7.
F ISH
I rolled over and opened my eyes only to realize that I hadn’t been asleep long. After Cat rushed off to take care of Mackenzie, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to let my head fall back and roar at the heavens about the injustice of it all. After a few minutes of doing everything I could think of to regulate my breathing, I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the shower in the hopes that the cold water might help me clear my head and tamp down the lust raging inside me.
All the cold water did was give me goosebumps, but I ignored them as I closed my eyes and imagined Cat here with me while I fisted my cock. It didn’t take long before I had to bite my lip to stop myself from yelling her name as I came so hard I saw stars. Exhausted after a day of very little sleep spent basking in the sunshine I’d missed so much, I fell into bed and passed out almost instantly.
And yet here I was awake again, wondering if Cat had thought of me when she laid down in bed alone.
When I heard a faint wail that sounded like a baby’s cry, I sat up and reached for my phone. As I pulled it off the charging cord, I opened the app that would let me see into the nursery only to find Charlotte tossing and turning fussily and Mackenzie nowhere in sight. When I heard the sound again, I realized that Cat must have Mackenzie outside and wondered if something was wrong.
I pulled on a pair of cutoff sweatpants that I usually worked out in and went up to the deck. I could see Cat bouncing Mackenzie against her chest as she paced back and forth on the balcony of her grandmother’s home, trying to get the infant to sleep.
I heard another cry, this one coming from my phone, and looked down to find Charlotte standing in her crib. Without a second thought, I jogged toward the house next to Bubbe’s and hurried up the steps toward the balcony where I’d seen Cat.
She wasn’t outside, but the door nearby was wide open. I shook my head when I ascertained that Cat didn’t know how dangerous that could be. I made a mental note that I needed to explain the dangers of living on the water to her, but now wasn’t the time.
I followed Mackenzie and Charlotte’s cries through the bedroom and into the next and swept Charlotte into my arms as I smiled over at Cat.
“Did one wake the other, or do you think they’re just having a bad night?” I asked.
“I don’t know! I’ve gotten Mackenzie to sleep three times since she first woke up, but within minutes of laying her down, she’s awake again.”
“Is she getting more teeth?”
“I don’t think so,” Cat said as she looked down at her daughter’s red face. She rested her palm on Mackenzie’s forehead and said, “She feels a little feverish. I wonder if they’re coming down with something.”
“I think I might know at least part of the problem,” I said as I sat down in the rocking chair with Charlotte in my lap. “They’re hot, Abbie-Cat.”
“This is what they always wear to bed,” Abbie insisted.
“Jammies like this are what they always wore in Chicago and maybe even what they wore in Texas since spring there is pretty chilly, but Florida heat and humidity is entirely different.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Cat said as she patted the squalling baby on the back.
Charlotte was just sniffling now but seemed to perk up after I unzipped her sleep sack and tossed it aside. When I turned on the small oscillating fan that was on the table next to the rocking chair, Charlotte relaxed even more and leaned back over my arm as if she was basking in the air the fan created.
“Well, shit. I totally missed that one,” Cat said as she laid Mackenzie down on the changing table and started undressing her. “I wondered why there were only a couple pairs of zippered pajamas in the dresser, but thought that was just something Grammy had overlooked.”
“My guess is that your Grammy insisted the babies would need some, but Bubbe and Dodie argued with her until she conceded and only bought a couple for cool nights.”
As soon as Mackenzie was stripped down to her diaper, she started to calm, and when Cat popped her pacifier in her mouth, her eyes fluttered closed.
“Well, that was way too simple,” Cat said in disgust. “Although, I’ve been fighting to get her to stay asleep for two hours now, so I’m not convinced she’ll stay that way. I was thinking about it right before you came in and realized that for almost a week they’ve slept in the back seat of a moving vehicle so part of it may be that they got used to the motion and can’t adjust to the crib.”
“Could be.”
“I refuse to drive around all night for the next few years, so I’m not sure how to fix this issue.”
