Maggie was enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon on the beach with Josh and Zoey when he got a text. She glanced his way as an ocean breeze, carrying the scent of coconut sunscreen, cooled her skin.
Josh lifted his sunglasses and squinted at the screen. “Oh boy. That was Mom. They’re at LaGuardia and their flight to Wilmington was canceled.”
Maggie deflated. Every minute ticking by made her nervous. “Oh no.”
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Zoey dug a shovelful of sand from the hole nearby.
“Mamaw and Papaw will be a little late getting home.”
“They’ve got another flight,” Josh said. “But it’s not till tomorrow morning.” He gave Maggie a knowing look. They both wanted to get this big reveal over with.
“They won’t be home tonight for the party?” Frowning, Zoey lowered her pail.
“I’m afraid not, honey. We’ll have the party tomorrow when they get home.” She glanced at Josh. “Did they say what time?”
“Their flight lands at one thirty. Erin will pick them up now since I have a tour.” He glanced down when another text came in. “They’d still like everyone to come for supper. We’ll have the party then, Cupcake.”
“Okay...”
Zoey’s sulk reminded her so much of Ethan’s, Maggie couldn’t help but grin. “We’ll keep all the decorations up. And maybe you can draw some pictures for the front door.”
“Yay! I’m gonna draw one of me with Mamaw and Papaw on the beach.”
“I’m sure they’d love that,” Maggie said.
Seemingly satisfied, Zoey went back to digging her hole.
“They’re gonna be exhausted,” Maggie said.
“They’re getting a hotel for tonight.” He lowered his voice. “They’ll get some good rest. Maybe this will work out for the best.”
“I’d agree with you if I could just believe my mom won’t try to reach out to them.”
“If she’d wanted to get hold of them and had a way, she’d have done it by now.”
“That’s true.” Maggie tried to believe it, but she had been tricked by her mother one too many times to underestimate her.
***
The next evening Josh drove toward the beach house. The party was no doubt in full swing by now. He was eager to see his parents after spending the summer apart. But he was also nervous. He planned to stick around until after Erin’s family left. That’s when he and Maggie would break the news that they were dating.
He’d spent a lot of time weighing how that information might be received. Maggie was more optimistic than he was. When you grew up with a “golden child” for a brother, you came to accept that you would never quite measure up.
It would’ve been easy to resent his brother, but Ethan had always been so easy to love. He had been down to earth, humble, and well aware of his own shortcomings. He rooted for his little brother and tutored him when his grades fell—mostly because Josh was too busy with girls and sports to bother studying. But remaining eligible was important and Ethan always stepped in to help when Josh got desperate.
Ethan had always been Dad’s mini-me, not only in looks but ininterests and intelligence. He’d relished the position—who could blame him? He’d thrived under Dad’s mentorship and taken his advice. Their mom was less biased. She’d attended Josh’s every game and cheered him on. She was proud of him, though often frustrated by his lack of effort in his classes.
But once the siblings had left the house, Ethan and Erin off to college and Josh into the maritime academy, things seemed to balance out. By the time Josh earned his pilot’s license, his parents seemed proud of him. And when he’d started his business and eventually bought theCarolina Dream, they’d cheered him on.
But then Ethan had died.
And then, as often happens when someone passes away, his brother became larger than life. The golden child was now immortalized as a hero.
And Josh was okay with that. His brother had been special. Hewasa hero and deserved to be remembered and celebrated. Josh would be the first in line to sing his praises.
All these thoughts haunted him as he turned onto Bayview Drive. A heavy feeling in his gut weighted him. Tonight he had to tell his parents that he was dating the hero’s widow.
And he was almost certain that, once again, he would fall short.
