Like just now, Miles was pushing a ball around in the back yard with Abi while Ethan was chasing Hannah. Then all of a sudden, Ethan darted to the house. Miles wasn't even looking but he must've sensed his brother was on the move, because he stopped playing ball and his eyes went searching for Ethan, and when he spotted him, he took off in a sprint, following me in the house.
"Daddy, we can't reach," Miles says, his arm straining toward the bag.
"I got it." I take the bag and hand them each a cookie. "Just one. That's all you're getting."
"Two!" Ethan demands, holding up two fingers while his other hand stuffs the cookie in his mouth.
"Nope, just one," I tell him as I take the bag to the kitchen and hide it in the cupboard.
"Why'd they run in here so fast?" my mom asks as she comes through the patio door. "A cookie emergency?"
"Yeah. The cookie monsters had to refuel."
Ethan runs up to her. "Grandma, can we have a cookie?"
"Don't fall for it," I tell her. "He already had one and so did Miles. No more until after dinner."
Lilly walks in, wearing a bikini, her hair wet from the pool. I wish she wouldn't wear that damn bikini. It shows off too much skin. A one-piece would be just fine. Her boyfriend doesn't need to be seeing that much of my sister. Yeah, I know they have sex, but I try to pretend it isn't happening.
Jade follows her in, also wearing a bikini. She can wear a bikini all she wants, as long as I'm the only one looking at her. But I wasn't the only one. I caught Reed eyeing her and just about punched him, but then he glanced away so I just let it go. I can't really fault the guy. I mean, shit, my wife is gorgeous. Of course he's going to look. If I were him, I'd look too. She's wearing this bright orange bikini that shows off her deep tan and ripped body. She's been doing this new workout that's intense and getting her in even better shape than she was before. If you saw her, you'd never guess she had four kids. Her body is perfect.
She catches me watching her and smiles. I smile back, my eyes following her to the kitchen. She goes past me to the fridge, her arm brushing against my side. My mom and Lilly are preoccupied with the boys so I turn and grab Jade around the waist, pulling her against my bare chest and kissing her cheek. "What do you need?"
She turns her head back to me and whispers, "You. Later tonight."
I put my mouth by her ear and whisper back, "Why wait? We could go in the guest room. Tell everyone we're taking a nap."
She laughs. "I think they'd know what we're up to."
"I don't give a shit. We're married. We can do what we want. And right now," I kiss her neck, "I want you. You look so fucking hot."
"What happened to the cookies?" Lilly asks.
I turn and see my mom is back outside and Lilly is holding Ethan while moving the bags of chips and pretzels and other snack foods around the table.
"I put them away," I say, letting go of Jade. "I had to hide them before the cookies monsters ate them all."
"I'm a cookie monster," Ethan says to Lilly, pointing to himself.
She laughs. "I know. I gave you that name. Let's go swimming, Cookie Monster."
"I want to go swimming too!" Miles says.
"Come on." She takes his hand and they go back outside.
"See ya later," Jade says, a flirty grin on her face as she passes me. My eyes get caught on her tight ass as she walks to the patio door. As she leaves, my mom comes back in.
"Your father wants an iced tea."
"I'll get it," I say, opening the fridge. "You want anything?"
"I'll take a water," she says, meeting me at the fridge.
I grab the bottles and hand them to her, then grab a soda for myself.
My mom leans back against the counter as she opens her water. "So is the party as good as last year's?"
"It's better." I stand beside her. "Dad didn't burn the hotdogs this time."
She laughs. "He still insists they were just well done." She glances out at the yard. "The kids are so excited about the fireworks tonight but I don't know if they'll be able to stay awake. They've been swimming so much, they're wearing themselves out."
"We'll put them down for a nap before the fireworks start."
She turns to me. "You were the same way. You'd get so excited about the fireworks." She glances down. "You must've loved it when your father would shoot them off in the back yard."
Back when we lived in Connecticut, when we thought my mom was dead and my dad was married to Katherine, we always had a fireworks show at the house. And not just a few fireworks, but like an actual half hour show. My dad hired a company to set it up.
