Page 61 of Big Island Horizons
When ‘Olena drew closer, the whole crowd burst into applause. She gestured for silence, embarrassed.
“Thank you for coming today, and for making this possible.” She kept her acknowledgement short and sweet. “Let’s open these doors!”
When ‘Olena used the key she had wrested from the council to undo the padlock and unchain the doors, a cheer went up from the crowd. It started with the adults and moved through the kids, who didn’t fully understand what was happening but were happy to add to the noise.
As soon as the doors were open, the kids ran through.
‘Olena had spent a good part of her weekend setting up the two rooms that would be used by the playschool. With help from Lani and Georgia and Nell, she had brought in rugs and set up tables for the kids to work at. Art supplies lined the walls, and the cabinets were stocked with games and puzzles and math manipulatives.
The second room was dedicated to big, messy play, with bare floors and plenty of materials. There were piles of cardboard boxes, bottles of paint, rolls of tape, and a variety of recycled materials to build with. Half of the kids immediately threw themselves into creating a cardboard castle while the others explored the room across the hall.
Nate came to stand beside her, his smile warm. “You did it.”
“Of course I did.” She kept her voice and expression flat. “I can do anything.”
“I know you can.” He was cheerful, unphased by her attempts to stonewall him. It almost made her smile.
Almost.
If the man thought that he could weasel his way back into her life by playing the attentive father for a few weeks, he had another thing coming.
He had been gone so long that just being home felt novel to him, and winning her over was an exciting challenge. But it wouldn’t last.
Just when the girls got used to having him around, he would find a reason to leave again.
And ‘Olena would be left to pick up the pieces.
But in the meantime, she couldn’t tell her daughters that Daddy wasn’t allowed to help out with the co-op alongside the other parents. She just had to endure him. Eventually, he would lose interest.
It made her chest ache, watching him be the father she always knew that he could be. And yes, there was a foolish corner of her heart that longed to give her children an intact family, the warm sense of safety that she had felt growing up with two wonderful parents who loved each other deeply.
But if she gave in, if she gave her girls any indication that Mommy and Daddy were getting back together, it would break their hearts all over again when he left.
Except this time it would be worse, because this was the longest that they had ever had their dad home. And they were older now. They would suffer longer and remember that heartbreak for the rest of their lives.
She refused to do that to them, to let that delusional thread of hope cause unnecessary heartbreak and upheaval for her girls. And so she treated Nathan with the same cool courtesy that she did every other father who occasionally showed his face at the co-op.
The smallest smile could give a man the wrong idea and cause needless headaches for her. She saved that warmth for the kids.
“Auntie ‘Olena!” Shoshana ran over to show her a watercolor rainbow she had painted over a forest of red-spotted trees.
“How beautiful!” she exclaimed. “Is this an‘ohi?aforest?”
“Yes!”
“I love it. Do you want to take it home or hang it up here in the classroom?”
“Here in the classroom!”
“Go on, hang it up.”
“How do I hang it up?”
“Look at this.” ‘Olena led her over to the far wall, where she had draped thin wires lined with clothespins. “You can use these.”
Shoshana peered up at the wall. “Can you put it at the top?”
“Sure, I can hang it up here.” She took the piece of watercolor paper and carefully clipped it onto the topmost wire.
