2014 Writing Update for Friday, March 7th
Mar. 8th, 2014 03:02 pmI'm sucking so far this month. I'm still ahead for the year because of the extra words I wrote in January and February, but I'm having a difficult time this month for some reason:

Maybe it's the story I'm trying to complete. Maybe it's my own lack of discipline that's holding me back. I'm not sure.
I'm going to try to use this day to re-energize myself, to get excited about what I'm doing instead of pushing it behind all of the other things on my to-do list.
And then there are the GYWO word wars. The first one I did was pretty cool. Even someone not technologically advanced like myself got into the chat room and met some people. The last two times I've done it, the moderators didn't even show up to give us a chat room, so we kind of just did it ourselves. It was disappointing. Maybe I'm not the only one having trouble staying the course right now.
So this is me, trying to find the discipline to stop reading so much fanfic and to go back to writing it.
Here's an excerpt from the WIP where I'm currently focused. Maybe if I post it, I'll get some comments that will help me continue. Odds are, I'll probably revise this part a bit after I finish the entire story. I just need... something to help me stay focused.
It's an "Hawaii 5-0" fanfic, AU, with eventual Steve/Danny. Steve runs Boone's Pretzels, a company with franchises all over the country. Danny owns the only franchise in Hawaii but is having a really tough time. He's trying to raise his two daughters by himself while handling the store as well. Thank goodness his only employee is an ass kicker by the name of Kono Kalakaua...
Boone's Pretzels (working title)
At four Monday morning, Danny Williams, proud owner of the only Boone Pretzels franchise in Honolulu – actually, in all of Hawaii – stumbled down the stairs from his upstairs apartment into the small hallway, stepping directly on a hard toy with lots of sharp edges. Cursing softly, he moved it aside and opened the door leading into the kitchen. He turned on the lights and limped over to preheat the ovens. He walked out to the front, turning on the coffeemaker and leaning against the counter, eyes closed until the smell started to wake him up.
Even after all of these years of waking before the buttcrack of dawn, Danny still found it difficult to get out of bed without the sun. He pushed at his eyes with the palms of his hands, trying to gear up for his day, trying not to think of doing this same thing over and over, day after day, until he just up and keeled over the cash register.
His internal clock told him that the coffeemaker had done its job, and he reached for a mug, filling it up and returning to the kitchen where he washed his hands and his body began automatically making fruit-stuffed pretzels.
This early morning stuff wasn’t so bad with coffee, Danny reminded himself. It was pretty much the only part of the day he had to himself, so he held it almost sacred. This was the time he went over the details for the day, reminded himself of his responsibilities, of any special plans he needed to remember. This part made it possible for him to continue for the rest of the day.
He’d mapped out everything in his mind, put the first wave of pretzels in the oven and set the timer, rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, and refilled his coffee, before returning upstairs for his shower, mug firmly in hand. Danny suspected that the water heater had seen its best days during World War Two, so he always made sure to be in and out in record time to make sure there was enough hot waster for his ladies. Besides, he had things he needed to tick off his mental list before returning downstairs.
After dressing quickly and quietly, he took out two of the four bowls in the cabinet, grabbing two spoons on his way to the card table in the living room. He set the table and pulled out the milk and cereal, making sure he got both boxes. Pouring the two bowls of cereal, he returned the boxes on top of the fridge and grabbed his now-empty mug, sliding his feet back into his slippers and heading back downstairs.
He took out the first batches of pretzels, sliding the sheets onto the cooling racks, and putting more in the oven, resetting the timer.
Refilling his mug, he headed to his “office”, located in the small alcove beside the stairs. One of the first things he’d done when he’d bought the place was seal the apartment’s separate entrance and create the door that led directly from the stairs into the kitchen. The front door had been replaced with a small bookshelf that he seemed to run into every time he backed up his chair from the small desk he’d also installed. The place was cramped, but he despised paperwork and spent as little time there as possible.
Of course he stepped on the stupid toy again with the same foot and tossed it up on the desk this time, cursing as he edged around the desk to reach the chair. He flipped on the overhead light and leaned over the paperwork, glaring at the numbers as they told him what he already knew: he was in serious trouble. He’d known that a Haole opening up a shop in Hawaii was going to be a challenge, but he’d hadn’t had a lot of choice in that area. He’d hoped, though, after almost two years that things would’ve gotten easier. It didn’t help that he was receiving absolutely no support from the corporate office.
To be fair, though, business was getting a little better. It was just that with an additional mouth to feed and clothe on an everyday basis, his money – and his time – was being stretched thin.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. He’d figure out something. He didn’t have a choice.
