Treading Water

by Marie Force

  “I like the way you think.” He was up for anything that would postpone going home to a house where Jill no longer lived.

  They went to an Italian restaurant in the city’s Federal Hill section, where he did his best to put away a bottle of wine, but rather than helping him forget, it only made him sadder. They held hands as she drove home.

  “Thanks for everything you did to help out today.” He looked over at her. “Jill’s room is amazing. She’ll be the envy of all the freshmen.”

  “I’m glad she liked it. It was a lot of fun to do.”

  “We’re all lucky to have you.” He leaned over to kiss her cheek and rested against her as they crossed the Newport Bridge.

  Jack arranged for the kids to spend the night at Frannie and Jamie’s on the twenty-fourth of August—the one-year anniversary of the day he met Andi. Planning a special night for them had helped to take his mind off Jill being gone, and he’d told Andi to be ready at six.

  “Ready to go, hon?”

  “Ready when you are.”

  “You look beautiful.” He drew her in close to him and gave her a lingering kiss. “Happy anniversary.”

  Andi curled her arms around his neck. “Same to you. With Jill leaving and everything, I wondered if you’d remember.”

  “Of course I remembered.”

  She laughed. “I should’ve known better.”

  With his arm around her shoulder, he walked her to his car. “Yes, you should have.”

  “Where’re we going?”

  “I thought we’d spend the night on the boat like we did that weekend you came to visit,” he said as they drove to the marina.

  “There’s nothing I’d rather do tonight, but I didn’t bring anything to stay.”

  He kissed her hand. “I took care of it.”

  She sighed. “I’ll never get used to being with a man who thinks of everything.”

  “You’d better get used to it. You’re stuck with me.”

  “Yes, I’m just so stuck,” she said with a smile. “So blissfully stuck.”

  He’d been to the boat earlier in the day, and everything was ready for them when they arrived.

  They motored toward the bay to see the hotel’s progress from the water. The exterior was just about shingled, the roof was on, and the contractors were putting up the interior walls. They’d had a lucky run with the weather all year, which had kept things right on schedule.

  “It looks wonderful, Jack. I can’t believe how close to done it seems from here.”

  They lingered for a moment longer to look at the hotel that had brought them together. Then he steered the boat across the bay to anchor in Mackerel Cove for the night.

  The same Sinatra CD they’d listened to last time played on the stereo as they dove into the dinner he’d brought.

  As Andi polished off the last brownie, she said, “I’m so full, and yet still I eat.”

  “I can’t move.” He groaned as he reclined on the other side of the boat’s comfortable rear cockpit. The night air was heavy with humidity, and water lapped gently against the hull.

  She gazed up at the spectacular show of stars. “What a lovely evening.”

  He looked over at her. “What a lovely year.”

  She brought her eyes down from the heavens to meet his. “The loveliest year ever.”

  “No regrets?”

  “Are you waiting for me to have regrets, Jack?”

  “I keep hoping you won’t.”

  “I won’t. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever, so don’t spend one more minute worrying about that.”

  “You know me so well—better than anyone ever has.”

  The gravity of that statement hung in the air between them.

  “I feel so disloyal to Clare even saying that, but it’s true.”

  “Jack,” she sighed. “I hate the terrible pain I still see in your eyes once in a while.”

  “It’s better than it was, but it still gets to me every now and then.”

  “Of course it does.”

  When their song came on, he sat up and held out a hand to her. “Dance with me?”

  She got up to take his hand.

  “We might need a new song,” he whispered as he drew her in close to him.

  “How come?”

  “Since we’re together every day now, I don’t have to remember the way you look tonight to hold me over during the lonely times.”

  “I remember how I felt the last time we were right here, knowing I had to leave you in a few days and how hopeless it all seemed. We wouldn’t be here now if you hadn’t had enough hope for both of us.”

  “Hope was the only thing I had left then. I don’t even like to think about how differently things could’ve turned out if you hadn’t had the courage to give it a try.”

  She reached up to kiss him. “I’m so glad I did.”

  “So am I.”

  Jack awoke the next morning to his cell phone vibrating on the table where he’d left it the night before. He jumped out of bed to grab it.

  “Dad!”

  “Kate, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  “Frannie had the babies! I’ve been trying to call you all night.”

  “The phone was on vibrate. I didn’t hear it. Is everything okay?”

  “It is now, but she had a C-section. I guess there was some bleeding or something.”

  “You’re sure Frannie’s okay?” he asked as he went in to wake Andi.

  “I’m sure. Uncle Jamie just called a few minutes ago. They had a boy and a girl. Owen and Olivia.”

  “I can’t believe we slept through all the excitement.”

  “Come home! We want to go to the hospital.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  Maggie Harrington thought the arrival of Olivia and Owen Booth was the most exciting thing that’d ever happened. She’d never seen fingers and toes so tiny as she gazed at them in their bassinettes.

  Across the room, Eric signed to his mother, “She likes them better than me now.” He watched Maggie stare at the twins.

