Tiare in Bloom (30 page)

A
s expected, the news about Materena’s father and sister being in Tahiti was on the coconut radio quick-smart. This explains
the gathering of hundreds of Materena’s relatives at her fibro shack behind the petrol station not far from the church, the
cemetery, the international airport, and the Chinese store.

Poor Tom Delors looks bewildered. He came here to meet his daughter — not her entire tribe! But as they say in Tahiti, this
is family.

The last time Tom was in Tahiti, he didn’t get much attention. Actually, the last time he was here, Tahitian people only gave
him quick glances. Sometimes the glances were despising, other times angry — especially when he was in the company of his
beautiful Tahitian girlfriend, Loana. But back then, he was just a nobody
popa’a, farani taioro
in Tahiti for military service, giving local women a bad reputation.

He is now Materena’s father, half the reason she is on this earth today. He is the grandfather of Tamatoa, Leilani, and Moana.
He is the great-grandfather of Tiare. He is
somebody.

Materena’s tribe want to touch Tom now, kiss him, hold him tight, make him feel welcome, look him right in the eye and remember
him until he dies, even years after. Forever, actually. This is how Tahitian people remember their loved ones — forever.

As for Tom’s youngest daughter, Térèse, she is Materena’s sister. There’s no half-sister in the story, because here in Tahiti
siblings are siblings full stop. They are not halves. And of course, everyone present agrees that Térèse is beautiful. She
is beautiful because she smiles a lot, kisses the children with affection, and holds the hands of the elders with respect.

Tom is a bit more reserved, he took half a step back when Mama Teta threw her arms around him as if she knew him well. But
give Tom a few more days and he’ll be throwing his arms around Mama Teta like a long-lost friend because by then he
will
know her well. She will have told him the whole story about how she lost her husband very young and raised their four boys
on her own, how none of her boys has ever done time at the five-star hotel.

Unfortunately, Pito’s mother, present today representing the Tehana tribe, can’t say the same, but that isn’t the reason why
Mama Roti didn’t throw her arms around her daughter-in-law’s French father. For some reason, Mama Roti — who has never been
shy in her entire life before — got a bit embarrassed before the tall, handsome Frenchman. She gave him two shy kisses and
then scurried away to the kitchen to help Moana with the food preparation.

Next in line to meet the famous Tom Delors was Materena’s favorite cousin, Rita.

After Rita greeted Materena’s father, she introduced him to her heavily pregnant (as usual) cousin Giselle. Well, Tom couldn’t
hide his look of horror when Rita told him that she and her man, Coco, were going to adopt Giselle’s new baby because they
couldn’t have children, while God is giving Giselle a child every year.

“What?” asked Rita when she saw Tom’s expression. Was it fine for his people to come to Tahiti to adopt Tahitian babies but
shocking for Tahitian people to offer each other their children? Ah, if only Tom was staying for longer, he’d understand that
Giselle’s gift was one of love.

For Giselle is not discarding her child,
non,
she is offering her child with all her heart and soul so that her cousin’s life doesn’t remain empty.

Giselle knows that this child in her belly is about to embark on a wonderful journey as Rita and Coco’s child. And she is
so tired . . . And since she’s bound to fall pregnant next year because all she has to do to fall pregnant is look at her
husband for two seconds, and since Rita and Coco want two children, then Giselle is likely to offer them her next child too.

If people are going to have two adopted children, they might as well be siblings. That is Giselle’s thinking anyway, she explained
to Tom.

When Tom shook Loana’s hand, he did it the way
popa’a
do when they want to say, Pleased to meet you, how do you do? But then again, Loana didn’t lean forward to offer her cheeks
for the two kisses that say, So pleased to see you! And how
are
you? You’re good, my friend? Those two just shook hands and shyly smiled. You’d never know they’d once seen each other naked
and done all the intimate things lovers do in the throes of passion.

But give Tom and Loana a few hours alone together and who knows what might happen? Or anyway, so say Mama Teta and her gang
of
memes
all dressed in their pretty floral dresses. That Tom Delors, they say, he’s nice to look at and so is Loana. Put one and
one together and magic might happen again, as it did forty-two years ago on the dance floor at the Zizou Bar.

