Chapter 3
NORA
Nora froze in the threshold for a moment looking up at the dark-haired figure in confusion before her mind supplied the information she was looking for.
Yes, I know this man.
No, it’s not Edward.
Of course she recognized River. It just took a second because he looked so different than the last time she’d seen him.
He was bigger than his older brother now for one thing, his wide shoulders stretching the fabric of a lined flannel that made him look like a handsome lumberjack.
The fact that he also seemed to be wearing a hula hoop on each arm only made things more confusing.
He still had the same dark hair and sharp jaw, but where Edward’s eyes were icy blue, River’s were warm and brown.
And right now, they were filled with worry.
“River,” she murmured, stepping back automatically. “Come in.”
It was only when she had to take a second step back that she realized how much he was carrying. In addition to the hula hoops over his shoulders, he also held a large bag in each hand.
“You have toys,” Pixie announced excitedly.
“Toys,” John-John echoed from behind her.
River’s face lit up as he turned to the kids, and it was suddenly easy for her to see the young man she had known years before.
There he is.
“I, uh, did bring a couple of things,” he said, his dark eyes sliding over to Nora’s. “Is it okay to share them now?”
“Sure,” she said, feeling pleased that he’d thought to ask, instead of just handing the toys over.
“Okay, guys,” he said, sliding the hula hoops off his arms and crouching down to hand over a bag and a hoop to each child. “Here you go.”
“Wow,” Pixie yelled, pulling a gigantic container of bubbles with a fancy wand out of the bag.
John-John had already dumped his bag on the floor and was crouched over his new treasures, looking delighted.
“A Frisbee,” John-John announced. “A water blaster, a big, big thing of bubbles.”
“This is so kind of you,” Nora said, turning to River.
“You can really tell I didn’t grow up in the city,” he said, frowning as he watched the kids with their new things. “Sorry.”
“Can we have a water war?” John-John asked, looking to Nora with shining eyes.
She scanned the rest of the stuff and realized that River was right. They definitely couldn’t use any of it inside.
Pixie was already stepping into the hula hoop. She was standing right beside the glass table where Edward’s crystal awards from work were still displayed. And it wasn’t like there was really any better place for her to try it out.
“These are the perfect toys to bring to the park tomorrow,” Nora told the kids quickly. “How exciting. Let’s put them back in the bags and leave them by the door so we don’t forget them.”
“My blaster,” John-John said sadly.
“I have an idea,” Nora told him. “Should we try it out in the bathtub tonight? We can make sure it’s working really well for the park tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” John-John said happily.
“Okay, great,” Nora said, relieved that she had found a compromise. “Everyone who wants to test out their water blaster, go put it in the bathroom. And then pack up the rest and put it by the door. You guys are going to have the best park trip ever.”
Pixie and John-John beamed and scampered off to do her bidding. But Pixie stopped about halfway down the hall and darted back into the room.
“Thank you for the toys,” she said politely to River. “What’s your name?”
“I’m River,” he told her, before Nora could make introductions. “And you must be Penelope.”
“Yes, but everybody calls me Pixie because I’m small for my age,” she said, thrusting out her little hand.
To his credit, River didn’t hesitate to take her hand and shake it firmly.
“Very nice to meet you, Pixie,” he said. “I’m an old friend of your aunt’s.”
John-John was approaching shyly now. It was clear that he liked the hand shaking, but wasn’t sure about interacting with someone new.
“This is my brother, John,” Pixie said. “But he’s called John-John. I’m not really sure why.”
“It’s because of you, Pixie,” Nora said, smiling at the memory. “When you were small, you liked his name so much that you always said it twice.”
John-John was so tickled at this new information that he promptly started chuckling and marching around the living room repeating his own name, so that he forgot all about shaking hands.
“Come on, John-John,” Pixie said. “We’d better put our stuff away so we can finish making dessert.”
That stopped the little boy’s laughter instantly. He was serious about his desserts. The two of them hurried off down the hall with their water pistols.
“They’re amazing,” River said softly, watching after them with the fondest smile on his handsome face.
She felt her heart squeeze at the idea someone else could see past the chaos to enjoy the kids just as they were.
“I’m really glad you came to visit,” she told him, wondering what was going on.
“I just heard what happened,” he told her.
