H50 fic: 'Mamo's Books and Music', 3/6
Masterpost
***
Chapter 3
Over the next few days, Steve has to endure enquiries about Danny from Mom and Chin, suggestions from Cath (supportive) and Kono (salacious), and good-natured ribbing from Kamekona and Toast.
He discusses the Danny situation with the three most important people in his life, but reminds the other three that he's their boss and can fire them. Since Kono is Chin's favorite cousin, Kamekona's café is helping keep the store afloat, and Toast is basically Steve's caffeine dealer, that threat is pretty much empty and they all know it.
At Friday night drinks, Steve doesn't even bother checking out the many hot people in the bar. He just wants to go home and get a decent night's sleep, so he only stays half an hour.
When Steve announces that he's heading off, Chin gives him a thumbs-up and wishes him good luck with Danny. Kamekona grins at him, or rather leers, and says he'll prepare an extra-special 'power lunch' tomorrow to boost Steve's mojo.
Kono tells Steve to 'be gay with style, for a change': she vetoes his usual polo shirt and cargo pants, insists he dig out some nice pants and that short-sleeved blue shirt he hasn't worn for a while ('it makes your eyes pop and shows off those arm muscles'), and threatens to show up at 8am to check his outfit.
Steve hugs Chin, rolls his eyes at their wonderfully helpful employees, and limps out to get a cab.
Though he goes to bed early, he's too jittery to sleep. He tries the relaxation exercises he learned in hospital, but his mind keeps churning with everything that's happened with Danny so far and everything Steve wants to happen. He knows it's stupid to get his hopes up - Christ, he barely knows the guy, hasn't even spent six hours in his company yet.
Still, there's something special between them, a chemistry Steve hasn't experienced since he fell for Cath 19 years ago. That was a teenage romance, which faded into a deep loving friendship with occasional benefits. But this is two adults with a lot of baggage, a lot still to learn about each other, and a lot more to lose.
Around midnight, Steve finally gives up and takes a sleeping pill. He doesn't like sedatives, but as he gets older he can't function so well after a bout of insomnia. There's no way he could survive Hell Week now, even if his knee wasn't ruined.
When Steve gets up, he puts on the clothes Kono suggested (he honestly wouldn't put it past her to swing by for a uniform inspection), lets Mom kiss his cheek for luck, and heads to work. The store is crowded all morning, as usual on a Saturday, and he's kept busy enough that there's not much time to think about Danny.
At lunch Kamekona serves him a very odd assortment of food, even by his unorthodox standards.
"I looked up aphrodisiacs on the internet, brah," he tells Steve with a wink. "All this kine is meant to get your juices flowing, if you know what I mean."
Steve thanks him, glad that there are no customers with delicate sensibilities nearby. Everything on the plate tastes good, at least, so Steve eats without arguing.
A big group of gay and lesbian passengers arrive off a cruise ship, mid-afternoon. Mamo's is listed in guidebooks for its wide LGBT selection, and the 'pink dollar' is a welcome boost to takings. Steve makes recommendations, answers questions about the local scene, and sells dozens of books, CDs, and DVDs.
Danny and Grace show up 20 minutes before closing. Steve can only wave to them, as he's busy selling Mr. Suzuki a birthday gift for his wife. Dr. Suzuki is a long-standing customer, so Steve was able to suggest some new books she might enjoy. The store takes returns, of course, but he prides himself on choosing right first time when the recipient's a regular.
Grace heads for the children's books, where she finds a copy of A Little Princess. She sits in her favorite chair and starts reading; Danny picks up The Hobbit and pages through it.
Steve serves nine customers in a row as the clock ticks towards 6pm. Leilani, the UH music student who minds Chin's department on his day off, walks around telling people that Mamo's is about to close.
A young man who's been immersed in a history of The Beatles looks up, startled, like he'd totally lost track of time. Steve picks him as a browser, not a buyer, so is unsurprised when the guy puts the book down and leaves. Once, Steve would have called it the downside of providing armchairs. But when he and Chin tried removing some of them, a few years ago, the browsers sat on the floor instead and blocked the aisles. And their regulars - especially the elderly ones - complained so much that the comfy chairs made a permanent comeback.
Leilani works her way around to the kids' section, but Steve shakes his head at her before she can approach Danny and Grace. So she goes over to shut the doors, flipping the 'open' sign to 'closed'.
Steve heaves a sigh of relief. "Okay, guys, I should be ready to go in ten minutes. But if you're buying today, I need to run the transactions now so I can close out my register."
"You want that one, monkey?" Danny asks Grace.
"Yes, please. I really like it so far."
Gesturing to the paperback Danny's holding, Steve says, "Hey, I still have the illustrated hardback copy that my mom read to me. I'd be happy to lend it to you."
"Cool, thanks." Danny puts The Hobbit back on the shelf. "So tell me, bookman: how exactly do you stay in business, if you talk customers out of buying stuff?"
