MELE KALIKIMAKA, BABY

By Peggy Hartsook

Steve McGarrett hurried through the Ala Moana shopping center, intent on getting the last of his Christmas presents purchased and leaving as quickly as possible. The press of Christmas shoppers was an irritant to him; living reminders that he’d failed in his usual quest of getting the whole thing wrapped up early. Uncooperative witnesses, greedy criminals and scheming lawyers had thwarted him. But the shopping was finally done and McGarrett was headed back to the Iolani Palace and some sense of serenity, where only murderers and thieves upset the calm.

Throwing the bags in the trunk, so certain nosy parties named Danno wouldn’t spot them, Steve slid into the car and started the engine. A quick glance confirmed that the coast was clear and he backed out.

A sudden crash stopped him in his tracks. Sometime in the split second since he checked, a dark green car had turned into the lot and ran into his car. For a moment, McGarrett sat stunned; who in the world had the temerity to hit his car? This was crazy. Steaming, he got out of his car ready to unload on the unsuspecting person.

A woman was getting out of the green car. She had light brown hair and a good figure. It wasn’t until he got closer that he realized that she was a bit older than he first thought, perhaps late thirties. As she approached him, she shook a finger at him. “Why don’t you look where you’re going?”

Onlookers began to gather and several recognized McGarrett, judging by the smothered grins and knowing looks.

Steve, never in the best of moods after doing the hated shopping, did not care for her tone. “Just how fast were you going when you entered the parking lot?”

“What’s it to you? Are you a cop?”

A few giggles from the bystanders greeted this question. McGarrett himself couldn’t help but smile, albeit a predatory smile. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

“Oh.” The woman suddenly deflated and her face twisted in shame. “I am so sorry. I’ve made a fool of myself, in the worst possible way.”

Steve wasn’t so easily put off. He’d seen a lot of remorse through the years – especially after people found out he was a cop. “Yeah, it was lousy luck, hitting a cop.”

She stared at him, hair blowing across her face in the light wind. “No, no, that’s not it. I swear to you, I was just…. Wrong. So wrong.” To Steve’s immense surprise, she started to cry. “I’ve messed everything up. Again. I just can’t seem to cope anymore.”

A few of the onlookers began to stir, some of them who were not admirers of McGarrett or law enforcement in general, started to mutter about police harassment. With a frown of annoyance, McGarrett took the elbow of the woman. “Look, go sit in my car. I’ll move yours out of the way. I don’t think there’s much damage on either of them.”

Nodding behind her tearstained handkerchief, she nodded. After giving some of the loudmouths a flinty look that silenced them, McGarrett went back to move the woman’s car out of the way.

* * * * *

Dan Williams sat in his Hawaii Five – 0 office, happily contemplating phone numbers in his little black book. Christmas was coming, no major cases were in the offing – God willing it would stay that way – and Dan was looking forward to some nice quality time with the lady of his choice. It was the choice though, that was proving difficult. He had two Hawaiian Airlines stewardesses he liked and usually, at least one of them was out of town during the holidays. This year though, both were going to be in Honolulu and both had made it clear they expected to be at his place come Christmas Eve. Never mind that he had thought to ask a new vice president at the First Honolulu Bank out for a nice romantic dinner. Obviously, there would have to be hard decisions made.

Dan sighed. When it rains, it pours. A few years ago, he could have hit up his friends, Kono Kalakaua or Ben Kokua, to take one of the girls. With some fast-talking and a lot of laughs, it had always worked before. But now, Kono and Ben had moved away with different jobs. With Duke married and Chin tragically a new widower, his friends were no longer inclined to accept girls he selected. Somehow, Dan didn’t think Chin would appreciate Tonya or Paula and their incessant talking and giggling. Thankfully, Chin would be spending the holidays with his grown children at home to help him with the youngest ones during this most difficult Christmas. Duke of course, would be home with his family. And all of this still left Danny with too many women for Christmas.

