“We haven’t set a date yet. I need to check Maileah’s schedule.”
“You deserve this.” Jo squeezed her friend’s hands and let go. Neither of them mentioned how close Jo had come.
“I’ll call you later,” Junie said. “Knox is making pasta tonight, and we’d love company if you want to come over.”
“I’ll call you.”
They parted at the corner. Junie headed toward the Majestic, and Jo unlocked the diner.
The morning rush was already building. Her crew had everything running smoothly. Jo tied on her apron and took her place behind the counter.
Between the breakfast rush and the lunch orders, she ducked into her office and called Mahina.
It was still early in Hawaii, but Mahina picked up on the second ring.
“Jo, I was going to call you today. I saw the crowdfunding campaign. Looks like it’s taking off.”
“That’s why I’m calling. The Imperial Kona Reserve tier is selling faster than I projected. If we hit the full goal, and I think we will, I’m going to need a lot more beans than we agreed on for the first run.” She also told her about Gianna’s order from the Majestic.
“How much more do you think?” Mahina asked.
Jo looked at the numbers Rocky had prepared and gave her an estimate.
Mahina was quiet for a moment. “My farm can’t handle that volume alone. Not at the quality I’d want to put my name on.”
Jo’s stomach tightened. “I understand.”
“However,” Mahina began, and Jo heard a smile in her voice. “I know two women on the Big Island who grow at the same elevation, same volcanic soil, same standards. We’ve been talking for a while about forming a cooperative. Your order might be the push we need to make it official. From our groves to your counter.”
“I love that,” Jo said. “A women’s cooperative on the Big Island, supplying Cuppa Jo’s directly.”
They talked for another fifteen minutes, roughing out the timeline. Mahina would meet with the other two growers this week. If they agreed, they’d formalize the cooperative and have a supply agreement ready well before Jo’s campaign closed.
“One more thing,” Mahina said before they hung up. “I saw some comments about your boyfriend leaving for Chicago. Whatever is going on in your personal life, don’t let it distract you from this. You’re doing a good thing for coffee growers. I just want you to know we’re behind you.”
Jo hung up and sat in her small office for a moment, staring at the wall. On it, she’d tacked a photo of herself at the AMACA cooperative in Colombia, standing with the women who grew her Queen’s Blend. Next to it was a picture Mahina had sent of her groves on the Big Island, and another of the women growers on Sumatra.
Women around the world building something together.
Before she returned to the counter, she checked her phone again and noticed that Rocky had called while she was talking to Mahina. She debated calling him, but she wasn’t in the mood just yet.
15
After arriving at the airport, Blue rented a car and drove toward his mother’s home past the same brick bungalows he remembered from childhood. The corner store was the same, though the green awning was faded. A basketball hoop hung bolted above Mr. Nowak’s garage, the net long gone.
His brother had taught him to shoot on that hoop left-handed, because Charles was left-handed and Blue copied everything his older brother did. It didn’t work, but they’d laughed about it for years.
His mother’s house was halfway down the block. Red brick, white trim, a small porch with two comfortable chairs and pots of red geraniums.
His mother was at the door before he’d pulled the key from the ignition. He stepped from the car. The air was heavier than on Crown Island.
He grabbed his small carry-on bag. “Hi, Ma.”
“My baby.” Rhonda Blumenthal wrapped her arms around her youngest child.
Blue bent down to hold her, this small, fierce woman who had given birth to four children by twenty-five. Now in her mid-sixties, she still smelled like the lavender lotion she’d used since he was a kid and kept her hair tinted in her natural dark blond shade.
“You’re still too thin,” she said, pulling back to examine him. “Don’t they feed you on that island?”
