7. Lani

“Are we there yet?” Olivia asked from the back seat.

“Not even halfway,” Tenn said with a laugh.

“This drive is taking forever,” Rory groaned.

“How about an audiobook?”

“Can we listen to The Wild Robot again?” Olivia asked.

“Just what I was thinking. Would you help us out, Lani? It should be in the glove compartment.”

She opened the hatch and found a thick plastic box, a set of CDs from the Hilo library. On the front was a picture of a silver robot in the wilderness. She popped in the first CD and let the narration wash away the girls’ complaints.

For about two minutes. Then Rory complained, “This is boring.”

“It gets good,” Olivia told her. “I promise.”

Rory sighed, not wanting to doubt the older girl. Within a few short chapters, she was completely wrapped up in the story.

Lani did her best to enjoy the gorgeous coastal drive. Normally there would be nothing more zen than kicking back in the passenger seat, looking out over the lush green fields and panoramic ocean views as they made their way up to Waimea.

Today, though, anxiety kept eating at her.

As many times as she told herself that Zeke was not on the island, that she wouldn’t let him rob her of her peace… he still did. If nothing else, he knew where she worked.

That alone was enough to make her uneasy.

She didn’t want to dwell on him today, but anxious thoughts kept coming, intrusive and unbidden. Again and again, she pushed them away.

Tenn pulled off of the highway around the halfway point and parked near a smoothie stand, giving the kids the chance to run around and fuel up for the second leg of the drive. Rory chose a kid-sized mango smoothie, and Olivia got a bright pink one made with dragon fruit.

He wisely waited to let them back into the car until the smoothies were drained.

The two adults stretched and walked a bit before settling down on a bench.

The girls were in pursuit of a mother hen and her babies, shuffling towards them in slow motion in an effort to avoid scaring them away.

“Are you okay?” Tenn asked, rubbing the back of her neck. “You’ve been quiet today.”

“Just tired.” She leaned into him, letting his steadiness calm her nerves.

“Is Waimea too much today? We could turn around, take the girls to one of the beach parks in Hilo instead?”

Lani smiled and took his hand. “No, I’ve been looking forward to this. It feels good to get out and explore a bit. I haven’t been to the Waimea farmers market.”

“It’s more of an excuse for an outing than a destination,” he admitted. “But I love the drive, and the girls will have a blast at the playground.”

“Let’s do it.”

They got the girls back into the car and kept driving, up along the coastline and through the eucalyptus forests. There were basically no beaches in this part of the island, just tall cliffs that rose high above the water. It made for spectacular views.

Slowly, Lani’s anxiety ebbed away. They were in a world of their own, in a safe little bubble. Just her and Tenn and the girls gliding up the highway, all enjoying the same story and looking out at the verdant beauty of the island. The girls oohed and aahed every time they passed a group of cows, especially if there were calves around.

Tenn made another pit stop, this time for malasadas in Honoka‘a. The fried doughnuts were so fresh that they were still warm, and the woman behind the counter piped in their choice of filling while they watched.

Tenn opted for classic Bavarian creme, Lani got chocolate, and both of the girls chose guava (or rather, Olivia chose guava and Rory copied her). The heavy doughnuts seemed to outweigh the sugar rush, because the girls were satiated and quiet on the final leg of the drive.

Tenn drove inland through the green countryside to the always-charming town of Waimea. Cherry trees lined the streets, each one of them covered in bright pink blossoms.

They drove through town to the farmers market, where the girls bounced out of the car and towards the live music.

While the farmers market in Pualena was dominated by tropical fruit, this one was different. It offered many of the same vegetables that grew on the mainland. The elevation made for cooler weather, which meant that they could grow crops like cauliflower and carrots that didn’t love the tropical heat.

Lani wandered through the stands and filled her market basket with vegetables while Tenn loaded up on grass-fed beef for his cafe. Hamburgers and loco mocos were two of the most popular items on his menu, and he was committed to keeping his ingredients as local as possible.

“Okay, everything is packed away,” he said after his third trip out to the car. “I need to make one more stop on our way out of town for produce, but we could do that after the park. Are you ready to go?”

“Sure.”

“Wait, I forgot one thing.” His eyes lit up, and he pulled her over towards a red food truck. “The best sandwiches on the island.”

“How are you still hungry after those malasadas?” she laughed.

“Split one with me,” he coaxed. “They’re phenomenal.”

She looked over at the girls, who were happily engaged with a group of kids dancing in front of the live band. Then she smiled up at him. “Okay, I could maybe manage half of a sandwich.”

“Grab a seat.” He pointed towards a picnic table with a clear view of the kids, then went to order their food. He was back a few minutes later with a big jar of Li Hing Mui pickled mango.

“What happened to our sandwich?”

“It might take a while. They’re popular.” He popped the lid off of the jar and held it out to Lani, who plucked a slice of mango out of the liquid. She ate it slowly, savoring the sweet-tart kick of the plum powder.

By the time their order was up, they had devoured the whole jar.

The sandwich was just as good as Tenn had promised, slow cooked pork on sourdough oozing with fancy cheese and caramelized onions. She probably could have polished off a whole sandwich on her own, but it was just as well that they needed to share; she was stuffed.

Tenn had also ordered a grilled cheese sandwich for the girls to share. He called them back, and they sat chattering as they ate their lunch.

When everyone was fed, they hopped back into the car and drove a few minutes across town to the playground.

It was an amazing place for the kids to play. The original wooden playground still stood, complete with its tires and chains. And there had been more add-ons over the years, an abundance of bridges and slides, ropes to climb and scales to play. The place was nearly overwhelming, so big that she kept losing sight of Rory, but the whole area was fenced.

Eventually she settled onto the grass with Tenn, watching their girls run and play against an idyllic backdrop, the rainbow playground set against green hills and blue skies with white clouds chasing each other overhead.

“How are things at the cafe?” she asked.

“Running smooth these days. I might even be able to take a day off soon.”

“A whole day?” she teased. He had been at the restaurant at dawn that morning, making sure they were stocked and ready to go for the day.

“A whole day.” His fingertips traced idle designs on her arm. “Maybe even two.”

“What would we do with such a luxury?”

“Have you ever gone swimming with manta rays?”

She leaned back to look at him. “Seriously?”

“The ones over on the west side are like ten feet long. They come up to the surface at night to feed. It’s amazing. I went years ago, and I’ve always wanted to go back.”

“That sounds incredible.”

“We could arrange a sleepover for the girls, stay the night in Kona?”

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Daddy!” Olivia ran across the grass and crashed into Tenn, knocking him backwards. “Will you spin us?”

“You’re doing a good job spinning yourselves.”

“No! We’re too slow. I want to go really fast!”

“Okay, okay.” He let his daughter pull him up off of the ground and over to the rope cone that stood at the center of the playground on a rotating platform.

Kids flocked to the rope web or fled, depending on their preference for speed, and Tenn started it spinning. Rory clung to Olivia and cackled with laughter.

Lani sat in the shade and watched them, smiling.

When her phone buzzed, she checked it out of habit and then immediately wished that she hadn’t. Another new number. Another message from Zeke.

You think you can just pretend I don’t exist? You promised me. For better or for worse.

She blocked the number, knowing that he would only get another burner phone to harass her from. It was exhausting.

Why couldn’t he just let her go?