Of course, there was one other member of the team and he was single. In the early days, Steve McGarrett had almost as many girls as Danny did, although he was a lot more discreet about it. But the years had sharpened McGarrett’s penchant for privacy and now Dan himself didn’t always know whom Steve was dating. Unfortunately, Steve would present the same problem as Chin regarding Tonya and Paula. They were cheerful, fun loving girls without a deep thought in their heads. Dan always felt this to be a distinct plus in a relationship but he doubted Steve would see it that way. Then again, Steve could be pretty sharp about what he considered prying into his private life, even if it was to offer him companionship for Christmas Eve.

Thinking about Christmas, Danny felt a sudden pang of guilt. Here he was, planning some very joyous holidays and he just knew Steve would head to the isolated beach house he had bought. Alone. It didn’t seem right somehow. Danny went through this every Christmas but this year it seemed more acute. It had been a tough year on them all. Chin, most of all, losing his wife to cancer like that. If he had not a passel of kids to help him through this, the older man would be Dan’s first priority. But Chin loved his kids and they loved him and even though this year would be tough for him, Dan knew there was nothing he, Duke or Steve could do that Chin’s children couldn’t do better. Duke had his own family to celebrate with and even though he and Dan had discussed once the possibility of getting everyone together for a celebration, it had never gone any father. Duke spent enough time away from his family and with the Hawaii Five – 0 team. There was no reason for him to lose even more family time simply because the top man might be lonely. Or perhaps more accurately, his subordinates thought he might be lonely.

And Steve probably wasn’t lonely. McGarrett was a much different person than Dan Williams. Danny, who hated time alone and disliked sitting around his apartment, couldn’t figure out why Steve relished the time spent alone. Avoiding the public eye and snoopy reporters, yes, but sitting around, painting, reading and cooking, come on! That was no kind of life for a bachelor. The more he thought about it, the more determined Dan Williams became. If Steve didn’t want to get his own girl for Christmas, maybe Dan could help him out. Just a little bit.

* * * * *

It took nearly thirty minutes and two cups of coffee to get her calmed down. McGarrett had dealt with the cars and found them both a nice little booth in one of his favorite coffee shops. He signaled the waitress, a good looking woman named Diane, to bring them two coffees and she had, although there was a pout of disapproval on her face.

“I don’t think she likes me,” his companion remarked after Diane had set her cup down on the Formica table, hard.

Steve shrugged. “She’s all right.”

“I think she likes you,” the woman said through her tears.

Steve had noted Diane’s interest in him before but felt uncomfortable with a total stranger remarking on it. “Let’s talk about you instead.”

That innocent remark had set off another round of silent crying. With difficulty, the woman told him her name was Claire Blanchard and she was from Arizona. A new widow, having just lost a husband of ten years to cancer.

“My parents told me I had to start talking control of my life,” she admitted, hurriedly dabbing her eyes. “My psychologist told me I had to be more assertive in my life. I was sent out here on vacation, by myself, in order to learn how to do things alone. The first time I’d tried to be assertive,” this time a wan smile stole across her face, “was with you in the parking lot out there. Just my luck to try this with the top policeman of Hawaii.” Claire nodded at his puzzlement. “Your friend the waitress over there told me. Right after she put out the No Trespassing sign.”

Steve stifled a sigh and glanced over at Diane, who gave him a sassy little smile. Women.

Claire studied him intently. “I really am sorry you know.”

“The cars aren’t damaged all that much at all. Don’t worry about it.”

“I wasn’t talking about the cars.”

“I know,” Steve admitted. This whole situation had him uncharacteriscally off balance. “So, this is your first time to the islands, I take it?”

“Oh yes.” Claire blushed. “Before this, I’ve hardly been anywhere. Certainly nowhere this exotic.”

“So, where have you been since you got here?”

“Um, Waikiki.”

“Waikiki?” McGarrett was aghast. “That’s not very far.”

“Well, I was afraid to take out the rental car. With good reason, I might add.”

Seeing Claire about to dissolve into tears again, Steve felt a good reason coming on to play tour guide. “Look, honey, if you want to see Oahu, why don’t you come with me this afternoon? I can show you some beautiful scenery you won’t see in the guidebooks, believe me. You got a camera?”

Claire nodded yes but hesitated. Steve waited patiently for this emotionally bruised woman to decide if she was ready to start living again, or continue to dwell in the past.

