then leaned down to pick up a black-handled brush from the bottom shelf. “Beautiful boy. Cheekbones to die for.”
I hadn’t noticed. “You think you could do a sketch of him?”
Tatiana was a talented artist, and I’d been amazed in the past at how she could capture the essence of family members in just a few lines.
“Sure. You trying to find someone who knew him?”
I nodded. “It’d be a lot easier if I had a picture of him.”
“You buy me a coffee, I’ll draw,” she said. “Let me pay up here.”
We went to a Kope Bean, an island coffee chain, and she brought in a sketch pad and a bunch of pencils from her car. While I ordered her a tall soy, no foam cappuccino and a raspberry mocha for myself, she started sketching.
By the time I picked up the coffees and joined her at a round table in the window, she’d almost finished the rough drawing. There in front of me was the boy I’d seen on Saturday. I sipped my coffee and watched Tatiana sketch, her fingers almost dancing over the pad, shading here and there, erasing and redrawing a line.
She sipped her coffee and considered. She erased his hairline and moved it back, shaded a little behind his ear, and then handed the pad to me. “Look like him?”
“You’re amazing. How can you do that so quickly?”
“Years of observation and practice. Sort of like being a detective.”
“Sort of.”
She leaned back against the padded chair and drank some coffee. “So, I saw Mike there on Sunday night,” she said.
“You did.”
“Don’t get cagey with me, Kimo.” She nudged my leg with her sandal. “What did you think when you saw him?”
“He looked hot,” I said. “But maybe that was just the shopping center burning.”
“You’ve got to get back in the dating pool.” I’d kept my sexual activities my own business, and Tatiana had the idea that I’d been celibate since Mike, too emotionally overwrought to consider dating again. A few months before, her gay brother, Sergei, had come to Hawai’i from Alaska, where they grew up. He’d been working for Haoa, and she had been trying to fix us up since he arrived.
“Playing matchmaker?” I asked.
“My brother is adorable. You two would make a cute couple. Why don’t you want to go out with him?”
“I don’t need complications.”
“It would be great if you two got together. I admit, Sergei’s had some trouble in the past, but he’s cleaning up his act.” She nudged me again with her foot. “He’s coming to dinner on Friday. Why don’t you come, too?”
My sisters-in-law are even more determined than my brothers when it comes to getting things done. Both of my brothers married women with personalities similar to our mother—the iron fist in a velvet glove deal. I figured resistance was futile. “What time?”
“Seven. The monsters are eating early, and I’m paying Ashley to keep the younger ones entertained and out of our hair.”
“Seven it is.”
By the time I got back to the station with the drawing of Jingtao, Ray had set up appointments with all the tenants. Our first was with the clerk at the cell phone store, who was picking up a shift at the downtown location, in the other direction from the café where I’d just hung out with Tatiana.
The downtown streets were crowded with tourists in convertibles, delivery trucks, and a wedding couple in a white horse-drawn carriage. Both bride and groom were decked out in colorful leis and plumeria headbands. The newlyweds reminded me of my romantic fantasies when Mike and I were dating. I asked Ray what he thought about Mike.
“Seems like a good guy,” he said. “He knows his shit.”
He’d gotten into the island way big time, wearing aloha shirts and mirrored sunglasses. The Philly was still there inside, just covered with a layer of Honolulu.
He turned to look at me. “You still have a thing for him?”
“Nah, I’m over him,” I said, though I knew it was a lie. I had Dr. Phil in the background, but that
I hadn’t noticed. “You think you could do a sketch of him?”
Tatiana was a talented artist, and I’d been amazed in the past at how she could capture the essence of family members in just a few lines.
“Sure. You trying to find someone who knew him?”
I nodded. “It’d be a lot easier if I had a picture of him.”
“You buy me a coffee, I’ll draw,” she said. “Let me pay up here.”
We went to a Kope Bean, an island coffee chain, and she brought in a sketch pad and a bunch of pencils from her car. While I ordered her a tall soy, no foam cappuccino and a raspberry mocha for myself, she started sketching.
By the time I picked up the coffees and joined her at a round table in the window, she’d almost finished the rough drawing. There in front of me was the boy I’d seen on Saturday. I sipped my coffee and watched Tatiana sketch, her fingers almost dancing over the pad, shading here and there, erasing and redrawing a line.
She sipped her coffee and considered. She erased his hairline and moved it back, shaded a little behind his ear, and then handed the pad to me. “Look like him?”
“You’re amazing. How can you do that so quickly?”
“Years of observation and practice. Sort of like being a detective.”
“Sort of.”
She leaned back against the padded chair and drank some coffee. “So, I saw Mike there on Sunday night,” she said.
“You did.”
“Don’t get cagey with me, Kimo.” She nudged my leg with her sandal. “What did you think when you saw him?”
“He looked hot,” I said. “But maybe that was just the shopping center burning.”
“You’ve got to get back in the dating pool.” I’d kept my sexual activities my own business, and Tatiana had the idea that I’d been celibate since Mike, too emotionally overwrought to consider dating again. A few months before, her gay brother, Sergei, had come to Hawai’i from Alaska, where they grew up. He’d been working for Haoa, and she had been trying to fix us up since he arrived.
“Playing matchmaker?” I asked.
“My brother is adorable. You two would make a cute couple. Why don’t you want to go out with him?”
“I don’t need complications.”
“It would be great if you two got together. I admit, Sergei’s had some trouble in the past, but he’s cleaning up his act.” She nudged me again with her foot. “He’s coming to dinner on Friday. Why don’t you come, too?”
My sisters-in-law are even more determined than my brothers when it comes to getting things done. Both of my brothers married women with personalities similar to our mother—the iron fist in a velvet glove deal. I figured resistance was futile. “What time?”
“Seven. The monsters are eating early, and I’m paying Ashley to keep the younger ones entertained and out of our hair.”
“Seven it is.”
By the time I got back to the station with the drawing of Jingtao, Ray had set up appointments with all the tenants. Our first was with the clerk at the cell phone store, who was picking up a shift at the downtown location, in the other direction from the café where I’d just hung out with Tatiana.
The downtown streets were crowded with tourists in convertibles, delivery trucks, and a wedding couple in a white horse-drawn carriage. Both bride and groom were decked out in colorful leis and plumeria headbands. The newlyweds reminded me of my romantic fantasies when Mike and I were dating. I asked Ray what he thought about Mike.
“Seems like a good guy,” he said. “He knows his shit.”
He’d gotten into the island way big time, wearing aloha shirts and mirrored sunglasses. The Philly was still there inside, just covered with a layer of Honolulu.
He turned to look at me. “You still have a thing for him?”
“Nah, I’m over him,” I said, though I knew it was a lie. I had Dr. Phil in the background, but that
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