"It wasn't that great," I say. "There were too many people. Some years we had over a hundred. It would've been better if it was just family." I set my soda down and turn to her. "And by family, I mean you, Mom. You and Dad and Lilly and me."
She nods. "I wish I could've been there." A tear slips down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away. Holidays are hard for her. They remind her of everything she missed when she was gone. She tries not to think about that, but holidays seem to bring it all up again.
"Mom." I put my arm around her. "It's okay."
"I know, honey." She sniffles. "I don't mean to cry. It's just sometimes the memories come flooding back and I can't stop them."
"What were you thinking about?" I've found it helps if she talks about the memories rather than try to bottle them up inside.
"One Fourth of July, I went to drop off a food order at the one and only hotel in town. The manager had a small TV behind the desk and while he went to get the money, I watched a news program that was on. They didn't often show news about the U.S. but since it was Fourth of July, they had a story on it. They showed a parade and then some kids watching fireworks. There was a boy. He was about your age. You were fourteen at the time. He looked just like you. For a moment I thought it was you and I leaped over the counter to get a better look. The hotel manager thought I was crazy. He gave me the money and I left but I couldn't go back to work. Instead I walked down to the water and looked up at the sky, the same sky I knew you were looking at, and I prayed that you would know I was alive and doing everything humanly possible to get back to you and your father."
"Mom." I stand in front of her. "Even though you weren't with us, you were still there. I'd talk to you. I'd ask you for advice. I could feel your presence as if you were there."
I've told her all this before, many times, but I continue to tell her because it always makes her feel better when I say it. It makes her feel as though she was still part of my life during those years, which she was. I thought about her every day.
"I'm really bringing the mood down, aren't I?" She laughs a little.
I set my hand on her shoulder. "You need to talk about it. We both do. It helps us get past it."
My dad walks in. "Is everything okay in here?" he asks, seeing my mom's teary eyes.
"Everything's fine." She smiles and hands him his iced tea.
He doesn't ask her to explain. He knows holidays are difficult for her. They'll talk about it later.
"Dad, you really need to get some shorts. Nobody wears dress pants to a Fourth of July cookout."
My mom laughs. "He has shorts. He just won't wear them."
"They don't suit me. I feel ridiculous having my legs exposed like that." He looks down at his beige pants. "These aren't dress pants. They're casual. It even said so on the tag."
"I can't believe you ever got to him wear jeans," I say to my mom.
"I can't either." She wraps her arms around his waist and looks up at him. "Remember when I took you shopping for your first pair? We'd just started dating. I'll never forget the look on your face when I asked you to try them on. I couldn't stop laughing."
My dad chuckles. "What was even funnier was when my mother saw me wearing them." He looks at me. "It was when I'd just brought you home from the hospital and was trying to take care of you by myself. I was so tired I couldn't think straight so when your grandmother made a c
omment about denim pants, at first I didn't know what she was talking about. I didn't even realize I was wearing them. If it weren't for the horrified look on her face, I wouldn't have even known what she was saying."
Sometimes when my parents talk about stuff like this, memories from when they were dating or when I was a kid, I'm overwhelmed with emotion. Not from the memories themselves, but from the fact that my parents are together again. My mom's been back for years but sometimes, just seeing them together like this, talking about the past, makes me choke up.
She turns to my dad. "Are you going swimming? I left your suit out if you want to change."
"I don't think I will. The pool's pretty crowded and I prefer the lounge chair."
My mom glances outside. The kids are all in the pool with Jade, Lilly, and Reed. Ethan and Miles are chasing Reed, laughing as they try to catch him. I may be annoyed that he's dating my sister, but the guy's great with kids. I'll give him that.
"Poor Reed," my mom says. "The boys won't leave him alone. He can't get two seconds rest." She looks at me. "Between that and your father's behavior, I'm surprised Reed is still willing to come over."
"What'd you do?" I ask my dad.
