Chapter 26 Laurie
Laurie
When Akemi went into labor, her sisters gathered to keep her company and distract her throughout her early contractions.
They told stories about Akemi when she was little, walked back and forth in the backyard during sunset, and made her a light soup and herbal teas to keep her hydrated.
Finally, when her labor progressed and the midwife arrived, Akemi retreated to her room and shooed everyone away – including Lorenzo, who paced the back porch restlessly in the dark.
Halia and Oakley went home after that, but Laurie stayed.
Anne had engaged Pete and Mia in a board game, so she went out to the lanai with a book.
It was cozy there, with a drizzling rain screening off the house and a warm glow of light coming through the window from the living room.
It was enough to read by, and she lost herself in The Other Bennet Sister.
Sometime later, someone stepped into her peripheral vision, and she looked up.
“Zoe!” she said happily when she saw her niece.
Then she got a better look at her, and her heart sank a bit.
There were dark circles beneath Zoe’s eyes, and she looked tired in a way that went beyond the physical. Her dark purple hair dye had faded to a pinkish lavender, and her oversized black clothes turned her into a murky blob against the dark sky.
Come sit with me, Laurie told her.
Zoe sat down, and they both turned in their chairs to see each other better.
You OK? she asked.
Zoe just shrugged.
Guilt crept up on Laurie, obscuring her happy mood. Once, she had known Zoe better than anyone else in the family. Now, many years later, she was so removed from her niece that she hadn’t even realized how badly she was struggling.
Halia was already out of the house by the time Zoe was born, and Annie Oakley moved away when she was still just an infant. Akemi was there for a while, but she was always bouncing around the island with her friends – and then she graduated, and she was gone.
Laurie was there all through Zoe’s childhood. She lived at home for the four years that she was getting her undergraduate degree, which meant that she was with Zoe all the way through her first day of kindergarten.
They had spent countless hours together, reading books and building towers, coloring on the lanai or walking through the woods. Zoe signed before she could talk.
Laurie had moved away to pursue a graduate degree, but she and Zoe stayed close, even when she wasn’t living at home anymore. Even as a teenager, when she retreated from the whole family, Laurie was usually able to draw her out of her shell.
Then Laurie became a mother… and everything else, all of her other relationships and priorities and goals, had fallen to the wayside.
It was tempting to blame Chris; he had made it increasingly difficult for her to spend time with her family. But the truth was that she had entered into his net willingly. She had retreated from the world – and with it, the people she loved most.
Now, years later, she didn’t know how to bridge that gulf.
I know you’re busy, she signed hesitantly, but would you ever want to help at the book store?
Sure, Zoe replied. What do you need?
“Right now I’m working on cataloging everything,” she said and signed.
I can help.
I’ll pay you.
You don’t need to do that.
I will, Laurie insisted.
You can pay me in books, then.
She laughed.
Zoe’s eyebrows came down. What?
“It’s just that people keep saying that.” She shook her head and smiled. “I love Pualena.”
“Well, it’s not like you get the books for free.”
“I did, actually. A lot of them. Mostly from Oakley.”
“Good ol’ Oakley.” Zoe seemed a bit better now – a little bit more at ease.
Laurie longed to ask her what was wrong, what was going on with her, but she knew that any kind of interrogation would just make her niece clam up. She would have to put her hours in before she could hope to truly regain Zoe’s confidence.
She hadn’t been there for her in a long time, but she was determined to do better.
That was what community was all about.
She was learning to accept help. Now, thanks to her community, she was strong and steady enough to offer help back.
It might not always be directly back to the people who were helping her, but that was the beauty of community; the aloha just kept circulating.
Suddenly, Zoe jumped.
“What?” Laurie asked.
Zoe pointed up.
Laurie looked up and saw nothing but the dark ceiling of the lanai. Then she turned on her hearing aids and heard nothing but the soft crash of rain against the roof.
Zoe flinched again, and this time she heard it. The baby was nearly here now. Akemi’s screams were so low and loud that Laurie could hear them easily.
She switched her hearing aids back off.
That’s it. Zoe stood. I’m out.
It’s the miracle of life, Laurie teased her.
She just shook her head and walked out into the warm Hawaiian rain.
Laurie went inside to find Mia. She and Pete were huddled together on the couch, looking terrified. Even the mongoose seemed more frantic than usual.
Do you want to go home? Laurie asked her daughter.
No! I want to see the baby.
“It could be a long time.” Laurie looked between the two kids. “Maybe you and Pete should both come to my place for the night. Anne?”
She turned to check with her sister, but Anne was staring up at the ceiling.
“What is it?”
Anne grinned and looked at her. I hear the baby.
That was quick!
“I bet it didn’t feel quick to her,” Anne said with a laugh.
I want to see the baby! Mia signed again with huge, excited motions.
“Can we go up now?” Pete asked at the same time.
“Give them a minute,” Anne said. “Baby’s dad hasn’t even gone up yet.”
Lorenzo was hovering at the bottom of the staircase. He stared up with a look of undisguised longing, but he seemed uncertain of whether or not he was allowed.
Dawn came down the stairs and put her hands on his shoulders. She said something to him, then sent him up. Then she turned to face her daughters.
“It’s a boy!”
“Yes!” Pete put two fists in the air. “Finally!”
“Can we see him?” Mia asked.
“Not yet,” Dawn told her. “Let his mama rest.”
“Just a peek before I go?”
Soon, Dawn signed.
Anne put together a simple charcuterie platter to stand in for the dinner they had skipped, and that kept the kids happy for a while. Once they had eaten the last of that, the midwife came down and told them that they were allowed to go up two by two to see the baby.
“You first,” Anne said to Laurie. “Then you can take Mia home to get some rest.”
Mia tiptoed up the stairs with her mother right behind her. They walked down the hall to Akemi’s room, where Lorenzo was putting fresh sheets on the bed. Nestled in a cozy armchair in the corner sat Akemi with her baby cradled in her arms.
Hi mom, Laurie signed.
“Hi.” Akemi smiled at them, tired and glowing.
“Can we come in?” she asked from the doorway.
“Of course.”
They crossed the room and looked down at the new baby. He was wide awake, staring up at them with astonished eyes.
“This is Kaleo Kalama Lazzeri,” Akemi said, fingerspelling the name for Laurie.
Hi, Laurie waved at him. Nice to meet you.
Mia held a hand in front of his face. I love you.
Do you need anything? Laurie asked her sister.
Akemi’s smile was beatific. “I have everything I need right here.”
“He’s so beautiful,” Mia said. “Can I hold him?”
Another day, Laurie told her. Let’s go.
No! she signed angrily.
It’s past everybody’s bedtime. Auntie Akemi needs to rest, and so does the baby.
Fine. She sighed and waved goodbye to the newborn.
I love you, Laurie told her sister.
Ditto, Akemi signed back. I love you too.
Mom? Mia said as they walked back down the hallway. Can you have another baby?
Laurie almost laughed.
“No,” she said gently. “It’s just you and me, baby girl.”
“Oh.” After a moment’s disappointment, Mia brightened. That’s OK too. I don’t have to share you. I can just visit my baby cousin, and I don’t have to share my mom.
Right. She kissed Mia’s forehead. We already have everything we need.