Fractured Slipper Read online

  “Are you sure? You’re Rell Watanabe of Watanabe Global.”

  “My mother was a Ha‘awina. This is my ohana.”

  Ilima’s eyes narrow. “Ohana is an easy word to say when you’ll get on a plane tomorrow.”

  I rock back in my chair. Ilima’s words sting as harshly as if she’d slapped me.

  Oh, come on! What am I supposed to do?

  “I’m only eighteen!”

  She picks up her cup and takes a sip. “Yes, you’re not a child any longer,” she says.

  “You mean I’m responsible?”

  “When you claim the privileges of ohana, you also accept the responsibilities.”

  Jerry’s words pop into my head.

  “No one goes hungry,” I say. “That’s what you’re getting at?”

  Ilima smiles.

  “Jobs feed people. You think the jobs are important. You think what I did tonight to stop the development was wrong.”

  Ilima takes another sip, her eyes never leaving my face.

  I take a deep breath.

  “I know you’re powerful. You can probably turn me into a frog or something. But I don’t agree. Jobs are not more important than people. There is more to life than money. Regina may still find a way to build her high-rise, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it’s not on my mother’s land in Lauele.”

  Ilima’s eyes crinkle. “A frog? Is that how you see yourself?”

  “I…no,” I say.

  “Say ribbit.”

  “No!”

  Ilima’s mouth quirks. “C’mon. I want to hear you say ribbit.”

  “I’m not going to say it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not a frog!”

  “Because you’re not a frog. I wonder, Rell, if I held up a mirror in the moonlight now, would you recognize the real you?”

  Seriously?

  We’re back to mirrors and moonlight?

  Shoot me now.

  Ilima takes one look at my face and bursts into laughter.

  “Ah, child. Clearly you’re not made for poufy dresses, even if you don’t realize that yet.”

  “Is Bali Hai the reason you did all of this?”

  “Oh, no. That’s merely a bonus.”

  Bonus?

  The fire crackles. Ilima reaches out with the poker and pushes a log deeper into the flames.

  “That’s better. Nice and hot,” she says. “You danced with the boy.”

  “Yes.”

  “But you didn’t kiss him.”

  “No.”

  Her eyes gleam. “Then where are your shoes?”

  I take a deep breath. “Out in the middle of the street.”

  “Why?”

  “I threw them at the car.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the driver almost ran me over when I was getting out.”

  Ilima sits back and bites her lip. “You left my birthday gifts in the street?”

  I rise. “I’m sorry. That was thoughtless. You’ve been very kind to me. I’ll go get them now.”

  She crosses her legs and rests her head against the chair. “There’s no need,” she says, “since you’ve shown me you’ve no use for my gifts.”

  I flinch as wet hair tumbles down my back. In my hands is a washcloth. One side of my body is warm from the fireplace, the other is freezing.

  Freezing because I’m naked.

  I flip the washcloth, pulling it this way and that, trying to cover all of my bits and pieces, but it’s no use.

  Ilima rolls her eyes. “Modern humans are so uptight. You would’ve thanked me if you’d kissed him.”

  I step behind my chair. “Where are my clothes?”

  “Where did you leave them?”

  “In the dryer.”

  “Then that’s where you should check.”

  I spin around and head to the laundry room.

  Bloody, bloody dog!

  As I put on my clothes, I hear her chuckling. Yanking my shirt over my head, I storm back into the dining room.

  “You think this is funny?”

  “Are you mad because I didn’t fold and iron your clothes?” She sniffs. “I’m not your maid.”

  “Or my fairy godmother. You said that. Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?”

  Ilima stands. In the flickering of the firelight, she grows, filling the space around her until her head brushes the ceiling. “I do things to achieve my own purposes,” she says. “I pay my debts and collect those owed to me. This night isn’t over.”

  Chapter 22

  The front door swings open with a force that shatters the glass pane in the center.

  “RELL! You will come here this instant!”

  The last word is a hiss no human can make.

