She shunted that question to the back of her mind before her anxiety could conjure up any answers.
“We should leave now if we’re gonna have time for that hike,” Jasmine said.
“I can pack you a lunch,” Anne offered.
“Thanks, but we’ll just pick up some onigiri and kombucha on the way.”
“Okay. Have fun. Be safe.”
Pete wandered back into the kitchen and watched them go with a tragic expression.
“I have a feeling that homeschooling won’t actually mean more time at home for Claire,” he lamented.
Anne put an arm around him. “It’s you and me, kid.”
“Acutally,” he drew the word out and stepped away to look up at her, “Paige and Piper invited me up to the ranch to see their baby ducks. Kai’s going too, and his mom said I could ride with them.”
“Sounds fun.” Anne conjured up a smile that didn’t have much heart behind it.
“Would you tell his mom I can go?”
“Sure, I’ll text her.”
“Thank you.” Pete squeezed her waist and then jumped away again. “I’ll go get ready!”
Anne let out another little sigh as she texted Tara and Emma to confirm the plan that the kids had made for the day.
She was glad that Pete had made so many friends through the Pualena Playschool co-op, and she was grateful that Claire had close friendships as well.
But she missed them.
When she moved to Hawaii and offered to homeschool her kids, she had assumed that would mean more time with them.And that was true to some extent, but they didn’t spend nearly as much time together as a family as Anne had originally envisioned. Her work kept her busy, and her kids had busy lives of their own.
She needed to be more intentional about carving out time together.
Maybe it was time for her to pull back on the bed and breakfast. Like Zoe had reminded her that morning, it was never supposed to go on as long as it had. And lately, it seemed like her mother’s patience was wearing thin.
She had already shifted things around to block off a room for Akemi, who – after arriving with next to no notice – was currently sleeping in their mom’s room. Maybe she should also close down check-in’s for a couple days each week to try and block off dedicated family time.
One way or another, she wanted more time with her children. It would only be another minute before they were grown and gone.
Akemi came downstairs, holding her squirming baby in both arms. When she let him down, he raced immediately to the cabinet he had discovered the day before and got to work pulling out every piece of plastic tupperware that they owned.
“Did you get any sleep?” Anne asked, pouring her sister the last cup of coffee.
“A bit. Right around dawn.”
“Jet lag?” she guessed.
“My worst enemy,” Akemi confirmed. “Kaleo was up at midnight running laps around the living room. He didn’t settle back down until like four in the morning.”
“That’s rough.”
“Luckily Mom’s a deep sleeper these days. But she alsosnores.” Akemi rubbed her eyes and took a swig of coffee.
“I’m sorry about your room. I had it blocked off starting next month, but–”
“It’s fine. I get it.”
