by Kathi Daley
“We’ll do that. Do you happen to have a phone number for her?” I asked.
She nodded. “Hang on, and I’ll get if for you.”
Once we had the number, we called Beatrice and explained our mission to find the angel. She responded by saying that the group had gathered up a bunch of used ornaments from donations and yard sales when the Christmas Lights program was founded five years ago. She also said that quite a few tree toppers were included in those donations and purchases. When she offered to look at our photos and to give us a list of the locations where the trees the groups had decorated this year were so we could look at them to see if any of them featured our angel, we headed in that direction.
Just as we arrived at the teen center, Kekoa got a call. She looked at the caller ID.
“I need to take this,” she said. “I’ll meet you inside.” With that, she trotted far enough away so as not to be overheard.
“It’s probably Brad,” I whispered to myself and then headed toward the front of the building. “Beatrice?” I inquired after entering the center through the front door.
“You must be Lani.”
I nodded and stuck out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I really appreciate you taking the time to help us.”
“No problem. You said you had a photo of the angel you’re looking for.”
I handed her a copy of one of our photos that the woman from the church had been kind enough to make for Kekoa and me to take with us.
The woman frowned as she considered the photo. “This angel really is quite stunning, and she does look familiar.”
“Do you think the angel is here at the center?”
She slowly shook her head. “No, I don’t think she’s featured on any of the trees here at the center, although you’re welcome to take a look around. There are some boxes in the storeroom with overflow items not used this year. You can look through those as well, although I doubt you’ll find the angel there. Something this gorgeous would have been used by one of our groups.”
“You said you have a list of sites where the trees your groups decorated are located.”
She nodded. “We did fifty trees this year.”
“Fifty?” Checking out fifty trees was going to require a whole lot of running around, but if there was even a small chance of finding the angel tree topper, it would be worth the effort.
“Don’t worry, many of the trees are grouped,” the woman explained. “There are four trees at the recreation center, three at the park, several in each neighborhood shopping area, and a half dozen at the mall. Still, unless you luck out and find the angel right away, I predict you will have a long day ahead of you.”
“We’ve planned for a long day.” I turned and looked out the front window of the building. Kekoa was still on the phone. “Let’s have a look at the trees you have on display here, and then we’ll tackle the boxes in storage.” I looked down at the list in my hand. “I think as long as we approach this strategically, we can get a look at the other trees in the area today as well.”
“I’ll send out an email to all my contacts with a photo of the angel. Maybe someone will recognize her,” the woman offered.
Kekoa was just ending her call by the time I’d looked through everything the woman from the center had on hand. She was grinning like a cat who’d knocked over the cream, so I supposed her conversation was a happy one.
“Are you finished with your call?” I asked as I walked toward her.
She nodded. “Val is having a party the night after tomorrow. I told her we’d be there.”
“We will?”
“I know you’ve been in a sour mood lately, but it is Christmas. It’s the time of year to be happy and jolly and all of that. Any luck with the angel?”
“No, but I have a list of locations where we can find the decorated trees. Beatrice is going to send out an email to all her contacts, including a copy of the photo. She seems to think that the angel looked familiar too. Maybe we’ll find her sitting atop one of the fifty trees on this list.”
“Fifty?” Kekoa’s smile faded a bit.
I nodded. “Afraid so.”
She took the list from my outstretched hand and looked it over. “I guess we should get going. The park is closest, so we should start there.”
“That’s what I thought as well. From the park, we can head to the business center and then out to the boys and girls club. As long as we attack this in some sort of logical order, I think we can visit all these locations today.”
“Yeah,” Kekoa said. She tossed me her keys. “Why don’t you drive, and I’ll start feeding all these addresses into the GPS. Once we have everything mapped out, it should be easier to come up with a plan.”
Our plan to strategically visit each of the sites on the list was a good one. Unfortunately, after eight hours of driving and a full tank of gas, we still hadn’t found the elusive item we were after.
“We’ll start again tomorrow,” Kekoa said as we headed toward the condo.
“I can’t believe we drove all over this island and didn’t find the dang thing. I was so sure we would.”
“There are a lot of trees on the island that are decorated by someone other than the teens that we can still look at,” Kekoa reminded me.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I know you’re right. I just really want to find this angel for Halia. If we had an unlimited amount of time, I’d be more optimistic, but we only have a few days, and there are a lot of Christmas trees on this island.”
“We both think the angel looks familiar, so maybe it’s displayed on a tree we see on a regular basis,” Kekoa suggested.
“Maybe it’s on one of the trees at the Dolphin Bay Resort. Halia sold the angel five years ago. If someone in charge of decorating the resort bought the angel five years ago and started using her, we both would have worked there when she was on display. Chances are we would have seen the angel almost every day during the holiday season, which could explain why she seems familiar to both of us.”
“You make a good point. Do you want to go by there now?”
