Free Aloha Love by Yvonne Lehman

waiting, too, Mak. I’ve thought about the school and what to do but didn’t want to discuss it until after Pansy had gone to be with the Lord. I didn’t want to stand in the way in case God wanted to provide a miracle for her.” He made a soft sound, almost like an ironic laugh. “Or for us, I suppose. She is in her miracle now.”
    Mak stared at him a moment, having the distinct feeling the reverend was trying to tell him something. But there was really nothing new he could say. Mak knew the facts of life. And the facts of afterlife.
    The reverend slapped the arms of his leather chair. “Well, Mak, you just tell Rose that we’ll be glad to accept that dinner invitation. Any time.”
    On Friday evening, Mak saw their guests like a silhouette on the horizon. The prancing horse pulled the black surrey against a setting of green grass and clear blue sky.
    What would the Buckleys think of his ranch? How would it compare with a wealthy Texan’s ranch? Or an oil man’s property? He scoffed inwardly, aware that kind of thinking was what turned so many Hawaiians into imitators of western lifestyle many years ago, resulting in their losing much of their own culture.
    He walked away from the huge window in the living room, stepped into the foyer, and saw his mother and Leia coming down the curved staircase along the wall. They had probably been watching from an upstairs window.
    His mother was dressed elegantly in western-style clothes that could compete with the finest—clothes that she didn’t get to wear too often. Leia was trying to keep her lips still instead of smiling, as if she knew how beautiful she looked in her yellow dress trimmed with ruffles and a huge green sash. Her black hair curled naturally but now lay in ringlets and was adorned on one side with a pink, yellow-centered flower.
    “My two beautiful girls,” he said. His mother smiled broadly. She knew she was a handsome woman. Leia laughed delightedly. She made a small curtsy. “Thank you, Daddy.”
    All right. She was already practicing her manners.
    “I’ll go out and greet them, Mother,” he said.
    “Good,” she said. She usually greeted their guests. Depending upon who they were, sometimes the housekeeper invited guests in. Feeling quite well-attired himself, in his western-style suit, Mak wished to give the impression he was not always a grump nor a crybaby. He was the man of this. . .this. . .ranch and this house.
    He went out and stood on the porch as the reverend’s surrey meandered up the long, stone driveway.
    “Aloha, Reverend.” They shook hands.
    Mak held out his hand to the woman who looked as fiery as an evening sunset that lit up the world in bright red. She wore a red satin dress with the cut of the bodice like something the missionaries would have banned a few decades back. Decorating her chest was a strand of rubies set in silver. Her hair was a deeper red and in a high updo of curls and rolls and jeweled combs. She could pass for a Hawaiian landscape at sunset.
    “Aloha and komo mai.”
    “Thank you,” she said, setting her pointy-toed shoes on the ground and moving aside.
    “Miz Buckley,” he said to the next pair of pointy shoes. He lifted his hands and his gaze and was astounded by the contrast between the woman he’d just helped from the surrey and this one.
    “Aloha and komo mai.”
    She lay her gloved hand in his and stepped down. “Aloha and komo mai to you, too.”
    Leia giggled and put her hand over her mouth.
    Jane huffed. “What did I do wrong this time?”
    “I’m sure you know aloha by now,” Mak said. “Komo mai means welcome.”
    She and the others laughed lightly. “Thanks for the lesson. I do want to learn Hawaiian.”
    “I can teach you some words,” Leia said. “And you can teach me some words. I want to learn about that filthy. . .” She looked up at his mother. “What was that?”
    “Never mind, dear.”
    The way the two Miz Buckleys shared a quick glance, Mak thought they probably