Page 20 of Big Island Sunrise
“Yeah.”
“Do you want a hug?”
He launched himself at her, pushed the blanket off of his head, and curled up in her lap. She rocked him gently, wiping the tears from his cheeks and kissing the top of his head.
“Maybe we should get some walkie talkies.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re like phones that can only call each other. So if you’re next door or if you’re inside while I’m milking, you can always talk to me.”
“Okay.” He sighed. “I wish I could call Daddy.”
Emma squeezed her eyes shut, swallowing back a sudden rush of tears.
“Me too, kiddo. Me too.”
7
Lani
The first place on her list was north of Hilo, just above a little blip of a town called Papa?ikou.
The rental was farther from family than she wanted to be, but the rent was reasonable. It was the best deal that she had found in her hours scouring Craigslist and Facebook groups.
Lani turned left and drove up the old plantation road. It was narrow, with small houses crowded along both sides and newer houses up above. The ocean flashed blue and bright in her rearview mirror. In the back seat, Rory hummed along to kids’ songs.
This property was way up at the top of the road, sitting on ten green acres of land with a view of the water. The century-old house had bright fresh paint. It looked idyllic surrounded by green sunshine and fruit trees. There was a trampoline back behind the orchard, level with the grass that grew up around it. She could hear the rush of a creek back behind the trees.
This was what she wanted for her daughter: a childhood full of warm rain and sunshine, feasting on lychee right up in the tree.
She walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. There was a slight commotion inside and then a woman came out, closing the door quickly behind her. She gave Lani a harried smile that did nothing to hide her stress.
“Hey there! I’m Tammy. You must be Maria.”
“No, I’m Lani. We spoke on the phone?”
“Yes, of course. Sorry, we have so many people interested in our private guest house.” She let them around the wraparound porch, keeping up an incessant stream of chatter. “Really I think we priced it too low, but rent is just absurd here. I wouldn’t feel good taking two thousand dollars for this little place like some people want, it’s just not right. We got lucky, my mother-in-law bought this property ages ago, before things went so crazy. She’s back on the mainland now, so here we are. Renting out the granny flat. It’s actually wherewelived, ironically. Well, that’s before she was a granny anyhow. Then we outgrew it – we have four boys – and finally graduated to the main house. But the guest house has a place in my heart, it really does. Come on inside.”
The place connected to the main porch, just behind the washer and dryer. Its front door was directly across from the back door of the main house, just a few feet away. She caught a glimpse of four boys sitting at the kitchen table, their father standing over them.
“We homeschool,” Tammy said. “Though sometimes I’m not sure why. It’s a fight to get them to do the littlest thing.”
She glanced through the window again at the four boys stuck inside on such a glorious day. But she shouldn’t judge. Living here, they probably spent nearly their whole lives running free, catching tadpoles in the creek. She turned back to her potential landlady.
“That’s what I’m planning to do with Rory. My cousin runs a co-op, lots of outdoor play and hands-on learning.”
“Oh, a co-op would be nice. We tried one up in Waimea, but it just didn’t click. Here’s that key! Come on through.”
It was an odd layout, a long rectangle that went from living room to walk-in closet to bathroom to kitchen to bedroom. But the living room and bedroom each had big glass doors that looked out on overgrown grass and blue sky, nothing in sight but nature. The kitchen window was the same.
“It’s so beautiful up here,” Lani said, watching a saffron finch land sideways on a stalk of cane grass.
“I like it!” Rory climbed up onto the queen-sized bed that took up most of the tiny bedroom. When she stood, she could look over the wall and into the kitchen.
A day gecko peered down at her from the rafters. Its bright green head was spotted with orange, and its huge black eyes were rimmed with sky blue. Rory squealed and clapped her hands together in delight, and the gecko disappeared.
“You take your time and look around,” Tammy said. “I need to get the laundry in before the weather changes.”
