Page 1 of Big Island Sunset
1
Emma
Auntie Em… I think I’m pregnant.
Emma sat frozen in shock as Juniper’s words echoed in her mind.
Beyond the tower room’s four-paned window, it was a perfect end-of-summer day. The sky was a vibrant blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds. Down below, the orchard shone a vibrant shade of green, dotted with golden bananas and sunset-colored papayas.
She remembered a bright autumn day eighteen years before, when her twin brother stood in front of their parents and told them that his seventeen-year-old girlfriend was expecting a baby. Their mother had retreated into an icy silence while their dad, usually so easygoing, shouted recriminations.
Ethan had moved out that same day. He’d crashed on a friend’s couch until he found a place that he could afford, a yurt in the woods where Juniper was born about six months later.
“Auntie Em?” Juniper’s voice was shaky.
Emma blinked and refocused on her niece. Jun was sickly pale beneath her freckles.
Behind her were a dozen photos of her and the neighbor boy: Juniper and Cody jumping from waterfalls, working their first farmers market, beaming down at her from the wall.
That carefree girl hardly resembled the careworn young woman in front of her. For the first time, Emma noticed the dark circles beneath Juniper’s eyes.
How had she failed to notice so much?
A tear streaked down Jun’s face, breaking through Emma’s shock. She moved to the narrow bed and sat beside her niece, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“We were careful,” Jun said on a sob. “I don’t know what happened.”
“Are you sure that you’re pregnant?”
“Pretty sure.” Her voice shook.
“Okay. First step, I run to the store and get you a test.”
“I feel like I know already.”
“We’ll get a test, just to be sure. And then we’ll make you a doctor’s appointment.”
“I hate doctors,” Jun keened, folding forward.
Emma pressed her lips together, staunching the flow of practicalities and planning for the moment. She rubbed Juniper’s back while she sobbed.
When Jun finally quieted, Emma went quickly down the stairs and returned with a box of tissues.
“Thanks.” Jun accepted the tissues and blew her nose. Emma settled into the chair across from her.
“How long have you known?
Juniper sniffed and wiped her eyes. “A couple of weeks, I guess.”
“That’s a lot to carry all on your own for two weeks.”
“I thought I might be wrong. But I’ve never been this late, and I’m nauseous all the time.”
“Morning sickness?”
“All the time,” she repeated with emphasis. “I haven’t been throwing up like they do in the movies. It’s just this constant nausea that’s enough to make me miserable but not enough to make me puke.”
“That’s how I felt with Kai.” Emma sighed, looking at her niece with compassion.
