Whispering Waves

by Jamie Berris

  The fun part was that it sounded as if they would be traveling to Florida, South Carolina, Massachusetts, and possibly California. Really? Did they need to go to such lengths? Benton insisted yes, and since he was a pilot for a local steel company, he assured them that he would be able to use the Learjet 60XR to travel to the boat shop. The president of the company he flew for owned a 70ft. Hatteras himself and said he would love to escort them on their trip.

  Marissa and Andrea laughed that Mr. Spooler would have no interest in shopping for dinghies with them, but Benton insisted he was a down-to-earth man who would be honored to show them the ropes of the boating world. Spooler spent more time on his boat than in the office these days, and he had urged Benton in the past to buy a boat. From time to time, he would text Benton pictures of different boats for sale.

  So while Kurt and Benton threw around facts and opinions about Sunseekers, Carvers, Tiaras, Sundancers, Ferretis, and a Mondomarine M60, Marissa and Andrea soaked up the sun and talked about books they had recently read and which were good enough to exchange.

  Contentment. That was what Marissa was feeling. She was happy to be alive. The accident had rocked her world. She and Kurt were talking marriage. As if Lydia’s death hadn’t been a constant reminder to all of them about how short and precious life is, the accident was.

  The kids were all getting along, and her relationship with Sadie and Jayna was what it once was, even better. Nicholas, well, Marissa loved him with every ounce of her being. She and Andrea had become great friends, and the two couples hung out often. Marissa wasn’t sappy, but every now and again she had to pinch herself because just like that her life had done a one eighty, and she felt she was the luckiest, most blessed woman on the planet.

  When Marissa really thought about it, she realized this was the happiest she’d been in nearly a decade. Her marriage had been rocky for a solid two to three years before the divorce. Then came Lydia’s pregnancy, her illness, her death, and the struggles that came after . . .

  She shifted her weight in the beach chair and leaned forward to stretch her hip. Physical therapy had gone well, especially since they were all encouraging each other through it. If the saying was true—that tragedy comes in threes—she was glad it was behind her: her divorce, Lydia’s death, and the car accident. Done. Nothing but bliss from here on out, please.

  Paige, Cody, Sadie, and Travis were playing Frisbee in the water with Nicholas while Jayna, Chrissie, and Liz were off, hopefully not getting into too much trouble, in town. Jayna was a bit on the wild side, but nothing Marissa couldn’t handle. She often laughed at the stunts Jayna pulled: the sneaking out, getting caught downloading papers on-line, grabbing a car’s bumper while riding her rip stick, “misplacing” her phone when Kurt sent texts that she needed to head home, and just being an adventurous daredevil. She reminded Marissa of Lydia, especially during their college days. She had no fear and very few boundaries and limits.

  So, yes, Marissa could tolerate Jayna’s sometimes erratic behavior and drama. She had the patience and love for Jayna to reel her back in when necessary. When Kurt felt helpless and was ready to give up and Sadie screamed at Jayna, calling her reckless and immature, Marissa would intervene. She knew how to relate to Jayna in a way her dad and sister didn’t. She knew it was how Lydia would have handled her wild child.

  She loved seeing her best friend’s mannerisms, looks, and personalities through her children. Sadie’s and Jayna’s voices resembled Lydia’s so much that sometimes Marissa would be caught off guard, thinking Lydia was speaking to her, only to turn and see her replicas, especially in Jayna.

  Nicholas definitely resembled Marcus, but thankfully, there was nothing about his personality that was his father. Kurt had molded him into a caring and polite little guy. He looked a lot like Lydia and Paige. The two of them were no doubt blood-related. Paige often commented on this, and Marissa reveled in how Paige gloated over it.

  Even though Kurt hadn’t asked Marissa to marry him yet, they had talked not about if, but when. When they finally got around to marriage, they would buy that boat and remodel the basement. Marissa would need to list her house, and they decided Marissa would legally adopt Nicholas, and give Sadie and Jayna the option, as well. As of now, it was about enjoying the rest of the summer and the parting of so many dark clouds.

  Chapter 62

  Kurt

  On an unusually hot Saturday in the middle of September, Kurt woke up and decided today was the day. He was going to propose to Marissa. He took a cup of coffee and sat out by the pool and watched the birds. He just sat and thought quietly, listening to nature, the sprinklers, the hum of the pool heater, and the roar of the air conditioner on the side of the house—that really needed service. But, in all of that, he felt incredibly sure that the time was right.