My mom answers. "Your father keeps telling Reed about our target practice and showing him his gun."
I laugh. "You're still doing that? Shit, that's just mean."
My dad eyes me. "And you won't do the same when Abi starts dating? Or Hannah?"
I stop laughing, because the thought of that is not funny. I'll kill any boy who tries to get near my daughters. Okay, maybe not kill, but...shit, I don't know what I'll do. I can't think about it.
"You're right," I tell him. "I'd do the same thing."
My mom rolls her eyes. "You two are terrible. Reed is a nice young man and he loves Lilly very much. And Lilly loves him."
"They're too young to be in love," my dad says. "I don't want Lilly getting serious with a boy at this age."
"But it was okay for our son?" my mom asks, smiling up at my dad. "You do remember that Garret was married at 19."
"Those were different circumstances. He had to get married. If he hadn't, they might've—" He stops, not wanting to bring up the organization, but what he was going to say is that if I'd waited to marry Jade, there's a chance they would've tried to stop it. Even though they said I was released from my obligation, I didn't trust them and neither did my dad. "It's not the same for Lilly."
"I would've married Jade then anyway," I say. "I loved her, so why wait?"
"Don't tell Lilly that," my dad says. "I don't want her getting any ideas."
"She's in no hurry to get married," my mom says. "But they have talked about it."
"They have?" my dad and I ask in unison.
"It's not that surprising. They've dated for almost a year. Pearce, you should really try to get to know Reed's father. I know we've met him for dinner a few times but you should meet with him one-on-one. Get to know him better."
"I doubt that will change my opinion of him."
"Has he asked you to do more favors for him?" I ask.
"No. Not since that time he asked about Kiefer."
"What ever happened with that? Did he call Kiefer himself?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to Kiefer in months."
"You should come with us to L.A. on Wednesday," my mom says to my dad. "You could drop Lilly and me off at Kelly's fashion show and then go have lunch with Dean."
"I suppose I could do that," he says with a sigh. "If I must. I'll give him a call and see if he's available."
"You should also call Katherine." My mom's tone turns serious. "I don't want her just showing up here, especially after Lilly told her not to."
"Katherine's coming here?" I ask.
Before they can answer, Hannah comes running in, dripping wet from the pool. She stops in front of my mom. "Grandma, will you come swim with us?"
"Yes, sweetie. I'll be right there."
"Will you come right now?" She pulls on her hand. "We're playing a game and it's girls against boys. If you come, we'll have more girls and beat the boys."
My dad smiles at my mom. "Go ahead. I'm going to stay here and talk to Garret."
I take the towel that's around Hannah's waist and wrap it around her sopping wet hair that's left a big puddle on the floor. "Hannah, you gotta dry off better before coming inside. You don't want people to slip on the wet floor."
"Sorry," she says, sounding sad, her big blue eyes looking up at me.
Abi and Hannah are the sweetest little girls. They're caring and polite but also super sensitive so I have to watch what I say or they take it the wrong way. I made that one comment about drying off and now Hannah thinks I'm mad at her.
"It's okay." I kiss her cheek and hand her the towel. "Go back out to the pool. But don't run on the wet floor. Walk out with Grandma."
She does as I say, holding my mom's hand and stepping carefully across the wet floor. For the most part, Hannah and Abi do whatever Jade and I say. They like pleasing us, so if we tell them to do something, they listen. The boys are the complete opposite. They're always doing things they know they shouldn't, with Ethan instigating the trouble and Miles following along. They're still really young so I'm hoping it's just a phase they'll grow out of.
When my mom and Hannah are gone, my dad and I go over to the table and sit down.
"So what's going on with Katherine?" I ask.
"She called Lilly to say she'd be in town this week. She told Lilly to meet her in L.A. on Wednesday. When Lilly told her she already had plans with Rachel, Katherine wouldn't accept it. She was furious. She demanded Lilly be there on Wednesday, but Lilly still refused. Then she hung up on her."
"Good for her. At least she's not letting Katherine manipulate her anymore."
