Lies and Weddings(11)
II
Hawaii is a paradise—and I can never cease proclaiming it. But I must append one word of qualification: Hawaii is a paradise for the well-to-do.
—Jack London
London, 1995
ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL
Dr. Thomas Tong was in the midst of enjoying a cup of tea in the break room when his flatmate peeked his head through the open door.
“Dominic! What are you doing here?”
“There was an urgent call for you at home from Hong Kong. I didn’t know what to do, so I came to look for you.”
“Hong Kong?”
Dominic looked at him uncomfortably. “It was the police calling. It’s about your brother…”
At that moment he knew, he just knew. Nothing more needed to be said by Dominic for him to know that his brother, Henry, was dead. It was as though he had been preparing for this call his entire life.
Thomas, who was in the second year of his residency at the Royal Marsden Hospital, quickly requested emergency leave and took the next available Cathay flight back to Hong Kong. Upon landing he went straight to the police morgue to identify the body, sparing his elderly parents the distress of having to do it. He steeled himself as he entered the building, thinking it would be a piece of cake. How many bodies had he dissected? How many patients had he lost? And then he saw Rosina sitting there. Of all his brother’s friends who had been with him at Felix the previous night when it happened, Rosina Ko-Tung was the only one who came.
“It was an accident. A freak accident. If only Henry hadn’t jumped onto the pink banquette he wouldn’t have fallen so far down…”
“I still don’t understand why it happened. Weren’t you all the best of friends?”
“We were all drunk. Roger got very upset when your brother sprung his proposal. You see, Mary is his sister, and Mary is pregnant with your brother’s baby.”
“I don’t understand. Why was Roger upset that Henry wanted to marry his sister?”
“No, Henry proposed to Gabriella Soong. We were all shocked.”
Thomas sighed, understanding at last.
“He didn’t feel a thing, I promise. He didn’t feel anything,” Rosina said, her entire body trembling with sobs as she hugged him.
That was always the problem, Thomas thought. Henry never felt anything.
I
Puako Beach
BIG ISLAND, HAWAII ? LATER THAT WEEK
Eden awoke to the sound of unfamiliar chirps. The chorus of birds outside sounded more spirited than anything she’d heard before, and they had been at it all night. Having arrived very late the previous evening to a house at the end of a pitch-black road, she had no inkling of what lay outside. She rose from the bed lazily, flung open the louvered plantation doors, and almost gasped in disbelief.
Before her was an emerald-green lawn that sloped down to swaying palm trees and a blinding blue ocean. She padded barefoot across the grass down to the narrow strip of silver-gray sand where the waves lapped gently into shallow tide pools formed by lava rocks. It was her first time seeing the Pacific, and she scampered joyously over the rocks, looking for the perfect place to dip her feet into the crystalline waters.
“Watch your step!” came a shout behind her. Eden looked down and saw the large gray rock she was about to step on suddenly move. It was a sea turtle basking in the sun.
“Oh my god!” Eden exclaimed, backing off. She turned around to see a woman in her late twenties sitting on a sun-bleached tree trunk.
“This beach is a resting ground for endangered sea turtles. We’re supposed to stay at least twenty-five feet away,” the woman said as she took a sip from her coffee mug.
“Sorry, I had no idea. It’s my first time here.”
“I don’t need an apology, but maybe the turtle might appreciate one?”
“Oh, of course.” Eden crouched down and looked directly into the turtle’s heavily lidded eyes. “Sorry I almost stepped on you. I’ll be more careful from now on.” Turning around, she gave the woman a friendly smile. “Hi, I’m Eden.”
“Kiana” (Punahou School/UC Berkeley/Central St. Martins). “Which team are you on?”
“Team?”
“Allison’s or Kirsten’s team?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not on any team. Or maybe I am…I’m on Arabella’s team.”
“Is she the pastry chef?”
“Er, no. What do you do?”
“I’m doing the ice sculptures. Sorry, I thought everyone staying here was on the F & B team.”
Eden finally understood. With Arabella’s new eco-resort forced to shut down suddenly, there had been a scramble to house all the wedding staff in addition to the arriving guests. Bea and her father had been shuttled off someplace down the road, while Eden had ended up at this house on Puako Beach Drive. She couldn’t help but chuckle to herself—of course Arabella would stick her with the catering staff. Not that she minded one bit—this sprawling Hawaiian clapboard house on the beach was fabulous by any standard, and her room was comfortably furnished in vintage rattan and charmingly kitschy hula-girl lamps.