“Yes, I do. I really feel that this particular angel has been gracing a tree we’ve seen on a regular basis, and the resort feels like as good a place as any to check.”
Of course, there were dozens and dozens of decorated trees at the resort. Some were inside, while others were outside, but the more elaborate decorations, such as the angel, tended to be displayed on the indoor trees.
“Let’s start with the hotel lobby,” Kekoa suggested. “We can show the photo to whoever is working. Maybe someone will recognize the angel.”
I guess I should have anticipated that the lobby would be packed with holiday visitors. It was the resort’s busiest season. Kekoa flagged down a woman she’d worked with when the two of us had worked at the resort before quitting to work with my dad at the detective agency. She motioned that she’d take a break to talk to us once she finished helping the customer she was with, so we used the time while we waited to look at all the trees in the lobby and entry. Unfortunately, none of them featured the angel we were looking for.
“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?” the desk clerk asked once she’d freed herself up.
“We’re looking for this angel.” Kekoa handed her a photo of the angel. “We thought the angel might be featured on one of the trees here at the resort.”
She narrowed her gaze as she looked at the photo of the angel tree topper. “This angel does look familiar.” She looked around the room. “I don’t think she’s in here. Did you try the conference room or the restaurants?”
“Not yet, but we will,” Kekoa answered. “Maybe you can keep the photo and ask other employees that pass through if they might have seen this particular angel tree topper. It’s super important that we find her before Christmas. A hundred-year-old woman’s Christmas wish depends on it.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Wow. Really? I sense a story.”
Kekoa quickly filled her in.
“It will be so s
ad if you can’t find the angel,” the clerk agreed. “I’ll show the photo around. If someone knows something, I’ll text you.” She looked over her shoulder at the long lines. “I wish I had longer to catch up, but I need to get back.”
“I understand,” Kekoa said. “Lani and I are going to look around the rest of the resort. If you think of anything, give us a holler.”
While Kekoa and I totally struck out in terms of finding the angel, it was sort of fun to be back at the resort where we’d once worked. Kekoa had worked at the hotel desk, and I’d worked as a water safety officer for a lot of years. The turnover for the Dolphin Bay Resort had always been pretty high, so although we’d been gone for less than a year, there were actually quite a few new faces. By the time we’d looked at every tree on the property, we were hungry, so we decided to have dinner at the beach bar. As we settled onto stools at the bar, I had to admit that of all the things I missed about my time working at the resort, settling in for a drink at the end of the day with my friends and coworkers was one of the things I missed the most.
“Long time no see,” the bartender said.
“It has been a while,” I admitted. “I guess we’ve been busy.”
“But we’re here for dinner tonight,” Kekoa added. “Assuming you can find a table for us.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Give me a few minutes.”
“Before you go, can you take a look at this photo?” I slipped the photo of the angel across the bar. “Do you remember seeing her anywhere?”
“She does look familiar.” He hesitated. “Let me think about it a bit. Right now, I’ll try to slip you in for a table.”
Kekoa and I had a glass of wine while we waited, and then she had a second glass with our meal. I figured I could drive if need be, and Kekoa was more of a wine drinker than I was. Just as we were finishing our meal, the bartender made his way across the room.
“I think this angel is on the tree in the lobby of our sister resort in Waikiki. I called a friend of mine who works there, and he’s going to grab the angel and hang onto her until you can come by to look at her.”
“That’s wonderful,” I smiled. “Did your friend send a photo?”
The bartender showed me a photo on his phone.
“That does look like her,” I said.
Kekoa agreed.
“We can head over there the first thing in the morning,” I said. “What’s your friend’s name?”
“Antonio. I’ll give you his cell number so you can work out the details with him directly.”
I thanked the bartender and then called Halia to let her know we’d picked up a lead. I forwarded her the photo that the bartender had forwarded to me, and she agreed that the angel in the photo looked exactly like her grandma’s. I promised to call her after we picked the angel up the following day, and then Kekoa and I headed home.
“Do you want to stop and pick Sandy up from Jason’s?” Kekoa asked after we left the resort.
“No. It looks like we’re going to be away from the condo again tomorrow, so I’ll just call Jason and ask him to keep Sandy overnight. I’ll pick him up tomorrow.”
“I guess that might be a good idea,” she said as we headed east along the coastline. “Will all your brothers be home for Christmas this year?”
“Actually, they will be,” I answered. In all, I had five biological brothers plus a younger brother who my parents fostered. I was the only girl in the family, so when we all got together, I felt totally overpowered. Of course, Jason was married with two children, a boy and a girl, and two of my other brothers were married as well, so I supposed things were beginning to level out a bit. “I told Mom that we would bring a dessert for Christmas Eve dinner. Any ideas?”
“Maybe guava cake and haupia pie. That would provide options.”
“I think having a selection is a great idea. There will be a lot of people there.”
“It does seem as if the family grows with each year that passes,” Kekoa agreed.
“Are you bringing Brad this year?” I wondered.
