Chapter 14
fourteen
. . .
T iming is everything. If Amelie hadn’t shown up on my off week and told me about her mother’s boyfriend, whose name I can’t even bring myself to say, I’d be sitting alone in my apartment asking myself, “Self, what the fuck are you doing?” I came to South Africa to make sure my daughter was okay, make sure she lived in a safe neighborhood, to enroll her in school, and had a schedule full of activities. Even though Aubrey told me she was going to be around for our daughter, the reality is, she’s never here. And maybe that’s my fault. Maybe knowing I was here to make sure Amelie was okay made her think she didn’t need to be present. Who knows.
What I do know is our luggage is packed and sitting by the door, the car rental returned, Talisa’s work visa is approved and in hand, and as soon as Aubrey gets here, we’ll be on our way to the airport.
When I first brought up moving back to Beaumont to Amelie, she hesitated. As I knew she would. I’m not trying to take her away from her mother—I’m trying to protect her. The things she said, and the man her mother is choosing to be with, put my daughter in harm’s way. I had hoped Aubrey would see the light, but she’s in love or re-in love as she’s called it and has blinders one. At this point, there isn’t any arguing with her. If she wants to see Amelie and Mack, she’ll come to the states. If she wants them to come to wherever she’ll be living, Talisa will fly with them, and the fiancé won’t be allowed anywhere near my children. It’s simple, I don’t trust him. I’ve seen enough child abuse victims in my office, true crime documentaries, and stories of parents or stepparents doing the unthinkable to their kids. That won’t happen to mine. Not as long as I’m alive.
Aubrey’s car pulls up and I usher Amelie and Talisa outside. They each carry a bag, while I make a couple of trips to get everything. Talisa is excited about moving to the states and tells me she plans to watch Coming to America on the plane. I don’t have the heart to tell her how outdated the original film is, and how where we’re going is nothing like Queens. I think she’s going to enjoy living a subdued lifestyle and after a week, everyone in town will know her by name.
While I’ve been gone, Liam has been busy revitalizing the downtown space. He’s purchased the building next door to Whimsicality and has turned some of the floor into different businesses, such as a photography and dance studio. There’s a new bakery, ice cream shop, and some other businesses. Of course, this isn’t enough for him. He decided to start his own record label—FMG Records—whatever that’s supposed to mean. Liam’s hired Elle to work for him, while she manages her bands. Betty Paige works there as well while Mack works wherever he’s needed, which is mostly at Mr. Powell’s or walking Beau, Ben and Elle’s dog. After Ben’s cancer scare, he and Elle have decided to spend more time in Beaumont, which is great for my son because he’s very attached to their dog.
Of all people, it was Josie who convinced Amelie to move back. With a new dance studio opening up, she said she’d sign Amelie up for lessons if she wanted. And the owner of the photography studio offers classes. There were things to do now. In less than the year we’ve been gone, Beaumont has grown. The only thing I cared about was the water tower. Not that I want Mack drinking there, but it’s a rite of passage and I’d hate for him to miss out on it. Liam assures me, it’s not going anywhere.
When we arrive at the airport, Aubrey pulls along the curb and puts her car into park. She gets out and opens Amelie’s door, while Talisa and I gather the luggage. Aubrey and Amelie are hugging, and I can’t hear what they’re saying to each other. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not overly pleasant if Amelie’s doing all the talking. She’s very upset with her mother right now. Can’t say I blame her.
Aubrey lets her go, and then comes over to me. She rocks back on her heels, and I wonder what’s on her mind. The thing is, months ago, I would’ve asked her. Now, I don’t really care.
“Thanks for the ride,” I say. Should I shake her hand? Thank her for almost twenty years of marriage? I’m not sure I’m thankful, not after the things she told me when I confronted her. She never fully loved me, not in the way I loved her. She pined for a man she had given up when she met me, and for what? To go back to him? It’s Josie and Liam all over again, and it fucking stings. The difference is, I knew about Liam. I knew I was always the second choice in Josie’s life and as much as I wanted to be first, I never would’ve held that title as long as Liam Page was alive.
“That’s it?”
“What do you want from me, Aubrey?”
“A hug would be nice or for you to tell me you’re sorry for taking Amelie away from me.”
I step forward and give her a one arm hug and don’t even touch the last half of her request. I’m not sorry. I should’ve stood my ground from the beginning, but I wanted my family to stick together. At the time, I thought I was doing the right damn thing.
Live and learn.
Aubrey mumbles something unintelligible and I don’t care enough to ask her to repeat herself. She goes to Amelie again, and instead of eavesdropping, I start taking the luggage over to the porter. It’s much easier than dragging all of these bags through the airport. I hand him our passports, and Talisa gives him hers. Her hands are shaking. Gently, I rest my hand on top of hers to ease the anxiety.
“Everything is good,” I remind her. Some of her friends told her it was hard to get into the states and that they’d kick her out as soon as she got to the airport. It doesn’t matter how much I reassure her she still looks over her shoulder and shakes like a leaf when she sees the police.
“Amelie, we have to go,” I say as soon as the porter hands over my tags.
Aubrey hugs her again, and I can see it in Amelie’s eyes, she’s not happy. I hold my hand out and she skips over to me.
