Page 42 of Big Island Sunset
A circle of dark brown mulch around young trees helped to keep the grass back long enough for the saplings to get established – though even ten-foot fruit trees could be overtaken by grass and vines if left unattended for a few months.
The small, late-season crop of fruit that grew on the thin trunk of the jaboticaba tree was still mostly unripe, but one round globe was such a dark purple that it was nearly black. Emma took it between her fingertips, and it came off easily in her hand. She put the whole fruit in her mouth and bit down; it exploded with juice that tasted like concord grapes.
Emma chewed the tough skin and spat out the seed.
Standing in her impossibly verdant front yard, she experienced a surge of gratitude that felt a lot like grief. Where the Kealoha place was concerned, she would probably never be able to untangle the two.
“Emma!” A shout startled her, and she turned towards the street. Dio ran past, barking. She raised a hand to her eyes to shade them from the sun and spotted a familiar mass of curls just above the front gate.
“Toni?” she said, barely audible even to her own ears. Then again, shouting, “Toni!”
She dropped the pitchfork and ran to greet her sister.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” she demanded when she got closer.
“I did,” Toni said, but her green eyes sparkled with mischief.
“You didn’t tell me that you were comingtoday.”
“I got the first flight that I could and then I rented a car. I didn’t want my visit to be one more thing on your plate. The idea is to take some of the load off, not pile more on.” She paused, looking unsure. “Is that okay? Can I stay a few days?”
“Are you kidding?” Emma flung open the gate and pulled her sister into a hug.
Toni was six years older than Emma, and some part of her was always surprised to find that her big sister was a full head shorter than she was. She squeezed her tight and then stepped back to get a good look at her. Dio, having accepted that this stranger was a friend, was now whining and nosing her belly in search of attention.
“Okay, okay,” Toni laughed, petting him. “Hi!”
There was more gray in her curls than there had been the last time Emma had seen her, and new lines on her face. The past year had been hard on the whole family. Sometimes, in the depths of her grief, she lost sight of that.
Then Toni turned to her with a bright smile, and her worry eased.
“Okay if I leave the car there?” she asked, gesturing to the silver rental car she had parked by the fence.
“That’s fine. Normally I’d invite you to park in the driveway, but…” She trailed off and gestured to the mulch pile that was taking up most of the space.
“No worries.”
“Need a hand with your bags?”
“No, I’m good.” Toni shouldered her ancient, oversized backpack. “This is all of it.”
Emma looked at her dog, who was wandering towards Tara’s place.
“Dio!” she called. “Go home!”
Obediently, Dio spun and raced back through the fence.
“Good dog,” Toni remarked as they walked through.
“He’s easy to train,” Emma said, closing the gate behind them. “Super smart, eager to please. We got lucky.”
“So did he. Wasn’t he living in the jungle when you found him?”
“Skirting the edge of a parking lot by the beach, yeah.”
“Dogs don’t forget that sort of thing.”
“I guess not.”
