Page 6 of Big Island Moonlight
The tall woman came around the tables to give Jun a sideways hug. Her pregnant belly was even bigger than Jun’s, but she carried the additional weight with ease. It hardly seemed to slow her down at all.
“How are you?” ‘Olena asked, peering down at her.
“I’m good. Business is steady today.”
“I’ll let you get back to it, then.” ‘Olena filled her oversized water bottle with mamaki, and the easy familiarity of that made Jun’s heart happy.
Every little reminder of the ‘ohana she had there eased her worries. Surviving there alone, raising a baby alone, was a task so daunting that she couldn’t wrap her mind around it. But she wasn’t alone. She had community. She had people who cared. And she was going to be okay.
“Where are the kids?” she asked, not quite ready to say goodbye.
“Over by the music.” ‘Olena dropped a ten-dollar bill into Jun’s tip jar and gestured across the broad green lawn to the band that was playing country songs peppered with Hawaiian words. “Some friends of ours are playing today, so we made the drive up. Every time I come up here, I wonder why we don’t make the drive more often.”
“It’s beautiful,” Jun said with a nod.
Cody came around the back of the tent carrying two massive trays of roast chicken and vegetables, and ‘Olena shooed her away.
“Go find a picnic table. Put your feet up for a minute.”
“I’ll work the stand while she eats, auntie,” Cody said.
“Both of you go eat.” Her tone left no room for argument, and so they shuffled off to find an open picnic table. As soon as they sat down, Juniper tore into her food. In that moment, the rotisserie chicken and roast yams seemed to be the most delicious thing that she had ever tasted.
“Have you been eating enough?” Cody asked, looking concerned.
Juniper gestured to her belly. She had to sit sideways on the bench to even be able to get to the table. “Do I not look like I’ve been eating enough?”
Cody didn’t answer.
“I ate a good breakfast before you picked me up. It’s just my stomach is so squished, I can’t eat very much at one time. So if I go like six hours, I’mstarved.” She punctuated that statement by tearing into a chicken leg like a feral cat. “I meant to bring snacks, but I forgot.”
“I’ll have snacks for you next time,” he promised.
She smiled at him and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “Thanks.”
“You should come over for dinner tonight. My mom’s making her breadfruit beef stew.”
Juniper popped a piece of yam into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“What? You don’t want to come?”
“Did Tara invite me?” she asked, still looking down at her plate.
“No. I’m inviting you.” Cody frowned in confusion.
Juniper was only able to meet his earnest amber eyes for a second before looking away. She sighed and said, “I don’t feel like I can just show up there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Cody, your mom hasn’t spoken to me since I told her I was pregnant.”
His mouth dropped open, and he quickly shut it again. He frowned at her, processing. “That can’t be right. Are you sure?”
She snorted a mirthless laugh. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
“She’s not…nottalking to you. It was just chaos with the move, and then–” He stopped talking when she gave him an exasperated look. “I mean, haveyoutried talking toher?”
Juniper shook her head.