Diane came back with the coffee pot. “You going back to the office, Mr. McGarrett?”

Her mere appearance tipped the scales. “Not today he’s not,” Claire replied.

Diane frowned as they got up to leave and Steve paid the bill, leaving a large tip for the waitress. “I’ll see you Monday,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, pretty lady.”

Diane watched them leave with a sour expression. “Don’t blame me if she’s an ax murderer,” she muttered under her breath.

* * * * *

“No, no, baby, it’s not like that at all. It’s just that she has nowhere to go this Christmas Eve and no one should be alone then. Well, I didn’t know she was going to be in town, honest! No, really, she thinks of me like a brother…. Aw, come on, Marie. We’ll have fun. Look, I’ll get some guys to come over and we’ll have a little party. Then, we’ll send them home and you and I will have a good time. OK? Trust me, it will be fine. Yeah, I’ll call you later.” With an audible sigh of relief, Dan Williams hung up the phone.

Glancing out of his cubicle, he saw Chin Ho Kelly and Duke Lukela standing around, hiding grins. “It ain’t easy being a single man,” Kelly said with barely suppressed laughter.

Dan rose and came out to join them. “Yeah, yeah, ha, ha. Funny guys. Laugh now but I got her to accept Paula. Now, if I can just slip Tonya in there, life will be good.”

Duke lifted his eyebrows. “For a short time, anyway. For about five minutes. I hear that Marie Foster over at the bank is a real hard case on men. She dropped the last guy she was dating and foreclosed his home loan.”

“Aw, come on, Duke. She can’t just close the loan.”

“Well, maybe he was a little bit behind in his payments,” Duke admitted while Chin stood by smiling. “But he regretted the day he ever stood her up, let me tell you.”

Dan scowled. “She can’t take the Mustang; it’s paid for and has been for a while.”

“You might be safe then. For sure nobody would want your apartment,” Chin remarked. “And you never have any money for lunch.”

As Chin and Duke chuckled, Dan began to get a bit annoyed. “Yeah, you just yuk it up, wise guys.” For all their banter, Dan did know he would probably be on thin ice. Drastic measures were needed. “Hey, where’s Steve anyway? I haven’t seen him all afternoon.”

“Called in a couple of hours ago.”

When no other information was offered, Dan exhaled irritably. “You guys are pushing it, you know?”

“He mean us?” Duke asked innocently to Chin.

“Not sure,” Chin pondered.

“Come on! I’ve got important plans to make and all you two can do is be Laurel and Hardy! Did he say when he’s coming in?”

“He’s not. Said he’s taking the afternoon off.” Duke glanced at his watch. “Looks like quitting time to me, brudda.”

“Me too. See ya tomorrow, Danny.” Chin and Duke headed for the door.

“Hey, wait a minute! Steve can’t just take an afternoon off! Why…. What if Wo Fat shows up? Huh, you guys think of that? And I know the Kumu will think of something special to do this Christmas! We’ve got to be ready. You know, brothers in arms.”

“I doubt that Steve wants to date any of your girls, Danny,” Chin said offhandedly and then he and Duke left.

Dan could hear their laughter going to the hallway. “Yeah, thanks guys. Thanks a lot.”

* * * * *

Steve McGarrett had hardly strolled into the office the next morning of Christmas Eve, before he was ambushed by a disgustingly cheerful second in command.

“Mele Kalikimaka, Steve. Well, almost anyway.”

Steve gave Dan a sideways glance, noting the flushed face and perpetual motion machine walking into his office with him. “Morning, Danno.” Something’s up.

“Hey, did you have a good afternoon off? Great weather yesterday,” Danny remarked, cringing inwardly when he’d nervously added that last bit.

McGarrett grinned. “Its Hawaii, Danno. Its always great weather.”

Dan grimaced. “Well, you know, just making an observation.”

Steve did laugh this time and sat down behind his desk. Leaning back, he said, “OK, Danno, what’s up? You’re dancing around here like the floors made of hot lava. What’s the problem?”

“Well, there’s not a problem, actually. Not really. More like a profusion of good times.”

