Zara

By the time we arrived in Lanai I was exhausted. “I don’t know how you do this,” I said during the cab ride. I felt cranky and yucky from traveling.

“You become numb to it all.” He leaned over and kissed me chastely.

The cab pulled up to my parents’ house just as he ended our kiss. I sat staring at the place I grew up in, feeling so disconnected to it and to the man inside. My father’s car sat in the driveway. He had no idea we were coming. Lance had said that if he wasn’t home we’d wait as long as we had to.

I was so glad to have him beside me, but at the same time terrified at how my father would behave.

“Ready to do this, baby?” His eyes scanned my face, the concern he felt evident all over his. I nodded quickly, afraid that if I pondered his question too long I’d blurt out that I wasn’t ready.

But he was right and this needed to be done. For no reason other than closure, I needed to try one more time to get through to my father.

Lance asked the cabdriver to wait, handing him a large bill to ensure that he did. My nerves kicked in when my foot hit the top step before I leaned in and rang the bell.

I couldn’t hold back my surprise when my mother answered the door.

“Mama, what are you doing here?”

She winked and smiled, but otherwise said nothing. After she hugged me tightly, and then did the same to Lance, she moved aside to let us in. Sitting on the couch, looking much older than the last time I saw him, was a tired version of my father.

“Hi, Papa,” I said, standing awkwardly just a few steps from the door.

He met my eyes, tears immediately welling in his. An eternity passed by the time he stood and walked across the room. It seemed even longer when he uttered no words. As he stood before me, he slowly lifted his hand and cupped my face. “I’m so sorry, Zara.”

That was all it took to unleash a torrential gush of emotion on both our parts. He crushed me to his body, sobbing like a baby as he held me in his arms. Over his shoulder, I could see my mother’s tears slowly rolling down her face, in spite of the brilliant smile she gave me.

He pulled away and kissed my forehead. My heart stopped when he then turned toward Lance. “You may never understand why I act as I do. Losing my daughter because I fell in love with Talia, because I refused to conform to their politics, changed me as a person. Knowing they wouldn’t stop until they took everyone I loved forced me to control our destiny. The only thing I can apologize for is wanting to protect my family at all costs. Things between us will take time. I can’t promise I’ll ever condone your lifestyle, but I can promise that if you ever hurt her you’d better vanish for real this time.”

“Sir, I love her. I’ll protect her with my life.” Lance looked at me before adding, “I’d also give up my career for her before I let it hurt her.”

My father nodded but said nothing. I knew him well enough to understand that he did not accept Lance, and he might never accept him. But at least there was something between them now besides hostility…tolerance.

Lance offered his hand and waited. My father stared down at it before he clasped it. Seeing them come to some sort of understanding overwhelmed me with equal amounts of relief and apprehension. I guess I shouldn’t have expected more than that, but it was a step in the right direction.

After my dad and Lance had formed a truce of sorts, Lance sent the cab away. We stayed and had dinner with my parents. My father didn’t say much as I filled him in on my new career and how it was slowly taking off.

The questions he did ask revolved around me moving to California. Most of the conversation happened between my mother and Lance. She promised that she and my dad would come see us soon, and I giggled at the way her face lit up when she rattled off some of the tourist destinations she wanted to see.

I had no idea that my mother was interested in things like traveling or sightseeing. She seemed very content with her simple life in Lanai. Her temporary separation from my father changed her in ways, and him, as well. There seemed to be a new form of humility that engulfed him. He was a proud man, and what had happened to our family since Lilou died had not been easy on him. The more it was clear that his fears of his past finding him and hurting us were unwarranted, the more he softened in his irrational thinking. He was trying to change, and I couldn’t expect a new Andres Jobert to emerge overnight.

Having my mother return to him also made him a very emotional man. I lost count of how many times during the night he held my mother’s hand tightly while wordlessly staring into her eyes. Where my mother’s face showed contentment, his showed fear. I could tell by the way he acted toward her that he was walking on eggshells and was afraid anything he did or said would send her away again.

After dinner, my mother insisted I take a walk with her. Leaving Lance alone with my father terrified me, but with a smile and a wink Lance confirmed everything would be fine.

During our walk, my mother explained that my father had appeared in Honolulu a few days earlier, and through a tearful apology, admitted he was going to do everything possible to make things right with us again.

Once I had decided to go back to Lanai, Lance made a phone call to Kai asking him to tell my parents that we were on our way back. The gesture by Lance, although my father wouldn’t admit it to me, had impressed him enough to accept our relationship. My mother confirmed it would take time for my father to accept Lance’s life as a whole, if he ever did. Hearing all the details gave me hope that someday he would.

