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I find myself smiling and singing along to the songs I know.
I glance at the rearview mirror every so often. Luna is asleep and she doesn’t wake up during the forty-five-minute drive to the bay. I use the navigation system in my car to find my way to Park and Rachel’s new home. When I left, they lived in an apartment on Rothrow Street.
I whistle under my breath as I drive into Hudson’s Height. It’s clearly an affluent neighborhood, worlds away from the apartment they lived in when they first got married. They’ve clearly done well for themselves and that makes me feel good. It couldn’t have happened to better people.
“This is a nice place,” Lexi says.
“It is,” I say and swallow hard. We can’t be more than twenty minutes away from the home I grew up in.
Pangs of longing come over me, but it’s been so long since I communicated with my parents I wouldn’t know how to start. If I’m honest, I still harbor a lot of resentment. No point in dwelling on the past, I tell myself and kill the engine.
I turn to look at Luna. Her small body heaves as she snores loudly. I chuckle.
“I didn’t know babies snore,” I tell Lexi and she clamps her mouth with her hand to contain her laughter.
“Me neither. And loudly.”
“We shouldn’t wake her up,” I say. “She looks so peaceful sleeping; it would be wrong to wake her up.”
“We can’t just sit in the car,” Lexi says.
“Why not?” I proceed to open all the windows to ensure that the car doesn’t get too hot. We’re parked next to a huge towering tree that’s providing nice shade.
Lexi snaps open her seatbelt and tucks her legs under her. The sundress she’s worn rides up, revealing her smooth thighs.
“Wait!” she says suddenly. “I can see the water!” She points between Park’s home and the next one.
She’s right. The sight of the water brews a longing in me to be out there in my sailing boat.
“Your friends must be very successful to afford to live this close to the water,” Lexi says. “It must be out of this world to wake up to such a view.”
“I’ll take you out on my sailboat one day,” I tell her.
She stares at me incredulously. “You have a sailboat?”
“Yes, but I haven’t seen it in two years. I left it under the care of Park and Rachel. They run a sailing tour company.”
“Cool!” Lexi says. “That would be awesome.”
“Mama!” a sleepy voice says.
“Hello, sleeping princess,” Lexi says to Luna and then turns to me. “She calls me and Vanessa Mama.”
I admire the close relationship the two sisters have. It makes me think of Declan. Now that I’m in Santa Monica, his betrayal looms large. I can never trust him ever again and what’s the point of having a relationship with someone you can’t trust?
“Can we go in now?” Lexi says. “Luna is getting cranky.”
“Yes of course. Do you want me to carry her?”
“Sure,” Lexi says.
Luna stretches out her hands as soon as I open the back door. Just seeing her makes me smile. Vanessa is lucky to have her. Lexi carries a small bag and together we walk up to the front door. I press the bell and moments later, it swings open.
Park stands there grinning and so do I.
“I can’t believe you’re home!” he says.
I shift Luna to one side and he and I man hug. “It’s good to be home.” Wherever Park and Rachel are is home.
“And who is this princess clinging to you?” Park says.
At the word Princess, Luna turns to Park.
“Ace, you never said! She’s the spitting image of you,” he exclaims.
I laugh. “I wish.” I take Lexi’s hand and introduce her to Park. “Luna is her niece.”
“Kacy will be happy to have a friend. Welcome to our home, Lexi,” Park says and ushers us in. “We’re all at the back.”
We chat as we follow him through the living room and the kitchen. The house is massive and as beautiful inside as it is outside.
The highlight of the house however is the backyard. It has a lounge complete with a seating area and a fire pit. I’m surprised to see several people relaxing around tables set on the lawn.
“Rachel suggested a barbecue to welcome you home,” Park says apologetically. “I tried to dissuade her, but you know how she is.”
“Yeah. It’s fine,” I tell him. I recognize a few faces from a distance. My gaze sweeps across the lawn and follows Rachel as she disengages from a group near a bouncy castle and makes her way to us.
“You’re finally here!” she says when she gets within hearing distance.
Luna wriggles and I quickly get the message. She wants me to put her down. I lower her gently just as Rachel reaches us.
I envelop her in a hug. “Hi.”
