Defend

by Lindsay Paige

  Just the thought of suspension bridges normally makes me nervous. I don’t have time to be nervous because Brent grabs my hand and pulls me along behind him, walking steadily but not too fast. He stops in the middle to glance down at the water. I brave a peek just as someone jostles the bridge. It probably isn’t a big move, but it’s enough to have me grab Brent and say, “Let’s keep moving.”

  “Are you afraid of heights?” he asks as we walk once more.

  “No. I don’t like bridges that easily move.”

  He laughs in such a way that I’d like to kick him. We make it to the other side without incident and admire what we can see from here. For the most part, we’re alone this second. Brent wraps his arms around my waist. “It’s been a good trip, hasn’t it?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I agree. “I have a question, though.”

  “Which is?”

  “How do you think they’ll react?” A good translation would be: Do you think there will be blowout from Kayla because I’m moving in with you? She didn’t seem all that happy about it not all that long ago when she thought I might.

  “Like perfect children,” he replies, causing me to snort. “Kayla doesn’t want to be called a hypocrite twice and Gregory could probably care less. I thought you could move in and they could find out on their own, but I know that won’t go over as well as if I tell them. They’ll know after we get home.”

  I nod, feeling better now that I know his game plan. Unfortunately, it’s time to head back across the bridge. We’ll have a few minutes to check out the gift shop before it’s time to get back on the bus. We’re supposed to go to a camp at Liarsville next for a salmon bake. That should be interesting if for nothing else than I’ve never had salmon, or any other seafood. The camp is supposed to be a tent city from the late 1800s. Before we can explore, we’re directed to an area where a buffet is set up and we can eat.

  Who would’ve thought that I’d go on a cruise and by the end of it not only would Kayla and I be on good terms, but Brent would ask me to move in with him and I would agree? Life is insane with its twists and turns. Things have turned out well for me so far. I can only hope they’ll continue to go well.

  “So, Dad, can I move in with you when we get home?” Gregory asks once we’re back on the bus.

  “You want to discuss this now?” Brent asks.

  “Why do you want to move?” Kayla asks from the row of seats behind us.

  “I’m not talking to you,” Gregory snaps at her.

  “We’ll talk about it later tonight, okay? When there isn’t anyone else around,” he adds.

  Gregory frowns, but nods. Brent looks at me, seeming to mirror what I feel. Why does Gregory want to move in? He doesn’t complain about living with his mom as far as I know. Why ask in the middle of a cruise? Or while on a bus during an excursion? Has he been wanting to ask that question this entire trip? I’ll be curious to know everything they discuss.

  Once we return to Skagway, we have time to shop before we need to return to the ship. This area seems to be nice and cute. There is plenty of shopping that can be done too. Brent and I pick up a few things before helping Gregory find the perfect souvenir for his girlfriend. He ultimately decides on a dreamcatcher and a necklace.

  We sit on a nearby bench, waiting for Logan and Kayla to finish shopping. Gregory turns a little to face us and says, “I want to move in, Dad.”

  “You mind telling me why?” Brent asks.

  It feels a bit awkward to sit in between the two of them while they talk about this. “Do you want me to give you two some privacy?” I ask Gregory.

  “You’re fine, Jamie.” To his dad, he says, “Well, I don’t want to hurt Mom or anything, but when y’all were getting the divorce, no one asked me where I wanted to live. Mom just declared that I would stay with her and you didn’t fight her on it. If someone had asked me, I might have picked Mom at first because I worry about her, but I’d rather live with you.”

  “You want to live with me because no one asked you when we got divorced?” Brent asks, seemingly wanting clarification.

  “Yeah. And because Mom hovers too much. Not that I don’t think you won’t, you know, parent me, but Mom still treats me like I’m a baby. You remember how she thought Kayla should have stayed home with me when she spent the night at Glenn’s. That’s ridiculous. I’m sixteen. So, can I?”