  “Oh, no, sweetie, she’s just excited about the new babies. She won’t forget you,” Andi assured him.

  “I hope not,” he signed, casting another worried glance at Maggie.

  “We’re going home soon,” Andi told him.

  The new parents took in the chaos from Frannie’s hospital bed.

  “Are you tired, hon?” Jamie asked his wife.

  “Getting there. You can shoo them out in a few minutes.”

  Neil leaned over to take another look at his first grandchildren. He’d handed out pink and blue cigars to everyone he encountered since leaving Palm Beach that morning.

  Jack came into the room with a pizza for Jamie and found his daughters holding their new baby cousins. Jill had been in earlier for a brief visit before going back to school. “Hey, Kate, why don’t you think about taking the kids home? It’s getting late.”

  “Five more minutes, Dad,” Maggie said as she held Olivia.

  After the kids left, Jack wandered over to Frannie’s bed. “How’re you feeling, Fran?”

  “Like I got sliced in half by a speeding train.” She shifted, trying to get comfortable.

  Jack winced. “Sounds awful.”

  “It was pretty scary, but look at those babies.”

  “They’re beautiful,” Jack said. They had a dusting of her auburn hair, and Jamie had joked earlier about being stuck in a house full of hot-tempered redheads. “I love their names, too.”

  “Thanks. I still can’t believe I’m finally a mom.”

  “It’ll become real at three in the morning when they’re both awake and hungry.”

  She grimaced. “I can’t wait. We’d like you and Andi to be their godparents.”

  He kissed her forehead. “We’d be honored. We’re going now so you can get some rest. Call if you need anything.”

  Jack and Andi left the new family and walked to his car. The stifling heat of the late August day still clung to th
e blacktop.

  “What a day,” Jack said as he held the car door for Andi. “Did we really wake up on the boat, or was that a month ago?”

  She chuckled. “The babies are adorable. They’re so lucky to have one of each.”

  “A ready-made family. They want us to be the godparents.”

  “Frannie told me. It’s so sweet of them to include me.”

  “Do you ever think about having more kids?”

  Amazed by the question, she looked over at him. “Do you?”

  “Not really, but I have three. You only have one, and you’re younger than I am.”

  “Only seven years.”

  “I wouldn’t be opposed to one more if you had the urge.”

  “With your kids so close to being grown?”

  “Eric’s only six, so we’ve got a lot of years of parenthood left. What’s a few more?”

  She shook her head. “You never cease to amaze me, Jack. Just when I think I have you figured out…”

  He glanced over at her. “So what do you think? Want to have one of our own?”

  She thought about it for a moment. “I’d love to have a child with you, but we have a very nice family the way it is now, and with the twins coming into our lives, I think we’ll be set for kids. We can always borrow them when we feel the hankering for babies.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I am. But I love you for asking.”

  “I love you, too.” He held her hand as he drove them home.

  Chapter 23

  Other than a quick trip to Chicago in late September so Eric could see his grandmother, Jack and Andi were occupied with finishing the hotel in time for the December opening. By mid-October construction was almost done, and the Chicago-based interior-design team arrived to put the suites and guest rooms together. Andi settled into her office at the hotel in late October and was busy hiring and training staff while making final plans for the gala opening on December twentieth.

  Eric moved to first grade at the girls’ school and was doing well with his sign-language aide. Jack and Andi had talked about hiring a housekeeper to help with the kids in the afternoons, but Kate said she would do it, and they agreed to pay her. She usually made dinner for the family and helped the two younger children with their homework.

  Their lovely arrangement came to an ugly end the week after Thanksgiving when Jack came home from work early and caught Kate in a passionate embrace with her boyfriend, Ryan.

  “Are you kidding me, Kate?” Jack asked after he showed Ryan the door.

  “With two kids in the house who, I’d like to remind you, you’re being paid to watch? You know my rule about having boys here when we’re not home.”

  She didn’t answer him, which made him even angrier. “You’re grounded. No Ryan, no car, no cell phone, no nothing for one month.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “I can and I did. You’ve betrayed my trust and Andi’s. We were counting on you to watch Maggie and Eric, and this is what you’re doing? I just can’t believe it, Kate. I’m so disappointed.”

  “Maggie and Eric were fine. They were watching a movie! You can’t keep me from seeing Ryan! I love him.”

  “You might think you love him, but I won’t stand by and watch you mess up your future for a boy. You’re grounded, and that’s the end of it.”

  She bolted through the kitchen on her way to the stairs.

  Andi had arrived home in the midst of the screaming match and was waiting for him in the kitchen. “What’s going on? I’ve never heard you yell like that.”

  “I came home early and found Kate and Ryan going at it. If I hadn’t come in when I did, I think they would’ve had sex right there in the study.”

  “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “You didn’t see what I did. I still can’t believe it.”

  Andi stayed home the next morning to participate in a conference call from Chicago without the noise at the hotel. After the meeting, she was in the kitchen making coffee when Kate wandered in, still in her pajamas.

  “Why aren’t you in school?”

  “Teacher training day,” Kate muttered.

  “Are you all right, Kate?”

