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“Aww, that’s so sweet,” I said.
“Hold on,” Makoa said. “So, if all I want to do is ride waves and never get mated, that’s fine?”
“Well, I’d hope you wouldn’t give up your craft. But if it makes you happy…”
“Hot damn, brotha! A lifetime of pressure is off!”
“Let’s not get too carried away,” she said.
Ari looked at me, and I wondered if he would still want to try this, now that he had permission not to. Would he still want me?
“We have three months until the baby comes,” he said. “I see no reason not to at least give this a shot. But no matter what the outcome is, I’m going to be there for Istil and our child.”
I had to admit, hearing him say that made me feel happier than I could’ve ever expected.
“That’s very honorable of you, Ari,” she said. “There will be others in the clan who will ask questions and look unfavorably on this situation, but don’t worry about dealing with them. I’ll take care of everything. You just focus on each other. Three months will be gone in an instant.”
* * *
I stood in front of the mirror and turned my body back and forth to look at the shape of the bump in the soft glow of an oil lamp. What a cascade of feelings. One moment I was in absolute bliss, the next, completely terrified.
But things were going better than I could’ve expected. We had Grandma Payaka on our side and one less thing to worry about. But there was still the Othos, and the matter of sharing the news with my side of things. I couldn’t hide here forever.
Ari knocked on my door to deliver another dose of the medicine. I let him in and sat by the open window. Palm fronds hanging outside my window swayed slowly in the night sky and insects buzzed against the netting.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“I feel like I want to know more about you,” I said. “I keep hearing about your father from everyone besides you.”
“I was talking about the nausea,” he said. He set the bottle on the table and sat next to me. “It’s not easy for me to speak about my father.”
“He was hard on you.”
“To say the least. You’ve seen how I can be with Kai, always breathing down his neck. Who do you think I learned that from?”
“Because you care about Kai,” I said. “You’re his healer, you’re taking care of him.”
“Yes, but… look at our relationship.”
“He loves you,” I said. “You’re family.”
It didn’t seem like something Ari expected to hear. His expression was firm and serious. Grandma Payaka was right—he was so hard on himself.
“Would you like to see something?” Ari asked.
“Are you gonna whip your cock out?” I said, trying to lighten the mood—and a little hopeful, too.
“Is that all you can think about?” he said, smirking as he shook his head. “Do you want to or not? Perhaps it’ll answer some of your questions.”
“I was always taught not to follow strange men into the night,” I said.
He pushed open the netting draped across the window and climbed outside. “There’s only one thing—you’re going to have to get wet,” he said.
“Now you’re really teasing me.”
Ari gave me a look, then he held out his hand. “I’m being serious. There’s a swim involved, but I’ll carry you the whole way.”
“Okay, but if you let me drown, I’ll never forgive you.”
