by Ciara Shayee
~ oOo ~
“See ya later, little dude. Come back again soon, a’right?”
Bodhi nodded sleepily, sucking on his binky. “I will.”
Indie smiled; Bodhi would be asleep before they hit the main road just a mile or so down the track.
“It was nice to meet you, Miss Indie,” Tyler enthused when she turned to him.
“You, too, Tyler. Thank you for your help with Bodhi. You’re great with him.”
Tyler shrugged, his cheeks glowing crimson. “Aw, I’ve got two little brothers. I’m used to rugrats.”
“Still, I appreciate your help.”
“All right, Ty, I’ll see you tomorrow. Be good!” Sarah called, climbing into the car once she’d changed out of her muddy boots into a soft pair of ballet flats.
“See ya tomorrow, Sez! Bye, Miss Indie!”
As they sped down the driveway toward home, Indie sighed and relaxed into the buttery leather seat, turning her head against the headrest to face Sarah. “Thank you. I really needed this. The time sped by!”
It was true—the time flew by once Sarah set her and Bodhi to work measuring out kibble for the dogs’ lunches. The clock on the dash read 2:10 p.m. In just a half-hour, Indie would need to go back out to pick Marley up from school. She pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly typed a message to Laker.
I – Are you home? xx
L – Almost. Where are you? x
“It was my pleasure, hon. I thought it might keep you busy.”
Indie smiled, attaching a photo of Bodhi having his hair nibbled by a rambunctious Labrador puppy to her next text to Laker.
I – Sarah took us volunteering. Bodhi made a new friend xx
“It certainly did that. I’d have gone stir crazy sitting at home all day. And Bodhi clearly loved it.”
Sarah giggled and stretched up to look at Bodhi in the rear-view mirror. “Look at your boy.”
Indie twisted and snapped a photo of him. Bodhi had fallen asleep, his head tilted against the side of his seat, a line of drool escaping from behind his blue binky. He had Mr. Bear clutched in his lap and was out like a light, just as expected.
As they turned onto the main road, which would take them home, Indie felt her phone vibrate with an incoming call. Laker, Marley, and Bodhi lit up the screen with Laker’s self-appointed new moniker below.
Hubs is calling.
Indie knew when she called his phone, an image of her and the children came up with ‘Wifey is calling’ written underneath.
She was trying not to think too much of it. They weren’t married, of course, but Laker’s new love of acting as though they were and nicknaming her ‘Wifey’ spoke volumes about where he saw their relationship heading.
“Hey, handsome,” she breathed.
“Hey, mi amore. So, are we now a family of five?”
Indie felt a pang in her chest, her mind jumping to thoughts of being a family of five. Laker, Indie, Marley, Bodhi…and number five.
“Um…what do you—what do you mean?”
He chuckled. “The puppy? Was that your subtle way of telling me we’ve got a dog?”
“Oh! Oh, no.” Indie felt Sarah’s eyes on her, no doubt wondering about the embarrassed flush on her cheeks. “He’s already reserved.”
“Hm. You don’t sound happy about that, mi amore.”
“Well, Ralph—the puppy—was very sweet. Bodhi loved him. I honestly wasn’t sure we were going to be able to leave without him, at one point. I almost snuck him out under my jumper just to stop the inevitable tantrum, but Bodhi was really good.”
Laker hummed again. “So you’d be amenable to a dog, then? For the kids?”
She hesitated for a moment. Would she? She was well aware that it would be left to her to look after a dog as Laker worked, Marley went to school, and Bodhi was too little but would eventually be going to school, anyway. The idea of some company, even the four-legged kind, did have an appeal. Plus, the kids would be overjoyed. They loved to visit Mark and Josie’s Boston terrier, Bonnie, and always spent the subsequent hours after their visits begging for a puppy of their own.
“In the future, I suppose,” she eventually hedged.
“Bene! Very good. All right, so you’re on your way home? We’ll probably get in at the same time. Ray let me go early so we can take our girl for ice cream.”
“Bodhi’s fast asleep, handsome. Ice cream may have to wait.”
