9. Laurie
Laurie
Laurie moved into Mahina’s ‘ohana unit just a few days after seeing it – and she moved in with all of her books.
When she told Halia about leaving her house in a panic with just a couple of bags, her eldest sister offered to drive her back up to Hawi and pack up the rest of her stuff.
Most important of all was her library. In a moment when it had felt like her life might be on the line, she had abandoned her books without a second thought. Now, though, she felt as though she had abandoned her oldest friends.
For the moment, Chris was contrite. That could change at any time, and so Halia had insisted that they strike while the iron was hot.
They needed to go back for the rest of Laurie’s things while he was still trying to wheedle his way back into her life – before she filed for divorce and he went into a rage.
So Laurie texted him asking if she could come up to the house for her books, and he agreed. But when she asked if he could please be off the property by the time that she arrived, he didn’t reply.
Just the thought of walking back into that house made her feel sick to her stomach. If she’d had to go alone, she wouldn’t have gone at all.
With Halia by her side, she could just about handle it.
Then Oakley heard about their plan, and she insisted on driving up too.
So they had driven up one morning. It didn’t particularly surprise Laurie to find Chris sitting there, waiting for her on the front porch – but when he saw Halia, he skulked off to his van and drove away.
Oakley arrived a few minutes later. She looked almost disappointed that she had missed out on her chance to stare down Laurie’s husband, but she helped with the packing anyhow.
The three sisters made quick work of boxing up all of Laurie’s books, and she collected a few more odds and ends that she had left behind: the rest of her clothes, some kitchen gadgets that Chris never used, a few framed photos of her family, and her favorite quilt.
She grabbed a few of Mia’s things too, but she didn’t empty out her room. Halia’s warnings against parental alienation weighed heavy on her mind, and she didn’t want it to look as if she’d made a clean sweep of their daughter’s things.
Sooner or later, Mia would have to spend time with her dad. And so Laurie took most of her daughter’s favorite things but left the rest; Chris wouldn’t know the difference.
They got lunch in Waimea, said goodbye to Oakley, and then drove straight to the Madeira place. Carrying her things into the little wooden house, Laurie felt an immense sense of relief.
She had a place of her own. A safe haven.
She was free.
Kekoa was there – was he always there? – and he grabbed a box from the back of the car.
“Woah. What you got in here, bricks?”
“Books,” Laurie said.
“You still a big reader?”
She nodded and then cleared her throat.
Despite his teasing about the contents of the cardboard box, he stood there holding the heavy load like it weighed nothing at all.
“Do you like to read?” she asked.
“I hated it as a kid,” he admitted. “I could never sit still long enough. Then I discovered audiobooks. We go through tons of them, me and ‘Io both.”
She waited for the wince that usually came after someone realized they had just mentioned audiobooks to a woman with severe hearing loss – but he just grinned at her, completely unselfconscious.
“I remember when we were kids, you were always walking around with a big stack of books. I always thought you’d grow up to be a librarian or something.”
Laurie smiled. “Maybe I should have.”
“What did you do instead?”
“A few useless degrees,” she said with a shrug. “I work online now. Proofreading, mostly.”
“Well, I hope you like working here.” He glanced at the house and then looked back at her. “Doesn’t it get lonely? Working on a computer all the time?”
She stared at him for a beat, surprised by the frank question.
“Sometimes,” she admitted. Then she smiled and remembered, “When I was a kid, I always wanted to have my own bookshop.”
“You did?”
“Yeah! I would love it. I mostly read library books as a kid, and the few books that I did own were so precious to me. I used to imagine sitting in my own little bookshop, just reading the day away between customers. I thought that when people did come in, they would be patient and look at me when they talked, because readers don’t go through life in a big rush.
And then we could talk about the books we’d read, and the authors we loved… ”
She realized that she was rambling, and blood rushed to her cheeks as she cut herself off. It had been ages since she’d remembered that old fantasy.
“So why don’t you?” Kekoa asked.
“What?”
“Open a bookshop.”
She laughed. “Just like that?”
He carried the books inside.
Conversation over, I guess, she muttered to herself.
She went back to the car and realized that Halia had moved nearly everything into the house while she stood talking. Oops.
Sorry, she signed to her sister.
“Sorry?” Halia asked with a frown. “For what?”
“Leaving you to do all the work.”
“That’s a habit you need to leave behind.”
“What? Laziness?”
Halia rolled her eyes. “No. Apologizing for nothing.”
Laurie wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“I’ve gotta run.” Halia handed her the last couple of bags. “New family at Place of Refuge. I like to be there to help them settle in.”
OK, Laurie said. Thank you.
Halia gave her a friendly pat on the back and then climbed into her car and drove away.
Laurie walked back to the little cedar house. Kekoa was still there, frowning at the boxes they’d carried in.
“You don’t live here anymore,” she scolded. He just grinned at her.
“You’re going to need some bookshelves.”
“It’s fine. I’ll figure something out. It’s enough that they’re safe.”
He gave her an odd look, and her neck went hot with embarrassment.
She turned away and busied herself with unpacking some kitchen stuff.
“There’s not much room out here…” He trailed off and walked back into the bedroom. Her bedroom.
Laurie scowled and stomped her foot.
“…but I think I could build something that would attach to the bunk bed,” he continued when he walked back out.
She stared at him.
“Would that be okay?”
“You want… to build me a bookshelf?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“Don’t you work?”
Kekoa chuckled. “Most of my work these days is making furniture. I’ve got time for one more piece. It’s not like some shelves will take long.”
Laurie chewed her lip, searching for another reason to turn him down.
“It’s my house, isn’t it? I can build a bookcase for it if I want to.”
Laurie narrowed her eyes and scrunched her nose, but he just smiled like she was cute.
“I’ll build it in my shop, so I won’t be in your way.”
“Okay,” she relented. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He started towards the front door, then paused. “You know that old dance studio on Paradise Road?”
Laurie frowned in confusion. “Sure.”
She had fond memories of that place. The Aloha sisters had spent countless hours there as kids. Laurie did gymnastics there for years, and later she would go to see Halia perform the hula or sit through another one of Oakley’s ballet recitals.
“It’s been sitting empty for years.”
“Okay… and?”
“It would make a great bookshop.”
For the briefest moment, her heart leaped at the thought… and then it came crashing back down. “There’s no way I’d be able to afford it.”
“It’s just sitting empty,” he told her. “It’s owned by a local auntie. She refuses to lease it out to some chain… but a bookstore? I think she’d like that.”
Laurie’s mouth worked open and shut, but her voice was mute.
Is it possible? she wondered. Is there any way?
“You’re not paying rent here, right?” Kekoa pressed.
“I’m not a charity case,” Laurie snapped. Though, on second thought, she supposed that’s exactly what she was. “I’ll pay what I can.”
“My point is, if you don’t have to pay here, maybe you can afford the bookshop?”
“I can’t skip out on rent just to use that money someplace else! Your mom–”
“My mom would love a local bookshop, are you kidding me?”
“But— but books, shelves, all the startup costs…”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” He winked and finally walked out the door. But then he popped his head back in and added, “Think about it.”