Chapter 57: What’s that? Hawaiian noises?

June 12, 2001, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

🎤 Steve

“I just got ‘leid’!” Stephie giggled when a young man in a Hawaiian shirt put a garland of flowers around her neck.

Everyone in our party burst out laughing and there were a mix of smirks and frowns from other passengers.

“I smell a rat,” I chuckled. “A rat named Penelope!”

“Wrong!” Stephie giggled.

“Something tells me it was a certain daughter who is not on this trip!” Kara said, laughing. “Because you KNOW she would have said that!”

My phone rang and I fished it from my pocket. The display showed who was calling and I just shook my head.

“Hi, Pumpkin!” I said when I opened the phone.

“Did you get ‘leid’?” she asked with a smirk.

“Your mom called it!” I chuckled. “Your little sister did your bidding.”

“Of course she did! Love you, Dad! I have to go!”

“Love you, too! Bye, Pumpkin!”

“Bye!”

I snapped the phone shut.

“Good call, Honey,” I chuckled.

Just under an hour later, we had checked into our large suite at the Honolulu Hilton. With three bedrooms, it ensured no trouble with the hotel, and let the girls stay with us, while affording everyone privacy. It wouldn’t have been possible if more of the family had traveled to Hawaii.

“This is unbelievable!” Suzanne declared.

“We don’t tend to go for lavish,” Jessica said. “But this made the most sense because it solves the sleeping arrangements quite nicely.”

“What are we doing today, Dad?” Stephie asked.

“We’re going to what they’re calling an authentic Hawaiian luau,” I said. “Complete with a pig on a spit!”

“No!” Ashley protested.

“You like pepperoni, ham, and pork chops!” I chuckled. “Dead pig doesn’t bother you when it’s on the table!”

Ashley screwed up her face as she always did when we talked about ‘dead cow’ or ‘dead pig’.

“You just have to wind her up, don’t you, Tiger!”

“Better she knows BEFORE we get there and she decides to lecture whoever is cooking the pig! Our children are no shrinking violets!”

“This is where the brothers would delight in describing exactly what’s happening, right?” Suzanne asked.

“Exactly. But all four of them decided they had better things to do than chill in Hawaii for a week!”

“Girls you should take naps,” Kara said. “It’s going to be very late before you get to bed tonight and your body clocks are on Chicago time.”

They didn’t argue, and went into their room for naps.

[Chicago, Illinois] 🎤 Matthew

“Which room are we using?” Chelsea asked when we walked into my dad’s house in Kenwood.

“You and I have Suzanne’s room. Michael is sleeping in Albert’s room. Mom and Eduardo are in Birgit’s room.”

We walked into Suzanne’s room. I started laughing as Chelsea gasped.

“Mirrors?” she asked.

“I had NO idea!”

“When will your mom and Eduardo be here?”

“In about an hour.”

“I have an idea...” Chelsea giggled.

“Hello?” Jesse called out.

“Get rid of him!” Chelsea whispered urgently, sotto voce.

I left Suzanne’s room and went to the great room.

“Hey, Matt!” Jesse called out.

“Hi! What’s up?”

“I saw you guys come in. Libby will be here soon.”

“Uhm, maybe we could hang out after dinner...”

Jesse laughed, “Alone in Dad’s house with your girlfriend. In Suzanne’s room. With the mirrors!”

“You know?”

Jesse smirked, “You do remember we have a sister, right? You should talk with her more often!”

“There are a lot of things I don’t want to know!” I declared.

“See you after dinner!”

Jesse left and I went back to Suzanne’s room to find Chelsea stretched out naked on the bed, looking at herself in the mirror on the ceiling.

“This is so cool!” Chelsea gushed. “Get in bed with me!”

I closed and locked the door even though nobody else was in the house, undressed, and got into bed next to Chelsea.

“You’re beautiful!” I said.

“I want to watch you lick me and then watch while we make love!”

Thirty minutes later we were lying next to each other again, sweaty and breathing hard.

“You wouldn’t want to ask your mom about mirrors for your room, would you?” Chelsea giggled.

“I can ask! You were so excited you told me not to go wash my face!”

“Watching made me so hot I just wanted you in me at that point! And it wasn’t so bad!”

“We can stay here until everyone comes home from Hawaii?”

“Yes!”

[Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaii] 🎤 Steve

“Gross!” Ashley exclaimed when she saw the whole pig laid out on a table.

“Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood,” I said, mimicking Vincent from Pulp Fiction.

Ashley rolled her eyes, “That is such a ‘boy’ movie!”

“I’m a boy!” I replied.

“Duh!” she said, smirking. “We know! Right, Stephie?”

Stephie smirked, then tried to imitate my voice, “«Quod erat demonstrandum»!”

Kara, Jessica, and Suzanne all laughed, and I just shook my head.

“I do believe your daughters have your number!” Suzanne said.

“And Birgit isn’t even here!” Kara declared mirthfully.

“Her two apprentices appear to be well trained,” I chuckled.

“Aloha!” a pretty Hawaiian girl in a floral print dress exclaimed. “Welcome! Please help yourself to the food and drink, and if you have any questions, just ask!”

She had an armful of leis and put one on each of my daughters, who both smirked but didn’t say anything, then on Kara, Jessica, and Suzanne, and then on me.

“Have a good time,” she said with a winning smile. “And if you need anything, just ask!”

“Thanks!” we all said and moved away.

“Speaking of getting ‘leid’,” Kara giggled. “She clearly thinks you’re handsome!”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “At least our daughters kept their comment to themselves this time!”

“But we’re angels!” my daughters chimed in together.

“Uh-huh,” I said, shaking my head.

“Steve?” Suzanne smirked. “Two words - spontaneous fun!”

“Are ALL of you troublemakers?”

“Yes!” the five of them chorused.

I had a sneaking feeling that Birgit had given Stephie and Ashley a ‘mission brief’ as my friends serving in the military would say, and they were executing according to plan. My wives and Suzanne were just behaving as they usually did.

We all helped ourselves to the various Hawaiian dishes, and I was pleased that my daughters were willing to try each of them. We ate while enjoying the entertainment which consisted of Hawaiian music and dancers, including girls in traditional grass skirts. When we finished eating, we moved from our table to chairs so we could watch the performers on stage.

“Don’t look now,” Jessica said, “but the hostess is eyeing you.”

“She’s probably just wondering about the family configuration,” I chuckled. “Three beautiful women and two beautiful daughters!”

“I think she has the ‘Eye of the Tiger’!” Kara smirked. “Girls notice these things, especially when it’s their man who’s being devoured by another woman’s eyes!”

“More like ‘Eye for the Tiger’!” Jessica replied.

“True!” Kara agreed.

“You know, I have half-a-mind to test your teasing!”

“‘Half-a-mind’ would be an improvement for a boy!” Stephie giggled.

My wives and Suzanne laughed. Stephie was certainly asserting herself without her older sister around, though I was sure that Birgit had done her best to instigate.

“That tears it!” I grinned.

I got up and walked over to the hostess who had, indeed, been eyeing me.

“Steve Adams,” I said.

“Nalani Kekai,” she said, flashing me a huge smile. “How may I help you?”

“You can settle a bet,” I replied.

“A bet?”

“The young women with me think you’ve been checking me out.”

She blushed slightly, giving me the answer before she spoke.

“That would be inappropriate!”

I chuckled, “And also a normal thing to do. College student?”

“I start at Hawaii Pacific University in the Fall.”

“For?”

“An undergrad degree in philosophy with a minor in botany. When I graduate, I’m going to study at the Institute for Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

“What is ‘Oriental medicine’?”

“It combines acupuncture with traditional Chinese medicine. It involves the use of herbs, «tui na», and other treatments, as well as lifestyle counseling.”

“‘Tui na’?”

“Acupressure and manipulation to encourage the qi. We use «t’ai chi ch’üan» as well.”

“The martial art?” I asked.

“Yes, though more for health benefits.”

“Do you practice?”

“Yes. Since I was a little girl.”

“I’m 6th Dan in Shōtōkan.”

“Would you believe I suspected that, or something similar? You carry the air of an instructor.”

“I believe it.”

“So you know about qi and other Chinese concepts?”

“Yes, though I’m more in tune with Japanese practices, Shinto, and Japanese Buddhism.”

“Are you a full-time instructor?”

“No. I run a computer software and consulting company in Chicago. Karate is a way of life, but not my job. Kind of like philosophy.”

“Oh?”