  I have just enough time to see Ilima shrink back into a dog and curl up beneath a chair before my stepmonster stalks into the room.

  “Traitor!” she shrieks. “After all I’ve done for you. I paid for your schooling, your room and board, and the clothes on your back!” She grabs a vase from the sideboard and throws it at me. I duck, and it shatters against mantel. “No more! Do you hear me? No more!”

  I square my shoulders and pull my head high. With nothing left to lose, she has no power over me.

  “Go back to the hell you crawled from, Regina! I don’t need you or your money.”

  “Oh, no? Your fancy school has been cancelled. You have nowhere to go.”

  “I can stay with the headmaster and his family. I’ve done it before during the holidays. They won’t mind. I can stay with then until I get a job and can pay my own way.”

  Regina cackles. “You think you stayed with the headmaster’s family because they liked you? No, Rell. I paid them to take you in. They don’t care about you. You’re just a paycheck to them.”

  “I don’t believe you. When I fly home—”

  “You won’t.”

  “What?”

  Regina grins and my blood chills. She wags her manicured finger at me and speaks so softly I can barely hear her. “You’re not going back to school, Rell. You’re not well. After the way you treated your sisters today and the lies you told at the auction, well, it’s obvious you’re a very troubled girl. I have a very special place in mind, a place that will heal your damaged mind. It’s a lockdown facility in Taiwan. We’ll reassess after the second or third round of electric shock therapy, but the doctors are very keen on some new brain surgery techniques they’d like to try out.”

  My mouth goes dry.

  “You wouldn’t.”

  She crosses her arms. “I already have.”

  “You can’t.”

  “I can. I did.”

  Her phone beeps, and she glances at the text message.

  “The medical crew is on its way. I just received confirmation of straight jacket restraints and meds to make you compliant. See for yourself.”

  She holds out the phone, but when I move to take it, she yanks it away.

  “You really think I’d give you my phone? That’s your problem, Rell. You think everyone is as stupid as you.”

  “No. She thinks everyone is as kind as she is,” says Uncle Kahana from the doorway. He steps to the side. “Watch out, Avery. There’s glass on the floor here.”

  Mr. Me’e walks into the room, a folded paper in his hands. “Hello, Rell. Remember me?” he says.

  I nod.

  “What are you doing here? You work for me!” Regina says.

  “I quit.”

  “You can’t quit. I have your firm on retainer. Nobody treats me like this.” She punches buttons on her cell phone. “I’m calling Lucius right now.”

  “Knock yourself out,” Mr. Me‘e says.

  “And I’m calling the police! You are all trespassing!” Regina flounces to the other side of the room. “Lucius? I need you immediately!”

  Uncle Kahana says, “Is she always like this?”

  Mr. Me‘e nods.

  “I think the surf camp dodged a bu
llet.”

  Ilima thumps her tail.

  “Ilima! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

  Ilima chuffs.

  “Fine,” says Uncle Kahana. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  Mr. Me‘e hands me the paper. I unfold it. It’s the paper I signed in this very room so many lifetimes ago.

  “Rell, I didn’t make copies of this document like Regina and Mr. Lucius wanted. That’s the original. You have no idea what you signed, do you?”

  “Something that allows Regina to pay for my schooling. If I don’t sign these papers every year, she can’t pay my tuition. I don’t earn enough cleaning the school kitchen to pay for more than half my board.”

  Mr. Me‘e sighs. “That’s what I was afraid of. Rell, those papers you signed every year were your consent—your permission—for Regina to continue to act as your legal guardian.”

  “Isn’t that what I said?”

  “No.” He turned to Uncle Kahana. “It’s as I suspected. She really doesn’t understand.”

  Uncle Kahana comes to me and kneels at my feet. He takes my hands in his and looks me in the eye.

  “Rell, when you signed those papers every year, you told the courts that you wanted Regina to be in charge of you and your estate. Your father set his will up so you could choose. Regina was not your guardian until you chose her.”

