20.
F ISH
I turned my bike off a few doors down from Bubbe’s and coasted into the driveway, hoping that I wouldn’t wake anyone with my arrival. As irritating as it was that I had to wait in the hotel for the bondsman to send a man to retrieve the skip, it didn’t require much more work on my end, just hours of boredom while I babysat the pretentious asshole. I hated to be away from Cat and the kids for so long, but I was trying to look at the silver lining of the situation which, in this case, came in the form of a big fat check.
Once I talked to Cat about it, I planned to get with Bubbe to find a house somewhere nearby and use that check for a down payment. I had thought about using some of my savings for that, but I’d rather not dip into that if I didn’t have to, so my boredom paid off.
I’d missed Cat and the kids so much that it had taken a lot of effort to convince myself it was worth it.
As much as I wanted to go upstairs and climb into bed with Cat, I felt grimy from the long ride in the humidity. After having been rained on and then windblown dry more than once, I really needed a shower. So, instead of going where I wanted to, I went where I needed to, which was around the house and down the back lawn to Dolly.
It felt good to be near the water again and I couldn’t wait to go out on it, but I hadn’t been away for nearly as long as I was when I worked Cat’s case, so I didn’t feel the urge to take the boat out immediately like I had when we got home before. The boat looked fine, but as I walked onto the deck, I noticed that it was tied off differently than I usually did it. That struck me as strange, but I assumed Magda must have taken her out while I was gone and may have been trying something new when she docked.
I climbed down into the cabin and went straight to the bathroom, stripping off my boots and clothes on the way. I flipped on the tankless water heater, which was battery-operated when the boat wasn’t in use, and instantly felt better when the water hit me and I started to wash off the road grime from my ride.
Once I was finished, I toweled myself off and walked across the bedroom to the drawers where I kept my clothes and was miffed to find them all empty. I looked around the room and didn’t see anything else amiss, but when I opened the small closet, I found nothing hanging inside. What the hell?
I had a lot of questions, but they would have to wait. Right now, I had two choices - I could either put my dirty clothes back on or walk across the lawn in my towel and wake up Cat after all so I could get a pair of sleep shorts I’d left there before my trip.
I was not putting those clothes back on, but I did slip on my boots before I left the boat and made my way across the grass to the stairs that led up to Cat’s balcony. I tried the door before I tapped on the glass and was surprised to find it unlocked, something that irritated me even though the neighborhood was relatively calm.
My mistrust of the human race just got worse with age, and I made a mental note to talk to Cat about it in the morning. I stepped out of my boots beside the door and walked across the room to the closet to find my favorite cutoff sweats. Once I was dressed, I hung up the towel and walked through the open doorway into the nursery to check on the girls without thinking.
Charlotte was sprawled across her mattress like a starfish, dead to the world in the deep sleep that seemed easy for children to achieve and virtually impossible for adults. Mackenzie, however, was tangled up in her blanket with one bare leg sticking out. When I tried to get her situated better, she rolled over and opened her eyes.
“Hi, Macaroni,” I whispered as I reached down to pick her up before she could make a noise and wake her mother. Once she was against my bare chest, she snuggled her face into my neck and sighed, and I felt myself do the same thing.
For someone who hadn’t spent much time around children, I’d quickly become attached to these two and missed them almost as much as I had missed their mom.
I sat down in the rocking chair I’d helped Cat pick out soon after we arrived in Cape Coral and was happy she’d chosen the larger one so that I could rock the girls comfortably.
Mackenzie squirmed a little, and I couldn’t help but chuckle when she farted. I heard Cat’s soft laughter and looked over to see her leaning against the doorframe. I patted Mackenzie a few more times and then kissed her forehead before I walked over to put her back in bed. She squirmed for a second and then flipped onto her stomach and farted again, which I found just as funny as the first time.
With her settled, I walked toward Cat, and she backed into her room so I could pull the door shut behind me.
I pulled her into my arms for a long kiss and then pulled back to say, “I didn’t mean to wake you, but I needed something to wear. My clothes are missing.”
“Because I moved them,” Cat said as she pulled out of my arms and walked toward the closet. She opened it up and flipped on the light, and I saw my T-shirts hanging on the right above a neat line of my boots and shoes on the floor. “You are now officially a resident of this house.”
“Honey, as much as I love to buck the system, I don’t want to make waves for your Grammy. Those people fucking hate me, and if they find out . . .”
“Those people are running scared because The Golden Girls went hard in the meeting this evening, and they know their days are numbered.”
“What happened?”
Cat walked toward me and put her hand on my chest to push me to sit on the bed. When I did, she straddled my lap and gave me a kiss. With her arms around my neck and the heat of her body against mine, I forgot what we were supposed to be talking about and put my hand in her hair so she couldn’t pull back from the kiss.
