May 25th #6
A little kid, who is about five or six, yells, “Lee-Lee! Where have you been?”
“Just floating around the river with Damon. Where have you been, Hunter?”
“I was having lunch. Avocado toast and French fries.”
“Well, that sounds very yummy,” Ainsley says.
“Can I come on the raft with you?” he asks her. “Everyone else is going on the slide, and I’m scared.”
“What if you didn’t have to go down the slide by yourself?” I offer.
“You could go down with either me or Damon,” Ainsley adds.
“I wanna go with Damon!” Hunter yells.
And pretty soon, the whole family seems to be in the same part of the pool at the same time. It’s seconds before Chase’s youngest brother is jumping on my raft, trying to capsize me.
“Crusher,” I say to him, “you can stop trying. You’re not getting me off this thing.”
Which, of course, makes him try harder.
Until my little sister Weston screams out my name, causing him to back off.
“Hey, Westie,” I say, pulling her up onto the raft with me. “Did you just have lunch too?”
“I had ice cream!” she screams happily.
“Just ice cream?”
Jennifer gets in the pool with us. “She had mushroom risotto, and then she got ice cream.” I notice that her eyes hone in on Ainsley’s hand holding the edge of my tube, keeping us together. “Would you like me to take her?”
“Do you think she’d go down the slides with us?” Ainsley asks. “Damon promised to take Hunter down.”
“Slide! Slide! Slide!” Weston chants.
“I take it, that’s a yes,” Jennifer says with a laugh. “Well, if that’s the case, I might go join your mothers for another one of those fruity drinks.”
“We’ll bring her back when she gets tired. Where’s Easton?” I ask.
“Your father took her back to the house for a nap. Honestly, he’s a bit hungover from last night’s afterparty. Tripp gifted your dad and Chase’s dad some scotch. Not surprisingly, your father decided to break open his bottle and share.”
“Nice. Are you saying that you didn’t try any?” I ask because Jennifer does like to have a good time.
“Oh, of course, I was right there with them. But I kept drinking water in between. And I probably ate my weight in pizza. Soaked it all up!” she hoots. “That’s why I’m feeling good today!”
“Me too,” Tripp says as he’s followed to the edge of the pool by a waitress with a tray of fruity drinks in a rainbow of colors. “Jennifer?”
Jennifer smiles, takes a red one, then asks, “And what is this lovely concoction?”
“That one is a Hurricane,” the server replies.
“How about you two?” Tripp asks me and Ainsley.
“Maybe after I take the kids down the slide,” I say as Ainsley nods her head in agreement.
“So, what do you think about the improved lazy river?” Tripp asks us.
“It’s a work of art,” I tell him.
“Amazing,” Ainsley adds.
“Excellent,” he says, handing out more drinks to the parents who have just arrived back from lunch.
Then he turns around, a slightly irritated look crossing his face. But before he can say anything, another server comes out with another tray of drinks.
“Kids!” Tripp yells out. “Who wants a milkshake?”
I immediately raise my hand. “Strawberry for me, please!”
“You’re just a big kid, aren’t you?” Tripp teases.
“I want a chocolate one,” Hunter says.
“Westie want one too!” my little sister says.
“How about you share with me?” I tell her, knowing she just had ice cream.
Two hours later, our shoulders are sunburned, and we’re exhausted, so we take the kids back to their parents and drop them off.
“We need to grab a cocktail and take another lap,” I whisper to Ainsley. “When Tripp asked about the renovation, I panicked a bit. I was so involved in our conversation that I never looked around.”
She smiles. “Me neither.”
Once our hands are filled with drinks, we set off. This time on a double raft so I don’t have to worry about her floating away from me.
She leans back, takes a sip, and goes, “Ahh, this is the life. Those kids wore me out.”
“It didn’t help that Hunter made us carry him up the stairs every time we went on the slide. We both got in our workouts today.”
“When do you usually work out?” she asks me. “Like, would you want to work out together? Well, maybe not together, but, like, at the same time.”
“Chase and I are usually in the gym by seven thirty, but since he’s technically on his honeymoon, I’m not sure if that will change. I’ll ask him and let you know. But, yes, I’d love to work out alongside you.”
She smiles happily, which makes me happy.
Because she wants to spend time with me.
“And what about tonight?” she asks, causing my pulse to race.