  In an instant, I’m twelve years old. Daddy is dead. The house is full of somber people wearing black. Regina and Mr. Lucius take me into Daddy’s office. Regina hands me a brochure with pictures of horses and smiling girls.

  “Wouldn’t you rather be there? Look at this school.”

  I can’t think. The black lace on my dress is itchy, and my shoes pinch.

  Mr. Lucius says, “All you need to do is sign right here, Rell. You can be there tomorrow.”

  I pick up the pen and scrawl my name.

  I blink back the tears. “All these years I could’ve had another guardian? But no one wanted me!”

  Mr. Me‘e says, “That’s not true, Rell. Lots of your father’s friends and family wanted you. Your mother’s family, too. Before anyone had a chance to talk with you, you disappeared. When people pushed, Mr. Lucius just showed them the paper you signed naming Regina your guardian. Regina forbade anyone from contacting you at school.”

  “Rell, lots of people have been waiting for this day,” Uncle Kahana says. “Do you know why?” I shake my head. “Today you turned eighteen. You no longer need a guardian. Anyone who wants to contact you can.”

  I can’t breathe.

  Mr. Me‘e nods. “I have a stack of birthday cards in my car dating back to when you turned thirteen.” He looks down. “But I didn’t given them to you because you signed that paper today giving Regina power of attorney over you and your estate.”

  “This paper makes her the boss of me?”

  “Yes. And your estate.”

  My head is spinning. It’s too hot near the fire.

  “You said my estate. What’s my estate? Money? Did Daddy leave me enough to finish school? Is there enough for me to go to college?”

  Mr. Me‘e and Uncle Kahana exchange a look.

  “Rell,” says Uncle Kahana, “your estate is Watanabe Global.”

  Mr. Me‘e nods. “You control the whole thing.”

  Chapter 23

  Sirens wail in the distance, getting closer as they climb the mountain. It’s either the police coming to arrest Uncle Kahana and Mr. Me‘e or the Taiwanese doctors with straightjackets and needles coming to take me away.

  Before I can say anything, Regina rushes back across the room, waving her cell phone at me.

  “I hope you’re satisfied. Lucius is filing so many charges against all of you, you won’t see daylight for a century.”

  “You planned to steal my mother’s land and build high-rise condos on it. You were going to raise the taxes so high, people would beg you to buy them out for pennies on the dollar,” I say.

  “Rell—” Regina says.

  “You were never going to build the surf camp,” I say. “You just wanted the permits. But the joke’s on you, Regina. Because of what you said tonight, the auction was never held. Without the auction, there aren’t any funds to pay the fees.”

  “You see what I mean, gentlemen? Rell is delusional. She thinks there’s a big conspiracy. The truth is, as a show of good faith, Watanabe Global just paid the fees for the surf camp’s permits. Everything is in order.”

  “Not quite.” I stand and hold out the paper. “Do you see this, Regina? It’s the paper I signed this afternoon. It’s the only copy.”

  Regina lunges at me.

  I yank the paper away.

  “Did you really think I’d let you touch it? That’s your problem, Regina. You think everyone is as evil as you.”

  I wad up the paper and toss it into the fire.

  “NOOOO!” Regina screams, pushing me aside and plunging her hands into the flames.

  “Grrrr,” growls Ilima as she shoots out from under the chair and chomps down on Regina’s arm.

  Regina screams and pulls her charred hands out of the flames.

  Uncle Kahana grabs a bowl filled with floating gardenias and dumps the water over Regina’s hands. Regina falls to her knees, sobbing. Ilima retreats under the table, spitting and rubbing her tongue along the carpet.

  All of this goes on, but I never take my eyes off the charring ball of paper until there is nothing left but ashes.

  Chapter 24

  I’m sitting on Poliahu’s front steps when Jerry walks up and sets my bag down beside me.

  “Thanks,” I say.

  “I was going to give you your bag earlier, but you left in such a hurry.”