  Brent squeezes my hand, causing me to look at him. His gaze is only on mine for a second before he looks back at Gregory. “You know I don’t mind if you want to live with me, but we’re going to have to talk to your mother first.” Gregory groans and Brent says, “Exactly.”

  “She won’t be happy, I assume?”

  Both of them look at me and say, “No.”

  “But if we’re lucky, she won’t mind as much because she has Glenn keeping her occupied,” Gregory tells me.

  Logan and Kayla walk up to us, finished with their shopping, so we stand to walk back to the ship.

  Our dinner tonight is in a different dining room because we opted to have a bucket of seafood. And Jamie waits until the very second after we’ve been seated by the window to lean over and whisper, “The salmon today is the first time I’ve ever had seafood.”

  She’s known about this dinner ever since she paid for the cruise. Why didn’t she say anything? What if she’s allergic to something we’re served? Now isn’t the best time to discover an allergic reaction. What if she hates everything? She’s going to be hungry afterward, not that she can’t order some room service or find where she can get a slice of pizza or a burger.

  “Honey,” I whisper in a chide.

  “I’m sorry. Everyone wanted to go and I figured it would be a good time to try something new, but now I’m nervous.”

  “Did you like the salmon?” I ask.

  “It was okay.”

  Oh boy. “It’ll be fine,” I tell her, hoping it will be. How does one manage to go their entire life without at least trying seafood once? Maybe she was adamant about not trying it or maybe her parents don’t like seafood, so she didn’t really have the opportunity. Today will be the day though.

  She nods and peers out the window. A moment later, she grabs my arm and yanks me so hard, she practically pulls me into her lap. “Look, y’all! It’s a baby orca!”

  Sure enough, swimming alongside the ship is a baby orca. He looks like he couldn’t be bigger than a medium-sized dog, but we’re high up, so he’s more than likely bigger than that. Our entire table peers out of the window and the excitement rises when a second and third baby orca appear. Unfortunately, they lead the first orca away.

  “Wow. That might just be the best thing about the trip,” Jamie says with awe in her voice.

  “I agree,” Kayla tells her.

  Our food is delivered to the table, but Jamie and Kayla keep their gaze primarily on the water, hoping to spot more wildlife. When Jamie isn’t looking, she tries some seafood or watches me for how to crack open a crab leg. I’m watching for signs of an allergic reaction. Everything appears to be fine, though.

  “Oh! Is that a whale out there? Did you see the water shoot up, Kayla?”

  “I think so! Oh my god!” she exclaims as a large tail emerges from the water only to disappear a second or so later. “Did you see that?”

  “We all did, sugar,” Logan says. “The oh my god kind of got our attention.”

  She slaps him on the arm without even looking.

  That’s pretty much how dinner goes. We spot some baby orcas jumping through the water and occasionally a tail, a back, or water spouting upward from a larger whale. Jamie also seems to enjoy most of the seafood.

  Afterward, we decide to see a comedian’s show. The guy’s funny, but ever since I told Gregory he could move in, I’ve been wishing for a good few minutes alone with Jamie. She probably wasn’t expecting to have a teenager in the house with us, or at least not so soon, but that is part of the package. The kids come and go. The part that’s bothering me the most is though this isn’t rea
lly a decision I should have to make with her because I’ve always told my kids they’re welcome in my house practically any time, I still feel like maybe she should’ve had a chance to talk to me before I gave Gregory the answer he would’ve gotten regardless.

  It seems crazy because her opinion wouldn’t make me tell him no, but if my house is her house now, it didn’t feel right to talk about that decision right in front of her without any input from her. If this can’t come together in my mind in a way that makes sense, how am I going to form the right words when I talk to Jamie? And I have to talk to her.

  I almost told Gregory that Jamie would be living with us, but he’ll discover soon enough and I don’t think it’ll bother him or cause him to change his mind about moving in. My main priority is making sure Jamie is okay with this change and that she isn’t upset with how I handled it. I’m upset enough for the both of us as it is.

  The moment the show is over, I stand and pull Jamie up with me since I already have a firm grasp on her hand.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Her eyes widen a touch. She nods and says, “Okay then, boss. Lead the way.”

