Goddess confirmation

As Pua Makua, Ph.D., said a prayer, asking permission of the resident gods to taste the fruit of the guava grove in the middle of the kipuka, the captain of the Tuber Border Patrol said in a loud whisper "Psst, Tokelani!"

Tokelani Green of the Pono Commission looked around, saw a hand beckoning from the grass. Assuming it was the pilot who'd flown her and Randy Makapu'u up here -- who else would know her name? -- when the prayer was over she walked toward the voice.

"Welcome back, Tokelani," it said. "Thank you for coming."

She glanced over her shoulder at Pua and Randy. Pua was feeding him a bite of guava. It was obvious something was going on between them.

"So you are in fact Tokelani?" the voice said.

"Yes." She felt silly talking to a wall of tall grass. "You're not the pilot."

"No. I'm the captain."

Pua and Randy were walking downslope through the guava grove, oblivious of Tokelani. The captain stepped out of the grass, and Tokelani found herself looking up at a man who was seven feet tall and wearing nothing but super-size shades and a loincloth. He had pale skin, but Polynesian features. Two others, younger and bigger, stood at his sides.

She was thinking about screaming when the captain said, "May I ask why you've chosen this time to return?"

The whole "return" thing was baffling. She'd never been to this kipuka before, although she'd flown past in a chopper. "Just doing my job," she said.

Tubers, being business-oriented, especially regarding profits from the royal tuberose plantation, understood.

"Will you be staying?" the captain said.

"No, uh, we're just checking things out."

"But you'll be back soon?"

"Yes." Randy wanted to sign the land-exchange papers here.

"Good, we have a request from King Kavawai. As you know, testing is still underway to find a husband for the princess. The king would invite you to attend the wedding in a few days' time."

"Oh ... kay ... " she said. It sounded like a question.

"We can entertain you here, if you'd like," he continued.

"No, thanks, I'll just walk around a bit."

"But of course, you also have power among the Topsiders," the captain said, "judging from Pua and Randy. They need the gods and goddesses too."

"So when's the wedding?"

"Any day now. We'll call you -- the Calling Tokelani From Afar chant"

"That's good, but cell phones are quicker. I see you have phones."

He tapped the phone strapped to his belt. She pulled pen and paper from her fanny pack, wrote down a number. "Chant me up."

Tokelani turned to join the others, and the captain said "The work of the goddess of whoopee is never done."