Date 22: Hawaii Day 4

“It's going to rain,” she said softly.



“Really, D? It just looks like passing clouds to me. I wouldn't worry about it too much. The luau should....hey what's wrong?”



She was looking out into the ocean.



“I can feel the rain coming. I've been able to feel it in my bones since I woke up from the coma....you know, the ones that were....broken.”



Jiyong felt a tightness in his chest at the mention of her past injuries. To realize that they still troubled her on days like this.



“Is there anything I can do, Dara?”



“No.....it's not that bad, Ji. What helps is the constant rush of endorphins. As always Jagi, you're my best therapy,” she said squeezing against him, her back flush into his embrace.



“Is that why you've been out of bed before me so often these days? Does the pain wake you up?”



She shrugged.



“Not really. Maybe it's the traveling. I just wake up early these days. I have been enjoying the sunrises, though. There's a mythology to it, you know...with the sunrise. It's supposed to signal the beginning of a new chapter....of hope for a better tomorrow.”



He held her tight, hoping that his embrace would take away the touch of sadness in her voice.



“It's easy to believe in that hope as long as I'm with you. Even on the days that my body is insisting on reminding me of what happened...” she finished with an empty laugh. “But enough of the pity party, Kwon. Paradise awaits us!”



She brushed off the melancholic feelings and beamed at him, that dazzling smile that always sent a warmth throughout his body. That lovely feeling that only her smile could bring. He resolved to keep that smile on her lips for as long as humanly possible today.



After a light breakfast, some last minute instructions to the staff on how to handle the transfer of their belongings from the yacht to the Four Seasons Maui, and a polite request to borrow an umbrella, they were off in their own car to the University of Hawaii-Maui College where the Maui Swap Meet was being held.



“That'll be fifty cents, sir.”



Jiyong's mouth fell open in shock. Whoever heard of such a small admissions fee? Dara grinned at his expression.



“Told you I'd take it down a notch, Jagi.”



“A notch, D? Do you always swing such extremes when trying to make a point?”



“Not always, but I wanted to show you I know how to rock my inner fashionista with couture items as well as the treasure finds at swap meets!”



They laughed as they exited the car and headed towards the venue.



“Wait!” Jiyong paused a few steps from the car. “We don't want to forget our umbrella. What say you, storm tracker? Are we ok leaving it in the car?”



Dara paused, giving her body a mental once over before winking and giving a thumbs up. “Weather reporter Dara predicts cloudy skies with a 30% chance of showers. There are tents everywhere, Jagi. I think we'll be ok.”



There were indeed tents everywhere. With over 200 vendors displaying their merchandise, the meet was a sight to behold. Stations selling touristy merchandise from Hawaiian keepsakes to clothing and accessories stood side by side next to tents selling flowers and other plants. All manner of concession stands specifically catering to the foodie who needed refreshment and a taste of the exotic island produce or a filling taste of Hawaii to fuel their treasure hunter expeditions lined the long walkways. There were even art tents, dried food and jelly stands, and vendors selling hand crafted bags and hats.



“So, what's the plan, D? Are we cruisin' or do we have a specific mission?”



“Jagi, you know me too well. Of course, there's a mission,” she chuckled, squeezing his hand.



“And what may that be, Miss Park?” he asked, raising their joined hands to administer a soft kiss.



“Couple T-shirts and luau outfits!”



He laughed, trying to imagine the loud island print she envisioned for him.



“I'm at your service, my good lady. Let's shop!”



“But first, we eat!”



“Of course! What was I thinking!” he smacked his forehead with his free palm.



“Come on, Jagi. Even you have to admit that our breakfast was light,” she complained, rubbing her tummy.



“I don't know if I'd call a huge bowl of abalone porridge with a heaping plate of sashimi light,” he chuckled, avoiding a jab to the ribs.



“Well, it was intentionally light so we could sample some stuff, so come on!” she urged, as she pulled them to the first produce stand selling cups of fresh cut mangoes, papaya, and guava.



She bought two cups of each fruit and offered Jiyong a single cup of mango. He laughed as he took his first bite. He shouldn't have been surprised by this point in their travels. The food, even as simple as a piece of fresh fruit, was always amazing. The flesh of the mango was bursting with juice and had just the right amount of sweetness to it. He finished his cup in an instant and looked to see if he would be offered anything else.



“Are you going to eat all of that yourself?” he pouted.



She laughed and countered, “Well, I wasn't sure if you had room in your stomach since, unlike me, you didn't have a light breakfast.”



“Come on, D. That's just plain vindictive. Now hand over the papaya!” he lunged at her.