Hearing the timer, he pushed back into the kitchen and pulled out the pretzels, adding them to the cooling rack.
Now was the time for what he called the breakfast pretzels: ham and cheese, western omelet, and the bestseller that never failed to confuse him, peanut butter and jelly.
After putting the first batch in the oven, he returned upstairs to find the two reasons for his existence seated at the table, eating their cereal.
“Good morning, my perfect angels,” he said, making loud kissing noises as he kissed two clean foreheads.
“Morning, Danno,” two high-pitched voices said.
Sitting down on the sofa, his hands clasped between his knees, he faced his daughters. “Monkey, you first today.”
His youngest daughter, six year old Grace, stood and turned around slowly. Danny pulled down the shirt that was hitched up a little high up on her back and pulled her into a hug. “Brush your teeth?”
Yes, Danno.”
“Wash your face?”
“Yes, Danno.”
“Wash behind your ears?” He made a show of pulling one of her ears.
“I did that last night!”
“So you did,” he exclaimed. “You ready for school?”
“Almost finished with my breakfast,” she confirmed.
“Great job,” he said, tickling her before he let her return to her cereal. He turned to his older daughter. “Bear, it’s your turn.”
Bear slid out of her chair, already giggling, hands over her mouth.
“Turn around,” Danny said, waving his finger in a circle.
Hands still covering her mouth, Bear turned around slowly. Her clothes were getting a little tight, and Danny sighed to himself, realizing that he was going to have to get her some new ones sooner than he’d hoped. “You look great too!” He pulled her close to him, just like he did her sister. “Brush your teeth and wash your face?”
She giggled and nodded.
“Good girl.” He patted her on the butt. “Finish your breakfast.”
He grabbed Grace’s lunch bag from the fridge, putting it in her backpack by the door. Glancing at his watch, he said, “I’ll be right back. Monkey, get your stuff; the bus’ll be here in a few minutes.” He jogged downstairs and into the store, turning off the alarm and unlocking the door.
“Morning, Boss!” Kono stepped inside, locking the door behind her and following him back into the kitchen.
“You are way too awake. Let me guess. You went surfing this morning.”
Kono grinned, washing her hands beside him and grabbing some oven mitts to help him take the pretzels out of the oven. “I almost didn’t come in today,” she teased.
“Don’t even joke,” Danny said half seriously. As bad as things were, there was no way he would’ve even made it this far without Kono. She’d walked in one day a few days before the store’s grand opening, and he’d learned that he’d hired her when she’d automatically picked up Bear and set her on the counter to get her out of a workman’s way. Normally, his daughter was extremely shy around strangers, but she’d taken one look at Kono and had fallen in love. As far as Danny was concerned, short of proof that she was on the lamb or preparing to steal from him, she was hired. Everyday he maintained – loudly – that he regretted that choice, but they both knew that many times she was the only one helping him hold on to what sometimes only amounted to a tiny scrap of sanity. She was more than an employee and a friend. She’d become his family, his Gladys of the islands.
He didn’t know what he was going to do when she left for the police academy in a few weeks. As always, when the fear and panic threatened to rise inside him, he forced it down and focused on what he needed to do in the next few minutes.
“I’ll be back,” he said, catching her nod as he took off his gloves and headed back upstairs.
“Monkey, bus,” he said, leaning against the doorframe as she carefully put her dishes in the sink and picked up her pink backpack. “Bear,” he called, watching Bear follow her sister’s footsteps. “Good girls.” He followed them down the stairs, through the kitchen, and into the front.
“Morning!” Kono chirped as she set the cooled pretzels in the bake case.
“Morning, Kono!” The two girls said as Danny unlocked the door and ushered them outside.
Luckily, Grace’s bus stop was just down the street, so Danny didn’t have to leave Kono on her own for very long. The neighborhood was relatively safe, but even in paradise, Danny couldn’t shove down the street smarts that had helped him survive in Newark and become a fairly good cop before he’d had to quit.
Danny had Grace practice her spelling words in the few minutes they waited for the bus, and she got on, waving to her father and sister before the doors closed.
Sighing, Danny looked down at his ten year old. The love and happiness shining from her eyes brought up a wave of love so large that he had to give her a big hug. “Danno loves you.”
“I love you too,” she said, hugging him back.
Born with down syndrome, Jenna spent most of her time being a bundle of love. Sometimes Danny’s heart hurt at the thought that she might never be able to live out on her own, but all he needed to do was take one look at her and know that she was too much of a blessing for him to think of her as anything less than a miracle. “How about we go help Kono get ready to open the store?”
