Chapter Seventeen
The sun is lowering in the sky when we show up to a small bungalow nestled on a quiet suburban street.
I’d say it looks just like the regular rows upon rows of houses back at home, but these little homes have tall palm trees sticking up toward the sky, and there are even a few coconuts strewn around the lawn.
As we near the front porch, I see a pile of beach toys and a few teeny-tiny bathing suits drying on the railing, and it feels as homey and chaotic as Tyler himself does.
Without him even having to say it, I know that this is Lucas and Ella’s house.
He doesn’t have a chance to ring the bell before the front door swings open, Ella standing there to greet him.
She looks like I remember, dark brown eyes and inky black hair in a neat braid down her back.
Even though she’s a few years older than Tyler, he has her beat with his height—but that doesn’t stop her from reaching out and pulling him into a hug, which he stoops down to meet.
“You’re back!” she says, ruffling his hair while still in their embrace. “I swear you’ve only been gone for an hour and it feels like you got taller. Do boys ever stop growing?”
Another voice chimes in behind Ella as she lets Tyler go.
“Physically, no. Maturity-wise, I don’t think any of us progress past the age of twelve.
” There’s a teasing glint in Lucas’s eye as he steps up behind Ella.
While I’m standing there observing the whole exchange, I notice how much he looks like Tyler.
But he’s definitely more muscled—and tanned by the luscious lusciian sun—than I remember him being at the cookouts I’d been to.
Ella notices me first, eyes lighting up.
“Olive! It’s been so long. It’s so good to see you, honey.
” She wastes no time stepping over the threshold onto the porch, wrapping me in a hug of my own.
I squeeze her back, relishing in her familiar scent of coconut lotion and suntan oil.
I guess everything those scientists say about smell being the most powerful trigger for memories is true, because being here, it feels like I’ve been thrown back in time, meeting her at a family dinner and finding solace in having a girl semi-close to my age to talk to about the Ferris boys.
Lucas gets to me next, folding me into a hug and giving me a polite kiss on the cheek.
“Good to see you, Olive.” While he’s being kind—and more than generous enough by letting me visit their house—there’s a slight layer of frostiness there.
Tyler nudges his brother with a stern look, but Lucas just shrugs.
Duh, you idiot. You shattered his brother’s heart. Of course you have some sucking up to do.
As if on cue, a piercing wail sounds from inside the house. Lucas grimaces and points at his brother. “Back to wake-up duty, kid.”
It’s exactly the kind of thing I’d expect Tyler to refuse to do—especially when being decreed by his older brother—but I guess he’s changed in some ways since we were together, too, because his face lights up.
“Oooh, she’s awake!” He looks between his brother, Ella, and me for a second before stepping toward the doorway.
“Want to come inside and meet Mele, Olive?”
“Yes, yes!” Ella waves us both inside and I step into the house, the smell of spicy stewed meat climbing into my nose and making my mouth water. “Dinner will be ready in a minute. We’re so glad you could join us.”
I follow Tyler into one of the back rooms in the house, the wallpaper adorned with little palm fronds, flamingos, and flowers. There’s a wooden crib up against a wall, with a small pair of chubby hands gripping the railing, round brown eyes peeping over at us.
“Hi, Mele,” Tyler coos, and my stomach flips. He crosses the room to the crib and lifts Mele from it, cradling her to his chest and snuggling her with a look of such adoration that it makes my heart squeeze.
He’s a good-looking guy with a baby, Olive. They all look like that when they’re around kids.
I try to visualize Jack in this same spot, cradling a baby that’s ours.
Once upon a time, that was a vision that soothed me, made me feel less stressed out about the future, knowing I was on my path there.
But now it just makes me feel…empty. Something that I once thought would be shiny and exciting but now falls flat, a mirage that isn’t as satisfying once you realize it’s all an illusion.
Mele squeals gleefully at the sight of her uncle and flexes her chubby fingers toward his face.
He catches her tiny fingernails against his lips and kisses them gingerly.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he murmurs. “You were going down for a nap when I got here, weren’t you?
So it’s been a while since you’ve seen Uncle Ty.
Well, Mel, he is so glad to see you.” He nuzzles her with a few more kisses, and I cross my arms tightly against my chest to contain my aching heart.
After another minute or two, he surfaces from his baby-induced stupor and looks up at me. Mele follows his gaze, blinking at me curiously. “Do you want to hold her?”