She stuck out her tongue and managed to keep a firm hold of her fruit cups while dodging his attacks, giggling like a school girl. Jiyong was, without a doubt, her best medicine. He was her lover, her best friend, her confidante, her strength, her every happiness, her hope. Yes, Jiyong was her personal sunrise. Her hope for a better tomorrow began and ended with him. With a smile, she surrendered to his persistent advances and laughed heartily as he snatched his papaya cup with a look of juvenile triumph, shoveling it greedily into his mouth.



“Mrmph! Dats so goomph!” he managed with a mouth full of papaya.



They wiped out the remaining cups of guava and proceeded to a tent with beautiful tropical fashions hanging from the three makeshift walls. Dara grabbed a white swimsuit wrap with bright orange and yellow flowers splashed all over. She then grabbed another white dress with red hibiscus prints and its matching men's shirt.



“Perfect!” she beamed.



Jiyong smiled at her and agreed, “Perfect, D.”





Having purchased their luau wear and Dara's swimsuit wrap, they continued to another tent. Jiyong chuckled in amazement and amusement as Dara displayed her treasure hunting prowess and charming negotiation skills to acquire three sets of couple tees, a hibiscus hair pin, and a beach bag all for under twenty dollars. They were just about to hit the concession stands and food trucks for lunch when a glint of sunlight caught her attention.



Reflecting the sun at a perfect angle was a couples bracelet set. Set against some fresh palm leaves were a heart lock charm and its matching key charm, each strung on a simple leather band. The pendants themselves carried an antique feeling to them. She smiled as she picked them up, holding them for Jiyong to see.



“So am I the heart or the key?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.



“Isn't it obvious? You're the key,” she murmured, turning to look him in the eyes.



Without any further explanation, she purchased the bracelets, handing Jiyong his key and placing the heart on her wrist.



Shopping cravings curbed, they sat at one of the picnic tables with their smorgasbord of food selections. Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder and rain began to pour down. The reaction was immediate, tourists began squealing in a mixture of panic and annoyance, ducking into the nearby tents and small rain coverage provided at the food trucks. Seasoned locals continued walking down the fresh produce section of the swap meet. Jiyong, smiling at the sight of his distressed yet stunning goddess, took off his windbreaker and tried to provide her cover.



“Don't worry about me, Jiyong! Cover the food!” she yelled in panic, making his grin almost split his face into two.



“You got it, D,” he responded, forming a makeshift tent over their precious foodie finds, rain dripping down his face and onto the top of Dara's equally soaked head.



“Not the most romantic moment in the rain, huh?” she laughed, as they rushed to gather their food and head to the relative shelter afforded from the nearby tents.



“I was just thinking that your weather tracking radar needs a tune up,” he laughed, soaked to the bone, holding a soggy plate of food under the shelter of the now packed ramen station.



She pouted and squinted her eyes at him in mock anger.



“Don't mess with me right now, Kwon! I'm soaked, my food is soaked, and I'm hungry.”



He laughed and shrugged his head over at the ramen vendor, “There's always ramen!”



Looking at her plate of food that was drowning in a puddle of rainwater, she laughed and threw their plates into the trash can, ordering two bowls of ramen filled with chunks of spam with a matching set of spam and egg musubi. They slurped up the hot noodles in record time before biting into the delectable combination of rice, egg, spam, teriyaki sauce, and dried seaweed that was the musubi. Just as they were finishing, sunlight broke through the thick rainclouds, dispelling them with an almost reproaching swiftness. Before long, patches of blue were breaking through and as they headed back to the car, the rainclouds were gone, leaving behind a gorgeous blue sky with a breathtaking rainbow spanning across it.



“It's perfect!” she sighed.



“Perfect,” he murmured, gazing at the glowing smile on her lips, that familiar tug on his heart pulling once again.





* * *





“I'm so excited!” Dara gushed, that bright smile still on her lips.



“Me, too, D.” Jiyong grinned, anticipating the wonderful sights of his first luau.



“I hear this place has the BEST Kalua pork on the island!”



He chuckled at her obsession over food, taking in the absolute joy and anticipation emanating from her face.



“How do I look?” she asked, fiddling with her hibiscus hair pin as they stood in line.



“Like a Hawaiian princess.”



“Jagi, that's so corny!”



“You look beautiful, Dara. You always look beautiful.”



“Oh, Jagi,” she smiled and hugged him tight as they approached the check-in table.



They were in Lahaina, having made reservations for the Feast at Lele. At check in, they were greeted with Kukui nut necklaces and a yummy tropical drink before they were escorted to their outdoor table, which was situated directly in front of the stage. They sipped their drinks, taking in another spectacular sunset, as they waited for the other guests to be seated and festivities to begin.



“I'm kind of disappointed,” Dara said.



“Why is that, D?”



“I thought we were going to get lei'd,” she smirked at him, a flicker of darkness sweeping past her eyes.



