“Helping you doesn’t feel like work, babes. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked with my hands, and I’m loving it. It takes me back to my roots, to memories of my parents and childhood. Only this is even more enjoyable because I’m with you.”
“You know a lot about my childhood. What were you like as a kid?”
“I don’t know. Weird, probably,” he said as they looked out at the water. “I liked school, and I loved books of any kind. My father had a huge collection of novels, from classics to thrillers, and of nonfiction books on business and finance, which I devoured. I’ve had a knack for numbers since I was a little kid. I used to wake with the creak of his bedroom door and lie in bed until I heard him making coffee, and then I’d race into the bathroom and go as quickly as I could so I wouldn’t miss any time with him. I’d head into the kitchen in my pajamas, and the smell of his favorite coffee was the best thing in the world.”
“Was it the same coffee you drink now?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It was the one thing he splurged on, and every morning he’d make me a really weak cup of it. So weak, it barely tasted like anything more than bitter water. He’d share the newspaper with me, and I’d scour it the way he did. I can still remember the thrill of feeling like a little man—his little man—preparing to take on the day, just as he did. We’d sit with the finance section of the newspaper, and he’d teach me a little more each week and ask my opinion like it mattered, even at seven or eight years old.”
“Is that why you still read the newspaper? To hold on to the memory of your father?”
“Maybe. I never thought about why. I’ve just always done it.”
“What did you dream of being when you were young?”
He cocked his head, meeting her gaze, and said, “My father.”
“We’re quite an original pair, aren’t we?” She leaned her head on his shoulder, wishing she could always be this happy. She had a fleeting thought about protecting her heart and not jumping in too quickly, but she was already in too deep to pretend she wouldn’t miss him when he left.
“My father was the best, most honest man I’ve ever known, and my mother was loving and supportive of everything we did. When my mom found out she was pregnant with Remi, it was a surprise for them. I’ll never forget walking into her bedroom after I got home from school and finding her crying. For a split second I thought something had happened to my dad, but then she pulled me into her arms and told me I was going to have a sister or brother. She was laughing and crying, and when my dad got home, we celebrated. We talked a lot about how things would change with a baby in the house, and I remember thinking that I didn’t care what changed. I was going to have a sibling. My friends all had brothers and sisters, and I was finally going to see what all the hubbub was about.” He held her tighter and said, “I miss them every damn day. We lived such a simple life, and I miss that simplicity more often than not. My mother used to say It takes little more than loving and hopeful hearts to make a happy life.”
“I like that saying. It’s true. But your life with Remi sounded complicated; no wonder you miss the simplicity.”
“It was complicated. But my father made my career possible, and I wanted to make sure Remi had hers. My parents had nothing when they first married. It wasn’t until much later that my father started dabbling in investing with a pittance from their savings. When my grandfather, who had raised my father, passed away, my father invested the life insurance money. It turned out he had a knack for it, and eventually he started the business.”
“Your love of numbers comes naturally.”
“I’m definitely a chip off the old block, and proud of it.”
“What about sports? Did your dad play with you?”
“He wasn’t a sports guy, but he tried. He put up a basketball hoop in the driveway and we’d play, but by the time I was fifteen I could run circles around him.” He smiled, as if he were remembering playing basketball with his dad. “We had great parents, and I hope I make them proud.”
She leaned against him and said, “How could you not?” They gazed out at the water for a long while, each lost in their own thoughts. But hers kept tiptoeing back to the fact that he was on vacation, and no matter how good they felt together, they were only temporary. “Where will you go when your vacation is over?”
“I’ve got business overseas for a couple of weeks.”
“And then?”
“I might have to come back here. I’m getting a bit of island fever.” He kissed the top of her head and said, “Or maybe it’s Abby fever.”
Her heart did a happy dance. “You should find a remedy for that ailment.”
“I have.” He turned her in his arms with a playful expression and said, “It’s more Abby.”
“Workaholic Aiden might have something to say about that.”
“Three more weeks of this and Workaholic Aiden will have to claw his way back up to the surface.”
They hung out at the top of the lighthouse for a little while longer, admiring the view and taking loads of selfies together, half of which were of them kissing. When they headed back down to the beach, they took a long walk. The air was chilly, but with the sun on Abby’s cheeks and Aiden’s arm around her, she was plenty warm. As they collected shells, which Aiden insisted they keep as a reminder of their day, Abby told him that she and Deirdra used to put the shells they’d collected on the porch and fill them with birdseed. They made a sandcastle, which was on his list, and they slipped off their shoes to put their toes in the cold water. Aiden took pictures of their feet in the water for Remi and gathered Abby in his arms for more kissing selfies.
After a while they flopped down on the sand. Aiden lay back, pulling Abby down with him, nestling her head on the crook of his arm and chest, and said, “I think this is what Remi was talking about, what I was missing out on. And what you were, too.”
“What’s that?”
“Carefree happiness. Just being in the moment, not worrying about the sister I was raising, or in your case, the mother you were taking care of.”
“I haven’t played hooky all day since before my dad died, and that wasn’t playing hooky. That was being a kid.”
“Exactly.” He kissed her head and said, “I could get used to this, Abs.”
She draped an arm over his stomach and said, “Well, look at that. Aiden does know how to relax.”
“That’s all your doing, babe. You make me want to seize every moment, to experience it with you, not from behind a desk. No one who knows me will believe that, so . . .” He whipped out his phone and took a picture of them lying on the sand, with her draped over him. “You sure do make us look good.”
He showed her the picture, and she had the goofiest grin on her face. She had a feeling it would be there for the next few weeks.
They lay staring up at the crisp blue sky, serenaded by the waves crashing along the shore and the seagulls soaring overhead, talking about silly things like if they had superpowers what would they be.
“Teleportation,” he said. “Then I could be anywhere you or Remi need me in the blink of an eye.”