“What’s this?” Laurie asked in surprise.
“Oakley went online the day you told us you were opening a bookshop,” Anne told her. “She loaded up on classics.”
“And if you ask me how much they cost,” Oakley added, “I’m throwing the thickest one at your head.”
She set a box down at Laurie’s feet, and Laurie crouched down to look through it. There were hardback copies ofLittle Women, The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables,and every book that Jane Austen had ever written. They were all in great condition, too.
“Oakley, this is amazing. Thank you.”
“The shop looks beautiful,” Anne said and signed.
Laurie looked in the box that Anne had carried in and found several copies ofHawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen.Below them were a variety of books on native plants. There were Hawaiian dictionaries too.
Amazing!Laurie signed.
“I have a bunch of kids books in the car too,” Oakley told her.
“Are you trying to stock this whole store yourself?”
“You’ve got a lot of space to fill.”
“Is it too early to get some books on the shelves?” Anne asked. “Could we start setting up?”
“I don’t see why not,” Laurie said. “Kekoa’s building more shelves at his place, but I think he’s done with all of the woodwork that needed to happen here.”
“Your shop looks amazing.”
Laurie nodded and bit her lip. She looked around, trying to let this extraordinary thing that they were creating as a community eclipse her fear of it all being doomed.
“Does it feel scary?” Anne asked hesitantly. “Starting a business here when the custody stuff is still up in the air?”
“Yeah,” Laurie admitted. “It does. But what’s the alternative? Living in limbo, waiting for other people to tell me what my life will look like? If I don’t move forward and try to build something, I’ll lose my mind.”
“You’re putting roots down in Pualena. I love that.”
“I guess I am.” Laurie took a breath, letting it sink in. “I always felt like such an outsider here. It’s strange coming back after so many years and realizing that I have such a strong community.”
“You felt like an outsider?” Oakley repeated, looking confused.
“Well, yeah.”
“You grew up here!”
“Mostly.”
Oakley rolled her eyes.
“I’ve always felt like that.” Laurie knew that she shouldn’t push it; she shouldn’t goad her sister after she had just made such a nice gesture. But she wanted so badly to be understood that she couldn’t stop herself. “Oakley, I felt like that in our family too.”
“Seriously?” she demanded. “We learned a whole language for you! What more could we possibly do?”
“Ease up.” Anne put a hand on Oakley’s shoulder. “She’s just telling you how she felt.”
“Not everything is a personal attack,” Laurie added. “I never said it was your fault. You were kids too.”
“So who’s fault was it?” Oakley asked, still defensive.
“Nobody’s. Adoption is complicated.”
