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“If you want to be at the hot pots when they boil, we need to go.”
She nodded and turned away from the moose. Alice looked over to Charlie, who seemed as equally awed and peaceful. “Charlie,” she said. “We’re leaving.”
He came toward her too, and he hugged her arm in both of his hands. “This is incredible, Mom. Thanks for bringing us on this trip.”
“You’re welcome.” She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly. “You’re getting along with Ginny, aren’t you?”
“For the most part,” he said, and they both watched the girl walking several paces ahead of them. “She stays up all night talking to Ray. It annoyed me last night, so we’re not on the best of terms today.”
Alice said nothing, but a frown came to her face. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Let me,” Arthur said, and Alice looked over to him. Their eyes met, and she nodded. Arthur had a way of saying things that Ginny heard far more clearly than when Alice said them. She’d told him about her choice in colleges and that she’d accepted her place at NYU before she’d told Alice.
Her ribs seemed to cave in around her heart, but Alice drew a deep breath and pushed them back out. She’d loved having her twins. Two babies at the same time had been difficult, but they’d always had each other growing up. They’d never been alone, and Alice had enjoyed raising them, connecting to them in different ways, and being their mother.
It hadn’t occurred to her until this year that she’d lose them both at the same time too. She wasn’t as emotional as Robin was about Mandie going off to college, but she did worry about Ginny and Charlie. For very different reasons, but she worried nonetheless.
They were both going to NYU. They both had dorms with people they’d never met before. Ginny would thrive on the responsibility of getting herself to class. She’d keep her space clean. If anything, she’d be the one driving her roommate nuts about how much trash she’d allow in the tiny dorms, and she’d be the one down the hall in the community kitchen making lunch and dinner while everyone else went out to eat.
Charlie on the other hand… Alice worried he wouldn’t be happy in a university setting. He’d never really liked school that much, outside of chemistry classes. He liked to sleep late, but Alice reminded herself every time she started to list some of Charlie’s lazier qualities of just how good her son was.
He’d told his friends they couldn’t come to the house if they brought pot. He’d broken up with his girlfriend instead of sleeping with her. He’d talked to Alice about everything, and he’d said some things against his father that had been extremely difficult for him to admit.
He held a lot of strength inside him, and Alice told herself not to doubt him.
“All right,” she said once they were all buckled back into the car. “Hot pots, and then to the lodge for our chuckwagon dinner.”
“Is it by Old Faithful?” Charlie asked. “I want to see that go off again.”
“Can we hike out to Swan Lake tomorrow?” Ginny asked.
Alice barley knew which twin to answer. “Yes,” she said to Charlie. “Dinner is near Old Faithful. I’m sure we’ll get to see it.” She looked over her shoulder to check for traffic. Transportation around this park was no joke, and they’d already been caught in a herd of buffalo, two traffic jams, and plenty of slow-downs.
“I’m not sure what we’re doing tomorrow,” she said to Ginny. “We’ll decide when we get back to the cabins tonight.”
“It’s card game night,” Arthur added, to which both twins groaned. They talked over one another about how tired they were, and they couldn’t possibly play card games after the hot pots, the dinner, and the drive.
“Oh, we’re playing,” Arthur said, undeterred. His grin filled the car with sunshine and love. “Charlie has to defend his win, or maybe a new leader will arise.”
Alice giggled, and she wished Arthur rode up front with her so she could hold his hand. She absolutely adored him, and she was so glad her life had taken such a sharp turn a few years ago with Joel Shields had died and she’d come back to the cove.
Later that night,while Arthur and the twins yelled and laughed over cards, Alice made hot chocolate and coffee to take outside to the picnic tables behind the cabins. The sun had started to set, and the sound of crickets filled the air. She set mugs on the table and dang near got elbowed by Charlie as he slapped a card onto the table.
“I’m never fast enough,” Ginny complained, but she wore a smile on her face. Arthur just laughed and laughed as Charlie pushed all the cards toward his sister.
“Hot drinks,” she warned, and then she sat on the end of the bench on Arthur’s side and looked at her phone.
I found the perfect place for that last-minute wedding, Robin had texted. Alice smiled, because she loved Robin to the core. No, they didn’t always get along. If there was anyone who rubbed Alice the complete wrong way sometimes, it was Robin. At the same time, Alice could simply look at Robin and have a complete conversation without a single word being spoken.
They worried in similar ways, and they had children the same age, which had bonded them further since Alice had moved to the cove.
Several of the other women chimed in to congratulate Robin, and Kristen asked her where the wedding would take place.
Tower Heights Beach, Robin said.On Pearl Island. I know it’s a lot to ask, but Mandie and I would love some help with the decorations on Thursday night and Friday morning.
Alice was returning from her trip out west on Tuesday night, and she quickly thumbed out that she’d be there to help.I can maybe bring the twins too, she said. Both Charlie and Ginny had jobs, and Alice didn’t have their schedules memorized. If they were available, she’d somehow get them to come help.
She realized the card game had quieted, and she glanced down the table. Only Ginny sat there, and she asked, “Where did Arthur and Charlie go?”