"Oh, I'm a fantastic salesman, usually," Steve replies. "I just make exceptions for people I really like." Danny grins at him, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Steve smiles back.
Grace hands A Little Princess over. Holding it open to the page she's up to, Steve scans the barcode. Once Danny has paid, Steve gives it back and Grace keeps right on reading.
Though he wants to get going, Steve doesn't rush through his end-of-day routine. Chin's a forgiving man, but not so much at 8:45 on a Sunday morning. So Steve counts out the register floats for tomorrow, and files all the paperwork in its proper place.
And Charlie, the Chaminade senior who minds Steve's department Sundays, is a meticulous guy who likes starting the day with a clear desk. He's one of Mom's favorite ex-students - she'd suggested him when their last part-timer graduated and headed to the mainland - and so far he's working out great.
Danny wanders over to the non-fiction section, picking up a coffee-table book about the architecture of Manhattan. A few minutes later, he calls out to Grace.
"Look, here's a great photo of your Uncle Matt's building." He holds up the book to show a huge edifice, all mirror glass and gleaming steel. "Remember how we watched the 4th of July fireworks from his office?" Danny asks, and she smiles.
His wistful tone makes Steve's heart sink: Honolulu would look small and provincial to someone used to such skyscrapers. But he reminds himself that it's been only two weeks since Danny left his lifelong home for a place that must seem very foreign, despite being part of the same country. It'll take him a while yet to adjust, just like it took Steve time to transition from military to civilian life.
"Okay, I'm done here," Steve declares, after locking the day's very pleasing takings in the safe. "I was thinking I'd cook tonight, unless you've got a craving for take-out?"
Grace looks hopeful, but Danny says, "Nope, sweetheart, once a week is your limit. I, on the other hand, pretty much live on fast food at the moment. So a home-cooked meal would be a nice change."
"All right, no problem. I'm not exactly a gourmet chef, but I can manage spaghetti, tacos, pork chops, chicken stir-fry..."
"Ma is Italian and I miss her cooking, so pasta sounds good to me," Danny says. "Gracie?"
She nods. "Can you make it with mushrooms, please? Grandma always puts them in spaghetti sauce."
"Sure thing. Okay, let's head to the grocery store."
Kamekona already left two hours ago, and Leilani has finished her assigned tasks. She takes one last look upstairs, in case there's a customer lurking in a back corner, and turns out the lights. Steve ushers his guests out the door, sets the alarm, and secures the perimeter. It amuses Chin when he says that, but some habits are too hard to break.
Steve says goodbye to Leilani, and follows Danny to his rental.
"So will HPD assign you a vehicle, or will you have to provide your own?"
Danny groans. "I gotta buy one. And man, new car prices here are insane. I know the shipping costs must add to the cost, but still...ouch."
"You can get something near-new at a good price, thanks to all the ex-rentals," Steve suggests. "And plenty of military folks get transferred off the island and sell their cars, some still under warranty. Chin bought a decent used sedan recently, so he could probably give you a list of reputable dealers."
"That'd be a big help," Danny says. "I was kinda hoping to buy new for the first time in my life, but I guess Hawaii is not the place to achieve that aspiration."
At the grocery store they split up, Steve picking up lean ground beef and Danny finding vegetables both he and Grace are willing to eat. They meet in the beverage aisle and Steve says, "Hey, you guys should try this great local soda - natural flavors, and no artificial sweeteners."
Grace wavers between the fruit flavors, and then goes for pineapple. Danny grimaces at the very thought, and chooses cream soda. Steve is quite fond of the pineapple one, but he's hoping to kiss Danny later tonight. So he gets cream soda too.
***
As the traffic's not so bad on weekends, they get to Steve's place in good time. Danny carries the sack of groceries inside, and stops dead.
"Jesus Christ," he says, "that's a lot of books."
Grace follows Danny into the living room and stares around at all the shelves, wide-eyed.
"Feel free to look at any books you want, while I fix dinner," Steve tells her. He leaves his shoes by the front door, as usual, and the others follow suit. "Or you could go out onto the beach, watch the sunset."
"You have your own beach?" Danny asks.
"Yeah, but it's not exactly Waikiki." Steve crosses the room and pulls the blinds up, revealing the lanai, the lawn, and the narrow strip of pebbly sand lapped by small waves. It's a calm evening, so he unlocks the lanai door to let the breeze in.
Grace looks torn between her two great passions, but the ocean wins. "Danno, can I play outside?"
"Sure. Just remember the rules: don't step on a turtle or get eaten by a shark." She giggles and nods.
"Hold up a second, Gracie," Steve says, rummaging in the storage closet. Mom gets visited by ex-students sometimes; last month, it was a couple who fell in love while playing Beatrice and Benedick in her production of Much Ado. Their young daughter, Cynthia, left her slippers behind and nobody's come back to collect them.
"The beach is stony," he warns, handing Grace the cheap rubber shoes. "I'll lend you these, so you don't cut your feet."
