She had built something meaningful… and she didn’t have to carry it all alone anymore.
23
Akemi
Once the café was open, Akemi could hardly recall her worries about the place sitting there empty, draining away the dregs of her savings.
They were slammed.
Every morning, dozens of regulars dropped in for a coffee and a malasada on their way out of town. After that, the place filled up with young parents eager to get out of the house. At Keiki Café, they could actually sit and have a coffee while their toddlers were safely corralled in the playroom.
Akemi loved it. She loved helping Oakley with the morning rush while their kids played in the next room, and she loved sitting with Kaleo and a little troop of toddlers the rest of the morning when things were quieter. Oakley manned the counter while her daughters drifted between the playroom, the backyard, and the bookshop.
Late morning, when people were either off at work or home for naptime, things slowed down a bit.
Hayden and Harper claimed a table and settled down to do some schoolwork. Sometimes Akemi put Kaleo down for anap in his stroller – a walk up and down the street usually did the trick – and once, he had fallen asleep right there on the playroom mat while she cleaned up.
That day, though, he was fussy.
“I need to take Kaleo home for a solid nap,” she told Oakley. “Would you mind if I borrow your car?”
“You’ll be back before closing?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
“That’s fine then.”
Akemi fastened Kaleo into his car seat, and he was asleep before they had even gone a mile. The silence of the car was a relief after a busy morning… but after another mile, it felt oppressive.
She hadn’t heard from Lorenzo in two days.
Usually, they talked every day: first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. But for nearly forty-eight hours, he hadn’t picked up her calls or even reacted to the photo she sent him of Kaleo in his high chair with pink yogurt all over his face.
She hated that she was counting the hours, but she couldn’t help herself.
Had he met someone else?
She trusted that he wouldn’t ghost her entirely – he wouldn’t do that to his son – but this sudden pulling away made her queasy.
Had he decided to stay in Italy?
Silently, Akemi cursed herself for being selfish and silly.
Maybe Lorenzo’s father had passed away.
Maybe something had happened to Lorenzo himself.
Would it kill him to send a single message? An emoji? Some proof of life?
Akemi coasted up the driveway and into the shade of thecarport. She grabbed her diaper bag as she slipped out of the car and closed the door gingerly, careful not to wake Kaleo.
When she saw a man lurking in the shadows, she nearly screamed.
“Ciao, amore.” Lorenzo was waiting for her on the kitchen steps. He smiled as Akemi put a hand over her panicked heart and tried to catch her breath.
“Ciao?” she hissed.
His face fell. “You are not happy to see me?”
