Moving to Hawaii

The next morning, or afternoon really, once everyone was up, Charlotte helped Beth make a big breakfast while the guys all cleaned up outside. Duane Lee and his family as well as Leland and his boys had all stayed over. It was a pretty tight squeeze since Justin and Charlotte occupied what used to be the guest rooms.

“How about a family beach day after we get cleaned up?” Beth asked Charlotte and Teresa. “It’s supposed to be a nice day.”

“Sounds good to me”, Charlotte answered. “One of the things that drew me here was the beach.”

“Sounds good to me too”, Teresa said.

Charlotte placed a huge plate of waffles on the table as Cobie and Garry came running in.

“Mommy, we’re hungry!” Garry shouted.

“It’s almost done, go tell daddy and the guys to come eat”, Beth told him.

The guys came in just as Beth put a bowl of scrambled eggs in the center of the table. “How convenient, show up just as the food is done.”

“Hey, we were cleaning”, Dog said grabbing a piece of bacon and taking his place at the table.

Beth, Charlotte and Teresa got the kids situated at their table before sitting at the adult table.

“We ready for grace?” Dog asked. When everyone nodded he asked that they join hands.

Charlotte took Teresa’s hand in her left and Leland’s in her right before bowing her head. As Dog spoke she thought about one of the main reasons she had come to Hawaii in the first place and decided today would be the day to follow through with that plan.

After eating and clean up everyone went to get ready. Charlotte pulled on her black bikini quickly and threw a sun dress over it. She kept a bag in her room that contained beach essentials so she didn’t need to pack, just grabbed it as she headed out the door to her car.

“Where’s the fire?” Leland asked as she hurried out the door. Charlotte didn’t answer, just gestures for him to follow.

“I have something I need to do today, do you think you can help me?” She asked him once they had reached her car. She opened the trunk and removed a small box.

“Sure, but what is it?”

“How about now?” Leland asked.

Charlotte looked up to the lowering sun, signaling that it was getting pretty late and they would probably be getting ready to head out soon. They had been at the beach almost all day and Charlotte was feeling great. “Now is probably ok.” Truthfully she was nervous about what she was getting ready to do and had been trying to put it to the back of her mind.

Leland nodded and stood up, “Hey you guys. Char has something she wants to ask.”

Charlotte stood up too, there was no backing out now. Dog, Beth, Tim, his wife Dee, Duane Lee, Teresa and Leland all gathered close to hear what she was going to say.

“So, when I moved to Hawaii a couple of months ago, my parents had just passed. My parents didn’t have a ton of money, ever, but when I was about ten we had saved and saved and were able to take a trip to Hawaii”, Charlotte paused for a moment. “We stayed in Waikiki for a week. It was amazing. It was the only vacation we ever took as a family. While we were here my parents decided when they died they wanted their ashes to be spread in Hawaii.”

Charlotte did have to stop now because she felt the tears falling freely. This was the most she had talked about her family and her parent’s wishes in a very long time. “The decision to move here wasn’t because I went crazy, even though it seems that way. I made it because this was where I was sure my parents would spend eternity. And if this was where they were going to be then it was where I needed to be too.”

Again, Charlotte paused to gather herself. She felt a hand rubbing her back but wasn’t sure who’s it was. “So, all of that was to say”, she began as she bent down and pulled the box from her beach bag. “Since you guys are my family too, would you help me lay my parents to rest?”

For a moment nobody said anything and Charlotte looked up, thinking maybe she had freaked all of them out. Dog was the first person she saw and he was crying along with her.

“We would be honored to help you honor your parents, Charlie”, he said, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Of course, honey”, Beth said, voice cracking.

Dog asked them to join in a circle. “What are your parent’s names?”

“Charles and Scarlet, that’s how they decided on Charlotte”, Charlotte answered with a tearful laugh.

Leland squeezed her hand from the left.

“Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for sending Charlotte to us. We want to thank you for realizing our family needed her and she needed us. We want to ask you to allow Charles and Scarlet to rest easy, and find peace here in paradise knowing we will all be taking care of their girl. In Jesus name, Amen.”

“Amen” chorused around the small group. Charlotte held the box containing her parent’s ashes and followed Leland to a small section of the beach that jutted out into the water.

Leland paused and allowed Charlotte to walk out a little ways On her own.

“I love you mommy, I love you daddy”, she said quietly before opening the lid to the box. When she turned the box to allow the contents to dump into the crystal clear blue water a slight breeze kicked up some of the ashes and swirled them lightly before allowing them to settle into the water. Charlotte gave a small laugh through the tears, taking it as a sign her parents were there. She remained in place for a moment just admiring the ocean and sky.

After a beat she turned to find Leland still waiting for her. When she was close enough he pulled her in for a hug and Charlotte suddenly felt exhausted. “Thank you”, she whispered to him. “ I would have backed out.”

“Glad I could help”, he said when they separated.

“Is everyone ready?” Beth asked once eveyone had given her hugs again and spoken kind words.

“Yes”, Charlotte answered. As they were leaving she glanced back to see if anything seemed different or out of place, but the world still looked the same. The same perfect Hawaii her parents had talked about for years.