“When did you get back? How long are you here?”
“A few weeks ago. And… indefinitely.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Your mother needs you now more than ever. How is she?”
“Better,” Anne told her. What a relief to be able to say that and mean it.
“I’m glad to hear it. You’ll bring her some lychee for me?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Go on, then. I’ll let you get to work. We’re all ready for you.”
They walked around the back of the house to greet two more aunties Anne had known from childhood. They were set up in the shade with plastic bags and coolers, ready to package the lychees for sale. Lychee season was short, and the delicious fruit could fetch twenty dollars per bag at roadside stands.
Anne had forgotten that Nani and her friends set one up on the side of the highway every year; she was glad to see that they were still at it.
Noah came up beside her and handed her a pair of pruning shears.
“Right,” she said, nodding. “Let’s get to work.”
Many of the fruits on the heavily laden trees were still half green, and she left those alone. She moved slowly around the edges of the first wide old tree, using the shears to cut bundles of ripe lychee that she then lowered carefully into her basket. When she had gathered all the fruit that she could reach on the outside, she moved into the shade nearer the trunk in search of more.
Standing up in the branches of the tree, Zoe worked at triple speed – and she did so without damaging the delicate fruit. Shewas in her element, up there in the canopy. With some sadness, Anne realized that this was the first time in ages that she had seen her eldest child look truly at ease.
Zoe swung easily down from the tree and reached back for her basket, which was still cradled in the branches. She went to empty it on the tarp where the aunties would sort and package the fruit – and she smiled at Anne in passing.
Such a small gesture, but it made Anne’s heart soar.
There was still hope for them. She still had the chance to mend their relationship.
And that was no small thing. That was everything.
Her heart was light as she went back to picking. It was an easy rhythm: choose a bunch of lychee, clip the stem, set them in the basket. Even so, her arms were burning with exertion after just a few minutes. It gave her a new appreciation for how strong her daughter really was.
“How are you doing?” Noah appeared at her side with two tall glasses of iced tea. “The aunties sent refreshments.”
“You and Zoe have each filled one of these huge baskets already.” Anne paused for breath and set down her garden shears. “Mine’s not even halfway full.”
“It’s a good start,” Noah said in that easy tone of his, holding out one of the glasses.
Anne took it, and for a moment her senses were overwhelmed by the warmth of his fingers against the cool of the glass. They were alone, shrouded from Zoe and the aunties by the dense green screen of low-hanging branches, and the current humming between them pushed every coherent thought from her mind.
Then he withdrew his hand, and she took a long drink of the tea. It was mamaki with lemon, perfectly refreshing. She breathed deep, and her pulse slowed almost to its normal rhythm.
“Have dinner with me,” Noah blurted, and Anne nearly dropped the glass.
She caught it in two hands and stood holding it for a moment.
Her brain stalled like a faulty engine.
The icy glass in her hands and the heat of the summer day filled her senses, and it was a moment before she could bring herself to look Noah in the eye.
For once in his life, he didn’t look cool and composed. He looked as nervous as a teenage boy asking a girl to the school dance. Anne remembered that look well… from another lifetime.
Her shock faded, and she felt a smile play across her lips.
“Noah Kapono… are you asking me out on a date?”
