Page 1 of Big Island Moonlight
1
Emma
It was such a gorgeous day that Emma couldn’t bring herself to climb into her car. Fluffy white clouds seemed to skim the top of the blue marble tree that shaded their verdant front yard. Even though it was late winter, the sky was a vibrant summer blue.
“Just another day in paradise,” she sighed contentedly.
“That’s what Daddy used to say,” Kai chirped from behind her.
Emma turned and smiled at her son. There was a sharp, twisting pain in her heart, but it hardly bothered her. Her grief was so familiar to her now, so bittersweet, that it couldn’t touch the happiness of the day.
“He said it all the time,” Kai continued, flicking overgrown black hair out of his eyes. “Strangers would say ‘How are you,’ and that’s what he’d say. I remember!”
“That’s what he’d say,” Emma agreed, squeezing his shoulder.
“Is it time to go yet?”
“It is if we’re going to walk.”
“Can Dio come?”
“I think that would be okay.”
“I’ll get his leash!” Kai sprinted up the porch steps with Dio right behind him.
The Belgian Malinois they had found when he was just a stray puppy was so well-behaved that he really didn’tneeda leash – would, in fact, pick it up in his mouth and give it back to Kai if he fumbled it – but having that tangible connection when they ventured beyond the property line seemed to make them both happy.This is my dog, it said.This is my boy.
They set off on foot, walking down the long green corridor of their street. Great walls of leafy podocarpus and flowering vines rose up on either side of them. An ocean breeze snuck through the greenery here and there, bringing salty fresh air that had picked up the scent of fruit and flowers along the way.
Emma’s heart felt buoyant in the sort of way that only came after times of great hardship. Like the near-floating feeling that came with shedding a terribly heavy backpack, she had developed an almost deliriously happy appreciation for simple pleasures.
Another day with her son, walking together beneath the clear blue sky… it was something she would never take for granted. It was something that Adam would never get. And she was determined to enjoy it enough for the both of them.
She walked up Fern and Ethan’s driveway with a gift swinging from one hand and Kai’s little fingers in hers. As soon as he saw the other kids, though, he was off and running.
“Hey Em!” Her twin brother greeted her with a broad smile and put his arms around her.
“Good morning,” Emma said, returning the hug. “Where’s the birthday boy?”
“He’s around here somewhere… kid loves getting passed from person to person. I remember Jun wouldn’t let anyone hold her but me and her mom, but Theo’s the opposite. He’s a little ham.”
Ethan beamed with pride and Emma looked at him – really looked at him for a moment. The dark circles beneath his eyes were long gone, and his skin was a healthy golden brown.
He looked a decade younger than he had eight months ago when he’d arrived in Hawaii, stooped beneath the weight of all he carried. It was astonishing to her, how much a person could transform in such a short time.
A happy shriek pulled her attention to one side, and she smiled at the sight of her nephew running towards her. Theo was surprisingly steady for a toddler who had only been walking for a few weeks. Given the quantum leaps that babies made from one year to the next, she shouldn’t be so surprised by how adults could make major shifts as well.
Theo flew forward, arms outstretched, and she caught him just before his face hit the ground. His musical baby laughter filled the air as she straightened up and brought him to her hip.
“I’ll just put this with the others,” Ethan said, picking her gift bag up off the ground.
“Thanks.”
Theo was wriggling to get down already, and she set him back down on the grass again. He ran towards the house, leaving a trail of laughter that was full of mischief and joy.
Emma followed, ready to scoop him up again if he fell.
“There you are!” Fern said when they came around the corner. She scooped Theo up – and this time, he didn’t fight to get down. Instead, he grabbed the silicone teething necklace that Fern wore and chewed on it, content to rest in her arms for a moment.
