Chapter 58: Royal Honeymoon

Wednesday, June 2, 1971

Mikeya, Ileana, and I were the first ones in the Dining Hall on Wednesday morning. It had been two day since we had left Anna and Penny with the buggy.

I don’t think the girls were really ready to leave the small cabin. Check that! I don’t think the girls were ready to leave the bed we had shared for the last day and a half. Nor were they ready to let me leave.

But I had finally acknowledged their championship about an hour ago, when Little Mike had tossed in the towel. And when they clamored for a rematch, I regretfully pointed out that you can’t get blood from a turnip.

Puzzled, they looked at me as if I was crazy, and tried to mount the conquered hero again. I then had to explain that conquered heroes, such as Little Mike, would need sustenance and rest before he was ready to go again. So my little princesses, who should have been exhausted, but seemed to be fresh as daisies, drug my weary butt out of the warm bed, as soon as they thought the Dining Hall might be open.

They now flanked me as I dug into the tray they had piled high with food. I noted that they were doing a pretty good job of putting away Mable’s vittles as well.

I could say that it had been an interesting two days, but that would be such a gross understatement, it bordered on illegal.

The ritual and ceremony had been mindboggling! And even though the girls had spent hours explaining the history and much of the symbolism behind it, I still found it difficult to comprehend.

They explained that the wooden phallus, called a wa’knachi, was rarely used in mating or fertility rituals these days. If it was used, it was always the brides’ choice, they explained. The exception to that was Royals. It was always a part of the ceremony for Princesses. Afterwards, the wa’knachi would actually become a sacred heirloom, treasured by the girls. The wa’knachi used on Mikeya had been carved from the same piece of wood used for their mothers’ and their grandmothers’ wa’knachi.

The one for Ileana had been carved by Kalani’s father, her grandfather. The same person who had made the necklace Kalani had given me. Ileana cracked us up with stories of how her grandfather used to tease her about how big he was going to make her wa’knachi, and the worse her misbehavior, the bigger it was threatened to be.

Mikeya was fascinated with the necklace her mother had given me. Well not the necklace so much as the fact that her mother had given it to me. She said her mom had worn it almost every day since her grandfather had given it to her, long before she became the queen. Kalani had told both of them many times that it was one of her most cherished possessions.

So the fact that she had given me her most cherished possession really confused them, until I explained.

“I can understand your confusion, because it is based on an erroneous conclusion on your part. But the truth is, this is NOT your mother’s most cherished possession,” I explained.

But they both insisted that it always had been.

“Do you know of the inscription?” I asked them.

They just looked at me like I was crazy, saying nothing.

“Maybe they don’t know the word,” I thought.

“Inscription?” Ileana replied. She was one of the females in my life that seemed to pick up on my thoughts easily if they were close by. “Of course we know what inscription means! I was just thinking of all the times I sat on her lap and played with it, never realizing it was inscribed. I even took it without asking once, and wore it for a day before she found out. She was so mad! She made me go to the village and clean shells every day for a week!” Ileana added with a laugh.

“Me too. I was thinking of the countless times I had played with it like this and never noticed that it was inscribed,” Mikeya added.

I guess I failed to mention that I was lying in the bed with a naked Princess on each side of me. And the whole time we talked, they had each fingered the pendant.

“What does it say?” Ileana asked me like I could read their complicated language.

She laughed at me when I didn’t answer right away. So I squeezed her nipple until she moaned.

“I see the words, but what did Mother say they mean?” Mikeya asked.

I saw no harm, so I replayed my memory for them.

She took both of my hands in hers and looked deeply into my eyes. “Michael, as the queen, I thank you for what you are doing for our small nation. But as their mother, I pray that you will make them happy, take care of them, and bring them safely back to me.”

I tried to smile reassuringly as I nodded.

Then reaching up, she lifted a necklace from around her neck, and stretching up on her tiptoes, she lowered it over my head. It was a simple leather thong with a pendant. The pendant was an intricate work incorporating a sharks’ tooth and two black gems.

“My father was a simple fisherman, and very wise. He made this for me when I was a little girl. He said the sharks tooth was to remind me to be ever vigilant, and the two black pearls, to remind me to ‘shae mineo trala heene avaydo’ ... to hold tightly, and love deeply.”

Picking up the pendant, I examined it closer. It was exquisite! So much of the fine detail work not visible with just a glance. I ran my finger lightly over the sharks tooth and felt the small marks, then looked up at Kalani, the question in my expression.

“I should have known you would notice!” she said with a trace of pride. “It’s what made me sure you were the one.”

“What does it say?” I asked softly.

“It is what my father told me to be ever vigilant for,” she said softly as the memories of that time long ago took on a new reality. It was a rare and private thrill as she was about to witness a prophecy fulfilled.

Finally she said, “ ... it our sign for ... the Pele Solakanali...”

I could feel her concern for her daughters and her fervent hope that she had made the right choice.

“It will be as it was foretold, Kalani. When you return to Tapato, prepare to be a grandmother. Twice,” I thought silently to her.

Kalani hugged me, a quick hug, and left.

“That was beautiful, Michael! How can you say that it is not her most cherished possession after that?” Mikeya asked.

“Simple ... three hours later, with our families as witnesses, she gave me her MOST cherished possessions,” I said as I hugged them to me.

When she didn’t say anything else, I looked at Mikeya and saw the tears. I smiled but didn’t intrude. She was okay, remembering other times. These tears were for her. For her rite of passage from childhood to adult as she realized for the first time what her mother had done for her. Later, she would come to my bed, not as a giggly seventeen-year-old girl, nor dutifully, as the Heir to the throne, but as Mikeya, a young woman and soon-to-be mom.

Ileana had turned away after I shared the memory, leaving the bed.

I found her later, on the porch, a blanket wrapped around her as she sat on the swing and looked at the stars.

“A penny for your thoughts?” I said sliding in beside her on the swing. She scooted a little to make room for me and shared her blanket with me all without looking at me or speaking.

“You told her I was going to come back pregnant,” Ileana stated. It was not a question, more like an accusation.

I didn’t bother trying to explain that those were not really my words. To tell the truth, I’m not sure where they were coming from. But on a couple of occasions since I woke up, words just seemed to come. Usually, they were predicting something, like Kalani becoming a grandmother, twice.

“And that is a bad thing because...” I asked her. I already suspected the answer, but this was one of those emotions she had to figure out for herself.

“It’s not a bad thing I suppose. I just don’t know if I’m ready, that’s all,” she replied flatly.

“Not ready...?” I asked, pushing the subject a little.

“I’ll be okay. I guess I wanted to ... you know ... with you, but I hadn’t really thought about becoming a mother this fast,” she said.

We sat there in silence, looking at the star-filled sky. She was deep in thought and so I spent the time observing her thought process.

Once again, I was in awe of the complex emotions that teenage girls must wade through as they struggle to become adults. I learned several things about Ileana that night on the porch. I learned that she was very bright, having learned both English and French in addition to her native language. I learned that she loved music, but had never had any formal training. I learned she had an analytical mind, but had very little education in math and science.