9. Nell

9

Nell

N ell walked to New Horizons early on Monday to give herself extra time to set up; she even left her babies behind. Emma would bring them along with Kai just before opening and stay for the day to help manage things.

‘ōlena had left Nell in charge for the week, maybe longer.

Her brain had been on overdrive since she got the news the night before, and she was exceedingly anxious – not because she didn't think that she could manage it, but because she was so terribly scared of letting ‘ōlena down.

Nell's community of friends was slowly growing now that she was free of her ex, but ‘ōlena had been there for her when no one else had. She had gone above and beyond with her support as Nell fought her way free of Zeke and navigated family court, and Nell wanted to be there for her in the same way. There was no room for missteps or forgotten tasks that would wrench ‘ōlena's attention away from her family.

Nell needed to step up and fill ‘ōlena's shoes… but they were huge shoes to fill. ‘ōlena was a powerhouse of a woman, and Nell was in awe of her.

But she could do this. For however long ‘ōlena needed her, she would oversee the community center and run Pualena Playschool.

She walked in silence for a moment, letting the cool green of the morning calm her nerves. The street was one long tunnel of tropical plants, broken up here and there by gravel yards on new lots. Even those were surrounded by green, with new plants taking root in the seemingly inhospitable ground.

Halfway down the street, she pulled her phone out and called Hugh.

"Good morning," he answered, his voice warm. "How did you sleep?"

"Not so great," she admitted.

"What's wrong?"

"‘ōlena's dad is in the hospital."

"Manō?" he asked, surprised. "I hadn't heard."

"The coconut wireless has its limits, I guess."

"What happened?"

"He had a heart attack. It doesn't sound overly serious, as far as heart attacks go, but they're keeping him under observation for a while. I'll be running the playschool this week."

"I'll call Nate and see if they need anything."

"Sounds good. He's swamped with work, I think." Nell hitched her bag higher on her shoulder and took a breath. "I called to tell you that I won't be able to make our date tonight. I'm taking Kiki and Luana home with me this afternoon, and Nate won't be able to pick them up until bedtime."

Emma had offered to watch all of the kids for her so that she could still make her date, but she would already be volunteering at the co-op all day. Leaving her with five kids after managing a dozen all day long felt like too much to ask.

"I would probably be too tired to enjoy myself anyhow," she continued. "We have a field trip today for the big kids, and I didn't have the heart to cancel. I'm going to take them to the botanical garden up in Papaikou while Emma stays with the littles."

"Are any other parents coming?"

"No, I don't think so. I asked in the group chat if anyone could meet us there, but no one stepped up. Maybe at dropoff I can get one of the parents to stay, but most of them have work."

"I would come, but I have meetings all morning."

"It's okay," she said quickly. "I don't expect you to show up at the co-op when Daisy's not here." Hugh's daughter joined in with the playschool when she was with him, but that was only when she was on break from the public school she attended in Honolulu.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Thank you. I will."

She stashed her phone in her bag and let herself into the community center through a side door. Emma and Georgia would be managing the littles while she was gone, and she wanted things to go as smoothly for them as possible.

She sorted through art supplies and set out the boxes that they would need for the day's activities so that they didn't have to spend their time rummaging through ‘ōlena's extensive collection of school supplies. She rotated out all of the books on display, putting away the old books and choosing new ones that would hold the littles' attention.

She had just finished setting up an easy science experiment when Emma came in with the kids.

"Mommy!" Cassie threw herself at her with so much force that she stumbled sideways, and her arms clamped around Nell's waist like a vice. "I missed you!"

"Good morning." Nell returned the hug, albeit more gently. Emma walked towards her, ready to hand Everett off, but he launched himself towards the toys in the corner. She set him down, and he speed crawled across the tile floor.

"Don't leave me here alone!" Cassie said in her most piteous voice. "I want to go in the van with you!"

"There's no more room in the van, sweetheart. And you won't be alone." She ran a hand over her daughter's hair. "You'll be with Auntie Emma and all of your friends."

"That's not true! You're taking all of my bestest friends away!"

"Rory will be here with you."

Cassie sniffed and relaxed her grip. "Rory's staying here?"

"Yep. And Kai and Shoshana and Izumi and lots of other friends."

"Okay." She sighed and dropped her arms.

Nell asked each parent at drop off, but no one was available to help her wrangle kids at the botanical gardens that day.

Oh well.

The small group of older kids was relatively easy to manage. She would just make several group trips to the bathroom to make sure that they didn't have to split up or backtrack.

It would be fine. They had a guided tour scheduled, and hopefully that would hold their attention. Nell would just bring up the rear and make sure everyone stayed together.

Easy.

Still, being solely responsible for other people's kids brought her anxiety to the forefront.

Driving a van full of other people's children was a uniquely nerve-racking venture. Nell had grown up driving trucks, and she had plenty of experience. She was competent. But she had hardly driven at all the past couple of years, and steering the bulky van onto the highway made her pulse speed and stutter.

