Page 102 of Buck & Mari

Reiko had already taken her things to her parents’ condo in Honolulu, leaving her able to wade through what was now the Sakamoto backyard to convince Missus Sakamoto to leave before her son came back over the Pali to argue with her and make her go.

MARI

Just shy of ten at night, the clouds cleared up and the rain slowed to a trickle.

That didn’t help at all, it just make some residents sure that they’d been right to stay.

While Mari sat on Heath’s couch, her head aching from worry and Ebi strangely curled up against her thigh, a local news crew reported from a street less than a mile from her house.

“The reprieve from this storm has led local residents to relax and celebrate with a party atmosphere in this small Windward community.”

The camera feed of the reporter cut out, replaced by a filmed interview of someone she didn’t recognize.

“We had these people come around and tell us that there’s a dam up in the valley and it was going to overflow if it kept raining.” He looked up at the sky and held his hands up in the air. “The rain stopped, so I told my wife to stop packing. We’re going to stay and,” he pointed a thumb over his shoulder, “we’re all relaxing and enjoying the clear sky.”

The screen was suddenly filled with a backyard party that reminded her of the fun they’d had before the storm rolled in.

Heath sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Are you worried?”

She looked up at him and shook her head. Then, she paused and nodded. “I’m worried that people are letting things go too soon.

“Weather in Hawaii is just like a lot of other places in that things can change in a moment. Just as quickly as the rain stopped, it can start again.” She leaned forward on the couch and looked at the window. Even though it was dark outside, it was an instinct to check on the clouds.

The night sky was dark.

Darker than she’d like.

There was a moon out there, but it was covered by clouds.

And clouds, they’d told her in elementary school, were part of the cycle of precipitation. A lesson that her teacher had illustrated on the blackboard using an island image that she’d drawn.

Water evaporated into the air, created clouds, then the clouds would gather against the mountain and rain down on the ground, creating more water that would evaporate.

Sometimes it felt like people forgot the simplest lessons of science.

Like, the concept of erosion. ‘Islands,’ her teacher had explained, ‘become atolls.’

Heath leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Do you want to go back and check on the house tomorrow?”

The pressure on her shoulders lifted a little.

“Are you coming with me?”

He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. “Absolutely. I don’t like the idea of you going alone when things are up in the air like this.”

Mari felt her heart warm in her chest.

It was nice, really nice, to have someone care about her like he did.

“Thanks,” she spoke to him softly, “for listening. For… caring.”

“Always,” he leaned in for a kiss. “I want to make sure you’re safe.”

He brushed his lips against hers once, and then again.

When she felt the tip of his tongue sweep against the seam of her lips, she opened her mouth under his and stopped as something warm and heavy pushed between them.

They broke apart and looked down together.