Danny flashes him a grateful smile, and says to Grace, "You can go into the water, but keep the flip-flops on and don't get your clothes wet. Come inside once the sun's gone down, okay?"
"Okay." She rolls her jeans up, and heads for the beach.
"The linen closet is at the top of the stairs, if you want to grab a towel for her," Steve tells Danny. "I'll get dinner going."
In the kitchen, Steve pours himself a big glass of water and takes small sips. So far, so good, he thinks.
He starts by dicing an onion. The kitchen's been adapted for him, so he leans heavily against the counter's padded, protruding edge to take the weight off his knee. Danny comes back downstairs with a towel and perches at the breakfast bar, where he can simultaneously see Grace playing and Steve chopping.
"You say you're no gourmet chef, but you're damn good at that," Danny observes.
"Practice," Steve shrugs, tipping the onion into the pan. He'd usually add lots of garlic next, but with the possibility of kissing in mind he skips straight to slicing red pepper and carrot. "I started helping out with the cooking when I was in middle school, because my mother had gone back to teaching full-time."
Steve doesn't mention the advanced knife-handling skills he learned later on.
"Ma never let me near the kitchen, except to wash the dishes. She's a teacher too, actually. She supervises remedial reading at the parish elementary school."
"Damn, that must take the patience of a saint," Steve says. "Mom teaches high school English and drama. She loves it, but it's such hard work. I sure couldn't cope with it."
"So did she always correct your grammar? Christ, Ma drove me crazy. I'd start a sentence with, 'Me and my friends -' and she'd cut in: 'My friends and I, Danny'. Then we'd argue about why, because I thought it was a dumb rule. And I would either forget what I'd wanted to say, or decide it wasn't worth telling the story after all."
Danny looks so aggrieved at the memory that Steve has to grin. "Mom wasn't that bad. But obviously you wound up a very fluent speaker, despite the interruptions."
"If you mean I talk too much and too fast, then yeah."
"No, not at all," Steve says, meeting his eyes. "I like listening to you."
Danny flushes a little. "God, where are my manners - can I help with something?"
"Sure." Steve adds ground beef to the sizzling onions. "Stir this, so it doesn't burn."
Standing at the stove, beside Steve, Danny gestures at the living room. "So are these books yours or your mother's?"
"The ones along the left wall are mine," Steve says, "and the rest are hers. She's been shopping at Mamo's since before I was born."
Danny sighs. "You were so lucky, growing up with all this."
"Yeah. I took it for granted as a little kid, though; I remember being surprised when I visited friends' houses, and there were no bookshelves anywhere."
"Ma always made sure we had some books of our own," Danny says, "even if they were from thrift stores, but mostly we haunted the library. With four kids, money was tight long before my dad split."
"I used to wish I had siblings. And I think Mom would've had a bigger family, if Dad was around more; I know she wanted a daughter. It was just so tough for her to do it all alone, especially when she had no relatives here to help."
"Oh, that was the one thing Ma never lacked. She had two older sisters, her mother, and several aunts all living nearby." Danny rolls his eyes. "But she got loudly-expressed judgments on her childrearing ability as much as actual support."
Outside, Grace has found some washed-up limu. She's spinning in circles, strands of the pink-red seaweed trailing from her hands like ribbons. Her upturned face is lit by the setting sun.
Steve nods towards her as he adds mushrooms to the pan. "Well, you've done a damn good job on the childrearing front: she's such a great kid. I've met kids that might be smarter, in IQ terms, but their social skills often suck. Grace can have a real conversation with adults, yet still run around and have fun like that."
Danny's face softens as he watches her dance. "Yeah, she's a gift all right. I regret a lot of things that happened with Rachel, but our daughter will never be one of them. I'd follow Rachel to Timbuktu, if I had to, just to stay part of Grace's life."
The love radiating from him is almost too much to bear. Turning away, Steve busies himself with opening a can of diced tomatoes.
"You ever think of having children?" Danny asks.
"I haven't dated anyone, male or female, that I'd consider raising a kid with," Steve admits. "To be honest, my longest relationship was with Cath back in high school."
"Really? I wouldn't have picked her as your ex. You two seem so close."
"People often think we're married," Steve says, "even though she's been with Laura for years. They've talked about Cath having a baby, maybe with my help, but it's still a ways off."
Danny nods. "You would be an awesome dad."
"How can you tell? You hardly know me," Steve counters.
"I've seen you with Grace. And I have a parent's instincts, plus a cop's gut feeling. You've been through bad times, Steve, but your heart is still good."
"Thank you," Steve says, touched by Danny's calm certainty.
***
Grace appears outside the lanai door, then, and kicks off her wet sandy shoes. Danny kneels down beside her; she puts her hand on his shoulder for balance as he dries each foot in turn.
"That was fun," she says, breathless.
Standing up, Danny winces a little, as though he has knee trouble too. "Okay, let's get you cleaned up before dinner."
"You can use my bathroom," Steve tells him. "It's through that door, and to the left."
