My Kind of Town
My Kind of Town
Chemical reaction
>> Above Kahuku
Funny how the chemical reaction works when desperation meets reason. Reason dissipates in sizzle and smoke every time. So even though something didn't seem quite right to Lono Oka'aina, he didn't have to think very long or very hard before saying yes. Grabbing at his last straw, grateful for it.
The man dressed in boots, jeans and a gray Stetson who called himself Tets Nakajima not only offered enough money upfront to pay all the back land taxes and build the commercial stable Lono knew would save the Rockin' Pikake Ranch, he promised more money to come in the future, probably every other year.
When that happened, Lono could even fulfill his other dream, to grow koa commercially on the upper reaches of the ranch.
All Lono had to do was sign a contract, turning over the ranch, including the house and the horses, to Nakajima's clients for two weeks, during which Lono would vacate the premises. The contract also bound Lono to secrecy in perpetuity.
"If you don't mind me asking ..." he said.
"Of course not. I represent a hunting club. The membership is multi-national, and rather adventurous. Hate to hunt the same turf over and over. So we travel about and rent appropriate parcels."
"Just to hunt some wild pigs and a few chukkar?"
"Actually, we plan to ship in some rather, ah, exotic animals."
Nakajima saw Lono frown.
"I understand the concern in Hawaii over alien species. Not to worry, Mr. Oka'aina. Not one of these will be left behind. That's a guarantee."
"And my horses?"
"We have our own stablemaster. He's very good, they'll be well cared for. Additionally, one of the members is a veterinarian."
Lono signed the contract. Nakajima handed him 10 thousand-dollar bills. "As a downpayment. The balance will be electronically deposited into your account later today."
And so it was that Lono was spending his last night in the old ranch house for a while. He had to be out by 8 a.m. Members of the hunt club would arrive later in the day. Lono still didn't know what he'd do with himself for two weeks. With his newfound wealth, the bachelor rancher was tempted by a trip to Vegas. But no, he wasn't going to risk blowing this gift from Akua. He thought about flying to the Big Island, visiting some of the paniolo up at Parker Ranch. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Maybe he'd do it later.
But right now, all Lono could think about was what kind of exotic animals would be roaming around his land. Bears? Lions? Elephants? Elk? Whatever they were, Lono had to see for himself. And he knew just the vantage point from which he could keep an eye on things. He slept well.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com