Page 21 of Big Island Sunrise
Lani looked around carefully. The kitchen was small but workable. The whole place was. And they wouldn’t spend much time inside anyhow, in a place this beautiful.
“Is this our new house?” Rory asked.
“Maybe. Let’s go talk to the lady.”
As they walked back out onto the shared porch, a little boy pushed through the screen door. He was just a bit older than Rory, probably five years old.
“Hi!” Rory said brightly. “What’s your name?”
“Billy. Want to catch lizards?”
“Okay!”
They inched down the steps, stalking a bright green anole lizard. It flashed the red dewlap on its neck in and out like a folding fan. Just as Billy got close enough to catch it, his father burst through the screen door and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. Lani flinched and stepped backwards, startled.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the man shouted.
Rory ran to hide behind her mama’s legs.
“Stop!” Billy fought like a wild thing, slapping and scraping at his father’s arm as he was dragged backwards into the house. “Stop it!”
“Four lines! It’s not hard! Are you stupid? Or just lazy?”
Lani stood frozen in place as the screen door slammed shut behind them. Her heart was racing, cortisol pumping through her veins. After the past couple of years with Zeke, it didn’t take much for her body to go into full flight or freeze.
“I am so sorry about that!” Tammy’s voice was overbright as she hurried up the porch steps. “Those boys just do not listen. All I wanted was one nice, quiet little girl. Like this one here.” She grinned at Rory, who whimpered.
“Thanks very much for your time,” Lani said quickly. She swung Rory up onto her hip and hurried down the front steps.
“Did you want to put down a deposit?” Tammy called after her. “There are other folks interested!”
“No thanks!” Lani yanked the car door open. “We’ve got a few other places to look at today.”
“Alright.” She deflated, her voice suddenly tired. “Well, you let me know.”
She went back into the house, and the clang of the screen door made Lani wince.
How long until her nervous system settled back into some semblance of normalcy?
“Get in the car, baby.”
Rory released her vice grip with some reluctance and crawled into the back seat.
Inside, Tammy cursed at her husband. “I told you someone was coming to see the guest house today!”
“And I told you I don’t want anyone living right on my ass!” he shouted back.
Lani’s hands shook as she clipped Rory into her car seat.
“Mama,” Rory whispered urgently,“I don’t want to live here.”
“Me neither, baby. Let’s see what else we can find.”
The first place that they visited in Hilo reeked of black mold and ammonia. The second turned them away as soon as they saw Rory, even though Lani hadsaidin her email that she was a single mother. The third, a room in someone’s house, informed her that both the kitchen and the living room were off limits.
Things didn’t get any better as they worked their way south.
One listing that had shown only a picture of the beautiful yard turned out to have no house at all. The five hundred dollars per month that they were asking for was simply to set up a tent or park a van on the empty lot.
