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KYLE: Glad to hear it, Drake. Will let George know. I’m sure he’ll be pleased. Will make sure we have a team ready to go when you return. We can meet when you get back and clarify your needs.
DRAKE: Good. For the first while, I don’t want Kate to know. I’ll break it to her gently. Don’t want to worry her too much, considering everything that happened before.
KYLE: Understood. All you need to remember is the red cup and you can rest assured that Brimstone is there. Cheers.
DRAKE: Thanks again.
* * *
The next morning,we spent together as a family, sharing a large, delicious brunch, which Kate and Elaine fixed for us. We sat on the patio and watched the water, enjoying the good weather. I told everyone about my experiences while in Manhattan, how I’d met with colleagues, signed a contract with NYP and had visited with Liam.
I didn’t tell them about the man who I felt was watching me, or that I hired the security company to protect me while I was there.
Or that I hired them back on a permanent basis.
I didn’t want that to spoil the happiness they felt at our return.
“It’s going to be like old times,” Ethan said, smiling at the prospect of us all being back in New York.
“Except better. I’ll have the robotic surgery unit, and we’ll have Liam with us,” I said, a real sense of happiness filling me.
“What’s on the agenda for today? When are the movers coming?”
I glanced at my watch. “They should be here to start packing after lunch. We can stay at the hotel tonight, and then after we check out the house when the movers are finished, we can spend the day at the beach, and we’ll catch our flight back to New York Wednesday. Everything’s in place for our return to 8thAvenue until we find a more permanent place.”
“When is the custody hearing?” Ethan asked, turning to a more sombre topic.
“In a couple of weeks. We have all summer to work things out, so I hope by the time the school year starts, we’ll have custody settled and a permanent place to live.”
“I hope so,” Kate said and squeezed my shoulder. “It would be nice for Sophia and Liam to start school together. Do you think Maureen and Chris will agree without a fight?”
I nodded. “I think Maureen will be busy getting ready for her baby. Chris will be busy settling into his new job. Liam living with us during the school week will make things far simpler for them, given their new circumstances.”
“Do you think she’ll want Liam during the week when she has the baby? Maybe she’ll want him there more often…”
“Don’t worry,” I said and squeezed her hand. “She and Chris will be so busy dealing with their own issues to want to create one over Liam. I think having him on the weekend will be great for them. No making sure he gets to school and back every day. No after-school activities to attend or games to watch. Having him on the weekends is just a lot easier for them. I’m sure it will remain that way. When he’s older, he may want to switch, but we’ll leave that up to him. He wants to be with Sophie and go to school with her. Maureen and Chris won’t want to alienate him by forcing him to live with them if that’s the way he feels.”
“I hope not.”
* * *
The movers cameafter lunch and started packing up our possessions. We’d already packed our suitcases and our most prized possessions, but the rest was left for more experienced workers to sort through. While they packed, we sat on the patio and enjoyed the warm summer afternoon, the sound of the surf in the distance making me want to always live by the ocean.
“I’ll miss this place,” I said, my arm around Kate as we stood at the end of the property and watched the waves crashing onto the beach. “I hope we can find a nice home for the four of us when we get back to New York. Will you be okay with Ethan and Elaine living in their own place? You’ve had your father with you for the past three years.”
“It’s what they want,” Kate said with a sigh. “If they change their mind, I told my father I always want them to live with us. Once he recovers enough, he wants to enjoy a garden of his own. He already raised his own kids. Maybe he wants solitude.”
“If they want to, I’m happy for them. I just don’t want them to think we want them to live apart from us.”
“No, it’s their choice.”
* * *
When the time came,we drove to the hotel in town and got settled in, with Ethan and Elaine having their own suite and Kate, Sophie and I having our own. At dinner, we ordered food to be brought in, and ate some delicious Indian food. On the menu was butter chicken and naan, rice, and Channa dal. We even ordered lassi, the yogurt drinks that Kate loved, Gulab jamun and rice pudding for dessert. The Gulab jamun, sweet, deep-fried cake-like balls drizzled in syrup, was Sophie’s favorite.
All in all, it was a pretty stress-free day. Hiring the movers to pack up for us was a godsend. It allowed us to relax as a family and enjoy our last day at the house that we had grown to love during the past three years.
After we tucked Sophie into bed in the suite’s bedroom, Kate and I sat on the sofa in the adjoining room and watched news, wondering what it would be like to move back to the States after living in England for the past three years. Life was getting back to normal in the US as far as Covid was concerned.
