Chapter Fifteen
Despite the wedding festivities running late into the night, Siobhan woke early again on her final day at the Birch Brook Campground.
She slid out of bed and made a cup of coffee to take to the dinette.
A peek through the curtains told her nobody was out and about yet, and there was no sign of Brian.
Just know I want to.
Yeah, she’d wanted that, too.
It had been the most fun wedding she’d ever attended—one of the most fun weeks she’d ever had, actually, even with the paternity bombshell that had kicked it off.
But throughout the rest of last night, she’d known in some other place and time, under other circumstances, she and Brian would have left that party together.
There was one final group breakfast planned, with Steph and Kyle leaving for Bar Harbor right after.
Then, according to Mary, who’d been overseeing these vacations for decades, the real chaos would begin.
A week of roaming from site to site and communal meals meant sorting and returning things and, according to her, nothing ever went back into the campers and RVs the way they came out.
Her own packing wouldn’t be too bad, but her laundry when she got home would be daunting. She also wanted to give the camper a thorough cleaning to thank the owner for lending it to her and Oliver.
The hardest part was going to be saying goodbye to Brian. Once she drove out of this campground, the surreal limbo they’d been existing in would be over. The days of getting to know each other while a definitive answer and the accompanying headaches were delayed had been a gift.
And if she was honest with herself, she was going to miss the entire Kowalski family. Her life was quiet and structured. It worked for her—and was necessary to juggle work and single motherhood—but she’d miss their loud, loving chaos.
Growing up, she’d moved around a lot, with Janelle relocating them on a whim for an opportunity that never worked out.
Siobhan made friends in school, but never with the degree of closeness that led to sleepovers and being exposed to various family dynamics.
Other than wishing Janelle would tell them who their dad was—if she even knew—because he might offer stability, Siobhan had only known a self-involved mother and a sister who followed her example.
Robin’s stories about her large family had always sparked a wistfulness in Siobhan, but being a part of the Kowalski family for the last week had triggered a yearning so strong it made her heart ache.
A week ago, she never would have guessed this day would stir up so many mixed emotions.
“Mommy, are we going home today?”
The sleepy voice broke Siobhan out of her thoughts, and she opened her arms as her son crossed the camper to her. After moving her coffee mug out of harm’s way, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head.
“Yes, we’re going home today.” She realized he might not actually want to do that, so she kept talking. “You can tell Auntie Robin all about your adventures, and we’ll make sure we get your froggy, too.”
“Can Nora come?”
Siobhan closed her eyes for a moment, wishing being a parent came with a book of all the right things to say for every occasion, organized by age. “Nora’s going to go home to her house, but you’ll probably see her again soon.”
He seemed to accept that, so she started the process of getting them ready for the day.
The more Oliver woke up, the more excited he got about seeing everybody again and then finding his frog, which transitioned straight into being excited to see Auntie Robin and go to school again.
Siobhan managed to get an entire coffee into herself, but she would have liked another cup. Or two.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur.
Steph was understandably not even in the ballpark of being ready to leave, so Siobhan and Hannah helped her pack while Ellie took Oliver and Nora to find their rocks.
Then came the big newlywed sendoff, which took about forty-five minutes from start to finish.
Steph was yelling goodbyes out the window as Kyle pulled out onto the main road.
“Okay,” Mary said, hands on her hips once the bride and groom were seen off, looking over the mess remaining from breakfast. “We’ll wash everything all together, and then we can sort out what belongs where.”
Siobhan helped with the washing, but she had no idea which utensils and containers belonged to which camper, so it felt like a good time to pack up her stuff.
Though she hadn’t been specifically told who her camper belonged to, she suspected it might be going to Maine and she didn’t want to hold up whoever was hauling it back.
She was on her way up the road, holding Oliver’s hand with one hand while his frog was in the other, when Terry caught up with them. She fell into step beside Siobhan, slightly out of breath.
“Things just get more chaotic from here, so I wanted to make sure I get to thank you for being here for Steph. My daughter had the wedding of her dreams and you were a big part of that.” Her voice was heavy with emotion, but she took a deep breath and continued.
“I know there was a lot to navigate, but you were wonderful and I want you to know that no matter how things turn out, you and Oliver are always welcome to join us for family things.”
“Thank you.” Siobhan suddenly felt a little emotional herself. “This week with your family has been one of the best of my life, even with navigating this little situation next to me. You all made that so much easier for me.”
“Keep in touch,” Terry said, touching her arm lightly. “Now, I need to go referee because my husband and my brother are trying to micromanage my nephews and that never goes well.”
Siobhan turned as Terry walked away, and saw Evan and Joe on one side of a trailer and Brian and Joey on the other. From this distance it looked as though all of the rented items weren’t going in the trailer the same way they’d come out and she was right. It was getting heated.
It was probably for the best. Brian being wrapped up helping his family leave and her getting herself and Oliver ready to go would keep the goodbye from dragging out.
In an hour or two, she and Oliver could do a quick round of goodbyes and then hit the road. They’d be home before supper and for the first time, Siobhan would get to be alone and process in just how many ways this week had changed her.
