Page 62 of Big Island Horizons
“I’m gonna make another one!” Shohana raced back to the table where Paige and Rory sat painting.
‘Olena felt a deep sense of satisfaction watching the kids each do their own thing.
Her co-op had always provided the kids with a good mix of art projects and free play and nature, but being in a different space every day had limited the materials that she could offer at any one time. She loved the dynamic of this open and protected space, the kids all doing what called to them in that moment. Everything was in perfect flow – for the moment, at least.
She was also excited to get out and explore with smaller groups of kids, the way that she had back when she first started the co-op. Of course, to do that, she would need a dedicated teacher who could run things here while she took rotating groups of children out and about on field trips.
In the other room, the cardboard construction crew had split into two groups. On one side, Nate and their daughters and a few other kids were hard at work on their cardboard castle. On the other, kids were painting their own cardboard cars.
“These are amazing!” ‘Olena said.
“We’re having fun,” Nell said with a laugh. Her daughter, Cassie, was painting her car hot pink. Her baby was sound asleep on her back.
“You know, I’m going to need a second teacher to help me run the day to day.”
Nell clutched a cardboard wheel to her chest and looked up at ‘Olena with wide eyes. “Do you mean me?”
“Are you interested?”
“I could still bring Everett?”
“Of course. I can’t afford much more than minimum wage, but–”
“I’ll take it,” Nell cut in. “If I can bring my babies, I’ll take it.”
‘Olena grinned. “In that case, you can start today.”
21
Tara
The cows were gone to their new home, leaving Tara feeling somewhat sad but ultimately relieved.
The constant looming threat of veterinary bills that she wouldn’t be able to afford was a worrisome weight to carry. It was still a possibility – an inevitability, really, with the dozens of animals that remained – but offloading her hungriest animals took some of the pressure off. Without the cost of feeding the two cows, she might be able to get ahead financially, albeit slowly.
The sheep were next. They were much less trouble than the cows, and they kept the grass under control, but she had too many. If she could sell off about half of her motley herd, the land would be able to support them without her needing to buy feed.
After making sure that all of the animals had water, she stopped by the aviary to check on Lucy. She was surprised to see Cody inside, feeding her fresh papaya. The wound that the macaw had given him was still healing; he had a scab and an ugly bruise on his forearm.
“I see you two have made up,” Tara said softly as she let herself into the aviary.
“Mama!” Lucy greeted her, an echo of Cody’s early childhood that always softened her heart.
“She didn’t mean to hurt me,” he said. “She was just stressed.”
Tara patted his shoulder, then reached up to scratch Lucy’s beak.
She wanted to talk to him about his reaction to seeing her and Liam together, but she had tried to bring it up multiple times since then. Each time, he had shut down and made an excuse for why he needed to be someplace else.
She wanted to know if Liam’s hunch about Cody’s feelings for Maddie was accurate, but any mention of that was almost certain to cause him to shut down.
She wanted to poke and prod and nettle him into talking to her, but she knew that putting that sort of pressure on him would be the absolute worst thing that she could do. Instead of getting him to open up, it would only do the opposite.
So she just stood there next to him, watching Lucy eat papaya.
With Ricky still missing, she knew that the remaining macaw appreciated their company. Macaws were social birds, and she worried for Lucy’s health if Ricky disappeared for good. She would need to find her a companion, but she certainly didn’t want to start this decades-long cycle all over again.
Maybe a rescue macaw of a similar age… but she had no idea what it would be like to bring in a new bird or help them get used to each other.