Jiyong's manhood twitched. “We can definitely remedy that later this evening, Miss Park. You know I'm always ready and able to serve.”



“I'll take that as a promise, Dr. Kwon,” she leaned over to meet his lips, enjoying the taste of Mai Tai on his lips.



Just as the sun quenched its first rays into the sea, a conch shell blew loud and clear into the night sky. The hostess of the evening, dressed in traditional Hawaiian garb, came forward to explain how the evening would proceed. There would be four courses of cuisine served representing the four exotic cultures that would be presented in the night's performances. A course of food followed by the dances of that food's origin, another course of food, then another round of performances. Dara's body bobbed up and down in her chair from the excitement. With the logistics aside, the hostess began her introductions for the show as the first course of Hawaiian food was being served by the attentive staff.



“It' so very good to share this evening with you all. A luau is traditionally served to celebrate a wedding. Do we have any newlyweds sitting in our audience?”



There was a spattering of raised hands to which the hostess offered a hearty congratulations.



“How wonderful. And for the rest of you couples in the audience, we celebrate your love tonight, too. Enjoy your food, and we'll see you in a few moments.”



The first course included mango sauce poi, kalua pork, fresh island fish, and heart of palms salad. Jiyong had never tasted kalua pork, but it was divine, having slowly roasted all day, the meat melted delightfully in his mouth. As they enjoyed this first course, the performers took the stage, performing authentic hula dances to the traditional music of Hawaii as the sun continued to set into the sea.



As the servers took the plates of the first course away, the hostess returned to inform them that their next destination was New Zealand. An exotic plate filled with sea bean duck salad, fishcakes filled with mussels and salmon, and fresh scallops replaced the empty plates of the first course. The seafood was a nice change from the pork and seemed to only increase their appetite. The performers returned, departing from the peaceful hula storytelling to a much more athletic dance. The long grass skirts of the hula gave way to shorter grass skirts and flashier head pieces and hand props to accentuate the faster rhythms of the Polynesian dances.



The hostess emerged once more to introduce the next location, Tahiti. Once again the servers came around to clear the empty plates from the tablets, replacing them with the third course, a plate of steamed chicken and taro leaf in coconut milk, marinated fish and scallops on the shell. As they dove into the third course, Jiyong wondered how he would manage the last course, his stomach feeling quite full from the second course. But in amazement, he found his hands repeatedly bringing mouthful after mouthful of the delicious fish to his lips, his mouth unable to refuse, while in the background the performers acted out the Tahitian creation chant that was being chanted by the men of the dance company. Then, to the delight of the audience, children adorned in Tahitian garb came out for a number.



“The final luau dish represents Samoa, celebrating Flag Day, which is a Samoan two day festival of food, fun, dancing and singing,” said the hostess.

The servers presented the final dish, a grilled steak with shrimp and sliced avocados on the side. Dara and Jiyong worked diligently on their final plates as the male performers took the stage dressed in Samoan outfits, short grass skirts barely covering the exotic print bike shorts sported underneath and grass pieces to cover their lower legs. They wore head pieces adorned with animal teeth to match the wild pieces worn around their necks. The men began with a traditional Samoan warriors dance. Then with a sudden warrior's cry they picked up their staffs from the left of the stage, placing them in the fire with intense battle cries and whoops. Once both ends were lit, they began a baton-like routine, twirling the batons so fast that they appeared as if circles of fire were dancing under the legs and around the backs of the samoan warriors before they tossed the batons across the stage to one another, repeating the twirling feats of dexterity, amazing the guests. A hush fell over the audience as an intimidating warrior took the stage, a sword in each hand. He placed the blades over the fire, catching them in a blaze of fire which he then placed on his tongue. The crowd gasped in astonishment. Letting out another battle cry, he began twirling the swords at lightening speed before he threw one then the other into the air, catching them without a second thought. The guests burst into cheers at this amazing finale.





* * *





“That was amazing! I can't believe that guy at the end with the fire on his mouth! I'll never forget it, ever!” Jiyong gushed as they stepped into their new hotel room at the Four Seasons based in Maui only to find that it was a much more simplified version of their accommodations in the first hotel. He looked at her with a curious expression on his face.



“Figured if you can try, so can I,” she said softly.



“Dara,” he murmured, astounded at the depth of her heart.



“Here you go, Jagi,” Dara said, passing a small envelope with DAY 5 written on it.



He opened it to find the words Snorkeling and the best Sunset written on a slip of paper.



“Dara,” he mused, looking up to find her dead asleep on their bed. “You and your food comas, D. I guess I'll have to keep my promise tomorrow.”



He smiled, thoughts of Dara and the perfect sunset filling his mind.