* * *
Brian was aware that Siobhan’s car was packed and she was taking Oliver around to say goodbye to everybody.
He kept his focus on the landing gear of the camper that wasn’t cranking up the way it was supposed to.
Doing a drawn-out goodbye with Oliver and Siobhan would kill him.
And he didn’t want to witness his family saying goodbye, either.
It would be tough for them, not knowing when or if they would see Oliver again.
Genetics aside, he’d secured a place in everybody’s heart already.
“Are you sure you’re cranking that the right way?” Sean asked, and Brian glared over his shoulder at his dad’s cousin.
“I’m sure,” he snapped, though he looked at the setup for a second before resuming his efforts because his head wasn’t totally in the game this morning.
But the closer Siobhan got to her car, the less attention he gave it. Finally he stood and brushed off the knees of his jeans. “Fine. You do it.”
By the time he got to Siobhan and Oliver, only his mother remained at her side.
As he got close, he watched her place her hand on Siobhan’s arm and say something.
Then she kissed Oliver’s cheek and turned away.
She was wiping tears from her cheeks when Brian passed her, but she managed to summon a weak smile for him.
“Hey,” Siobhan said when he reached her. “I was about to text you and let you know we’re ready to go. I wasn’t going to leave without saying goodbye and I figured somebody would tell somebody who’d tell somebody else who would tell you that we’re leaving.”
“The roots of my family’s grapevine run deep,” he said, giving her what he felt was a ghost of his usual smile.
He wanted to touch her—to pull her into his arms and hold her. They couldn’t leave if she was in his arms. And he was afraid if he looked down at Oliver, who was patiently holding her hand, he might cry.
Siobhan inhaled deeply and then blew out a breath. “I guess we’ve run out of time to not talk about it, so which one of us is making the appointment?”
“I don’t mind doing it—and I’ll pay the bill, of course—but I know your schedule must be a lot tighter than mine, with work and Oliver and everything, so it might be easier if you set the time and place. I can make anything work.”
“That makes sense, and I appreciate it.”
He hated this stilted, awkward conversation. “So just let me know where to be and when, and I’ll be there. I’m going to head home, probably tomorrow, so I’ll be closer. I own a place in Northfield, so I can be in Boston in an hour and a half or so.”
“Sounds good.”
He reached down and ruffled Oliver’s hair, taking a second to get his emotions under control. “Be good, little man.”
“Going home now,” Oliver said.
Brian put his hand in his pocket and felt the small gray rock. “Do you have your frog?”
Oliver nodded, grinning. “Gonna show it to Auntie Robin.”
“She’ll love it.”
“Okay,” Siobhan said in an overly chipper way. “Time to get buckled.”
Brian stepped out of the way while she put him in his car seat and gave him a water bottle and some books to keep him happy. Then she moved and Brian gave Oliver a little wave before softly closing the door.
“Can you just shoot me a quick text to let me know you got home okay?” He wondered too late if the request was out of line, and he braced himself for her telling him he was overstepping.
Instead, she smiled. “I will.”
“Thanks.”
Her fake smile crumpled and her words were a whisper. “Please don’t stand here and watch us leave. I’ll be able to see you in the mirror and…”
“I won’t. Can’t have you driving into the pool,” he said, and got the pleasure of hearing her laugh one more time. He hoped it wasn’t the last time. “Drive safe.”
Then he spun and walked away. He didn’t have a destination other than away, and he didn’t look back when he heard her car door close.
Or when she started it, or when he heard the crunch of her tires on the gravel in the dirt road.
He didn’t even turn back when she called a goodbye to the family waving as she left.
Once he could no longer hear the small engine of her car accelerating up the road, he threw himself into the work of getting everybody out of the campground so he and Stella could sit on the couch and mope. Well, he’d mope and Stella would sleep because she found moping too boring to watch.
His family gave him a wide berth, letting him work.
There was comfort in physical movement, and going through the steps for hooking up campers to trucks and double-checking the RVs were ready for travel.
It was so familiar to all of the men in the family that they didn’t really need to talk. They could just do the work.
Saying goodbye as each unit was ready to roll was hard. Over and over, he reassured family members he’d let them know as soon as he knew anything. And his mom cried into his T-shirt for a solid three or four minutes before his dad was able to detach her and get her in the passenger seat.
Several hours later, when it was finally just him and Rob and Hannah, his phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket. As expected, it was from Siobhan and he caught himself smiling as he swiped to open the message.
We’re home. I got lucky with traffic and Oliver napped a good chunk of the way. Thank you for a wonderful week, and I’ll be in touch as soon as I make the appointment.
Questions started flying through his head. Was Oliver glad to be home, or did he miss being with the Kowalski family at the campground? Had Siobhan been sorry to leave at all? Would she think about him the way he was undoubtedly going to think about her?
Glad you made it home. I’m happy you both had a good time, and I’ll talk to you soon.
After a long moment passed with no response and no dots to indicate she was typing, he locked the phone and slid it back into his pocket.
All he could do now was wait.