“You’re picking it up quick.”
“It’s pretty easy. Intuitive.” He shrugged and picked up his hammer. “I was never great with words, but I’ve always been good with my hands.”
Heat rose to Laurie’s cheeks, and she went to prop the door open.
“I wish we could get an air conditioner to deal with the humidity,” she said.
“That’s expensive.” Again, he used the right sign.
Not only that, but he did it with such flourish that Laurie couldn’t help but laugh. It was a funny one to begin with, like a pantomime of shelling out cash. He even got the face right, which was something most people struggled with when they were learning ASL; they made the hand motions but completely left off the facial expressions that added so much to the tone of what was being said.
“I know,” she said and signed, still smiling. “I’ll have to settle for a dehumidifier or something.”
“As long as you keep the air moving, you should be good. I’ll put in a huge fan up in the middle of the ceiling. That should help.”
Laurie wanted to help, and she knew that he would let her… but she also knew that if she tried to help this expert carpenter, she would only be in the way.
The thought made her feel childish and inept, so she backed away.
“Thanks again.”
“I still have to build that bookshelf for your bedroom,” he said. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. But I want to.” He gestured around their little bookshop in progress. “I just thought you would want this done first.”
She stared at him, at a loss for words. Finally, she said, “I’ll let you get back to work.”
He nodded but didn’t get back to it right away. His eyes stayed on her until she was out the door and past the window.
What now?she asked herself, faltering.
She hadn’t eaten yet.
Stress had ruined her appetite, possibly forever, but she knew that she should eat something. So she walked up to Main Street and over to Pualena Cafe.
Her whole family had been going there for brunch for as long as Laurie had known them. It was a special treat when she was little. For a family that almost never ate out, just getting some pancakes at the local diner felt like a big occasion.
Laurie had stopped going as an adult – it was a tired old place with oily food and greasy tables – until it came under new management a few years back. Now the food was phenomenal. Itwas still a major splurge, like any restaurant on the island, but at least now the food was worth what she spent on it.
She slid into a free booth and got a fresh glass of orange juice to rehydrate after walking in the summer heat, but the food she ordered to go. When it was ready, she paid and carried the bag back around the corner to her bookshop in progress.
“Back already?” Kekoa asked with a grin.
“I thought you might like some lunch.” She hefted the big paper bag.
“Mahalo!” He put his tools down and signedThank you.
Laurie looked around uncertainly. The whole space was covered in sawdust.
“Come on through,” Kekoa said, heading for the back door.
Laurie followed, picking her way around wooden boards and scattered tools.
Behind the building was an open space that she had never seen before. It was overgrown with tangled green vegetation, but that only made it more enchanting.
“There’s a whole secret garden back here!” she exclaimed.