Panic grips my nerves and squeezes tightly, and I take a step toward the door.
“That’s okay. I’ve never…I’ve never actually held a baby.
” The thought of dropping sweet, squishy little Mele on the floor is too much, and my stomach bottoms out when I realize I’m semi-responsible for this tiny person’s safety if I put her in my arms.
Tyler, however, is totally unconcerned. He stretches his arms out toward me, Mele dangling between his hands, kicking her little Michelin Man legs and gurgling gleefully. He wiggles her toward me, taking another step forward as I take one back to match him, before he sighs with a small smile.
“I’ll show you what to do,” he promises. “Just give it a chance.” He notices my hesitation and rolls his eyes playfully. “You went on a plane across the entire US and the Pacific Ocean today, but this is what you’re scared of? A cute baby?”
He’s looking at me with a strange expression on his face, his eyes glazed over a little bit. And even though it’s been so long since we’ve been connected, I’m able to tell exactly what he’s thinking.
He’s picturing exactly what I just tried to picture with Jack.
Which is why my body suddenly starts acting on its own accord, and I reach my arms out and accept the gurgling bundle from Tyler’s waiting arms. Mele blinks at me curiously for a few seconds before seeming to accept her new fate, giggling happily and reaching out her chubby hand to wind a fist around my hair, tugging with abandon and making both Tyler and me burst out laughing.
“You know,” I murmur to her, sniffing her sweet baby scent and letting it warm me from the inside out as she continues to tug on fistfuls of my hair. “I think I like you, Mele.”
Tyler’s watching us with his arms crossed, a thoughtful smile on his face. “It seems she likes you, too.”
After a delicious dinner of a spicy local style of beef stew—and a lot of catching up on how we’ve all been since we’ve last seen each other, while all delicately avoiding any mention of the breakup—Ella is the one who finally brings up the conversation I’ve been dreading.
“Well, it’s been lovely to see you again, Olive, but I do have to ask—” She narrows her eyes as she looks at me.
“What exactly brought you here? My brother-in-law didn’t give us any details other than that you were in town and he was bringing you over because you were having a rough day.
” She makes a dramatic show of playfully kicking Tyler’s leg under the table, which makes him yelp and me laugh.
I take one last sip of the delicious passion-orange-guava juice that Lucas had given me before gathering my thoughts.
“Well”—I look over at Tyler, who gestures for me to continue while Mele grabs at his ears—“it’s kind of a long story.
” And I launch into the quickest explanation I can think of—that I came to visit Jack, who turned out to be a dick and broke up with me, and I called Tyler because I had nowhere to go.
“Well, obviously you can stay here for the rest of your trip.” Ella looks over at Lucas, who nods, though his expression is unreadable.
I want to say that I’m bothered by his uncertain reception of me turning back up in Tyler’s life, but like I said, I can’t fault him for being wary.
Still, his and Ella’s gesture tugs on my heartstrings.
“Thank you so much,” I tell them both earnestly. “But I’m happy to find a hotel in the area. I’m going to look for a flight home tomorrow first thing in the morning, so I won’t be in your hair for much longer.”
Tyler scoffs at that, shaking his head and gesturing to his niece, who has moved onto poking his nose. “Please. You know Mele loves tugging on hair, so the longer you’re around, the more she has to grab.”
“Thank you,” I say again, trying to keep my brain from anxiously spinning out of control at the thought of all the things I have to do later. Find a flight, cancel that dinner reservation I made at the fancy outdoor steak house down in Waikiki…
“Olive.” Ella reaches across the table and squeezes my hand, her expression warm. “I’m serious. Please, don’t sweat it. You can stay here as long as you like.”
After eating, Tyler helps me bring in my luggage from the car and get set up in the guest room. I see that his own suitcase is already open in the corner, clothes and shoes littering the floor.
He follows my gaze as he sets my suitcase down. “Don’t worry,” he rushes to explain. “I’m going to take the couch for tonight. This room’s all yours.”
If I wasn’t feeling guilty about intruding already, I certainly am now. “Don’t be silly, Ty. You’re doing me a favor by saving me an outrageous motel fee tonight. That’s generous enough. I’m fine to take the couch.”
He shakes his head defiantly. “You know I’m not going to let that happen, Olive.”