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I didn’t want to lie to him and tell him that she would be back soon. I also didn’t want to give him the truth that she might never come back. I was stuck between a rock in a hard place, and I had no idea how I was going to be getting out of it. All I could really do was hope that Christian liked Jeremy and Jasmine and with time things would become more normal between all of us.
All I could do was hope.
Jasmine
Thesmellofsalthit my nose as we began to drive along the west coast to reach Newport. We had just left Portland not too long ago, and I knew I could have taken a faster route to reach Newport. I wanted to go along the coast and be able to check out the scenery. I had moved Jeremy over to the other side of the car. I didn’t like it when he wasn’t behind me for safety reasons, but there weren’t many cars out this way, and I wanted him to be able to see the ocean better. His face was currently glued to the window as his little mind tried to take it all in.
I was having my own trouble taking the sight in. The ocean wasn’t a foreign concept to us. We saw it all the time in Miami. People had said that the west coast was different than the east coast. I never fully believed it. An ocean was an ocean after all. However, seeing it for the first time, I was struggling to keep my eyes on the road. There were massive cliffs and various little islands. Huge rocks that were poking up through the water closer to the shoreline. The beaches in Newport were going to be breathtaking, and I couldn’t wait to take Jeremy to see it.
I had done a bit of research on Newport, and it seemed like a great town. It was a very popular tourist town, and I wasn't sure how it would feel living in it. I had been to plenty of tourist towns during my travels before I got pregnant. I knew there was a different vibe. They were great to visit, but you always leave them. I didn’t know how it would feel to live in one. I was gonna get to see though.
I did like that there were a lot of things that I could do with the kids. I had never watched more than one kid at the same time before, so I was a bit nervous about that. Getting them outside and doing something was going to be a huge help to make the time pass in the day. Mostly, I was just hoping that Christian and Jeremy got along. If they didn't like each other, it was going to be a living nightmare. Jeremy was very easy going and laid back, so I was hoping Christian would be the same. I was worried that he wouldn’t be though.
“Look Mama!” Jeremy called out, and I turned to look to see a lighthouse.
“It’s a lighthouse. Do you know why that’s there?”
“Trolls?” he said with a giggle.
“That’s a really good guess. It’s not for trolls though. Well, maybe it is. I don’t know. I’ve never gotten to see a troll going into one. We might have to check out a few lighthouses to see if we can spot signs of a troll. What do you think?”
“Yes please!” he cheered excitedly, and I knew he was going to be thinking about it until we went.
“I think we could make that happen. But the reason for a lighthouse is so the big boats and ships don't crash into the beach or cliffs at night. At night it would be completely black and they wouldn't be able to see anything. The light at the top of a lighthouse would show them that danger is nearby, and they should avoid getting too close to it.”
He’s been very interested in fish and the ocean recently, and I had been trying to encourage him to keep learning about it. Even when we watch Finding Nemo, I always tell him about a different fish, and I ask him about the ones I taught him about to see if he can remember the type of fish they were. I tried to stick with what held his interest as the trends come and go. I find it’s easier for him to be interested in learning more if he’s already interested in the subject.
“Big bulb?”
“You know, I would imagine it is one of the largest lightbulbs in the world. I wouldn’t want to try and have to change it. Did you know there are also lighthouse keepers? When they first started to be built, someone would live in the bottom of the lighthouse and their whole job was to make sure the light was working. Now most live in a house close by.”
“Scary, no thank you.”
His tiny body gave a little shiver, and I knew he was thinking about how dark it would be. He was terrified of the dark, not that I could blame him. Lots of scary things can be creeping around in the dark.
“I think they got used to it. Plus, I bet you the sounds of the waves helped to soothe any fears.”
He gave me a look, and I could tell he wasn’t fully convinced on that one. He turned his attention back to his window as we finished the drive into town. Liam’s address put him more on the outskirts so as we got closer we couldn’t really get to see the actual town, and I was looking forward to going exploring with the boys this week. Hopefully, Christian would be down for it.
As we pulled into the driveway, it was hard not to gawk at everything. The house was pretty big, bigger than I would have expected for just two people. I wasn’t certain if Liam preferred the life of luxury or his ex-wife. Please let it be the ex-wife.
“Okay, Buddy, we’re here,” I said, as I parked the car. I had no idea where I was supposed to be putting it, but I didn't have a remote for the garage door so in the driveway it was going.
“Wow,” he said, amazed as he tried to take it all in. Yeah, definitely going to be taking some time to get used to it all.
I got out and went over to get him. I would need to empty the car, but I could do that once I figured out where we were living. Liam said he had a guest house. I couldn’t see it from the front so I had to assume it was around back somewhere or maybe the basement was set up for a nanny suite.
I took Jeremy’s little hand within my own, and we walked over to the front door. I rang the doorbell, not really sure what I was supposed to do. We were going to be living here, but it wasn’t like I could just walk inside. After a minute I could hear the lock being disengaged, and the door opened to reveal Liam on the other side. He was dressed in a suit, minus the jacket, and I figured he must be working. I mean really, why else would he be wearing a suit when he was just relaxing at home?
“Hey,” I said slightly awkward.
My heart was racing now that I was standing here. All I could think of was that Liam would realize he was Jeremy’s father, and I would be trapped in a custody battle with a fucking billionaire.
“Afternoon, come on in,” he said as he moved back, and I walked inside. Jeremy was quick to hide behind me. I knew this was going to be hard at first, but I was truly hoping that Christian would help to make Jeremy feel more welcomed.
The sight of the inside wasn’t all that surprising, but it was at the same time. It was all very fancy furniture and art on the walls. But everything was white. The tiles, the walls, the coffee table was glass, the furniture was white leather. Seriously, what parent has white furniture? And how the hell was it so clean in here? Do the maids just follow them around?
“You have a lovely home,” I managed to say, because I had to say something. It’s not like I could ask him if he was a psychopath.
