Page 68 of Big Island Weddings
Emma sighed in contentment as she wound her way through their lush front garden, cradling the adolescent kitten to her chest and soaking in the beautiful chaos of it all.
She was exactly where she wanted to be.
25
Lani
There was nothing like the rush of surfing. The wind in her face, the spray of the ocean, the sheer exhilaration of flying across the surface of the world propelled by a wave of water.
Lani felt seven seconds of perfect joy before her board flew out from under her and she tumbled into the sea.
Cold water enveloped her as she spun, momentarily losing track of which way was up. Then her board reached the end of its leash and the cord snapped taut, pulling her ankle towards shore. She got her legs under her and broke through the surface, coughing and snorting saltwater out of her nose.
Worth it.
Sunlight dazzled her as she opened her eyes. The light that danced over the surface of the water seemed as bright as the sun in the sky.
Lani pulled herself up onto her board and caught her breath. The deep green foliage and black volcanic sand of the beach drew her eye away from the bright glare of the ocean.
She spotted Tenn’s surfboard standing upright in the sand, then a second splash of color as Tenn shook out their picnic blanket.
“I guess it’s lunchtime,” she murmured.
Tenn waved at her from the beach, and she waved back. God bless that man for keeping her fed. She forgot to eat more often than not, and then she’d end up feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Not only did Tenn remember mealtimes; he made the best food on the island.
Better lock that one down.She could hear her mom’s voice as clearly as if she floated in the water beside her. It made her laugh and tear up, both at the same time.
Her mom had been gone for nearly twenty years now, and there were times that Lani struggled to recall her voice or her face. And then there were moments like this one, when it felt like they had just spoken yesterday.
Lani glanced over her shoulder, tempted to try for just one more wave, but a pang in her stomach told her to turn for shore. She paddled in, and Tenn ran to help her out of the wild shorebreak. He lifted her board under his arm with ease, and they walked hand in hand up the beach.
Their picnic blanket was waiting at the high point of the black sand, where they could see the crowd of surfers on one side and the calm riverbend on the other.
Lani scrubbed her skin dry with a towel before sitting down on the picnic blanket. She tilted her face up towards the sun, letting it bake away the chill that had settled into her ears and limbs after nearly two hours in the water.
“Thirsty?” Tenn handed her a big bottle of liliko’i cane juice, and Lani guzzled half of it down in one go.
“Ambrosia,” she said, putting the cap back on. “I could live on that stuff.”
“You’re not a hummingbird,” he admonished. “Here.”
Lani accepted the container he handed her and pulled off the lid to reveal a neat row of mutsubis: egg, tuna, and jalapeño tofu. She picked up the last one and took a big bite.
“You could sell these,” she said through a mouthful of rice. She washed it down with another swig of cane juice and continued, “You could add a to-go case and sell them as take-out lunches. People would love them.”
“I’m not sure they’d fit the burgers-and-fries cafe theme we’ve got going.”
“It’s thePualenaCafe,” she said, half serious and half teasing. “Mutsubis are never out of place in Pualena.”
“It could work. A small display case with bottles of cane juice, mutsubis, mac salad…”
“Try it! It’ll be a hit.”
They watched the surfers as they finished their lunch, sitting closer together than a blanket of that size truly required. Just to be in each other’s company with no kids and no work felt utterly luxurious, and Lani relished every moment of it.
The sun shone down, baking her swimsuit dry. By the time they were done with lunch, she was sweating.
“Race you to the river!” She was up and running before he could reply, moving as fast as she could over the blazing-hot sand and the smooth river rocks.
