“She went back to bed. Jet lag had her up at one in the morning.”
“How about Claire?”
“I’m here!” Her teenaged niece thundered down the stairs, all lanky white limbs and fire-red hair. Oakley made a mental note to spray her with sunscreen every twenty minutes or so. “Let’s go!”
A few minutes later, everyone was buckled into the van, and they were on the road. Usually Oakley drove her smaller car and left the gas-guzzler at home, but it was worth bringing it south to get everybody out on a hike.
The kids’ chatter was a pleasant backdrop to Annie Oakley’s conversation. They could talk forever about anything and everything.
Even living apart their whole adult lives, they had rarely gone a single day without talking. There was no beginning and no end to it – just pauses.
Having Anne there next to her made Oakley feel whole and at home in a way that she had never quite recaptured as an adult.
Growing up, she’d felt sometimes that they were a single person. Annie Oakley. And she never felt quite herself when they were apart.
They had set off to create their own lives as soon as they were adults. Oakley might have followed Anne to college, but somehow there had been no overlap in the universities that had accepted them. And so they had moved to two different states on the mainland and built two completely separate lives.
Anne had remained in California for decades, but Oakley had moved home to Hawaii soon after graduation. She built a career as a journalist – and even worked as a local news anchor for a while – before throwing her whole self into motherhood. Once both girls were in school, she became a Pilates instructor and filled her spare hours that way.
Oakley had an amazing life… and yet never once had she ever felt like she’darrived. She’d thought that feeling adrift was simply part of being an adult and making things up as she went along… but maybe it was the vast distance between her and her almost-twin that had made her feel that way.
In that moment, with her sister by her side and the kids strapped in behind them, she felt as though she was exactly where she was meant to be.
The drive to Hilo was over in a blink. Oakley navigated them through a quiet neighborhood on the edge of town and parked just a few yards from the trailhead.
“Okay!” she said as she threw the car into park. “Let’s get moving.”
“Isn’t Laurie coming?” Anne asked.
“No.” She kept her voice down, beneath the chattery noise of four kids spilling out of the car. “Chris wouldn’t let her have the car.”
“Wouldn’tlether?” Anne repeated incredulously.
“He took it to work.”
“Should we go get her?”
“I offered,” Oakley said heavily. “She said she had too much to do at home.”
Anne’s eyes went distant, worrying about their younger sister.
“Come on.” She hopped out and shouldered her backpack. “Let’s hit the trail!”
It was a long, easy walk to the river. Her girls probably would have groaned and grumbled if she’d tried taking just the two of them, but having their cousins along kept their spirits up.
“Where are we going again?” Claire huffed as they walked up the slight but steady incline.
“Hikuwai,” Anne said, short of breath.
“It means Sevenwaters,” Oakley told her niece.
“For the seven waterfalls!” Harper added.
“Are we almost there?” Claire asked.
“The river’s just on the other side of that eucalyptus grove.” Oakley pointed uphill to the towering trees that swayed in the breeze. There was already a faint scent in the air, sharp and clean.
The air was cooler in the deep shade of the trees. When they finally reached the eucalyptus grove, the kids raced forward with a fresh burst of energy.
