“Okay… if you’re sure. You could text Chris from my phone to let him know you’re okay.”
Laurie nodded and looked away.
Anne found a parking spot in the crowded lot, and they hauled all of their gear down the coast to the spot that Oakley had claimed for them.
Hayden and Harper shrieked with excitement at the arrival of their cousins, and the kids took off for the tide pools.
“Stay where I can see you!” Oakley shouted after them.
Anne smiled at the sight of Pete picking his way across the rocks with a baby mongoose perched on his shoulder. She watched the kids for a moment, itching to go in search of sea creatures alongside them, but opted to stay and set up camp.
She walked over to Claire, who sat in the shade of a tree, scrolling on her phone.
“Give me a hand with this tent, would you?”
“Yeah, okay,” Claire sighed.
“There’s good snorkeling here,” Anne said. “That area down at the end is more sheltered. It probably has a lot of fish.”
“Do you want to come with me?”
“Sure.” Anne grinned at the unexpected invitation.
“We should go before the sun gets too high.”
“Yeah, okay. Help me move the cooler into the shade. We can set up the tent in a bit.”
Anne donned her long-sleeved swim shirt and followed her daughter down the beach, snorkeling gear dangling from their hands.
At the end of the beach was a small bay, sheltered from the waves, and that was where they waded into the water in search of fish. The ocean was cold, even in summer, and Anne relished the feeling of the cool water climbing up her body after walking in the hot sun.
They tightened their fins, donned their masks, and set off. Anne kicked along at a leisurely pace, letting her daughter lead the way.
There weren’t a tremendous number of fish hanging out in the tiny bay, but there were enough to thrill a mainlander. Claire followed a bright yellow butterfly fish for a minute, then veered off towards an odd-looking fish with a clear tail and dramatic, irregular stripes. When it disappeared, Anne tapped her daughter’s arm and then surfaced, pulling the snorkel out of her mouth.
“Do you know what that was?” she asked.
Claire shook her head.
“Humuhumunukunukuapua’a.”
“Humuna what now?!”
“Reef triggerfish. It’s the state fish of Hawaii!”
“Say its name again.”
Anne repeated the fish’s Hawaiian name, slowly, and Claire copied her.
“That’s right!”
Claire giggled and went back to snorkeling.
They swam a while longer before heading back for shade and a snack. The rest of the family was there now too – everyone but Akemi, who was off in Albania. The scheduled posts on her blog were all about their adventures in Hawaii, but she’d filled the family group chat with pictures of quaint mountain villages and old stone castles.
“Mom!” Pete shouted when he saw her. “This is way better than a resort!”
Claire laughed. “Seriously?”