“’kay.” They strolled the short distance back to the shop, Danny nodding at Mrs. Pukahi, the woman who owned the clothing shop next to his. She glared at him and walked back into her shop.
Rolling his eyes, he unlocked the door and held it open for Jenna. “So your girl still hates me.”
Kono laughed, pouring coffee beans into the machine. “She doesn’t hate you.” Danny glared at her. “Okay, maybe you’re not her favorite person.”
Settling Jenna at her table in the corner with the crayons and drawing pad, Danny said, “I don’t get it. I’ve never even spoken to her, yet she looks at me like I killed her dog or something.”
“I heard that she might’ve been in love with Mr. Makaiau, who ran the pastry shop here. Maybe she resents that you’re here now.”
“He died!” Danny stood in the middle of the shop, arms wide. “It’s not like I snatched the place out from under him! Besides, it’s been almost two years!” He stomped around the counter, looking for his coffee cup.
“It’s over there.” Her arms full, Kono tilted her head toward the cash register.
Danny eyeballed the cup. “Is this the cup I was using earlier?” He’d developed a terrible habit of leaving his cups all over the place, and he’d been trying to do a better job at tracking them. So far, he’d done a pretty crappy job of it, and Kono didn’t even bother looking for his empties anymore, saying they’d pop up when they were ready. The last thing he wanted, though, was a surprise visit from the health inspector to unearth a fuckton of mugs around the place with mold growing out of the small amount of coffee in the bottom. He prided himself on running a sanitary shop, even if he had to fight against his own natural slobbiness to do it.
Kono rolled her eyes.
Giving up for the time being, Danny took a sip. “Thanks for this.”
“Like you need another cup,” Kono muttered, smiling at his glare.
I’m gonna go work on the other pretzels.” He stopped to kiss Bear on her forehead and to lean down for her to plant one on his cheek before heading into the back. He thought ahead to the day, praying to the retail gods that they had a good day.
H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0
“…don’t expect me to start an international incident to get your ass out of jail; the last time was tough enough!” A movement out of the corner of his eye made Steve look up and wave Catherine into his office. He only half-heartedly listened to his sister, Mary, defending herself or proclaiming her innocence. That was pretty much all she did during their conversations, but he had to admit to having his own prepared speeches when dealing with her as well. In his defense, he always seemed to be putting out fires: getting her out of jail, convincing someone to let him pay for the damages instead of pressing charges, talking a landlord into taking payment over the phone.
Catherine grinned at him, mouthing, “Mary?” as she sat down on the other side of the desk, crossing her legs gracefully, showing him an expanse of tanned, toned thigh.
He nodded, pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead. Pressing the mute button on his phone, he said, “she’d be a millionaire if she could be as creative in business as she is in finding new ways to get into trouble.”
“What’s she up to now?”
“I think she’s working her way into another foreign prison. She’s gone through the more interesting ones in Europe, so now she’s heading over to Asia.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow. “They don’t play over there.”
“Maybe I should shut her in a room and loop ‘Midnight Cowboy’.”
“She’ll just figure out a way to take apart the DVD player and use a piece of it to unlock the door.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “She’s too brilliant to waste her life like this.” A shriek from the phone caught his attention, and he hit the mute button. “Yes, I was ignoring you. I have this thing I do, called work. I know you’re not familiar with it, but it’s what allows me to keep bailing out your ass whenever you’re in trouble!”
“The next time I’ll just take care of it myself, then!” Mary shouted at him.
“Yeah, I’ll hold my breath on that one!” The phone clicked, and Steve sighed as he cradled the receiver.
“Hung up on you again?”
“That’s pretty much how we end all of our conversations nowadays,” Steve sighed. “It’s way too early.” He leaned back in his chair. “What’s up?”
“What’re you doing for lunch? I’m meeting with that new advertising agency.”
Steve frowned as he pulled up his calendar on his phone. “What’s wrong with our current agency?”
“Nothing, but I like to keep our options open,” Catherine said. “They contacted me, and I got a good feel from them.”
“Actually, I have a conference call with Brazil, and it’s probably gonna take a couple of hours. Let me know how it goes, though.”
Catherine nodded and stood, pausing at the door. “You free later tonight?” She tossed him a feisty grin.
Feeling his interest stir, he smiled back at her. “Have an itch you need scratching?”
“Fingers up to it?”
He feigned disappointment. “You just want me for my fingers?”
“You know better than that.” One raised eyebrow later, she was gone.