“I can take him,” Sarah offered, flicking on the indicator before turning onto their street. “I’ll take him to my house and bring him right back when he wakes up, if you want?”
“Tell her ‘yes,’ mi amore!”
Indie laughed; apparently, Sarah spoke loud enough for him to hear. “That would be lovely, thank you, Sarah. But please—”
“Don’t tell him,” Sarah finished her sentence with a soft laugh. “I know. Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out.”
“Sarah is going to take Bodhi back to her house,” Indie told Laker.
“Okay, good. I see you.”
Her eyes darted around instinctively, an automatic smile spreading across her face when she spotted him.
He was leaning against the side of his car in the driveway. He had his ankles crossed, arms folded across his chest, crooked, double-dimpled grin firmly in place. He’d cut the sides of his hair but let the top and his beard grow out at Indie’s request, so he looked like the stereotypical builder—dusty black t-shirt, torn jeans, worn work boots and all. As they glided to a stop at the curb outside her father’s house, Indie sighed girlishly. Her fingers itched to run through his hair, her lips desperate to be joined with his.
“All right, I’ll let you go get our girl. Give her kisses from Mimi, okay? I’ll see you in a bit. Don’t rush back, though. Andy and I will take Bodhi to the park if he wakes up before you’re back.”
“Thanks, Sarah. You’re a star. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Each step from the car toward Laker felt like the Grand Canyon. She took the last few at a sprint, but stopped inches away from making contact.
“Hey, mi amore.”
Indie smiled up at him, abruptly shy. “Hey, handsome. Good day?”
“Much better now.”
His voice was slightly husky yet somehow also smooth. Above all, it was warm. He reached out gently to run his fingertips over her jaw, tickling his way back to the soft skin behind her ear; she shivered.
“Cold?”
“No,” she breathed, exhaling a long breath of relief when he wound his free arm around her waist to tug her towards him. Indie fell against his body and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, stretching up onto her tiptoes to press a featherlight kiss to his lower lip. For a guy, he had wonderfully full lips. They fit perfectly between and around her own. “I love you.”
Laker hummed, letting his tongue glide out to caress her lips before pulling back with a grunt. “I love you. But we have to go get our girl, and if we carry on like this, she’ll be standing there thinking we’ve forgotten about her until tea time.”
With a grin and one last peck on his lips, Indie stepped back and resting her hands behind her back. Laker made a soft sound of want and frustration in the back of his throat, leaning in to kiss her forehead just once.
“All right, let’s get going.”
The drive to Marley’s school didn’t take long, so Indie and Laker were soon walking hand-in-hand down the corridor to her classroom. The windows separating it from the hallway were decorated with owl stickers in all shapes, sizes, and colours. Laker paused in front of Marley’s peg, a wistful little smile on his face as he reached out to trace the people she’d drawn within the letters of her name above it.
“That’s us, isn’t it?” Indie asked softly.
“It is. Everyone, actually. There’s Arch, Ryan, Grace…Ray, Peter…I think that’s Carl-Roman and Chase...they’re all in there somewhere.”
“You must be Marley’s parents.”
Indie and Laker swung to face t
he deep-voiced arrival. He was almost as tall as Laker, with jet-black hair and almost-black eyes, tanned skin, and a lanky frame. Indie frowned, then realised who he must be.
“And you must be Jake’s dad. He looks just like you. I’m Indie, Marley’s mum, and this is her dad, Laker.”
“Nice to meet you both!” The man smiled, flashing bright, white teeth. “I’m Nicholas, but most just call me ‘Nick.’”
Nick shook their hands, then grinned even wider. “All Jake talks about is ‘Marley did this’ and ‘Marley said that,’ ever since their induction last week. I think he’s got a bit of a crush.”
Indie squeezed Laker’s hand, hard, feeling him tense slightly.
“Aw, I don’t think so,” Laker ground out, his eyes almost pained when Indie glanced up at his face. “They’re just kids. They don’t even know what a crush is.”
