“It’s cute,” Molly said, watching Jada as she blinked in the bright sunlight, then laid her head against Dee’s chest. The baby was wearing a pink sunbonnet and a seersucker sunsuit with strawberries on it. The bonnet emphasized the perfection of her tiny head and the sweet vulnerability of her neck. Jada smiled shyly and batted her silky eyelashes. Molly wondered if all babies were so irresistible.
“Craig brought our two eldest over earlier,” Dee said, shading her eyes with her hand. “Lexie and Corduroy were gung-ho to compete in the sand castle contest.”
“Oh, what’s that?” Phoebe asked, hopping from one foot to the other.
“The organizers trucked in a big mound of sand and let kids build castles with it. Prizes are awarded for the best ones.”
“First I have to find Mr. Whister.” Phoebe pulled off her backpack and removed her drawing. “Dad, can you help me find him?”
Eric and Phoebe set off through the crowd, and Molly and Dee continued toward the sand castle competition.
“I’m glad that Phoebe is enjoying Corduroy’s old backpack,” Dee observed. “She insisted that she wanted it when I mentioned we were going to give it to Goodwill. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. By the way, I found Grandpa’s sewing machine on Fiona. I just might be able to make clothes for Phoebe’s Barbie doll.” She had her misgivings about this, but the dress that Barbie was wearing when she came home from the store at the beginning of the week was showing signs of wear. Phoebe kept putting it on the doll and taking it off again.
“Molly, I am certain you can do it. Tonight when we come to the boat for dinner, I’ll bring fabric remnants and some spools of thread. Patterns, too.”
“Don’t expect too much,” Molly warned. “I’m not an experienced seamstress.”
Dee only laughed. “Trust me, Molly, Barbie won’t care.”
They had reached the huge pile of sand, where children were working at top speed to build some of the most fantastic sand castles Molly had ever seen. Phoebe, when she arrived with Eric, jumped right in beside Lexie and Corduroy, who were erecting an extravagant structure that so far outclassed all the competitors.
Eric sauntered over and casually draped an arm across Molly’s shoulders. “Hey there,” he said to Jada after greeting Dee. The baby smiled and hid her face in her mother’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, she likes you,” Dee said. “She’s bashful, that’s all.”
“So was Phoebe at that age,” Eric said.
“You’d never know it now,” Dee observed as they watched Phoebe running to get more sand, then laughing at the way Corduroy dumped it on the mound that Lexie was molding into a tower for their castle.
Dee moved closer to call encouraging words to the children, and Eric squeezed Molly’s shoulder. “So you like babies, huh?” he asked.
“I didn’t realize I did until I got to know Jada better,” she admitted.
“Haven’t you ever dreamed of children of your own?”
Molly shook her head. “I’m afraid not. After dealing with Brianne in her tempestuous teenage years, I hoped to stay as far away from that kind of trouble as possible.”
He drew her into the shade of a towering magnolia tree. “You get along with your sister all right now, don’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose so.” She remembered something and glanced at her watch. “Brianne’s plane should be touching down at O’Hare Airport right about now, and she’s going straight to visit with Grandpa in Minneapolis. I’m eager to hear her report.”
“Do you need to go see him, Molly?”
She shook her head. “I’m very concerned, but I managed to talk to Dr. Talwani the other day, and he told me that my grandfather is most anxious for Fiona to be in Fort Lauderdale so that she’ll be there when he arrives. The doctor suggested that I do whatever I can to expedite things here. Speaking of which, what’s new on the engine part?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention that I talked with the representative at the German company yesterday afternoon, and he said that the fuel injector pump has finally been shipped. It should arrive in Jacksonville tomorrow.”
“That means I’ll have something worthwhile to report to Grandpa when I next speak with him. The news will cheer him.”
Eric pulled her close and nuzzled her cheek. “You know what would make me a lot happier? If you’d stop being so uptight in public.”
“Eric, I’m not uptight. I like being affectionate, but I worry about Phoebe and what she might suspect.”
“Phoebe,” he said as he pulled her closer, “is busy digging a moat right now.”
