Page 61 of Big Island Moonlight
Lani looked across the lawn at her daughter, who was pouring water over her head and laughing with Livie. They looked so happy that Luana climbed out of her mom’s lap and went to play – and she joined in without even sniping at her sister.
The thought of giving up even more time with Rory cut deep… but in the end, she just wanted what was best for her.
“How would you feel about that, Lani?” Mahina asked.
She shrugged. “Too soon to say. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
“But would it be hard?” the auntie asked with put-on concern. “Do you still have feelings for him?”
Lani huffed out a sigh. She hadneverbeen in love with Lorenzo. They had met once, one drunken blur of a night whenshe was young and foolish and lost. Now that she knew him better, she liked him as a friend and admired him as a father, but that was it. Sheadoredher husband.
All of that bubbled in her chest, but the only answer that she gave the nosy old woman was a terse shake of her head.
“Baby needs a diaper.” ‘Olena stood and took Edward from her mom. She tossed Lani a lifeline: “Would you give me a hand in the kitchen?”
Lani was on her feet in an instant.
“Thanks for that,” she said once they were inside.
“Girl, I wasn’t kidding. Would you throw me together a bowl of something from the fridge? I’m starved.
“Of course.” Lani opened up the fridge, which was packed full of various containers. She and Tenn hadn’t been the only ones making regular food deliveries.
By the time ‘Olena came back with a clean baby, Lani had made her a big plate of mac salad and roast chicken.
“Perfect,” her cousin said, handing Edward over. “Mahalo.”
Lani laughed as she accepted the hefty, sleepy newborn. “You’re welcome.”
They sat at the kitchen table, quiet for a minute as ‘Olena tore into a chicken leg.
“How are sales going?” she asked between bites.
“Not too bad. That little store in Hilo wants ten more, and a store on Maui said they’d buy a box.”
“And you’re selling direct, too?”
“Yeah, anybody can order online. The site I’m selling through does print on demand, so it’s easy. The trick is letting people know that they exist.”
“I liked that video you made, the coloring one.”
“Thanks.” Lani smiled self consciously. She had actually made dozens of videos – in addition to photos of finished pages – and was posting daily on various sites in an effort to get somekind of traction, but mostly her posts seemed to disappear into the ether of endless content the moment she hit publish. “I can’t seem to get many views anywhere.”
“What if you put something in the front encouraging people to share their own stuff? Like a QR code that takes them to your social media page, and then you share photos of what they’ve colored?”
“That’s… actually a really good idea.”
‘Olena scoffed. “That’s the only kind of idea I have.”
“Okay, okay. Don’t go getting a big head.”
“It’s proportional to the rest of me.” Her expression was thoughtful as she ate another bite of chicken. “What about pitching to art companies? You make a video that shows you coloring with their markers or pencils, they share it, everybody wins.”
Lani looked down at little Edward. “Your mommy’s a genius.”
‘Olena smirked. “And don’t ever forget it.”
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