“He just waits for me at the edge of the water,” Pete said brightly. “Like a puppy! Or sometimes he swims!”
“When does he swim?” Claire asked suspiciously.
“Um… never mind.”
“Pete, where does he swim?”
He hesitated another moment, looking at her sideways. Then he said, “In the bath.”
“Ew! You took him in the bath with you? Inourbathtub?”
“What’s the big deal? He’s cleaner than you. Smells better too.”
“Enough,” Anne cut in before Claire could respond. “Both of you. We’re almost there. Stop needling each other.”
They faded into a grumpy silence, with Claire staring tragically out the window and Pete cuddling his illicit pet in the middle seat. When Anne parked a few minutes later, Claire flew out of the car as soon as it stopped.
Near the parking lot was an old boat ramp that was now stranded a long way from the ocean. The eruption had created over eight hundred acres of new land and pushed the old coastline out a considerable distance.
Now, where there used to be seawater, there was a warm freshwater pond: a natural pool in the rock filled with rainwater that had been warmed by magma as it traveled underground, running downhill on its way to the sea.
Claire went straight to the edge and dove in. Pete came up alongside Anne.
“Will you hold Rikki?”
“I thought you were taking him with you.” Anne couldn’t help but smile at her son and the fuzzy little pup he held in both hands, curled against his chest.
“I just want to do one cannonball,” Pete pleaded.
“Go on, then.” She held her hands out for the mongoose pup and freed Pete up for a running jump into the pool.
Holding the mongoose felt strange, like a kitten but not. Despite his genetic connection to hyenas, Rikki was basically shaped like a ferret – long and skinny with short little legs. She wound up cradling him in one arm like a baby, supporting the length of him with her forearm.
Unsurprisingly, Pete forgot about his pet as he splashed around with his aunt and sisters. Rikki was content to relax in the warmth of Anne’s arms for a little while, but eventually hegot restless and started to squirm. She didn’t trust the pup not to wander into the parking lot or disappear into the jungle if she set him down, and so she waved her son over.
“Your turn,” she told him.
“Sorry!” Pete pulled himself out of the water and ran over. “Come on, Rikki. You want to go for a swim? The water’s so warm!”
Anne waded into the pool, relaxing into the easy warmth of the water, and Pete was right behind her.
She was shocked to see the baby mongoose take to the water as naturally as a river otter. Not only could he swim, but he wasfast. Rikki swam circles around Pete before finally climbing up the back of his head to perch on top, eliciting peals of laughter from the whole family.
“Still think he’s a pest?” Pete demanded.
“Definitely,” Zoe said, but she was grinning.
“He’s a pretty cute pest,” Claire acknowledged. “Kind of like you!”
“I think he’s a good boy,” Akemi crooned, holding her hands out for the wet mongoose. Pete handed her the pup, which curled into Akemi’s lap like a tired kitten.
Anne hoisted herself out of the pool and sat beside her sister. They left their feet in the warm water and let the morning sun warm their backs. Her heart was full as she watched her three children swimming together.
Suddenly, she felt deeply grateful both for her divorce and her failed business back on the mainland. Those failures had freed her and sent her home – and there was no place on Earth she’d rather be.
22
Akemi
