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Nani only puts up sort of a fight when Lilo comes into the room waving a flyer over her head proclaiming the opening of the Hunka Hunka Chilly Love Shaved Ice and Mini Golf Course. It’s on the opposite side of the island; it’s a long drive from here to there. It’s probably too expensive. How will she get off work? But Lilo is Lilo, and soon Nani is graced with the sight of Stitch in his Elvis costume, strumming along to the ever-present commercials that confronts her every single time she turns on the TV set.
David helpfully steps in when Lilo starts loudly enthusing about the Graceland Double Dip over a shared dinner. “I think I can get us both off work,” he said.
Nani’s fork freezes halfway to her mouth. “You’d talk to my boss? But…”
“I know, but he owes me a favor. You can take off from the surf shop, I can take off from the luau…we can hold hands and eat ice under the stars.”
Stitch made a gagging noise, which Lilo echoed while rolling her eyes, a spear of broccoli dangling from the corner of her mouth.
“Oh, hush, Stitch! I think it’s sweet!” Pleakly offered from the other side of the table. “Young love!” he said, his voice fluttering.
“Thank you,” Nani snorted. “Lilo, swallow and chew, please.”
Lilo did so reluctantly.
“It might be good for Little Girl to see other side of island,” said Jumba. “More experiments she might be able to find.”
“Do you want us out of your hair for a day?” Nani asked.
“That’s impossible! He doesn’t have hair!”said Pleakly.
“I am planning on testing my newest nuclear depositor,” Juumba said. “It is run by…” Nani and David and Lilo nodded as he explained the particulars of his latest device. When he finished, they cleared the table. Nani did the dishes and weighed months of Lilo making her summer vacation a nonstop begging fest or nipping everything in the bud right off.
Maybe Juumba had a memory ray she could test out on her boss….
****
“Okay, did you wash your hands? Did you go to the bathroom? Do you have your shoes on? Did Stitch watch his tongue?”
Nani was sitting in the front seat of David’s car while Pleakley and Juumba loaded the car, and Lilio had her sunglasses on. Stitch was copying her, his sunglasses on crooked – he corrected and pushed them back onto the bridge of his nose with his tongue.
“YES! Can we go already?”
Nani glanced at David. He nodded, and she squirmed into place and clipped on her safety belt. “Are you sure you don’t want to come, Jumba?”
“I will be fine at home, holding up fort,” he insisted with a wave of his hand. “You and Little Girl and Experiment 626 have fun,” he said.
Nani waved as the fivesome left their friend behind. Nani sat up confidently and sang along to the song on David’s radio.
Things suddenly seemed a whole lot less disastrous.
***
The trip was a disaster. Stitch wanted to stop and smell the scenery every few minutes. Lilo was starving and ordered too much food, making herself violently sick. Pleakly insisted on photographing every single inch of the island as they trucked along. By the time they reached the stand, they were a sorry, sweaty, pale lot.
But somehow, something about the journey had been wonderfully worthwhile. They’d made it. Lilo had perked up and was running around to grab a putter. David was renting them shoes. Pleakly was smiling and had actually put down the camera. And Stitch was nudging her hand, asking for her attention.
He wanted her to get him a cone.
Nani thought that she would, just to keep him occupied. If they didn’t have a full-out alien invasion, everything should turn out just fine.