Page 17 of Big Island Sunset
“Not tired of it, exactly.” She thought for a moment, trying to find the words for something that she had never said out loud. “It was more that I got to the point where staying in one place – building my own business, creating real community – felt like more of a change – and more of a challenge – than any new place would.”
“And? How do you like it?”
“I like it alright, but it hasn’t been very long. If the island kicks you out, I doubt you’ll have to work too hard to convince me to try someplace new.”
“If the island kicks me out, huh? Don’t you mean, if I run screaming from the mosquitoes?”
“People say you get used to them. After a while, your body stops reacting to the bites.”
Ethan snorted. “I’ll believe that when it happens.”
“Tired of life in paradise already?”
“Hawai’i was never my idea of paradise…” He trailed off and brought her hand up to his mouth, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “But I like it here.”
“Good,” she said. “I like it here too.”
Theo was fussing by the time they made it back to the parking lot. A fresh diaper cheered him up… until Ethan tried to put him into his car seat. Then he arched his back andwailed.
“Come on,” Ethan coaxed. “It’s a five-minute drive.”
Theo screamed louder.
“It’s tough going straight from the backpack to the car seat,” Fern sympathized. “Anyway, it’s boiling in there.”
Ethan sighed and pulled Theo back out of the cab of his truck. As soon as the baby was out in the fresh air, he was all smiles again. He babbled happily as his dad opened all four doors, letting the space air out, and then they joined Fern in the shade.
“You just needed a minute, huh?” She held her hands out to Theo, and he launched himself into her arms.
She laughed as she caught him, marveling at how much he had grown in the short time that she’d known him.
“You’re getting so heavy!” She dipped dramatically, giving him the feeling of falling while keeping her arms safely around his body, and he burst into peals of laughter.
Ethan smiled at them and then looked away, scanning the parking lot in search of something. He walked off, leaving them to play in the shade at the edge of the jungle.
Fern crouched down and set Theo on a clear patch of dirt, holding his hands to help him balance. He had started pullinghimself up to standing the week before, and it made him so happy.
“Look at you,” Fern cooed energetically as Theo bent and straightened his legs, bouncing himself up and down. “You’re standing!”
Theo beamed. His gummy smile was studded with six pearl-like teeth, and there was a dimple in one of his cheeks.
Fern had always known that she could love any baby like they were her own. She had felt sure of it when she tried to coax her ex into considering adoption. Even so, the love that she felt for Theo took her breath away. He wasn’t even hers – he had just appeared at her house one day as if by magic – but she loved him as if he was.
Ethan came striding back across the parking lot with two huge green coconuts, one in each hand. They were open at the top, and each one had a straw sticking out.
“The coconut guy was just getting set up for the day,” he said, handing one down to Fern. She sat down and pulled Theo into her lap.
“Thank you! I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.” She took a long pull from the straw, relishing the thirst-quenching power of the fresh coconut water. There was a sharp taste to it that could never be boxed or bottled. “Yum. That’s my favorite drink on Earth.”
“Noted,” Ethan said seriously. He had gulped his down so quickly that he was already dragging up the last drops with a noisy rasp of his straw.
Fern took a few more gulps, then paused when Theo tried to grab her straw.
“You want some?” she asked.
“Mamama,” he babbled, drumming on the coconut.
“Here.” She put her fingertip over the top of the straw, lifted it up, and dribbled some into Theo’s mouth.