“I run a philosophy club in Chicago that’s been meeting for close to twenty years in one form or another. We have what amounts to two chapters.”

“Is your degree in philosophy?”

“No. I have a BS in Computer Science. Philosophy is a hobby, in effect. Why make that your undergraduate degree?”

“A degree in Oriental philosophy is a perfect background for my desire to practice traditional medicine. And it’s a way to find answers.”

“I’ve discovered that answers nearly always generate even more questions. ‘42’ is not the answer to anything!”

Nalani laughed softly, “But I was told it was the answer to life, the universe, and everything!”

“A Douglas Adams fan! What else?”

“Heinlein; Asimov; Confucius; Lao-Tze; Mark Twain.”

I chuckled, “I like the juxtaposition of Chinese philosophers and Twain!”

“He wrote science fiction, too!”

I nodded, “If you include the time travel of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Or ‘Time’s Arrow’.”

“One of my favorite TNG episodes!”

“Same here,” I said, “along with ‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’. The funny thing is, I don’t particularly like backwards time travel stories.”

“Let me guess, you’re one of those people who instantly finds the paradoxes?”

“Yes, of course, but I think my objection is really summed up in ‘All Good Things... ‘, where a tiny, tiny change prevents the formation of life on earth.”

“You don’t enjoy speculative history?”

“I do, but...”

“You sound like Commander Data! Riker is WAY more fun!”

I couldn’t help but laugh hard and loud.

“What’s so funny?” Nalani asked.

“You wouldn’t believe the number of times something similar to that has been said in the past!”

“It sounds to me as if you can’t take a hint!” she teased.

“That more or less sums up a good part of my past.”

“Boys do tend to be clueless!”

I laughed hard again.

“I believe I’ve heard that quite a few times in the past as well! Including the past ten minutes!”

“Except nobody becomes 6th Dan by being a clueless idiot.”

“Quite so, but getting there was a long struggle with myself.”

“Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be?”

“Yes, of course.”

“So, what is it I can do for you?” Nalani asked. “Or did you just come to flirt, despite arriving with three gorgeous women and two beautiful girls who appear to be your daughters?”

“I always flirt,” I chuckled. “And it’s sanctioned. As for what you can do, it’s settle the bet.”

“Yes, I was checking you out. Happy?”

“Yes, despite losing the bet!”

“What?!”

“Not everything is as it seems! It was the girls who insisted you were checking me out. I didn’t think so.”

“EVERY guy thinks the girls are checking him out! Seriously, every single adult male who shows up thinks I want him!”

“Or at least hopes you do!” I chuckled. “But I don’t think that way.”

“I’m getting the picture that you’re very different.”

“The usual words are ‘strange’ or ‘weird’, but you’re on the right track! If you’re interested, I’d love to discuss philosophy with you.”

It was Nalani’s turn to laugh, which she did, taking almost a minute to compose herself.

“Seriously? That’s the best you can do for a pickup line?’

“It wasn’t a pickup line,” I grinned. “I meant it exactly as stated.”

“I call BS!” she declared with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

“No BS at all. That said, if the other thing interests you, we can discuss it.”

“Smooth,” she said with just a hint of sarcasm, rolling her eyes, “very smooth.”

“Forget every single pre-conceived notion you have about how you interact with men in whom you are interested. They’ll be completely wrong in this instance.”

“Weirdly, I believe you.”

“Let me give you my card, with my mobile number. If you want to meet to talk philosophy, call me.”

I pulled out one of my cards which had the mobile number on it and handed it to her, then turned and walked back to where my wives, daughters, and Suzanne were sitting.

“Annnnndddd?” Kara asked with a silly smile.

“A possible recruit,” I replied.

“Tiger,” Jessica said, shaking her head, “only you would go up to a girl who clearly has the hots for you and recruit her as a subversive!”

“If that surprises you, Babe, you haven’t been paying attention for the past year or two!”

“Audrey? Annita?”

“Similar, I suppose. The ball is in her court.”

“And your balls?” Kara asked with a smirk.

“I believe you, Jessica, and I have an appointment with a king-size bed in a few hours!”

“Yes!” they both squealed.

Both of my daughters rolled their eyes.

June 13, 2001, Chicago, Illinois

🎤 Matthew

“What are we doing today, Matt?” Chelsea asked when we got out of bed on Wednesday morning.

