by Jillian Neal
“This is our house.” Aida announced as they walked through the brilliant green pastures and sauntered up to the cottage Dan, Fionna, and Aida had been living in for the past three months.
Dan braced. He knew that nothing on the farm would suit his mother, and it meant so much to he and Fionna. His jaw clenched tightly as he pulled open the screen door and allow his parents into their refuge. Fionna laced her fingers through his.
Mrs. Vindico took in the mismatched living room furniture, the small kitchen with the painted table and chairs that Tutu hand selected to suit different statures and offer them comfort. To the cursory eye, it appeared that a matching table and chair set couldn’t have been afforded.
Fionna pulled out a wooden cutting board out of the refrigerator. She’d chopped fresh pineapple, mangos, and papayas, that Dan had pulled from the crop he’d harvested that morning, to make a beautiful display
“I cut these up a little while ago, if you’re hungry after your flight. Dan picked them just this morning.”
“Dan picked them?” Governor Vindico chuckled. He helped himself to some of the pineapple. “This is outstanding, Marion. Try some. Apparently, our son picked them. You know the one that used to stomp around the house slamming doors and huffing if I asked him to mow our quarter acre lawn when he was a teenager.”
Fionna laughed as Dan rolled his eyes. He lifted Aida into his arms and handed her a piece of the pineapple, which she loved.
“Okay, Miss Aida, go put your swimsuit on. After we show Grandma and Gramps the rest of the farm, we’ll go to Salt Pond.” Fionna urged.
Aida wiggled down out of Dan’s arms and raced to her bedroom.
“Is that a bathtub on the porch?” Mrs. Vindico stomped into Dan and Fionna’s room without invitation.
“Uh,” Dan followed his mother remembering that a few of Fionna’s nighties had been laid on their bed.
“You bathe out of doors?” His mother sounded appalled as she stepped down onto the screened in porch.
“Well, there’s a shower in Aida’s bathroom, and you can lower the screens.” Fionna defended her Grandmother’s belief system.
“We’re the only people on the farm, Mother, and trust me, baths are incredibly good for you.”
Fionna kissed Dan’s cheek. “There are bathtubs like this in all of Tutu and Papa’s guest cottages. If you decide to stay here, you could try them out.” She explained with a mischievous gleam in her eye that had Dan chuckling under his breath.
“Seems relaxing to me.” The Governor came to Fionna’s defense as he began to take in the lush paradise surrounding them. “Nice big tub.” He commented to Dan with a wry chuckle.
“Is that a bed?” Mrs. Vindico continued her inquisition.
“Yes ma’am.” Fionna ran her hands lovingly over the swinging platform topped with a mattress on the far side of the porch.
“And do you sleep out here as well?”
“Dan and I usually nap out here in the afternoons, but Aida’s slept out here a few nights. It’s very peaceful.” His mother’s disdain was chaffing at the raw.
Dan stepped in and narrowed his eyes. “Mother, the farm is very private surrounded by trees, and vegetation, not to mention the fields between here and the road, which only people that live up here even use. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
The Governor looked impressed with Dan’s reasoning. “He’s right Marion. We could stay here with the kids for a few nights, then go to the resort.”
Dan and Fionna shared a hesitant glance. Aida appeared wearing one of her many swimsuits, her cover-up, and her sandals. “I’m ready! And I remembered to take off my panties and to go to the bathroom.” She informed everyone of the things she’d forgotten on occasion.
“Aida, darling, we don’t say that word.” Mrs. Vindico corrected.
Aida frowned not certain what word she’d said that was wrong.
“My God, Mother, stop it!” Dan demanded.
Fionna drew a deep steadying breath. “It’s an article of clothing, Mrs. Vindico, and she’s allowed to say the word. There’s no shame in it.” Fionna insisted tersely before she turned her attention back to Aida.
“Good girl. Why don’t we show Gramps and Gran your garden and then we can let them see another one of the guesthouses before we go back to get Tutu and Papa. Aunt Malani and Uncle Kai are going to pick us up in a little while.”