“I need to do dinner with the family because I still don’t know how long my mom will stay.
But maybe something after? All the kids are watching a movie by the pool.
Although as hard as they played today, I can’t imagine they will stay up very late.
And I don’t have to stay and watch it with them. ”
“We’re roasting marshmallows. Do you want to come join us?”
“I love s’mores, but I have to know, do you burn your marshmallows? Because that just might be a deal-breaker.”
“Well, there are a few people in the family who do, but I like mine just barely browned, definitely no char.”
“Perfect.”
She looks around and sees that we’re already back to where we started. “I still never paid attention,” she adorably says.
“Me neither. I’ll see you tonight,” I tell her.
“Till tonight,” she replies in a breathless, dreamy voice.
She doesn’t actually leave, but rather joins her mom poolside, so I take the golf cart and go back to the house. When I get there, I find Haley and Daine floating on rafts in the pool all by themselves.
“Well, you two had the right idea,” I tell them, taking a seat in the shade and dangling my legs into the water.
“I figured the kids would be crazy. They’ve had so many events to behave at over the last few days. I considered taking a raft up there, but I was really worried about them being too rambunctious. And I can’t risk someone accidentally hitting my leg while it’s still not completely healed.”
“Definitely not,” I say. “That was a good call.”
“And it’s been awesome to just lie here and relax without a lot of commotion,” Daine agrees.
But I am not sure about them just relaxing because I can see that his lips are tinged the color of the lipstick Haley had on at brunch, which means there’s been some kissing going on.
“I’m gonna go grab a beer. You guys want anything?” I ask them .
“I’d love one,” Daine says. “In fact, if you point me in the right direction, I’ll go get them.”
Rather than sending him to the closest refrigerator in the outdoor bar, I send him inside to the game room.
“You’re bad,” Haley says. “You just wanted to talk to me alone. That’s why you sent him so far away.”
“Well, what happened? Is he staying?”
“He is staying,” she replies, a huge smile spreading across her face.
“And I can tell that you’ve been kissing.”
“Is it that obvious?” she asks, her eyes going wide.
“His lips are the color of your lipstick, and there’s no makeup left on the tip of your nose. How old is he again? And talk fast. We don’t have much time.”
“Nineteen. Only three years older than me. And I’m so happy. Thank you for asking him to stay.”
“Hotel or house?” I rapid-fire ask.
“Boathouse. I figured it would be okay since you’re not sharing it with Chase this time,” she says.
“It’s great because I want to get to know him better.”
“Do not scare him away, Damon.”
“I’m not gonna scare him away, for gosh sakes. But I do want to make sure he’s suitable for you.”
“I’m pretty sure I can figure that out myself. Plus, I don’t want you to make a big deal out of this. It’s not like we’re dating. It’s just friendship. And some kissing. Ish.”
“Ish?!”
“Fine,” she says, “it’s been a little more than that today in the pool. It was fun. And that’s all I’m going to say on the matter.”
“And you should know that I might not be there all the time because I managed to wrangle myself a hotel suite since it’s my birthday.”
“Nice,” she says as Daine comes back with more than just three beers.
He’s got Chase and Dani in tow.
He hands us all bottles, and I say, “Cheers to the newly married.” Then I add, “I noticed you didn’t come to the lazy river.”
Chase shrugs. “It is our honeymoon.”
Dani is sporting an oddly sneaky little smile. And it makes me happy for them. Now I just need to get happy for me. Actually, I’m already happy. I love hanging out with Ainsley.
Dani takes off her dress and gets in the pool.
Chase whistles. “That there’s my wife!”
Daine clinks his bottle against Chase’s.
And I’m not sure I like any of it. One, Daine should not be looking at my sister. Two, he should not be toasting Chase about the way my sister looks in front of Haley.
“So, how’s being a rock star?” Dani asks him.
“Oh”—he looks down, embarrassed—“I’m certainly not one of those. Just pretty good at playing the guitar, and I have a voice people seem to like. Writing songs is honestly my favorite part of the job. But I have to perform them if I want anyone to hear them. ”
Chase downs his beer and asks if we want another. And I am starting to feel like an old man because I want to tell him to slow down. I shake my head. It’s like our roles have reversed. He was always the one trying to reel me in.
“Sure,” Daine says, holding his half-empty bottle up.
“You drink much?” I ask Daine.
