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“It’ll be easier. I promise.” She stroked his arm. “You did a good job. Such a good job. The best job. I should buy you a T-shirt that saysNumber One Dad…”
Then they both added,“For A Day.”
He burst out laughing.
She reached for another bite, but it took her a moment to figure out how to navigate it into her mouth when she could barely hold up herself.
CHAPTER19
Joel, yawning, scrubbed a hand down his face and waited for Ayesha to come to the door. Initially, he’d planned to stay in Maui for at least two more weeks, but a call came in. He had to be on a plane in less than an hour, but even though it was five in the morning, he wouldn’t leave without seeing them first.
She opened the door.
Theo was asleep in her arms.
“I wanted to make sure I saw you guys before I left,” he said. “Is Josiah u—”
Josiah crashed into him, and he crouched to better return the hug.
“Be safe, Joel,” Josiah said, the words muffled against his shirt. “Please don’t die, okay? Come back. Please, come back.”
“I’ll come back.”
“To Maui.”
“I’ll come back to Maui,” he promised. “If I can’t, I’ll send for you guys to come to me.”
After he found the strength to release Josiah, she angled Theo so he could kiss Theo’s forehead and smooth his hair, exactly what his mother used to do before he left for school in the mornings.
“I have something for you.” Ayesha pulled a long rectangular case from behind her back. “It’s not much, and if you don’t like it—”
He squeezed her hand, took the case, and raised the lid. Inside, nestled in silky white fabric, sat a sterling silver fountain pen. Words that looked distinctly Polynesian were engraved along the pen’s sleek body.
“That’s Hawaiian,” she said. “In English, it says ‘To Joel: Number One Dad…For A Day.’”
A rush of emotion almost bowled him over. A rush he hadn’t planned for.
“I got it engraved in Hawaiian, so most of the people who see it don’t think you’re some deadbeat parent because it’s an inside joke, you know?” she explained. “But if it’s weird, I can take it back. I just thought it would be kind of a quirky—”
“It’s not weird.” He paused, needing a moment for gratitude and appreciation to release his neck from their chokehold. “Ayesha, this means more than I could ever tell you. It’s not weird. Not at all.”
This pen would travel the world with him, no matter where the team went, and he would keep it on him even if he had to staple it to his chest.
He leaned in, kissed her cheek, and hugged her as tightly as he could with Theo between them. Then, as he leaned back, he kissed her cheek a second time.
“Be safe,” she said.
He nodded. “I will.”
“Before we know it, you’ll be back, and the months will fly by, and it’ll be time for the long-awaited Wolfe-Diaz wedding.”
“Yeah.” He sighed through a laugh. “Before we know it.”
Eventually, he coaxed his legs to move to the car parked in the driveway. However, before he got inside, he turned and took one more look behind him. Ayesha sent him an eager wave and then readjusted Theo.
He waved back.
“I almost forgot!” Josiah yelled. “I love you, Joel!”