  I take her to the only place we’ll have guaranteed privacy: our room.

  “Is everything okay, Brent?” she asks as we walk into our room.

  “Mostly.” We sit down on the bed, facing one another. “You’re not upset about Gregory more than likely moving in, are you?”

  Her brows pull together and her hand rests over her heart. “No,” she answers, sounding a bit horrified. “He’s your son and he’d rather live with you. I’d be more upset if you’d turn him down.”

  Good. That part is out of the way. “I figured that’s how you felt, but it’s been bothering me that we didn’t get a chance to talk about it before I told him yes. You understand that—”

  Jamie covers my mouth with her hand. “Gregory didn’t really give you that option, Brent. Not to mention, I’m not so sure this is a decision that required you talking to me about it. He’s a good kid, he wants to live with you, and there’s no way you’ll tell him no. All things I know and am okay with. The only thing I can think of right now that you should talk to me about is if he wants to come on a trip that’s supposed to be just for the two of us or something like that. Otherwise, it’s all you, Brent. I didn’t need a heads-up in this case because I was right there and already knew what you’d tell him. So, everything’s fine.”

  She might be done talking, but she forgets to lower her hand. I grab her wrist and lower it for her. Jamie smiles and rests her hand on her lap.

  “That’s good to hear. I had myself worried for a second there, but you get it with me hardly saying anything at all.”

  Jamie leans over and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her. “That’s because we’re so good together and good to one another.” She grins as her nose touches mine. “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you worry.”

  “There’s even more on the line now,” I explain. I give her a smile that matches her own. “I have you right where I want you; the last thing I want to do is mess up and have you running the other way.”

  “I wouldn’t run.”

  “You wouldn’t?” I ask both with surprise and disbelief.

  “No. I’d walk because you’re getting older and older by the second. There’s no telling how much longer you can keep running and I’d want you to catch up with me so you can bring me back.”

  I laugh. “No old jokes except on my birthday,” I remind her.

  “You said you were celebrating for a week!”

  “I changed my mind.” I kiss her before she can find another reason to tease me. “We don’t need to leave the room again, do we?” I murmur against her mouth as I guide her back against the bed.

  Jamie shakes her head. “The curtain.”

  Right. I reluctantly stand and walk over to the sliding glass doors for the balcony. I lock the door and then close the curtain. That should be enough of a hint to leave us alone. Or else they might just get an eyeful and an earful if I have to get up and answer the door.

  I climb back onto the bed as Jamie asks, “Do you have any fantasies?” which stops me short for a moment.

  “Fantasies?”

  “Yeah, sexual fantasies, Brent. Do you have any?”

  “Are you bored with me?” I ask, skeptical of this line of questioning.

  Jamie laughs good and hard. She even wipes away a tear. She props onto her elbows and leans over to give me a quick, reassuring kiss. “No. I’m curious, that’s all.”

  Curious. Huh. Do I have any fantasies? Probably, but I can’t think of a damn one right now. “Do you?” I ask instead.

  She shakes her head. “I want to know about you first.”

  “Well you caught me off guard, hon, so I can’t think.”

  “Okay. You think up all the things you might want to do and as long as I’m okay with whatever’s on the list, we’ll do it. That’ll be my belated birthday present to you.”

  “And you’re bringing up fantasies right before we’re gonna have sex because...?”

  She falls back onto the bed, grabs my neck, and pulls me down to her. “Because I love you and it’ll be fun.” Her body slides to be directly under mine, her legs lifting up to wrap around my waist. “I have you right where I want you, too, and I want to be the best girlfriend you’ve ever had and give you everything you could possibly want. Now, if you’re done asking questions, I’d like to get back to the fucking you mentioned. Think we can do that?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I breathe as I lower my body and kiss her.

  The rest of the cruise goes as smoothly as possible. We have one more stop in Victoria, but we don’t have nearly enough time to do much exploring. It feels like by the time we’re able to get off and the shuttle takes us into town, we do some shopping, and then it’s time to get back on the bus to go back.