Danny nods and leads Grace away.
The bathroom opens off Steve's bedroom, but it's often used by visitors to the house. He's a very neat person anyway - thanks to Mom and the Navy - so there's nothing too personal on display. And maybe it's a good thing for Danny to see the modified shower and everything. If they're going to try for an actual relationship here, he needs to know the extent of Steve's disability.
With the sauce simmering and the pasta boiling, Steve starts putting together a salad. Not even the health-conscious Rachel could object to this meal, he thinks.
That leads Steve to wonder whether she might object to him and Danny dating. If it's a serious obstacle, Danny will tell him soon enough. If it's not, well, Steve can live with her disapproval. Losing Rachel as a customer won't make him lose any sleep, so long as Danny can still bring Grace in.
He limps around the kitchen, getting everything ready. His knee is throbbing, after such a busy day, but he doesn't want to take a prescription pill and space out on Danny. A couple of OTC painkillers will dull the edge, though.
"Hey, Danny, could you please grab the Tylenol bottle from my medicine cabinet?"
"Sure," Danny calls back.
"You have even more books in your room," Grace says admiringly when they return. Danny hands the Tylenol to Steve without comment, and watches him swallow two.
"Yeah, we ran out of space in the living room a while back. My mom is a teacher, so she has even more upstairs in her office."
Grace goes over to the shelves and tilts her head to read the titles. "When I'm bigger, I'm going to have my own library."
"Books don't grow on trees, you know," Danny teases. "How are you gonna afford them all?"
"They do too! And I'll be a famous scientist, or - or a deep sea diver who finds treasure. Or maybe I'll marry a handsome prince."
With a straight face, Danny says, "Well, it's good to keep your options open."
"Okay folks, dinner's ready," Steve announces. "Want to eat on the couch while we watch the movie?"
"That could get messy," Danny warns.
"I'm not a baby," Grace says, tone reproachful. "I'll be nine in four days."
Danny grins at her. "No, monkey, I meant me - you know how eating spaghetti the proper Italian way, with all the fork-twirling, can send sauce flying."
"Don't worry, Mario: the upholstery is washable and this old carpet's seen far worse."
It's true. Most of the damage was caused by Steve pushing himself too hard during his recovery. There were stumbles leading to spilled coffee or dropped plates, and falls resulting in nosebleeds and tears of anguished rage.
Danny studies his face, glances at the stained carpet, and shrugs. "At least give us napkins, okay?"
They fill their plates with food, grab their sodas (Danny pouring Grace's into a glass), and head for the living room. Steve gets the DVD playing, then claims his special armchair - the adjustable fold-out tray saves him from putting any weight on his bad leg. Grace looks at his set-up with interest, but doesn't ask about it. She and Danny sit on the couch.
Oceans is amazing...far better than Steve would have expected from a documentary aimed at kids. As a former diver, he can appreciate the technical brilliance and supreme patience required to film everything from shrimp to turtles to humpback whales. The movie makes him miss the underwater world, sure, but it also shows him things he'd never have seen for himself.
He sneaks occasional looks at Grace and finds her utterly spellbound, eyes wide, mouth open. Danny looks interested enough in what's on the screen, but having his happy daughter at his side seems to give him the most contentment. He catches Steve's eye and smiles, warm and pleased.
Steve definitely wants to see more of this side of Danny. He wants to see more of Danny, period.
The credits eventually roll, and Grace slumps back against the couch cushions with a yawn. "Wow. That was so cool."
"What was your favorite part?" Danny asks.
"The way the dolphins jumped in the air and spun right around," she declares. "The baby turtles were real sweet, too."
"I liked the seals best," Danny replies, but he's looking at Steve.
Steve bites his lip, and says, "The beluga whales were beautiful."
When he moves to clear up, Danny waves him back. "Least I can do, after such a great meal." He carries their plates to the kitchen, rinsing them and stacking the dishwasher. Steve folds away his tray and stretches, flexing his knee. The Tylenol has reduced the pain to a steady low-level ache, the kind he's grown used to ignoring.
Danny comes back with three glasses of water, and Steve accepts one gratefully. Grace comes back from the bathroom, yawning widely; it's 9pm, and probably past her bedtime.
Steve is half-expecting Danny to postpone their planned conversation and take her home. But Danny says, "Like we discussed earlier, sweetheart, I'm going to talk to Steve now. How about you take a nap here for a while? Or you can read, if you're not sleepy yet. We'll be close by, so call out if you need me."
Grace's gaze flicks from Danny to Steve as she sips her water, and he wonders just what Danny has told her. She puts down the glass and says, "Okay, Danno." Curling up on the couch, she rests her head on the embroidered pillow one of Mom's AP students made.
Danny leaves A Little Princess on the table within easy reach; Steve dims the overhead lights a notch, then grabs a blanket from the closet. Danny covers Grace with it, kissing her cheek. She murmurs something to him, and he presses his forehead to hers as he answers.
