Chapter Eighteen

 

When painting the house stretched into the next two days, my sore shoulders and fatigued arms were grateful Liam had completed the back on his own. I had to admit, Lulu’s place looked entirely different in its fresh coat of Luscious Lilac. In fact, with all the improvements I’d completed so far, I figured she ran out of excuses to bring me to see the goddess again.

Apparently, I thought wrong.

“The house is finished,” I declared as my purple speckled arms practically dragged along the ground. “So can we go to the volcano now?”

Without offering a comment on its appearance, Lulu handed me a bucket. She requested, “Gather the plums, then we’ll go see Pele.”

My eyebrows shot up my forehead. “Plums?”

“My sister asked me to bring her some jellies,” Lulu explained.

When will this ever end? I thought with a groan, suspecting there was another reason besides plum jelly that delayed my return to the goddess’s domain. I thought her task sounded reasonably easy, plucking ripe fruits from tall, sweeping branches. However, Lulu referred to an entirely different type of plum—one that didn’t grow on a tree. The natal plum grew like a landscaping hedge along one side of her yard and appeared much nicer than it really was. From afar, its delicate flowers—shaped like perfect stars of snow white—matured into seductively tempting red fruits against a backdrop of contrasting deep green leaves like a Christmas scene in July. But the natal plum held a few nasty secrets to defend its luscious fruits. They were surrounded by toxic leaves and sharp, stiff thorns. Lots of thorns.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips when I spotted the abundance of red fruits nestled safely amongst the chaotic tangles of branches. I’d never make it to the volcano today…or ever at this rate, would I?

“Fine,” I muttered to myself. “Might as well get started.” I carefully reached deep into the bush, twisting my hand between the thorns to grasp a fruit. “Ow!” I shrieked, a thorn scraping my flesh. With the fruit securely between my fingertips, I pulled my hand back quickly, but the thorns scratched me on the way out as well, leaving a pair of long gauges across my wrist and forearm. Fresh blood oozed from the cuts as I dropped the plum into the bucket. It hit the bottom with a hollow, empty sound.

“Auntie Lulu, do you have any gloves?” I called.

Aside from the slam of the screen door as it shut behind her, I received no response.

“Auntie?” I called louder, watching the front door expectantly. When a few minutes passed and she didn’t return, I figured she deliberately chose to ignore me. True, I could have run down to Lipoa’s Hardware to pick up a pair myself, but I’d risk bumping into Liam again. What if he decided to call in that favor?

A handful of small olive green birds landed in the nearby bush, happily chittering and darting amongst the branches. With pale bellies and white rings around each eye, they paused for a moment to study me curiously. I’d probably have better luck carrying on a conversation with them than with Auntie Lulu herself. I sighed. Dwelling on misfortunes wouldn’t improve my situation one bit. If keeping Lulu happy was my only ticket to see Pele, and Pele was my only link to mastering my powers and manipulating them to destroy the threat of the other Elementals, then I might as well stop grumbling and get started.

To say my arms took a beating every time I reached far within the hedge to pick the ripe fruit was a massive understatement. After gathering a bucket full of natal plums for Lulu to make into jellies and jams, I scrubbed my battered arms in the sink. The water turned pink as it washed away the blood, spiraling at the bottom of the basin on its way down the drain.

Auntie Lulu appeared behind me, surveying my scratched and bloody hands and forearms.

“So now we can go see Pele?” I asked in a weary voice.

But instead of answering my question, Lulu spoke with reproach. “Why didn’t you go to Lipoa’s and get some gloves?”

I released an exasperated sigh. “I didn’t want to waste the time to walk all the way down there.” Not like Lulu ever offered to give me a ride.

“And this is saving you time now?”

I winced as the warm water seeped into my open scratches. “No,” I said, certain she didn’t have enough Band-Aids in the medicine cabinet to cover all my wounds.

“Stubborn child,” Lulu said with a frown. “Use your head. That’s why God gave you brains, to make good decisions.”

“It’s not just that,” I muttered and grabbed a tube of antibiotic ointment from the medicine cabinet.

