned to Daniel. He had taken a seat at the end of the table and tried to stay out of the fuss. He knew the family was concerned for Michelle, not for him. But now, everyone got up and ran over to Daniel, thanking him profusely for saving Michelle. Everyone, that was, but Larry. After everyone sat back down, Kahili set a big plate of roasted pork on the table and everyone began digging in. Dishes clanked and cups were lifted. But Larry sat silent. He didn’t fix a plate and he didn’t drink. A few moments later, he broke that silence.
“Daniel,” Larry said. “Thank you for saving my daughter, my Michelle.” No one spoke a word. They were in shock that Larry would say anything at all. But then Elizabeth smiled and squeezed her husband’s hand, knowing his heart was beginning to soften. George smiled broadly with a mouthful of pork, glad to see his son finally come to his senses.
And as Larry began to fill his plate, Michelle’s heart filled with love for her father and for Daniel. She knew it wasn’t easy for her father to show emotions. She knew she had broken his heart in the past. And she knew he was a prideful man, full of honor for his family. For him to accept Daniel was something she never expected to happen. For him to publicly accept him in this way was definitely of God. Her thoughts returned to those she had previously, those of whether or not God had placed Daniel in her life for a reason. She had learned long ago not to question God’s plan. What was that verse she had heard years ago ...?
Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Michelle knew at that moment that her plans were insignificant. Her plans for living in California, working at New Life Pharmaceuticals, finding the man of her dreams ... all of these were Michelle following Michelle’s will. And that’s not what God wanted. That had never been what God wanted for her. God wanted her to have a life of love and joy. He wanted her to be loved and happy. And he wanted her to surrender her will to His so that He could move mountains and create miracles in her life.
The thought of miracles brought her hand to her stomach. She was so grateful she hadn’t been injured in the fall, and even more grateful that her stomach hadn’t been hurt in any way. And most grateful, most grateful to God for the man that saved her and her baby’s lives.
The family chattered as they ate, talking about the festival, Bella and the progress of the irrigation experiment. But Michelle didn’t hear a thing. The only sound she heard was that of love—love for her father, her family and her unborn child. But most of all, she heard and felt the love for this man who had entered her life so unexpectedly, this man who had saved her life, literally and figuratively.
Michelle looked across the table to Daniel, and he returned the look with a smile in his eyes and the same love in his heart.