6. Sky
6
SKY
I step out onto the porch and look around the peaceful lakeside community, and I take a deep breath. It’s different here, almost surreal. Matt left with the kids two hours ago to take them to swim at the lake. They walked away with floaties on their arms, innertubes around their waists, and they were all wearing goggles. I took lots of pictures. My oldest two, Joey and Mellie, just naturally helped to corral the younger ones.
When I first moved in with Joey, Mellie, and Seth, I never anticipated the amount of joy they would bring into my life. I had a boyfriend who didn’t care about me, and to be quite honest, I didn’t care about him either. Now, I have a husband who adores me and whom I’m not sure I could live without, a huge family I never expected to have, and even more friends than I can stand sometimes.
I hear tires crunching on gravel and look up to find a large black sedan coming down the dirt path toward the cabins. I glance at my watch. It’s almost 10 in the morning. What are they doing here so soon?
My parents weren’t able to come for the whole week. Instead, they decided to come for a few days before the wedding. They wanted to spend some time with the kids and Seth before the big day. My dad has always been a big part of their lives, and he is the main reason that Matt and I were able to adopt the kids. I couldn’t imagine my family without my three oldest kids, who were not born of my body but most definitely born of my heart.
While Dad has been a massive influence in their lives, he was never present in mine until I got much older. The kids are his grandkids, the product of an affair he had with their grandmother many years ago. He worked things out with my mother, and that’s a whole story in itself. My mom’s an alcoholic, and she has been sober for years. Despite that, we have never been close. Our relationship is strained, mainly by years of abandonment.
Mom opens the car door and steps out. She reaches into the car, retrieves a straw hat, and plops it on her head. “Never too late to worry about your skin, Sky,” she warns. She comes over and air kisses my cheek. “I keep telling your father he needs sunscreen when he golfs, but he never listens.”
Dad holds his arms open wide and hugs me. He comes by often to visit the kids. In the past few years, he has started to bring my mother with him. “Where are my grandbabies?” Mom asks.
Just then, I hear a squeal from behind us, and Joey and Mellie run toward my parents. The girls are wet, and they’re wearing nothing but swimsuits with towels around their necks. Their feet are bare, and they slowly pick through the dirt drive in front of the cabin, looking for safe places to step.
But what gets me is that instead of running to my dad, they run straight for my mom. Mom was never very physically demonstrative when I was younger. In fact, she was cold. She didn’t hug, coddle, or try to make me feel valuable. I was raised by nannies and housekeepers, and the gardener even taught me how to drive. But that’s not the case for these kids. Joey and Mellie aren’t technically her grandkids – again, they’re from an affair my dad had—but she treats them as though they are. The love she never gave to me, she gives to them with no restraint. My mom hugs them tightly, stepping back to look them over. “You need sunscreen,” she says as she tweaks Mellie’s nose. She takes off her straw hat and plops it onto Mellie’s head.
“Do you want to go swimming?” Joey asks.
“I do,” Mom says. “I need to change clothes, though,” she says. I feel like I just got jolted by a sudden bolt of lightning. I didn’t know my mom owned a swimsuit.
“You’re in the cabin next to ours,” I say. “The door is open.”
Dad unloads the bags while Mom looks at Lake Fisher. “Lovely place,” she says. She turns to me and smiles. I can see why you like it so much here.” She walks toward the cabin and slowly up the steps. She goes inside with Joey and Mellie, each holding one of her hands.
Dad walks up next to me. “She’s different, Dad,” I say.
He grins at me. “I know. Isn’t it great?” He picks a piece of tall grass and tucks it between his teeth. It must be an older man thing because I saw Mr. Jacobson do the same thing last night. “She’s a new person. Happy.”
“I wish she’d done it sooner,” I say quietly.
“She did it when she could,” he says stoically.
I nod. “I know.”
After a few minutes, Joey and Mellie walk out of the house, chattering noisily at my mom, who is now wearing a coverup and what I assume is a swimsuit under it. Mellie is still wearing her hat, but Mom has traded it for a sun visor, I presume, to keep the sun out of her eyes. She has a basket hanging over her arm with towels bulging from it.
“Are you going to the lake?” she asks.
“No, I have plans with Gabby and her mom,” I say. I immediately regret it, and I’m afraid Mom will try to invite herself to go with us.
