“I thought it might remind you of us hardworking folks.”

“It’s the best one yet,” Daniel said.

Koji shook his head. “You say that every time.”

“It’s the truth, they’re all the best,” Daniel said. “I’ve missed getting to sit down with you and catch up.”

“Our schedules keep changing daily since the eruption,” he said. “Never know where I am lately.” Koji scowled. He hated not keeping the train on schedule.

“So much has changed since I’ve been gone,” Daniel said. “I was at Kalakaua Park . . . saw the men sleeping there.”

“Shame, yeah,” Koji said. “But the sugar business keeps going, eh.” He gave a guilty shrug and changed the subject. “But I want to hear more about you. How you doing? You know your mother would be so happy to have you home. She’d be so proud, yeah. A doctor.”

Daniel shifted from one foot to the other, his smile momentarily disappearing. He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face before meeting Koji’s gaze again. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “Maybe I made the wrong decision.”

“Coming home?” Koji asked. It was the first thing that came to mind. He always wondered if Daniel would ever come back after Mariko was gone. There was always the big city in him, and no one was more surprised than Koji when Daniel’s letter arrived saying he was on his way home.

Daniel shook his head. “Medicine.”

Koji looked at him stunned, not knowing what to say. Wasn’t becoming a doctor what Daniel had wanted ever since he was young? Doctoring was in his blood. He labored through all the letters and applications involved in getting into a good mainland university, helped by scholarships. Mariko was ecstatic when he was accepted into medical school after all his hard work, even though she worried about the cost. Her seamstress work barely covered her living expenses, but Daniel had applied for grants and worked part-time, and Koji had insisted on helping with the rest. “An investment, yeah,” he told her. “I may need a good doctor one day.” Mariko encouraged Daniel every step of the way. His success had always been hers. “Imagine, yeah, a Hilo boy returns a doctor,” she liked to say. “I know Pele’s watching over him.” Daniel was the first local boy he knew with a medical degree from the mainland.

“Did something happen?” Koji asked. He saw a fleck of anguish in Daniel’s eyes and then it was gone.

Daniel shook his head. “It’s . . .” he began, but then said, “It’s just that I’ve been holed up in the house for the past few days. Too much time to think,” he added.

“Never a good thing, yeah,” Koji teased.

Daniel managed a smile.