Steve looked back at the growing list of e-mails on his computer and sighed. Turning in his chair, he looked out of the window and watched the pedestrians hustle about, pulling their coats tighter. He hadn’t expected late February, while rarely filled with snow, to blow a cold air that struck deep to the bone. He thought longingly of Hawaii, imagining straddling a board in the ocean, just enjoying the sun wrapping around his body.
“Chin’s on line two,” his assistant chirped from the intercom on his phone.
Smiling, Steve picked up the line. “Speak of the devil!”
“You telling lies about me again?”
Chin’s voice almost transported Steve back to the island. “Just wishing I were there instead of trapped in this building.”
“Let me guess – you wearing a tie?”
Steve laughed. “Got the suit, the tie, the shoes.”
“With great power comes a multitude of clothes, I guess.”
“I don’t even know where my board shorts are anymore,” Steve complained.
“If you’d ever take a vacation, you could fly out here, buy some new ones. Kamekona still has your board in storage.”
“That sounds great,” Steve said wistfully, “but we have too much going on right now. We’re looking to expand into Brazil.”
“You always have too much going on. You’ve been working there, what, two years? Have you taken more than a long weekend off since you’ve been there? You can’t tell me that your pretzel fortune is going to go up in smoke if you take a week off.”
Steve thought about his father, how he seemed to be recovering from his heart attack and subsequent surgeries. “Dad is doing much better, but he’s been out of the loop for about a year, and I don’t think he can really handle the workload anymore.”
“I know you, McGarrett,” Chin laughed. “Vacation basically means that instead of twelve hour days, you’d work six. So it’s not as though he’d be doing it all. Besides, you still have Catherine there, right?”
“True,” Steve mulled over the idea. His cell phone beeped to remind him of his meeting. “I hate to cut this short, but I have a conference call in ten minutes.”
“I didn’t mean to take so much of your time. I just wanted to call you and congratulate you.”
Steve began to look over his notes for the upcoming meeting. “Congratulate me for what?”
“The additions to your menu. I went into your shop here yesterday for lunch and had your pineapple pretzel. Brah, it was awesome! That was an excellent call!”
Steve put down his papers. “Pineapple pretzel?”
“I’m not sure about that peanut butter and jelly one, although Kono says it’s a top seller.”
Steve was mulling over the pineapple pretzel and trying to wrap his mind around the peanut butter and jelly when the name caught his attention. “Kono?”
“My cousin,” Chin said, obviously not cluing in to the fact that Steve was a little disturbed. “She works there. You can’t tell me you’ve forgotten her. She had the biggest crush on you when we were seniors. Remember how she’d follow us around all the time?”
“She’s, like, fourteen.”
“Sure, in ’92,” Chin laughed. “She’s a young woman now. Amazing surfer. Worked the pro circuit until she busted her knee. Now she’s working for your guy, getting ready to go into the police academy. Look, I know you have to go. I just wanted to tell you that the pineapple pretzel is a definite keeper. Book a flight and let me know when to pick you up, brah!”
After hanging up with Chin, Steve dove into the rest of his meetings for the day, pushing everything but his negotiations out of his mind. It wasn’t until he sat down with Catherine at dinner, listening to the waiter talk about their special containing pineapple, that he was reminded of his earlier conversation with Chin. He waited until they’d ordered before saying, “How many test pretzels do we have going on right now?”
Catherine thought a moment. “Six. We have a couple of soy options that we’re testing in middle America and here in Virginia, a corn-based one out in Iowa, and some low fat versions in California. Why?”
“My friend Chin called me up today to congratulate me on our new pineapple pretzel.”
“We don’t have a pineapple pretzel.”
“Exactly!” Steve said.
“It’s a Boone’s?”
Steve nodded.
“What did Victor say?”
Steve was spared an immediate response with the arrival of their food. Not one to be dissuaded, Catherine opened her mouth, only to stare at him a second. “You didn’t talk to Victor.”
“Not yet.”
“I know you don’t like him, but he’s in charge of the franchises. It’s his job to know what’s going on with them.”
Steve knew she was right, that he should just drop this into Victor Hesse’s arms and let him take care of it. But two things held him back: First, something had struck him wrong about Hesse the first time they’d met, and nothing in the past two years had altered that feeling an iota. Secondly, Steve found himself intrigued. He’d never known Chin to even like pastries. The fact that not only had he eaten it but had liked it so much that he’d called Steve, made Steve want to try it out for himself. It wasn’t on their menu, but maybe it should be.