I’m about to step through the door when I stop and turn. My ex, the woman I fell in love with so many years ago in this beautiful country, stands there with her arms wrapped around her center. I take a deep breath.
“Bye, Aubrey.”
We flew to Beaumont, made it to the house, and collapsed out of exhaustion. The next day, still groggy, we boarded another flight. This time, we’re heading to the California coast for a few days. Josie told me they were going to celebrate Thanksgiving at Noah and Peyton’s, but she has no idea we’re going to surprise them. I wanted to keep it a secret, mostly because if my travel plans fell through, I wasn’t letting Mack down. I’ve done that enough this past year. I’ve missed countless moments in his life, and while I’m thankful Liam stepped up, Mack’s my son and I want to be there for him.
Once we land at LAX, I rent a car and head toward the coast. Talisa keeps her head on a swivel and looks in every which direction she can. I tell her we’ll tour later, and she can see all of Hollywood and we’ll even go to Disneyland. This, of course, gets Amelie excited. She hasn’t been yet and now won’t shut up about it.
I pull into Noah’s driveway and shut the car off. On the flight over, I told Talisa who everyone is, and thankfully she has no idea who 4225 West is. Score one for Mr. Nick.
Amelie beats me to the door and knocks as hard as she can.
“I’ll get it,” someone calls out. The door opens and Peyton’s standing there, eyes wide.
“Nick! Amelie! Oh my God, come in.” She ushers us into the house. It’s gorgeous, with a view of the water. We follow her down the hall and into the family room, where multiple pairs of eyes take in two people they haven’t seen in a while, and someone new.
“Nick, you’re here!” Josie says as she comes over to us. We hug and then she hugs Amelie. Always the protective mother, she keeps her arm on Amelie’s shoulders while I introduce her to Talisa. “Nick’s told me so much about you. Are you visiting?”
“No,” she says as she looks at me. “I’m going to live with Mr. Nick and take care of the kids.”
“Mr. Nick, I love that!” Josie cracks up laughing. “Come on, let’s go meet everyone.” Josie looks at me. “Did you at least fill her in?”
I shrug. “I tried. Your family tree doesn’t branch. It’s embarrassing.”
Josie whacks me on my arm.
We say hi to Elle, Paige, Katelyn, Jenna, and Nola. We meet Oliver, who has adorable baby cheeks. Harrison and Liam come in from outside. I don’t know what comes over me, but I go up to Liam and hug him like we’re long-lost best friends. He hugs me back.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Nick. You did the same for me. You’ve got a great son,” he says before we part. “He’s down the beach, throwing the ball with Noah and Ben.”
I step back and wipe my eye sweat away. “Aren’t a few of you missing?”
“Eden, Quinn, and JD are surfing,” Jenna says. “Or they’ve been eaten by sharks since they’ve been in so long.”
“Sharks?” Talisa’s eyes go wide.
“Only sometimes,” Peyton says, winking. Peyton excuses herself to go to the kitchen and Talisa follows. I try to tell her she doesn’t have to work, but she loves cooking. Hopefully Peyton doesn’t care if there’s another set of hands in there.
“Amelie, come tell me about Johannesburg,” Katelyn says. “I hear it’s beautiful.”
Amelie heads over and the women converge on her. Any doubts I had about coming back without her mother are gone. If it takes a village to raise a family, I have the best damn village at my fingertips.
I say hi to Harrison and then Liam points to where I’ll find the boys. As I’m getting closer, I can hear Noah coaching Mack, much like I did when Noah was younger.
“Dad?” Mack’s voice stops me in my tracks. “Dad!” Mack runs at full speed, barreling toward me. I swear he’s grown a foot since I dropped him off at Liam and Josie’s. He lands in my arms, and I hold him as tightly as I can. He smells like sun, sand, and boy. My boy.
When I finally let him go, I look him over, just to absorb the sight of him.
“How long are you here for?” he asks.
“Here, the weekend. Beaumont, forever.”
Mack’s face lights up and it’s the best damn sight I have ever seen.
“Amelie?”
I motion toward the house. “She’s upstairs with all the girls, probably getting pampered.”
“No doubt,” he says laughing.
Noah comes over. We hug for a long time. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” I say in reference to missing the most important game of Noah’s life.
“It’s okay,” he says. “I’ll go again, and you will be.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”
“Mr. Nick?”
I turn at the sound of Talisa calling my name. She trudges toward us through the sand.
“You brought Talisa?” Mack asks.
“I did. She’s going to live with us and help me out.”
“Awesome.” Mack walks toward her and hugs her without warning. The look on Talisa’s face is one of shock and a little bit of adoration. Noah and I walk toward them.
“Talisa, this is my stepson, Noah.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Noah. Are you the rugby player?”
Noah laughs. “American football,” he tells her.
I put my arms around my boys and walk them back toward the house. We’re almost there when a giant fluff ball tackles Mack to the ground.
“Beau,” Noah says. “He’s really well behaved except for when he’s with Mack. They’re inseparable.”
“So, I’ve seen.”
When Mack gets Beau under control, I look at my sons. I’m so damn proud of them. But it’s Mack who has my attention.
“So, about that kiss . . .”