JoAnn Bassett - Islands of Aloha 07 - Moloka'i Lullaby by JoAnn Bassett

Bustamante can be a little demanding, but he’s good people. Leonard tells me he’s something of a hermit. I’m surprised he offered up his place.”
    I explained that the groom was his business partner. “He may have felt obligated. Maybe he hoped his partner wouldn’t take him up on it.”
    “Ah. Well, tell me what you’ve got lined up so far,” she said.
    “I brought their file with me,” I said. I pulled out Richard and Amanda’s consultation folder and we went over their choices of flowers, music, food, and so on.
    “Looks good,” said Malama. “What can I do?”
    “You can help me find all this stuff; I have no idea where to begin. I could get everything sent over from Maui, but it seems like a waste. Especially if there might be people here on Moloka’i who could use the work.”
    Malama smiled. “There are many people around here who need work. As you can see, we don’t have the booming tourist business you have over there.”
    “From what I’ve heard, people on Moloka’i like it that way.”
    “We do, and we don’t. We don’t want to be overrun with mainland visitors. But we’re kind of tired of being thought of as the poor relations in the ‘ohana , you know? I’ve been doing my party business since back in the days when the Moloka’i Ranch was still open. Since it closed, it’s been tough to get visitors to Moloka’i. Especially to get married.”
    “So, do you have local vendors you can recommend?” I said.
    “Everything but the cake. I always order my cakes from Honolulu or Maui.”
    “Great. I’ll get the cake, but I’ll hand everything else over to you if we can agree on a price.”
    “How about you split your fee with me?” she said. “I’ll give you the invoices and you pay the vendors. You can pay me when it’s all over.”
    “Great. I charge clients fifteen percent, so how about we split it down the middle—seven and a half for each of us?”
    We shook on it. I left the meeting feeling I had lots to think about but, thanks to Malama, nothing to worry about.
    ***
    Hatch called while I was waiting at the airport for Amanda to arrive.
    “Hi, babe,” he said. “How’s it going?” He sounded edgy.
    “I’m good. How about you? Are you okay?”
    “Not much going on today. But I’m a little concerned about a situation up at your place.”
    “At my shop?”
    “No, your house. It’s Farrah. I went up there last night and her BP’s creeping up. It’s got me worried. High blood pressure is an early indicator of pre-eclampsia.”
    “Pre- what?”
    “Pre-eclampsia. It’s a condition in late pregnancy where BP spikes and there’s protein in the urine. I’d really like to get it checked out.”
    “Did you talk to Farrah about it?” I said.
    “Lot of good that did,” he said. “I told Ono, and he wants her to go to the hospital and let them take a look at her. But Farrah won’t go. She’s hell-bent on having her kids at home, and she’s afraid if she goes in, they won’t release her. She did let Ono call the midwife, though. I’m still at work, so I’m not sure if she’s shown up yet.”
    “Do you want me to come home?” I said. “I’m at the airport picking up the bride, but after I take her to George’s I could get on the next flight back to Maui.”
    “Let’s see what the midwife says first,” he said. “I know you want to get everything set up over there before coming back.”
    “I do. But I met with a local wedding planner this morning and she’s going to help a lot. Let me get the bride settled in and then let’s talk again later.”
    “Sounds good. I didn’t want to bother you with this, but I thought you’d want to know.”
    “I’m glad you called. Call me after the midwife leaves, okay? I’ll come back tonight if Farrah wants me to.”
    ***
    Amanda’s plane landed shortly afterward. I watched as the passengers came down the outside stairway and crossed the tarmac. Amanda was one of the last people off the plane.
    “Ugh,”