Two days later, Steve was on a plane heading for Hawaii. As far as everyone except for Catherine and Chin knew, he was on vacation. Plus, Steve wanted to see who had the stones to make his own menu and sell it under Steve’s family’s name.
Maybe it's the story I'm trying to complete. Maybe it's my own lack of discipline that's holding me back. I'm not sure.
I'm going to try to use this day to re-energize myself, to get excited about what I'm doing instead of pushing it behind all of the other things on my to-do list.
And then there are the GYWO word wars. The first one I did was pretty cool. Even someone not technologically advanced like myself got into the chat room and met some people. The last two times I've done it, the moderators didn't even show up to give us a chat room, so we kind of just did it ourselves. It was disappointing. Maybe I'm not the only one having trouble staying the course right now.
So this is me, trying to find the discipline to stop reading so much fanfic and to go back to writing it.
Here's an excerpt from the WIP where I'm currently focused. Maybe if I post it, I'll get some comments that will help me continue. Odds are, I'll probably revise this part a bit after I finish the entire story. I just need... something to help me stay focused.
It's an "Hawaii 5-0" fanfic, AU, with eventual Steve/Danny. Steve runs Boone's Pretzels, a company with franchises all over the country. Danny owns the only franchise in Hawaii but is having a really tough time. He's trying to raise his two daughters by himself while handling the store as well. Thank goodness his only employee is an ass kicker by the name of Kono Kalakaua...
Boone's Pretzels (working title)
At four Monday morning, Danny Williams, proud owner of the only Boone Pretzels franchise in Honolulu – actually, in all of Hawaii – stumbled down the stairs from his upstairs apartment into the small hallway, stepping directly on a hard toy with lots of sharp edges. Cursing softly, he moved it aside and opened the door leading into the kitchen. He turned on the lights and limped over to preheat the ovens. He walked out to the front, turning on the coffeemaker and leaning against the counter, eyes closed until the smell started to wake him up.
Even after all of these years of waking before the buttcrack of dawn, Danny still found it difficult to get out of bed without the sun. He pushed at his eyes with the palms of his hands, trying to gear up for his day, trying not to think of doing this same thing over and over, day after day, until he just up and keeled over the cash register.
His internal clock told him that the coffeemaker had done its job, and he reached for a mug, filling it up and returning to the kitchen where he washed his hands and his body began automatically making fruit-stuffed pretzels.
This early morning stuff wasn’t so bad with coffee, Danny reminded himself. It was pretty much the only part of the day he had to himself, so he held it almost sacred. This was the time he went over the details for the day, reminded himself of his responsibilities, of any special plans he needed to remember. This part made it possible for him to continue for the rest of the day.
He’d mapped out everything in his mind, put the first wave of pretzels in the oven and set the timer, rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, and refilled his coffee, before returning upstairs for his shower, mug firmly in hand. Danny suspected that the water heater had seen its best days during World War Two, so he always made sure to be in and out in record time to make sure there was enough hot waster for his ladies. Besides, he had things he needed to tick off his mental list before returning downstairs.
After dressing quickly and quietly, he took out two of the four bowls in the cabinet, grabbing two spoons on his way to the card table in the living room. He set the table and pulled out the milk and cereal, making sure he got both boxes. Pouring the two bowls of cereal, he returned the boxes on top of the fridge and grabbed his now-empty mug, sliding his feet back into his slippers and heading back downstairs.
He took out the first batches of pretzels, sliding the sheets onto the cooling racks, and putting more in the oven, resetting the timer.
Refilling his mug, he headed to his “office”, located in the small alcove beside the stairs. One of the first things he’d done when he’d bought the place was seal the apartment’s separate entrance and create the door that led directly from the stairs into the kitchen. The front door had been replaced with a small bookshelf that he seemed to run into every time he backed up his chair from the small desk he’d also installed. The place was cramped, but he despised paperwork and spent as little time there as possible.
Of course he stepped on the stupid toy again with the same foot and tossed it up on the desk this time, cursing as he edged around the desk to reach the chair. He flipped on the overhead light and leaned over the paperwork, glaring at the numbers as they told him what he already knew: he was in serious trouble. He’d known that a Haole opening up a shop in Hawaii was going to be a challenge, but he’d hadn’t had a lot of choice in that area. He’d hoped, though, after almost two years that things would’ve gotten easier. It didn’t help that he was receiving absolutely no support from the corporate office.
To be fair, though, business was getting a little better. It was just that with an additional mouth to feed and clothe on an everyday basis, his money – and his time – was being stretched thin.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. He’d figure out something. He didn’t have a choice.
Hearing the timer, he pushed back into the kitchen and pulled out the pretzels, adding them to the cooling rack.
