I had seenAsher be a lot of things in the years we’d spent together. I’d seen him be a rebel, a troublemaker, a partner in crime. An adrenaline junkie, a musician, a loyal friend, the getaway driver, and the person who had paid my bail more times than anyone else. And now, my days were filled with seeing him be a loving husband—to me, of all people—and a doting father to two kids he hadn’t planned for but loved all the same.
The first couple months after Asher had asked me to stay had been tricky. Things had already been in motion and shoots previously scheduled, so I’d gone to Ireland then to Barcelona and Liechtenstein. But after each shoot, instead of going to Portland or some other random destination I picked on a whim, I went home.
To him. Tothem.
And tomorrow, the four of us were about to set off on Route 66 with no itinerary except for us to stop whenever I was inspired. I could say that, in all my adventures, there’d never been one that would be as adventurous as this—traveling across the United States in a converted van with a fourteen-month-old and a four-year-old. And I couldn’t wait.
With my arms full of laundry, I strode down the hall and dropped the clothes in a pile on our bed, my ears perking up at the strum of a guitar. I tiptoed down the hallway to Owen’s room and peeked my head inside. The baby stood in his crib, gripping the side rails, grinning at Asher and June.
Asher sat in the rocking chair with June perched in his lap, a guitar held in front of them. “You’ve gotta hold it tight, bug. It might hurt your fingers a little bit till you get calluses built up like I do.”
“What’re calluses?” June asked.
Asher held out his hand, palm up, so she could see the rough patches on the tips of his fingers. Ones I knew the delicious scratch of intimately. “These. Fingers need to harden up to play.”
“Are they there forever?”
“They will be as long as I’m playin’ guitar. So, yeah, they’ll be there forever.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You wanna try again?”
“Yeah!”
“And maybe Nat wants to come in and listen instead of spyin’ at the door.”
I huffed out a laugh and stepped into the doorway, leaning against the jamb. “I don’t understand. Itiptoedhere.”
“Cement blocks, wifey. I’m afraid you’re never gonna be able to sneak up on me.”
“Was that a challenge? Because it sounded like a challenge.”
He laughed low and shook his head before placing June’s fingers back on the strings. “All right, let’s play this, and then it’s bedtime.”
“But I’m not tired.” June’s shoulders slumped as she appraised us with a pout.
“You’re gonna be real tired in the mornin’ when we leave if you haven’t gotten any sleep.”
“Oh! I forgot to show you!” June shoved the guitar away and jumped off Asher’s lap before flying out of the room.
“You wanna talk about cement blocks? That girl runs like an elephant,” I said, thumbing over my shoulder to where June disappeared.
Asher laughed and set the guitar down next to him. “She must be learnin’ it from you.”
At one time, a comment like that probably would’ve sent me running for the hills. The idea that I was influencing impressionable children with how I lived my life was scary, to say the least. Unconventional, but that was okay. And though I’d only been a staple in their lives for a few months, I couldn’t imagine my life without them.
“Look what Mimi and Papa got me!” June ran into the room, a piece of paper flapping over her head.
“What do you have there?” I grabbed the paper from June and held it out in front of me.
“The Aunties got me colors and markers and paints, too, so we can color where we’ve been.”
The map of the United States was outlined with a thick black line and mostly blank, save for a tiny heart on the northern part of Mississippi. Across the top were the words,No matter where you go, you can always land back home.
To everyone else, this was probably just a map. Just a series of black lines on a white piece of paper. Something that could be ripped or crumpled or thrown away. Discarded without a second thought. But to me, it was encouragement. It was acceptance of who I was. Whowewere as a family. Made all the more meaningful because it’d come from my parents.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and met June’s smile with one of my own. “I love it.” I squatted down and wrapped an arm around June’s waist. “And I loveyou, Junie B, but it is bedtime.”
“Love you too, Nattie.” June squeezed me around the neck and hit me with the sad puppy eyes. “But we can still read a story, right?”
I never thought I’d see the day when I was wrapped around the fingers of two tiny people, and yet there I was. “Yes, we can. While Uncle Asher puts your brother down, weare gonna go on an adventure with Junie B. beforeouradventure begins tomorrow.”