Steve instantly became wary. “A profusion of good times? When you talk like that, you worry me.”

“Oh, no, there’s nothing like that. Everything’s cool. Yeah, you could say this will be one very good Christmas.”

Flipping through reports, Steve remarked absently, “You sound like a defense lawyer, Danno. What do you want? Time off?”

“Uh, no.” Flustered, Danny realized this was going completely wrong but felt he had to go through with it. His future good health might depend on it. “Actually, Steve, I was wondering –“

Steve looked up from the paperwork, his blue eyes suddenly hard and cold.

“Well, if, you would consider, no, wait, if you …. Do you want to come over to my place tonight for Christmas Eve dinner?”

“Why?”

He isn’t going to make this easy, of course, Dan thought uncharitably. “Well, I’m going to have a lot of food and it seems a shame to let it go to waste.”

Steve frowned. “A lot of food? You’re going to cook?”

“Well, you don’t have to sound so surprised,” Dan said, a bit irritated at the obvious amazement in his boss’s voice.

Steve sat back, shaking his head and smiling. “Danno, why don’t you just come out and say whatever it is that’s bugging you.”

Dan laughed ruefully. “All right. I have a small problem this Christmas. I extended a bit too many invitations to some lady friends I know and I wondered if - ”

“I already have a date.”

“You wouldn’t mind coming over? It wouldn’t have to be a ‘date’, so to speak, it could just be –“

“I already have a date.”

“Dinner. Nothing heavy, I promise. No wild parties, no real loud music. Not too loud anyway. You’d like it; the girls are fun.”

“Danno, I hope you listen at interrogations better than this. Did you hear me? I already have a date tonight.”

“What? No, you can’t.”

Steve gave him a tart look. “Says who?”

Dan collapsed in the chair across from the desk. “Oh boy. After this, there won’t be enough left of me to fricassee.”

“Just how many girls did you invite?”

“Only three.”

Steve’s look was strained but strived to be reasonable. “May one ask why?”

No one could look better at being rueful and remorseful than Dan Williams. He squirmed. “At first, I invited Tonya, that Hawaiian Air stewardess that I went out with a few times. Then, she told me she would be flying on Christmas and couldn’t be there. So, I called Paula, another Hawaiian Air stew and she said yes. I’d taken her out a couple of times – nice girl. Later though, she calls me back, saying her mother was coming in for Christmas. No problem, I said. I got to thinking about to the Kapaka case, with that guy on the loan fraud, remember?”

Steve gave him an exasperated look but nodded yes.

“Anyway, I really liked that vice president, Marie Foster, remember her? So, I asked her over to my place for Christmas. Only to find out after I extended the invitation that both Tonya and Paula had a change of plans. They’re coming over now. And I can’t back out on Marie. So, I thought if you came over and maybe I could get some lonely young HPD patrolman to come over I could bail myself out of this mess.”

McGarrett looked like he wanted burst out laughing but was trying manfully to contain it. “Well, you’ve definitely got problems.”

Dan sighed. “You’re telling me. But what about you? Have you got a new lady friend that I don’t know about?”

It was Steve’s turn to shift uncomfortably and he did, suddenly jumping up to look at the lanai door. “Just met her yesterday. When she ran into my car.”

Dan’s eyes widened. “She what?”

Turning back to his friend, Steve confirmed it. “She ran into me, literally, at the Ala Moana shopping mall.” He shrugged. “Things just kind of went on from there.”

Dan was delighted. “Hey, that’s no problem. Bring her along. The more, the merrier.”

“I don’t think so, Danno.” Steve held up a hand to forestall the inevitable protest. “Its not that. She’s a very fragile lady, trying to get over a tragic loss. She’s not the strongest person in the world and I just don’t think she’d go for a party right now.”

“All right.” Dan paused, and then added grimly, “You know, I’m going to be as popular as a cold at this party tonight.”

“Maybe you can spread the Christmas cheer, brudda. A few carols around the piano.”

Dan gave his boss a sour look. “You know I don’t own a piano.”

“Rent one.”