Aida was excited to show the Vindicos the small patch of lush land that Papa had designated as Aida’s garden. He’d let her plant anything she’d wanted, and he’d taught her how to care for each and every flower she’d chosen.
“Do you want to see my garden? Papa and I planted purple flowers!”
“Well, sure, sweetheart, lead the way.” Governor Vindico grinned.
She rushed out the front door with Fionna following after her.
Dan hung back momentarily. He wanted to hear what his mother was really thinking.
“Arthur, we are not staying here! We are a Governing family not common hippies.”
Dan felt his blood begin to boil as he watched out the front windows. Fionna took Aida’s hand beaming at their little girl as they meandered towards her garden.
“We do not bathe out of doors, and look at our son’s room!” She returned to the bedroom. Dan edged closer to the front door to stay out of sight. “Candles, oils, whatever this is!” She lifted a jar of the oil of Ohia lehua.
Dan saw her eyes goggle as she shuddered and then set it back down on the bedside table quickly, after reading the label.
“Marion, may I remind you that we decided to come to Kauai so that you and Dan could try to forge a stronger relationship. I can assure you that your attacking Fionna and her family will sever any ties he has to you at all. I’ll also remind you that of the two men that went after her, one is in prison and the other is dead. I don’t think it would tax him to cut you out of his life completely.
“Now, I personally have never seen Dan look so happy or at peace, and Fionna is the reason that he’s no longer slowly killing himself on a daily basis.”
An audible humph was the response to the Governor’s warnings. Dan headed out the front door to join his wife. He reached for her, needing desperately to feel her and be soothed by her.
She smiled up at him and clasp his arm with both of her hands. Her calming energies entered him, and he drew from her deeply.
“It’s not for everyone.” She whispered though Dan noted the pain in her voice.
The Vindicos joined them a moment later. Aida had picked up her watering can and begun watering the flowers.
“I love you, Daddy.” She’d felt his fury as well.
“I love you too, baby.” Dan helped her with the large can.
“Tell us what you’ve been doing this summer, Aida.” The Governor kissed the top of her head.
She smiled, set down her can, and caressed a flower that had drooped under the weight of the water. “I love it here! I get to work on the farm, and ride on the tractor with Daddy and Papa. I get to make lots of stuff with Mommy and Tutu that I get to squish with my hands. I get to take hula lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays with my friends Harper and Sarah, and then we go to the library. On Fridays, I help Mommy and Daddy run the store. Uncle Kai surfed with me four times, and I can swim almost as good as Harper. I get to go to Tutu’s and have a tea party every night while Daddy gives Mommy her bath. Sometimes, I get to spend the night, and Papa makes me Panipopo for breakfast. I get to play in the waterfall, and go to the beach lots of times, and Mommy and I have been sewing baby Halia’s blanket. Mommy even puts flowers that float in my bath sometimes!”
Dan grimaced. It was painfully obvious that Mrs. Vindico had heard nothing after, Daddy gives Mommy her bath. The Governor laughed heartily, but Dan’s mother was not impressed.
“The other guest houses are this way.” Fionna coaxed the group along.
Dan kept his arm wrapped around her. She laid her head on his shoulder as they walked seeming to
resign herself to the fact that Dan’s parents were not going to understand the things that had become such an integral part of their life.
They looked around the guest cottage where Dan and Fionna had stayed on Dan’s first trip to the island.
“There’s a shower in the bathroom there.” Dan pointed to the only bathroom in the small cottage. “You know if you decide to stay here.” He narrowed his eyes at his mother daring her to comment.
The Governor looked deeply disappointed.
“So, your Grandparent’s store is here on the farm?” He quizzed Fionna still trying to smooth over Dan’s irritation.
“Yes, sir. It’s just down along the road at the entrance to the farm.”
“We’ll have to stop in on Friday and see what that’s all about.”
Fionna smiled. “I’m sure Tutu will open it for you if you want to see it before Friday, or if there’s anything you were interested in using.”
Dan caught the dejection as it began to permeate her energy. “Fi created most everything that’s in the store now with her own hands from the things we’ve been growing all summer.” Dan was furious with his Mother’s snobbery.