And even if none of that sort of magic happens, there will be a strong connection between those two now, the connection a
man and woman feel whenever they talk about their child. And of course Tom will laugh at the stories Loana will tell him about
his daughter as a very curious child asking couples in the truck, “Are you two married?” And he will, for certain, feel a
twinge of sadness that he wasn’t around to tell his daughter that worms have no eyes, two plus two equals four, and that
A
is for
arbre.

Perhaps too he’ll ask Loana why she didn’t tell him about their daughter earlier, and she will shrug, as Tahitian people do,
meaning, I didn’t think to do that, I just moved on with my life. He might then say, But I could have helped you . . . financially,
and Loana is sure to get her claws out. “What are you saying?” she will bark. “My daughter never went hungry! She never had
to walk around naked!”

It will be in Tom’s best interests just to concentrate on what a wonderful, wonderful job Loana has done raising their daughter.

Well, anyway . . . finally all the introductions to the Mahi and Tehana clans are complete, and it is time to pose before
Pito, designated photographer.

“Photos?” asks Tom, sounding surprised. “With all these people?”

Well,
oui,
with all these people. Why do you think they’re all wearing their best clothes? To go for a walk?

“How will we all fit in?” Tom, sounding even more surprised, asks.

“We’re going to take turns, that’s all.”

Okay, everyone, ready?

First photo session, and Pito tries very hard to focus on the people he’s about to immortalize, but really, what’s with Loana
now? Smile! She looks so uptight. Mama Teta still has her famous bright smile on now for the camera. You can always count
on Mama Teta to smile, and her smile is so real, unlike Pito’s mother’s smile. Then again, Mama Roti might still be feeling
shy. Mama shy? Pito laughs in his head. What’s next? Chicken with teeth?

Allez,
time to get serious . . . ah, Pito is so happy for his wife, and she is so beautiful, and look at her father holding her
the same way he’s holding his other daughter, the daughter he raised on his own. And Ati eh, it’s clear to see that he likes
Materena’s little sister . . . well good luck to him!

Next to Ati is Pito and Materena’s son-in-law, Hotu, looking a bit gaunt, a bit sad.
Eh bien,
Hotu has just come back from his trip to France to see his girlfriend, Leilani, and he must be missing her already. A lot
of people are missing Leilani, it’s not just her lovesick boyfriend, who jumps on the plane to France every three months for
a short reunion with that girl he can’t get out of his mind.

It would be so wonderful to see Leilani home, but Leilani has a rule. She will not come home until she finishes her studies.
She’s afraid that if she comes home, she won’t want to leave . . . and then will live her life with regrets.
Aue,
children, eh?

Ah, and there’s Pito’s little angel, his ray of sunshine, the apple of his eye, his beautiful granddaughter, Tiare, laughing
her head off because she’s sitting on her father’s shoulders and he’s bopping around — and she’s so scared of falling off
but it’s so fun, Papa! Again!

And it’s great to see Moana, that boy has sure grown, he’s a man now, a happy man too, for the woman he loves loves him back
with the same passion. Pito, his eyes darting back to his wife’s, thinks, I’m a lucky man too.

“Ready?” he calls out.

“
Oui!
” everyone shouts back.

“Okay, say
fromage!
”

“
Fromage!
” they call back, laughing, Hotu included.

Pito raises the very expensive Canon camera he borrowed from Ati, and the thought that comes into his mind, right now, right
this second, is . . .

Life can’t possibly get any better than this.

This book, which is about the relationship between a man and his granddaughter — his redemption, his chance from the sky to
become a better man — was a lot of fun to write.

I’m a great-auntie, though I’m not even forty years old yet! To watch my male cousins become grandfathers is just amazing
— sometimes it’s hard to recognize them from the coconut heads they were as boyfriends, husbands, and even fathers. I’m told
this wonderful transformation isn’t just typical of Tahitian men . . .

My eternal gratitude goes to my very good friend and agent-with-a-mission, Louise Thurtell, for her huge support with my writing
and many other parts of my life. One thing is for sure, Louise, we will remember 2005 forever!