“Let’s take them to the boat.”
“What?”
“Grab the diaper bag, and let’s take them to the boat. The motion might rock them to sleep like riding in the truck did.”
“And then what? Carry them back up here and try again?”
“Let them sleep on the boat while they get used to sleeping in a bed again, and then we’ll try it on land again.”
“What if that doesn’t work?”
“What’s the harm in trying?”
“Just FYI, Mr. Fish, I’m a planner.”
“You don’t say, Ms. Tarantula.”
“Huh?”
“My last name is not Fish. That’s my nickname, sweetheart.”
Cat looked horrified when she asked, “Why in the world would you pick a tarantula to make your point?” She shuddered and then said, “Call me anything but a spider. God, you hit hard from the first punch, don’t you?”
I grinned as I stood up and carried the drowsy toddler toward the door. “No other way to fight, Ms. Brown Recluse.”
“Stop it!” Cat ordered as she scrambled to gather supplies for the girls. I stopped in the doorway and caught Mackenzie when she lunged toward me. Cat looked crestfallen when she asked, “Have they been away from me for so long that they don’t like me anymore?”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I joked, “No, they’re choosing sides in the war against the arachnids. Just from your reaction, they understand that I’m the one they should align themselves with in case we come across one on the way to the boat.”
“If that’s the case, then you can just carry me out there too.”
I waited until she had everything they might need and then walked through her bedroom toward the glass door that would take us out onto the balcony. I wasn’t sure this was the right time for the lesson, but felt I should warn her anyway to make sure she started taking precautions immediately rather than waiting until something happened that we might not be able to handle.
As she closed the door behind her, I said, “You should keep your door shut, Cat.”
“I couldn’t resist leaving it open for the breeze. It was so hot today that it felt like a nice reprieve, although the humidity is probably going to be what kills me, door shut or not.”
“Honey, the humidity won’t kill you, but if a gator climbs those steps and gets into your bedroom, he very well might.” I was halfway down the stairs when I realized that she wasn’t behind me. I turned around to see what the problem was and found her standing at the top of the stairs with her mouth wide open in shock as she scanned the grass between her house and my boat. Trying to smooth things over, I said, “That’s very unlikely, though. Mosquitos and other bugs would be the main issue.”
“But there’s a possibility that an alligator . . . a real alligator could climb the stairs and come inside?”
“Yes.” Cat let out a pitiful squeak when she tried to say something, so I hurried to assure her, “I guess they took down the gate at the bottom of the steps when it came time to sell, but I can build one for you tomorrow.”
“Okay. They can’t come through a gate, so that will make me safe.”
“Babe, I’m not trying to freak you out or anything, but if they can climb stairs, they can crawl over a gate.”
“No, they can’t,” Cat scoffed, but I noticed that she still wasn’t moving as her eyes scanned the property.
“Technically, they can. They can climb a tree if they want to.”
In a frantic whisper, she asked, “Are there any around here?”
“Abbie-Cat, this is Florida. We’ve got lots of trees.”
“You think so, smartass?”
I chuckled before I said, “Yes, there are gators around, but I haven’t seen one on the lawn in a while.”
“A while? What the hell does that mean? Yesterday? Three days ago? Your fifth birthday party when one of them ate nine of your friends?”
“Last summer?”
“Is that an answer or a question?”
“Cat, I don’t see one out there. Do you?”
She ignored my question and asked, “How much do night vision goggles cost?”
“If you’re going to start making purchases, I’d go with thermal imaging instead.”
“Can you buy those locally, or do I need to order them from Amazon?”
“Are you going to barricade yourself in your bedroom until they’re delivered?”
“Maybe.”
“Come on, Cat. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”
“I appreciate how much faith you seem to have in me, but you’re absolutely wrong. I am much more afraid of them than they are of me. Much more.”
“Come on, scaredy cat.” I chuckled before I asked, “See what I did there?’
