Page 27 of Tides and Tidings

“Mom…” I sighed. “I wasn’t sketchy. I’m 99.9% sure she has no idea. I just—don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Oh, you’re nervous. Really nervous.”

“No shit.”

“Language, Charles.”

“Sorry, mom.” I reverted to the eight-year-old me. “But yeah, I’m nervous.”

I turned to look into the window, and Blythe and Chelsea had made their way to the chairs; their conversation was still going. She looked so at peace and in her element. Seeing her like that made my heart happy.

“Don’t be.” She comforted me. “Hold on, Wren is here.”

“Hi, Daddy!” Wren’s sweet southern drawl echoed through the phone.

“Hi, Little Bird. What’s up?”

“I thought of something I want for Christmas.”

“Which is…?”

“I want a Barbie Jeep like Birdie’s.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t know if they make those anymore.”

“Why?” I could hear her pout through the phone. I’d do anything for this kid, but I have no idea where I would even begin to find a Barbie Jeep like Blythe had nearly three decades ago.

“I don’t know. Let me see if I can find it.”

“Okay. Thank you. Bye!”

The call ended.

Blythe

Aside from the cuticle picking, seeing Charlie on the bench in his white T-shirt, black windbreaker and black jeans had me wondering what I had done right in this life to have such a beautiful man. Dayum.

I sat beside him, “Is everything okay with Wren?”

“Oh yeah, she’s fine.” His eyes met mine, “She just wanted to alert us that she would like a Barbie Jeep like you had when you were a little girl for Christmas.”

My heart lurched, “Just from what I told her a few weeks ago?”

“Apparently that had a lasting impact.”

“I’m sure we could find something similar for her.” I fought the urge to pull out my phone and start looking for one. “Are you okay?” I observed the look of apprehension on his face.

He immediately straightened up, “Yeah, why?”

He was a terrible liar. “You just seem like something is wrong. Just making sure you’re good.”

“Never been better.” He wrapped his arm around me. “Where to next?”

“We have two hours before we have to go back to the hotel to get ready. What did you have planned?”

“I was thinking we could just walk by the riverfront. Maybe pop into some of the stores?”

“That sounds wonderful.” I snuggled into his side and rested my head on his chest.