Page 49 of Tides and Tidings

“After the movie is over!” I heard my mom yell from somewhere offscreen.

Wren got so close to the phone that all we could see was up her nose. “I wanna stay up until you get home tomorrow.”

“Absolutely not.” Blythe stepped in. “Wrenny, you have to go to sleep. The quicker you fall asleep, the quicker we’ll be home to see you.”

Wren sighed heavily before rubbing her eyes, “Fine. Did you get me any presents?”

My parents get her a present any time they go away, so now Wren assumes there will be a gift from anyone who leaves town for more than a day—a bad precedent to set if you ask me.

Blythe nodded at the phone, “It’s a surprise.”

“I love surprises!” Our six-year-old cheered.

“Wren, why don’t you let your parents go? You’ll see them in the morning.” My mom stepped into the frame.

Wren pouted, “Fine. I love you.”

“We love you more!” Blythe answered for the both of us.

I couldn’t be more thrilled that Wren and Blythe hit it off as well as they had. When Wren found Blythe crying on the bookstore floor, little did they know they would become best friends.

“Sleep well, Little Bird. We’ll see you in the morning.” I added before the call ended.

“She’s the best,” Blythe commented, speaking about Wren.

“Couldn’t agree more.”

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and laced my fingers with Blythe’s. “Where did you want to grab a water?”

We scanned the street before Blythe said, “There’s a convenience store down there. We can just run in.”

As we entered the store, the clerk at the register eyeballed us. The way he looked at us, you would think we were about to rob the place. We grabbed two water bottles and headed over to him.

“I bet you see a lot of people in here at this hour.” I tried to break the ice.

“Usually couples only buy condoms.” The clerk deadpanned.

“Ah.” I had no idea how to continue that conversation.

We paid and were out of there.

Blythe and I downed our waters while standing in front of the convenience store.

“Where to next?” Blythe glanced up at me.

I pointed two blocks up. “Do you see that blue neon sign?”

She nodded.

“Right there. Is that too far to walk with your shoes?”

Blythe laughed, “No, my feet are numb now.”

“We could head back to the hotel,” I offered an alternate solution.

“Oh hell no. We’ve already said good night to Wren. We’re golden.”

Blythe