behind her back. What could he have been thinking?
Shy
“Do you have any plans today?”
Olivia turned when Sophia asked the question. She’d been standing on the dock looking out over the lake, contemplating her life and where she was.
The quiet lake in upstate New York was so far removed from where she’d lived before—LA, Milan, Paris, Switzerland, Chicago, New York City, the list went on and on.
She’d traveled everywhere, sought as much knowledge as she could, went to fashion shows and pushed her jewelry line. She couldn’t regret those years, not even all the partying she did, or the reckless relationships. Older men, younger men, anyone that took care of her. Just like her mother. The one person she said she’d never become and yet somehow it had happened.
“No, no plans today.”
“Want to take the kids to the park with Kaitlin and me?”
“The park. You’ve got all this land and water and you want to go to a public playground?”
“Are you okay?” Sophia asked, tilting her head, seeing more than Olivia felt comfortable with.
“Sure. And the park sounds good.”
“You getting itchy feet?”
“No.” She didn’t want anyone to think she was. She wasn’t running and escaping when something didn’t go her way. Not like before. “It’s an adjustment, but in all honesty, I’m happy.”
“Really?”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I want to. I can see how happy you’ve been, but then there are moments like this when you are so quiet and I wonder if maybe you jumped into this too fast.”
Olivia looked around the lake some more. Six months ago she would have said she’d jumped into this too fast, but now that she was here and living it, she knew it was the right decision.
“I think I was heading this way all along. Maybe not here, but toward my own store.”
Sophia stared at her a little more. Olivia could tell there was more she wanted to say or ask, but Olivia didn’t feel ready to talk yet, so she breathed a sigh of relief when Sophia said, “So, the playground. Come on, add a little bit of excitement into your life.”
Olivia laughed. “Sure, why not? It’s the most excitement I’ve had outside of work since I’ve been here.” Which was pretty darn depressing.
***
“Don’t forget your glove, Daddy.”
“I won’t, Trey.”
Finn opened the hall closet and looked for his softball glove. He hadn’t had it out in years, probably the last time he played in a league, which was before Trey was born. But Trey had been talking about playing catch for weeks and Finn figured today was a great day for it.
The sun was shining, he’d gotten a good night’s sleep, all the chores were done, the laundry washed and folded, and the dreaded cleaning of the bathrooms over. It never seemed to end and he often wondered what a heel he was taking his mother for granted growing up.
Finding his glove pushed behind a few hats on the upper shelf, he grabbed it, then saw a New York Mets hat and put it on his head. Finally he reached for the matching hat for Trey and slapped it on his head fast when Trey ran by with his new glove in his hand. The one the Easter Bunny left two weeks ago.
“I wish we had a bigger yard, then we could play every night at home.”
A bigger yard would just be something more Finn would have to deal with. The little patch in the backyard with a fire pit and a sandbox that took him all of five minutes to mow around was plenty for him.
He didn’t care the houses were on top of each other either. He was happy his workshop—his old single car garage—took up a portion of the yard too. It was a nice family neighborhood and that was what he’d wanted when he found out he was going to be a father.
Ten minutes later, they were tossing the ball back and forth lightly as he instructed Trey what to do. “Hold the glove steady and let the ball drop into it. When you feel the ball in there, squeeze it shut.”
Trey was doing pretty good, better than
Shy
“Do you have any plans today?”
Olivia turned when Sophia asked the question. She’d been standing on the dock looking out over the lake, contemplating her life and where she was.
The quiet lake in upstate New York was so far removed from where she’d lived before—LA, Milan, Paris, Switzerland, Chicago, New York City, the list went on and on.
She’d traveled everywhere, sought as much knowledge as she could, went to fashion shows and pushed her jewelry line. She couldn’t regret those years, not even all the partying she did, or the reckless relationships. Older men, younger men, anyone that took care of her. Just like her mother. The one person she said she’d never become and yet somehow it had happened.
“No, no plans today.”
“Want to take the kids to the park with Kaitlin and me?”
“The park. You’ve got all this land and water and you want to go to a public playground?”
“Are you okay?” Sophia asked, tilting her head, seeing more than Olivia felt comfortable with.
“Sure. And the park sounds good.”
“You getting itchy feet?”
“No.” She didn’t want anyone to think she was. She wasn’t running and escaping when something didn’t go her way. Not like before. “It’s an adjustment, but in all honesty, I’m happy.”
“Really?”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I want to. I can see how happy you’ve been, but then there are moments like this when you are so quiet and I wonder if maybe you jumped into this too fast.”
Olivia looked around the lake some more. Six months ago she would have said she’d jumped into this too fast, but now that she was here and living it, she knew it was the right decision.
“I think I was heading this way all along. Maybe not here, but toward my own store.”
Sophia stared at her a little more. Olivia could tell there was more she wanted to say or ask, but Olivia didn’t feel ready to talk yet, so she breathed a sigh of relief when Sophia said, “So, the playground. Come on, add a little bit of excitement into your life.”
Olivia laughed. “Sure, why not? It’s the most excitement I’ve had outside of work since I’ve been here.” Which was pretty darn depressing.
***
“Don’t forget your glove, Daddy.”
“I won’t, Trey.”
Finn opened the hall closet and looked for his softball glove. He hadn’t had it out in years, probably the last time he played in a league, which was before Trey was born. But Trey had been talking about playing catch for weeks and Finn figured today was a great day for it.
The sun was shining, he’d gotten a good night’s sleep, all the chores were done, the laundry washed and folded, and the dreaded cleaning of the bathrooms over. It never seemed to end and he often wondered what a heel he was taking his mother for granted growing up.
Finding his glove pushed behind a few hats on the upper shelf, he grabbed it, then saw a New York Mets hat and put it on his head. Finally he reached for the matching hat for Trey and slapped it on his head fast when Trey ran by with his new glove in his hand. The one the Easter Bunny left two weeks ago.
“I wish we had a bigger yard, then we could play every night at home.”
A bigger yard would just be something more Finn would have to deal with. The little patch in the backyard with a fire pit and a sandbox that took him all of five minutes to mow around was plenty for him.
He didn’t care the houses were on top of each other either. He was happy his workshop—his old single car garage—took up a portion of the yard too. It was a nice family neighborhood and that was what he’d wanted when he found out he was going to be a father.
Ten minutes later, they were tossing the ball back and forth lightly as he instructed Trey what to do. “Hold the glove steady and let the ball drop into it. When you feel the ball in there, squeeze it shut.”
Trey was doing pretty good, better than
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