Special thanks to my dedicated editor, Amanda Brett. This is our second novel together, and we survived! The editor-writer
relationship can be extremely challenging, as writers are often very sensitive about their work. Amanda, you are a professional
with great people skills. I’d work with you anytime, baby.

My publicist, Gemma Rayner, the one and only, you are just sensational, girl. That taxi ride in Melbourne was very interesting
indeed!

Michael Heyward and the whole Text team, thank you so much for launching me onto the international stage.

And as always, a big MAURURU to my family and friends for their undivided attention whenever I passionately go on (and on
and on) about my fictional characters as if they truly existed.

And finally, to a very special little girl, Jenna Mack, who provided much inspiration for my portrayal of Tiare in these pages.
Jenna, you brighten up my life, sweetheart!

Reading Group Guide

Tiare in Bloom

A novel by

Célestine Vaite

When we meet Pito in
Breadfruit,
he’s in his thirties. In
Tiare in Bloom,
Pito is in his forties, and it’s time for some serious changes.

The idea to write my third novel in the Materena trilogy from Pito’s point of view came to me after one of my closest friends
asked, “What’s your next book about? What about Pito? Will we ever hear his voice? What’s in his head? Sure, he’s sexy, but
what else have you got, Pito? Talk to me, Pito.”

And I thought, Of course! I will put myself under Pito’s skin and write from his point of view. I will redeem him. I will
make him shine!

The next question was, How?

Pito likes to go out drinking with his
copains,
well, not anymore, Pito, because I’m breaking one of your legs. That way, you’re going to be bedridden and see what a loving
wife you have looking after you and everything. But I could see Pito hobbling out of the house with his other good leg, so
I broke both his legs.

There.

So here was Pito, stuck in bed and talking a lot of wind talk to Materena, and after two chapters, he got on my nerves.

Time to get out of bed, Pito!

Next, I thought that a separation might work better. I wrote the chapter of the separation, with Materena banging pots and
pans and chucking Pito out with his ukulele, lots of drama, as you can imagine, but I’m Tahitian, I can do drama easy.

Poor Pito, here he was, sobbing on his mother’s sofa, but next he was having a party, going on, Woohoo! I escaped!
Vive la liberté!

Pito’s redemption looked like it wasn’t going to work, so I put the idea aside, gave my house a big cleanup, and opened myself
to the universe.

Not long after, I went home to Tahiti for my family injection and work, and who do I bump into by the side of the road but
my cousin George with his newborn granddaughter, and what a transformed man my cousin was! Long gone was the tough coconut-head
George, who wanted nothing to do with his children because beer with his
copains
sounded so much better and because that’s what
real
men do.

And because our culture allowed him to. It’s almost like, as a grandfather, a man is finally free to show his sensitive nature,
it’s culturally acceptable, people aren’t going to think he’s a
mahu.

Cousin George wasn’t the only man transformed in my neighborhood. I was, at the passionate age of thirty-eight years old,
a great-auntie to a few
bébés.

I came back to Australia thinking, That’s it! Pito, my friend, you’re going to be a grandfather.

Next question was, Okay, which one of his three children is going to have a baby?

It couldn’t be Leilani,
non,
she was busy studying, and I had other plans for her, no way I was going to make her fall pregnant, and it couldn’t be Moana,
he’s such a sensitive character. I just couldn’t picture Moana as an absent father. This meant that Pito wouldn’t have much
to do at all, except say, “Here I am, give me the baby, I’m going now, here’s your baby back.”

Tamatoa, then? In France doing military service . . .

I was very conscious to be careful with Pito’s transformation. It had to be gradual and real. None of the “he wakes up one
sunny morning and he’s a new man” kind of thing. It had to be believable, and that is why his granddaughter, Tiare, arrived
in his life the way she did. She couldn’t have arrived any other way.

And I knew, I knew in my heart, my soul, right down to my blood vessels, that I was on the right track when I burst into tears
writing the scene when Pito puts his three-month-old granddaughter to bed.