“We’re not fully booked, so I was able to shuffle people around and upgrade them to bigger rooms, which means that you’ll have yours back starting tomorrow.”
“Thanks.” She looked down at Kaleo, who was happily banging two pieces of tupperware against the kitchen floor. “It’ll be at least a few more days of jet lag anyway, so it’s whatever. We’ll sleep when and where we can.”
“What do you need right now? Food or a nap?”
“I would kill for a nap.” Akemi set her coffee cup down with a thud.
“Go ahead. I’ll stay with Kaleo.”
“Really?”
“Sure.” Anne checked her phone and found a confirmation from the other moms: Emma would swing by in a few minutes to pick Pete up for a day at the ranch. “I’ve got nothing going on.”
“You’re the best.”
“Go get some rest. I’ll save you a plate of waffles.”
Akemi crouched down to kiss the top of Kaleo’s head, then trudged up the stairs to get some much-needed sleep.
Anne handed her nephew a wooden spoon, which he drummed against metal pots and plastic bowls while she cleaned up after breakfast.
She perched him on the kitchen island, and he ate the last of the scrambled eggs and banana. Once he had eaten, she cleaned him up and carried him out onto the back porch. Immediately, he threw his weight backwards in an effortto escape.
Anne caught him in both arms, surprised by his strength.
“You’re an active kid, aren’t you?” She walked down the steps and set him down on the patchy back lawn. “You know, I think we’ve got a baby pool around here somewhere.”
She dug around in the carport, keeping an eye on Kaleo as he toddled around the fenced backyard, and finally found the little pool that had been used for other grandkids when they were his age. She washed it out, filled it up, and sat back in the sun while Kaleo sat in the pool and splashed. She tossed in a few plastic cups, and he set about pouring water from one to another with intense concentration.
The sun rose higher, and she pulled the pool into the shade of the house. The water sloshed, and Kaleo laughed.
Then she sat down on the steps, and admired the vast view that had shaped her childhood, perched there at the edge of the world. She enjoyed the cool breeze off of the ocean and breathed deep, letting her worries melt away.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Anne told her nephew. “You help me slow down.”
Kaleo ignored her. She didn’t mind.
It was a slow, lazy summer day – and Anne was right where she wanted to be.
6
Laurie
Even a dream life can start to feel dull when it’s lived on repeat, day after day.
Laurie adored her little bookshop, but that morning it felt very small.
Despite her protestations – all of her insistence that she didn’t need a car – she was excited to get out and see the machine that might suddenly expand her world from the small town of Pualena to the huge adventure that was the Big Island of Hawaii.
Her whole life lately was books and screens. She loved her work, but it was past time to find a better balance. It seemed a terrible shame to live in Hawaii and not spend adequate time outside… but when she lived in an idyllic cottage in the middle of a gorgeous garden, she rarely wanted to be anywhere but home on the small bit of time off from work that she allowed herself.
Living in such a beautiful place had made her complacent. Kekoa was right; shedidwant to get out and explore more often. And she wanted the independence of being able to go where shewished without begging favors from her family.
Zoe arrived right on time, and Laurie greeted her with enthusiasm.
Hi Zoe! Thanks for coming!
Sure, Zoe replied. Still signing, she said, “I like hanging out at the bookshop. It’s a nice change from tree trimming and all the manual labor I usually do.”