Spring was an ironic time for a break from school, considering that Spring was a season when life grows anew after the passing of what would be called fall and winter in the mainland.
In this context, Spring was cruel since Spring was when Paul Pope Nakila died of a heart attack. Tabby could not bear to be left to her own thoughts and sorrow. She wasn't absolutely sure if she was going to return to religion class after spring break or if she was going to change her major entirely. She did know for sure that she needed to decompress. She spent the morning taking a shower and packing her clothes and a few other things in her carry on and her trusty backpack. In the next twenty minutes, Tabby spent online, putting together reservations for a plane ticket. Once that was done, she called her father, and as per usual, the phone only rang twice before it picked up on the other end.
"Are you going somewhere?" Boy asked. It was never a 'hello' or 'this is the office'-it's what happens when your father is someone who always knows why you're calling.
"I just need to disappear for spring break. I can't be here; there are just too many reminders of....of everything," Tabby was very mattered of fact, and she didn't waste any time dancing around a point that needed to be made.
"Okay," Boy agreed. "I'll have one of the Rizal brothers pick you up at the airport."
"Wait," Tabby was confused now. "I didn't say anything about going to Kauai!"
" I know," Boy deadpanned. "Kealoha should already be at the house to take you to the airport."
The phone hung up, and Tabby growled to herself. Even in her early twenties, Boy still treated her like she was a basket case who needed constant monitoring. At least that's the way she saw it, but really Boy wanted to make sure that she lived as healthy a life as possible considering who she was and where she worked.
.............
The Rizals were on Kauai to prevent Hawaiian activists and locals from murdering a new mainland transplant named Kory Hanlan, who was charging tourists hundreds of dollars for a once in a lifetime hike to a sacred Hawaiian place called Kipu falls. The walk was highly illegal because Kipu falls had been closed off and restricted to any kind of access. The tourists, of course, had no clue that this was the case. Needless to say, the Hawaiian activists and the locals were beyond angry. They were filled with murderous intent. The Rizals advised the Kauai 'ōiwi to let the proper authorities handle the case and assured them that the matter would resolve itself. It goes without saying that the issue would indeed resolve itself but not in the way in which everyone had hoped for. The brothers stayed at the Mahalo Beach Resort, and although they each had their own room, they naturally congregated to Jose's suite, where they'd spend most of their time talking and taking in meals.
While Oscar, Manny, and Junior went down to Lidgate Beach to fish that morning, Jose' headed to the airport to meet Tabby. He received a text message from Boy an hour previous regarding Tabby's arrival and wanted to be sure that she would be taken care of. It was 10 am when Jose drove up to visitors' Arrivals and saw Tabby sitting on a bench with her earbuds attached to her phone. She wore her hair in a high bun while her eyes were covered by dark glasses. Her oversized U.H. Manoa jersey hung from her frame like an oversized pajama top. Jose rushed out of the car and quickly retrieved Tabby's carry on and placed it in the trunk, and then walked over to hold Tabby's door open. She took a seat without a word and fastened her seat belt. Jose took the driver's seat and drove off toward the airport exit.
"Did you want to put your playlist on the auxiliary?" Jose asked. Tabby removed her earbuds and replaced it with the small connector, which attached itself to the car radio. The vehicle was suddenly filled with the sound of Jim Morrison's voice, asking if everybody was in because a ceremony was about to begin. "Awake," the lizard king commanded. "shake dreams from your hair, my pretty child, my sweet one. Choose the day and choose the sign of your day's divinity first thing you see. A vast radiant beach in a cool jeweled moon, couples naked race down by its quiet side."
"This is depressing," Jose said with real concern. "Are you planning to kill yourself or something?"
Tabby stared down at her phone and articulated her thoughts clearly to Jose. "How do I say this without hurting your feelings? Oh right, fuck your feelings and fuck you."
Jose lowered the volume on the stereo, which immediately caused Tabby to snap her head toward him with an air of disbelief. "You're booked at the Mahalo Beach Resort," he told her. "That's where my brothers and I are staying in case you need anything."
"I won't." Tabby snapped back. "I'll be fine on my own."
Jose said nothing, which made the drive to the resort a journey of silence except for the sound of Jim Morrison's languid voiced poetry.
............
Tabby settled into her room and took a nap. She would decide on dinner and drinks later on; in the meantime, she let everything fall where it may and laid herself down on her bed. Within minutes she fell into a kind of slumber that was devoid of any images. There were only the residual sounds of the idle conversations and routine questions from the flight attendants on her plane ride from Oahu.
"Something to drink?" "Map of Kauai?"
She would not wake until two in the morning, and by that time, most of the food establishments were closed save for McDonald's and 7-11. Jose returned to his room and was in the middle of changing into a pair of shorts, tank top, and slippers to join his brothers on their fishing expedition. The phone rang suddenly. It was his personal contact at Kipu Falls.
"Brah, the haole guy in charge of that tour company just got busted by a bunch braddahs hiking down to the falls with some tourists. If you no come right now dese braddahs going fuck this haole guy up!"
Jose knew that even if he called his brothers, they would never get back to the room in time to change clothes and be ready to go. He had to leave immediately.
............
The 14 passenger van was pulled over to the side of Kipu road, and it was filled with 14 horrified tourists who watched helplessly as their tour guide suffered a horrendous beating at the hands of five large Hawaiian men who were built like tanks. It was Kory Hanlan. A few of Kory's customers tried to come to his aide, but they ended up being tossed aside like ragdolls. Jose' arrived just in time before things got worse.
"Guy, Nuff already. Pau, let um go." Jose helped Kory to his feet and cleaned him off while simultaneously trying to hold the braddahs back.
"Guy, we wen warn dis faka how many times no bring people to Kipu, but he no listen dis faka!" The main protagonist in Kory's beating was a mountain of a Hawaiian man named Everette Kahuhipa. He had a long fuse before he would finally explode, and no one wanted to be there when that happened. Kory pushed him too far when he told Everette to shut up and that no one was going to listen to the mindless ranting of an uneducated Hawaiian. Wrong choice of words. Everette laid Kory out with one punch and broke his nose. After that, the other four set upon Kory and began to pummel him as well.
"Okay, Everette, no worries," Jose pleaded on behalf of Kory. "He going brah he going right now."
Jose made sure that Kory's legs were working correctly and walked him back to his tour van. "You better leave now before these guys realize that you have no PUC license. You know, since you're using a rental van for paid tours and everything."
"I promise," Kory stammered as he tried to wipe the blood from his face at the same time. "I learned my lesson."
............to be continued
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