Molly wrested herself away. “I’d like to see Phoebe’s picture hung with the others,” she said, taking Eric’s hand. She called to Dee, “We’re going to look at the paintings. Would you mind keeping an eye on Phoebe for a few minutes?”
“We’ll join you as soon as they’ve judged the castles. Lexie has a coat-hanger sculpture on display.”
Fingers linked, Molly and Eric strolled over to the kids’ art section. Phoebe’s picture was posted right in the middle of the bulletin board. An elderly couple were admiring it.
“Will you notice that detail, Gloria! Whoever drew that picture really put a lot of effort into it, I’d say.”
The woman leaned closer, peering through her trifocals. “It was drawn by a seven-year-old girl, can you believe that?”
The couple moved away, but Eric’s pride was evident in his expression. “I can’t wait to tell Phoebe what those people said about her work.”
“She’s talented. No doubt about it,” Molly said.
“Should I stop bugging her about her vacuum cleaners? I don’t want to suppress a great artist in the making.”
“I’ll leave that up to you, Eric, but I caught her drawing Barbie yesterday.”
“You did? Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Maybe she’s not weird after all. You think?”
Molly only grinned. “I never thought she was weird in the first place, merely different. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Hmm. Maybe you’re right,” Eric said, and he seemed more thoughtful than usual.
PHOEBE AND HER FRIENDS ran up, their sneakers kicking up white puffs of dust from the shell-rock path. “Dad! Dad! Our castle won first place!” She, Lexie and Corduroy waved shiny, gilt-embossed blue ribbons in the air.
“Congratulations, Peanut,” Eric said, swinging Phoebe up in his arms. She immediately clamored to get down. Lately she was refusing to be treated like a little kid, and this made him sad. He wasn’t all that eager for Phoebe to grow up.
“Did you see my picture?” Phoebe asked.
“People have been admiring it,” he told her, and then Molly related the compliments they’d overheard.
“I can’t wait to go to my next art class,” Phoebe said. “My teacher is going to bring pastel crayons for us to use. They’re like colored chalk, he says. I’m already thinking what I might draw.”
As Phoebe ran off to join Lexie and Corduroy at the kids’ display, Eric and Molly exchanged looks. If Fiona’s engine part arrived tomorrow as scheduled, they would be on their way to Fort Lauderdale soon and Phoebe might well miss her next art class. Eric didn’t relish breaking this news to his daughter. He’d have a fight on his hands if she dug her heels in and said she didn’t want to leave Greensea Springs.
“Don’t worry,” Molly told him as they walked past a display of kinetic sculptures made of copper tubing. “Phoebe will understand.”
“Will she?” he mused, not at all sure of this.
“I’ll try to prepare her. I’ll tell her about Grandpa, and how happy he’ll be that the engine will soon be repaired, and how much she’ll enjoy seeing him again in Fort Lauderdale.”
Eric retreated into silence. He and Phoebe would be leaving Fiona when they reached Fort Lauderdale, and Molly was certainly aware of that. Did she really expect that they could continue their relationship when they reached their de
stination?
He tried to recall if he’d ever mentioned what his plans were after delivering Fiona, and he didn’t think he had. So far, he really hadn’t figured out what he and Phoebe would do. Staying in Fort Lauderdale, where rents were high during this, the winter season, was not an option. Buying a house there was also out of the question, since when he settled, he wanted to live in a smaller city rather than a larger one.
A place like Greensea Springs.
“HAVE ANOTHER KEBAB,” Eric urged Craig. The four of them were gathered around a table in Fiona’s cockpit, chowing down after drinks on deck. Dee’s parents were baby-sitting the Farrells’ children, and Phoebe was below, playing with her dolls in her bunk.
“Thanks,” Craig said, holding out his plate as Eric served the skewer of shrimp and vegetables. Micki had sent over a bucket of shrimp, payment from a local shrimper who owed the marina money for diesel fuel. Earlier Eric had dug Emmett’s old barbecue out of one of the storage lockers and affixed it to the bow railing. Molly had learned how to marinate the kebabs from the label on a salad-dressing bottle, and she had also contributed rice and a tossed salad.
