A Place to Call Home | 13

Gaby and Alvin can hardly believe it, but Noelani is already growing up before their eyes. With each passing day, she looks more like a mini-human and less like a flesh-colored blob of indeterminate features. She's beginning to develop a unique personality, too, and her parents are having fun discovering it alongside her.

Arriving at the breakfast table one morning, Gaby finds Alvin making shrill dolphin noises and flapping his arms erratically at their daughter, who pays him no mind from her high chair. "Uh, honey," she says slowly, taking her seat across from him, "what exactly do you think you're doing?"

"I'm just trying to see if her abilities have developed yet," he says, repeating the strange ritual. When Noelani only shoves another bite of scrambled eggs into her mouth in response, he sighs and slumps his shoulders in defeat. "I guess she's not quite ready."

"Of course she's not ready," Gaby says in exasperation. "She's just a child, and, besides, both you and Kaimana told me it has to be her own decision. Stop trying to make it for her!"

Still, Alvin can't help but notice how much his little girl seems to delight in the water every single time he gives her a bath. "I don't care what your mom says," he whispers into her ear. "We're going to get you out there in the ocean before you know it."

He might just be onto something. Noelani is already imagining what it will be like to be up close and personal with the creatures of the sea, even as she remains firmly on land for now.

Of course, it's just as likely her oceanic aspirations are inspired by her mother, the marine biologist, who has just encountered her first family of sea turtles floating between the newly-restored beds of coral reef.

Gaby doesn't think she'll ever get tired of Sulani's breathtaking views, especially now that they're more vivid and grand than ever.

She could spend hours luxuriating in the many wonders the landscape has to offer, and sometimes she does, momentarily forgetting her duties as a parent back home. But it's nearly impossible to pull herself away from the peacefulness of floating on her back in the ocean as warm rain gently falls from the night sky, her only light the strangely serene glow of the bioluminescent algae populating the surface.

Luckily, Alvin doesn't mind keeping Noelani entertained on his own. They've quickly formed a strong father/daughter bond from spending nearly every waking moment together.

He even orders a kiddie pool online and pays exorbitant fees to have it shipped to the island. Gaby may not feel comfortable introducing Noelani to the ocean yet, but she can't stop him from letting her experience the water in other ways. After all, she clearly enjoys it. When she's finally old enough to learn how to swim, she'll surely be a natural.

On her days off, Gaby serves as teacher while Alvin catches up on his coding. She wants Noelani to be smart, to have every possibility in the world open to her. When Gaby was a child, she never imagined she would do any of the things she's now achieved as an adult. She wants Noelani to realize early that there are no limits on her success. She can imagine any future she wants, no matter how wild.

Meanwhile, Alvin isn't quite sure how it happened, but Sulani has transformed him into a domestic homebody. These days, he's at his happiest (when he's not in the ocean or playing with his daughter, of course) when he's weeding and watering his modest little garden on the balcony. He feels a sense of pride when he remembers how his plants started out and how hardy and tall they've grown since.

He's also inching ever closer to being able to capture some small sliver of Sulani's immense beauty in his fledgling attempts at art. He thinks this painting of the view from the top floor of their house is going to be his best yet.

Finally, he tries to give Meli some extra love whenever he can. Now that Gaby is doing more diving in the deeper parts of the ocean for work, she can't take the dog along as frequently as she used to.

At first, the relationship between Noelani and Meli was tense. Noelani treated Meli more like one of her toys, roughhousing, imitating her bark, and throwing food at her.

After awhile, though, Noelani came to understand that Meli deserved respect and appreciation. Now, she's much gentler, and the two of them get on like two peas in a pod. They've become practically inseparable.

As Alika predicted, Mele is soon in cahoots with Gaby to set up an introduction between Noelani and the granddaughter she is temporarily caring for, Malia. Gaby suggests throwing a casual get-together at their house so that the adults can keep one another entertained while the children mingle.

They invite Makoa and Lilliana and their daughter Nani over, too. "I sure hope Nani gets along with the little ones," Lilliana worries. "She's been going through a bit of an... antisocial phase lately."

"She's getting too big for her britches is what you mean," Makoa chimes in through a mouthful of chili. "That girl thinks she's God's gift to this earth."

"She's just precocious," Lilliana counters. "She wants everyone to know how smart she is. I'm sure it'll pass soon."

Gaby thinks they must be exaggerating, but she practically has to drag Nani to meet Noelani against her will. The entire time, the girl grumbles under her breath about how she doesn't want to hang out with a stupid baby who can barely even talk.

Knowingly, Gaby busies herself with showing a picture book to bashful and sensitive Malia. Sure enough, without the interference of an adult, Nani begins to interact with Noelani - and even seems to enjoy herself. Maybe they can become friends after all.

In the kitchen, Lilliana speaks in a conspiratorial hush. "All right. Now that the kids are occupied, let's break out that kava bowl already!"

"I'm one step ahead of you," Gaby responds, producing a full cup and taking a long drink.

Up on the roof, Alvin and Makoa decide to break out the harder stuff. Lately, they don't get many opportunities to let loose.

By the end of the night, Malia comes far enough out of her shell to hold a halting conversation in baby speak with Noelani. Of course, the adults have no idea what they're communicating to one another, but they're glad to see the two toddlers forming a bond.

"Do you have any idea when your daughter will be back?" Gaby asks Mele and Alika.

Alika sighs heavily. "One never knows with her. Even if she does come back, there's no guarantee she'll stay."

"Alika!" Mele interjects sharply.

He turns to her. "You know it's true. In my opinion, it's better for Malia to stay with us than spend her entire childhood being carted around the world. Her wellbeing is more important than our retirement."

Makoa can hardly believe his eyes when he comes downstairs to the sight of Nani playing calmly and happily with the younger girls. She's been a real handful lately, raising hell at every opportunity, behaving like she's already a grown adult who knows better than her parents. It's been a while since he's seen her without a permanent scowl on her face.

Starting a family together has necessitated that Gaby and Alvin spend more time at home and less time actively engaging with the community they've grown to love. However, they can see those bonds being reforged via the friendships forming between Sulani's children. On one hand, they still feel like newcomers to the island. On the other, they have now been here long enough to contribute to Sulani's newest generation of citizens. It's a sobering thought to imagine that one day in the not-so-distant future their daughter will be at the forefront of a cultural shift, just as they feel they are now.

Slowly, Gaby warms up to Alvin's ideas about familiarizing Noelani with the water. It's clearly harmless. After all, even if she never decides to pursue her mermadic destiny, she'll still be surrounded by the stuff on a daily basis. Besides, it's hard to resist the appeal of playing in a cool sprinkler on an especially sweltering day.

Gaby is so grateful she's been given the opportunity to grow this perfect little family in this perfect little house on this perfect little island. She wouldn't trade in any of it, no matter how tempting the counteroffer. She finally understands what it means to love something so much you would do anything to hold onto it.