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“Kai can be pigheaded, believe me,” Kaimana said. “Most of the time he doesn’t know what’s best for him. But from what I can see, you’re good for him. I know you don’t owe him another chance, but would you think about at least hearing him out?”
Jun appreciated the older woman’s praise, yet wondered if what she said was really true. She looked at the crumpled contract in her hand. If he’d come to see that getting serious about training was the only way forward, maybe she had to do it.
“I’ll come and talk to him,” she said, and Kaimana’s face lit up in delight. “But I’ll drive myself.”
“Wonderful,” Kaimana said, clapping her hands together.
* * *
JUN PULLED UP to the driveway of Kai’s beach house.
“Whoa!” Po exclaimed from the back, his eyes bulging. “This is where Kai lives?”
The boy had never seen a mansion up close before. They’d driven by plenty on the Big Island, but he’d never stood before one.
“Does he have to share it?”
“Share it?” Jun asked.
“Yeah, with neighbors.”
Po knew all about neighbors. She was always telling him to walk softly and not run in the apartment so he wouldn’t disturb the woman who lived downstairs. Not that it helped all that much. Po had only two speeds: dead stop and full tilt. Asking a four-year-old to be quiet was like asking an elephant to tiptoe.
“No, he lives here all by himself.”
“Whoa,” Po exclaimed again.
Jun got out, opened Po’s door and helped him slide out of his booster seat. She felt uneasy as they walked up to the house. Kai was the one who wanted her here, had sent his aunt to beg her to come, yet butterflies relentlessly beat their anxious wings in her stomach. What was she scared of? He’d already fired her once. That was pretty much the worst he could do.
Or he could really be sincerely sorry and hire you on for good.
She was beginning to think that was exactly what she was worried about. She wasn’t sure she could help him. The way he looked at her, the way he seemed to know more about her than she knew herself, made her feel as if she were always on her back foot. Jun still remembered how he’d challenged her about her own sex life, turning the tables in a way that made Jun think long and hard about some of the decisions she’d made in her life. Something about Kai’s confidence made her question her own life. Which is hilarious, considering his is such a mess!
She shook off the insecurity. She had to dig deep and find her own confidence. She knew she was right. If he cut out the distractions, he would be more focused and stronger out there on his surfboard.
Po excitedly skipped ahead and ran to the front door, where he eagerly pressed the doorbell. There was no keeping her little boy away from any button—elevators or doorbells.
“Just once, Po,” she admonished, and he dutifully nodded and stepped back. Though she could tell it took quite a bit of effort for him not to hit the glowing button once more.
The door opened and Kaimana stood there. “So glad to see you,” she said. “Come on through to the back.”
Po followed Kaimana through the sleek foyer and living room, eyes bugging out at the size of Kai’s flat-screen TV and the impressive open staircase leading to the bedrooms upstairs. Then, as they walked to the open lanai, he saw the pool in the backyard, crystal blue and square, its surface almost completely flat like a mirror.
Po stopped in his tracks. “I don’t like swimming,” he told Kaimana solemnly.
The old woman nodded. “Me neither,” she said, and Jun watched as Po’s face magically relaxed. She felt grateful Kaimana had said that and hadn’t, like so many other adults, tried to convince Po he was wrong. There was no shortage of people out there who felt as if they could raise her son better than she could, but Kaimana seemed not to be in that camp. Kaimana put her wrinkled hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Do you want to take a walk on the beach? I think there’s a tide pool out there and I saw urchins and a crab in it this morning.”
“A crab?” exclaimed Po, enthusiastic.
“A fast one with big claws,” Kaimana promised.
