He leaps up onto a knobby rock, arms out like an airplane until he finds his balance. “Thank you one and all! It has been years of training in the making and I am honored you all came today to witness my glory! I couldn’t have done it without you.” He locks eyes with me and jumps to solid ground and I, unfortunately, feel it everywhere.
Could he jump on me next?
My smile falters, and I try like hell to put a mask up like the one Tempest has perfected.
Returning our gear, the boys are reenacting their favorite moments of the afternoon, and Bennett looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him, his smile open and hazel eyes bright as he asks the group, “City Vineyard? My treat. Anyone hungry?”
Josh and Nax argue with him — all in fun — about his attempt to pay, unaware of the ticket girl behind plexiglass watching them leave. Christina doesn’t notice either — nor would she care — her attention fully on Elliot as she comforts him about his lackluster game, “It takes practice!”
Will and Joe bounce around the park ahead of us, drawn to anything that catches their interest. “Over here!” “Look!”
On purpose I fall behind to be with Tempest. Our destination is a short walk away, and I can tell she needs to talk. “How are you holding up?”
“Great,” she lies. “I’m great.”
“You’re disappointed.”
She flicks me a glance, mask breaking. “How can I be? You know what Christina told me last night after you left? Josh lost his wife last year. She wasn’t even sick!”
Ignoring a text message beep, I sigh, “I heard. It’s so terrible. Nax shared that with me last night, too, before I ditched him. What happened to her, do you know?”
Tempest tugs one of her small braids into place, refastening the bobby pin, frown deep and gaze locked on a cruel world she can’t quite understand. “Christina said she had a brain aneurysm. Josh had no warning! Last night I thought he wasn’t interested in me, but how could he be? And today it’s been so hard for him to enjoy himself. Didn’t you see him? If it weren’t for you and Nax being so much fun, I don’t think he would’ve smiled at all. I can’t take it personally, though sometimes it feels personal. Like he’s avoiding even looking me in the eye! but it’s not about me, is it? He’s heartbroken. And Will!” The restaurant is too close now, so she stops walking, sunlight reflected off the water dancing in her sad eyes. “He’s such a cool kid, and now his mom won’t be able to watch him grow up.”
“She’s watching over him, I know she is.”
With a pained look, Tempest closes her eyes. “I believe that, too. But it’s not the same, is it? Not for her. Not for him. Not for Josh.”
“You want to leave and go somewhere else?” I pull her in for a hug. “I won’t mind.”
Temp buries her face in my neck, squeezing me before pulling away on a deep breath. “No, I’m having fun.”
“Sure you are.”
She offers a weak smile, and we look over to find they’ve disappeared inside. “I don’t want to be anywhere else, Zia.”
Nax pops out of the entrance, crossing his arms with feigned reproach at how long we’re taking. “Is my challenger not hungry!?”
Tempest whispers, “He is so cute.”
“He’s alright.”
She chuckles and shouts for me, “What’re you waiting for, Nax?” as Josh comes out of the restaurant and stands beside his friend. “Aren’t you the type to order for us, being a gentleman and all?”
Josh’s eyes sharpen. He turns around, and disappears. I glance to see Tempest’s smile fall.
To save her I yell, “Are you kidding? After he couldn’t guess my wine last night, you think I want Nax ordering for me?”
He points at us, “Challenge accepted!” winks and disappears.
I mutter, “Tuck me, he is so cute! I have to be careful, Tempest. Really careful!”
We head for the double doors we’ve passed through countless times and my cousin cuts a look to me. “If you didn’t cause the divorce, then isn’t that okay to catch him after it?
“It’s complicated.”
“Extremely.” As we walk inside she sighs, “Welcome to my world.”
Nax
The nine of us are seated at a long table under a canopy of live vines on the lower patio, water calm beside us with a view of Jersey City’s skyscrapers watching us from across the river.
Reading the menu, I smack the table, “Oysters!”
Zia frowns, “Ew.”
“Oh, I wasn’t saying that for you. Excited for myself.”
“I don’t like the texture of them.”
“Why?”
“They’re slippery. And wet.”
“Sounds good to me,” I smirk to my buddies, “How about you, guys?”
Bennett’s smile tugs, and Josh’s lips twitch, his gaze held fast to the list in his hands.
Will and Joe overlap each other. “We had oysters in Maine.” “I didn’t like them!”
Bennett dryly mutters, “You will one day.”
I counter, “Maybe not,” implying they might not be into girls. We’ve yet to find out. He locks eyes with me, bouncing his head once that I’m right. We’ll see.
The sisters exchange amused glances, but Zia stares at her menu, humming.
I mimic her, “Hmmm?”curious what’s on her mind.
“I guess that means I’ll have a large hot dog?”
Christina snort-laughs, making Bennett grin at her.
I somehow — miraculously — manage to keep a straight face as my son innocently tells her, “They don’t have hot dogs. I looked.”
Elliot informs us all, “We had hot dogs last night,” as if we didn’t know, “But they were normal sized. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to eat three.”
Bennett stares at him. “You had three hot dogs?”
“No, actually…” He pauses. “I had one, two, three, four.”
Everyone laughs, even Elliot which is rare from my limited experience of him over the short month that I’ve been here. Except when his dogs are with him, he’s a stoic boy. At first I thought he was emulating his father out
