Unfortunately, it might not be up to her.
Homeschooling while working full time would be a challenge, but she felt up to it. She worked from home, and it would be easy enough for Mia to work on her lessons while Laurie worked on her laptop. But if Chris didn’t agree – and she couldn’t see why he would – then they would end up in front of a judge. And if that happened, she had no idea what the judge would decide.
She supposed it would come down to that person’s individual biases. It was terrifying to think that her daughter’s future was in the hands of a single stranger.
She took a shaky breath and walked outside, trying to quiet her worries.
In that moment, Mia was living her best life, sprinting with her cousins through their grandmother’s backyard out in the middle of the Pacific.
Pete appeared around the corner and sprayed the girls, who shrieked with laughter and raced for control of the hose. Laurie watched them for a while, and then she went inside for a pile of towels. She set them next to the back door, ready for whenever the kids finally came back inside.
Halia walked in through the front door carrying two big canvas bags. She met Laurie’s eyes and smiled.
Thai food?Laurie guessed.
“Yep. Where is everybody?”
“Zoe’s at work. Anne and Claire are upstairs cleaning. Oakley and Mom are running errands. Kids are outside draining the catchment tank with a water fight.”
A small brown shape streaked across the floor, and Halia jumped.
Rikki stood up on his back legs and chirped at her. The mongoose had grown bold around the family, though he still made himself scarce when Anne’s guests crowded the table in the mornings. He chirped at Halia, demanding food; she rolled her eyes and walked around him.
“I’m too hungry to wait.” Halia turned and shouted something up the stairs, probably telling the redheads to come down for lunch. Then she put the bags on the counter and started to set out the food.
“Thanks for lunch,” Laurie said. She went to the cupboard and brought out stacks of plates and bowls.
Halia caught her eye and signed,How are you?
Laurie smiled stiffly and shrugged. With an open hand, she tapped her thumb to her chest.Fine.
Halia didn’t push. She just nodded and passed the pad thai.
Claire came downstairs and claimed an entire container of fried rice while Anne herded the younger kids inside, wrapped each one in a towel, and sent them upstairs to change. Only then did she join her sisters at the table.
Anne looked frazzled but happy. Her dark red hair was up in a messy bun and she wore a ratty old t-shirt, but her freckled face glowed with a radiance that Laurie hadn’t seen in years.
Laurie realized that she hadn’t seen her sister truly happy since they were kids – but now, living in Pualena with all three of her kids, she finally was. It gave her hope for the future – and with that, appetite enough to eat a full meal.
By the time she finished her pad thai and moved on to green papaya salad, everyone from little Harper up to Grandma Dawn was crowded around the long wooden table. It was cozy, sitting there with Mia on one side of her and Claire on the other. This was probably the only crowd that Laurie would ever feel comfortable in, and she was grateful to have even one place where she felt like she belonged.
She had just stood up to clear the table when Chris pulled into the driveway.
Laurie’s blood went cold.
She stood there, still as a statue in the middle of the cozy domestic scene.
Halia noticed and turned to look out the front windows. When she saw Chris’s van, she stood and moved towards the door. Laurie circled around the table and caught her shoulder.
It’s OK,she signed.
Halia looked at her for a moment, ready to stand between her little sister and anything that came their way. Then she relented and stepped aside.
“We knew this was coming sooner or later,” Laurie said quietly.
“Stand firm, but try not to antagonize him,” Halia advised.
Laurie watched her carefully, reading her lips; she had never bothered to put her hearing aids in that day, and Halia had never learned how to sign as well as the younger sisters.
