30
Christmas Eve
Kulolo
A thick coconut and taro dessert served in slices like fudge.
“Nice, yeah?” Dad said.
“Yeah.” Mom rocked lightly in her chair.
We were sitting on the front lanai after dinner. The sun was headed into the ocean, and the trade winds carried a hint of rain down from the mountains. The Christmas tree lights were on in the house, and the glow spilled out through the front windows. Lili was finishing the dishes in the kitchen, and we could hear Jay in the bedroom lightly picking and strumming Lahaina Days on his ‘ukulele.
I was sitting on the stairs, leaning against the banister, and doing a final light sanding on my gift for Lili. Trapped in the driftwood wasn’t a dolphin or a whale, but a shark—a sleek and lean shark with a twist in his body as if turning to look