  And then it’s go, go, go once we’re back in Seattle because we get off the ship and then head straight to the airport to catch a flight home. Jamie leans on my shoulder once again.

  “Brent?”

  “Yeah, hon?”

  “I think the week just caught up to me. I’m exhausted.”

  “Go to sleep then,” I tell her. “You won’t miss anything.”

  “You might be bored, though, and I slept on the way here.”

  “I’ll sleep with you. Problem solved.” I rest my head against hers and close my eyes.

  Hours later, we finally make it home. Logan and Kayla escape to their apartment and Gregory finds a way to spend the night here. It’s late enough by the time we get home that we pretty much take a shower and order a pizza.

  “I’m going to tell Gregory about you moving in,” I tell Jamie before she gets into her shower. “I’ll tell Kayla tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Good luck.”

  “Won’t need it.” I kiss her on the cheek before going downstairs.

  I find Gregory peering out of the living room window. He must hear me coming because without looking, he says, “What is taking the pizza guy so long?” He scratches his stomach. “I’m starving.”

  “He should be here in a few minutes. Come sit down.”

  Gregory looks over his shoulder at me. “What bad news are you going to tell me?” he asks. “That voice means there’s news.”

  “It’s not bad news.”

  He looks skeptical, but he comes over and sits down on the couch.

  “While we were on the cruise, I asked Jamie to move in. She said yes. I’m telling your sister tomorrow.”

  He frowns. “So, this won’t be our bachelor pad anymore?” A bit of a smile starts to rise as I laugh.

  “Afraid not.”

  The doorbell rings. I hand Gregory the cash and he rushes to get the pizza. Footsteps sound on the stairs and what surprises me isn’t that it’s Jamie, but that that has to be the fastest shower she’s ever taken.

  “I feel so much better now,” she says with a sigh, sitting next to m
e on the table.

  Gregory sets the pizza boxes on the coffee table. “You’re our new roomie, huh?”

  “Looks like it. Excited?”

  “He’s sad this will no longer be a bachelor pad,” I say.

  Jamie laughs as she grabs us both a slice of pizza, handing one of them to me. “Poor babies. You really have nothing to worry about. The only thing I’ll bring is my clothes and a few other minor things. It’ll still look like a bachelor pad.”

  Gregory gives Jamie a look out of the corner of his eye. “She’ll have it redecorated by the end of the year.”

  “I will not!”

  I smile. This is how my life will be from here on out. I’m sure it won’t always be so cheery, but it doesn’t need to be. We’re together and we can tackle anything. If we can face whatever our families throw our way and keep our relationship together and secure, then I think we’ll be just fine.

  The next night, Kayla, Shannon, and Glenn come over for dinner. Jamie decided to drive home to pack her things and let her parents know where she’ll be living. She probably would’ve stayed, but she’s supposed to report in to work tomorrow. It’s today or wait until the weekend. Considering she needed more clothes, she went today. Logan would also be here, but since he’s been away from his family for a week, he is having dinner with them tonight.

  “I have to say,” Shannon begins, “I’m surprised you invited us over.”

  “We have some things to discuss,” I explain. She immediately sends a worried glance to Glenn. “First,” I look at Kayla, “Jamie is moving in with me. I asked while we were on the cruise.”

  Kayla’s eyes widen and her mouth drops open a bit. She holds up her hand. “Hold on. Give me a second to absorb.” She takes a deep breath with her eyes closed. A smile appears as she opens her eyes. “I’m happy for y’all.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I don’t really need to be here for that, do I?” Shannon asks.

  “No, but Gregory has something he wants to discuss with you.”

  “Dad!” Gregory whines. He wants to move, he needs to be the one to tell his mother. Otherwise, she’s going to think it’s my idea and I want him to move. If he tells her, she’s more likely to accept it’s all his idea. There’s still a chance she’ll think it’s my fault and my idea, but Gregory doing the talking will help.