23. Akemi
Akemi
Once the café was open, Akemi could hardly recall her worries about the place sitting there empty, draining away the dregs of her savings.
They were slammed.
Every morning, dozens of regulars dropped in for a coffee and a malasada on their way out of town. After that, the place filled up with young parents eager to get out of the house. At Keiki Café, they could actually sit and have a coffee while their toddlers were safely corralled in the playroom.
Akemi loved it. She loved helping Oakley with the morning rush while their kids played in the next room, and she loved sitting with Kaleo and a little troop of toddlers the rest of the morning when things were quieter.
Oakley manned the counter while her daughters drifted between the playroom, the backyard, and the bookshop.
Late morning, when people were either off at work or home for naptime, things slowed down a bit.
Hayden and Harper claimed a table and settled down to do some schoolwork. Sometimes Akemi put Kaleo down for a nap in his stroller – a walk up and down the street usually did the trick – and once, he had fallen asleep right there on the playroom mat while she cleaned up.
That day, though, he was fussy.
“I need to take Kaleo home for a solid nap,” she told Oakley. “Would you mind if I borrow your car?”
“You’ll be back before closing?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
“That’s fine then.”
Akemi fastened Kaleo into his car seat, and he was asleep before they had even gone a mile. The silence of the car was a relief after a busy morning… but after another mile, it felt oppressive.
She hadn’t heard from Lorenzo in two days.
Usually, they talked every day: first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. But for nearly forty-eight hours, he hadn’t picked up her calls or even reacted to the photo she sent him of Kaleo in his high chair with pink yogurt all over his face.
She hated that she was counting the hours, but she couldn’t help herself.
Had he met someone else?
She trusted that he wouldn’t ghost her entirely – he wouldn’t do that to his son – but this sudden pulling away made her queasy.
Had he decided to stay in Italy?
Silently, Akemi cursed herself for being selfish and silly.
Maybe Lorenzo’s father had passed away.
Maybe something had happened to Lorenzo himself.
Would it kill him to send a single message? An emoji? Some proof of life?
Akemi coasted up the driveway and into the shade of the carport. She grabbed her diaper bag as she slipped out of the car and closed the door gingerly, careful not to wake Kaleo.
When she saw a man lurking in the shadows, she nearly screamed.
“Ciao, amore.” Lorenzo was waiting for her on the kitchen steps. He smiled as Akemi put a hand over her panicked heart and tried to catch her breath.
“Ciao?” she hissed.
His face fell. “You are not happy to see me?”
“I haven’t heard from you in two days!” she whisper-shouted.
“Oh. That.” His cheeky smile bloomed again, irrepressibly charming. “I wanted to surprise you.”
She flung the diaper bag at his head.
He caught it deftly, looking baffled.
“Don’t do that to me.”
He stood and moved towards her.
“I thought you were dead!”
“I will tell you next time,” he said solemnly. “I did not honestly expect to surprise you.”
“You just disappeared!”
“I told you that I would be back as soon as I could. When you did not hear from me, I thought that you would know that I was on my way here.”
“Well, I didn’t know.” She deflated and leaned back against the car. “How’s your dad?”
“He is well. Allora… well enough. He is home, and he is stable.” Lorenzo peered through the open window at their son. “I think our little lion has grown just in the time I have been gone.”
“I’m sure he has.”
“I missed you.” He opened his arms cautiously, inviting a hug.
Akemi stepped forward, and his arms folded around her. She leaned into him, breathing in the fresh scent of clean linen and – was that her grapefruit shampoo?
Had he been waiting for them all morning?
She leaned into him, and the last of her anger melted away.
“I want to stay.” Lorenzo’s voice rumbled through his chest, and his accent washed over her like warm water. “I want to be with you, Akemi. Whatever that looks like, wherever we live. I don’t want to be apart from you – or from Leo.”
She leaned back to look at him. “And Rory?”
“Of course Rory. I will take all the time I can get with Rory, but…” He looked away for a moment. When he lifted his eyes again, they were sad.
“Rory already has a dad in her life,” he said. “Her stepfather is a good man. He took her into his family and treated her as his own before I even knew that she existed. She has siblings there, and a real home.
“My daughter calls me babbo, but with her I feel more like an uncle than a father. I adore her, I would give my life for her, and I very much want to spend more time with her… but she does not need me. Not in the way my son will.
“I want to be a father to my son. A real one.”
He looked at her for a long moment, brushing one knuckle down the line of her jaw.
“And I do not love Rory’s mother. I mean to say, I am not in love with Rory’s mother. I am in love with you.”
Slowly, he took her face in his hands and kissed her.
“You’ll stay for good?” she asked a moment later. “No more surprise trips back to Italy?”
He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “I cannot promise no more trips, amore. My family is my family.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I just– I need to know if I can count on you.”
“I’m here for you. This is my home now. We will find a house together, you and me. Or I will live here with you, whichever you prefer.”
“And your family knows that you’re here for good?”
“Yes. My mother is not happy about it, but she understands. They all understand that I need to be where my children are. They would think less of me, I believe, if I stayed.”
“Your dad too?”
Lorenzo grinned abashedly. “Mio babbo has been telling me to leave for some time.”
“Enzo!” She pushed his chest, but his arms stayed firm around her waist.
“He is proud. I thought that he needed me, but wouldn’t say it.”
She elbowed him gently in the ribs. “You’re proud too.”
“Maybe,” he said thoughtfully. “I thought that I was doing my duty as a son. But they are not alone. They have my sister, and her husband, and many others in their community too.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” Akemi said, and he kissed her again.
“I can only stay ninety days at a time in Hawaii, so I have told them I will visit once a season, even if I stay only a few days.”
“And we’ll still visit too, so they can have time with Kaleo. Long visits. I promise.”
“I may need to work still, during the busiest times. But most of the year, I can run my business remotely. Or rather, mostly my employees can run it for me.”
Akemi nodded and leaned into him, resting in his arms.
“I am excited to see your café, now it is finished.”
“You’re here to stay?” she asked, needing to hear it one more time.
“Sì amore mio.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m here to stay.”