True to Me - Kay Bratt Page 0,94

the cancer take him. But Dad helped him get on with the top dermatologist on Maui, and now he’s getting care and making payments. He still works at a golf course up in Napili but can’t afford housing on top of his medical bills. He hops beaches because the police keep running us off. It’s like musical chairs but with tents.”

Quinn bit her tongue against the urge to ask Jonah why he didn’t just go home to his family. It really wasn’t her place to judge.

Noah nodded. “The point is that these people didn’t just wake up one day and hit the streets. Most of them are from the mainland, and it took time for them to end up here. Usually a chain of events, piling up until they could no longer afford their mortgage or rent, sent them to the beach to live. They didn’t want to be here—at least most of them didn’t. You do have the occasional dreamer who has the ability to find work but only wants to move to Maui to surf and be one with nature. But for the most part, they want out of this situation. They’ll work, but it’s hard to get a job when you have no known address. And there’s no housing assistance or rent control for low-income families here in Hawaii like there is on the mainland. Rent is outrageously high.”

“Chris Pratt from Guardians of the Galaxy and the Jurassic Park movies was homeless here for a year,” Jonah said. “But he found a way out.”

“I’m starting to understand now,” Quinn said. “Thank you for explaining.”

She looked directly at Jonah, taking a deep breath. He got up and came around to Quinn’s side, sliding in next to her where he could face his parents.

“Mom, Dad,” he began, “she’s got something really important to tell you, and I don’t want you to be frightened.”

Their expressions changed. Now there were worried faces all around.

Quinn slid her sunglasses off and then her baseball cap, letting her hair loose and free.

She could see the confusion in Jules’s eyes. She looked like she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. Or was supposed to be seeing.

“What’s this all about?” Noah asked, for the first time losing the politeness in his voice. He was catching on that she wasn’t just there to help the homeless.

“It’s about me,” Quinn said. She locked eyes with Jules, the mother who had probably suffered the most loss. Though she exuded grace and kindness, she also carried a certain sadness about her. Quinn had to admit, she’d hoped the woman would take one look and know who she was. But of course, this wasn’t the movies; it was real life.

“You?” Jules asked.

“Yes, me. My name is Quinn Maguire, but once upon a time, I had another name.” She directed her gaze at Jonah. “I was Nama, and your son found me,” she said. “He was determined to bring me home to you, and now I’m here, thanks to modern technology and a vial of saliva.”

Jonah looked surprised. Quinn thought briefly of Auntie Wang and hoped that she wouldn’t mind not being acknowledged for putting the pieces together first. Quinn would have to have a talk with her, Helen, and Carmen later, but this was how she wanted it to go. It was the least she could do for a brother whose life she had ruined. And if he had stayed to meet with her that day at the restaurant, he would have been the first to tell her who she was.

Noah moved his arm higher around his wife, bringing her closer to him. Jules kept staring at her, taking in every inch of her face, hair, and hands. She still looked perplexed.

“What kind of sick joke is this?” Jules finally asked, her voice shaking.

“It’s not a joke. It’s true,” Jonah said, reaching over to take his mother’s hand. “The DNA proves it. Nama lived that day, and this is her. I swear it, Mom. This isn’t one of my hallucinations.”

Quinn turned her head and pulled back her hair, showing them the birthmark. But she knew even that could be manufactured with some ink and a good artist.

Noah was stone silent. Quinn wondered if he was going to call her a liar, a charlatan, and try to run her off his beach. But he did none of that. Instead, he spoke to Jules, though his eyes never left Quinn. His words were laced with tears.

“Jules, I think this is real. She looks