Page 71 of Big Island Weddings
She had eventually gotten used to her height, and then she had gotten used to her body all over again as it filled out and she traded her adolescent clothes for roomier ones. She was used to being the tallest of her friends. But occasionally – usually around strangers who weren’t used to her – she revisited that sensation of being awkward and oversized.
It was one reason she loved being near Nate. He made her look normal; everyone else was tiny in comparison.
‘Olena caught her thoughts spiraling and let out a growl of frustration. She was a grown woman, not a frightened teenager. She would walk into the yoga class with her shoulders back and her head held high, the same way that she entered any room.
This was supposed to berelaxing.
She got out of the van, slammed the door behind her, and stomped around the corner in search of zen.
The yoga class, it turned out, wasn’tina room. People were spread out in three rows on a huge lanai that was open on three sides, surrounded by green.
“Auntie ‘Olena!” Juniper ran over and took her by the arm. “You’re here! Come with me. I saved you a spot.”
Unlike most of the women, Juniper wasn’t wearing skin-tight yoga pants or a tiny pair of shorts. Her pants ballooned out from her hips and then pulled together again at her ankles, coming in tight at the bottom of each leg so that they would stay in place if she turned upside down.
“Hello.” Emma looked slender and graceful in her yoga clothes. She’d actually been too skinny when she showed up a few months prior, still reeling from Adam’s death. She had put on a healthy amount of weight since then, and ‘Olena was glad to see her looking so well.
Still, her eyes drifted back to Juniper’s slightly absurd, very comfortable-looking pants.
“Where did you get those?” she asked.
“These?” Juniper glanced down and pulled at the voluminous purple fabric.
“Yeah.”
“I bought them online.”
“What are they called?”
“They’re harem pants.” Juniper grinned. “You’ve never heard of harem pants?”
She shook her head. “I’ve seen them before, mostly in Puna. But I didn’t know what they were called. They look perfect for yoga.”
“They’re super comfy.”
“I bought myself a pair of yoga pants, but I’m regretting it.”
Juniper cast a critical eye at ‘Olena’s pants. “Those are more like leggings. The pants you wear most of the time are basically yoga pants.”
“Now you tell me.”
“Have you never been to a yoga class before?”
“Never.”
Juniper clapped her hands together. “Oh, you’ll love it!”
‘Olena set her teeth together, biting back theI doubt itthat tried to escape. She should have chosen another way to relax, something that involved being alone in nature.
She settled down on the mat that Juniper had laid out for her and copied Emma, who was bending almost double to stretch her legs.
‘Olena could barely reach her toes. When hadthathappened?
She was on her feet with kids all day, and she felt like she was in decent shape… but when was the last time she had stretched or moved her body in a deliberate way? She was always getting things done and never conscientiously taking care of herself.
She hardly knew where to begin.
There were a few familiar faces in the class, but no real locals. It was all of the people who had moved there in the past decade or so, driving up the cost of living and offering nothing back to the community.
