42. Luke
Luke
“Do you think they’re okay up there?” I ask, unable to keep my knee from bouncing.
Cam sits on the edge of the couch, his chin in his hands, elbows on knees. I can’t tell who’s more nervous, me or him.
He looks up at me. “I think this conversation was a long time coming. They need to talk it through, so it might take a while.”
I shift on my side of the couch, watching as Levi and Archie build towers of magnetic blocks just to knock them down and start again. It’s a loud process, and my brain compares it with the silence that drifts deafeningly from upstairs where the girls are.
“Do you want a beer?” Cam asks, already getting off the couch.
I nod. “That would be great.”
He instructs the boys to stay downstairs, and I follow him into the kitchen. Two cans open with a hiss, then the cool liquid slides down my throat. Cam pounds his beer, coming up for air only when the can is empty. I stare at him.
Cam’s lip twitches. “What?”
“You okay over there?”
“Yeah.” He crushes the can in his fist and tosses it into the trash. “It’s just—it’s been hard watching Jules deal with Natalie leaving, and now showing up again. Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad she’s here. It’s just … hard seeing my wife go through the motions again.”
“The motions?”
He leans against the counter, crossing his thick arms over his wide chest. Not for the first time, I notice exactly how big Cam is. At six-four, he could absolutely crush me like that beer can.
His eyes stare at a corner of the ceiling before he speaks.
“When I came back to Maple Lake and met Juliet—well, saw her again after, like, twelve years—she was in a dark place. She took it personally when Natalie left, and she had a hard time working through her feelings. But I’ve seen her change.
I’ve seen her learn to be happy again, and it’s rough being on the sideline with all of these old feelings washing up. ”
I nod and take another sip of beer. Cam rubs at the back of his neck with a large hand.
“I think they’ll be okay after this,” I say. Cam meets my gaze with his green eyes. “Natalie wants to make amends. She’s really struggled since leaving too—it wasn’t just Juliet who had a hard time.”
“Really?” He lifts a brow.
“You’d be surprised. Don’t let the colorful clothes and the bubbly attitude fool you. She hides a lot. Natalie’s had a few hard years too.”
Cam seems to accept this, nodding once before rubbing his hands down his face.
Just then, I hear a creak on the steps, and we both whip our heads around to see Juliet and Nat rounding the corner into the kitchen.
I don’t know what I thought I’d see when they came back down, but it wasn’t grinning faces, glowing cheeks, and two sisters who look more alike when they smile than any other time I’ve seen them side by side.
Juliet aims right for Cam, tugging his dress shirt around his torso and fastening the buttons. I drift toward Nat as she stops in front of me. I can tell from her smile and the relaxed set of her shoulders that she’s not just happy, but excited.
“I’m going to scope out the lake while you all finish getting ready,” she says to Jules before tugging my hand. I let her lead me out the back door and down the steps to the yard.
Once we’re at the lake, I pull on her hand gently to stop her in her tracks. “Natalie.” She turns around, eyes glistening like the surface of the lake. “Are you okay?”
“Better than okay. Everything’s alright now. It’s fixed. You were right, Luke.”
“Right about what?”
“That I just needed to talk to her.” She looks down at her hands, biting her lip.
“I really hurt her by leaving. And I didn’t know how badly until now.
But I told her about everything—the nightmares and the anxiety.
Everything. I didn’t want to hold anything back. She needed to know she can trust me.”
She looks toward the gentle ripples on the water, but I keep my eyes on my wife.
The sun is shining on her blonde hair, now tied back in a half bun at the top of her head.
Her mascara is slightly smudged, but there’s a joyful spark lighting up her face.
I can’t say exactly what looks different about her, but she looks … brighter. Lighter somehow.
“And everything’s smoothed over now?” I ask, knowing it may take more than just one conversation for them to completely patch things up. But this was a great start, whatever the future looks like.
“Let’s just say, we’re getting over the bumps in the road. And she wants me to be here.”
I smile. “I knew she did. And how do you feel?”
“Great. Relieved, actually.” She chuckles nervously, her glossy lips tugging up at the corners of her mouth.
“I was gone so long that she just couldn’t bring herself to trust this was all real.
That I’d be staying in her life. But I told her I’m not leaving like that again.
She knows I want to be a part of her life and a part of the boys’ life. ”
“I’m proud of you. I knew you could do it.”
“Are you going to say I told you so?” Her eyebrow lifts a smidge.
“Would it do any good?” I say.
“No.” She shakes her head.
“Then no. I don’t need to say it.”
She steps toward me on the grass. Her gorgeous smile tempts me into pulling her close and kissing her. And as I press my lips to hers she exhales slowly through her nose, the air between us warm and uniquely ours. I wrap a hand around her waist and she lets me dip her back.
Her lips, tacky from gloss, smell like watermelon. I breathe her in, committing her smell, her taste, the feel of my hand on her back to memory.
When I straighten us and we pull apart, her eyes flit past me to the yard where Jules and Cam are walking across the grass, each wrangling a wriggly little boy. Juliet carries Nat’s leather camera bag over her shoulder.
“They’ve sure got their hands full with those two,” I muse quietly.
Nat’s eyes soften. “And look how amazing it is to have full hands. They’re an incredible family.”
I watch her as she watches them.
My heart races from our kiss, skipping hurtles and running up bleachers as I watch the joy sweep across her face.
The warmth in her eyes spreads to rosy cheeks and into her full smile, now bare where my lips wiped away her watermelon lip gloss.
It’s like I’m seeing Natalie for the first time as she watches her sister and her nephews cross the grass.
I imagine Nat looking at our own kids like this—with undeniable adoration in her eyes.
Everything around me disappears, and there is only me and my beautiful bride standing by the water.
