JoAnn Bassett - Islands of Aloha 07 - Moloka'i Lullaby Read Online Free Page B

wedding day. The custom migrated from Japan to Hawaii, and now many Hawaiian brides also opt for a “one-thousand crane picture” made using the tiny cranes to form the design.
    “But the bride’s supposed to fold the cranes,” I said.
    “Yeah, I know. But Lani’s convinced the kids it’s their duty to help their auntie Pali. It’s been great. They’ve been at it for hours, and there’s been a lot less bickering than usual. A busy house is a quiet house.”
    “Speaking of busy, this last wedding I’m doing is going to keep me plenty busy. It’s being held over on Moloka’i.”
    “Seriously? Why?”
    By now the tea and steeped, and Sifu Doug handed me a mug of his famous green tea. I’m not a big fan of green tea, but his always tastes fabulous and it’s very relaxing. I have a hunch he spikes it with something that may alert the beagles at the airport, so I’m reluctant to inquire about the specific ingredients.
    “It’s a May-December marriage,” I said. “And the groom—”
    “A what kind of marriage?”
    “A May-December marriage. That’s when the man is older than the woman.”
    “Isn’t the guy often a little older than the woman?” he said.
    “Yeah, but in this case we’re talking way older. Like capital “O” older. I’d say she’s in her mid- to late twenties and he’s gotta be, like, almost eighty or so.”
    “Fifty years difference?” He let out a low whistle.
    “Anyway, it seems he’s pretty well-off, financially, and he’s got a friend who’s got a place over on the west side of Moloka’i. They’re getting married there.”
    “When was the last time you were over there?”
    “It’s been years. Auntie Mana took us one time to visit some friends of hers. I’ll bet it’s been twenty, maybe even twenty-five, years ago.”
    “Well,” he said. “I go over a couple times a year to help with a local kids’ tournament they do over there. And I can pretty much guarantee the place hasn’t changed one bit since you were there.”
    “Huh,” I said. “So, is that a bad thing, or a good thing?”
    He put a hand on his jaw and rubbed his clean-shaven chin as if checking for stray whiskers.
    “I guess that depends on what you call ‘good,’” he said.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
    Richard and Amanda were late for our nine o’clock meeting. I’m not a big stickler for punctuality, ‘cuz after all, I’m island-born and raised. But by nine-forty-five I was getting a little concerned. Richard didn’t strike me as the type of guy who’d play power trips by making people wait, and Amanda seemed so eager to become Mrs. Atkinson I was pretty sure she wasn’t the laggard.
    At ten o’clock, my phone chimed.
    “Pali, it’s me,” said the caller.
    I consider it presumptuous to say “it’s me” when my only clue from caller ID is a mainland phone number. But Amanda was my only client, and I’d noticed she used a cutesy babyish voice whenever Richard was around, so it didn’t take great powers of deduction to figure out who was on the other end of the call.
    “ Aloha , Amanda.”
    “Oh yeah, aloha . I forgot.” She giggled as if she’d just remembered to use the secret password. “Anyway, we’re gonna need to come in later today. Richard’s had something come up at work.”
    Work? The guy worked? If anyone looked like they’d qualify to be a card-carrying member of the American Association of Retired Persons, it’d be Richard.
    “Okay,” I said. “When would you like to come in? We’ve still got to finalize the guest list and decide the menu for the wedding dinner. I’m sorry to push, but we’ve got to get these things handled so I can line up people on Moloka’i, or arrange to bring in people from Maui. Either way, it’s going to take some scheduling and coordination to make it all happen.”
    I hoped I hadn’t sounded as annoyed as I felt. But in my gusto to sign up my final client, I’d failed to adhere to one of my own