Nick laughed; the sound annoyed him, though he didn’t know why. “I dunno. He seems pretty infatuated.” He leaned in to nudge Laker with his elbow, thankfully missing the way Indie muffled her laughter at her other half’s consternated expression. “We could be related one day, man. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
Laker was just about to tell him how that was never going to happen when the bell rang.
“Saved by the bell…” Indie giggled under her breath.
“What was that, Indie?” Nick asked pleasantly, bringing a teasing smile to Laker’s face.
“Hm? Oh, nothing. I’m just excited to see my girl,” she said brightly, smacking Laker to stop him from laughing when Nick wandered away to talk to another set of parents.
“God, he’s a loon. No way in hell are we going to be family one day,” Laker muttered, eyes trained intently on the door as it slowly swung open. The kids came to the doorway one-by-one, Miss Bailey asking them to point out their parents to be called over to collect them.
Indie was looking up at Laker, but she knew the exact moment Marley came into view. His lips stretched into a wide, crooked grin. His Daddy-smile. He only wore it for his Little Sweet and Tesoro.
He took her hand and led her toward the door, Indie’s eyes falling to Marley. Her bunches were non-existent, her curls wild and eyes bright as she leapt into her mother’s arms with a squealed “Mamma!”
“Hey, baby girl,” she laughed, crouching and squeezing her daughter to her chest. She smelled like grass, her strawberry shampoo, and cookies. “Did you have a good day?”
“I did!” Marley breathed, pulling back to beam at Indie.
Miss Bailey laughed, drawing Indie and Laker’s attention from their daughter for a moment. “You have a very intelligent, sweet little girl.”
Marley was clearly delighted with the praise; Laker was, too. He glowed with pride as he scooped Marley into his arms and smothered her with kisses.
“Thank you. We certainly think so,” Indie murmured.
Once Miss Bailey had given them a quick run-down of Marley’s activities, they thanked her and headed off with their girl skipping between them. Their offer of ice cream was received with excitement and an exuberant ‘yes, please,’ so they were shortly pulling up outside her favourite shop.
“Mr. Pops’ Ice Cream Shop!” She cheered from the back seat.
“Do you want your usual, baby girl?” Indie asked, pointing Laker and Marley toward their usual seat—they always sat on the picnic bench overlooking the beach, because Marley liked to try to count the seagulls swooping overhead and bobbing on the surface of the water.
“Yes, please, Mamma. Um, and please can I have some sprinkles? Chocolate ones.”
With an indulgent grin, Indie nodded and headed inside. There was no need to ask Laker which flavour he wanted—like Marley, he always had the same.
“Indie!”
Indie’s smile widened, the owner of the store hurrying around the counter to wrap her in a tight hug. “Hi, Jase. How are you?”
“Just dandy.” He pulled back with a cheery twinkle to his light brown eyes. “How’d our girl’s first day go?”
“She did great. We have ‘a very intelligent, sweet little girl,’ according to Miss Bailey.”
Jase beamed. He and Marley had struck up a bond when she, her parents and brother became regular customers in his ice cream shop. She adored the exuberant, flamboyant man, and he, in turn, spoiled her with extra toppings. “Well! That calls for the Marley Special!” Jase leaned in closer to Indie, mischief curling his lips. “Did you bring Marley’s delicious DILF with you?”
She sputtered a laugh, Jase positively gleeful as he released her and returned to the other side of the counter to begin preparing the Marley Special—which was basically a mound of ice cream with every topping imaginable and what always appeared to Indie to be an entire bottle of chocolate syrup.
“I’ll be right out, sweet thing. You go take a seat. You want your usual?”
“Yes, please,” she giggled, grabbing a handful of tissues from the stand—no doubt Marley would need them.
When Indie stepped outside, she was surprised to see Laker standing and talking to an unfamiliar couple, Marley bouncing around with a little boy who looked to be a year or two younger than her.
“Ah, here she is! This is my Indie,” Laker said with a grin, tucking her under his arm as she made her way over with a smile. “Indie, this is Cameron and Lily, and Little Sweet is playing with their son, Milo.”
With a grin, Indie surprised herself by not tensing when the other woman threw her arms around her for a greeting; then she shook Cameron’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you both!”