“What is it?” she asked, suddenly worried that maybe something had happened to Edward. Just because they weren’t together anymore didn’t mean she had stopped caring.
“You brought the kids home,” River said, looking stricken. “And he left.”
Oh yeah. That definitely happened.
But it had been almost six months now. She guessed that if River had just come home from the Army, maybe it made sense that he was only finding out now. She also realized that it meant that Edward had never even bothered to tell him.
Nora wasn’t sure why that hurt so much, but it did.
“He never wanted kids,” she said calmly, repeating the words she had told herself time and time again, knowing that anger and sadness wouldn’t help her move forward. “He was clear about that from the beginning.”
“You didn’t do this on purpose, Nora,” River said, looking scandalized. “And they’re wonderful. How could he possibly say no to them?”
“He was gone before I brought them home,” Nora explained, feeling grateful for about the thousandth time that Edward had left so quickly. It had meant one less adjustment for the children. “But please don’t talk about all this in front of them.”
“Of course not,” River said, his eyes solemn. “And I want you to know that if there’s anything you need, I’m here.”
So many people had said those words. But somehow when River said them, she believed him.
“Oh, we’re fine,” she told him automatically, like she told everyone. “Just figuring it out one day at a time.”
River nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.
Smart guy, she thought to herself.
Of course she and the kids weren’t fine.
They had a long road ahead of them through grief and into accepting the life they now shared.
But she appreciated that he wasn’t going to try and tell her how to handle it.
Her parents were the only ones she really confided in, and they were full of dour predictions and micromanaging advice.
“The blasters are in the bathroom,” John-John panted as he sprinted back down the hallway. Pixie trailed him, letting him win the unofficial race.
“Would you like dessert and maybe some tea or coffee?” Nora asked River, realizing as she said it that she really hoped he would agree. “I can heat you up some dinner too, if you haven’t eaten. We had spaghetti, so it’s nothing fancy.”
“Am I cutting into family time?” he asked her.
“Not at all,” she assured him. “It’s nice to have company. And the kids made pudding.”
“Now we get to decorate it,” Pixie told him importantly.
“Wow,” River said. “Well, I wouldn’t want to miss that.”
Pixie grinned at him and followed her brother into the kitchen.
“Have a seat,” Nora told River, indicating one of the stools at the tiny counter.
“Can I help with anything?” he asked.
“No, no,” she told him. “The kids have it all under control. Right, guys?”
“Yes,” John-John said. He had a little plastic bottle of sprinkles in each hand and he was shaking them like maracas, and also shaking his little bottom with a silly smile on his face.
Pixie almost fell over laughing at the sight and Nora had to chuckle too.
When River’s deep laughter joined in, like the missing bass notes of a harmony, Nora felt a welcome warmth spread in her chest.
She headed to the fridge and grabbed the cookie tray, which held six little bowls of the vanilla pudding they had made from a mix earlier.
“Here we go,” she said, setting the tray down on the counter.
Pixie climbed up onto the other stool and John-John trotted over to join her. River started to move, as if to give up his seat, but John-John just scrambled up onto his lap.
Nora was so surprised that she didn’t say a word.
And the expression on River’s face was the most endearing mix of pride and wonder, almost like he sensed John-John’s shyness and appreciated that the boy felt comfortable with him already.
“We have to put the sprinkles on the pudding,” Pixie explained to River. “But you can’t get the sprinkle bottle into the pudding, and you don’t want too many sprinkles. So you have to be careful.”
“You might get the bottle in the pudding by accident,” John-John said worriedly. “But Aunt Nora can clean it off if it happens, and it’s okay.”
The boy spoke from experience. Nora hid her smile as River nodded seriously to John-John.
She watched as John-John handed his sister the green sprinkles and carefully opened the red bottle himself. Pixie held out her bottle to River.
“Oh, no,” he said with a smile. “You guys do it. I just want to watch.”
John-John frowned with concentration and shook the little bottle as gently as he could.
They had done this enough times that he had no trouble getting a nice layer of pretty red sprinkles on each bowl of pudding.
He sat back when he was finished, sagging against River’s chest in obvious relief. Pixie leaned forward over the counter and shook green sprinkles onto the puddings, making them look super festive.
“Now they’re Christmas puddings,” John-John cried happily.
“Everyone choose one,” Nora said.