2. ‘Ōlena

2

‘ōlena

T he sun had barely risen over the ocean when ‘ōlena left Pualena, but she knew that Nate would already be out in the orchard. He was out there at first light every day, hurrying to gather ripe lychees before the valuable fruit fermented on the tree. Then he spent the rest of the day out on the road, selling the fruit at his roadside stand.

Lychees were delicious and valuable; between their incomparable flavor and the short season, they commanded a high price. They could also go from ripe to rotten in an instant, and the orchard was starting to produce more fruit than Nate could keep up with.

‘ōlena was too busy to help during the week, but on weekends she took their daughters up the mountain to help with the harvest. Luana and Kiki were quiet as she drove up the mountain, still sleepy after being loaded into the van first thing in the morning.

She turned up the driveway and drove through Nate's new property, a gorgeous piece of land on the slope of the mauna . Its green hills angled gently towards the ocean. Most of the land along the long driveway was taken up with wavy lines of lychee trees.

The trees were heavy with clusters of fruit that ranged from light green to bright red, surrounded by dark oblong leaves.

Nate had been able to sell some of the fruit wholesale. He had tried the local grocery stores, but they already had standing orders with other farms. Lani had made gallons of lychee syrup for Kekoa's shave ice place, and a few other small businesses around the island had put in orders as well. But now they were set, and Nate was working hard to profit from this massive harvest before it slipped through his fingers and went to waste.

The orchard and surrounding land had eaten up the entirety of his savings, and he was counting on this one harvest to see him through until next year with enough profit to enable him to plant more fruit trees and begin to diversify.

He had invested everything in this venture, into a solid future for his family, and he was determined to make the most of it.

Sure enough, there he was. Halfway up a tree, even though he was built like a linebacker and the limb he stood on was narrower than one of his feet.

‘ōlena pulled over onto the strip of grass that ran between the driveway and the orchard. With all of Nate's energy going to the harvest, the grass was nearly as tall as her tires.

"This place needs some sheep!" Luana declared the moment she opened the van's sliding door.

‘ōlena laughed and ran a hand over her daughter's hair, still tangled from sleep.

"What?" Luana demanded, glaring up at her.

"You're right. We need sheep."

"So why are you laughing?"

"It's ‘cause she loves us so much." Kiki said, hopping out of the van. "Sometimes it spills out and it sounds like laughs."

"That's true," ‘ōlena said.

"You shouldn't laugh at good ideas," Luana told her.

Kiki had already moved on. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's up a tree!" Luana cried, spotting him. She raced off down the row with Kiki just behind her.

Nate dropped to the ground and scooped them up, his laughter filling the orchard. ‘ōlena's heart expanded at the sight of their girls in his arms, smiles on every face.

Damp grass clung to ‘ōlena's legs as she walked towards them. She knew plenty of people with sheep, but did any of them have portable fencing? Some farmers used the electric kind to move their animals from place to place, but it wasn't something she had any experience with.

Her plate was full enough with Pualena Playschool. This was Nate's project. And yet, as many times as she reminded herself of those facts, she still found herself stepping in.

"Did we have plans today?" Nate smiled at her as she neared them, but there was a line of concern between his dark eyebrows.

"Aren't you happy to see us?" Luana demanded.

"I'm always happy to see you! It's just that I've gotta spend my whole morning picking lychee."

"We can help you!" Kiki shouted inches from his ear. He winced slightly, but his smile held.

"That's why we're here," Luana said.

"Come to put in a few hours at the family business, huh?"

"We'll pick all morning," she said earnestly.

"And Mama packed a picnic!" Kiki added.

Nate's grin broadened as he looked at ‘ōlena. He crossed the space between them in two long steps and leaned forward to kiss her between their two daughters, who shrieked in protest and laughed and wiggled their way out of his arms and down to the ground. Arms free, he wrapped them around ‘ōlena's waist and pulled her closer.

For a long moment, everything disappeared. The rising sun went dark and the girls' giggles faded to background noise as he held her close.

Then he released her, grinning triumphantly as the world came rushing back in. His eyes held hers for a long moment before he looked off to the right with a slight frown.

"Who's this?"

‘ōlena turned to see Tara's white van pull up behind hers. As soon as it was parked, the twins spilled out and ran through the orchard. Their red hair shone in the morning sunlight, Piper's sticking out from her head like living flames and Paige's streaming out behind her in waves. Tara trailed behind them, walking with her teenage son.

"I called in reinforcements," she told him.

"One of your co-op parents?" he asked.