Cameron grinned with a soft chuckle, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the kids squealing and kicking a football around. “Your daughter is beating the crap out of my boy at soccer.”
“Oh! You’re American?” Indie gasped, immediately recognising the twist to his words. She smiled, her eyes dancing over to the children. They were having a whale of a time, their laughter attracting the attention of people walking past and sitting outside the nearby café.
“We are. We’re over on a…what d’you call it, Lil?”
Lily rolled her eyes with an affectionate, indulgent smile in her husband’s direction. “A familymoon, dear.” She looked at Indie, shaking her head. “He can remember every single stat from the Superbowl five years ago, but he can’t remember the world ‘familymoon.’ I’ve had to remind him every day.”
With a light laugh, Indie squeezed Laker’s waist. “I think that must be a man thing, to be fair. Laker’s not so good at remembering things like that, either.”
“Hey! Laker, man, we’re being ganged up on, here!” Cameron protested teasingly, mirth in his pretty grey-blue eyes.
By the time the ice creams came out a few minutes later, they were all fast friends; Milo had even declared Marley his new best friend. Marley shared her monstrously big ice cream with him, and both Indie and Lily took a myriad of photos of the pair smothered in syrup and ice cream as they giggled about meaningless things.
The women shared indulgent smiles as Cameron and Laker argued over whether or not American football was better than English football—American was winning until both men came to a sudden halt and swivelled on their seats to face the kids.
“Oh my God…” Lily giggled as Indie stifled her laughter at the constipated look on Laker’s face.
Perfectly innocent in their five- and seven-year-old heads, Milo and Marley had no idea that offering up ‘her cherry’ was anything other than a kind gesture from her to him.
Laker made a soft sound of protest in the back of his throat when Indie stood and looped her arms around his neck, resting them against his chest and her chin on top of his head. “Never happening.”
Cameron roared with laughter, though his ears were tinted pink with a touch of embarrassment when Milo eagerly accepted the seemingly innocent red berry.
While Laker tried not to squirrel Marley away to a convent so she could never give away any cherry, literal or figurative, Indie and Lily made sure to add one another on any s
ocial media platforms they shared so they could keep in touch, both the children and the dads looking a touch bereft when they reminded them they had lives to get back to.
“See ya, Mars!” Milo yelled as Cameron carried him away on his shoulders.
“Bye, Milo!” Marley called, waving her hands wildly above her head as she walked backward between her parents, almost tripping over a small, rocky wall before Laker’s hands shot out to steady her.
“Thanks, Daddy,” she grinned, blowing him a kiss as she righted herself and jogged to catch up with her amused mother.
“That’s okay, Little Sweet,” Laker chuckled. “So, was that a good enough celebration?”
“Yep! It was fandabidozi!” Looking between her bewildered, laughing parents, Marley flashed her teeth in a bright smile. “What?”
“‘Fandabidozi?’” Laker asked curiously.
“What? Mimi says it.”
Indie rolled her eyes, winking when Marley peered up at her. “Well! If Mimi says it…”
The trio strolled happily, Marley holding her parents’ hands as they meandered along the promenade overlooking the seafront. Indie sighed, gazing out at the sea. It was low tide, the moss-covered rocks visible in the shallow ocean, the seagulls enjoying the food made easily accessible by the extra expanses of sand.
“Mamma, what’s for dinner?”
Turning towards her daughter, Indie sighed with a small smile. “Surely you can’t be hungry already!”
Marley giggled, shaking her head. “No! I just wanna know.”
Laker scooped her into his arms to carry her the last few meters to the car. She squealed and clung onto him, leaning in to press a trio of loud kisses against his stubbly cheek. “What were they for, Little Sweet?” he asked, wearing his ‘Daddy Smile’ and soft eyes.
Marley shrugged, “I just love you, is all.”
Indie silently shook with the restraint it took to hold back her laughter. Marley had him wrapped around her little finger, that was for sure. Three…two…one…
“Hey, Indie? How about we treat the kiddos to pizza tonight? You know—special occasion and all that.”