Page 12 of The Seashell of ’Ohana

“Why three?” I asked.

She tugged me off my stool. “Because we need to apologize to Stella. We don’t want her looking for another job.”

“Did she say something?” I matched her pace and opened the door.

“No, but she knows how busy we are, and she knows way too much about our business. The gallery isn’t rocket science, but she’d be hard to replace.”

Sometimes we were too comfortable with Stella and forgot to treat her like an employee. Like, how we’d snapped at her. I had to remember she wasn’t a blood sister, no matter how much I adored her. I would be saddened if she left us for another job. It would be like losing a family member.

“Stella. It’s break time.” Kate’s voice filled the room, and she set the ice cream tub on Stella’s desk.

“Come to apologize, have you?” Stella crossed her arms, waggling her eyebrows playfully.

Ice cream did make everything better. When had Kate become the older sister? It seemed like our roles had reversed.

Chapter Five — Saturday at Lee’s

“Mom, let’s go.” Tyler stood by the garage door, fidgeting. He’d been ready to go to Lee’s house since that morning.

I moved the phone away from my mouth. “Just a minute, Ty. I’m on the phone with your grandmother. I’ll be right there.” I put my mom on the speaker and shuffled to my room. “I gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you later. Say hi to Dad for me.”

I tossed the phone on my bed and went to the bathroom.

My parents had put up their house for sale to move to Kauai. It made sense, as Kate and I had settled here with no plans for moving back to Los Angeles. I had been speaking with a realtor, and Kate and I planned to help our parents find the perfect affordable house near us.

I fluffed my dark hair in front of the mirror and watched it fall in a gentle wave to my shoulder blades. After gliding on plum lip gloss, I tucked my white short-sleeve shirt inside my jeans. As I kneeled on the hardwood floor to rummage through the swim bag by the closet, I went through a mental list of things I should have already packed.

One extra swimsuit for Tyler. He already had one on.

Sunscreen. Check. Already put some on Tyler.

An extra pair of goggles.

Two swim towels. Yup.

My wallet. No need to bring a purse.

Change of clothes for Tyler after swimming.

Change of clothes for me, just in case.

My knuckles hit something hard, so I shoved the two bulky towels to the side. Tyler’s tablet? I hadn’t put that there.

“Ty, you don’t need to take your tablet,” I hollered. “I’m not packing it.”

Quick footsteps pattered down the hall toward my room. Tyler scrunched his face in defiance and tugged on the hem of his green T-shirt, which matched the palm tree print on his swim trunks.

“Argh, Mom,” he said with a huff, swinging a pair of goggles like a spinning toy. “I want to take it so Bridget and I can play.”

When my parents had bought the device for Tyler several Christmases ago, I wasn’t happy about it, but I had to admit it came in handy when I needed to keep him busy in restaurants or at home. But I’d never allowed him to take it to social gatherings, and I wasn’t about to start.

“Stop swinging that thing. And you don’t need the tablet.” I got up and dropped it on my bed.

He strapped his goggles over his head and opened his mouth to say something, most likely to argue, but instead, he let out a defeated breath. “Aye—but can we hurry?”

I shouldered the bag, shoved my phone in my back jeans pocket, and walked out of my room. “I just need to grab the cake, and we’re all set.”

Tyler rushed off to the garage before I could say another word.