“The farmer across the street told us that the last time we did a family karaoke night here, all his cows dried up for like two days and he had no milk.”
“You’re lying.”
Joey shrugged. “That’s what he said. I didn’t ask the cows personally, though.”
“Hopefully the cows can’t see this far,” Rob said. “If they see Brian dancing, they might never give milk again.”
A memory flashed through Siobhan’s mind of Brian dancing with Kelly to a slow, romantic ballad shortly afterthey vowed to be man and wife until death did they part. That part didn’t work out so well, but she couldn’t forget the way he’d looked at her sister that night. He’d been a man so utterly in love, it made her stomach hurt to think of it now.
Of course, Brian chose that moment to flash his Kowalski grin and lean close. “I won’t be able to dance with you tonight because there’s no chance I can put my hands on you in front of my family and retain any dignity at all. But just know I want to.”
Chapter Fifteen
Despite the wedding festivities running late into the night, Siobhan woke early again on her final day at the Birch Brook Campground. She slid out of bed and made a cup of coffee to take to the dinette. A peek through the curtains told her nobody was out and about yet, and there was no sign of Brian.
Just know I want to.
Yeah, she’d wanted that, too.
It had been the most fun wedding she’d ever attended—one of the most fun weeks she’d ever had, actually, even with the paternity bombshell that had kicked it off. But throughout the rest of last night, she’d known in some other place and time, under other circumstances, she and Brian would have left that party together.
There was one final group breakfast planned, with Steph and Kyle leaving for Bar Harbor right after. Then, according to Mary, who’d been overseeing these vacations for decades, the real chaos would begin. A week of roaming from site to site and communal meals meant sorting and returning things and, according to her, nothing ever went back into the campers and RVs the way they came out.
Her own packing wouldn’t be too bad, but her laundrywhen she got home would be daunting. She also wanted to give the camper a thorough cleaning to thank the owner for lending it to her and Oliver.
The hardest part was going to be saying goodbye to Brian. Once she drove out of this campground, the surreal limbo they’d been existing in would be over. The days of getting to know each other while a definitive answer and the accompanying headaches were delayed had been a gift.
And if she was honest with herself, she was going to miss the entire Kowalski family. Her life was quiet and structured. It worked for her—and was necessary to juggle work and single motherhood—but she’d miss their loud, loving chaos.
Growing up, she’d moved around a lot, with Janelle relocating them on a whim for an opportunity that never worked out. Siobhan made friends in school, but never with the degree of closeness that led to sleepovers and being exposed to various family dynamics. Other than wishing Janelle would tell them who their dad was—if she even knew—because he might offer stability, Siobhan had only known a self-involved mother and a sister who followed her example.
Robin’s stories about her large family had always sparked a wistfulness in Siobhan, but being a part of the Kowalski family for the last week had triggered a yearning so strong it made her heart ache.
A week ago, she never would have guessed this day would stir up so many mixed emotions.
“Mommy, are we going home today?”
The sleepy voice broke Siobhan out of her thoughts, and she opened her arms as her son crossed the camper to her. After moving her coffee mug out of harm’s way,she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head.
“Yes, we’re going home today.” She realized he might not actually want to do that, so she kept talking. “You can tell Auntie Robin all about your adventures, and we’ll make sure we get your froggy, too.”
“Can Nora come?”
Siobhan closed her eyes for a moment, wishing being a parent came with a book of all the right things to say for every occasion, organized by age. “Nora’s going to go home to her house, but you’ll probably see her again soon.”
He seemed to accept that, so she started the process of getting them ready for the day. The more Oliver woke up, the more excited he got about seeing everybody again and then finding his frog, which transitioned straight into being excited to see Auntie Robin and go to school again. Siobhan managed to get an entire coffee into herself, but she would have liked another cup. Or two.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur. Steph was understandably not even in the ballpark of being ready to leave, so Siobhan and Hannah helped her pack while Ellie took Oliver and Nora to find their rocks. Then came the big newlywed sendoff, which took about forty-five minutes from start to finish. Steph was yelling goodbyes out the window as Kyle pulled out onto the main road.
“Okay,” Mary said, hands on her hips once the bride and groom were seen off, looking over the mess remaining from breakfast. “We’ll wash everything all together, and then we can sort out what belongs where.”
Siobhan helped with the washing, but she had no idea which utensils and containers belonged to which camper, so it felt like a good time to pack up her stuff. Though shehadn’t been specifically told who her camper belonged to, she suspected it might be going to Maine and she didn’t want to hold up whoever was hauling it back.
She was on her way up the road, holding Oliver’s hand with one hand while his frog was in the other, when Terry caught up with them. She fell into step beside Siobhan, slightly out of breath.
“Things just get more chaotic from here, so I wanted to make sure I get to thank you for being here for Steph. My daughter had the wedding of her dreams and you were a big part of that.” Her voice was heavy with emotion, but she took a deep breath and continued. “I know there was a lot to navigate, but you were wonderful and I want you to know that no matter how things turn out, you and Oliver are always welcome to join us for family things.”
“Thank you.” Siobhan suddenly felt a little emotional herself. “This week with your family has been one of the best of my life, even with navigating this little situation next to me. You all made that so much easier for me.”
