The Tsunami Countdown Read Free

room to get a little privacy.
    “As usual.”
    “You sound tired.”
    “I didn’t get much sleep last night. Teresa and I were up late talking. It’s great to have her and Mia in town, but I’m going
     to be exhausted by the end of the week. Is she there?”
    “I think she’s getting into her swimsuit.”
    “Ask her to give me a call on her way to the beach.”
    “I will. So Lani had a surprise for me this morning.”
    “About the scuba camp? I think it’s a fantastic idea.”
    “You do?”
    “Sure. Why not?”
    “Because she’s thirteen. You can’t even get certified until you’re fifteen.”
    “It sounds like a wonderful program. Master instructors, top-notch facilities, lots of fun activities. One of the mothers
     in Lani’s class raved about it.”
    Kai didn’t bother to ask which mother. He wouldn’t know her. Taking the post of assistant director at the Pacific Tsunami
     Warning Center had been a great career move for him, but he hadn’t counted on how demanding it would be. Including Kai, there
     were only eight geophysicists on staff, and the PTWC had to be monitored by two of them twenty-four hours a day. That meant
     they regularly had to pull twelve-hour shifts. Kai had been so busy that he’d participated in only one parent-teacher conference.
    “Lani has to have something to look forward to,” Rachel said. “She’s been here nine months now and hasn’t made any friends
     yet.”
    “What do you mean? She hangs out with her soccer friends all the time.”
    “Getting pizza after the game with her teammates doesn’t count. In the whole time we’ve been here, she hasn’t once brought
     somebody back home. Now that she’s with Mia, I see how she used to be in Seattle. And being in that compound hasn’t helped.”
    “Please don’t call it a compound.” Kai hated that word.
    It was difficult to recruit geophysicists who were willing to spend that many hours on-site, so to sweeten the deal, the National
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—better known as NOAA, the parent organization of the PTWC—built houses on the Center
     grounds that some of the staff lived in for free. As assistant director, Kai had been given one of the houses. The biggest
     perk was that it was only three blocks from the beach, but the run-down neighborhood around the complex wasn’t safe enough
     for Lani to explore on her own.
    “She feels isolated there,” Rachel said.
    “Maybe we can do more family outings, like the luau tonight.”
    “Kai, your heart’s in the right place, but she needs to learn some independence. She isn’t going to be your little girl forever.”
    “Oh, yes she will.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “Yeah,” Kai said with a sigh, “I know. But I still think she should wait to do this scuba camp until next year.”
    “Listen, I’m about to go into the garage, so you’re going to lose me. Just think about it, and we’ll talk more this evening.
     All right?”
    “Okay. I’ll think about it.”
    With a click, Rachel was gone.
    “So you got the spiel, huh?” a voice behind him said.
    Kai turned to see Teresa Gomez. Like the girls, she was already dressed in a tank top and sarong over her bikini.
    “Oh yeah,” Kai said. “The hard sell.”
    “What’s the verdict?”
    “Still thinking about it.”
    “Good luck with that. I lasted about five minutes.” She yawned and stretched her arms. “I need to mainline some more coffee.”
    Kai followed her back into the kitchen. Lani and Mia stopped giggling and looked at him expectantly.
    “Still thinking about it,” he said, eliciting a groan. He handed the coffeepot to Teresa. “I heard you stayed up late with
     Rachel to continue our conversation after I went to bed.”
    “She can’t hear enough about my residency program. Sometimes I think she’s the one who should have gone to med school.” As
     she filled her mug, Teresa looked at the TV. A TransPac Airlines logo was next to the anchor-woman’s shoulder.