Anne took a slow breath in before responding. “Homeschooling would mean more time with me. More time outside. More time to do whatever you like.”
Claire was quiet for a while, shuffling and reshuffling the deck of cards.
“What if I spent the school year with Dad?” she asked eventually.
Pain and pity twisted through Anne’s chest.
“It’s not me choosing him over you,” Claire said, looking up. “I just… I miss my friends. I miss being able to walk around La Jolla. Grandma’s house is fine for a visit, but I never wanted tolivehere.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“So… can I?”
“I don’t think that’s an option.”
“Why not?”
“Your dad…” Anne struggled to find words that weren’tdoesn’t want you. “He’s not able to take care of you for the whole school year. He doesn’t have a place of his own.”
“Candy might let me stay,” she tried, referring to her dad’s new girlfriend.
Anne pressed her teeth together and didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, okay, I know.” Claire looked down, and her voice was so quiet that Anne could barely hear it above the shuffling of cards. “He doesn’t even respond to my text messages.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Doesn’t he have, like, rights and responsibilities?”
“He signed them away during the divorce,” Anne admitted. “I have full custody.”
“Oh.” Claire blinked rapidly, trying not to cry. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep you in La Jolla. I really tried. But in the end, I think that being here with our whole family–”
“Yourwhole family,” Claire interrupted.
“Right.” Anne tried to find the right words. “I think that being surrounded by family – your grandma and your aunties and your big sister – is the best thing for you, in the long run. You’ll make new friends. We’ll build a good life here.”
“I want to go to school.”
“Okay.” Anne pushed aside her own trauma. Maybe things had changed for the better in the past thirty years. “I get it. You’ll meet a bunch of kids your own age who live nearby. And if you decide later that you want to try something different, that’s okay too.”
Claire nodded, still not meeting her eyes.
“I know it’s not easy. Transitions are tough.”
“I’m gonna take a walk. Can I have money for shave ice?”
Anne hesitated. She didn’t like sending her daughter off alone in a new place.
But having the independence to walk all around town was one of the things that Claire missed most about California. And anyway, this was Pualena; there were aunties on every corner to watch out for her.
That hadn’t been enough to protect Zoe.
Anne wanted to say NO. She wanted to bubble-wrap her teenager and keep her close, at least for a few more years. But if she was too overprotective, Claire mightactuallymove in with Colin and Candy. Or worse.
Giving her daughter just enough independence while still keeping her safe was such a difficult line to walk.