Chin and Duke came in and Steve turned his attention to them. Barring unforeseen circumstances, there would be gifts exchanged and a general party atmosphere. Everyone seemed happy. Only Dan was left to count the hours before the eve of destruction.

* * * * *

“If I’d been told Paula was bringing food, I would have stayed home! You know she’s a vegetarian. We’ll be grazing on some weed that supposed to taste like turkey!” Tonya was angry and her face was flushed to the roots of her bleached blond hair.

“Just because you can’t boil water,” Paula sang out from the kitchen.

Dan Williams had not a moment’s peace since they arrived. He worked hard to try and keep the atmosphere light. “Hey, Tonya, your glass is empty. What will you have?” He inquired brightly with painful cheerfulness.

“Nothing. I’m going to see what slop she’s fixing!” Tonya stalked off into Dan’s tiny kitchen.

He turned to Marie with a fixed smile, seemingly frozen in time. He received a cold, bored stare. “Any idea when Barbie and Midge will finish back there?”

“Um, soon, I’m sure. Real soon.”

“They’d better be.” Marie took another look around his apartment and Dan felt the sting of silent disapproval in the air. She noticed his discomfort. “Well, I’m sure you’re not home much anyway.”

Dan felt the barb go all the way in on that one. “Uh, no, not much.”

Marie suddenly stood up and walked around the room, to better inspect for flaws and dust, he guessed. “I thought your boss would be here tonight.”

“Steve? No. He’s got his own plans.”

“I only talked to him that once time, about the fraud case. He’s seemed pretty intense.”

“Well, he’s got a lot of pressure and a lot of work to do.”

Marie turned around from her predatory stalk around the living room. “You misunderstand me. I like that in a man; McGarrett knew his business and didn’t waste a lot of time on empty pleasantries.”

She’s using me to get to Steve, Dan realized with a shock. It was like a punch in the gut and suddenly he didn’t care if Marie Foster didn’t like his apartment.

“You idiot! You did that on purpose!”

“At least we won’t have to eat that slop!”

As the argument raged in the kitchen and Marie contemplated a picture of Dan and Steve taken at some awards banquet, the phone rang. Dan hurried to pick it up and as he listened to the message, his heart grew light.

“No, its no problem. Don’t worry about it, Sergeant. If they’ve cleaned out the jewelry store, I need to be there. Give me twenty minutes.” With false unhappiness, Dan Williams informed his Christmas Eve guests that the host would have to leave.

* * * * *

“And of course, Roger always insisted on a fire on Christmas Eve. We didn’t have kids anyway, so he said we wouldn’t have to worry about making up Santa stories about why he couldn’t come down our chimney. We always drank our hot chocolate there in front of the fire. Roger insisted on turning out all the lights in the house except for the Christmas lights and we would just sit and look at the fire and the lights. Roger wouldn’t open presents until Christmas morning, because that was the tradition in his family – “

It was twilight over the Pacific ocean and the view was gorgeous from the hotel balcony. But to Steve McGarrett it felt like a third member had joined their party, Claire’s deceased husband, Roger. Or perhaps, more accurately, he’d never left.

Claire had done nothing but talk about her husband all evening. Roger did this, Roger did that, Roger insisted on everything. Steve had told himself to be patient; he knew what he was getting into yesterday. Claire Blanchard was a very fragile lady to whom life had dealt a cruel, hard blow. She had been totally dependent on her husband, that much was certain. She was truly unprepared for the bitter realities of life. Steve began to see why her parents had insisted she make this trip.

“Steve, are you listening?”

With an effort, Steve jerked attention back to his companion. “I’m sorry. Just got to thinking about something else for a moment. Do go on.”

“Oh, I’m used to that, don’t worry. Roger would fade out like that all the time. He was always thinking on different levels, he said. I told him he’d better get on my level and soon. But he’d just laugh –“

It dawned on Steve McGarrett that Claire was not only still grieving for her husband, but right now, she had no interest in anything but reliving her life with Roger before a new audience. She paid no attention to Steve’s responses, or his gentle attempts to turn the conversation to the present. Yesterday, she had been a different person, fun, a bit timid but willing to take a chance and happy to be with him. Today, he was nothing but a prop to talk to.

