by Ciara Shayee
Baby steps, Laker constantly had to remind himself.
Marley’s huff was audible, even from Indie’s and Laker’s positions outside the fort. She stuck her head out of the opening, looking between the adults with a wide, mischievous smile. “I’ve decided what I want for my prize.”
“Your prize?” Indie asked.
“Mmhmm. You know, for seeing the house first? Laker said I can choose later, if I want.” Marley looked to Laker, who was wearing a small smirk. “Laker, I want you to sleep in the fort with us. That’s my prize.”
“It’s up to Mamma, Little Sweet.”
Marley’s eyes swivelled to Indie. The pleading, puppy-dog look would have broken her even if she had wanted to say ‘no.’
“Get in the fort, Laker,” she sighed, waving him in with an encouraging grin.
Marley disappeared with a giggle and a soft cheer. Laker gestured for Indie to go ahead first, then failed miserably at averting his eyes from the view as she crawled into the fort, clad in just a pair of tight, black leggings and a loose tank top. When he made it inside a few seconds later, willing his over-eager body to calm itself, the sight was almost too adorable for him to bear.
Marley and Bodhi were sandwiched in the middle—Bodhi still comfortable in his nest. Indie was sitting to their left, leaving a gap big enough for Laker over on their right. He was grateful to see she’d left him the side with the highest section of roof. He crawled into his spot, unable to resist pulling his phone from his pocket to take a photo. He switched the camera to selfie mode and held it out with his left hand, angling it so that all four of them were on the screen before snapping a couple of shots.
“Is it good?” Indie murmured. She smiled wide when he handed over his phone and showed her the photo he’d quickly set as his home page. They both looked tired, and Marley was sleepily holding her stuffed bunny over her head with droopy eyes, but it was a beautiful picture.
“I’ll send it to you,” Laker promised as he took his phone back and set it down beside him, checking that he’d switched off his alarms. Indie copied, then they both peered over Marley and Bodhi with soft, sleepy expressions.
“Are you comfy?”
Indie nodded. “Very. You?”
“This is perfect,” Laker sighed, even though he knew ‘perfect’ didn’t even come close to how right this set-up felt.
“’Night Mamma, ‘night Laker,” Marley mumbled, rolling onto her side to face Bodhi. Indie and Laker whispered their goodnights, but it was obvious she was beyond responding when her soft snores began only seconds later.
They smiled at each other over the babies’ heads, and fell asleep quickly.
~ oOo ~
The following morning, over omelettes, bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice courtesy of his cleaning service stocking the fridge, Laker reached for his phone with trepidation as it rang, spinning on the table-top.
“Are you gonna geddit?” Marley mumbled around a mouthful of eggs and bacon.
“Manners, baby girl. Don’t talk with your mouth full, please,” Indie chided gently, offering Laker a soft, reassuring smile when he looked to her as he answered the call.
“Nonna, how are you?”
Indie busied herself with feeding Bodhi, unable to resist snapping photos of his egg-covered face to send to their family back home. It only took a minute or so for the replies to pour in.
Just like his Pawpaw! Tell the kids Pawpaw loves them. Love you too, Indie. And give Laker our love – Pawpaw Reagan.
Aw, bless him! I miss you guys so much :( Give Laker big cuddles from all of us! Hope Connie and Enrico are okay xxxx – Grace.
Good boy, Beesy! Hope you’re all good. – Ryan. Short and sweet, but perfectly to the point.
We’ll see you shortly, just leaving the airport. Give those babies big kisses from Mimi and Andy! <3 – Sarah.
Indie glanced at the clock. It would take around an hour to drive to Laker’s house from the airport. Judging by his fidgeting, he might have already left to head to the hospital by then. She quickly responded to Sarah telling her so, and was surprised at her response.
Are you not going with him to the hospital? xx
Truthfully, Indie hadn’t thought a lot about what would happen when she was rushing to the airport yesterday. She’d been heartbroken about Laker’s departure and stressed about Marley. She hadn’t moved from her bed since he left, even with the bribe of pancakes—her absolute favourite. Even when Archie arrived just ten minutes later, Carl-Roman and Chase in tow, she’d refused to leave her bed.
