Aloha, Jack by Monique Martin

Author:Monique Martin [Martin, Monique]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: time travel, adventure, pearl harbor
Publisher: Monique Martin

Chapter Eleven

“THE ELKS LODGE BACK home isn’t anything like this,” Jack said as he and Mike drove up one of the royal palm-lined drives toward the colossal three story building at the foot of Diamond Head.

Mike surveyed the massive lawn and beautiful gardens surrounding the lodge as they waited their turn for the parking valet. “Pays to be part of the Big Five.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t this the Elks?”

“It is now. James Castle’s widow sold it to them some years ago.”

“Castle as in Castle & Cooke?”

“One and the same.”

He leaned back in his seat. “I had my 18th birthday in a bowling alley. Must be nice to be stinking rich. ”

Jack grinned. “I wouldn’t know.”

Finally, it was their turn to pull up under the enormous porte-cochère. A young man in crisp white pants and aloha shirt took his keys and gave him a ticket.

They walked up the steps of the main house and into the large front room. Huge columns held up a high recessed ceiling with elegant decorative flourishes and multiple chandeliers. It was stylish and luxurious. The only obvious sign that it was a fraternal lodge was the mammoth stuffed elk standing proudly at the base of the large staircase.

People filtered in, leaving their gifts on a series of trestle tables. Jack put his meager bouquet of flowers down, and he and Mike made their way toward the side doors with the rest of the growing crowd.

At the bottom of the steps two very lovely women in grass skirts and bikini tops presented each guest with a lei and a kiss on the cheek. The smell of plumeria and orchids and pikake mixed with the sea.

They walked across the side lawn and down the stone steps toward a path that paralleled the ocean. To their left, just beyond the path that led to the lower docks, a ten foot sea wall stretched out above rough rocks and tidal pools. Centuries of flowing lava had created a dark, jagged coast interspersed with stretches of soft beach.

Looking up, they saw the rear of the building was situated right above the water with an enclosed lanai running its length. The lanai stood on spindly-looking pillars as the waves crashed beneath them.

Looking ahead, Jack could see the path eventually led to a strip of beach where a few hundred of the McKenzies’ friends enjoyed themselves with mai tais, beer, and champagne. Tahitian drums sounded in the distance as the sun slowly drifted closer to the horizon.

Several dozen low tables with straw mats and thin cushions sat ready for the luau feast. Beyond was a large white open-sided tent complete with a dance floor. A small band was just setting up.

Barefoot young women in red and yellow sarongs and large red blossoms tucked behind their ears carried trays of hors d’oeuvres. Jack’s stomach rumbled and he veered toward a particularly appealing pupu platter to grab a coconut lime shrimp skewer.

Women wore either sundresses or the flowing, sometimes overflowing, one-size-fits-most floral muumuus. Men wore everything from dinner jackets to swimsuits topped with unbuttoned sports shirts.

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