Page 63 of Big Island Moonlight
“That or the goats.”
“I finished with them a while ago.”
He put a hand on her jaw and kissed her gently, slowly. When he let up and the world rushed back in, he smiled at her dazed expression.
“I’m headed to drop some things off at the market. Just thought that I’d stop by… well, for that, mostly.” He grinned again and brushed his knuckle along the line of her jaw. “But also to give you some fruit.”
She returned his grin. “What did you bring me?”
“Just some jaboticaba. Your sapling took a beating in that last big storm, and we’re up to our elbows in it at the farm.”
Emma’s heart plummeted. She looked into the bag, filled nearly to the top with deep purple globes that shone almost black in the weak morning sunlight, and a sudden wave of grief threatened to engulf her.
“Em?” Keith’s expression was concerned.
“Sorry.” She smiled at him, trying to reassure him, but this one had no real energy behind it. “Jaboticaba… it was Adam’s favorite.”
“Ah.” It was barely a sound – more of an exhalation – but it was so soft and gentle that suddenly she wanted to cry.
“I’ll never get over him,” she blurted, looking up at Keith. Even surrounded by green and gray, his eyes were as blue as a summer sky.
He just looked at her for a moment, and then he tucked a stray curl behind her ear.
“That’s okay.”
“It doesn’t feel okay.” A single tear escaped, and Keith brushed it away with the work-callused pad of his thumb. He seemed about to say something else, but then Juniper burst onto the scene, cheerful and oblivious.
“Hey, Uncle Keith! I made eggs!” She handed him a bowl, then turned to give Emma hers. When she saw her face, she paused and frowned in concern. “You okay?”
“I’m okay.” She managed a genuine smile this time, even though her eyes still burned with tears.
“Okay,” Jun said. She looked doubtful. Then Wilder cried, and she sprinted back towards the cottage.
“Thanks for breakfast!” Emma shouted after her.
“Anytime, Auntie Em!”
She sputtered a laugh and looked down at the food that her niece had made. She had zero appetite, but she knew that she should eat.
Keith sat down on a dry bit of path between the garden beds and patted the ground in front of him. She sat facing him, and for a moment they just ate in silence. The eggs were perfectly seasoned with sea salt and fresh herbs. Slowly, her appetite returned.
“Adam was your first love and your son’s father,” Keith said eventually in that quiet way of his. “You’ll always carry him with you. He’s in Kai, and he’s in the land. You don’t have to get over him.”
“So what am I supposed to do?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
His smile was gentle, and he put a warm hand on her knee.
“You just keep living.”
23
Juniper
It was a glorious spring day down by the cliffs, one of those Hawai‘i days that felt oversaturated with color. The turquoise sky and sapphire sea both seemed impossibly blue, and the vegetation shone deep hues of emerald against the black rock of the cliffs.
Waves boomed against the water-smooth rocks below, a pleasant base to the sound of marketgoers mingling and chatting. It was Juniper’s first time working a market since her maternity leave, and her heart was full.
“Roland Wilder, couldn’t be milder, how does your garden grow?” Aunt Toni sat in a beach chair near the back of the stand, bouncing her grand-nephew gently on her knees. “With feverfew and tulsi too, and marigolds all in a row!”
