Page 29 of Big Island Sunrise
“Are you starting Kai in the co-op?”
“No, I don’t think so. Getting him down here today was hard enough. But I want him to have more time with his cousins. Are you staying?”
“For a little while. I have work later.”
Emma opened the back door of her car. “Come on, come see your cousins.”
“No!” Kai pulled the door closed again, but Emma caught it.
“Kai, please. It’ll be fun.”
“No! I hate it here!” He wrenched the door shut.
“We had a similar morning,” Lani said. “Rory used to bound out into the snow like a husky, but a bit of warm rain in Hawai’i and suddenly she’s the wicked witch.”
“What?”
“I’m melting!” Lani croaked, lifting her arms to shield herself from the mist that hung in the air. Emma laughed and shook her head. Lani straightened up and asked, “Is he having a hard time adjusting to life in a new place?”
“He’s having a hard time adjusting to life without his dad,” she said in a low voice. Lani put a sympathetic hand on her arm as she continued, “It was even worse in California. He’s been doing better here. We both have. He’s happy enough when we’re home – at John’s place, I mean. He adores the little girls who live next door. But if I try to get him to do something that he doesn’t want to do, it’s just a nightmare. Especially getting in the car and going anywhere. I don’t know why it’s so hard.”
“It’s normal.”
Emma slumped against the back of her car. “My mom keeps sending me articles on oppositional defiant disorder and treatment plans.”
“Yikes.”
“Yeah. She thinks she’s being helpful. She’s not.”
“He’ll come around, Em. It takes time.”
She frowned, looking over her shoulder. “Whose dog is that?”
Lani turned to see a puppy slinking closer. He was half grown, maybe six months old. Beautiful, like a German Shepherd but sleeker… and so skinny she could see his ribs. He crouched down in a submissive posture, tail wagging nervously.
“Emma, you came!” ‘Olena walked up and hugged her, then turned to Lani. “Do you have the baking soda and vinegar?”
“No. Are they still in the car?”
“Must be.”
“Hey, do you know whose dog this is?”
She frowned at the puppy, who was still hovering nearby. “Someone dumped him a couple months ago. Lady who lives nearby feeds him, but she can’t get close enough to grab him.”
“He’s skinny,” Emma murmured.
“He’s got worms, probably. Lani, will you give me a hand with the science stuff?”
“Sure.”
As they walked away, she heard Emma’s car door open behind her.
“Kai, are you going to eat that quesadilla?”
“No!”
“Do you want to toss it to this puppy?”