“Where are you three going?” Mom asks as she adjusts the sleeve of her coverup.
“Gabby’s wedding dress fitting,” I admit finally, wincing as I do it.
Mom claps her hands. “Oh, what fun!” she says.
“Gabby asked me to go, and Seth was in favor of it since his Mom isn’t here.”
She reaches over and squeezes my forearm. “Seth’s mom is here, sweetheart,” she says quietly, suddenly blinking back tears.
I blink hard.
Katie and Gabby pull up in a sedan. “There’s my ride,” I say. I walk toward the car. I turn back at the last minute. “Mom, do you want to join us?” I ask.
Her face softens. “No, dear. Today is all yours. Enjoy every minute of it. I didn’t get to do these kinds of things with you, mainly because I never earned the right, but you, my dear, have earned the right to all of it. You’re a good mother. Go and enjoy it.” She glances toward the lake almost wistfully. “I’m going to get my hands on some grandbabies,” she says, rubbing her hands together like she’s chafing them by the fire.
“You’re a good grandma, Mom,” I say quietly. She was a shitty mom, but she’s a good grandma.
“Thank you, dear,” she says, her voice suddenly watery. “It’s not a hard job to have.”
Dad walks out of the cabin in his board shorts, and they head toward the lake together.
I turn and get into the backseat of the sedan.
“Should I have invited her to come with us?” Gabby asks. She glances at her watch. “There’s still time if she wants to join us.”
“No, she’s ready to go swimming,” I explain. Plus, I don’t want to share this event with her. I know that sounds horrible when thought out loud, so I don’t say it, but I do think it.
We go to the bridal shop, and the bell tinkles over the door as we walk in. We’re greeted with mimosas, and Gabby pushes one into my hand. Katie gets a glass of orange juice since she’s driving. Gabby clinks her glass against mine and says, “Bottoms up.”
An attendant comes out and leads Gabby back into a dressing room. Katie sits down next to me on the sofa, kicks off her flip-flop, and pulls one leg up under her. “You didn’t want your mom to come, did you?” she asks. She takes a sip of her juice.
“Not particularly,” I reply. “Our relationship is an odd one.”
She nods. “Seth told me about it. When we were working on the guest list and figuring out who was going to get a cabin and who wasn’t, he brought up the history. You had a hard life.”
“They try much harder to be in my life than they used to,” I explain.
“Do you want them to be in your life?” she asks candidly. She holds up a hand. “Only if you feel like talking about it.”
“I do,” I say. “I feel like I met my parents for the first time after my mom got out of rehab,” I try to explain. There aren’t adequate words.
“Do you like them?” she asks.
“I like who they are now. Not so much who they used to be.” I shrug. “Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the past and just enjoy who they are now.” I haul in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need to let go of all that, I guess.”
“Seth says Joey and Mellie adore your mom. She comes and takes them shopping, just the two of them.”
I nod. The first time she did it, it shocked the hell out of me. “She treats them just like she does the rest of the kids. They’re a little older, so she actually does more with them than she does with the little ones. She takes them for pedicures, and they go to the tea room. She buys them fancy dresses they only wear when they’re with her. They call her when they need fashion advice. If they ever call her, she always answers.”
Katie’s eyes narrow. “Are you ever jealous?”
“So jealous I can barely stand it,” I admit. Katie laughs, and so do I. Then silence falls over the room.
Katie glances toward the closed door. “Do you think they’re ready for marriage?” she asks. “They’re so young.”
“They’re ready,” I say. “Seth loves her so much.” An attendant takes my empty glass and presses another mimosa into my hand. “Thank you,” I say absently.
“I have a feeling they will forego kids and do lots of brilliant medical things with tons of travel involved,” Katie says.
“How does that make you feel?” I ask.
“Honestly, I’d support whatever they do.” Katie sighs happily.
The door opens, and my breath catches. Gabby walks out. Her dark hair is piled in wispy ringlets on top of her head, held still by shimmery combs. Her shoulders are bare, and her dress is simple but elegant. It looks like it was spun by fairies, the pattern so light and delicate that it’s barely there. The dress falls around her calves, not even touching the floor. It’s gorgeous. I look over at Katie, and she blinks. “Your dad would be so proud if he could see you,” she says, and her voice cracks.
