Someone Else’s Life(15)



“Hey,” Serena said, seeming to sense that Annie wanted to change the subject, “why isn’t your son in preschool? Isn’t he that age?”

Annie’s face flushed. “Yeah, he should be. We were going to put him in the one that Cam went to, but our neighbor basically implied that would be a mistake.” Annie grimaced as she remembered how Kalani had informed them a few weeks ago that they wouldn’t be able to get Finn into a good school in the middle of the year. She’d said you had to be on the wait list practically as soon as you were pregnant.

“Why is that?” Serena tilted her head.

“Sam works an assortment of odd jobs. She’s a dog walker, bartends at Duke’s on Kalapaki Beach, and she’s also the caretaker of a few properties for people who live on the mainland and rent out their condos. You can imagine her income isn’t very high, plus she’s a single mom. What our neighbor Kalani was trying to say to us was that the school Cam went to is in a low-income area, since Sam qualifies for low-income services.”

Even though Kalani had said that in the nicest way possible, it had still irked Annie. When Kalani offered to put in a word for them since a classmate of Leila’s had moved away because of her father’s job transfer to the mainland, Annie wanted to turn her down out of spite. But she knew she couldn’t. On one hand, she wanted to defend Sam’s choices. But on the other, she did want what was best for Finn. She and Brody had known when they decided to move to Kauai that the school system wasn’t as good as what they had in New York. Shouldn’t she want to put Finn in the best school possible?

Kalani had further enforced this belief when she told them that the quality of care and early education given to the children in Leila’s school was better than could be found at schools where there wasn’t a wait list. And they provided food for lunch, which some of the other preschools didn’t.

Annie had swallowed and forced a smile on her face, telling Kalani it would be lovely of her to put in a word for Finn. Brody had poked her in the side at her use of the word “lovely,” while Kalani had beamed at them and said she’d do her best to try and get Finn into Leila’s class. They had an appointment to visit the school later that week.

Annie’s cell rang right then, and when she saw who was calling, she quirked an eyebrow at Serena. “It’s Sam. Think she heard us talking about her?”

Serena sniggered as Annie picked up the call.

“Hey, Annie. The storm’s getting bad. Why don’t you come over here?” Sam’s tone was rushed, and Annie could hear the concern behind her sister’s words. But she could barely hear Sam over the loud music and screaming coming from the background.

“I’m fine.” Annie glanced back at Serena. “I have someone over here.”

“Oh, a friend? That’s great.” Sam was practically shouting to be heard over the music. The reception wasn’t great, and she was cutting in and out. “. . . Kalani?”

“What?” Annie shouted back.

There was a burst of static and fuzz.

“I’ll call you back on the landline,” Annie said, and then hung up.

She dialed her father’s line, and when it was picked up, all she heard was the loud music and the kids screaming again, but much clearer this time. Holding the phone away from her ears, she heard her father say, “Wei?”

Annie shook her head. He still answered the phone like he was in Taiwan, even though he’d been in this country for so long. “How’s Finn? I guess they’re having a good time.”

“Yes, so loud.”

“Is Sam there?”

No reply from her father, and then her sister was back on the phone.

“Much better,” Sam said. “Cell service is already getting bad. I think we’re going to lose power. Who do you have over there with you? Kalani?”

Annie rolled her eyes. Why did everyone want her and Kalani to be friends so bad? Yes, once, she probably would have been friends with their cheerful neighbor. But these days, she couldn’t handle all that chipper energy. She had more of a connection with Serena in just the short time they’d met.

“No, just someone I . . . know.” There was no reason to tell Sam how Serena had come to knock on her door and Annie had thought she was there to kill her at first.

“Okay, well, it’s really bad out. You guys should plan on staying put for the time being. I’m glad you have company.” One of the kids yelled something in the background. “Hang on,” Sam yelled back before returning her attention to Annie. “You should pack a bag in case we need to evacuate. Baba doesn’t think we need to, since the house is built up, but you never know.”

Annie’s eyebrows rose. “You think it’s going to be that bad?”

“Could be, especially since we’re right on the river. Just be prepared, okay? I’ll touch base in a bit.” Sam’s words rushed out. “And don’t worry about Finn. He can stay for dinner.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

“I gotta go. My dance partners are getting impatient.” And with that, Sam hung up.





9


Annie put her phone down and stood, stretching her arms overhead. Despite the growing dread from the storm, she realized she felt great. She was enjoying Serena’s company. She’d been missing her two best friends, Julia and Izzy, who were back in New York. Talking to Serena was a lot like talking to her old friends, and it made her wish they were here with her.

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