Now was the time for what he called the breakfast pretzels: ham and cheese, western omelet, and the bestseller that never failed to confuse him, peanut butter and jelly.
After putting the first batch in the oven, he returned upstairs to find the two reasons for his existence seated at the table, eating their cereal.
“Good morning, my perfect angels,” he said, making loud kissing noises as he kissed two clean foreheads.
“Morning, Danno,” two high-pitched voices said.
Sitting down on the sofa, his hands clasped between his knees, he faced his daughters. “Monkey, you first today.”
His youngest daughter, six year old Grace, stood and turned around slowly. Danny pulled down the shirt that was hitched up a little high up on her back and pulled her into a hug. “Brush your teeth?”
Yes, Danno.”
“Wash your face?”
“Yes, Danno.”
“Wash behind your ears?” He made a show of pulling one of her ears.
“I did that last night!”
“So you did,” he exclaimed. “You ready for school?”
“Almost finished with my breakfast,” she confirmed.
“Great job,” he said, tickling her before he let her return to her cereal. He turned to his older daughter. “Bear, it’s your turn.”
Bear slid out of her chair, already giggling, hands over her mouth.
“Turn around,” Danny said, waving his finger in a circle.
Hands still covering her mouth, Bear turned around slowly. Her clothes were getting a little tight, and Danny sighed to himself, realizing that he was going to have to get her some new ones sooner than he’d hoped. “You look great too!” He pulled her close to him, just like he did her sister. “Brush your teeth and wash your face?”
She giggled and nodded.
“Good girl.” He patted her on the butt. “Finish your breakfast.”
He grabbed Grace’s lunch bag from the fridge, putting it in her backpack by the door. Glancing at his watch, he said, “I’ll be right back. Monkey, get your stuff; the bus’ll be here in a few minutes.” He jogged downstairs and into the store, turning off the alarm and unlocking the door.
“Morning, Boss!” Kono stepped inside, locking the door behind her and following him back into the kitchen.
“You are way too awake. Let me guess. You went surfing this morning.”
Kono grinned, washing her hands beside him and grabbing some oven mitts to help him take the pretzels out of the oven. “I almost didn’t come in today,” she teased.
“Don’t even joke,” Danny said half seriously. As bad as things were, there was no way he would’ve even made it this far without Kono. She’d walked in one day a few days before the store’s grand opening, and he’d learned that he’d hired her when she’d automatically picked up Bear and set her on the counter to get her out of a workman’s way. Normally, his daughter was extremely shy around strangers, but she’d taken one look at Kono and had fallen in love. As far as Danny was concerned, short of proof that she was on the lamb or preparing to steal from him, she was hired. Everyday he maintained – loudly – that he regretted that choice, but they both knew that many times she was the only one helping him hold on to what sometimes only amounted to a tiny scrap of sanity. She was more than an employee and a friend. She’d become his family, his Gladys of the islands.
He didn’t know what he was going to do when she left for the police academy in a few weeks. As always, when the fear and panic threatened to rise inside him, he forced it down and focused on what he needed to do in the next few minutes.
“I’ll be back,” he said, catching her nod as he took off his gloves and headed back upstairs.
“Monkey, bus,” he said, leaning against the doorframe as she carefully put her dishes in the sink and picked up her pink backpack. “Bear,” he called, watching Bear follow her sister’s footsteps. “Good girls.” He followed them down the stairs, through the kitchen, and into the front.
“Morning!” Kono chirped as she set the cooled pretzels in the bake case.
“Morning, Kono!” The two girls said as Danny unlocked the door and ushered them outside.
Luckily, Grace’s bus stop was just down the street, so Danny didn’t have to leave Kono on her own for very long. The neighborhood was relatively safe, but even in paradise, Danny couldn’t shove down the street smarts that had helped him survive in Newark and become a fairly good cop before he’d had to quit.
Danny had Grace practice her spelling words in the few minutes they waited for the bus, and she got on, waving to her father and sister before the doors closed.
Sighing, Danny looked down at his ten year old. The love and happiness shining from her eyes brought up a wave of love so large that he had to give her a big hug. “Danno loves you.”
“I love you too,” she said, hugging him back.
Born with down syndrome, Jenna spent most of her time being a bundle of love. Sometimes Danny’s heart hurt at the thought that she might never be able to live out on her own, but all he needed to do was take one look at her and know that she was too much of a blessing for him to think of her as anything less than a miracle. “How about we go help Kono get ready to open the store?”