***
Chapter 4
***
Chapter 3
Over the next few days, Steve has to endure enquiries about Danny from Mom and Chin, suggestions from Cath (supportive) and Kono (salacious), and good-natured ribbing from Kamekona and Toast.
He discusses the Danny situation with the three most important people in his life, but reminds the other three that he's their boss and can fire them. Since Kono is Chin's favorite cousin, Kamekona's café is helping keep the store afloat, and Toast is basically Steve's caffeine dealer, that threat is pretty much empty and they all know it.
At Friday night drinks, Steve doesn't even bother checking out the many hot people in the bar. He just wants to go home and get a decent night's sleep, so he only stays half an hour.
When Steve announces that he's heading off, Chin gives him a thumbs-up and wishes him good luck with Danny. Kamekona grins at him, or rather leers, and says he'll prepare an extra-special 'power lunch' tomorrow to boost Steve's mojo.
Kono tells Steve to 'be gay with style, for a change': she vetoes his usual polo shirt and cargo pants, insists he dig out some nice pants and that short-sleeved blue shirt he hasn't worn for a while ('it makes your eyes pop and shows off those arm muscles'), and threatens to show up at 8am to check his outfit.
Steve hugs Chin, rolls his eyes at their wonderfully helpful employees, and limps out to get a cab.
Though he goes to bed early, he's too jittery to sleep. He tries the relaxation exercises he learned in hospital, but his mind keeps churning with everything that's happened with Danny so far and everything Steve wants to happen. He knows it's stupid to get his hopes up - Christ, he barely knows the guy, hasn't even spent six hours in his company yet.
Still, there's something special between them, a chemistry Steve hasn't experienced since he fell for Cath 19 years ago. That was a teenage romance, which faded into a deep loving friendship with occasional benefits. But this is two adults with a lot of baggage, a lot still to learn about each other, and a lot more to lose.
Around midnight, Steve finally gives up and takes a sleeping pill. He doesn't like sedatives, but as he gets older he can't function so well after a bout of insomnia. There's no way he could survive Hell Week now, even if his knee wasn't ruined.
When Steve gets up, he puts on the clothes Kono suggested (he honestly wouldn't put it past her to swing by for a uniform inspection), lets Mom kiss his cheek for luck, and heads to work. The store is crowded all morning, as usual on a Saturday, and he's kept busy enough that there's not much time to think about Danny.
At lunch Kamekona serves him a very odd assortment of food, even by his unorthodox standards.
"I looked up aphrodisiacs on the internet, brah," he tells Steve with a wink. "All this kine is meant to get your juices flowing, if you know what I mean."
Steve thanks him, glad that there are no customers with delicate sensibilities nearby. Everything on the plate tastes good, at least, so Steve eats without arguing.
A big group of gay and lesbian passengers arrive off a cruise ship, mid-afternoon. Mamo's is listed in guidebooks for its wide LGBT selection, and the 'pink dollar' is a welcome boost to takings. Steve makes recommendations, answers questions about the local scene, and sells dozens of books, CDs, and DVDs.
Danny and Grace show up 20 minutes before closing. Steve can only wave to them, as he's busy selling Mr. Suzuki a birthday gift for his wife. Dr. Suzuki is a long-standing customer, so Steve was able to suggest some new books she might enjoy. The store takes returns, of course, but he prides himself on choosing right first time when the recipient's a regular.
Grace heads for the children's books, where she finds a copy of A Little Princess. She sits in her favorite chair and starts reading; Danny picks up The Hobbit and pages through it.
Steve serves nine customers in a row as the clock ticks towards 6pm. Leilani, the UH music student who minds Chin's department on his day off, walks around telling people that Mamo's is about to close.
A young man who's been immersed in a history of The Beatles looks up, startled, like he'd totally lost track of time. Steve picks him as a browser, not a buyer, so is unsurprised when the guy puts the book down and leaves. Once, Steve would have called it the downside of providing armchairs. But when he and Chin tried removing some of them, a few years ago, the browsers sat on the floor instead and blocked the aisles. And their regulars - especially the elderly ones - complained so much that the comfy chairs made a permanent comeback.
Leilani works her way around to the kids' section, but Steve shakes his head at her before she can approach Danny and Grace. So she goes over to shut the doors, flipping the 'open' sign to 'closed'.
Steve heaves a sigh of relief. "Okay, guys, I should be ready to go in ten minutes. But if you're buying today, I need to run the transactions now so I can close out my register."
"You want that one, monkey?" Danny asks Grace.
"Yes, please. I really like it so far."
Gesturing to the paperback Danny's holding, Steve says, "Hey, I still have the illustrated hardback copy that my mom read to me. I'd be happy to lend it to you."
"Cool, thanks." Danny puts The Hobbit back on the shelf. "So tell me, bookman: how exactly do you stay in business, if you talk customers out of buying stuff?"