“If you need any other material for those doll clothes, Molly, you let me know,” Dee told her. “I’ve accumulated bags and bags of scraps over the years.”
Molly got up to get more ice cubes. “Thanks, Dee. I’m going to be busy, aren’t I.”
When she stepped off the ladder below, she heard Phoebe playing with her dolls in her bunk. Molly didn’t pay much attention as she removed the bag of ice cubes from the freezer, but as she prepared to start back up the ladder, she couldn’t help overhearing.
Phoebe was visible through the partly closed door of her room. Barbie and Blaine were arrayed on a folded-over towel that served as a couch, and Phoebe, talking in a high, sweet voice, was pretending to be Barbie.
“But, Blaine, I don’t want to play my harp. I don’t want to go back to my job. I only want to stay with you.”
Now Blaine replied, this time in a deep stern voice. “Barbie, if you stay with me, we will have no place to live. We will have to live under a bridge or someplace like that. Or on the beach in a hut and go surfing all the time.”
Barbie again: “I don’t care where we live, Blaine, my one true love. I only want to be with you. And your wonderful dog, Phoebe.”
Molly stifled a bout of giggles over that, but there was more.
“Now, Blaine, let’s kiss and forget all about having no house to live in. Mmmm-smooch. Oooh, Blaine, that was a wonderful kiss.”
“I know. Now, come to sleep in my bed. Don’t tell Phoebe, though. She thinks you sleep in your own bed.”
“Ha-ha, that’s very funny, Blaine. I have an idea! Let’s let Phoebe sleep in my bed. She will enjoy it so-o-o-o much.” It must have been the dog’s turn to say something, because the real Phoebe said, “Arf! Arf!” She was using a fuzzy chihuahua on a key chain as a play dog.
Molly had heard enough. She climbed the ladder and joined the others on deck, chastened by these revelations. Clearly she’d better have a serious talk with Eric—and soon.
DEE AND CRAIG WENT HOME EARLY, and by the time Eric and Molly started to carry dishes down from the cockpit, Phoebe was sleeping, her head pillowed on Barbie and Blaine’s towel “couch,” the key-chain chihuahua clutched in her fist. Since her head was at the foot of the bed, Eric covered her with an extra blanket and gently removed Blaine and Barbie to the shelf above the bunk.
Molly scraped soggy leftover salad into the garbage can. “Eric, we have to talk,” she said.
He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I’d rather do something more fun. Like this,” he said, curving a hand around her breast.
She brushed him away. “I’m worried about the effect we’re having on Phoebe. I mentioned how I’ve been concerned about what she thinks is going on between us, and now I’ve got reason to believe we’re not fooling her at all.”
Eric’s hands dropped away and he leaned back against the counter. “Okay, you must be on to something.”
Quickly she related what she’d heard when she’d returned to the cabin for ice. “She knows we sleep together,” she said in conclusion. “That’s probably not so good.”
Eric raised his eyebrows. “Oh, it’s very good,” he began, but Molly interrupted.
“For us, yes. For a seven-year-old girl to comprehend, maybe not.”
“I’d better have a talk with her.”
“What will you say?”
He sighed. “Hey, how about if you tackle the subject?”
Molly blinked. “I must not be hearing this correctly. Do you honestly believe that’s a good idea?”
“We could both be there. We could tell her that when two people like each other, sometimes they want to be really close.”
Molly abandoned the cleaning-up process and sank onto the lounge. “The thing that troubles me is that Phoebe—” She stopped, at a loss for a cogent way to express herself. She was about to say that Phoebe was heavily into happily-ever-after, and that the child would likely extrapolate any mention of liking each other into love. Neither Molly nor Eric had mentioned the treacherous L word, and to bring up the topic now would suggest that she, Molly, was angling for more of a commitment than she was ready to accept.
But Eric was regarding her with an empathy and understanding that she hadn’t expected. He reached for her hand. “Molly, don’t worry so much. Phoebe is my responsibility. I’ll deal with this.”
Molly, her thoughts in a jumble, bit her lip. “Can you?” she murmured, searching his expression.