Suddenly, I heard a cry, and Cat stilled on my lap as we both looked toward the nursery door. Occasionally, one of the girls would cry out and then settle themselves, but tonight was not that night.
“I’ll get her while you calm down,” Cat said with a giggle before she gave me another kiss.
I was standing at the door looking out over the water when Cat came back into the room carrying Mackenzie. As soon as she saw me, she lunged my way. I gathered her in my arms so she could snuggle on my chest and twirl her fingers in my beard, something she seemed to find soothing and had since the first time I held her.
“I think the girls missed you as much as I did,” Cat said as she reached up and rubbed Mackenzie’s back.
“I missed you, too, Macaroni,” I murmured against her cheek before I gave her a kiss.
“She seems to have a knack for interrupting us at just the wrong time.”
“From what I gather, babies tend to do that.”
“She acts like it’s her job,” Cat mumbled as she walked over to the bed. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. Let’s lay down with her, and once she gets to sleep, I’ll go put her back in her crib.”
“Any chance we might need another crib soon?” I asked, voicing the worried excitement I’d felt since that night when we went without a condom.
“It’s a little too soon to know anything.”
“Once she’s back in her room, we could try again.”
“You’re really okay with having a baby while these two are still so small?”
“Let’s have them all boom boom boom and get the baby stuff over with at once.”
“Boom boom boom? Are you saying you want three more children?”
“Or four.”
“Are you going to give birth to the last three, or do you expect me to do it?”
“I’m going to try to make you so blissfully happy that you won’t mind at all.”
“Not sure that’s possible,” Cat muttered as she pulled the covers back so I could get in bed. I laid down on my side and let Mackenzie rest on the mattress between us and then smiled as she wiggled around to find a comfortable position. Cat got into bed and faced us before she adjusted the covers so that they were up to Mackenzie’s chin. “Seriously, though, how many kids do you want?”
“Well, I’ve got three so far, but I think another couple would make the set complete.”
“You went from three to a couple.”
I ignored her observation and said, “I got distracted earlier and didn’t get an answer about what makes you think it’s okay for me to move in here.”
Cat explained what had happened with my boat and the ensuing arrest and then moved on to the town meeting, starting with the older women’s craft project and ending with the chaos of residents throwing their hat into the race for city council as the meeting came to a close.
“Agnes put in her resignation, but I have a feeling that’s not going to be the last we hear from her.”
“I can’t believe that old bitch tried to steal my boat!” When Cat winced, I asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Technically, I’m the one that untied it and pushed it away from the dock. I knew they didn’t have a key, and I didn’t want whoever was on there to escape before the cops got here.”
“You pushed my disabled boat out onto the water?” I asked in shock. When Cat nodded, I said, “I guess the ends justify the means, but damn, that was drastic.”
“The police used their boat to tow yours back to the dock and then tied it up for me.”
“So, you went and cleaned out all of my stuff after the meeting?”
“Yes. Then I realized that we’d still need some clothes for when we’re on the boat but didn’t know for sure what to take back. I figured that was something you could do later.”
“You really want me to move in with you and the kids?”
“If you don’t, then I’m going to move me and the kids onto the boat with you, and, honey, as much as I love being on it with you, I can’t see any of us enjoying such close quarters for any length of time.”
“We’ll take some short stints out onto the water now and then, but I’d rather they have plenty of room to roam.”
“If you get your way and I boom boom boom a few more for us, we really won’t have any room.”
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” When Cat didn’t even laugh at my perfect use of a movie quote, I asked, “Haven’t you ever seen Jaws ?”
“Never.”
I thought about it for a second and remembered her fear of everything that didn’t walk upright on two legs before I winced and said, “That’s probably a good thing.”
“So, while you were gone, we had a lot of excitement and quite a few changes, but I think they’re all for the best.”
“It makes my heart happy at the thought of you and your Grammy going to bat for me, Abbie-Cat.”
“You take care of everyone else, so it’s about time all of us repaid you somehow. The only way we could think to do that was to give you an actual address on land and a home to come to when the weather’s bad.”
“When you’re with me, I can handle any kind of weather.”
“That’s sweet. I love you too.”
I looked at the baby sleeping soundly between us and slipped my arm underneath her so I could pick her up. As I sat up in bed to take her back to her room, I whispered, “As soon as I get back, I’m going to show you how much I love you too.”
“Should I get the condoms?”
“Only if you poke holes in them first.”
Cat laughed as I walked into the nursery, and after I settled Mackenzie back in her crib, I returned to the bedroom to find her naked and waiting for me without a condom in sight.
And then I showed her in more than a few ways exactly how much I loved her.