Fionna’s cell phone chirped from the pocket of her sundress. She smiled as she read the text. “Aunt Malani wants to know if you’d like to invite Sarah on our picnic? She says she’ll pick her up for you.” Fionna offered Aida.
“Yes, please!”
After everyone, save Dan’s parents, had changed into swimsuits the Governor and Mrs. Vindico climbed back into their rented Buick while Dan and Fionna joined Aida and Sarah in Kai and Malani’s Jeep.
They followed Tutu and Papa, in the truck, to Salt Pond. Dan and Kai carried the numerous baskets down to the waterfront. The girls ran ahead of them.
Everyone spread out on the numerous quilts Tutu provided while the girls raced to the incoming tide. Fionna and Malani sank down in chairs while everyone else sat around them on the quilts.
Mrs. Vindico still hadn’t been able to rejoin her lower jaw with her upper, a problem she often had, after Fionna had climbed out of the Jeep. It had taken Dan a moment to understand that Fionna and Malani both wearing bikinis and showing off their pregnant bellies infuriated his Mother.
Fionna’s hand flew to her stomach, a moment later. “Wow!” She smiled as Halia made her presence known. Dan beamed as he saw Fionna’s stomach bulge in one small spot.
He placed his hand where Halia had just kicked. “Hey there, baby girl.” He drawled in his deep, rumbling intonation near her stomach. Halia moved again, and Dan laughed. He brushed a tender kiss where she’d just kicked.
Fionna and Dan shared a tender intimate gaze for a full second before they realized that Mrs. Vindico was horrified.
Tutu shook her head as she began handing out food. “Not everyone wants to be helped, Maylea.” She whispered as she handed Fionna a platter of chicken and rice.
“Why do you call Fionna, Maylea?” Mrs. Vindico demanded suddenly.
Tutu shot her a look that said for her to tread very carefully. “Because that is my granddaughter’s name. It means a great deal to her and to our family. If you are quiet and allow yourself to really listen, you will often hear your son refer to her as Maylea when he wants her to know just how much he truly loves and adores her.
“You see those who’ve been granted access to my sweet Maylea’s tender spirit, to her soul, call her as such. Those that only want to access her in pieces call her Fionna.” She left no room for argument.
“Well,” Mrs. Vindico smarted. “Fionna, I really don’t feel it’s appropriate for you to be so uncovered on a public beach. You are our daughter-in-law.” The bitter disappointment in her tone had Dan’s eyes flashing in fury, but before he could begin shouting Tutu stepped in with quiet wisdom.
“Maylea is very aware of who she is Mrs. Vindico. She is pregnant with your granddaughter whether she’s covered head to toe or in her natural state. It is very apparent to everyone that she and your son have created something beautiful out of their love. Why should she hide that?”
“Good question.” Dan raised his eyebrows to his mother awaiting her response.
The Governor stepped in to try and smooth over the heated stand off occurring between Dan and his mother. “You know, Tutu, I think Marion and I will take you up on the offer of staying on the farm for a few days. We’d like to spend more time with Dan and Fionna and little Aida.” He glanced out to the gentle waters that Sarah and Aida were playing in.
“We’d be pleased to have you, Governor. Can I offer you a few oils for your baths or things that might help you both relax?” Tutu offered kindly though everyone listening was well aware that she wasn’t going to be pushed around, or allow her granddaughter to be judged or bullied.
Mrs. Vindico stared at her husband in horror as she tried to formulate words but came up with nothing more than huffs and puffs.
“Daddy, come lift me up like this!” Aida called from the waters. She held her arms up over her head.
Smiling, he set his plate down and pulled off his shirt.
“Son, did you join a gym out here as well?” Governor Vindico gasped.
“No.” Dan shook his head.
Papa and Fionna laughed. “He works like a horse. I thought I was going to have to hire two hands this summer, but he gets more done in a day than three men. I have to remind him to relax and nap with my Maylea. To take her for walks on the shores, and to conserve his energy for the girls.” Papa gave Dan a pride filled smile.
