“What’s she going to do when Akemi gets back?” Zoe demanded, jabbing the air with each word that she signed.
“I’ll block her room off. I might not even be doing this by the time Akemi gets back. But for tonight, I have guests coming in. We’re fully booked for the rest of the summer.”
“It’s okay,” Laurie said. “We’ll be fine.”
Zoe looked like she wanted to keep arguing.
Enough, Laurie signed. She stood up from the table. Her plate was still mostly full, but her stomach churned unpleasantly.
She stepped out onto the back porch and tried to take a deep breath of the fresh ocean air, but her diaphragm felt like it was stuck on her ribs; she couldn’t get a full breath in.
She needed to find a place of her own sooner rather than later… but she knew full well what the rental market was like in Hawaii. Even moldy, barely-livable places cost thousands of dollars each month. That was one reason she’d stayed with Chris as long as she had… one of many.
Old worries spiraled through her with new urgency.
Custody, finances, schooling…
She sank onto the porch steps and put her head between her knees.
The wooden boards vibrated with footsteps, and someone sat beside her. She caught the floral-citrus scent of her mom’s shampoo, and a gentle hand moved up and down her back.
Slowly, Laurie’s racing heart settled back into a normal rhythm. Air seeped reluctantly into her lungs. She still couldn’t quite get a full breath in, but she could breathe again.
She sat up, expecting to see Dawn sitting next to her – but it was Anne, her freckled face filled with a mixture of empathy andguilt. She scooted back a bit to make it easier for Laurie to see her.
“I’m sorry about your room,” she said and signed.
“It’s OK,” Laurie told her. “Really. I’ll move our stuff to Akemi’s room.”
“If you want the money that I’m getting for rent–” Anne started, but Laurie held up a hand.
“No. That’s your gig. You’ve done all the work.”
Anne nodded reluctantly, her forehead still creased with concern.
“I’ve been working online,” Laurie said. “I can pick up more work. I’ll find my own place before Akemi comes home.”
“I can block your room off for the fall. Just in case you decide to stay. This whole bed and breakfast thing… it’s just temporary, while I get back on my feet.”
“Thanks. But I want to find a place… if I can. We need a home of our own.” She frowned, thinking. “You know I’ve never lived alone? I went from this house to roommates to marriage. I think it would be good for me to have a place of my own. Just Mia and me.”
“I get that.” Anne’s lips twisted into a grim smile. “I’m sharing a room with two kidsand a mongoose. The house is crowded, I know. It’s a lot. But we’re lucky to have it.”
Laurie nodded, and her gaze drifted out to the ocean. The view eased her anxieties; it reminded her of how small and temporary all her worries were.
“This too shall pass,” she murmured.
“We’ll figure it out,” Anne agreed.
Laurie reached over and took her hand.
They sat there for a long time, watching clouds drift across the vast blue sky.
It was easy to take the long view on other people’s problems. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything wouldwork out for Anne. And sitting there hand in hand with her sister, it felt possible to believe the same for herself.
2
Anne