As Indie had gone downstairs to see what was wrong with Archie, Marley’s sobs had shattered what was left of her optimism that they’d be okay when Laker eventually returned home.
Then Archie explained what had happened—why he was at his father’s house before six in the morning.
Indie stared at her brother’s weary face, his red-rimmed eyes and blotchy cheeks. “Archie…what’s wrong? Tell me, please—you’re scaring me.”
“Kristen’s gone,” he muttered.
“What do you mean, ‘gone’?”
Archie huffed and raked a hand through his hair. The desolate look in his eyes made Indie’s chest hurt; she snuggled Bodhi close, inhaling the sweet scent of his baby shampoo from his curl-covered head.
“We argued…again. Nothing new there. She was supposed to have gone to New York on Saturday for some client meeting. Did you know that?”
Indie hesitated. She did know that, but only because she’d seen paperwork on the hall cabinet. The kids had knocked some papers down while they were charging around and she’d paused to right it. Her reading had improved a lot since her return to England, so she’d been able to make out the general gist of the writing. There were two airline tickets from Gatwick to JFK, and the details for the reservation at the Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel.
Indie didn’t want to admit that she’d noticed the reservation was for two people and only one room.
“She mentioned an upcoming trip last week, but I didn’t know she was supposed to go yesterday,” she hedged.
“She was meant to fly out Saturday afternoon. When I told her that she couldn’t go because of the party, and asked why it couldn’t wait until the following morning, she said ‘it’s too important, I have to be there.’ She couldn’t understand why I was upset or why I was frustrated at her for putting the meeting before me and my birthday. I asked why she had to be there and she just said that she’s up for a big promotion, but she’s been saying that for years now. It’s always another promotion, another trip, another crucial meeting…” Archie breathed out a shaky exhale, looking as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
“Did you know…Kristen’s never once been here for either of the boys’ birthdays? She’s always missed their parties, and I don’t think she’s ever picked out a present for them. I do all of that. I buy the gifts and make the cake and invite everybody. She actually forgot Carl-Roman’s fourth birthday. She was in Europe…somewhere, I can’t even remember now…and I called her to see if she wanted to say ‘happy birthday,’ but she was in a meeting or something. Her phone was switched off. When she called me back she asked what I wanted and why I’d called, knowing that she had a bunch of ‘critical’ meetings.”
Listening to Archie speak, Indie had never felt so sad for her brother. Outwardly, he had it all. A pretty fiancée, two gorgeous sons, a good job which was flexible enough to allow him a leave of absence, though it would soon end, and a house to call his own. He had a loving family which had been put back together again after a horrific crime, and he had his health.
But looking at him now, seeing the downtrodden man who constantly put up a happy front for his loved ones, Indie felt nothing but hate for Kristen. She’d whittled away at him behind closed doors for so long, never showing her true colours in public.
“Daddy?” Carl-Roman appeared in the kitchen doorway, baby Chase walking at his side. The boys were holding hands, their faces mirroring their dad’s sorrow.
“C’mere, boys.” Carl-Roman hurried Chase and melted into Archie’s embrace when he scooped both boys into his lap, holding them tight against his chest.
“Daddy, where’s Mummy? Why did she pack all her clothes? Is she going on a long trip, this time?”
Indie’s heart broke at the look on Archie’s face. How could he explain that Kristen wasn’t coming back? Indie was no expert on relationships, but she’d seen enough of her brother’s relationship and Kristen’s absence to know that she wouldn’t be spending a lot of time with her boys. She’d never wanted to before, and without Archie’s pestering she likely wouldn’t now, either.
“I’ll give you a minute,” Indie murmured, pausing to kiss each of their heads in turn—Carl-Roman, Archie, Chase—before leaving the room. As she made it to the doorway of the living room she heard Archie begin.
