Page 64 of Big Island Moonlight
She gasped and looked up at Juniper.
“He smiled at me!”
Jun laughed at the look on her aunt’s face. “He does that.”
“What a happy baby you are!” Toni cooed.
It warmed Juniper’s heart to see them together. Her Aunt Toni, dark curls more gray than brown these days, green eyes as lively as ever. And her precious Wilder, growing every day. It was so strange, the collision of two worlds that had happened the first time they met.
Was it only two years ago that she was living out in the treehouse behind her aunt’s yurt, way up in the Santa Cruz mountains? It felt as though she had lived whole lifetimes since then. Redwood Grove felt as far away as a half-remembered story.
Her present was so vibrant, so full of life and color, that it left no room for the ghosts of her past.
A woman paused at one of the display tables, eyeing the bundles of herbs, and Juniper sprang into action. The plan had been for Toni to run the stand while Jun hung back with the baby, but she was happy to be doing the opposite. Interacting with the market crowd after weeks away fed her soul, and she loved that two of her favorite people were getting some quality time together.
They did eventually switch, Toni running the stand like the old pro that she was while Juniper nursed her son to sleep and secured him to her chest in a wrap. She had finally gotten the hang of it after much trial and error (and some tears), and now she could get him in easily, even without the second pair of hands that had seemed necessary in the beginning.
She’d returned to the market with a bang, rolling out new products that she had developed during her maternity leave – including a baby-safe mosquito spray that sold out in the first hour – and all of her regulars were thrilled to see her again. After being isolated in the ‘ohana for weeks with bouts of sleep deprivation that drove her to the edge of her sanity, it feltincredibly cozy to be back in the embrace of the community she had forged there on the island.
She was held, she was welcome, and she was fully alive.
She had everything that she needed to be a good mother to her son.
They would keep growing and evolving. Together.
When the market wrapped up, Toni refused to let her lift a finger. She sat nursing Wilder while her aunt packed everything up, and then Cody pulled up just in time to load it all into the van.
He was still doing all of the deliveries for his mom’s businessandtaking a full course load at the University of Hawai‘i, but every spare minute that he had was spent with her and Wilder.
The way that he showed up for her time and again without fail had created a profound sense of safety for Juniper. His consistency was the foundation of her newfound peace.
He had left Juniper to sleep that morning, getting up in the wee hours to change their baby’s diaper. When she finally got out of bed, she found him reading one of his textbooks at the kitchen table with their son asleep in his arms, and she’d felt completely full of love for them both.
She was finally sure of the path that she was on and the life that they were creating together.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said when the van was loaded.
Cody had left the white pop-tent up for shade; they would take it down later. For now, as the sea cliffs emptied, Juniper’s nearest and dearest converged on the tent to shower her with attention.
She changed into a sunshine-yellow dress that Lani had given her, and they all oohed and awed appreciatively when she reappeared.
“I guess you’ve got your something borrowed,” Emma said.
“And my something new.” She held her arms out for Wilder, and her aunt handed him back to her. The ache in her chest that she felt whenever she couldn’t see him calmed, and she was whole again.
“I’ve got something blue! Sit down.” Toni came forward with sprays of tiny flowers and set to work braiding them into Jun’s hair while she fed her baby.
When Toni was done, Juniper tucked Wilder into an ivory-colored wrap that one of the other moms in her postpartum yoga class had given her.
“I guess that makes me your something old,” Ethan said, offering her his arm.
Juniper grinned and slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow.
“We’ll see you over there,” Toni said, hugging her around the baby. Emma kissed her cheek, Lani gave her a wink, and the three women hurried ahead of her down the cliffs.
“Ready?” her dad asked when they were gone. There was a deep line of concern between his eyebrows.
She smiled, trying to comfort him. “I’m ready.”
