“Some of those voices are as sharp as cactus grass,” she said in a tiny voice.
“You’ve dealt with plenty of that.” Halia stood and patted her niece on the back. “You’re stronger than you think.”
Zoe didn’t reply.
“I’m running a carnival day this weekend for the kids at A Place of Refuge. Will you give me a hand?”
Zoe looked her in the eye. She might be mired in her own misery, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew that her aunt was telling her to look around her at people whose suffering went far beyond her own and find a way to help.
“Sure,” she said. “I’d like that.”
Halia kissed the top of her niece’s head. The short hair looked spiky, but it was as soft as the fur on a newborn puppy.
“Good. I’ll see you Saturday.”
“What time?” Zoe asked.
“I’ll be there at first light. I want to have it all set up before the kids are up for the day.”
“Okay. See you then.”
“Hey Zoe?” Halia waited for her niece to meet her eyes.
“Yeah?”
“It won’t always feel this hard. I promise.”
Zoe gave her a sad, tight smile. “Thanks.”
Halia nodded and walked away, determined to make the most of the day.
31
Akemi
Freshly showered and feeling more like herself than she had in a while, Akemi wandered through the house in search of her baby.
She wasn’t worried; there were so many people eager to hold the youngest member of the Kalama family that he changed hands about a hundred times a day – always completely safe and very loved.
Although there was a part of her that wanted to hold her newborn every moment of every day, she was also very grateful that she was able to eat and bathe and stretch while other pairs of loving arms cradled her baby. It let her feel fully human and fully herself much sooner than she would have otherwise.
She couldn’t imagine doing all this alone, trying to cook and clean and work and care for her baby.
But she didn’t have to.
She was so tenderly held by her family that all she had to do was nurse her baby and care for herself, and she was deeplygrateful for that. She even slept an unbroken five hours most nights, when Lorenzo took their son to his room.
Lorenzo. She found him holding their baby on the back porch.
Her heart, already full to bursting, seemed to grow another three sizes.
Her romantic relationship with Lorenzo was on the back burner… but as a coparent and partner, she loved him very much. He looked at Kaleo with pure adoration – how could she not love him for that?
She wasn’t sure what their future held. All of the details were still up in the air. But now that Kaleo was here, she felt confident that they would figure it out.
One step at a time.
Now Lorenzo was singing to Kaleo in Italian, and Akemi didn’t interrupt them.
