Page 82 of Big Island Neighbors
“Oh. Okay. Rory’s not here either. Emma took her and Kai to the park.” She tossed the dirty rag that she held into the sink andused her arm to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “I have court in an hour.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.”
Lani looked at her blankly, and ‘Olena rolled her eyes again.
“I didn’t want you to be alone.” Her voice was aggravated, but Lani saw nothing but concern in her cousin’s gaze.
She was here to keep her company while she waited for her turn in court. Lani’s throat constricted at her cousin’s thoughtfulness, and tears pricked her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Will they make a final decision today?”
“Hopefully.” She cleared her throat and continued, “It all depends on the judge. We’re in kind of a gray zone, since Zeke isn’t her biological father. If I’m lucky, the judge will end things today. If she thinks that he has a claim, it could keep dragging out for months. He could even be granted visitation, or joint custody–”
“Don’t go there,” ‘Olena interrupted. She wrapped Lani in a fierce hug, then stepped back and smiled down at her. “I hear you finally put together a coloring book.”
“Who told you?” Lani exclaimed. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Nani at the print shop.” She grinned. “You know there are no secrets in this town.”
“I should have known.”
“So? Let me see it!”
“It’s just a prototype,” Lani hedged. ‘Olena gave her such a flat look of disapproval that she laughed and went to fetch the coloring book. “Okay, okay!”
She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and grabbed a spiral-bound notebook from the desk. The old staircase creaked and clattered beneath her bare feet as she hurried back down.
“Here.” She handed the coloring book to ‘Olena and fidgeted nervously as she opened it. “Maybe the pages don’t need to be so thick, but Rory hates it when her markers tear through the pages of those flimsy coloring books. They even have watercolor paper, and I was thinking that I could do a whole other one for watercolors. If this one even sells. I don’t know if anyone—”
“Lani,” ‘Olena interrupted. “These are beautiful. People will buy it. People will love it.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so. I’ll be your first customer. I’ll buy some for the co-op.”
“I’ll give you some. You don’t have to buy them.”
“I know. But I want to.” Flipping through the pages, she said, “You could put this up online too. For people all over to print them at home. Or find some company to print them and ship them out.”
“One thing at a time,” Lani said with a shaky laugh. “Let’s see if anybody on island buys them.”
“They will.” ‘Olena looked up with a gleam in her eye. “Where are your colored pencils?”
“Under the coffee table.” She watched as her cousin pulled out the colored pencils and flipped back to a favorite page. “Are you really about to start coloring right now?”
“Let’s pretend we’re eight again,” ‘Olena said with a grin. “Just for a while.”
Lani stood still for a moment, surprised and deeply touched that her cousin was trying so hard to help her keep her nerves in check.
She grabbed her phone, which already had an alarm set for five minutes before she had to call the courthouse, and then settled down on the floor next to ‘Olena.
The sturdy paper was printed on both sides, and ‘Olena was coloring a parrotfish that was nibbling on a piece of coral. Theopposite page showed ani’iwiin an?ohi?atree, so Lani selected a red pencil and started shading in the bird’s bright feathers.
A memory came to her, so sudden and bright that she froze. She and ‘Olena had sat just like this, in this room, at the same sturdy coffee table, coloring together while the adults chatted in the kitchen.
She could hear her mother’s voice, see her face shining with humor as she teased Auntie Mahina. The low rumble of Uncle John’s voice cut in, and everyone laughed. Adam was on the couch, slouched over some textbook, looking annoyed and amused at the same time.