“I like the farm work. It’s nice to be working for life instead of for death.” Dan quipped before he ran out to Aida and threw her up in the air over the warm ocean waters. He let her squeals of delight heal his fury.
Fionna met him with a warmed towel as he returned to the quilts later. He quickly finished his dinner and called the girls in to eat.
“Goodness, Halia.” Fionna sweetly returned her hand to her stomach.
“Can I feel her please?” Aida begged. Fionna took Aida’s hand and held it over the places where Halia was kicking.
“Do you feel her?”
Aida’s eyes lit and she nodded excitedly.
“Are you going to bring your baby sister back next summer, Aida? Can we play with her?” Sarah sounded thrilled by the idea.
“Yes, and as soon as I teach her to walk, she can go to hula with us.”
Everyone save Mrs. Vindico laughed. The girls ate, and Dan kept his hands on Fionna’s stomach. He knew why Halia was agitated. She could feel Fionna’s irritation. He tried to soothe his wife and his baby girl with his rhythms as he caressed the places she was kicking her adamant disapproval.
As the sun sank into the Pacific, everyone headed back to the cars.
“Okay, if it gets too bad, I will gladly trade Kai for you, so just call me.” Malani instructed Fionna in a conspiratorial whisper.
Giggling, Fionna wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but I might miss Dan despite his mother.” She thought he couldn’t hear her.
“You can hide out at our house. It’s only a week.”
The ladies were still giggling. They kept their arms linked as their husbands helped them up into the Jeep. Malani shot Mrs. Vindico a look that said she could go straight to hell. In a show of solidarity, she informed Kai that she was riding in the middle with Maylea.
Dan’s jaw clenched until his molars ached. He slid into the passenger seat beside Kai who offered him a sympathetic smile.
He wasn’t letting his mother do this. She was not going to drive a wedge between he and Fionna. He’d send her packing much further away than Princeville. He thought vengefully. She wasn’t going to drive Fionna into the arms of her best friend because she was so hurt over the way she was being treated.
They certainly couldn’t talk in front of Aida and Sarah, and Dan preferred to not discuss his mother in front of Malani and Kai, though Fionna and Malani were whispering heatedly behind him.
A few minutes later, they guided Aida into the cottage as Kai d
rove away. Dan’s parents had pulled in behind them.
“Baby, can you get her ready for bed? I’m gonna get my parents settled, and we’re gonna have a long chat.”
“Sure. Do you want me to take her to Tutu’s, so I can come with you?”
“No, you just relax here. I’ll be back soon to give you your bath.” He kissed her forehead and let the words he needed to say to his parents begin to take shape in his mind.
“Okay.” Fionna gave him his smile. She knew he was going to take care of her. She trusted him above all others. She believed the vows he’d made, even if no one else did. She could see the change in him because she was the change in him. She wasn’t going to go running to Malani. She was going to stay by him, and he should have known that.
“I’ll be right back.”
“I know.” She waved and followed Aida into the cottage.
Fire and Water
Determination set his jaw as he marched to the Enclave parked at their home. “Here, let me drive.” He ordered his father out of the seat. “It gets a little narrow towards the backfields.” He made no effort to soften his growl.
“Sure, son.”
Uncomfortable silence drowned the car, as Dan drove the dark lane to the smaller cottages.
“I cannot believe we are staying here, Arthur, when Bev and Jim went to all of that trouble to work up our itinerary.” Mrs. Vindico sniped.
“Marion, we are here to see Dan and the girls not to go on guided tours of the island. Fionna grew up here. Jim and Bev spent one week here three summers ago. I’m certain that she can play tour guide if you’d like for her to.”
“And why does her Grandmother insist on calling her that ridiculous name?” Mrs. Vindico huffed to Dan. She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.
“Mother!” Dan spat, but he wanted to remain in control. He wanted to have a real conversation with his parents, sitting at the table, looking them in the eye.
Drawing a deep breath, he began again. “Truthfully, Mother, Maylea is a whole lot more Fionna than Fionna. It’s just like Tutu told you, she is Maylea. Fionna is the name she was given at birth. Maylea is who she is.”