  Kate shrugged and poured a cup of coffee. In a rush of words, she said, “Dad doesn’t understand anything.”

  “He’s upset that Ryan was here when we weren’t home. We’re really counting on you, especially in the next month.”

  “I’m sorry. I never wanted to let anyone down. I take good care of the kids, and that was the first time Ryan’s been here when you guys weren’t home. He stopped by to bring me some books I left in his car. I know you don’t believe me.”

  “I do believe you. You’re not a liar, Kate.”

  She seemed to brighten a bit at that. “Could I ask you something?”

  “Of course.” Andi sat next to her at the table.

  “How old were you, the first time you, you know, went all the way?” Kate’s cheeks colored with embarrassment.

  Startled by the question, Andi released a ragged deep breath. “Well, let’s see, I was in college, so I must’ve been nineteen or twenty. Why?”

  Kate studied her coffee cup. “I was just wondering.”

  “Are you thinking about that with Ryan?”

  “Dad doesn’t believe me, but I love him, and I know he loves me, too.”

  Andi fought to stay calm as her heart raced and her palms went damp. She was in way over her head here. “I’m sure you do, but you’re both still so young. You’ll be in college next year, and who knows if you’ll even be at the same school? Are you sure you want to let things get so serious?”

  “I’m not going to college.”

  “What?” Jack would freak out when he heard this. “What do you mean? Of course you’re going to college.”

  “I’m going to pursue my music. I’m not wasting four years in college. It’s not for me. I’m not a straight-A student like Jill.”

  “You don’t have to be like Jill. No one expects that.”

  “Dad does.”

  “He knows you each have different strengths. You need to talk to him about this.”

  “He’s going to flip, though. I know it.”

  “You still have to talk to him. You can’t just drop this on him later.”

  “You won’t tell him about the other thing, will you?”

  Andi thought about that for a moment. “I just hope you’ll really think about it before you take a step you may not be ready for. And what about protection? Have you thought of that?”

  “I’m probably going on the pill, just in case.”

  Andi let out another long breath. It was better not to think about what Jack would have to say about that. “The pill won’t protect you from disease,” Andi reminded her, wondering where the normally quiet, reserved Kate had gone.

  “He’s never done it before, either, so we’re both safe.”

  “It sounds like you’ve given it some serious thought. I hope you know what you’re doing. Sex changes a relationship—not always for the better.”

  “It’s not happening this month, because I can’t even see him.” Kate turned her stunning blue eyes on Andi. “But if I wanted to be protected, just in case, would you help me? Get on the pill I mean?”

  Andi thought about that, her head spinning. “There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Kate, but you can’t ask me to go behind your father’s back on something like this. I won’t do that to him. But I’ll make you a deal. If you can get him to agree to it, I’ll take you.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Like that’s ever going to happen. He almost passed out when he saw me kissing Ryan.”

  “You won’t know if you don’t talk to him,” Andi said, even though she wasn’t optimistic, either.

  “You won’t say anything?”

  Andi shook her head, even though she had serious reservations about making such a promise. “Please don’t let me down by doing something fooli
sh. Talk to your father.” She got up, kissed the girl’s forehead, and walked over to put her coffee cup in the dishwasher. “You’re all set to get the kids at three today?”

  “I’ll be there,” Kate said. “Andi?”

  Andi stopped on her way to the garage. “Yes?”

  “Thanks.”

  “Any time.”

  Andi couldn’t focus on the mountain of work on her desk as she replayed the conversation with Kate. All she could think about was how upset Jack would be to hear that Kate didn’t want to go to college, not to mention she was thinking about having sex with her high school boyfriend and wanted to go on the pill. Imagining the scene, Andi shuddered.

  Jack appeared at her office door, carrying his hardhat and wearing jeans, a thermal shirt, and work boots. His cheeks were red from being out in the cold all morning with the stonemasons who were installing the south veranda. Somehow he managed to look as sexy in work clothes as he did in a tuxedo. He’d told her this would be his last week of work at the hotel, which made her sad. She’d miss having him around during the day.

  “What planet were you visiting?” he asked. “You were a million miles away.”

  Andi caressed his cold face when he bent to kiss her. “I was just taking a quick trip to Pluto, but I’m back now.”

  “What’s on your mind?”

  She wanted so badly to tell him everything Kate had told her. “Nothing special. Are you having a good day?”

  Seeming exhausted and troubled, he dropped into a chair. “The stone guys don’t speak a word of English, so it seems my job is to stand back and let them do what they want. Since the veranda is coming out only slightly different than I’d planned, I’ve chosen not to do battle with them. Yet.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she said as she studied him.

  “I also can’t stop thinking about what happened with Kate last night.”

  “You should talk to her—when you’re not mad.”

  “Do you think I was too hard on her?”

  “Not at all. She knows she’s not allowed to have boys there when we’re not home. You absolutely did the right thing.”

  “That helps, thanks. I’m on unfamiliar ground with this whole Ryan situation. She says she loves him, but what does she know about love? She’s just a kid.”