AllFreeNovel
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We both smell like sunscreen and are wearing matching Warriors hats, but his is on backward in that typical cool-guy fashion. I’ve been fighting the urge to flip it around since we got to the beach.
“How is your hat supposed to protect your face from the sun if it’s on backwards?”
Cooper rolls his eyes while crunching on the last of his ice cream cone. The umbrella I stuck in the sand the moment we picked a spot on the beach is doing a good enough job of keeping the majority of the sun away, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Not to mention, Cooper is a massive baby when it comes to his sunburn pain tolerance.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t wear your hat backwards too, Dad.”
I tap the brim of my hat, the one facing forward. “Not in the sun I don’t.”
“I’ll flip mine around when we actually go in the sun, okay?” he offers, sounding mighty annoyed with this conversation.
“Deal.” My phone beeps from my pocket, and I pull it out, sighing in relief when I see the message lighting up the screen.
Beth: I’m here!
Me: Look for the blue starfish umbrella
“Your mom is here,” I tell Cooper and put my phone away again. He nods once, wiping his hands on his Iron Man swim trunks. There’s a slight hesitation in his eyes, and it makes my stomach twist.
Cooper and Beth’s relationship is . . . fragile.
Beth has struggled with bipolar disorder since she became pregnant with Cooper, but it wasn’t until he was two and she faced a life-altering manic episode that she was properly diagnosed. Once she was, she brought him to me, asking for help, and not a day goes by where I’m not grateful for that.
Shortly after, she admitted herself into a psychiatric hospital, where she spent two years recovering and coming to terms with her past and what she could expect from her future.
By the time she left the hospital, Cooper was four. It took her another year after her release to feel confident enough in herself to reach out to me and ask to see him again. But it had been years, and Coop had grown into a whole person, one who felt betrayed and angry and refused to believe anything other than his mother abandoned him. That she didn’t want him.
It didn’t help Cooper’s viewpoint on the situation when Beth granted me sole custody of him, with the exception of her weekly visits. I easily agreed to the visitation, knowing she was doing something she felt necessary for herself and Cooper.
She never needed to do what she did, but she did it with the strength of a mother who wanted what was best for her little boy, and at the time, without stable ground beneath her feet or a family to fall back on, she saw that as me.
She’s grown in leaps and bounds since then, and we’re figuring out life as it comes. As a real family.
“Hi, guys!”
Cooper and I both turn at the same time to see Beth come bouncing over to our spot on the beach. She’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed today, and I’m glad. Those are her best days.
Sharp blue eyes catch mine and hold for a moment as she silently lets me know she’s okay. I nod and grab Cooper’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. His nerves are heavy in the early summer air.
“Aren’t you two just the cutest guys on the beach with your matching hats. I feel like I missed the superhero memo, though. Next time, I’ll come prepared in my best Marvel outfit to match those awesome Iron Man shorts,” Beth chirps when she reaches us. She’s wearing a pale yellow sundress today and slip-on sandals. There’s even a bit of colour to her usual pale skin, like she’s spent a few hours out in the sun.
“Would you be Wanda or Black Widow?” Cooper asks her.
Beth hums for a moment, scratching her chin. “Wanda.”
He nods, accepting that answer, and then turns to me as his mom drops her bag beside our small cooler and sits on his opposite side.
Cooper’s mouth twists to the side before he asks, “The Winter Soldier or the Falcon?”
“Crap, buddy. That’s a tough one.”
He shrugs. “I know who I would pick.”
I tip my chin at him. “Well, don’t leave me in suspense. Who’s your pick?”
“Nuh-uh. You first so I know you aren’t just copying me.”
“Fine. The Winter Soldier.”