“Me?” Daine asks. “Not much. I know I play in a lot of bars, but I won’t drink alcohol while I’m performing.”
“I would hope not, seeing as you’re underage,” I fire back.
“You’re younger,” he says, pointing at the bottle in my hand.
Haley catches my eye and dramatically slides her finger across the front of her neck. Apparently, she wants to kill me.
I roll my eyes at her and then turn to him and go, “That is true.”
“Anyway,” Daine continues, “aside from the fact that I am not of legal drinking age just yet, I do like beer. My life right now consists of writing and touring. And I don’t get in any trouble because I know it would end up on social media.
And I don’t need that headache. Mostly because, someday, I want to parlay whatever success I can achieve into my own Nashville club.
Which means I’d be able to settle down there. Have a family.”
“That’s cool,” Dani says, smiling openly at Daine.
Haley nods in agreement, and I can tell she’s holding back a grin.
I roll my eyes. I want her to be ridiculously happy. So, I decide maybe I should stop the interrogation.
For now.
I’ll wait until we’re alone in the boathouse.
“Dani,” I say to my sister, “Chase and I have to start working out again tomorrow. Is there a time you’d prefer?”
She looks at Chase. “You usually like to get it done in the morning before all the other activities.”
“Yeah,” Chase says, “let’s go with seven thirty. And I reserve the right to move it to the afternoon a couple of days so we can go out fishing.”
I turn to Haley. “Is seven thirty good for you too?”
“It’s perfect,” Haley says. “I’ve been working too hard since the accident to skip even a day.”
“You’ve been working out this whole time, like after your accident?” Daine asks.
“Yeah, Damon’s been my workout partner and kicks my ass when I need to stop feeling sorry for myself.
Which is good because my goal is to get back into volleyball-playing shape.
My orthopedic doctor said I probably won’t be cleared until mid-season, but I’m thinking about doing something different. ”
“Like what?” Chase asks.
“Well, Damon had a brilliant idea, and Mom and Dad are considering it, but basically, instead of playing with my high school or club team, I’d work out with a private coach daily.
There’s a training facility not too far from our house for elite athletes, and that’s what I’d like to do.
I think it’s the only way I will be able to get back to the level I was playing at.
Actually, my goal is to be playing better than before.
Nebraska has been recruiting me, and they are supportive of my journey, but I want a scholarship. ”
“Do you need a scholarship?” Daine asks.
“I mean, financially, probably not, but being on scholarship is like a hierarchy. The best players get scholarships. I want to be the best.”
“A lot of people would just give up after an accident like that,” Daine says thoughtfully, looking at Haley in awe.
“We should all take a page out of Haley’s book,” I agree. “I mean, there was a time when we didn’t even know if she would still have a leg to stand on.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Haley says with a laugh.
“Yeah, well, you were out of it when the doctor told us that the open fracture was complicated by an arterial lesion. That you lost a fair amount of blood. And that the surgery took so long not because of the break, but because of the vascular injury. You do realize if they hadn’t fixed that, your leg would have just upped and died. ”
“Haley, I didn’t realize the extent of your injury,” Daine says. “Why didn’t you tell me all of that?”
“I don’t think they told me all of that,” Haley says, but I know she’s lying. I told her everything. “And if it was that dire”—she turns to me—“then you shouldn’t have made me start doing upper body and core workouts while I was still in the hospital.”
“And then in the wheelchair,” I remind her.
“I kinda hated you for it,” she says with a laugh, “but in retrospect, I’m glad. It helped take my mind off things and gave me focus.”
“Haley is a hitter,” I tell Daine since I’m not sure if he knows.
“I’m assuming that’s someone who spikes the ball,” he says.
“Spikes and blocks,” Haley replies. “That’s why keeping my upper body strong has been so important. Of course, I’ll have to work hard on gaining back leg strength. Just a few more weeks, and I should be able to ditch the boot and put this all behind me.”
And I, for one, can’t wait for that.
Watching Haley go through what she did was the worst thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. Way worse than the divorce Ainsley and I discussed today. Which is probably why I just kept pushing her. I knew if I did, we could both pretend that things would be okay.
And now they almost are.
I hold my beer up, catch her eye, and nod in a silent toast.
She gets teary and smiles at me.
And I know that there will be no grilling of Daine later. Because even if it all goes to shit, we’ll always have each other.
And that’s enough.