"Oh, I'm a fantastic salesman, usually," Steve replies. "I just make exceptions for people I really like." Danny grins at him, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Steve smiles back.
Grace hands A Little Princess over. Holding it open to the page she's up to, Steve scans the barcode. Once Danny has paid, Steve gives it back and Grace keeps right on reading.
Though he wants to get going, Steve doesn't rush through his end-of-day routine. Chin's a forgiving man, but not so much at 8:45 on a Sunday morning. So Steve counts out the register floats for tomorrow, and files all the paperwork in its proper place.
And Charlie, the Chaminade senior who minds Steve's department Sundays, is a meticulous guy who likes starting the day with a clear desk. He's one of Mom's favorite ex-students - she'd suggested him when their last part-timer graduated and headed to the mainland - and so far he's working out great.
Danny wanders over to the non-fiction section, picking up a coffee-table book about the architecture of Manhattan. A few minutes later, he calls out to Grace.
"Look, here's a great photo of your Uncle Matt's building." He holds up the book to show a huge edifice, all mirror glass and gleaming steel. "Remember how we watched the 4th of July fireworks from his office?" Danny asks, and she smiles.
His wistful tone makes Steve's heart sink: Honolulu would look small and provincial to someone used to such skyscrapers. But he reminds himself that it's been only two weeks since Danny left his lifelong home for a place that must seem very foreign, despite being part of the same country. It'll take him a while yet to adjust, just like it took Steve time to transition from military to civilian life.
"Okay, I'm done here," Steve declares, after locking the day's very pleasing takings in the safe. "I was thinking I'd cook tonight, unless you've got a craving for take-out?"
Grace looks hopeful, but Danny says, "Nope, sweetheart, once a week is your limit. I, on the other hand, pretty much live on fast food at the moment. So a home-cooked meal would be a nice change."
"All right, no problem. I'm not exactly a gourmet chef, but I can manage spaghetti, tacos, pork chops, chicken stir-fry..."
"Ma is Italian and I miss her cooking, so pasta sounds good to me," Danny says. "Gracie?"
She nods. "Can you make it with mushrooms, please? Grandma always puts them in spaghetti sauce."
"Sure thing. Okay, let's head to the grocery store."
Kamekona already left two hours ago, and Leilani has finished her assigned tasks. She takes one last look upstairs, in case there's a customer lurking in a back corner, and turns out the lights. Steve ushers his guests out the door, sets the alarm, and secures the perimeter. It amuses Chin when he says that, but some habits are too hard to break.
Steve says goodbye to Leilani, and follows Danny to his rental.
"So will HPD assign you a vehicle, or will you have to provide your own?"
Danny groans. "I gotta buy one. And man, new car prices here are insane. I know the shipping costs must add to the cost, but still...ouch."
"You can get something near-new at a good price, thanks to all the ex-rentals," Steve suggests. "And plenty of military folks get transferred off the island and sell their cars, some still under warranty. Chin bought a decent used sedan recently, so he could probably give you a list of reputable dealers."
"That'd be a big help," Danny says. "I was kinda hoping to buy new for the first time in my life, but I guess Hawaii is not the place to achieve that aspiration."
At the grocery store they split up, Steve picking up lean ground beef and Danny finding vegetables both he and Grace are willing to eat. They meet in the beverage aisle and Steve says, "Hey, you guys should try this great local soda - natural flavors, and no artificial sweeteners."
Grace wavers between the fruit flavors, and then goes for pineapple. Danny grimaces at the very thought, and chooses cream soda. Steve is quite fond of the pineapple one, but he's hoping to kiss Danny later tonight. So he gets cream soda too.
***
As the traffic's not so bad on weekends, they get to Steve's place in good time. Danny carries the sack of groceries inside, and stops dead.
"Jesus Christ," he says, "that's a lot of books."
Grace follows Danny into the living room and stares around at all the shelves, wide-eyed.
"Feel free to look at any books you want, while I fix dinner," Steve tells her. He leaves his shoes by the front door, as usual, and the others follow suit. "Or you could go out onto the beach, watch the sunset."
"You have your own beach?" Danny asks.
"Yeah, but it's not exactly Waikiki." Steve crosses the room and pulls the blinds up, revealing the lanai, the lawn, and the narrow strip of pebbly sand lapped by small waves. It's a calm evening, so he unlocks the lanai door to let the breeze in.
Grace looks torn between her two great passions, but the ocean wins. "Danno, can I play outside?"
"Sure. Just remember the rules: don't step on a turtle or get eaten by a shark." She giggles and nods.
"Hold up a second, Gracie," Steve says, rummaging in the storage closet. Mom gets visited by ex-students sometimes; last month, it was a couple who fell in love while playing Beatrice and Benedick in her production of Much Ado. Their young daughter, Cynthia, left her slippers behind and nobody's come back to collect them.
"The beach is stony," he warns, handing Grace the cheap rubber shoes. "I'll lend you these, so you don't cut your feet."
