“Were you alone?”
“No,” I tell her.
“Oh, I thought I might get to be the first at something.”
“You are. I’ve never been here with someone I loved. Isn’t that enough?”
“It is.”
She looks out over the sand and the ocean we can hear. “Look, I want you to put everything out of your mind. Let me make this special for you. I can make you breakfast in bed, run bubble baths for you, rub your feet, we can lie under the stars and talk as late as you want. Tell me what you want and if it’s in my power, I’ll make it happen.”
“You don’t have to do all those things. I mean if you want to, I won’t say no.” That gets her to smile a little. “The only thing I want for these four days is to be the only one. I don’t want to hear from or talk about Hannah. I don’t want Gabrielle’s name in anything we do. Give me this weekend like it’s your first time here. That’s what will make me happy.”
“Consider it done, Merlin. This will be a honeymoon without the wedding.”
Hayley belly laughs. The giggles echo all around us. “That sounds like a perfect scenario for you, Mav. All milk, no cow.”
I give her my best smirk as I tug her from her rocking egg and pull her to the floor on top of me. She keeps laughing as she tries to squirm away from my grasp. Hayley eventually gives up and begins to lay kisses over my skin. Her lips are so soft and warm. I feel like I’m finally on ground I recognize and it’s… she’s beautiful.
Dylan
I didn’t know how this was going to work, me limping along in the sand and on the path to the Pier. My husband turns prince yet again. Just outside the front door is a scooter rental and we get one. It’s big enough to hold two, in case I’m not able to drive later. For now, I have Hayley hop on and we take off.
We’re both laughing the whole time as we weave in and out of the walkers and the boys are running terribly behind. After about a block, we stop and wait for them to catch up. “Are you getting old?” Hayley teases.
“Hey, I wasn’t prepared to be a speed demon,” Eli scolds, as he tries to catch his breath.
Wes gets behind Hayley and lifts her off the scooter completely. She lightly thrashes trying to escape his grip, but instead turns her head back to kiss him. We enter the far end of the Pier, and the shoreline looks endless. There are so many shops to see, places to eat, street artists to watch, but what I really want is to see that water from above. The closer we get to shore, the louder the waves are. They become a thing that is rather than a sound you hear. Eli comes in closer and lays his hand over mine on the handlebar and Wes and Hayley walk behind us.
We get to the end and look over. There are several people fishing next to us and on the platform below. I’ll never get over the vastness and the rhythm of the water. It has its own beat, its own pulse. It gives me ideas, strength, everything. The water is rushing below us and in front of us. This is one of the best places on earth.
We talk, laugh, and even are silent together with all the chaos around us. As we walk back, the Ferris wheel is the next must. We walk past a group of street musicians serenading the patrons at Pier Burger. They’re singing what my dad would call Doo-Wop. The four of us dance together in our own way. Eli sits behind me, and I spin our scooter in circles as he kisses my neck. Wes and Hayley lean into each other like they’re the only two people in the world. Score one for California.
The Ferris wheel line isn’t long. I park the scooter on the exit ramp and Eli carries me on board. We sit on one side and Hayley and Wes take the other. I ask to sit facing the water so I can see it as long as I can from this high. The world goes on around us while we rotate up and over. The wind is blowing my hair everywhere. I don’t have the heart to tie it back because it’s representative of how I think we all feel right now. That’s free.
We get to the bottom, and they stop the car for us to get out. Eli carries me back to my motorized chariot and the other two get off behind us. The door closes behind them and I watch Hayley lean into the downward railing. “Hey. Wes, grab her,” I shout as I can see the color leave Hayley’s face.
“Oh shit.” He holds under her arms as her knees weaken. “She needs to sit for a minute.”
“Hayley, talk to me. What’s going on?” Eli dashes to her other side.
“I’m just…dizzy. I think the ride and the air.”
“Eli, see if anyone has some orange juice on the promenade. Let’s find you a bench.”
“I’m all right. I’m okay,” she protests.
“Humor me for just a few minutes. There’s an umbrella with some shade at that table.” We get her to sit and drink part of the juice. Slowly but surely the color starts to return to her cheeks. “There we go. I’ve been there. Juice fixes it every time. The heights with the spinning and the extra air, it can be a killer cocktail in all the wrong ways.”
“I’m good now. Can we just move on with our day? I don’t want to be the focus.”
“Too damn bad. I think we can wander more tomorrow before the event. There’s no shame in being lazy. I think we all could use extra rest and relaxation,” Eli says.
“Is that what we’re going to call it?” Hayley asks.
“Because I’m your brother, absolutely we are.”
Chapter 13
Elijah
I don’t know how Colton does this for real. I’d be so terrified yet amped at the same time.
It’s race day.
It’s going to be a long and fun day. I go in to wake Wes and Hayley but find the curtains floating in the open door. One step in the room and the curtains move. They flutter away and I see the back of my sister’s head and her hand curled over my best friend’s chest. He’s holding on to her like he needs her to breathe. I know that feeling well.
I close the door behind me and head for the kitchen. Dylan, who’s mastered the crane technique to accomplish most anything, is standing at the stove making a quick brunch. “Are they coming to eat?”
“No. Get this. He pulled the mattress on the balcony so they could sleep outside.”
“Hmm,” my wife says, “brilliant move.”
“Is that a hint?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
***
We make it out to the track in time to be escorted down into pit row. Colton puts his much too large helmet on Hayley’s head, while I think Wes makes some joke about his over inflated ego. I’m getting a tour of the engine from Beckett while Rylee and Dylan look like they’ve been friends forever. It’s times like these I really go whoa…look at this family I have.
I shake Colton’s hand just before he zips up his race suit and we’re escorted up into the seats for the big show. I know they aren’t circling at normal speed or for the checkered flag, but the rpms roar past us so fast it makes my head spin, and my hands shake. This is the first time I’ve been near that kind of speed since my accident. I didn’t stop to think it would affect me. It does.