“’kay.” They strolled the short distance back to the shop, Danny nodding at Mrs. Pukahi, the woman who owned the clothing shop next to his. She glared at him and walked back into her shop.
Rolling his eyes, he unlocked the door and held it open for Jenna. “So your girl still hates me.”
Kono laughed, pouring coffee beans into the machine. “She doesn’t hate you.” Danny glared at her. “Okay, maybe you’re not her favorite person.”
Settling Jenna at her table in the corner with the crayons and drawing pad, Danny said, “I don’t get it. I’ve never even spoken to her, yet she looks at me like I killed her dog or something.”
“I heard that she might’ve been in love with Mr. Makaiau, who ran the pastry shop here. Maybe she resents that you’re here now.”
“He died!” Danny stood in the middle of the shop, arms wide. “It’s not like I snatched the place out from under him! Besides, it’s been almost two years!” He stomped around the counter, looking for his coffee cup.
“It’s over there.” Her arms full, Kono tilted her head toward the cash register.
Danny eyeballed the cup. “Is this the cup I was using earlier?” He’d developed a terrible habit of leaving his cups all over the place, and he’d been trying to do a better job at tracking them. So far, he’d done a pretty crappy job of it, and Kono didn’t even bother looking for his empties anymore, saying they’d pop up when they were ready. The last thing he wanted, though, was a surprise visit from the health inspector to unearth a fuckton of mugs around the place with mold growing out of the small amount of coffee in the bottom. He prided himself on running a sanitary shop, even if he had to fight against his own natural slobbiness to do it.
Kono rolled her eyes.
Giving up for the time being, Danny took a sip. “Thanks for this.”
“Like you need another cup,” Kono muttered, smiling at his glare.
I’m gonna go work on the other pretzels.” He stopped to kiss Bear on her forehead and to lean down for her to plant one on his cheek before heading into the back. He thought ahead to the day, praying to the retail gods that they had a good day.
H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0 H5-0
“…don’t expect me to start an international incident to get your ass out of jail; the last time was tough enough!” A movement out of the corner of his eye made Steve look up and wave Catherine into his office. He only half-heartedly listened to his sister, Mary, defending herself or proclaiming her innocence. That was pretty much all she did during their conversations, but he had to admit to having his own prepared speeches when dealing with her as well. In his defense, he always seemed to be putting out fires: getting her out of jail, convincing someone to let him pay for the damages instead of pressing charges, talking a landlord into taking payment over the phone.
Catherine grinned at him, mouthing, “Mary?” as she sat down on the other side of the desk, crossing her legs gracefully, showing him an expanse of tanned, toned thigh.
He nodded, pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead. Pressing the mute button on his phone, he said, “she’d be a millionaire if she could be as creative in business as she is in finding new ways to get into trouble.”
“What’s she up to now?”
“I think she’s working her way into another foreign prison. She’s gone through the more interesting ones in Europe, so now she’s heading over to Asia.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow. “They don’t play over there.”
“Maybe I should shut her in a room and loop ‘Midnight Cowboy’.”
“She’ll just figure out a way to take apart the DVD player and use a piece of it to unlock the door.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “She’s too brilliant to waste her life like this.” A shriek from the phone caught his attention, and he hit the mute button. “Yes, I was ignoring you. I have this thing I do, called work. I know you’re not familiar with it, but it’s what allows me to keep bailing out your ass whenever you’re in trouble!”
“The next time I’ll just take care of it myself, then!” Mary shouted at him.
“Yeah, I’ll hold my breath on that one!” The phone clicked, and Steve sighed as he cradled the receiver.
“Hung up on you again?”
“That’s pretty much how we end all of our conversations nowadays,” Steve sighed. “It’s way too early.” He leaned back in his chair. “What’s up?”
“What’re you doing for lunch? I’m meeting with that new advertising agency.”
Steve frowned as he pulled up his calendar on his phone. “What’s wrong with our current agency?”
“Nothing, but I like to keep our options open,” Catherine said. “They contacted me, and I got a good feel from them.”
“Actually, I have a conference call with Brazil, and it’s probably gonna take a couple of hours. Let me know how it goes, though.”
Catherine nodded and stood, pausing at the door. “You free later tonight?” She tossed him a feisty grin.
Feeling his interest stir, he smiled back at her. “Have an itch you need scratching?”
“Fingers up to it?”
He feigned disappointment. “You just want me for my fingers?”
“You know better than that.” One raised eyebrow later, she was gone.