The phone rang and with a puzzled look, Claire rose to get it. “Goodness, its too late back home for Mom to call. Hello? Oh yes, he’s here. Hold on please.” She held out the phone. “Its for you.”

As long as it wasn’t Wo Fat or some other catastrophe, Steve blessed the caller.

“McGarrett. What? When? You called Danno too? No, that’s all right. I’ll be right there; I’m not that far away. Yeah. Oh, see if you can find Che Fong, will you? Good.” He hung up the phone, more than a little ashamed at the deep sense of relief he felt. “Pretty lady, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to go.”

“Yes, I gathered that. I understand. Roger got called out on a Christmas Eve once – he was an insurance adjustor, you know. Some big multi car wreck on the interstate. He wasn’t too happy, I’ll tell you that.”

“I’m sorry but there’s been a jewelry store holdup downtown. I’m going to have to go.”

“Its all right,” Claire’s voice caught for a moment. “I’m really tired. Think I’ll just go to bed.”

Steve heard his dismissal in her voice and felt a great sadness for her. But until she decided it was time, there was nothing neither he nor any other man could really do for her.

“Mele Kalikimaka, Claire. It’s been a great evening, if a little short.”

“I know Roger would have liked you. You remind me a lot of him.”

McGarrett left her shortly after that, relieved yet feeling guilty all the same. So much sadness and tragedy. And he felt powerless to do anything about it.

* * * * *

“Steve! They didn’t have to call you in. I’m on it.”

“No problem, Danno. What have we got?”

“Break in; entered through the back door. At first glance, I’d say this was an amateur job. They broke in by busting everything up and blowing the safe.”

McGarrett, standing in a mess of broken glass display cases, looked around. “Maybe we’ll get lucky with some prints.”

Dan grinned. “Don’t tell me you ruined Che Fong’s Christmas Eve?”

The Five – 0 chief grimaced. “I didn’t feel very good about it.” He gave his friend a humorous glance. “So, how goes the great Christmas Eve dinner anyway?”

Dan shuddered. “I welcomed the call. Tonya and Paula were fighting and it turned out that Marie Foster was interested in you.”

McGarrett started. “What?”

“Its true,” Dan insisted. “She thought you would be there.”

“I hardly talked to her,” Steve exclaimed.

Dan grimaced. “Well, you made an impression. To my chagrin.”

“I’m sorry, Danno. But you did have some other friends there, right?”

“Um, yeah. Tonya and Paula spent the whole evening fighting. I had invited Sergeant Daclie over from HPD but his ex wife called and wanted reconciliation, so Tom didn’t show. It was not a great time,” he added in an understatement. “But what about you? If you want to get back to your new friend, I can handle it here.”

McGarrett’s look was distant. “Its not necessary, Danno.” He spied Che Fong entering the front door. “Let’s see what our resident genius says about this mess.” He strode forward, leaving a somewhat mystified Dan following behind.

* * * * *

The Honolulu Police Department recovered the stolen jewelry during the night after a car chase with some drunken teenagers who traded the loot for booze. It turned out that Hawaii Five – 0 was not needed at all but Che Fong’s physical evidence would be important during the trial.

Nevertheless, Steve McGarrett wheeled into the parking lot of the deserted Iolani Palace Christmas morning. He was astounded to see Dan’s Mustang already parked there. What national emergency could bring Danno to the office on Christmas? But he wasn’t driving his Five – 0 staff car so it couldn’t be too extreme.

Steve parked and bounded up the steps. His energy seemed forced this morning, he admitted to himself. Last night really hadn’t been all that restful and it showed.

Letting himself into the empty Five – 0 offices, he found no sign of Dan until he entered his own office. Williams sat at Steve’s desk, supposedly reading some reports but his eyes were somewhere on the far wall. He gave a start when he noticed McGarrett standing there.

“Steve! I didn’t expect you today.”

McGarrett gave him a sideways smile as he sat down opposite the desk. “So I see,” he nodded, indicating Dan’s position in his chair.

Dan flushed. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you and you’ve got the best chair in the place.” He started to rise but Steve waved him back down. “Forget it. The question is, what brings you here on Christmas day?”

