Ailana’s Journal—2026-06-08 (and Island Kids) (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING by Ailana Geven Keller

Starting off optimistic about getting some work done today. After yesterday, I’m counting that as a win.

Coffee is happening now. The rest of the morning will follow.

Jason and Josh are meeting this morning to pick up where they left off planning stops on the Route 66 trip. Geoni said she has some editing to do. Sasha and Clay are…you know…running SwimFit. Jasmine is trouble shooting. Micah is at the factory.

Emily hasn’t texted that she’s awake yet, so she’s probably in—or sitting on—her bed, sleeping or watching videos.

After lunch…

As if anything I plan now will be relevant six hours from now!

How about this? I’ll check in midday like I usually do and let you know what’s going on.

In the meantime, I hope you have a great Monday morning. See you soon!

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SO SOON? by Ailana Geven Keller

The term “good news” is very subjective. What is good news to you might not be so good to me. Just saying…

I just got off the phone with Naomi, who began the call by saying, “Ailana… I have good news…”

That normally means that I need to suddenly change my schedule and trade some of my time for some of her money. And usually, that is indeed good news.

“I have a small shoot for you, and I have two new models I’d like to send for your tutelage. This will be their first pro-level shoot. They’ve been in front of a camera a few times. This will be getting them ready for the next level of work. Like we’ve discussed…get the shots, but break them into what professional modeling is like… All the things you’ve been teaching Kaylee and Jasmine. Cram as much into a two-day shoot schedule as you can. I’ll pay a daily rate to you as art director, plus a photographer. Then, you can log hours spent tutoring outside the shoot schedule, and I’ll compensate you for that, too.”

“Wow…” I let that just hang for a moment. “Okay, when?”

“How about Thursday and Friday?”

Friday is the court date for Emily’s hearing.

“Naomi, I can’t do Friday.” I gave her a short version of why.

“Okay… how about this? You shoot Thursday and Saturday, and maybe you can find someone to check on them on Friday? I can bump them another per diem day to stay around and not get into trouble.”

You gotta love someone who has an idea and makes the plan fit the circumstances.

I hesitated, then agreed. So, newbie models incoming Thursday, and I get to break them into the business.

MY OPINION by Emily Amos

Mateo came over to do the condo yard today, and when he was done, I went down to check on him and say hi. He left all his tools on the ground and fished a cold bottle of water out of his cooler.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

We sat down on the tailgate of his truck. “I’ve been writing something I want Ailana to read.”

“What’s Kel up to?”

I looked up at Kel’s condo. “Josh is showing him some things on the computer. Kel said he called it family business.”

Mateo took a drink, then looked at me. “I want to ask you something. What do you think about that stuff Gabe said at the Food Trucks?”

“About some people not approving of dating relationships that cross races?”

“Yeah…”

“I don’t know about here. At my school in Vegas, there were some people who wouldn’t, some who would, and some who didn’t care. Why?”

Mateo shrugged, so I asked.

“Someone I know?”

He looked at me and rolled his eyes. “You only know two girls who aren’t Hispanic.”

I laughed. “I’ll ask Ailana, but, like, Clay’s wife is half Korean, and Kel’s mom… Geoni, I mean… She’s mixed race, too, so I don’t think anyone here cares.”

Mateo nodded. “I don’t think many people care, but what if the wrong ones do?”

I knew what he meant, just not who. I could imagine the mess that would happen if he wanted to date a girl whose family wouldn’t approve.

Before I could say anything else, we both turned to see Kel bouncing down the stairs. “Glad I caught you! You still want me to come over for some gaming tonight?”

“If you can, yeah.”

I invited myself. “Can I come, too?”

“Sure,” Mateo said. “But I need to get going. I have two more little yards to do before then.”

Kel and I helped him pick up his tools and load them into the truck, then he thanked us and headed off.

GROWING PAINS by Isaac Branch

Allen Geven and I met up at one of the rentals when he got off work to look at a few things and talk about a few others. Since we started First Call Property Services, he doesn’t do the walkthroughs for any of the properties we service, but he still checks behind the cleaning crews.

Mr. Geven checked on a few things I’d fixed in this condo and said, “All this looks good. I think we should pass on the sheetrock job. It’s way more than patching something.”

We talked about that a bit more, then he said, “How many jobs do you have lined up this week?”

I told him. “Well, we have all the checkouts as usual. On what would normally be slow cleaning days, I have about a total of six hours scheduled on Wednesday and five on Thursday.”

“So, you’re filling in pretty quickly?”

I nodded. “It’s a little strain, keeping up and changing gears. I can’t really carry everything for cleaning and for all the different repair jobs, but it’s working. You know Clay said less windshield time means more money per hour.”

Mr. Geven nodded. “He’s right about that. Overall, you’re happy?”

I nodded again. “I need to find a reliable electrician who can take a referral faster. ‘I’ll get to it in a week or two’ isn’t getting the job done. I know we don’t actually do that, but I feel like when we get a call, it’s good if we can say, ‘We don’t do electrical, but we know a guy…’ Or big plumbing jobs… You know what I mean.”

“Well, I think we’re off to a good start. If you’ve got every hour booked except three this week, then you’re in good shape.”

I totally agreed.

Mr. Geven went on. “Do you have time to go have a look at the A/C blower unit? I’d bet the water is backing up due to a clog in the condensation drain.”

We agreed to meet at the unit and have a look.

GOOD NIGHT by Ailana Geven Keller

I had to get some air. In the best way, I guess. Forget everything about being busy today. And about things to come.

Somewhere after Naomi called, after Mateo left from doing yard work, and before Kel and Emily went to visit Mateo… After lunch, Emily came to where I was working.

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty good.” I told her about Naomi’s call.

She thought that sounded exciting, then she asked if she could show me something. I said of course.

“I typed it out, but I wrote it on paper… Just because.”

She handed me the paper, then said, “It’s silly, but I was just practicing. It’s an allegory. It’s about you and me.”

Well, I almost teared up before I looked at the first word. “Allegory? Do you remember everything your English teacher taught you?”

She smiled. “I tried.”

I looked down and read her words.

Caitlin left home after college, traveling for work, learning about life and herself. Though she spent years away from home, threads of her past clung to her, never letting her forget who she was, what was important, and who she loved.

Nearly a decade passed before her busy life led her to want to slow down. She changed course, doubled back to her roots, made friends, and married the man she’d loved her whole life. She settled down to live on the Island.

One day she stood, happy with how things had turned out. But she did not know a terrible storm was coming from the west. It was named Taylor, and it came without warning, fierce and devastating.

Caitlin was caught by surprise, but she did not flinch. The rain beat her like cold bee stings and the wind whipped her hair into knots, but she did not retreat from the storm.

Instead, she reached for it and embraced it. She welcomed it to the Island and said it could be home.

“I love it.”

She seemed pleased, and I would have said more—a lot more—but… she had to go play video games with Kel and Mateo.

I held it together until after dinner. Now, I’m getting some air.

May you never forget your roots, and may the storms that come your way turn out to be blessings.

So, here I sit not even knowing where to start in unpacking what Emily did. She just finished tenth grade after nine bumpy years of school, and her writing isn’t at all bad.

Forget that…

She sees herself as a terrible storm that hit me unexpectedly. She sees me as just standing there, not running from it, but embracing her and welcoming her.

Allegory indeed.

I showed Jason, and he teared up, kissed me on the forehead, and said, “Okay, then. Tangled hair and cold wet bee stings, it is. Ailana, we’re doing something here. We got it.”

We are doing something. And something is being done in us, too.

I don’t know how or why, but I think I’ll be better in the long run.

Good night.

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