She’s gorgeous. Glowing. And although I’ve already vowed to love and cherish her forever, for better or for worse, I silently vow to never let the worse part of my vows diminish her dreams ever again.
I’ve always made it my mission to give her everything she’s ever wanted, and now I finally want to fulfill that promise. I want her to be as happy as Juliet. I want Nat and I to have our babies, no matter what comes next.
Nat takes the family’s photos, and I stand back and watch with amusement the absolute chaos that ensues.
The boys are rambunctious, and Nat tells them a hundred times to look at the camera and stand still. Cam bribes them with the promise of an ice cream outing when they’re done, and things go much more smoothly after that.
By the time Natalie announces she’s gotten enough photos, everyone is sweaty in the summer heat. Nat and Jules converge over the camera to click through the photos, smiling at the images between them.
“I’m hot, Daddy,” Archie whines in his little voice. I wouldn’t usually say this, but the voice is pretty cute. I can see why dads might have a hard time telling their children no.
“Want to take a swim?” Cam asks the boys.
The boys talk over one another.
“Really?”
“Can we, Daddy?”
He kneels down to the kids’ level and whispers, “Want to jump in the lake in our clothes?” Cam’s tired smile turns into one of pure glee and mischief.
Levi stares at him. “Really? In these clothes?”
I look over at Juliet, but she’s still talking with Nat about the pictures, totally oblivious of the plans the boys are making.
Cam nods, and then he takes off running down the dock, fully clothed and with his dress shoes on.
No, man, no. Not the nice shoes. I cringe.
Levi and Archie race after him with squeals of pure joy.
Juliet turns, finally hearing the commotion, and yells “NO” while racing after Archie.
Cam makes a running leap into the water first, going under with a mighty splash.
Levi cannonballs into the lake. He must be a good swimmer, because Cam didn’t seem worried about him following him to the water’s edge.
A second later, Cam pops out of the water, then Levi is meeting him at the surface.
Archie’s still running, his little legs no match for Juliet’s. She catches him with an arm around his little waist just before he reaches the end of the dock and lifts him from his feet. He squirms like the whole summer’s fun depends on this moment of joining his dad in the water.
“What was all that?” Nat stands by my elbow, placing her camera back in its protective bag.
“Cam told them they were going swimming in their clothes.”
She looks up. “Really?”
“Care to join them?” I ask in my most persuasive voice.
“What? In our clothes?”
I shrug. “Why not?”
The look she gives me isn’t one that says no. Instead, it looks like a challenge. She slowly lowers her camera bag to the grass.
“Well,” she says, putting a finger to her chin, “I have an extra swimsuit in the car. I can probably—” She takes off running for the dock.
Surprised, I lunge after her. Her head tilts back as she laughs toward the blue sky above, and the dock loses inches as we near the drop at the other end.
My boat shoes pound on the wooden planks, but, like Cam, I don’t stop to kick them off.
They’re not as nice as Cam’s, and they’ve gotten wet plenty of times before.
“Watch out!” Nat screams through her laughter, dodging a confused Juliet and a very squirmy Archie.
Natalie, in her neon-orange dress, makes a running jump. She flies through the air in slow motion to the soundtrack of lapping waves and Archie giggles. I follow suit and splash down next to her.
The water is cold, shocking my system as I sink under the surface. Below the water, it’s silent. I keep my eyes closed, and when I feel my downward momentum slow, I kick my feet to resurface.
Nat is already waiting for me above the water when I emerge. I swim to her, pulling her close to my body, and she wraps her legs around my hips. Cam swims in place a few feet away, Levi’s arms hooked around his neck.
“Nice of you to join us,” Cam says. He gives me a smile and a chin nod, and I do the same. He calls back to Jules, “Come on in! Bring Archie!”
“No, that’s okay. I don’t want to get this outfit ruined,” she shouts back.
“It’s just water.”
“Dirty water.”
Cam chuckles.
Nat turns in my arms toward the dock. “Come on, Jules. You’ve missed this, remember?”
Juliet bites her lip, fidgeting with the long sleeve of her lace shirt. It reminds me of a crocheted doily, but it looks nice on her all the same.
Nat splashes water at her sister. “If your outfit gets ruined, I’ll buy you a new one. Now get in here!” she shouts.
“Fine.” Jules rolls her eyes and lowers Archie—now smiling and squealing—into the water where Cam takes hold of him.
“That’s it, Jules!” I sing.
“Just jump right in,” says Cam. “Don’t give it a second thought.” He looks at Jules with pure admiration, the lines around his eyes softening as he watches her.
Juliet seems to be encouraged by his look alone, because she’s instantly plunging into the lake, laughing as her feet leave the solid wood. Her splash is small, but the boys are laughing and shouting “yay, Mommy!”
Nat’s body shakes as she laughs at the spectacle. I nuzzle my nose into her neck, and she presses her cheek against mine.
“Are you happy?” I whisper against the shell of her ear.
“Very happy.”
“You look beautiful.”
“What?” Her nose scrunches up and it’s adorable. “I look like a wet rat.”
“A very cute rat.”
“Rats aren’t cute. Their tails look like snakes, and they carry diseases,” she deadpans.
I bring my smile close to hers, water droplets visible as they drip from her nose. “You really know how to ruin a moment.”
“Oh, sorry,” she says, fluttering her lashes. “Is that what this was right in front of my nephews? A moment?”
A laugh escapes me. “I thought it was, but I’ve been wrong before. You’re right, though. We’ll save the moment for later.”
I bounce my eyebrows at her, and she laughs. It’s the beautiful twinkling laughter that I love. My stomach swoops at the sound as it joins in the chorus of the birds overhead and the lapping of the water against the dock, and I hope that life can be this wonderful forever.