Auntie Lulu leaned against the doorframe, waiting for me to continue.

I untwisted the cap and sighed again. “I know you’re friends with Liam’s family, but it’s just that…”

She raised her eyebrows higher, expectantly, waiting for me to elaborate.

I began to liberally spread the ointment over my cuts. “I didn’t want to go back to the store and risk bumping into him again.”

For a fraction of a second, Lulu’s face warmed. A hint of a knowing smile pushed up her bronze cheekbones. Her expression quickly faded into a hardened look set in her deep brown eyes. “Stubborn. Just plain stubborn,” she said with a shake of her head. She walked down the hall muttering something in Hawaiian that I couldn’t understand.

As it turned out, I’d have to wait to visit Pele until Lulu finished canning the fruit. “In the meantime, my car could use a good wash,” she told me with a pointed look. She handed me a few bills and directed me to Lipoa’s since she didn’t have any car wash gel in the house.

With heavy feet, I slumped down the hill into town, wondering how I’d gotten stuck in this endless cycle of errands and chores. Now I owed Liam too, making me doubt I’d ever find the time to finish my training. Fortunately, Liam was busy helping another customer when I entered the store. He noticed me right away and greeted me with a friendly wave. I nodded, my eyes settling on his discolored, puffy nose. I steered toward the car section to scan the shelves in search of a product that matched Lulu’s description.

Before I could decide on my purchase, Liam turned up beside me and asked, “Need some help?”

Startled by his sudden appearance, I jumped back a step. “Um, okay,” I said. “You don’t have to wear it anymore?” I asked, pointing at the spot where his white noseguard used to be.

“Nah. I decided I didn’t need it anymore.”

“It looks better,” I added with a convincing smile. The swelling had subsided and the purplish bruises begun to fade into a greenish-yellow color instead. I also noted he pulled his shoulders back further now, possessing more confidence than when we first met. Which made me wonder…had he acted oddly that first time because I had accidentally broken his nose, or was I too wrapped up in my despair from losing Sully to notice the true Liam?

“Did you get in a fight with a feral cat?” Liam inquired, interrupting my thoughts.

“A feral cat?” I crinkled my nose. “Where’d you get that idea?”

He pointed at the multitude of short red scratches that covered my forearms.

“Oh, right,” I said, wishing I had long sleeves to yank down to my wrists. “I had a run-in with the plum hedge in Auntie Lulu’s front yard. Anyway, she wanted me to pick up some car wash gel today.”

“For another chore?”

I blew the hair from my face, letting my lips fall into a frown. “How’d you guess?”

Liam’s eyes softened. He glanced at me sympathetically and focused on the shelf, readily selecting a bottle. “Here’s one,” he said and carried it up to the cash register in the front.

“How much?” I asked, eager to get this job done.

But before Liam rang up the item, he rested his elbows on the counter. Leaning toward me until his face hovered even with mine, he asked, “Why don’t you just tell Lulu you’re busy? That you have a life and can’t spend every minute of it doing her chores?”

I looked into Liam’s bold blue eyes for a long minute, surprised by his suggestion. Had I totally misjudged his character the first time we met? His eyes gauged mine with concern, like he genuinely cared about how she treated me.

When I didn’t reply right away, Liam prompted, “So, why don’t you?” His eyes held mine, searching for the real answer.

In that moment, I found his gaze unexpectedly captivating and difficult to resist. Afraid I might reveal my dangerous secrets if I stared back much longer, I forced myself to turn away.

“It’s complicated,” I muttered, feeling more confused than ever. How could I explain that Lulu represented my sole connection to Pele? That I needed a goddess to prepare me for taking on the unforeseen threat of the remaining Elementals. How could I explain the truth about my existence when I did not fully understand it myself?

“Well, if you need anything else, you know where to find me,” he said with a deep breath. “Meaning, I’ll probably see you later.”

“Probably,” I agreed, somewhat touched by the concern in his gaze. Despite my noncommittal front, a small part of me decided the prospect of seeing him again didn’t sound as unpleasing as I’d originally thought.