Love at First Sight

Apelehama had an unidentifiable twinkle in his eye when he left for his date with Mandy. “What’s up, Dad?” His son, Jacob, inquired with a lift of his brows. His dad appeared uncharacteristically happy today when usually he had a sober demeanor.

“None of your business, Son,” his dad said with a look that warned, “Don’t go there.” Apelehama had on his best Tommy Bahama shirt, usually reserved for Sunday, a soft olive green color with beige grass and leaves. He knew the coloring complemented his dark skin nicely.

Earlier in the day, he had gone to Hal’s Barber Shop, so Hal could tame his wild head of hair. Hal had asked him a similar question, “What’s going on, Apelehama?” He had said nothing, just shook his head.

He planned to pick up Mandy at five o’clock in the afternoon. The sun set around six o’clock to six-thirty in the evening, since the island never went on daylight savings’ time.

Mandy lived over on the Poipu side of the island, in one of the big houses facing the ocean on The Point. When Apelehama arrived at Mandy’s at five o’clock in the afternoon, Mandy was ready. She wasn’t one of those women who were always late. She believed that everyone’s time was just as valuable as her own time was.

Mandy looked like a princess this evening. She wore an ankle-length, soft green and lavender, spaghetti strapped dress in a simple drop-waist style. Her white skin had tanned to a golden glow in the last few weeks from all her work in the yard. The effect was very striking. She also wore simple diamond earrings, a silver bracelet, and an aquamarine ring, just enough and not too much. Mandy didn’t like big earrings, like many women. To complete her ensemble, Mandy wore strappy, silver, low heels, sensible but exquisite.

Mandy met Apelehama at the door, “Good evening, handsome man,” she cooed and gave him a hug. She loved the feel of the soft hair on the back of his neck and his scent of citrus cologne. She felt it was very sexy, but then who could resist six-feet, four-inches of a statuesque Hawaiian Adonis, who possessed the grace of an athlete. She tossed her red bob haircut out of her eyes to reveal the shining blue-green wonders that he so adored.

“You become lovelier each time I see you, Mandy. How do you do it?” He admired her stunning beauty as he held her around her waist, and the reality of her love caressed his heart. Apelehama hadn’t meant to fall in love at first sight. He generally was not impetuous, but it was something that was completely out of his control. The vulnerable and guileless expression on her face had spoken volumes about her personality, and he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. He had simply strolled to the door of the meeting room for The Third Quarter group at church and escorted her to a chair, next to him, of course.

“It has a lot to do with you, my love. You chase away the blues,” Mandy smiled lovingly up at his imposing stature as she held his large brown hands in hers. She stroked his handsome face with her long elegant fingers.

The two of them always seemed to be so happy together. Jacob and Francine had recently met an Apelehama that they had never known before: light-hearted, sweet, and with a sense of humor. Until Mandy, they had only known the quiet, serious, and wise Apelehama. It was obvious that Apelehama and Mandy brought out the best in each other.

Apelehama held Mandy’s hand as they walked down the front steps to his truck. He opened the passenger-side door for her, and helped her up into his truck. In the gentle trade winds, the sweet smell of wild ginger wafted through the air and the perfect temperature hovered around seventy-eight to eighty degrees. The day felt like a blessing to be alive in God’s kingdom.

Mandy relaxed and enjoyed Apelehama’s company. There didn’t seem to be any reason to talk. He quietly drove them to the Wailua River boat landing where a covered boat and a driver waited for them. He held Mandy’s hand and helped her into the boat. He directed her to the bench at the back where they could sit together, and he could put his arm around her.

Apelehama directed the boat captain to drive slowly. He didn’t want gas fumes to ruin the evening. A slight, light shower created a rainbow through the sunshine and made all the plants appear sparkling fresh and new. When they arrived at the Fern Grotto, he helped her out of the boat. He held her hand and guided her to one of the first seats just inside the lava cave. The philodendrons and ferns glistened like diamonds with the freshly fallen rain and magically reflected the evening sun.

Mandy sat quietly, but her heart knew even though she said nothing. She watched him pull up his pant leg slightly and go down on one knee. He peered solemnly into her turquoise jewels. She felt as if she was on stage in an enchanted drama where the actors discover that they have heartfelt feelings for each other.

Apelehama opened the ring case, which contained the five-carat, princess-cut diamond he had chosen. It was simple and lovely, big enough for her to realize the depth of his love, and uncomplicated enough to complement her sophisticated style. He had no long speech prepared. He only asked with earnest desire in his gravelly baritone, “Mandy, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”

This moment couldn’t be more enamored, Mandy thought. Goose bumps arose on her arms, but it wasn’t cold. “It would be my honor, Apelehama,” Mandy said with sweet sincerity and emotion, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, ” he countered with a catch in his throat. He slipped the ring on her finger where it fit perfectly. He took Mandy’s hand, pulled her up to his chest, and kissed her passionately. The fire in him took her breath away. She blushed and felt a little faint as she leaned into him. Without another word, he took her hand, and walked her back to the boat. They didn’t need any pictures of the moment because they would remember it forever in their minds.

They glided back down the river. When they reached the landing, Apelehama lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the boat with ease. Something about the motion said that she was now his. It was a motion that seemed too personal until now. She luxuriated in his touch in a manner that no woman had ever exhibited before, and it made him feel like a king. At seventy-two years of age, he was not a shy fiancé. No, he would make certain that he was man enough for her.

