“It’s nothing,” Koji says, “just a cut, yeah.” His hand still hovers over his stomach.

“He’s gone?”

Koji nods again, grimaces.

What has Franklin done? The blood rushes to my head. How dare him, I think, even if a part of me does want to see him again. I bite my lip against the desire. At the same time, I’m relieved he’s gone. He has always been too selfish to see beyond himself. “I’ll pay you back,” I say, angry and embarrassed. “Did he remember he has a son?”

Koji pauses, as if he’s deciding what to tell me.

“Tell me!” I say, angrier than I mean to be. Koji has done everything for us.

“He remembers, but he was more concerned about the money,” he finally says.

We both turn when we hear the front door swing open. Daniel is standing there in his pajamas and smiles wide when he sees Koji. “I’m hungry,” he says. “Are we going to eat breakfast soon?”

I take a breath, find a smile for Daniel. “Right now,” I say, “go pour a glass of milk. And be careful, yeah.”

“Okay,” he says. And then, “Uncle Koji, you okay? You don’t look so good.”

Koji smiles, lifts his hand in a wave, and grimaces. “Just a small accident,” he says.

“Come on then!” Daniel says.

“A minute, yeah,” Koji says, and glances over at me.

“Not now,” I say softly. “Tell me later. You need to sit down and rest.” I gently take hold of his arm to help him up the steps.

He won’t ruin our day, I tell myself. I watch Daniel disappear back into the house and wonder if Franklin has any idea just how much he has really lost.

Waiting: December 22–26, 1935

Waiting

December 22–26, 1935

38. Revelations

38

Revelations

The day after Daniel and Uncle Koji had gone to Onekahakaha Beach, Daniel was still shaken by what Koji had told him about his father. For the first time, Daniel felt the father he’d conjured up in his head through the years was simply a figment of his imagination, a variation of the game they’d once played, Who Is He? Where Is He? He no longer cared.

Daniel left his uncle at the house to rest, walking to the fish market to see Auntie Nori. According to Koji, other than Mama, Nori was the only other person who knew of his father’s return. Daniel intended to check on Mama Natua afterward, carrying his medical bag with him. As he rounded the corner toward the bay, the winds had risen and the ocean was rough, whitecaps rippling across the surface. Boats bobbed and creaked in their berths down at the wharf. It began to rain lightly. He looked up to see a plume of smoke hovering over Mauna Loa, still smoking and steaming as the lava continued to flow, Pele watching, ready to make Hilo all hers.