He smiled and squeezed her hand. “As a responsible parent, I have to say yes,” he said.
“But can you?”
He stood, ran a hand up the back of his neck. “We’ll find out,” he said. He pulled her up beside him and kissed her in a way that left no doubt that an evening of lovemaking would follow, and Molly found a great deal of pleasure in the idea.
As he reluctantly released her lips, she leaned her forehead against his. “You’re the first guy I’ve ever dated with a child who lives with him full-time. This is all new to me, Eric.”
“Well, relax. We’ll muddle through it, you know.”
“I wish I were so confident,” she admitted.
“I doubt that it’s only the Phoebe problem that rattles you. In case you’re wondering, I don’t mean to trifle with your feelings. I care about you deeply, Molly. As for what will happen in the future, I know from experience that we never can predict anything. I’ve learned that the best thing to do is to enjoy what you have at the moment and forget about tomorrow.”
Molly considered this. It was a new thought, but she didn’t feel capable of living only in the moment where Eric was involved.
“How about if we use this particular time to its best advantage?” Eric said, trailing a string of kisses down the side of her neck.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, rocked by the realization of how important he had become to her.
“I think it’s time to adjourn to the bedroom,” he murmured close to her ear, but at that moment, her cell phone rang.
She pulled away, wishing she could let her message service pick up, but with her grandfather sick and her sister due to check in soon, that wasn’t a possibility.
“Right after I answer my phone,” she said, hurrying to her stateroom to dig it out of her purse.
“Molly,” said her sister, Brianne, “I’m here at the clinic with Grandpa.”
She’d have a chance later to ask Brianne about her trip and catch up on other news. “How is he?”
Brianne hesitated. “He’s so pale and gaunt. I haven’t seen him in several months, but I was shocked.”
Molly lowered herself to the edge of the bed. “When I talked with Dr. Talwani, he didn’t linger on health reports. He seemed more concerned over Grandpa’s sense of urgency about our getting Fiona to Fort Lauderdale.”
“Maybe the doctor didn’t want to a
larm you. Today when I first walked in, Grandpa didn’t seem to know who I was. I don’t look any different, I don’t sound any different, but he seemed confused. The nurse said she thought he’d had a mini-stroke recently.”
Molly’s heart sank as she took in this information. “I’d better come to Minneapolis,” she said heavily.
“No, Molls, don’t do that. You’re in charge of getting the boat to Fort Lauderdale, and I understand there’s some delay. You’ve got enough to do.”
“I could be with you in a few hours if necessary,” Molly reminded her. “I’m only about an hour from the Jacksonville airport.”
“I’ll tell you if you need to come. Gosh, Molly, I thought he was getting better. I—” Brianne choked. “I was going to say that it’s terrible to see someone that I always considered strong and invincible now weak and sick,” she said when she recovered. “I thought he’d go on for a long time. Now I’m not so sure.”
“I’m sorry, Brianne. I would have prepared you if I’d known how bad things were.”
“Well, I’ve got a good handle on the situation now, and I have an appointment with Dr. Talwani first thing in the morning. My list of questions is a yard long, and I’ll update you when I can.”
“Thanks, and I’ll be eager to hear from you.”
They hung up, and Molly sat pensively for a moment, wishing she could be with Brianne. Thinking that she’d better touch base with her brother, she dialed his number in Ireland, but hung up before it rang. She’d almost forgotten the time difference; it was two o’clock in the morning there. She’d have to call Patrick later.
WHILE MOLLY WAS TALKING on the phone, Eric went on deck to give her privacy. Only thin partitions divided Fiona into rooms, and it was easy to overhear things said in normal tones. From the little Eric had heard of Molly’s present conversation, he surmised that she was talking with her sister. Or perhaps Chuck, even though she’d told him that she’d never called the guy back and didn’t intend to do so.
He pictured Chuck in his mind. He was probably one of those corporate types, a solid type-A kind of guy and upwardly mobile, as they used to say in business school. Compared with Chuck, he was sure that he, Eric, didn’t have much to offer.
The Mommy Wish Page 17
