‘That was how I thought. That was how I felt then, harbouring resentments as I did.’

The rest of the family were more generous in their thoughts. They wanted to give of their best to Aki and his Hawaiian family. They wanted to honour Chappy’s return, and left nothing undone that could possibly be done in order to make the ‘visitors from afar’ welcome and comfortable. Oriwia didn’t have to ask for anything. The wharenui was renovated and painted, and the grounds attended to. The interior was scrubbed and polished, mattresses were aired, linen was rewashed and ironed, and women spent their evenings embroidering new pillowcases. Closer to the time, food on the hoof arrived and eel traps were set. Their more southern relatives lowered crayfish pots from their dinghies, gathered kina and pāua.

A workforce arrived with bags of potatoes, kūmara, onions, carrots, cabbages and corn. Vehicles came in, unloading a large marquee as well as additional crockery, chairs and tables borrowed from other marae in the area. Oriwia knew she didn’t have to worry about any of those arrangements and she was able to put her mind to finishing off the hand sewing on the bridal gown and to making cakes.

There was a collective sigh at the sight of Binnie coming across the marae towards the wharenui in her Audrey gown – ‘as if the old building itself drew in and noisily expelled air’. Though the V waistline and fullness of organdy were not quite enough to disguise impropriety, nobody cared. They all had tears to look after. For Oriwia it was not only the sight of her daughter that started up her own flood, it was also seeing her husband by her daughter’s side, wearing his dark blue kimono. He was home. He would understand now that this was where he belonged – despite what was to happen later.

Chapter 23

Aki

There was nothing that could have made me happier than to have my son marry the daughter of Oriwia and Chappy. If all our lives had been a generation earlier, when taumau was still a custom in some families, this joining would have been what I wanted to arrange for my son – or, to be exact, it’s what I would have wanted my elders to have arranged for my son. Also, in my lifetime I’ve had no finer duty, no greater honour, than that of bringing my Hawaiian family on to my marae to be formally welcomed by my home family.

We assembled at the gateway on the day before the wedding. I knew this was a big, important occasion for the home people, as important as the wedding itself. I could see from where I stood the effort that had gone into the repair and painting of the meeting house and the upkeep of the flower gardens in preparation for this day.