“Boys, I’m sorry, but your Mummy has gone away for a while…”
Indie and Bodhi remained in the living room for almost an hour before Archie and the boys joined them. Chase was too young to really understand what was going on, and was happy enough with Thomas the Tank Engine on the TV. However, Carl-Roman was more subdued than usual. He snuggled into Indie’s side on the sofa, leaving Archie to sit on the chair opposite. He looked marginally better. Relieved, almost; like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Are you okay?” Indie mouthed.
Archie paused, seeming to take stock of his emotions, before nodding and managing a weak smile. “I’m…surprisingly okay.”
A few minutes passed before he gasped. “Shit, Indie...Laker! He’s gone this morning, hasn’t he?”
The reminder of Laker’s absence hit her like a sledgehammer to the heart. She gulped, misery sweeping through her veins. “Yes,” she whispered.
Archie’s face fell. “I’m sorry. How’re you holding up?”
“We’re fine, we’re fine,” she mumbled, almost more to herself than to Archie, like she was trying to persuade herself that she was fine.
“Where’s Mars? She still sleeping?”
“No, she’s…” Indie sighed. “She’s heartbroken, actually. Inconsolable. I don’t know how she’s going to deal with this. I’ve been wondering and worrying about what would happen when Laker inevitably left us, but I guess now we know.”
Now Archie had never been good at hiding his emotions when they were kids—he hadn’t gotten better at it with age. This was how Indie knew he was itching to say something, but stopping himself.
“What? What is it?”
“Well, why was Laker inevitably going to leave you? Jesus, Indie! Any fool can see he loves you three to pieces. Until Rico got sick he had no plans to leave. Between you and me, he’s even been talking to Dad and Uncle Pete about projects they’re working on.”
Indie frowned, confused. “Why would he want to know about their projects?”
“Houses, Indie. He’s been asking about houses. To live in? He doesn’t want to live with Andy and Sarah forever.”
“I don’t…um…” Indie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Laker was looking at houses. To live in. In Eastbourne.
And he loves you, Indie’ subconscious added. And Marley and Bodhi.
“His music earns him a lot of money, plus he’s got that trust fund from Enrico’s parents. He’s not hurting for money, squirt. And the houses he’s been asking about? They’re not for one person…”
This time, it didn’t take any time at all for Indie to work out what her brother was hinting at.
Laker’s looking at houses for himself…and me, Marley, and Bodhi.
In a way, it seemed awfully presumptive of him to be thinking that way. But Indie couldn’t deny that with every passing day, her feelings for him grew stronger, more intense.
More permanent.
He’d already admitted that he loved her, Marley, and Bodhi, so why wouldn’t he think about the future? A future in which they could live together, in a house of their own, if that’s what she chose.
The idea petrified Indie. Her heart raced and pounded a rapid tattoo against her ribcage. But it also warmed her. The images the idea conjured were sweet and pleasant, and felt warm as they wrapped themselves around her mind and weaselled their way into the fissures of what she’d imagined her future to look like. She could live with Laker in a home where they raised Marley and Bodhi together, where they lived happily as a unit and cooked together, hosted barbecues for their family and supported one another.
Suddenly, the idea of Laker being alone in Italy seemed abhorrent. Indie couldn’t stand the thought of him being there in that big house, worrying about his beloved Nonno and Nonna by himself. Why had she let him go without offering to go with him?
Frustration boiled within her chest.
But she’d never make it there in time. And she couldn’t leave Marley and Bodhi, so she’d have to organise their things as well as her own, and find some way to get there.
Archie chuckled, pulling her from her half-formed plan. “Do you need a ride somewhere? The airport, maybe?”
They were delayed when they realised one very important detail—Marley and Bodhi’s car seats were in the back seat of Reagan’s car, which was most likely just arriving at Gatwick.
This subdued their frenzy somewhat, so they’d spent the next hour playing with the children while waiting for Reagan to return. As soon as Indie told Marley about her plan to try and catch Laker at the airport, she was revitalised and more excited than anybody had ever seen her—she whizzed around the house, her voice loud and smile bright. Carl-Roman was a little jealous that Marley was getting to go back to ‘the cool house with the awesome pool’ until Archie reminded him that he had to go to school and he had a football game with his team in two days.
