Page 97 of Big Island Summer
She was living in his childhood home, caring for his father’s goats and chickens, and tending to the orchard that had been Adam’s cafeteria and his playground when he was Kai’s age.
She was raising their son on her own, to the best of her ability. Kai was surrounded by love, connected to both sides of his family, and growing up on the same piece of land that had supported and nurtured his father and grandfather.
It wasn’t perfect – nothing was – but it was good, and it was beautiful. It was enough.
Eventually, she got up and went to finish unpacking. She was just walking out for the last load when her next-door neighbor came through the gate.
“Tara!” she set down the bags and went to hug her friend.
“Hey Em.” Tara squeezed her hard and then let go. “How was Punalu‘u?”
“We had so much fun! Thanks again for taking care of the animals.”
“Oh, Cody did all of that.”
“Well, thank Cody for me then.”
Tara nodded. Emma could see from the look on her face that something was bothering her.
“What is it?”
“Is Juniper okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is she here?”
“I think so, yeah. She caught a ride back with her dad earlier today. He was going to drop her off. I think she’s up in her room.” All through her babbling, the troubled look on Tara’s face didn’t change. “Why?”
“Cody hasn’t heard from her in a few days. It was kind of scaring him, since they’ve basically been joined at the hip all summer. Then I guess he saw her get home today, and she just went straight inside. Hasn’t answered his texts or anything.Maybe they’re too old for me to meddle like this – and I know Cody wouldn’t want me to – but he’s worried about her. Honestly, so am I.”
“I’m sorry she just ghosted him like that. That’s not like her.”
“I know she’s been going through a rough time. And I know grief doesn’t have a timeline, but… this feels different.”
“I’ll go talk to her.”
“I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
“No, please don’t be. I’m glad that she has so many people watching out for her. Lani’s better at talking to her than I am, and she obviously loves spending time with you. After all she’s been through with her mom, I’m grateful that she has amazing women in her life.”
“Okay, good.” Tara seemed to relax a bit.
Emma said goodbye, gave her another hug, and went looking for her niece.
“Hey Jun?” Emma stood at the top of the second flight of stairs and tapped on the door to the third-story bedroom, a sweet little tower that overlooked the orchard. “You in there?”
She opened the door. “What’s up?”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Juniper retreated to the narrow bed that lay beneath the window.
It did Emma’s heart good to see how much her niece had settled into the room. There were bundles of herbs hanging from the ceiling and books stacked on every surface. Photos of her and Cody were pinned to the wall, and a hand-knit blanket softened the bed.
“I just wanted to check in.” Emma turned the desk chair around and sat down. “How are you doing?”
Juniper opened her mouth and closed it again, fidgeted, and gave her a tight, apologetic smile. “I’m okay, Auntie Em. The past few months have been a lot, but I’m okay.”