His young friend grimaced. “It wasn’t a pretty scene when I got back to my place last night.”

McGarrett lifted his brows. “Oh?”

“They’d all left. Which was good, actually. But Tonya and Paula left my kitchen in a mess. Marie left me a catty little note about seeing her for a loan if I wanted to get some ‘decent’ furniture. Plus, I get the impression, all three of them would prefer not to see me again.”

“Danno, last night you sounded like you would be happy to be rid of them.”

“Yeah, I suppose I am.” When his boss looked more confused than ever, Dan shrugged. “Scoff if you like, but I really dig Christmas, you know? I was looking forward to this for the past couple of months. Now, when it gets here, the whole thing is a big disaster and my apartment just really depressed me this morning. Not to mention, I don’t want to spend Christmas day cleaning the kitchen!” He shuddered. “I gotta wonder what those Hawaiian Air galleys look like with those two.”

Steve laughed.

Dan broke into a grin and then asked, “So, what are you doing here anyway? You had a date – with one woman.” McGarrett looked remorseful and distant and for a moment, Dan thought perhaps he wasn’t going to get an answer. “Hey, Steve, you all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m OK, Danno.” McGarrett sighed. “My evening didn’t go all that great either. That woman I was out with was the widow from the mainland I told you about, Claire Blanchard. A delicate woman, still grieving over her husband she lost earlier in the year. I didn’t realize just how much she was still mourning him until last night. He was all she talked about. What he thought, what he said, what they did together.”

“Bummer,” Dan said carefully.

Steve gave him a wry smile. “That’s what I thought. I got bored, Danno, really bored. It was all I could do not to glance at my watch. Then, it was like she realized this whole thing was a waste of time as well. When I got the call to go to the jewelry store, we pretty much said goodbye and that was it. After I got home last night, I had a message from my service. Claire was going back home to Arizona this morning.”

“Well, that had to be a relief, right?” Dan prompted.

“At first. Then, I got to feeling guilty. I really hadn’t tried very hard to help her. We had a good time the day before touring the island but when she got depressed again, I ran out of patience and then ran out on her. I wasn’t very understanding, Danno. I saw my competition was a ghost and I just gave up and left.” He did not add that this vague sense of guilt had pretty much kept him up a good part of the abbreviated night.

Dan grinned. “Steve, you never just give up on anything.”

McGarrett shook his head. “This time I did.”

“How long had her husband been dead?”

“About ten months.”

“I’m not sure you could have won that battle. Maybe no one will, ever.”

“That would be a shame,” Steve remarked sadly.

“Well, this has certainly been a lousy Christmas, at any rate. Its sad when you run to the office instead of staying home.” Dan eyed the stack of reports on the desk without enthusiasm. “Now, I remember why I didn’t want to do these yesterday,” he said glumly.

Suddenly, the memory of Claire sitting on the balcony jumped into Steve’s mind. Her helpless, calm acceptance of the fact that her life seemed to be over. She gambled on life, lost and now it was done. The mere thought of quiet surrender was enough to make McGarrett jump up.

“You don’t have another lady, do you?” Dan asked suspiciously.

Steve smiled. “As a matter a fact, I do. She’s a much maligned boat I own and I just decided today would be a great day to take her out.”

“Oh.” Dan looked away, deflated.

“I might let you come along, provided you can keep your comments to yourself.”

Danny’s face was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. “Hey, that would be great. Another day gone without facing the kitchen.”

“Danno, you’re too much. Only you would have three women over at the same time.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Dan insisted. As they headed for the door, he asked, “Are you sure that thing won’t sink?”

“You’re pushing it!”

“I was going to get you some personalized life preservers just so the Coast Guard would know it was you.”

“That’s all right. I’m going to get you one of those helpful little magnetic boards to assist you in planning your days – and nights!”

“Maybe different colors for different girls,” Dan said happily.

“Don’t worry, I decided against it,” McGarrett retorted. “After this, you won’t have any girls to worry about!”

Their voices carried down the hall as they continued to argue out the door. No girls but two good friends out for a Christmas cruise.

PAU