Page 77 of Big Island Weddings
He was right.
They had plenty of time.
29
Emma
“I’d love to help.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. It would be fun to spend time in an established orchard, especially with Juniper. How about I join you a couple days this week so you can show me the ropes?”
Nate picked her up in a crushing hug and released her a moment later. “I’ll go tell ‘Olena.”
He ran off and Emma smiled after him, trying to lean into her happiness for her community instead of the sudden crushing grief that threatened to hollow her out.
Grief was like that, slamming into her when she least expected it. It could be triggered by the smallest thing, like a hug. The knowledge that she would never feel Adam’s arms around her again sucked at every shred of happiness like a black hole.
She walked towards the river, trying to escape the great void of despair that had sprung up in her chest. Lord, but she wastired of grieving. It sucked the light away from every good thing in her life.
Adam would want her to be happy. He would want her to be present with their son. Kai had been robbed of his father far too young, and there was nothing that she could do about that. But she could do her best to ensure that grief didn’t rob him of his mother as well.
He was skipping stones across the calm bend of the river, or trying to.
“Try keeping it level with the surface of the water, like this.” Cody bent double next to him, showing him how he held his flat rock parallel to the river’s surface. He sent it flying with a flick of his wrist, and it skimmed across the top, skipping a dozen times.
“That’s amazing!” Kai shouted. He tried again, and this time the stone bounced once against the water before disappearing. “I did it!”
“Great job, bud!” Cody congratulated him.
Emma’s aching heart eased a bit. Kai didn’t have Adam, but he had her, and he had a solid community in Pualena. That counted for a lot.
“Mom!” He spotted her watching and ran over. “I skipped a rock! Did you see?”
“I did!” She caught him up in a hug and held him close.
“Cody showed me!”
“That’s awesome!” She released him, letting his feet touch back down on the rocky shore. “Hey, guess what?”
“What?”
“Prince’s grandma called and asked if he could hang out with us today. A friend of hers is going to drop him off, and then we’ll take him home after dinner.”
“What!” He threw his arms from side to side in a wild dance.
“Good news?”
“The best news! This is my good news dance! I’m dancing a little because I have to pee, but mostly from exciteness!” He paused and scratched his nose. “It’s like one fourth pee and three fourths excited.”
Emma laughed. “Come on. Let’s walk up to the bathrooms.”
Her heart was steady as they walked up the beach. The tidal wave of grief receded as quickly as it had arrived.
She wondered if it would always feel that way… if it would ever be less devastating.
When they got back to the reception, Lani and Tenn had finally come in from surfing. Lani had changed back into her yellow dress, and her hair was still streaming wet as she and Tenn cut their wedding cake. A cheer went up from the assembled crowd, and Emma and Tara set themselves to handing out slices of cake. Once everyone was served, they claimed the last two.