The Monk Seals of Poipu, Kauai

On this last trip to Poipu, Kauai, we were fortunate to see the Hawaiian Monk Seals sleeping on the beach. There were two of them snoozing in the sand. They slept so heavily that they appeared to be dead! They had to be a mother seal and her young nursing baby because that is the only time that you will see a Monk Seal with another Monk Seal. The mother seal nurses the thirty-pound newborn baby for six weeks, until it weighs around two-hundred pounds, and then the young seal is on its own! This mother seal was about six feet long and weighed about four hundred pounds. Her baby must have been close to the end of the nursing stage, since he or she looked to weigh near two-hundred pounds.

They flopped up on the beach early one morning, and the lifeguard cordoned off the area so that people could not approach them too closely. They are very solitary creatures and prefer to be alone, and they are extremely sensitive to humans. A mother Monk Seal will actually abandon her young nursing seal if disturbed by people. They are the most endangered marine mammal located in the United States. There are around twelve-hundred of them living in and around the Hawaiian atolls.

The mother and her young seal slept on the beach all day until the tide came in. The sleepy heads didn’t want to wake up yet, and so they climbed up a little further on the beach. An hour passed and the surf increased even more in the late afternoon. The water sloshed around the mother and cub, and pushed them up on the beach and then pulled them back in the water. They enjoyed their snooze so much that they purposely slept on. It looked like two dead seals washed in from sea. My husband and I laughed as they slept so solidly in the moving surf. Most other creatures would notice when a big wave crashed over their back. The high tide at Poipu pushed the mother seal and her baby around for about an hour. It was hilarious!

When the sun waned towards the horizon, the mother woke up first, shook her head, and waited for the baby to wake up. When the baby finally opened its eyes, the mother seal led the way, and the two seals swam away from the reef out into the Pacific Ocean. The baby would nurse and the mother would enjoy her gourmet cuisine of bottom fish, eel, lobster, and possibly an octopus! They have the amazing ability to dive down to around sixteen-hundred feet, and so they stay well fed.

We viewed the amazing couple of seals for three days, and then they must have found another sunny beach to occupy.

I praise our Maker for the order that he created in our world for all species of animals, including the Monk Seals. However, I am thankful that the closest our Maker came to make me a Monk Seal was to make me a writer instead! Imagine living your entire life without the companionship of another human being. He not only gave us fellowship, but he also gave us his grace through his Son. Our lives are infinitely better than the lives of the Monk Seals, although, I could certainly handle living in Hawaii, couldn’t you?

Hummingbirds

Back at the ranch again, Jim and Lilia relaxed up on the roof of the lean-to. “Look, Jim,” Lilia said quietly and pointed at a mother hummingbird sitting in a carefully constructed nest on a low-lying branch of a queen palm tree. They gazed at the conical miracle. “It looks like green plastic, but I think she constructed it from spume and greenery collected from the area,” Lilia whispered to Jim in awe of one of God’s creations.

Jim peered into Lilia’s amazing turquoise eyes, and said, “Lilia, you’re a hummingbird, too. Your life hums at the speed of light just like the hummingbird’s does.”

“What kind of bird or animal are you like, Jim?” Lilia asked with curiosity. She tilted her head at him and wondered if he’d play along with her.

He chuckled and replied, “I’m probably a tall and proud elk, but to keep up with you, I’m forced to be a coyote.” They laughed easily together.

Over a period of eighteen days, Lilia and Jim watched the nest. She pointed out every change to Jim. The two little eggs hatched and became two tiny little beaks, which stuck straight up from the bottom of the conical home. The beaks emerged into heads, and then the bodies became visible. One little hummingbird tried out its speedy wings, and then poked at the back of the other hummingbird with its beak to tell it,” Move over.” Eventually, the only way that the two little birds could fit in the nest was similar to shoes in a shoebox: head to tail and tail to head.

Jim and Lilia knew that it wouldn’t be long before the little birds took flight. The next morning they climbed up the ladder to the top of the lean-to, and looked down to view that the birds were gone. Star jasmine grew up the side of the barn and lean-to. Lilia and Jim lay on their stomachs and observed as the mother hummingbird and the two little hummers feasted on the nectar. Jim felt sad that the birds had grown too big for the nest, but he took solace in the perfection that the miracle of God displayed in their growth. He realized that it was no different with Lilia. God displayed her growth for the world to see, too.

The Feral Roosters of Kauai

Each morning as the sun rose, the feral roosters encouraged us to get out of bed. It didn’t bother me too much, since I was still on Pacific Coast Time and wanted to get out of bed anyway. For those folks who may have wanted to catch a few more winks, I said, “Good Luck!” The crowing roosters numbered in the dozens. Everywhere we looked, there were chickens! We saw big fighting cocks, hens with babies, and even chickens sitting in a chair next to us at the outdoor grill! There were battalions of chickens marching around our table as we ate. A big chicken pecked at a little chicken who cocked to close to a table, and feathers flew up in the air in cackled panic. Some of the chickens were beautiful bantams, some were Bantams mixed with white chickens, the outcome of which was an odd-looking gray chicken with gold specks! There were chickens of all sizes squished in the streets, inconvenient road kill.

Don left to retrieve something from our condominium. I wasn’t alert as the big bantam jumped up on the little table between our beach chairs, and grabbed the pineapple right out of Don’s Chichi! He leaped off the table and took cover with his bounty under the bushes. Dozens of other chickens fought him for his prize, and they exchanged the piece of pineapple from beak to beak, much like a pineapple relay!

I don’t remember all these chickens from our earlier visits to Kauai, and there’s a good reason why. Hurricane Iniki blew in with a fury in 1992. The force of the wind released many of the fighting cocks and other chickens, and they went forth and multiplied. The variety of chickens is interesting to see, but they are truly a nuisance to the locals as they cackle and hackle all day long.

Someone came up with a recipe for the chickens. The recipe directs the chef to slow cook the chicken with spices and a rock. When the dish has cooked completely, you throw away the chicken and eat the rock! Free-range fighting cocks are tough!