We ended up staying the night, albeit in separate rooms, and left the next morning after a tearful goodbye. Lance offered an open-ended invitation, including covering all the travel expenses.

“Papa, please come see us soon.”

He looked away briefly before nodding reluctantly. “Okay, Zara,” he said before giving me a long, hard hug.

As Lance and I drove away in the cab, he lifted and kissed my hand. “I have a surprise for you.” I turned away from the window I’d been gazing out of and looked up at Lance with a smile. “We’re taking a detour.”

“I thought we were heading to Honolulu to see Annia and Kai before flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow?”

“We are, tomorrow. And the day after, we’ll fly home.”

“Okay,” I said apprehensively. “Where are we going now?”

“You’ll see.”

The cab drove through the center of Lanai. I smiled at the familiar shops and the tiny restaurants that I’d eaten in so many times over the years. It all seemed like a place I’d visited once, and not a place I called home.

Just a few minutes later, the cab pulled up to Hulopoe Haven. A brand-new black Jeep was parked beside the house that Lance had once rented. Palu stood on the gravel driveway sporting a huge smile. The bright orange tropical-print shirt and the lime-green shorts adorned with hot-pink hibiscus flowers practically blinded me.

While Lance paid the cabbie, I got out to greet him. He clapped his hands jovially. “Zara, I am so happy to see you.” Surprising me, he wrapped his stout little arms around my body, releasing me to do the same to Lance.

“Hey, Palu. How’ve ya been?”

“Oh, Mr. Lance. We’ve been great. Ever since tourists learned you stayed in our humble city, business has been wonderful. The hotel in town has been booked solid for weeks.”

“That’s great. I’m happy for you.” The only sign that Lance was not as thrilled with that bit of news as Palu could be seen in the way he clenched his jaw. He threw an arm around me and smiled at my raised brow.

“We’re hoping you’ll be back for Kamehameha Day.”

“I’m not sure if we can be here this June, but most definitely next year.” Palu nodded with a smile as Lance turned to me and asked, “Ready for your surprise?”

My gaze bounced between them as they both looked like they’d swallowed a canary. “Yes?” I said apprehensively.

Lance laughed and kissed my cheek. “Come.”

We followed Palu toward the bungalow and he handed me the keys. “Congratulations. You now own Hulopoe Haven.”

“Excuse me?”

He laughed at my shock just as Lance hugged me tighter. “I purchased the property from Palu. He really didn’t have time to continue with the upkeep anyway. This way we can come here whenever you want. We’ll have to have a security fence put up, because once it’s out being this accessible would be a problem. But they’re ours, baby, all four bungalows.”

“Why all four?”

“You can have your sister and Kai stay in one, I can have my parents stay in one, and one we’ll leave one for whoever. Or, we can knock two down and make one big one for us. One bedroom won’t cut it when we have kids.” He leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Right after we get married we’ll get started. I want at least four.”

“Is that a proposal, Mr. White-slash-Price?”

“No, just a coming attraction.” His grin took my breath away. “I love this beach, and I love it even more because it’s where you found me.”

“Where Spike found you.”

“Which led you to me.”

Lance kissed me long and hard. From the corner of my eye I watched Palu quietly slip away. “How did I ever get so lucky as to find the single most perfect man on this earth?”

“I’m far from perfect, baby. But I am damn close when I’m with you.”

My eyes scanned his face, the gorgeous movie star face that loved me…a small-town Hawaiian girl from Lanai who’d had no clue who Landon Price was. Whose last movie she saw in a theater was from 1998. Who, until a few weeks ago, had never heard of Facebook. In spite of all my naïve flaws, he chose me.

I twisted my head to admire the beach that stretched in front of the bungalow. I could envision us here, with Spike running around, happily chasing a few dark-haired children who all giggled and laughed. I could see Lance holding our youngest in his arms while laughing along with them. The visual was so real that it caused my eyes to well with tears.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m more than okay. I love you, Landon.”

One perfect brow lifted along with the corners of his firm lips. “Landon?”

“You’ll always be my Lance, but I love Landon Price just as much.”

Elation spread over his face as he wrapped his strong arms around my waist and spun me adorably.

“I love you, Zara. Thank you for loving both Lance and Landon.” He put me down and held my face between his hands. His crystal-blue eyes suddenly glistened with emotion. “But most importantly, thank you for bringing out the man behind them both. This is the real me, Zara. You’ve always been with the real me.”

The kiss we shared in front of the love haven that was now ours felt like the first time and each time since, all rolled up into one perfect moment. And I knew that we’d be sharing so many more perfect moments for years to come.