Everett fell asleep before they even hit the highway, and she had bribed the rest of the kids into good behavior with a bag of candy: one for each person who made it all the way to the botanical gardens without making any noise.

It was not her finest moment, and it was overkill, but it let her navigate the van with no distractions. To keep the kids occupied on the longish drive, she played a stories podcast over the stereo system.

Finally, she pulled up in front of the botanical gardens and parked in the lush shade of the rainforest.

Her attention was on the kids as they piled out of the van. She strapped Everett into his carrier, made sure that everyone had their snacks and water bottles with them, and then she sprayed them all down with a natural mosquito spray that one of the parents had donated.

She didn't notice Hugh until she was almost on top of him. He stood just inside of the entrance, watching her with a gleam in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in astonishment.

"I thought you could use some backup."

"But I thought you had meetings all day."

He shrugged. "I rescheduled."

"Hey Uncle," Luana said, pulling at his arm, "where's Daisy?"

Pain flashed through his eyes, there and gone in a blink. He smiled ruefully at Luana and answered, "She's still at her school in Honolulu."

"So irraz," she muttered under her breath.

Hugh laughed. "Yeah, it is. I miss her too."

She sighed and looked up at Nell. "Can we go in now?"

"Yeah, let's go." She did a quick head count and then took them through to find the botanical garden employee who would be leading the tour that day.

They were used to school groups coming through – it was a free offering that every school in the area took advantage of at some point – and their guide did an excellent job of keeping the kids engaged as they walked down the long boardwalk trail through the shade of the jungle.

Walls of green leaves and shadow rose up all around them, splattered with bright color. The dappled sunlight shone on fiery flowers and intricate orchids, holding even the children's attention.

Even the kids who weren't impressed by flowers loved to see the rainbow-colored day geckos and bright green anole lizards that sunned themselves on huge leaves and darted across the black lava rocks.

Nell and Hugh trailed along at the back of the group, and he threaded his fingers through hers. Everett dozed in his carrier on her back, sound asleep.

They veered out towards the ocean, where the fresh salt air blew away some of the tropical humidity. The kids crowded along the edge of the rocks, watching the waves crash against the shore.

One of the boys climbed up on the railing and leaned towards the ocean. Nell started towards him, but she was too slow – his feet slipped on the wet metal and he nearly went headfirst onto the rocks below.

Hugh grabbed the boy by the back of the shirt and pulled him back onto dry land. Nell gave him a grateful look, pressing one hand over her speeding heart.

The kids had their snack there, in the shade of the forest and the fresh ocean breeze.

Hugh watched them with a smile on his face but something like grief in his eyes.

"It must be hard," Nell said softly, "being here with the playschool while Daisy's on O‘ahu."

He nodded and sighed deeply, a nearly silent breath that made his shoulders rise and fall. "It would be easier if she was happy there. I wouldn't mind so much. But she's not."

"She doesn't like her school?" Nell guessed.

"The school, the apartment, any of it. She lives in Hawaii, but she's inside nearly all the time. It drives me crazy. And she's so happy when she's here. This is such a healthy place for her. She would have loved this."

"We can take her this summer," she said, and then her cheeks blazed at her presumption. "Or, I mean, you can."

He nodded, seemingly oblivious to her awkwardness. His mind was still in Honolulu with his daughter.

"I think she's being bullied," he said after a while. "Her mother won't talk to me about it, but she keeps coming home from school with these stories…" He shook his head and sighed. "I wish there was something I could do."

"It'll be summer soon. She'll be with you her whole break, right?"

He brightened at that. "Yeah."

"And maybe next year will be better for her."

He sighed again, slumping back against the guard rail. "I just wish she could stay."

"Yeah. Me too." Selfishly, she wondered if he would eventually move to Honolulu to be closer to his daughter. She almost asked him as much, but an argument between two of the kids pulled her attention away.

It was just as well, she thought as she mediated a debate between seven year olds. It wasn't the time or the place for serious conversations.

The kids were excited to see the waterfalls, and their energy was high until they finally looped back to the van. While they were waiting in the shade for the kids to rotate through the restroom, Nell squeezed Hugh's hand in thanks.

"It was so thoughtful of you to come today."

"You didn't really need me."

"Maybe not, but it made everything easier. Especially when you stopped Derek from tumbling headfirst into the ocean."

His chest rumbled with a low chuckle. "He would have been fine."

"Probably. But navigating the rest of the day while he was soaked and scraped up and miserable would not have been fun. You made the whole day… peaceful. Easy."

"Glad to be of service." He leaned in like he wanted to kiss her, but the kids were just a few feet away. He settled for a friendly pat on the arm, and then he turned and walked towards his car.

"Dinner Friday?" she called after him.

He turned and grinned at her. "It's a date!"