Page 12 of Big Island Sunrise
The front path snaked through a garden paradise. Great green leaves the size of her son, hot-pink ti plants blooming from tall stalks, deep purple vines crawling through the shadows.
Huge bushy sunflowers grew en masse, and Tara plucked a leaf off one in passing. It was bigger than her outstretched hand.
“These make great fodder, and there are some other trees growing on the property that make for good high-protein feed. They like this pigeon pea too,” she said, pointing at another bushy plant. “The girls giving milk get some extra pellets on the stand, but the wethers are fine with just the cut and carry to supplement their weed eating. And some supplements, of course, but we can get into those later. Goats weren’t meant to live in the tropics, really, but they do alright. I’m finding that sheep are easier.”
It was all that Emma could do to keep up with the woman physically, never mind taking in a thing that she was saying. A mother hen scratched nearby, finding bits of food for her fluffy babies in the dirt. Her black feathers shone green and purple in the sunlight.
“Mom!” Kai ran up, more animated than she had seen him in months. “Look what I found!” He held out his hands to show her two eggs, one sky blue and the other sage green. “It’s like an Easter egg hunt every day!” He deposited them carefully in a basket that one of the girls held and then they were off again.
“The joy of free range chickens,” Tara said wryly. “They lay everywhere. The ducks too. Luckily the kids make a game of it. My girls can show you how to candle them using a flashlight and do a float test to make sure that they’re fresh. But once you find their favorite spots, you can collect every day and be sure of how fresh they are. They love to switch it up, though. Keeps us on our toes. If it weren’t for my girls, I’m not sure I’d get any eggs at all.”
They walked through the screened-in lanai and into the house, where they dropped the luggage at the foot of the stairs. It was a beautiful Balinesian-style house, all wood and windows, but it had seen better days. Every surface was cluttered with junk, and the sofas were covered in fur.
“I would have cleaned up for you, but it wasn’t my place to go through everything. And honestly, I haven’t had time. Pauline took some of the animals with her–”
“Pauline?” Emma asked.
“John’s girlfriend. You never met her?”
“No.” Guilt sank heavy in her stomach as she looked around. Between Adam’s work schedule and the chaos of everyday life, they hadn’t visited in years. They had made it out once just before Kai’s first birthday, and John had visited them once after that. But other than those two visits, there had been nothing but the occasional phone call or photo.
It felt shameful now, that they had let his last few years pass without a visit. They’d thought that they had more time, years and decades left to make up for those busy early years.
“She lived here for… close to five years? She was devastated after John passed, poor thing. They had two little dogs and a cat, and she took them with her.”
“Took them where?”
“Arizona. All the animals were hers, really – John was more about the trees – but in the end, the goats weren’t reason enough to stay. Not with John gone. Her daughter and grandbabies are over on the mainland, so she went to join them.”
“Hey Mom!” One of the girls ran in and set a full basket of eggs on the kitchen counter. “Can we show Kai the trampoline?”
“If that’s okay with his mom.”
“That’s fine,” Emma said, playing it cool.
The truth was, seeing Kai running around outside with other kids made her happy to the point of tears. Ever since Adam’s death, Kai had withdrawn from all of his friends back home.
Other parents showed up a time or two, offering to take him to meetups on days that Emma couldn’t get out of bed. But it was no use. Kai hid in his closet, under her bed, even under the house once. And eventually, people stopped offering.
“Okay if we run through everything now?” Tara asked. “I’m sorry to rush, it’s just that my friend Liam is coming to buy a lamb in about an hour.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Okay. Well, you’ll definitely want to stay in the main house. The‘ohanaunit’s in bad shape; I don’t think it has any electricity at the moment. The whole place needs some love, to be honest. The orchards and gardens are overgrown. It happens practically overnight here. The cane grass alone can grow four inches a day.”
She led Emma through the orchard and back to the goat pen, a generous green area that held five goats. They all came running when they spotted Tara.
“You could let the goats through the orchard if you’re careful to keep them off the trees. Or we can put my sheep through with one of my dogs. Have you ever milked a goat?”
Emma eyed them warily, unnerved by their strange serpentine eyes. “I have not.”
“No time like the present.” She opened the gate, and Emma followed her through.
5
Lani
It was another gray day, soft light filtering through the clouds. The uncles and aunties were gathered on a patch of grass above the ocean, preparing for the memorial service.