  He tosses a pair of flip-flops at my bare feet.

  “I found these out in the road. I think they belong to you.”

  As I bend to put them on, he kneels at my feet.

  “Let me.” He cups my heel in his hand and slips the strap between my toes. “Perfect fit. They must be yours.”

  “Because they wouldn’t fit anyone else?”

  He laughs. “Don’t be silly. Slippahs fit everybody. That’s why they’re the official non-shoe of Hawaii.” He nudges my leg. “Scoot over.”

  I slide over so he can sit next to me, and we watch as the EMTs load Regina into the ambulance.

  Bright side: they got to use some of the sedatives she ordered for me.

  Waste not, want not.

  “Where are the twins?” Jerry asks.

  “Aulani. They’re enjoying a Disney Princess Sleepover Party. I’ll pick them up tomorrow.”

  “What’re you going to tell them?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know. That’s tomorrow’s problem.”

  “You’re staying here alone?”

  I shake my head. “No. Once Regina’s on her way to the hospital, Mr. Me‘e is taking me to a hotel in Waikiki.”

  “Or you can stay with me.”

  I look at him.

  “I mean, with my family. My mom said to ask you. She’s worried.”

  “Ohana,” I say.

  “Of course.”

  “Calabash.”

  Jerry puts his arm around my shoulders. “Calabash,” he says.

  Uncle Kahana comes over and pecks me on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Rell.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. Come on, Ilima. Let’s go home.”

  Ilima rises slowly from the lawn, limping a little.

  “Hey, what happened to you?” Uncle Kahana says.

  She chuffs and jumps into his car.

  “Kicked in the ribs?” Uncle Kahana says. “Who?”

  Ilima sits up on the front seat and locks eyes with me through the windshield.

  I pay my debts and collect those owed to me.

  I shiver.

  I’m never getting on her bad side.

  “Cold?” says Jerry, pulling me closer.

  I bury my nose in his shirt.

  Cedar, cinnamo
n, cloves, and wintergreen mints.

  “Rell?”

  I raise my chin and capture his lips. At first, they’re soft with surprise, but firm enthusiastically as our kiss deepens.

  Cedar, cinnamon, cloves, and wintergreen mints.

  And something a whole lot more.

  He breaks the kiss and takes a deep breath. I snuggle back down, and he rests his chin on my head.

  “I know who I am,” I say.

  “Oh? Is this a game? Am I supposed to guess?”

  “I’m Rell Watanabe.”

  “Nice to meet you, Rell. I’m Jerry.”

  “And I know what I want.”

  I feel him hold his breath.

  “I’m afraid to ask,” he says.

  I sit up and look him in the eye.

  “I want to build a surf camp.”

  THE END

  About the Author

  LEHUA PARKER is the author of the MG/YA magical realism series, The Niuhi Shark Saga, and other companion stories set in the fictional town of Lauele, Hawaii. In addition to the series, she publishes short stories, poetry, plays, and essays in magazines and anthologies, often under a different pen name.

  One Boy, No Water; Book One of The Niuhi Shark Saga; was nominated for 2017 Nene Award by the children of Hawaii. Other titles in the series include One Shark, No Swim; One Truth, No Lie; and Birth: Zader’s Story. The Niuhi Shark Saga tells the story of two Hawaiian brothers—one a surfing star and the other allergic to water. Rell Goes Hawaiian brings back many of the characters from the series.

  Originally from Hawaii and a graduate of The Kamehameha Schools, Lehua is an author, editor, public speaker, and business consultant. Trained in literary criticism and an advocate of indigenous cultural narratives, she is a frequent speaker at conferences and symposiums. Now living in exile on the mainland, during snowy winters she dreams about the beach.

  Aunty Lehua loves to talk story with students and is available for school and classroom visits.

  Catch up with her at

  Blog & Website: www.LehuaParker.com

  Niuhi Website: www.NiuhiSharkSaga.com

  www.LehuaParker.com

  Scattered Cinders