"Tara runs a meal delivery service," ‘ōlena said to Nate. "I promised her a great price on lychee if she picked it herself."

"Sounds good to me."

‘ōlena made introductions as more familiar trucks pulled up.

"You really did call in reinforcements," he said.

"Armed with pruning shears," ‘ōlena told him, seeing the silver glint of the shears in her mother's hand.

Mahina always had a pair of clippers in her car on the off chance she saw some variety of hibiscus or other tropical plant that she hadn't collected yet. She would snip off a twig, tuck it into her garden, and have a blooming bush in no time.

"Manō has a job today," she told them in passing, "but he and Kekoa are coming at lunchtime."

"Thank you," Nate said belatedly. For once, he seemed at a loss for words. Gratitude and overwhelm battled with the usual good humor on his broad face. Mahina just nodded, already making quick work of the nearest tree.

Lani and Emma walked up the hill. Their kids had already disappeared into the orchard.

"You all came to pick lychee?" Nate asked.

"Put us to work," Emma said cheerfully.

They spread out through the orchard, snipping fat clusters of fruit from the branches of the trees. Luana was a real help, as were the teenagers. The younger kids ate more than they picked, but that was to be expected. ‘ōlena was happy just to have them there, chattering up in the trees like overgrown monkeys.

She took a break to watch them, finally cracking open some lychee herself. The red shells gave way easily, revealing the lush perfume and dripping juice of the white fruit inside. She ate a whole bunch of them, savoring the floral taste. It was like white pineapple and rose water.

Her favorite fruit.

She knew that was why Nate had chosen this orchard in particular, the abundance of lychee just across the highway from Pualena. They had already been divorced for five years when he bought the place.

Despite ‘ōlena giving him the cold shoulder all that time, he had never given up. He had worked and saved and pursued the goal of bringing his family back together… and here they all were, working towards a common goal and feasting on lychee in the Hawaiian sunshine.

The sun was at its peak when Manō and Kekoa arrived with lunch, and ‘ōlena went back to the van for the food that she had packed. Her dad and brother had brought their artery-clogging staples of spam mutsubis , mac salad, and manapua . Those decadent foods were balanced out by other contributions, like fresh salad and poke . All together, they had a feast.

They spread out and ate in the shade of the orchard, leaning against the trees.

After a minute, Juniper jumped up with a shout. She swatted at the back of her neck where little fire ants had crawled into her shirt.

Eager to help, Kai poured a bottle of ice water down her back. Juniper shrieked, but her screams quickly turned to laughter as she went up a tree after Kai.

"You should spray for those," Kekoa said to Nate. "They spread quick."

"Nobody's gonna help with da harvest if every tree is covered in those buggas," Manō added.

"It's on my list." There was a slight edge to Nate's good-natured voice, irritation and exhaustion. His voice was smoother as he continued, "With so much ripe fruit, I haven't had time for much else."

"You want I come spray da orchard?" Manō asked.

"No," Nate said quickly. "No, that's okay. I'll get to it soon."

"Why don't you hire some help?" Kekoa asked.

"I've been trying. I have listings up. I can't afford to pay much more than minimum wage, and nobody wants to work for that."

"Hard to live on minimum wage in Hawai'i."

"The trick is to hire people who don't have to pay rent," Tara said with a grin. She pointed to her son, Cody, who was up a tree handing bunches of lychee down to his sisters. "I bet he'd be happy for some seasonal work."

"I could use the help," Nate admitted.

"Cody's a good worker," Tara assured him. "Reliable."

After lunch, they continued to work in the shade of the orchard. Most of them kept picking while ‘ōlena and her parents got to work processing the fruit for sale. They removed the red globes from their branches carefully, without breaking the fragile skins, and put them into gallon-sized bags that Nate would sell out of a cooler by the roadside the next day. Another cooler full of fruit went into Tara's van to be taken back to her place and sent out with her weekly meals.

After their friends had gone home, Nate and ‘ōlena walked up the hill to the highest point on the property, the spot where he planned on building them a house someday. Mahina stayed down in the orchard with the girls, but Manō came huffing up the hill behind them to answer Nate's questions about leveling the hilltop in preparation for a home.

‘ōlena let their voices wash over her without really listening, comforted by the sound of her two favorite men making plans for the house that her girls would inherit someday. The orchard shone in the golden light of late afternoon, and her eyes roved over the tops of the trees to the sea.

The men continued talking behind her and her daughters' laughter floated up the hill, wrapping her in the warm hope of moving towards a dream.