Chapter Thirty-Nine
Noah
The cool breeze whipped through our bedroom, waking me from my deep slumber. I pulled the sheets up over my shoulders and then opened one eye to see Jess was still sleeping. She was the little spoon, and I didn’t want to move and wake her up. Though I desperately wanted to close the window. Jess loved sleeping when it was cool, but with the change from summer to autumn, the morning breeze from the ocean was a little too brisk for my taste.
I snuggled closer to her, wanting to be near her and also to steal some of her body heat. I slept near the windows, something that might have to change or else we’d have to compromise and keep the windows closed at night.
Not for the first time did I think how lucky I was to have fought for Jess and I before it was too late. Every time I had a really good day with Jess, that tiny seed of what could have been made my stomach quiver.
I tightened my hold on her, and she moved under me.
“You’re going to squeeze all the air out of me,” she said.
I kissed her shoulder. “Sorry.”
She shivered. “It’s freezing in here.”
I chuckled. “That’s what happens when you insist on leaving the window open all night.”
“You know I love the sound of the waves.”
“I know.”
Footsteps came toward the room, and I popped my head up to see Gina pushing our door open and standing in the doorway.
“Are you up?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“We’re up,” I said.
She shuffled over to my side of the bed. “It’s cold in here, Daddy.”
I lifted my covers and indicated for Gina to crawl in. She burrowed under and came up between Jess and I. Jess turned around and snuggled close to Gina, her eyes fluttering closed again.
Gina yawned and closed her eyes too. Jess lightly traced her fingers through Gina’s hair and before long, both of them fell back asleep. Without anyone in my arms, I was free to watch my two favorite girls in a peaceful state of mind. They were the most beautiful beings I’d ever laid eyes on.
How could I almost have missed out on this? If I’d stayed married to my work, I would have lost small moments like this. And even though they weren’t significant events in any one of our lives, they were important. They reminded me to make every second count while I could.
I watched them until my eyelids got heavy and I fell back into a peaceful rest lying next to the entirety of my life.
Unlike most days, the three of us woke closer to ten that morning. It was the weekend, not that that mattered much anymore since Jess and I weren’t working, but we’d traveled a lot in the past six months. I wanted to know everything about the new place I lived in, which included day and weekend trips up the coast. Chloe had been happy to accompany us on a few of the day trips, giving us more of insight into the place we all called home.
I guessed I hadn’t realized how much time we spent out of the house.
“How about we spend the day at the beach today?” I said to the girls over breakfast.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Jess said. “The forecast is saying the weather should be nice for today. I can’t say much about the rest of the week.”
Even though it took a little getting used to the flipped seasons where we were, I looked forward to the change in weather. It was something new I’d be able to experience in my changed lifestyle.
The water was cooler than we were used to, so we decided to stick with sand activities for the day. Jess and I set up some chairs and two blankets. Over the summer, we’d fallen into a routine when it came to the beach. We moved through our tasks like second nature.
Within a few minutes, Jess and I were lying out on the lounge chairs while Gina sorted her sand castle molds.
“Did you invite your Mom over?” I asked Jess.
“She’s on a weekend trip with David,” Jess said.
David was a long-time friend of Chloe’s. He had been divorced for almost five years. Jess played matchmaker for the two, and they quickly moved up their relationship ranks in the past three months.
“Is that too fast?” I asked.
Jess shrugged. “It’s different with older people. They know what they want and when they find it, they hold onto it.”
“Are you calling me old?” I teased.
Jess looked at me over the brim of her sunglasses. “Not at all.”
I had moved quickly with Jess. Only two weeks after our break up all those months ago I moved to her hometown and invited her to live with Gina and me. But from that point, our relationship stayed at a plateau. It was the happiest plateau, but I wasn’t ready to shake that up with the next step. And I knew Jess wasn’t either. Sure, we got the “when are you getting married?” question all the time. And sometimes from Gina. But we were happy. Neither of us needed to show anyone that as long as we knew it deep down.