“Jesse, Libby, Mikey, Nicole, Jerry, and Mia will be here for lunch. Then we’re just going to hang out and watch movies, play games, and use the sauna. Jesse has three Netflix movies, and we have my dad’s collection which is pretty big.”

We got out of bed, showered together, and then went to the kitchen where Mom was making breakfast and Eduardo was reading my dad’s Chicago Tribune.

“Morning, kids!” Mom said. “Bacon, eggs, and pancakes?”

“Yes!” Chelsea and I both exclaimed.

“Mom, do you know when dad put up the mirrors?”

“Mirrors?”

I smirked, “On the ceiling in Suzanne’s room!”

“No way!” Mom said, laughing hard. “Come watch the eggs and pancakes!”

I went over to the stove and she went to check Suzanne’s room. She was laughing hard when she came back.

“I had NO idea!” Mom said, shaking her head.

“If ANYTHING that happens in this house surprises ANY of you,” Eduardo observed, not looking up from his paper, “then I’m not sure how you’ll manage to take your next breath!”

Mom and I both laughed.

“Dad is a bit unorthodox!” I declared.

“No kidding,” Eduardo replied flatly, but I saw a slight smile on his face.

“And it’s a good thing, too!” Mom declared. “Or things would have turned out quite differently.”

She was right about that! I hadn’t met anyone who was like my dad, and he certainly had very different views about most things from most other adults I knew. Eduardo was a great guy, but I wasn’t sure what kind of dad he would make because he always let Mom and Dad make all the decisions about Michael and me. Mom was actually a pretty normal mom, in that she worried about us, but she also wasn’t overprotective. And I sure didn’t know any other moms besides Chelsea’s who would let their daughters or sons live together for a month when the daughter and son were both teenagers!

“What’s your plan for the day?” Mom asked.

“Just hanging out with Jesse and his friends,” I said. “We want to stay the whole week instead of just last night. Is that OK?”

Mom smirked, “Mirrors?”

“Maybe...” I replied.

“That’s fine. Winter will be in each afternoon to clean and she can make dinner for you, if you want. Just let her know when she arrives. Eduardo, Michael, and I will stay in the townhouse, and we’ll come back here if you need us.”

“Thanks! I promise no wild parties or orgies!”

Mom laughed and Eduardo shook his head.

“You do realize that your dad doesn’t have orgies or wild parties here, right?”

“But he does elsewhere?” I asked with a smirk.

“NO!” Mom replied, laughing. “You are SO much like your dad!”

“Good!” I grinned.

“NOW you sound like Jesse!”

“And?” I grinned.

“Sit down! Your breakfast is ready!”

Chelsea and I went to sit at the table across from Eduardo and mom brought the food over and sat down. We all served ourselves from the common plates and began eating.

[Paris, France] 🎤 Albert

“The Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe today,” Amanda said as we got off the train. “Then tomorrow, Notre Dame, the Louvre, and a boat ride on the Seine.”

“Our Last Summer!” I grinned.

“What?!” Jane asked, sounding upset. “What do you mean?”

“Relax,” I replied. “It’s an ABBA song. I didn’t mean it was OUR last Summer!

“I don’t know that one, Albert,” Amanda said.

“It’s from their album ‘Super Trouper’ and wasn’t played on the radio, according to Dad. Dad says it’s about a romance Björn Ulvaeus had when he was a teenager and visited Paris. It was used in Mamma Mia!, if you saw that.”

“Jon, Karen, and I aren’t big ABBA fans, so we didn’t go. Did you see it?”

“Yes. Our entire family went. It was cool, though they changed the words of some of the songs a bit to make them fit the musical.”

It took about three hours to get to the hotel, check-in, have something to eat at a café. and then walk to the Eiffel Tower. The line was long, but we eventually were able to climb the three hundred steps to the first level. We spent some time walking around, looking at the view in all four directions before climbing a similar number of steps to the second floor, where we once again took in the view. Eventually, we got in line for the elevator which would take us to the top of the tower, and about thirty minutes later we were looking out over Paris from 275 meters above the Champ de Mars.

“This is totally cool!” I exclaimed. “It’s not as high as the Sears Tower, but we’re in the open air!”

We spent almost an hour looking out over Paris, then took the elevator down, so we could head to the Arc de Triomphe.

[Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii] 🎤 Steve