Danny flashes him a grateful smile, and says to Grace, "You can go into the water, but keep the flip-flops on and don't get your clothes wet. Come inside once the sun's gone down, okay?"
"Okay." She rolls her jeans up, and heads for the beach.
"The linen closet is at the top of the stairs, if you want to grab a towel for her," Steve tells Danny. "I'll get dinner going."
In the kitchen, Steve pours himself a big glass of water and takes small sips. So far, so good, he thinks.
He starts by dicing an onion. The kitchen's been adapted for him, so he leans heavily against the counter's padded, protruding edge to take the weight off his knee. Danny comes back downstairs with a towel and perches at the breakfast bar, where he can simultaneously see Grace playing and Steve chopping.
"You say you're no gourmet chef, but you're damn good at that," Danny observes.
"Practice," Steve shrugs, tipping the onion into the pan. He'd usually add lots of garlic next, but with the possibility of kissing in mind he skips straight to slicing red pepper and carrot. "I started helping out with the cooking when I was in middle school, because my mother had gone back to teaching full-time."
Steve doesn't mention the advanced knife-handling skills he learned later on.
"Ma never let me near the kitchen, except to wash the dishes. She's a teacher too, actually. She supervises remedial reading at the parish elementary school."
"Damn, that must take the patience of a saint," Steve says. "Mom teaches high school English and drama. She loves it, but it's such hard work. I sure couldn't cope with it."
"So did she always correct your grammar? Christ, Ma drove me crazy. I'd start a sentence with, 'Me and my friends -' and she'd cut in: 'My friends and I, Danny'. Then we'd argue about why, because I thought it was a dumb rule. And I would either forget what I'd wanted to say, or decide it wasn't worth telling the story after all."
Danny looks so aggrieved at the memory that Steve has to grin. "Mom wasn't that bad. But obviously you wound up a very fluent speaker, despite the interruptions."
"If you mean I talk too much and too fast, then yeah."
"No, not at all," Steve says, meeting his eyes. "I like listening to you."
Danny flushes a little. "God, where are my manners - can I help with something?"
"Sure." Steve adds ground beef to the sizzling onions. "Stir this, so it doesn't burn."
Standing at the stove, beside Steve, Danny gestures at the living room. "So are these books yours or your mother's?"
"The ones along the left wall are mine," Steve says, "and the rest are hers. She's been shopping at Mamo's since before I was born."
Danny sighs. "You were so lucky, growing up with all this."
"Yeah. I took it for granted as a little kid, though; I remember being surprised when I visited friends' houses, and there were no bookshelves anywhere."
"Ma always made sure we had some books of our own," Danny says, "even if they were from thrift stores, but mostly we haunted the library. With four kids, money was tight long before my dad split."
"I used to wish I had siblings. And I think Mom would've had a bigger family, if Dad was around more; I know she wanted a daughter. It was just so tough for her to do it all alone, especially when she had no relatives here to help."
"Oh, that was the one thing Ma never lacked. She had two older sisters, her mother, and several aunts all living nearby." Danny rolls his eyes. "But she got loudly-expressed judgments on her childrearing ability as much as actual support."
Outside, Grace has found some washed-up limu. She's spinning in circles, strands of the pink-red seaweed trailing from her hands like ribbons. Her upturned face is lit by the setting sun.
Steve nods towards her as he adds mushrooms to the pan. "Well, you've done a damn good job on the childrearing front: she's such a great kid. I've met kids that might be smarter, in IQ terms, but their social skills often suck. Grace can have a real conversation with adults, yet still run around and have fun like that."
Danny's face softens as he watches her dance. "Yeah, she's a gift all right. I regret a lot of things that happened with Rachel, but our daughter will never be one of them. I'd follow Rachel to Timbuktu, if I had to, just to stay part of Grace's life."
The love radiating from him is almost too much to bear. Turning away, Steve busies himself with opening a can of diced tomatoes.
"You ever think of having children?" Danny asks.
"I haven't dated anyone, male or female, that I'd consider raising a kid with," Steve admits. "To be honest, my longest relationship was with Cath back in high school."
"Really? I wouldn't have picked her as your ex. You two seem so close."
"People often think we're married," Steve says, "even though she's been with Laura for years. They've talked about Cath having a baby, maybe with my help, but it's still a ways off."
Danny nods. "You would be an awesome dad."
"How can you tell? You hardly know me," Steve counters.
"I've seen you with Grace. And I have a parent's instincts, plus a cop's gut feeling. You've been through bad times, Steve, but your heart is still good."
"Thank you," Steve says, touched by Danny's calm certainty.
***
Grace appears outside the lanai door, then, and kicks off her wet sandy shoes. Danny kneels down beside her; she puts her hand on his shoulder for balance as he dries each foot in turn.
"That was fun," she says, breathless.
Standing up, Danny winces a little, as though he has knee trouble too. "Okay, let's get you cleaned up before dinner."
"You can use my bathroom," Steve tells him. "It's through that door, and to the left."
