Someone Else’s Life(18)

“Oh my god!” Annie’s eyes widened in fear. The tree had missed both the main house and the Ohana, but she eyed the others in the yard. What if another one fell? Would it hit them?

Serena rushed to her side and inhaled sharply when she saw the tree on the ground. They turned to each other, and as if synchronized, they both reached out at the same time and grasped each other’s hands.

“What do we do?” Serena asked in a scared voice, squeezing Annie’s hands.

“I don’t know. I guess stay away from the windows?” They scooted away, still connected at the hands. Although that was stupid. If a tree was going to fall on the Ohana, not being near a window wasn’t going to make a difference.

Annie let go of Serena’s hands and surveyed the backyard. “I think we’re okay. The trees in the yard aren’t very big.” She bit her lip, doing a mental measurement of the angle of the trees in relation to the two buildings. “I don’t think they’d fall on either house if they topple over.” She should have paid more attention in geometry.

Her phone dinged and she looked down. It was a text from Sam.

S: You okay?

A: Yeah. That was scary though.

S: Stay inside. Baba doesn’t think any of the trees would hit the house or Ohana.

A: That’s what I thought. We’re not going anywhere.

Annie kneeled down and wrapped an arm around Marley. “Good boy. You must have sensed it, huh?”

“He is a good boy. I’ve always wanted a dog.” Serena took a step toward Marley, and the hair on his back stood up. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

“He just doesn’t know you yet.” Annie stood, looking at Marley. Why was he so alarmed by Serena?

“You’re so good with dogs. He’s not your first, right?” Serena crossed to the end table and picked up a picture of Lili.

“No. That’s my first dog.” Annie pointed to the frame in Serena’s hand. “Her name was Lilikoi, Lili for short.”

“Passionfruit?” Serena asked.

Annie nodded and walked to her side. “Our family has always loved coming to Kauai, and Lilikoi just fit her.”

“It does. She’s so cute.” Serena handed the picture to Annie.

Annie stared at Lili, who wore a pink collar in the picture, and suddenly remembered something that had happened recently. She’d just finished volunteering at the humane society, and when she got to her car, an odd shiver had run down her spine. She’d paused, one hand on the handle of the door, and looked around. It had felt like there were eyes focused on her. She’d scanned the parking lot but hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. She’d quickly opened the car door and frozen when she saw what was on the driver’s seat: a pink collar with white paw prints on it, much like the one Lili used to wear. Her heart pounding and blood roaring in her ears, she’d slowly reached down and picked up the collar. Before she could read the name on the black bone-shaped tag, she knew what it would say.

And she was right. LILI, it said in all caps, with Annie’s cell number under it. What was it doing in her car in Kauai? She looked at the tote bag on her shoulder, remembering that she’d found it at the back of her closet when they were packing to move from New York. Had this tag been in the bag, forgotten all this time, and fallen out when she got out of the car? She could have sworn there was nothing in the bag when she packed it that morning. But how else in the world could an old collar from Lili have gotten into her car in Kauai?

“Annie?”

She started, her eyes returning to focus on Serena’s concerned face. Goose bumps broke out all over her skin, just like they had that day she’d found the collar.

“I . . .” She stared at Serena, but she wasn’t really seeing her. Because this was just another worrying reminder that she was doing and finding things she couldn’t remember. And that feeling of someone watching her . . . She’d had that same exact feeling when they had first moved to the lake house in New York. She’d thought back then that she was being paranoid, new to the neighborhood and not yet used to living in the country, since she was such a city girl. Now she wondered: Was it paranoia, or was she losing her mind?

“Do you need some water?” Serena’s voice broke into her thoughts again. “You look really pale.”

“No, I’m fine.” Annie tried for a smile, knowing she was failing miserably. “Just remembering something upsetting.”

“I’m sorry I’m bringing up bad feelings.” Concern was etched all over Serena’s face.

Annie gave her head a shake, trying to clear it of the echoing doubt in her mind. “You’re not. I love talking about Lili. She really was cute, and the best dog. So loyal and loving . . .” Her voice trailed off, and she was surprised to find her throat clogging up, even after all these years. Lili had been more than a dog. She had been Annie’s first child.

“Lili is exactly the kind of dog I would have gotten if I had one,” Serena said. “She’s a mini dachshund, right?”

“Yes. She was stubborn too, like all dachshunds.” Annie cleared her throat. “You know, she chose my husband for me. She didn’t like any of the men I was dating, but when she met Brody, it was love at first sight. She put a paw on his leg and that was it.” Annie forced out a laugh, remembering the look of surprise on Brody’s face when Lili claimed him as her boyfriend. “The wiener had spoken.”