Page 19 of Big Island Weddings
Lani froze in horror. She had half a mind to scoop Rory up and bolt before she could say anything else, but her feet felt rooted to the floor.
“He’s my first dad but I never met him a-cause my mom forgot his name and so she never founded him, but now sheknowshis name except he says that I can call him Babbo because that’s what he callshisdad!”
Dread solidified in her stomach as she turned to look at Tenn. Fresh guilt poured in at the look on his face, confusion slowly giving way to hurt and fear.
She should have told him yesterday. She had tried, but she hadn’t been able to find the words, had selfishly hoped that Lorenzo would disappear.
She’d been scared.
“Now I have two dads!” Rory continued. “Well, I kind of have three, but one’s in jail.”
If her muscles hadn’t turned to lead, Lani might have laughed at the absurdity of it all.
Tenn cursed under his breath and turned back to the stove, where the last batch of tempura was burning and smoking. He turned the oil off and strode out of the kitchen.
“Stay away from the stove,” he snapped at the girls as he passed.
“I know!” Olivia snapped back, mirroring his tone. Lani just looked at him in surprise; she had never heard him speak harshly to the girls before.
It was a solid minute before Lani could force her feet to move and her voice to work.
“Hey Livie, how about we finish the sunomono a bit later? Are you two hungry for tempura?”
“I’m starving to death!” Rory shouted.
“I’m hungry too,” Olivia admitted, though she glanced worriedly at the doorway like she wanted to go find Tenn.
“I’ll make you plates, and then I need to go talk to your dad.”
She collected two piles from the first batch of tempura, which had already cooled, and added two small dishes of the girls’ favorite dipping sauce. Then she left them with their food and cold glasses of mamaki tea, and she went to find Tenn.
He was just past the front door, standing halfway down the steps like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to stay or go. His hands were deep in his pockets, his shoulders slumped. Lani thought of the scars beneath his shirt, so familiar to her now, and remorse twisted in her gut like a knife.
“I’m sorry,” she said to his back.
When he turned to her, there was no anger in his eyes, just hurt and bewilderment… which was even worse.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She took a step closer, but he pulled back.
It was just a small shift, but he had never pulled away from her before. The pain of it made her breath catch in her chest.
“I think I was in denial?” She struggled to put her overwhelm into words. “He just showed up out of nowhere. At the shave ice place, like Zeke–”
Tenn flinched at the mention of her ex-husband. “Did he threaten you?”
“No! No, it’s not like that. He seems nice, I guess. It was just so much to process, and so soon after Zeke. I went into such a panic, I wanted to run away screaming. Wanted to grab Rory and run. But I made myself stop and listen to him. He seems like a decent guy.”
Tenn’s face had softened as she spoke, but now a wall went up behind his eyes.
“I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you.” She stumbled over her words, trying to find the right combination of sounds that would erase that horrible, distant look from his eyes. “I was going to say something today, but then Rory blurted it all out. I should have known better. I was just in shock, I think? I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m still processing.”
“You should have told me,” he said quietly. “I would have gone with you.”
“I’m not sure that would have been a good idea.”
Something flashed behind his eyes. “Why?”
