It’s the place where it all started.
The guys are here too–all of our friends are–enjoying a perfect July afternoon. Noah and I have just come from brunch with his parents where they met their granddaughter for the first time.
“You know? It was surprisingly okay. I’ve met Charles and Eileen a few times now when I joined them at their therapy sessions, but this was my first time seeing them in their domain and without the buffer of the therapist. They were actually surprisingly great with Cece. Honestly, it was hard to imagine them the way Noah’s described. Not that I doubt a second of what he’s recounted to me, but …” I shrugged. “They’ve seemingly come a long way already, I guess.”
“Hmmm. How was Noah?”
I pause before answering. My mouth twists in contemplation as I replay my observations from this morning. “He was quiet. I think … it was hard for him to be there. Seeing them like that. Bittersweet, you know? He has so much trauma from his childhood. I imagine it was a struggle to reconcile the parents that he’s always known with those people we saw today.”
“I can understand that,” Piper says.
I nod. “I think … it’ll take some time for him to trust that this is real.” I shrug again.
“I’m sure he wishes this change could have been brought about in them a long time ago.”
“Definitely. Things would have been very different for him, that’s for sure.” I frown. “I hate that he suffered so much growing up, but … without that, he might not have become the Noah I love, so I’m trying not to dwell on the what-ifs. He could be a lawyer in a fancy office in Coldpine Ridge right now–and miserable. He might never have rebelled against them to become a cop and found a career that he loves.” I give a humorless chuckle. “We might not have had our mutually shitty parents to bond over …”
“True,” Piper says. “I guess there’s some validity to the old saying ‘it’s always darkest before the dawn.’ Sometimes, I think you have to go through the hard stuff to prepare you for the good.”
Steph frowns. “I don’t know, sometimes bad things just happen and life sucks and it just keeps on sucking.” Piper and I exchange a concerned look at her words. It’s not like Steph to be so negative despite the challenges she’s faced in her life. We study her for a moment in silence, unsure how to respond. She’s usually so supportive and encouraging, cheery and optimistic in the face of hardship, so it’s a shock to hear her speak this way. While I watch, her frown deepens, and I follow her sightline to find Riley leaning against a tree at the edge of the woods. He’s staring back at Steph intently, the tension stretching out between them palpable.
“I’ll be back,” she murmurs, getting slowly to her feet. Piper and I watch as she makes her way over to him. His body language reflects her own, the both of them standing rigid with arms crossed once she nears. They exchange curt words and then the two of them disappear down the path into the trees.
Piper sighs. “You think she’ll ever tell us what’s going on with him?”
“I hope so. I’m really starting to worry about her.”
“Me too. She hasn’t been herself since he came back.”
Just then a football comes flying at us. We each duck, twisting away just in time to avoid being sprayed in the face with sand as it lands between our two towels. Joe’s voice belatedly calls, “Heads up!”
“Ugh!” Piper exclaims, brushing the grains from her clothes.
Aidan comes trotting over to retrieve the ball. “Sorry, Sweet P,” he chuckles and rolls his eyes. “Joe’s a little out of practice.”
“A little?” Noah calls teasingly.
“We weren’tallthe star quarterbacks for our teams,” Joe retorts. “I don’t even know why I agreed to play with the two of you.”
“Agreed,” someone else grumbles–Luke, I think. I look over to see Noah, Joe, Mark, Luke, and Owen, along with Steph’s boys, Matt and Alex, spread out over the sand and awaiting Aidan’s return.
Mark is nodding, then adds, gesturing at Noah and Aidan, “These two jackasses are just as competitive as they were in high school.”
I raise a hand to shield my eyes as I glance around for Cece, settling when I find her safely ensconced in Henry’s arms. He sits with Nora and the chief in lawn chairs under a shade tree. As usual, my daughter’s been passed around from one of her adoring fans to the next ever since we arrived.
Henry makes a funny face and she giggles sweetly, something she’s only just started doing. Noah and I are both completely obsessed with the sound and will lately try anything, our behavior bordering on the truly ridiculous at times, in an effort to elicit it from her. I cast a glance at him to see if he heard it and find him already looking at me with a knowing grin. He winks and I smile back, my heart skipping happily in my chest.
Aidan, still hovering over us with the football, leans down to give Piper a quick peck on the lips before jogging back to rejoin the guys. They resume their four-on-four game. It’s rough and there’s a lot of smack talk, especially between Noah and Aidan, but unlike in the past, there is an underlying tone of joviality and affection that makes my heart feel light.
“His parents told us today that they’ve set up a trust fund for Cece,” I say, resuming our conversation from earlier.
“Wow, really? How do you feel about that?”
“Not sure yet. I mean, it’s really generous. She won’t have access to it until she’s twenty-one, though apparently Noah and I have discretionary approval to use it for things like her education if needed before then. We haven’t had a chance to talk about it, though. I think he’s worried that it comes with strings. That they might use it to manipulate us or hold it over our heads at some point down the line.”
“I guess I don’t blame him for questioning their motives given what little I know about his history with them. Does Noahhave a trust fund?”
I nod. “Apparently. Though he says he’s never touched it out of principle. He had an inheritance from his pops that he used to buy our house.”
