“Deal!” they shouted together.
She laughed. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the house felt a lot lighter.
“Okay. Go get your bathing suits on. I’ll pack a lunch.”
This was what they needed, Oakley reflected as she sliced veggies for their lunch. Freedom and flexibility and sunshine. Time together as a family. That was what this was for, all of the early hurdles and growing pains.
Whatever her girls needed, whatever was truly best for them, they could all figure it out together. The three of them, as a team.
As she drove along the highway, listening to her daughters talk about organelles and aerobic respiration, she knew that she had made the right decision.
Whatever obstacles they faced along the way, whatever turns they might decide to take down the road, she knew that they were on the right path.
They were together, they were happy, and they were well.
And that was all that really mattered.
9
Akemi
In Hawaii, Akemi was quickly learning that parenting was easier outside.
When she let Kaleo roam the beach parks and splash in the water, he was happy as could be. It was a beautiful, healthy childhood, filled with green grass and fresh air. Showing her son the sea turtles and ironwood forests that she had grown up with brought Akemi some of the greatest joy she had ever felt.
Their bodies finally readjusted to the time zone that they had both been born into, and their weeks took on an easy rhythm full of family and sunshine.
Every time that she returned to the windward side of the Big Island, she felt like she could finally breathe deep again. Perched on the edge of the cliffs, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, her childhood home must have the best air in the whole world.
Their days were beautiful… but getting work done was no easier than before.
Her family took Kaleo here and there, but they were all busy with their own lives; she couldn’t rely on any of them forconsistent childcare. And by the time Kaleo fell asleep at night, Akemi was too tired to accomplish much of anything.
Her mind clamped onto her vision of a café and wouldn’t let go.
There must be so many other mothers juggling the same things that she was, desperately trying to balance work and childcare. She was lucky that her work schedule was completely flexible; other mothers with more demanding jobs must have an even tougher time of it.
She was desperate to get her idea off the ground… but starting a project that would help give her more time and space to work because she already had so little time and space to work was a frustrating paradox. It felt very ‘it takes money to make money’… and when it came to time, Akemi was pretty much broke.
Her business was going well, and she did have some money to invest. But when she lay in bed at night next to her sleeping baby, scrolling through sales pages for espresso machines and playground equipment, she realized that startup costs would be a tight squeeze with her modest savings account.
Even so, she was starting to figure things out.
She had cobbled together a business plan in stolen moments, trailing Kaleo around the backyard or sitting on the front steps while he napped in his stroller. Somewhere along the way, her dream of a café started to feel like a concrete possibility.
Their outing that day was to a beach park in Hilo. She had hitched a ride with Jasmine and Claire, who were sprawled in the shade of a tree with their schoolbooks.
“I would havelovedto do school like this,” Akemi said. She sat crosslegged on the grass and wrestled Kaleo into a swimsuit.
“It’s pretty sweet,” Claire said.
“It’s still boring,” Jasmine huffed, flipping through one of the books, “but at least we’re outside.”
“Amen to that.” Akemi stood to follow Kaleo as he raced towards the water.
She caught him before he tumbled down the lava-rock steps, scooped him up, and set him safely onto the sand.
It was a super low tide that morning, which meant that nearly the whole lagoon was shallow enough for him to walk and splash and play.