"No, but I'm concerned by the fact that Katherine is showing interest in her again. I assume she's coming to L.A. for some other reason and not to see Lilly, but still. She knows Lilly doesn't want to see her so I don't know why she even bothered to call and ask."
"You just said why. Because Lilly doesn't want to see her. Katherine always does the opposite of what Lilly wants. It's just the way her sick, twisted mind works."
"I suppose that could be it, but with Katherine you never know. It could be something else."
"Have you heard anything more about Phillip and what he's up to?"
When my dad got back from Connecticut a few weeks ago, he told me about the meeting he went to and that Phillip was there. Normally, my dad wouldn't tell me anything about the meeting. He wants to keep me out of that part of his life, so the fact that he told me means he's really concerned. He doesn't know what's going on there but since it involves Phillip, and maybe Katherine, he wants to be extra cautious. He told me to keep a close watch on Jade and the kids but I think his main concern is for my mom. He knows how much Katherine hates her and he doesn't want Katherine trying to do something to harm her.
"I haven't heard anything," he says. "Neither has William. I doubt we'll know anything until I go to that meeting at the end of the month."
"I bet you're right about Katherine trying to get her son to be considered. It makes perfect sense. He'd be her way back in."
"Yes, but I still can't imagine the committee taking the time to consider someone that young. He still has years before he'd even be allowed to find out they exist." He rises up from his chair. "Let's not talk about this anymore. It's Fourth of July. We should be outside with the rest of the family, not in here discussing Katherine."
"True. Let's get out of here."
But before I get up, Ethan runs in, his brother trailing behind. My dad smiles as he passes them on his way back outside. He always says they remind him of how I used to be, a constant bundle of energy.
"What are you guys up to?" I ask.
Instead of answering, Ethan climbs on my lap and hugs me. Then Miles does the same. They do this sometimes, just climb on my lap and hug me for no reason. I put an arm around each of them and k
iss their heads. They're still wet from the pool, but they aren't soaked like Hannah was earlier. Jade must've toweled them off before they came in here.
Ethan turns and slides down until his head is on my chest. Miles does the same. I lean back a little and they yawn, their eyes heavy.
"You guys tired?"
"Not tired," Ethan mumbles, but his eyes are closing. So are Miles'.
They're funny. They refuse to admit when they're tired because they don't want to go to sleep. But the day has worn them out and it's past their nap time so I'm not surprised they fell asleep the second their heads hit my chest.
I take a moment to look at them. My little trouble makers. They look just like me. Same dark hair, cut the same way as mine. Same nose, same mouth, but their eyes are a greenish-blue, a mix of Jade's and mine.
"Nap time?" Jade whispers as she walks in.
"Yeah. We should put them in bed but I might need some help getting up."
My parents have a couple spare bedrooms set up for the kids for when they stay here or come visit. There's one for the boys and one for the girls. And Jade and I stay in the guest room.
She quietly pulls up a chair and sits beside me. "It's so cute when they lay on you like that," she whispers. "My two little Garrets."
I lean over and kiss her forehead. "Where are my two little Jades?"
"Hannah's in the pool with your mom and Abi's with Grace."
I sit up just enough to see out the window. Hannah and my mom are tossing a ball around in the pool and Abi's sitting on the grass in front of Grace, who's reading her a story. Abi loves books, and loves it when people read to her. She could sit there for hours and listen to Grace read stories to her. Hannah can't sit still that long. After one story, she has to get up and run around.
Jade's head falls down on my shoulder. "Love you," she whispers, her eyes closing. She's tired. We all are. We got up early this morning and we've been going all day.
"Love you too." I kiss her head and decide to join her in a quick nap. It's not the most comfortable spot but it'll do.
Earlier, my mom asked if this Fourth of July was as good as last year's, but the truth is they're all great as long as I'm with my family. It's not about the food or the weather or the fireworks. It's about this right here. Being with my family.
Lilly and Reed: A Kensington Family Novel Page 11
