Page 5 of Big Island Summer
“Granola bowls for breakfast, ceviche for second breakfast?”
“I like the way you think.” He went and rinsed his sandy hands in the ocean, then came back and prepared them two bowls of lilikoi yogurt topped with granola, papaya, andbananas. The fruit was from their backyard, and the other two ingredients were homemade gifts from friends. It was a delicious, deeply nourishing meal – but then, so was every meal that Tenn made.
The love that he poured into his food was one of a thousand things that she loved about him, and that list just kept getting longer.
He grinned cheekily when he caught her staring.
“What are you looking at?”
“You,” she said simply.
“What, do I have something on my face?”
“You do, actually.” She laughed and brushed a speck of granola off of his chin. “But that’s not why I was staring.”
“So?” he teased. “Why were you staring?”
“I love you is all.”
“Oh, is that all?” He leaned forward to kiss her and she breathed him in: tropical fruit and salt and sunshine. “I love you too.”
They spent the whole day doing a whole lot of nothing: walking the beach together, swimming in the crystal-clear water, feasting on the food that Tenn had brought.
It was a perfect day – but when they sat side by side, watching a Kona sunset set the sky ablaze, a certain restlessness crept into her heart.
Lani had meant what she’d said: she would rather camp on the beach than stay in some overpriced hotel up the coast. But there was one place in the world that she loved even more, and that was the home she shared with her husband.
She loved falling asleep beside him, wrapped in clean sheets listening to the coqui frogs sing outside, and she loved waking up to the sound of their little girls giggling down the hall.
“Thank you for making this happen,” she said, leaning into him and looping an arm around his bent knees. “It was the perfect getaway.”
“It was.” He put an arm around her and kissed her temple. Then he smirked as he said, “You want to go home, don’t you?”
She gave him puppy-dog eyes. “The tent is all sandy.”
“And you miss Rory.”
“I miss both of them.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in our own bed?” she asked. “We could pick them up early and take them out to breakfast.”
“I like that plan.” He kissed her again, then stood. “You enjoy the sunset. I’ll pack up before we lose the light.”
“I’ll help.” She pushed herself to her feet and turned away from the pink-and-orange sky. Tenn’s face, lit by that last fiery golden light, was more beautiful than any sunset.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” She smiled up at him, feeling happier than she ever had. “Let’s go home.”
3
Fern
Fern’s feet were heavy as she trudged up the stairs after class.
After the week she’d had, her students were the one thing that could buoy her spirits… but then they went home, and she was left feeling like a deflated balloon.