Steve looked back at the growing list of e-mails on his computer and sighed. Turning in his chair, he looked out of the window and watched the pedestrians hustle about, pulling their coats tighter. He hadn’t expected late February, while rarely filled with snow, to blow a cold air that struck deep to the bone. He thought longingly of Hawaii, imagining straddling a board in the ocean, just enjoying the sun wrapping around his body.
“Chin’s on line two,” his assistant chirped from the intercom on his phone.
Smiling, Steve picked up the line. “Speak of the devil!”
“You telling lies about me again?”
Chin’s voice almost transported Steve back to the island. “Just wishing I were there instead of trapped in this building.”
“Let me guess – you wearing a tie?”
Steve laughed. “Got the suit, the tie, the shoes.”
“With great power comes a multitude of clothes, I guess.”
“I don’t even know where my board shorts are anymore,” Steve complained.
“If you’d ever take a vacation, you could fly out here, buy some new ones. Kamekona still has your board in storage.”
“That sounds great,” Steve said wistfully, “but we have too much going on right now. We’re looking to expand into Brazil.”
“You always have too much going on. You’ve been working there, what, two years? Have you taken more than a long weekend off since you’ve been there? You can’t tell me that your pretzel fortune is going to go up in smoke if you take a week off.”
Steve thought about his father, how he seemed to be recovering from his heart attack and subsequent surgeries. “Dad is doing much better, but he’s been out of the loop for about a year, and I don’t think he can really handle the workload anymore.”
“I know you, McGarrett,” Chin laughed. “Vacation basically means that instead of twelve hour days, you’d work six. So it’s not as though he’d be doing it all. Besides, you still have Catherine there, right?”
“True,” Steve mulled over the idea. His cell phone beeped to remind him of his meeting. “I hate to cut this short, but I have a conference call in ten minutes.”
“I didn’t mean to take so much of your time. I just wanted to call you and congratulate you.”
Steve began to look over his notes for the upcoming meeting. “Congratulate me for what?”
“The additions to your menu. I went into your shop here yesterday for lunch and had your pineapple pretzel. Brah, it was awesome! That was an excellent call!”
Steve put down his papers. “Pineapple pretzel?”
“I’m not sure about that peanut butter and jelly one, although Kono says it’s a top seller.”
Steve was mulling over the pineapple pretzel and trying to wrap his mind around the peanut butter and jelly when the name caught his attention. “Kono?”
“My cousin,” Chin said, obviously not cluing in to the fact that Steve was a little disturbed. “She works there. You can’t tell me you’ve forgotten her. She had the biggest crush on you when we were seniors. Remember how she’d follow us around all the time?”
“She’s, like, fourteen.”
“Sure, in ’92,” Chin laughed. “She’s a young woman now. Amazing surfer. Worked the pro circuit until she busted her knee. Now she’s working for your guy, getting ready to go into the police academy. Look, I know you have to go. I just wanted to tell you that the pineapple pretzel is a definite keeper. Book a flight and let me know when to pick you up, brah!”
After hanging up with Chin, Steve dove into the rest of his meetings for the day, pushing everything but his negotiations out of his mind. It wasn’t until he sat down with Catherine at dinner, listening to the waiter talk about their special containing pineapple, that he was reminded of his earlier conversation with Chin. He waited until they’d ordered before saying, “How many test pretzels do we have going on right now?”
Catherine thought a moment. “Six. We have a couple of soy options that we’re testing in middle America and here in Virginia, a corn-based one out in Iowa, and some low fat versions in California. Why?”
“My friend Chin called me up today to congratulate me on our new pineapple pretzel.”
“We don’t have a pineapple pretzel.”
“Exactly!” Steve said.
“It’s a Boone’s?”
Steve nodded.
“What did Victor say?”
Steve was spared an immediate response with the arrival of their food. Not one to be dissuaded, Catherine opened her mouth, only to stare at him a second. “You didn’t talk to Victor.”
“Not yet.”
“I know you don’t like him, but he’s in charge of the franchises. It’s his job to know what’s going on with them.”
Steve knew she was right, that he should just drop this into Victor Hesse’s arms and let him take care of it. But two things held him back: First, something had struck him wrong about Hesse the first time they’d met, and nothing in the past two years had altered that feeling an iota. Secondly, Steve found himself intrigued. He’d never known Chin to even like pastries. The fact that not only had he eaten it but had liked it so much that he’d called Steve, made Steve want to try it out for himself. It wasn’t on their menu, but maybe it should be.
Two days later, Steve was on a plane heading for Hawaii. As far as everyone except for Catherine and Chin knew, he was on vacation. Plus, Steve wanted to see who had the stones to make his own menu and sell it under Steve’s family’s name.