Page 8 of Big Island Sunrise
Rory sniffed and nodded. She accepted the battered pink daisy and held it over her heart.
“Come on,” Olivia coaxed, holding out her hand. She was only a couple years older than Rory. Lani was touched to see how the older girls looked after the little ones.
Rory held the bigger girl’s hand and took a tentative step forward.
“Go,” ‘Olena whispered. “She’ll be fine.”
Walking away, Lani felt equal parts heartbreak and exhilaration. She had been with Rory all day every day for her whole life, and she still didn’t feel ready to let that go. But she had to work. And she was beyond grateful to be able to leave her baby in a beautiful place with family.
She had stayed in an unhappy marriage for years because that had been less painful than being away from her daughter every day. Leaving her baby under fluorescent lights in some overcrowded daycare was an option that she refused to consider. But leaving her to paint pictures with her cousins in the shade just steps from the beach… that was bearable.
It was a short drive from the beach park into town… if Pualena could really be called a town. Its commercial center consisted of half a dozen buildings on the main road that led straight from the highway to the coast.
Kekoa’s place was easy to find, freshly painted bright colors. A huge wooden sign readHaumona Shave Ice. It was still locked up tight, so she called her cousin.
“Lani,” he answered, “I was just gonna call you.”
“What’s up?”
“School called. ‘Iolani puked at recess, I have to pick him up.”
“Aw man, poor little dude.”
“Sorry I can’t come in early, but Hector will be there to open in less than an hour. You’re smart, you can learn on the job.”
“Yeah, no worries. Give ‘Iolani a hug for me.”
“Shoots.”
Lani hung up with a sigh. She was tempted to drive back to the beach, but showing up only to leave again a few minutes later would just make things harder for Rory.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that all she had eaten that day was half a papaya. Pualena Cafe was just across the street, so she went over to take a look.
The place was more or less how she remembered it, with wide windows in front and old diner-style booths running along either side of the long, narrow restaurant.
The menu looked like a fifth grader’s homework, plain black text on flimsy printer paper. She scanned the offerings as she slid into a booth. Utter lack of design aside, the revamped options looked to be a major improvement over the greasy burgers she remembered.
There was just one server working, and the place was mostly full. By the time he made it over, she knew what she wanted.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said brightly.
Face to face with her server, she felt something like regret. The guy was cute as hell, exactly her type. Or he would have been, back in the day when she had time for that sort of thing. He had an easy smile and an ageless face that could have been anywhere between twenty and forty.
“Start you off with a drink?” he asked.
“I’ll have aliliko’icane juice and the chipotle taro burger, please.”
“Great choice. Do you want cheese on that?”
“Sure.” She smiled nervously, waiting for him to run her order to the kitchen, but he stood still. His eyes were fixed on her face.
“You’re Lani King.” There was a hint of wonder in his voice, like some movie star had walked into the little restaurant.
“Yeah.” She held the menu to her chest, suddenly drowning in awkward guilt.
Running into old acquaintances was such a bittersweet part of coming home, and she felt terrible when she couldn’t remember a name. But this was worse. She didn’t recognize her server at all.
She racked her brain, running through her high school class, college friends, hercousin’s friends… but she had no idea who this guy was.
