Page 70 of Lucky II

Seeing her, makes me think back on five summers ago. I say a short prayer of thanks to the Big Guy upstairs. Things could’ve turned out so differently and yet, somehow, we pulled through. It hasn’t always been easy but days like today make it all seem worthwhile.

Lucky takes my hand. “Walk with me?”

“Who’s watching the kids?”

“Polly has Lilac wrapped around her little finger and the other two are searching for crabs with Slate. We’re free for a bit if you’re up for it.”

“See you later.” I wave to Mel and Blake then take Loch’s outstretched hand.

We intertwine fingers and stroll to the ocean’s edge where the sand is hard and easier to walk on. Gulls take flight, sandpipers skitter, and a kite with a long tail dances in the wind.

My husband stops walking to slide his arm around me and kiss me in the breeze. I reach behind his head and hold him. His hands slip to my waist, then hips. For the longest time, we enjoy being together and alone.

When we stop, his eyes are full of heated lust. “We still don’t have a son.”

“Not my fault. Yours is the determining sex chromosome.” I grin back at him, knowing exactly where his mind is at.

“I’ve been thinkin’. I got only brothers and lots of male cousins. Odds are, the next one will be a boy.”

“If not?”

“We’ll have to keep trying. I’m no quitter. You made sure of it.”

“You ever regret not reenlisting again?”

He thinks for a while, the ocean lapping at our toes. “I always wanted to go back and prove I could be the man I was.”

“So, that’s a yes?”

“Nah. You made me a better man. You made me see how leaving that shit behind left room for what we got now. I wouldn’t change a fucking thing.”

“Me neither.” My heart overflowing with love, we turn and wander back to our colorful towels, chairs, and tents.

Tonight, we’ll put everyone to bed early and go up onto the top deck. Under the stars, we’ll make sweet, sweet love and let the ocean’s lullaby sing us to sleep. Happiness, I’ve come to realize, is not a gift that falls from the sky. More like a paycheck, it arrives after lots of hard work.

Arm and arm, we head back to our home, our friends, and our beautiful children.

The End