Chapter 224: Wedding Rehearsal

Saturday, July 24, 1971

I had every intention of returning to the cavern beneath the Marae today, but when I finally opened my eyes, I was alone and it was approaching noon. After a quick shower, I donned some shorts, an island shirt, and a pair of sandals, then made my way downstairs to find something to eat.

“Didn’t they tell you that new princes must wear their crowns the whole day after their coronation?” my sister teased.

“I’ll guess I’ll have to beg the queen for dispensation,” I replied as I grabbed a cup of coffee from the sidebar.

“She and Mikeya are over at the Services House. They said to ask you to get in touch with them when you got out of bed,” Amy told me.

“Okay. I’ll do it as soon as I’ve had my breakfast,” I told her. “What are you two up to today?”

“We’re waiting on Shelly and Izzy to go over to the Service House to meet with Mikeya and her team on the new hospital,” Nicky supplied.

“Congratulations, your highness,” said Izzy as she and Shelly came in. “I can’t believe I’m working for a real prince! Not to mention a real prince of a guy!”

“Are you angling for a raise already?” I asked, teasing her.

“Ah, actually ... I was going to talk to you about the possibility of an assistant,” she said sheepishly. “With all the foundation work plus your personal items, like this new airplane, it is getting to be more than I can handle by myself.”

“You have somebody in mind?” I asked.

“Yeah. But I want to talk to her before I sic you on her,” Izzy said in her Texas vernacular. “I’ll give her a call when we get back to the States.”

“Sounds good. Just let me...” I started when suddenly a small whirlwind blew into the breakfast area.

“Mi-i-i-chael!” cried Abby, as she rushed over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!”

“What are you excited about, Sweetheart?” I asked.

“About our mating ceremony tomorrow, of course!” she replied.

“Tomorrow?” I thought. “But I was going back to the cavern tomorrow!”

“No way, buddy-boy! We’re getting married tomorrow afternoon and I get you all night and all day the next day. Then it’s Sandy’s turn on Tuesday,” she explained.

“And WE are getting married next Friday,” Hanna said. “That is, if this little Haitian bitch and the one from Colorado don’t wear you out too much!”

“Sounds like sour grapes to me,” said Sandy smugly as she came in. “We can’t help it if you don’t know how to draw straws.”

“Next time, I’m bringing the straws,” Hanna quipped as she laughed.

I quickly scanned all three of them to make sure there were no hard feelings. Thankfully, they all seemed happy with the solution they had come up with and their banter was just that, banter. In fact, just as Catherine and Anna had tried to tell me, working it out among themselves seemed to have brought them closer to each other.

Seeing that for myself, I knew I certainly wasn’t going to upset the applecart by suggesting any changes at this late date, even if I did feel anxious to explore the cavern.

“Look, it’s been there for what, hundreds of years? It will still be there later,” Abby reminded me of her special connection as she read my thoughts. “Besides, this has to be better than some old musty cave!” Then she struck a seductive pose that I would have sworn was beyond her years.

“Have you all finalized all your wedding plans?” Izzy asked.

“It looks like Abby’s trying to get a head-start on the honeymoon plans, if you ask me,” said Jessica as she came in. “And Michael? Would you please try not to get kidnapped again before we talk? I have a couple of time-sensitive issues that have to be addressed before it gets too late back in Tennessee.”

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“There are a couple of things that are critical. First, do you want to go ahead with the geothermal to go along with the solar panels and the wind turbine? And second, I think I have us a place to live while we’re building our dream home,” Jessica explained.

“Yes on the geothermal and tell me about this place to live. Is it close to the new place?” I asked.

“I don’t have all my notes here, but Daddy said in his last fax that the old Stevens Mill Elementary School is up for sale. The new elementary school opened last year, next to where they’re building the new middle school,” Jessica said. “The old elementary school could be renovated as a home for comparatively little, and then sold when our new home is finished. It has the added advantage of being next door to the high school and less than a mile from the property.”

“Okay, what’s the hitch?” I asked.

“If you want it, Daddy needs to get it rezoned and the zoning commission meeting is next Tuesday,” she explained.

“Make it so, Number One,” I told her, quoting Captain Picard. But Jessica just gave me a look of mild tolerance as she headed for the door. Maybe she will appreciate it more when she actually sees Star Trek: Next Generation in a few years.

“When does the rehearsal start?” Allie asked as she and Shelby bopped in. I swear, all they needed were pigtails to go with their culottes and saddle oxfords to look like a schoolgirl erotica advertisement.

However, the other girls all began answering at the same time as the conversation dissolved into a simultaneous round-robin discussion of three different ceremonies. I quickly picked up my coffee and headed over to the Services House in search of the Queen and the Heir. Upon my arrival, I was immediately directed into Kalani’s office. One of her assistants handed me a fresh cup of coffee as she told me that Kalani and Mikeya would be there momentarily.

Kalani’s office was decorated much the same as the Royal Residence with small settee’s and bamboo kalias or dividers giving her a variety of intimate meeting areas. I was standing at the open window, looking southwest towards the sea and thinking of the cavern beneath the Marae. It made sense how it would offer the Protector the isolation he sometimes craved, simply because most of the natives were highly superstitious and not likely to go snooping around a graveyard.

“It’s been there for hundreds of years, Michael. No one is going to bother it before you get back over there,” Kalani said as she and Mikeya walked in.

I had long ago given up on figuring out how they could sometimes feel my thoughts.

“I understand. I’m anxious to check it out,” I replied with a slight whine. “But I wouldn’t mess with their wedding plans for a million bucks!”

“Where’s your sword?” Mikeya asked.

“In my room. Why?” I asked.

“It’s just that you should never be out without it,” she replied. “Consider it your badge of office.”

“Should I go get it now?” I asked.

“You should, but the Chief is on her way,” Kalani supplied. “Maybe I can ask Ileana to go get it for you.”

“I’ll ask her,” Mikeya said as she left Kalani’s office. Outside of Kalani, Mikeya, and me, Ileana was the only other person we knew for sure could touch the sword without danger. I found myself wishing I understood more of the sword’s strange properties.

“By the way, Michael, have you done any healing lately?” Kalani asked out of the blue.

“Uh?” I replied, not understanding where her question came from.

“Did you just happen to heal any female police officers since you arrived? Without telling them?” Kalani repeated her question. “Because if you didn’t, you’re likely to get credit for it anyway.”

“Oh,” I said, remembering the officers that had driven me to the mountain a few days ago. “Well, she had this lump in her breast, and they were nice enough to drive me to the mountain, and I had the time and it was really no trouble and I just kind of forgot to mention it. That’s all. It was really no big deal.”

“It was a very big deal to Officer Halaini’ka. Her doctors told her she would probably not live out the year. She has no family, so we allowed her to continue patrols to keep her mind off her troubles as much as we can. It’s one of the things that Kelatii is coming to talk to us about,” Kalani explained.