He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed.
Tilly hugged her from behind, her voice muffled as she leaned in for comfort. “It’s still not fair, Mom. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Gigi tilted her head and watched April comfort her children.
“I know, babe, but there’s not much we can do about it.”
“I gather my brother has it all under control.” Gigi smoothed her hand over Leo’s head and smiled at April.
“Yes, he does. They’re leaving on the next ferry.”
“Let’s go up to the house and have some juice. I know Drew keeps some in the fridge. He won’t mind if we drink it.”
“I’d feel a bit rude doing that, Gigi. The children and I can go somewhere else.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it and neither would Drew. Come on.”
She guided them up the path to the front lawn of the house. “Now you sit and relax while I go and get you all something to drink.”
April sat down on the grass with her children while Gigi bustled off to arrange drinks. When she came back outside with a tray of glasses, April gladly accepted one.
“It’s so pretty sitting here watching the view. If you’re very lucky, you can see the seals playing just out past the point. It’s a shame you can’t see the orcas, but they’ll be down near California for winter. It’s too cold for them up here right now. Maybe next summer you’ll get to go out on a boat and get up close and personal.”
“That’s something to look forward to, kids. I’ll have to organize something nearer the time.” She remembered laying up her on the grassy knoll with Drew watching the whales breach around the point.
“Remember Winston Marlow?”
The nature loving little kid that hated to be inside? The same boy that could be guaranteed to have a dead starfish or fish skeleton in his pockets. “Yes, I do. How is he?”
“Got his own whale watching boat fleet now. Done really well for himself from what I can tell.”
“That’s wonderful. He was such an interesting boy. Didn’t want to go away to college, said he hated to leave the island.” She smiled at the memory. “He was the kid that was always at the beach, searching the rock pools for anything he could find. His mother must have been inundated with sea creatures every single day.”
“That’s him and yes, she was. Such a clever child and so interesting to talk to. When you want to go out, give him a call. I’m sure he’d love to take the children exploring.” Gigi pulled a folding chair over from the small outdoor table and positioned it near April. She sat down and leaned back, stretching her legs out. “This is the life. I doubt I’ll ever get sick of this view. Drew was very lucky getting this property.”
“Yes, he was.” April sipped her drink and tried to think of something to change the subject. The children downed their juice and then started to scamper and chase each other around the house. She opened her mouth to tell them to be careful of the new flower beds when Gigi touched her arm.
“Don’t go worrying about the children, April. There’s nothing they can damage here.” She watched them race around the corner out of sight. “They seem to have it all under control. You’ve done a good job bringing them up.”
“It’s not fair, Gigi. I tried to tell his parents when I discovered he was dabbling in drugs and again when it got really bad, but they wouldn’t listen. Even when they got the autopsy report and saw the amount of poison in his system, they still blamed me.”
“After seeing it in black and white? That’s just plain stupid.”
“I put it down to grief and gave them more leeway. Even that backfired on me. Do you know what they did?” When Gigi shook her head, April continued, “I tried to shield the children from the way Rob died; they didn’t need to hear the gruesome details. His parents told them one day when I dropped them off for a visit. Blamed me for his death to my own children!”
“No!” She sat forward in her chair, horrified.
“You can imagine the state they came home in. Leo had nightmares for ages afterwards and Tilly, well Tilly changed. The carefree child she used to be was suddenly gone. In her place was a more somber girl.” April picked at a strand of grass, running it through her fingers. “They’ve just about ruined any chance of having a relationship with their grandchildren because of what they’ve done to us and what Rob put in his will.”
“Tilly told me about that and the court case.” She put her glass down and looked out over the ocean. “What are you going to do? You can’t let them keep coming here and causing you trouble like that. You have a life to make for these children and they’re not helping any.”
April sighed. “I know. I spoke to Atticus about it. He suggested I take out a restraining order. I can’t think of any other option. We’ve already been to court when they tried to take the children from me, insisting I was to blame and didn’t deserve to keep custody of them.” She dropped her head and picked a blade of grass, keeping an eye out for the children so they didn’t hear the conversation. “The judge ruled in my favor, said they’d wasted the court’s time and my money. He was suffering from PTSD and none of it was my fault. He’d seen so many things that a human being shouldn’t have to. I can’t wait to get the final paperwork laying it all out including the courts suggestion that the children have nothing to do with their grandparents unless they’re supervised in future.”
“It’s a terrible thing, war. Nobody wins, April.”
“I know and I agree. I don’t