Danny nods and leads Grace away.
The bathroom opens off Steve's bedroom, but it's often used by visitors to the house. He's a very neat person anyway - thanks to Mom and the Navy - so there's nothing too personal on display. And maybe it's a good thing for Danny to see the modified shower and everything. If they're going to try for an actual relationship here, he needs to know the extent of Steve's disability.
With the sauce simmering and the pasta boiling, Steve starts putting together a salad. Not even the health-conscious Rachel could object to this meal, he thinks.
That leads Steve to wonder whether she might object to him and Danny dating. If it's a serious obstacle, Danny will tell him soon enough. If it's not, well, Steve can live with her disapproval. Losing Rachel as a customer won't make him lose any sleep, so long as Danny can still bring Grace in.
He limps around the kitchen, getting everything ready. His knee is throbbing, after such a busy day, but he doesn't want to take a prescription pill and space out on Danny. A couple of OTC painkillers will dull the edge, though.
"Hey, Danny, could you please grab the Tylenol bottle from my medicine cabinet?"
"Sure," Danny calls back.
"You have even more books in your room," Grace says admiringly when they return. Danny hands the Tylenol to Steve without comment, and watches him swallow two.
"Yeah, we ran out of space in the living room a while back. My mom is a teacher, so she has even more upstairs in her office."
Grace goes over to the shelves and tilts her head to read the titles. "When I'm bigger, I'm going to have my own library."
"Books don't grow on trees, you know," Danny teases. "How are you gonna afford them all?"
"They do too! And I'll be a famous scientist, or - or a deep sea diver who finds treasure. Or maybe I'll marry a handsome prince."
With a straight face, Danny says, "Well, it's good to keep your options open."
"Okay folks, dinner's ready," Steve announces. "Want to eat on the couch while we watch the movie?"
"That could get messy," Danny warns.
"I'm not a baby," Grace says, tone reproachful. "I'll be nine in four days."
Danny grins at her. "No, monkey, I meant me - you know how eating spaghetti the proper Italian way, with all the fork-twirling, can send sauce flying."
"Don't worry, Mario: the upholstery is washable and this old carpet's seen far worse."
It's true. Most of the damage was caused by Steve pushing himself too hard during his recovery. There were stumbles leading to spilled coffee or dropped plates, and falls resulting in nosebleeds and tears of anguished rage.
Danny studies his face, glances at the stained carpet, and shrugs. "At least give us napkins, okay?"
They fill their plates with food, grab their sodas (Danny pouring Grace's into a glass), and head for the living room. Steve gets the DVD playing, then claims his special armchair - the adjustable fold-out tray saves him from putting any weight on his bad leg. Grace looks at his set-up with interest, but doesn't ask about it. She and Danny sit on the couch.
Oceans is amazing...far better than Steve would have expected from a documentary aimed at kids. As a former diver, he can appreciate the technical brilliance and supreme patience required to film everything from shrimp to turtles to humpback whales. The movie makes him miss the underwater world, sure, but it also shows him things he'd never have seen for himself.
He sneaks occasional looks at Grace and finds her utterly spellbound, eyes wide, mouth open. Danny looks interested enough in what's on the screen, but having his happy daughter at his side seems to give him the most contentment. He catches Steve's eye and smiles, warm and pleased.
Steve definitely wants to see more of this side of Danny. He wants to see more of Danny, period.
The credits eventually roll, and Grace slumps back against the couch cushions with a yawn. "Wow. That was so cool."
"What was your favorite part?" Danny asks.
"The way the dolphins jumped in the air and spun right around," she declares. "The baby turtles were real sweet, too."
"I liked the seals best," Danny replies, but he's looking at Steve.
Steve bites his lip, and says, "The beluga whales were beautiful."
When he moves to clear up, Danny waves him back. "Least I can do, after such a great meal." He carries their plates to the kitchen, rinsing them and stacking the dishwasher. Steve folds away his tray and stretches, flexing his knee. The Tylenol has reduced the pain to a steady low-level ache, the kind he's grown used to ignoring.
Danny comes back with three glasses of water, and Steve accepts one gratefully. Grace comes back from the bathroom, yawning widely; it's 9pm, and probably past her bedtime.
Steve is half-expecting Danny to postpone their planned conversation and take her home. But Danny says, "Like we discussed earlier, sweetheart, I'm going to talk to Steve now. How about you take a nap here for a while? Or you can read, if you're not sleepy yet. We'll be close by, so call out if you need me."
Grace's gaze flicks from Danny to Steve as she sips her water, and he wonders just what Danny has told her. She puts down the glass and says, "Okay, Danno." Curling up on the couch, she rests her head on the embroidered pillow one of Mom's AP students made.
Danny leaves A Little Princess on the table within easy reach; Steve dims the overhead lights a notch, then grabs a blanket from the closet. Danny covers Grace with it, kissing her cheek. She murmurs something to him, and he presses his forehead to hers as he answers.
***
Chapter 4