Aside from some silver in her black hair, her eldest sister looked the same as she ever had. She was a full decade older than Akemi, and she had been like a second mother to her growing up.
Halia was equipped with broad shoulders, a strong jaw, and the personality to match her intimidating appearance. She was a rock of stalwart support for the people she loved, and an immovable object in the path of anyone who tried to do them harm.
Akemi gave her a fierce hug, then let go and accepted the food. She was suddenly starving. Everyone else came back to the table, kids chattering as they settled in to eat. It was comforting and overwhelming all at once.
A hush fell over them as Dawn came downstairs, and a jolt of shock went through Akemi at the sight of her. A skunk stripe of silver ran through the center of her water-dark hair, and there were deep lines carved into her face. She looked as though she had aged thirty years in the past three months.
“Sit here, Mom.” Halia stood and made room for her at the head of the table. “I saved you a bowl of soup.”
Oakley grabbed another chair for Halia and pushed the kids closer together to make room. Conversation started up again, quieter than before. Dawn silently spooned soup in her mouth, at once the epicenter of the family and her own separate island.
“Where did you go this time, Auntie?” Claire asked from across the table.
Akemi washed her food down with a swig of the POG juice that Anne had poured for her and answered, “I just got back from Italy.”
“Ooh!” Claire’s silver-gray eyes went wide. “Where in Italy?”
“Knowing Akemi, probably all of it,” Oakley quipped. She was decked out in expensive athleisure, blonde hair pulled up into a sporty ponytail.
“Just Tuscany this time.”
“Onlya tour of the Tuscan countryside.”
“Are you gonna write about it?” Claire asked.
“I write about everywhere that I go.”
“What about a vlog?”
Akemi’s nose wrinkled involuntarily. She missed the days of telling a story with photos, but she did her best to keep up with the times, and the times called for video content. “I’ll make some reels.”
“Your reels are pretty, Auntie, but you should be in them more! You’re so cute!”
“It’s probably hard to film yourself when you’re alone,” Anne said. “I’d be terrified of somebody stealing my phone.”
“I’m sure there was no shortage of handsome Italians willing to help with that,” Oakley teased.
Akemi gritted her teeth together and spooned up another bite of curry.
Her sisters thought that her life was a lark. They had no idea how many thousands of hours she had put into writing articles, editing videos, and going back and forth with brands and hotels and tourism boards…
It was a full-time job and then some.
She was contemplating a second bowl of curry when her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and then hurried outside, silently cursing her forgetfulness.
“Hey,” she answered as she shut the kitchen door behind her. “I got home safe. Sorry, I meant to text you.”
“Ciao bella!” The warm sound of Lorenzo’s voice flooded through her, smoothing the frayed edges of her nervous system.
Akemi wandered towards the cliffs, relishing the familiar sound of crashing waves. Beyond her childhood backyard, the vast Pacific glimmered in the moonlight.
“It’s early there,” she said.
“Yes, I leave for work soon. First I wanted to call and ask how you are feeling.”
“I’m feeling fine, Ren.” Her voice was colored with both tenderness and exasperation. “Same as yesterday.”
“And have you spoken to your family yet?”
