2. Laurie #2
“Do you want an Italian soda?” asked ‘Io. “It’s like soda, but healthy! We got a machine to put bubbles in water. So now all the syrups we use to make shave ice, we can use to make drinks too!”
“Can I, Mom?” Mia asked. Please?
Sure, she agreed.
Thanks! Mia turned back to ‘Io and chose a flavor. Laurie didn’t catch the word – but a moment later, he handed over a fizzy pink drink.
“What flavor do you want?” he asked Laurie.
It tickled her to see him so lit up. She had seen him full of energy and good cheer plenty of times, but only when he was playing in his grandparents’ back yard. Usually, he was more reserved; that little spiel about Italian soda was the most she had ever seen him say in one go.
“Do you have lemon?” she asked.
“We have Meyer lemon from Grandma’s trees! It’s so good!”
“I’ll try that, please.”
“Coming right up!”
Kekoa came closer, standing just outside of the window, and signed, How have you been?
Good, she responded. Busy.
“Can you stay a while?” His dark brown eyes held hers, and she was tempted to say yes.
“I have to get back to the shop,” she said instead.
OK, he signed. I get it.
‘Io was back a moment later with her drink. “Here you go!”
“Thank you. How much do they cost?”
“No charge,” Kekoa said and signed.
“How much?” she asked again, looking at ‘Io.
He glanced at his dad, then looked back to Laurie and shrugged. “It’s free, I guess. We haven’t added them to the menu yet. We just got the soda machine today.”
Laurie pulled a few bills from her pocket and put them into the tip jar.
Thanks! ‘Io signed.
She winked at him and then looked at Mia. We need to go.
“Come to the store later,” Mia said to ‘Io. “We have the new Wings of Fire book!”
“Awesome! See you later.”
Laurie waved goodbye to Kekoa.
See you later, he signed.
She smiled at him, and he winked at her before ducking back inside.
Back at Paradise Books, they settled in for a cozy afternoon. Laurie stood at the front counter with her laptop open to the fantasy novel she was currently proofreading. Across from her, Mia sat in a cozy chair reading a Nancy Drew book.
When a big family came in, Mia launched herself into book ideas for the kids. They ended up buying a whole stack, and they left a tip in Mia’s jar; she had taken a huge plastic cookie jar from her grandma’s house and painted the word Recommendations across the front in glitter glue.
Beaming with pride, she walked around the counter to give her mom a celebratory hug before settling back into her reading chair.
Laurie took a break from proofreading to open a box of books, and Mia helped her stock the shelves. It was exactly the sort of afternoon that Laurie had envisioned when she first dared to dream of opening her own book shop.
Mia was such a fantastic publicist that roughly half of their sales came from the families that made up the Pualena Playschool co-op.
Laurie had to buy a big box of children’s books every week to keep the shelves full, and she loved that.
Whatever people might say about the newest generation, these kids were doing just fine.
‘Iolani came through the door near closing time, and Mia jumped up to greet him.
“Come see the new book!” She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the graphic novels.
Kekoa walked in a moment later, and Laurie closed her computer to greet him. He took up a tremendous amount of space, and yet he seemed to fit perfectly into her little book shop – probably because he was the one who had built it.
They had started with a run-down dance studio, and Kekoa had taken out all of the broken mirrors and replaced them with gorgeous wooden shelves that now held a wide selection of books. She wouldn’t have been able to do it without him… or maybe she could have, but she wouldn’t have.
He had believed in her, and his encouragement had given her the courage to take a chance on her dream.
Hey, Kekoa signed, I forgot to tell you before.
What? Laurie asked.
I found a car.
I don’t need a car.
This conversation wasn’t new. About once a month, Kekoa came across a used car that met his exacting standards. And just as often, Laurie replied that she didn’t need one.
She had managed to replenish her savings somewhat, but she needed that for her frequent restocks at the bookshop. Whatever was leftover, she wanted to save for emergencies.
Laurie was lucky to have family and community to lean on if she was ever truly in need of help – and Kekoa’s mother certainly wouldn’t kick her out if she couldn’t pay rent for a while – but it didn’t sit well with her to rely on charity.
She wanted to stand on her own two feet.
The thought of having to ask her family for money made her feel vaguely ill. Just accepting help from her community to get the shop started had been difficult for her, but she’d felt able to accept because having a book shop in Pualena would benefit the whole community.
It had succeeded beautifully, and now Auntie Kua got her cut of the profits every month, as promised. Kekoa got free books as a sort of long payment plan for all of the work that he had put in. He wouldn’t take money, but he was willing to let her give his son as many books as he could read.
Apparently ‘Io hadn’t been much of a reader until the bookshop opened, and Laurie took pride in her part of that transition – though really, all credit was due to ‘Io himself, and to Mia for getting him hooked on books that made him want to keep reading.
You keep saying no no no, Kekoa signed, looking exasperated.
Laurie smiled and rolled her eyes. You keep finding cars.
“This is a good one,” he said aloud.
“I’m sure it is.”
You need a car, he signed emphatically.
I like my bike, she replied with playful movements.
“Sooner or later, you’re going to get tired of Pualena.”
“I will not.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t already. You’ve barely left town since you moved here a year ago. Don’t you ever want to get out and explore?”
“That’s what books are for.”
“Laurie, you need a car. What if there’s an emergency?”
“That’s what sisters are for,” she quipped – but even as she said it, the joke made her feel uncomfortable.
The truth was, she didn’t like relying on her sisters for rides. She didn’t like asking anyone for anything, really, and it made her a bit queasy to have to go begging from one sister to another when she needed to pick Mia up from a weekend in Hawi.
Dawn had thrown herself into her social life and charity work with renewed vigor, and so she needed her car more often than not.
Oakley was so busy that it was difficult to coordinate with her, even when she happened to be up near Hawi anyway.
Anne and Halia always did their best to help, but that only made Laurie feel all the more guilty when she asked her sisters to rearrange their busy schedules on short notice.
Kekoa seemed to notice her discomfiture.
“It’s time to stretch your wings a bit,” he urged.
“Fine,” she said shortly. “I’ll look at it.”
A triumphant smile overtook his face, revealing his strong white teeth. They made a startling contrast to his dark brown skin, and Laurie’s eyes were fixed on the strong lines of his face. It was hard to look away from him sometimes.
Friday? he asked, eyebrows up.
Sure, she replied. Friday.
“It’s a date,” he said with a grin.