Gabby blinks hard, and then she turns to face the mirror. “Do you really think he would like it?” she asks softly.
Katie walks over and stands behind her, placing her chin on Gabby’s shoulder. “He would love it,” she whispers, and then she kisses Gabby’s cheek and steps back.
“They did a great job on the alterations,” Gabby says. “It fits perfectly.” She lets me take a few pictures. Then she points at both of us in turn. “Now, your turn!” she says. “You both need mom dresses. Seth and I talked about it, and we want you both to look amazing, so I picked out some dresses for each of you. They’re in the changing rooms. Go try them on. Let’s get something beautiful.”
“Today is supposed to be about you,” Katie protests.
“And this is what I want to do with my day, so go try on a dress, Mom,” she says. She takes Katie by the shoulders, spins her around, and smacks her butt. Katie squeals, but she goes.
Gabby disappears to change back into her shorts and t-shirt. When she comes back, she sits down on the couch next to me. Someone takes my empty glass and presses a full one into it. I burp into my fist, my head swimming a little. They give Gabby a fresh drink, too.
“I think I’m a little tipsy,” I admit. Gabby clinks her glass with mine and drinks her mimosa all at once. The attendant laughs and gives her another. Katie comes out in dress after dress until she finds the perfect one. By the time it’s my turn, I’m nearly drunk, and the dress shopping is the most fun I’ve ever had. Gabby gets tipsy, too, which makes it even better.
“It’s not even noon yet,” I hear the attendant whisper to someone. I finish my last drink and wave away another. I can barely stand as it is.
But I do find the perfect dress. We take the dress bags, hang them in the car next to Gabby’s bridal gown, and go back to Lake Fisher.
I lie down in the back seat because my head is spinning. “I think that was the most fun shopping trip I’ve ever been on, Gabby,” I say. “Thanks for taking me.”
When we arrive, Matt meets us at the car. “The fuck did you do to her?” he says playfully as he stares down at me.
“She’s drunk,” Gabby admits with a laugh.
“Did you take Aunt Sky out and get her drunk at ten o’clock in the morning?” I hear Seth ask. He must have been waiting with Matt for us to get back.
“I did,” Gabby says. “And I’m not ashamed of it even a little bit,” she says. She holds up one finger and says, “In fact, I’d do it again.” She turns to me. “Do you want to do it again, Sky?”
Katie snorts.
“I had better get her home,” Matt says.
“I’d do it again and again!” I yell. Matt grabs my arm and pulls it to sit me up because I’m still lying in the back seat. Then he stands me up. “Let’s go take a quick nap,” he says with a chuckle.
“That’s how we got pregnant with our last baby,” I remind him. I must say it loudly because Katie snorts again. “We took a nap, and then I was knocked up again.” I grab his t-shirt in my first. “Want to knock me up, Matt?”
“Oh, God.” Seth groans and swipes a hand down his face.
“Sure,” Matt says. “Let’s go do it.”
“Jesus Christ,” Seth says.
“That’s what I’m going to be saying in a few minutes!” I whisper-yell at them all. “Jesus Christ, that was good! I’ll be calling on all the saints, too. Although I can’t remember their names right now.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Matt says. “They don’t need a play-by-play.”
“Please, God, no play-by-play,” Seth says.
“I’ll give you a play-by-play later, Gabby. You can use some of the tricks on the honeymoon!”
Matt gives up on walking with me and tosses me over his shoulder. “Time for bad girls to be in bed.”
I smack his ass and whoop, “I’m a bad girl!”
“Close the damn door!” Seth yells. “We can still hear you!”
I shove it shut after we go through it so hard that the little cabin vibrates. “That might have been too hard,” I admit.
He carries me a few feet to the tiny bedroom and tosses me gently onto the bed. My head spins. He lays down next to me and pulls my head onto his chest. He pulls my ponytail holder out and starts to run his fingers through my hair.
“I didn’t mean to get so drunk,” I admit as my eyes fall closed.
“Happens that way sometimes.” Matt’s fingers continue to play in my hair, his heart beating steady under my ear, and I feel myself go soft. I can barely keep my eyes open.
“They got me a mother-of-the-groom dress,” I say with a yawn.
“Tell me all about it later,” Matt says quietly, and he presses his lips to my forehead, lingering there. And that’s the last thing I remember.