“If I wasn’t afraid for my life right now, you’d be.”
This time, it was an all-out laugh, and the drowsy kids in my arms started to protest before I said, “You want to stay barricaded in the house while I take the girls and get them to sleep?”
“How fast can an alligator run?” Cat asked.
I didn’t answer her question because I knew it would freak her out. Instead, I suggested, “Take off toward Dolly, and I’ll time you to see if you’re close.”
It shocked the hell out of me when Cat sprinted past me toward my boat, and just to be an ass, I said, “Run in a zigzag! It makes it harder for them to catch you!”
Cat squealed and darted right. She ran a few feet and then pivoted to the left. She kept going, making the trip to Dolly take twice as long. By the time she got to the dock, I was there waiting for her, but she didn’t stop running. Instead, she ran past me, vaulted over the side of the boat, and landed on the deck before she spun around and eyed the yard warily.
By this point, I was laughing so hard that I could barely breathe, and even though Charlotte had no idea what was going on, she started laughing too. Mackenzie squealed in glee, and Charlotte giggled again. When we got to the boat, Cat was glaring at the three of us.
“I’m glad you find my terror amusing, especially since it woke up the kids.”
“It wasn’t really something I thought I’d be into, but watching you sprint across the yard in those little shorts is something I’m never going to forget.”
She mumbled it, but I distinctly heard her say, “You’ll forget all about it when I feed you to the alligators.”
It irritated her even more when I started laughing again.
◆◆◆
I was enjoying an ice cold beer when Cat walked out onto the casting deck and flopped down onto the bench across from me. She put her arm behind her head and laid down on her back with her legs bent before she crossed one over the other and started bouncing her foot in irritation.
“What’s got you all worked up, Abbie-Cat?
“I’m adding the girls’ sleep problems to the list of Joseph’s many sins. Depending on how long this lasts, it might creep up closer to the top near the big ones.”
“You weren’t in there very long and I barely heard them fuss once y’all laid down.”
“In a boat. Not the beds that Grammy so carefully picked out for them.”
“I’ve slept in much worse places than an air-conditioned cabin.”
“I’m not insulting Dolly, Chai. I’m just saying that . . . I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m tired and keyed up all at the same time.”
“You know what I missed most when I was in prison?”
“Freedom?”
I smiled and added, “And the relaxing rock of a boat in the water while I listen to nature all around me while I settle in for the night.”
“You make it sound beautiful, but all I can think about is an alligator crawling over the side and ripping off my leg.”
“The odds of that are low. Besides . . .”
“Low, but not zero. See the problem there?”
“Let’s do this. While I keep watch for rogue reptiles, I want you to close your eyes and relax while you listen to the world around you. If you’re afraid of something, knowledge is power, and I’ve lived here all of my life and have plenty of that. If there’s a sound you don’t recognize, ask me what it is and I’ll give you an explanation.”
“You’ll keep watch? I’m sure I’ll be fine during the day, but I know alligators and stuff like that are nocturnal, so I’m on high alert right now.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that they came out during the day, too, so I said, “Relax, Abbie-Cat. I’ll take care of you.”
Cat closed her eyes and listened, and I could tell by the motion of her foot that she was starting to relax as I answered all of her questions - listing out the different insects and creatures that were making sounds around us. Before I even finished my beer, Cat was fast asleep.
That gave me plenty of time to study her like the stalker I was quickly becoming. I took in everything from her cute little toes to her mussed blonde hair, enjoying all the scenery in between.
When I knew she was sleeping deeply and the girls hadn’t made a peep in quite a while, I picked Cat up and carried her down into the cabin. Instead of taking her to lay down with her daughters, which would probably make the most sense, I took a turn toward selfishness and carried her into my berth with me.
Relaxing in my favorite place with her in my arms was something I’d never forget. Even after I lost the memory of watching her zigzag across the lawn, the way it felt to have her relaxed beside me would never fade.