Page 4 of Big Island Summer
She had fallen into the memory of that awful day that a friend had driven down the mountain to deliver the news in person: the wildfire was contained, but Adam hadn’t made it out. She’d dropped to her knees, right there in the street. Her brother and sister had held her together as she fell apart.
Awful memories of her own grief competed with memories of everything her brother had already endured, images of Ethan sobbing beside a hospital bed when they had nearly lost Laurel years before.
Slowly, as the storm of grief subsided, she was left with flashes of images from their teenage years: Laurel when she was young and bright and full of joy, the same age that Juniper was now. Seventeen-year-old Laurel with Juniper big in her belly, beaming with happiness at the unexpected experience of motherhood.
Emma’s heart ached with the grief of knowing that Juniper would never experience that version of her mother, bright and brilliant.
Juniper had never shared her father’s obstinate certainty that Laurel had made a full recovery, but she had always nursed a delicate hope that things would be okay.
With every bout of sobriety, Jun would slowly start to relax.Maybe this is it, they would think, time after time. Maybe she would finally have a mother again.
And now this.
Still on her knees, Emma pressed her face into the blankets and sobbed.
What was she supposed to tell her niece?
2
Lani
All week, the sky over Pualena had been low and gray.
Thick clouds and a steady drizzle gave their days a timeless, angsty quality.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, summer was in full swing. The sun blazed in an endless blue sky, its heat and light doubled as it bounced off of bright sand and turquoise water.
Lani lay sprawled in the warm sand, soaking up the Kona sunshine while she could.
“Hey there, beautiful.” Tenn dropped down onto the sand next to her, and she squinted to see him in the sunshine. Seawater dripped down the planes of his face and his bare shoulders, golden brown from hours and days spent out on a surfboard. Lani’s skin had the same healthy glow; after years of winter pallor in Alaska, it was beautiful to see.
“How’s the surf?” She had paddled out with him at sunrise, but when the break got crowded she’d opted to go back to shore and warm up.
“I caught a few more waves, but the wind’s picking up now.”
“Is it?” Her voice was lazy and languid as she closed her eyes and tipped her face up towards the sun. The high black lava rocks to their right shielded her from both wind and tourists, creating the perfect sheltered cove for sunbathing. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“This might be the most relaxed I’ve ever seen you.”
“Of course I’m relaxed. We’re on our honeymoon.”
“A three-day camping trip isn’t much of a honeymoon.” His tone was apologetic, even regretful, and Lani sat up to look at him.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be. You know that, right?”
“Not even one of those five-star resorts up the coast?”
“With all the tourists?” she scoffed. “Why would I want to be up there when we can sleep on the beach and listen to the waves all night? I saw a monk seal on my way to the bathrooms this morning. How’s a hotel supposed to compete with that?”
“Good point,” Tenn conceded. His grin was back, warming her more than a full day of Kona sunshine. When he leaned in to kiss her, though, his skin was still cold from surfing.
“You’re freezing!”
“I don’t feel cold.” He kissed her again, then leaned away. “But Iamstarving. Is there any ceviche left?”
“Yep, lots. I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Perfect. Let’s finish that off. Or should we eat the rest of that papaya first?”
