When I get there, Lizzy offers, “Would you like something to drink? We’ve got wine, soda, and water.”
“If you choose wine, we’ve got tumblers to keep the sand out,” Lanie interjects, holding a cup out to me. “We just opened the best Moscato.”
“Moscato, it is.” I grin, then take a seat on the empty blanket beside them.
“So…” Raven claps, then grins conspiratorially. “I’m dying to know… How old were you when you and Dad started dating the first time?”
This earns a loud roar of laughter from the entire group.
When they settle, I say, “As I said, we were the best of friends for years before we started dating. Hmmm… I think things changed the summer between our sophomore and junior year.”
“Wait,” Lizzy gasps, “That was you in his prom photo. I remember he was wearing a purple tie, and you had a really pretty dark-purple dress. Nana showed it to me once when we were looking for something in her craft room. She found it in a box.”
“Yeah, we went to both junior and senior prom together,” I reveal, taking the sealed teal tumbler from Raven when she hands it to me.
“Forget vintage Dad.” Raven snorts out a laugh as she nearly drops her sunglasses; she’s leaning so far forward in her chair. “I’m dying to know how the two of you reconnected this time?”
“Uh… Don’t get your hopes up, as it’s far from cute or glamorous,” I scoff in warning.
“Even so, we’d like to know… if you’re willing to share,” Sloane prods.
“Ladies, I caught your father’s attention again…” I draw out, giving a theatric pause, then go for the punchline, “while taking out the trash early one morning… Glamorous, I know. My can nearly got stuck in a rut, and it drew his attention.”
“Uh…” Raven draws out, clearly unimpressed.
Before any of them can say anything, I continue, “Then he disappeared for three days and showed up, expecting to take me to dinner. No warning, no invitation, just a knock on my door.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Dad.” Lanie sighs heavily. “He’s so used to commanding battalions, he often forgets he’s around civilians.”
“He hasn’t been that bad,” I quickly assure them. “In fact, he was quite flexible the night we watched movies with the twins.”
“He can be… until he starts making plans. Then he forgets we’re not nearly as regimented as him,” Raven points out. “He’s getting better now that he’s retired, but you can’t teach an old dog like him too many new tricks.”
“Good to see he hasn’t changed much over the years.” I laugh. “Though your nana was much the same way, so he came by it honestly.”
“Really?” Lizzy asks in disbelief. “She was always so go-with-the-flow with us, growing up.”
“Probably because we outnumbered her four-to-one,” Raven deadpans in a tone that reminds me so much of her father.
“That, and she didn’t have to be the heavy, if our parents were around,” Lanie says, rolling her eyes.
Suddenly, their gaggle of kids screeches in laughter. Our attention is drawn to their dads and grandfather chasing them in circles through the sand. Once they’re caught, they’re carried like human footballs under each arm until another can be nabbed. Then, they’re swapped out once both arms are full. My heart warms at the pure joy radiating on both the kids’ and the grown men’s faces. Their smiles are infectious, and my cheeks ache as I watch them.
Mark is so lucky to have this.
When they settle, I probe, “Okay… So I don’t get caught in the lurch, someone please fill me in on who all these kids are. I’ve gotta keep the twins thinking I’ve got these magical superpowers they claim I miraculously have, and stay one step ahead of them.”
“Well, for starters, they’re not the only set of twins,” Raven warns. “My two girls, Vivian and Savannah, are over there, chasing my husband.” She points to the girls chasing Finn McGowen, whom I recognize as the drummer for Ruby Frax.
If I had to guess, I’d say they’re nearly the age of Jason and Josh. Raven interrupts my cataloging when she adds another tidbit of information. “Though we typically call them Vivy and Vanny. Vivy’s wearing yellow.”
“Good to know.” I smile as I watch them each get snatched by their dad and giggle with delight.
Then Lizzy chimes in. “Cameron’s got our youngest of this brood, Embry, snagged under his arm, and they’re chasing Jason and Josh. Over there, by Dad, is Milli, our oldest…” When we watch her sprinting away from Mark, Lizzy cheers, “Go, Milli! Don’t let Papa catch you!”
“Hey… Whose side are you on?” Mark grumbles as she darts to his left just as he’s about to snag her and misses.
“She’s got moves, Papa! Watch out!” Lizzy taunts.
