Page 82 of Big Island Sunset
“When was that?”
“Anytime we came to Hawai’i,” he said with a shrug. Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he reminded her, “My brother-in-law was ‘Olena’s cousin. They were close.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Fern looked out at the crowd, puzzle piecing the family tree together in her head. Sometimes it seemed like everybody in Pualena was related to everybody else in one way or another. It was hard to keep track of… and it was one more aspect of island life that left her feeling like she was always circling the outskirts of society without ever really becoming a part of it.
Patience,she counseled herself.
Theo stirred, and she rocked her body slowly from side to side.
She had never felt completely at home anywhere. Becoming a full member of the Pualena community would take time… not just because of them, but because of her. There was an internaladjustment that needed to happen, and she wasn’t sure what that looked like.
Maybe Ethan wasn’t the only one who needed therapy.
“Hey Dad!” Juniper jogged over looking happier than Fern had seen her in months. Emma and Lani followed, flanking Jun like her own personal guard. There was a slight apprehension in their expressions that relaxed when Juniper hugged her dad.
They all chatted for a while, the conversation loving and tense and amiable all at once, before drifting over to the food table.
“A lot of girls in your family,” she remarked.
“You haven’t even met my little sister Liz and her two daughters.”
“It’s quite the clan.”
“It’s something else,” he said with a sigh. “My dad wasn’t home much when we were growing up, so it was just me and my sisters most of the time. My mom was the type to send us outside until it was too dark to play.”
“I always wanted a sister.”
“I always wanted a brother. Adam evened things out a bit. I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time with him. We were so busy with our own lives, trying to get established. We always thought we’d have more time. Now he’s gone, my family’s split by an ocean, and Juniper’s starting a family of her own. It left me feeling… I don’t know what. Alone, I guess. Sort of lost.”
She squeezed his hand. “Just you and Theo against the world.”
He looked at her, his expression serious. “We’ve got you.”
“You’ve got me,” she agreed, grinning.
When she looked back at the crowd, she no longer felt adrift on a sea of people. With Theo’s fat cheek resting on her shoulder and Ethan’s strong hand in hers, she no longer felt alone.
“Should we go get something to eat?” she asked.
He nodded and let go of her hand. “I’ll make you a plate.”
She followed him, shifting Theo’s weight to give her right arm a break. Her muscles burned after holding him a while, but there was no part of her that wanted to put him down.
They settled down on a shady patch of grass with Emma and Jun, watching Kai and the other kids splash and play. Theo woke up happy and gobbled bits of food from their plates.
She wasn’t sure about the larger community; in many ways, she still felt like an interloper on the island.
But here, in this little family? This fractured, healing, vibrant group?
She was beginning to feel at home.
27
Lani
“Rory’s home!” Olivia shouted from the window.
Lani sprung up from the couch and went to the front door.