She hesitated. “I wasn’t going to, but then Jason invited him.”
I raised a brow. “You didn’t invite Brad? Why not?”
She didn’t answer.
“You didn’t want me to be the odd woman out.”
“Now that John is married, all your adult brothers are paired up. I guess I just figured…” she let the sentence trail off.
“Don’t worry. I’m a big girl. I’m glad Jason invited Brad. It wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun for you if he wasn’t there.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe you’ll have someone to bring next year.”
“Maybe, I will.”
Once we arrived at the condo, I parked in the lot, and then we headed to our unit only to find a box lying in front of the door.
“What do you think that is?” I asked.
“It looks like flowers.” Kekoa bent over and picked the box up. She pulled the small card that was taped to the front of the box away from the packaging. “And it looks like they are for you.”
“Me?” I asked. “Who would send me flowers?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go inside and see.”
After we let ourselves into the condo, Kekoa turned the light on. I set the box on the table and opened the lid. “They’re gorgeous,” I said as I looked down at a huge Christmas bouquet with red roses, white carnations, evergreen boughs, baby’s breath, and Christmas bells.
“They really are,” Kekoa said. “Who sent them?”
I looked at the card, and my smile faded.
“What’s wrong?” Kekoa asked.
“They’re from Luke.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
I set the card on the table and put the lid back on the box. “I think I’m going to go for a run.”
“But it’s pitch black out there.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said as I headed toward the bedroom to change into my running clothes and shoes.
I felt bad for Kekoa. The poor thing looked to be more confused than I was. I supposed that my reaction wasn’t the typical reaction a person might have after receiving such a beautiful bouquet of flowers, but I found that the tiny flicker of happiness I felt when I realized that Luke had been thinking of me had been drowned out by the huge wave of confusion that had me asking why now?
I sped up a bit as my feet hit the hard-packed sand. My situation with Luke was a complicated one. We’d been in love and planning a life here in Hawaii, and then his father had gotten sick. Luke had flown to Texas to help with the ranch his father owned while he recuperated, but then his father passed away, and Luke seemed to have gotten stuck there. That was over a year ago. In the beginning, we’d stayed in touch. We’d talk on the phone every day, and I even went to Texas to visit last Christmas. But Texas and I simply didn’t mix, and I knew that I’d never want to move there, and Luke’s situation seemed to get more and more complicated as time went by. After some time passed without a resolution, it became apparent that short of totally bailing on his family, who really did seem to need him, he’d never be returning to Hawaii. Eventually, he sold his horse ranch here on the island, and our relationship settled into a state of permanent uncertainty. While we never formally broke up, all talk of marriage had been permanently tabled, and the frequency with which we spoke seemed to decrease with each month that passed. I knew the talk about a permanent break up was on the horizon and had even prepared for just that, but flowers? Did men usually buy the woman they planned to break up with such elaborate displays? I hadn’t broken up with anyone as rich as Luke up to this point in my life, but given the circumstances, the flowers seemed ostentatious even for him.
As the beach narrowed and the sand gave way to rocks, I slowed my pace to a walk. The warm water from gentle waves lapped up onto the shore as I slowly walked along, distracted from the beauty surrounding me by my thoughts. I knew I loved Luke. I would always love Luke, but I knew that despite that l
ove, I wasn’t willing to move for him. He was stuck in his life, and I was embedded in mine. The time really had come to end things. Maybe it was the glass of wine I’d had before dinner, or perhaps it was the bittersweet pull of the Christmas season, but I found myself calling his cell. I’d thank him for the flowers and then gently suggest that perhaps it was time to make it official. I’d suggest that we remain friends, but I doubted we would. He lived thousands of miles away, so it wasn’t like we were going to be running into each other.
I’m not sure if I was relieved or disappointed when my call went straight through to voicemail. It was five hours later there, so I supposed Luke had already gone to bed. I didn’t want to have the talk via a recorded message, so I hung up, turned around, and headed back to the condo. When I arrived, I noticed the lights were on in unit four. It occurred to me to knock and introduce myself. I even raised a fisted hand to rap on the door, but then hesitated. I was sweaty from my run, and I’d hate to meet the new neighbor looking my worst, so I lowered my hand and headed back to my condo. Tomorrow would be time enough for introductions. Tonight, I’d get a good night’s sleep and then hope and pray that tomorrow was a better day.
The drive to Waikiki was a long one with a lot of traffic, but based on my opinion as well as Kekoa’s, it really did appear that we’d done the impossible and had actually found the angel Halia had been looking for. It hadn’t even been that difficult, which was surprising as well. We’d spoken to the woman in charge of the seasonal decorations for both resorts, and she’d told us that she kept a central storage area for both resorts and mixed and matched the seasonal decorations that were used at each location every year. Since it was likely that the angel had adorned the Dolphin Bay Resort on the North Shore at some point, it really was likely that Kekoa and I had recognized her as we thought we had.