Mollified, he turned his attention to his trains, helping Chase build a track around the living room.
Everyone froze when they heard the sound of Reagan’s car rolling onto the driveway. Indie and Archie locked eyes—one set nervous, one gleeful.
Archie had wondered how long it would take for Indie and Laker’s blossoming relationship to become glaringly obvious to his dad. He was fairly confident Reagan suspected something was happening, but he knew their deeper connection would be unable to deny after this.
“Pawpaw!” At the sound of keys in the door, Marley, Carl-Roman, and Chase ran to greet their beloved pawpaw. Bodhi toppled forward from butt to all-fours to follow them, Indie scooping him up just as he made it to the doorway.
“Pawpaw, we're goin’ to see Laker!”
Indie winced, hearing her dad's confusion when he asked what Marley meant, reminding her gently that Laker was going to Italy. “Do you think he'll be mad?”
Archie snickered; he was enjoying this far too much for his sister's liking. “I honestly don't know, squirt.”
For the first time, it occurred to Indie that she'd never had the chance to do this. Never had to request his blessing to do anything like this. As a teenager, she'd never had to beg to go to parties or to concerts with friends. She'd never had to plead to go away for the weekend, or go on a date with a boy.
And now she was asking for him to let her go to Italy.
Sure, she was an adult, and her choices were largely her own. She had money in her account from the fund Reagan set up when she was born, and she’d packed the essentials for herself, Marley, and Bodhi to last them at least until she could get to a shop in Italy.
All she needed was Reagan’s blessing, because she'd have hated to go without it. And Indie knew she was going. She had to.
“Indie? What's this about going to Italy?” Reagan appeared in the doorway with a creased forehead, Chase in his arms, and Carl-Roman and Marley at his sides.
Here goes nothing…
Needless to say, Reagan had agreed—and had apparently contacted Riley while Archie drove her to the airport with two ecstatic children.
Bodhi slapping at the table pulled Indie from her memories. She looked down at the phone i
n her hand, realising the screen had gone dark. Waking it up, she tapped back a response to Sarah, promising to do whatever Laker wanted her to, before tucking it into her pocket and refocusing on Bodhi.
Laker was just finishing his call. He set his phone down with a huff and pulled hard at his hair with both hands.
“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.
His eyes lifted to her, their beautiful green lightened by the tears swimming within them. “Nonno's stable, but…not good. He’s…he’s probably not got a lot of time left.”
“Oh, Laker,” Indie breathed, feeling her own eyes filling with tears. “I’m sorry.”
“Laker, what’sa matter?” Marley asked, leaving her chair to clamber onto his lap. She wrapped her arms and legs around his torso like a baby monkey clinging to its mother, snuggling her head under his chin. He sighed, looping his arms around Marley and holding her close as he lowered his head, sucking in a deep breath against her curly hair. The sheer sorrow written in his features broke Indie’s heart, defeat bowing his frame as he hunched over Marley.
“Nonno Enrico is poorly, baby girl,” Indie answered for him, seeing that he was struggling to find words. She mopped Bodhi’s face clean, then lifted him from the highchair and moved to take the chair Marley had recently vacated. She edged closer, reaching out to rest a hand on Laker’s shoulder. Marley tilted her head, peering at her mother from behind a curtain of chocolate ringlets.
“Is he in the hop-sital?”
Indie smiled slightly. “Hospital, baby. Not hop-sital. Yes; Enrico is in the hospital.”
“Like…um, like when baby Bodhi was born?”
“Yes.”
Marley frowned, squeezing Laker when he inhaled a shaky breath. “So, um, the doctors are looking after him? And giving him med’cine?”
“Yes, the doctors are looking after him and trying to help him feel better.” Indie paused, because she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to promise that the doctors would be able to help Enrico. It wasn’t likely at all that they’d be able to, and she didn’t want to break Marley’s heart by making promises she wasn’t able to keep.