“Are you hungry?” Jess asked some time later.
“I could eat,” I said.
Jess stood up from the chair and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll bring down the sandwiches.”
With our house within twenty feet off the beach, it was nice that we didn’t have to worry about food to pack for any beach trip.
When Jess was inside, I went over to Gina. “How’s the castle coming?”
“Good, Daddy,” she said. “Help me dig the moat.”
I was halfway around the castle, digging a trench with a tiny plastic shovel, by the time Jess came back outside.
“Yum!” Gina said, bouncing up to her.
“I made turkey and cheese for everyone.” Jess gave me a paper plate with the sandwich on top. “And I cut yours into triangles with no crust,” she said to Gina.
Gina hugged Jess’s leg, and they sat together on Jess’s lounge chair, Gina on Jess’s lap.
Gina looked up at Jess. “Can we play Frisbee?”
“Sure,” Jess said. “After we finish eating, I’m all yours.”
Gina leaned back against Jess, the both of them comfortable together. Gina’s hair had grown so much in the last few months, every day she started to look more like Wendy. But to those who had no idea about Gina’s mom, they thought Jess and Gina were mother and daughter. Something I never corrected. Jess was the closest person to a mother that Gina would ever have. There was no reason for anyone to think otherwise.
While the girls played Frisbee, I sat back in my chair and lifted my chin to the sky, soaking in as much sun as I could before the weather was too cold to do this.
My phone rang, and I jumped up, startled by the sound.
I searched around for it and realized it was in the pocket of my pants.
I rarely brought my cell to the beach, but today I happened to have it when we came out to the sand. I lifted the phone and checked the Caller ID.
Jess looked over at me, and I mouthed the name, “Brandon”. She nodded and continued playing Frisbee with Gina.
“Hey, man,” I said into the phone.
“Where’s the g’day?” Brandon asked.
I rolled my eyes. “You know I’m still from the States, right?”
“Not anymore!” Jess called.
I smiled and waved her away. “Did you hear that?”
“I did,” Brandon said, laughing.
“How have you been?” I asked him.
“We just got back from another trip. This time to Greece.”
“Sounds beautiful.”
“It was,” he said. “Amelia sends her love and wants to know if you’re in for a trip with us next year?”
“How about you come down here?” I said. “There’s plenty of space at our house, and I know an excellent tour guide.”
There was a pause. “Yeah, I think that would work.”
“Great.”
“So, how’s retired life?” he asked. “I’m jealous that after going away I have to go to work and make up for all the crap I missed.”
I definitely didn’t miss that. But I didn’t say anything to make Brandon feel bad about him working. I was the strange one in the friendship. Who retired in their thirties? Someone who worked like a dog and nearly missed out on his life because of it, that’s who.
“It’s great,” I said. “You were right, man. I needed to do this.”
“I know,” he said. “But it wasn’t all me. You have a great girl with a good head on her shoulders. I only nudged you toward where you were supposed to go.”
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. My gaze fell to Gina and Jess, laughing and throwing the Frisbee back and forth. Over the summer, they practiced playing a lot and rarely dropped it. “I would have missed out on so much.” I wasn’t just talking about Gina. I almost missed out on the second love of my life. It was something rare and to be treasured, and I intended on holding Jess close to me for as long as I could.
“In any case,” I continued. “If it wasn’t for your nudge, then I wouldn’t be here. So, thanks.”
“No problem,” Brandon said. “Just be sure to make me the best man at your wedding.”
“You were already the best man at my wedding.”
“Your second one,” he said. “When is the proposal anyway?”
“We’re not rushing into things,” I said.
“Says the guy who moved his entire life down there within two weeks.”
“I’m not rushing, anymore,” I amended. “We’re happy the way things are.”
“Wow, a lot has changed with you,” Brandon said.
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, it has.”
Brandon caught me up with his life over the past few weeks. And while he spoke, I kept my gaze on Jess and Gina. My body filled with such pride as I watched the two loves of my life play carefree on the beach of our forever home.