  He had bought the ring three weeks ago. What was he waiting for? This, he guessed. Waking up one morning and feeling it, really feeling like today was the day.

  He saw movement inside, Nicholas wandering aimlessly, most likely looking for someone to make him breakfast. Kurt and Nicholas went to wake Jayna first, since she took the longest to rouse, and found her room empty.

  “Check Sadie’s room, Dad,” suggested Nicholas. He was thrilled to be waking up his sisters!

  Jayna was sleeping on the window bed, and Sadie and Paige were in Sadie’s bed. Kurt forgot Paige had slept over and thought twice about telling the girls his plan with her there. He quickly decided the time was perfect to talk to them all at once.

  Kurt didn’t have any fancy way of dropping it on them; he just knew now was the time. Without any preparation, Kurt just blurted, “What do you think about me asking Marissa to marry me?”

  Silence ensued for a second as the girls all sat up and looked from one another to Kurt. Nicholas shouted, “Do it, Dad. Do it!”

  “My mom?” asked Paige.

  “Yes, Paige, Marissa, your mom.”

  “Seriously?” asked Jayna, stunned.

  “Seriously,” said Kurt, looking to Sadie and Paige. “That is, if I get everyone’s approval and blessing.”

  Sadie and Paige looked at each other, and both broke into smiles. “Go for it.” Paige giggled.

  “Do it, Dad,” blurted Nicholas again.

  “Yeah, Dad, just do it!” Sadie said, mimicking Nicholas, with a wide smile spread across her face.

  “Oh, Sis,” Paige teased, as she hugged Sadie, falling back to their pillows.

  “What about me?” screeched Jayna, as she hurdled toward the bed, landing on the two of them.

  Nicholas jumped on top. “We’re having a wedding. We’re having a wedding,” he chanted as he jumped and pumped his fists to the ceiling.

  ~*~

  Sadie

  Marissa was expected around lunch time, so they had a lot to do. The girls, along with Nicholas, piled in Sadie’s Infiniti to shop for supplies. Their list was growing as they drove. Jayna was jotting down items like poster board, markers, stakes, balloons, can confetti, a headband and material to make a mock veil, flowers, sparkling juice, plastic champagne cups, and, at the request of Nicholas, cupcakes.

  Once they returned, it was crunch time. They showed Kurt what they were doing, and he handed the baton over, giving them the okay to follow through with their plan. Since he had little to do but follow their instructions, he went outside to mow the lawn.

  It took about two hours to complete their projects and set everything up. Now it was time to do some research. Kurt came inside to shower and was summoned over to the computer. Sadie and Paige were huddled over Sadie’s laptop, and Jayna was punching away on her dad’s iPad. Nicholas had long lost interest and was off playing.

  Kurt saw both screens revealed upscale hotels on white sandy beaches with turquoise water and blowing palm trees. “What are you up to now?”

  Jayna spoke up first. “Planning the wedding. We think it should be a destination wedding, and it must be some place tropical.”

  “Yeah, it could be
a wedding and honeymoon all rolled into one!” agreed Sadie.

  “I think my mom would looove it!” exclaimed Paige.

  ~*~

  Kurt

  “I haven’t even asked Marissa to marry me yet, and you girls already have the wedding and honeymoon planned!?! What date have you chosen for us? Assuming she says yes. Or assuming I don’t get cold feet and back out!”

  That got their attention. They all looked to Kurt, wide-eyed.

  “I’m kidding, but maybe we want to be alone on our honeymoon.”

  This got an even stranger look, as in, why would you want that?

  Sadie spoke up, “Nonsense! We thought over Thanksgiving break would be a perfect time. We would be off school. It would be cold here, so we could go someplace warm, you know, make a vacation out of it too.”

  “That’s in two months, girls!”

  They ignored Kurt and went back to their computer screens. “I like this place in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Peter Island Resort. It’s the bomb.” Jayna pointed at her screen.

  “Turks and Caicos or Barbados gets my vote,” said Paige.

  “What about Fiji, or Belize, or even the Galapagos Islands?” Sadie sighed. “There are so many cool places, how are we ever going to pick?”

  Kurt ran his fingers through his hair, announced he was going to take a shower, and declared no one was allowed to book anything.

  When Marissa pulled in the driveway, her car screeched to a halt at the top so she could take in the large signs staked in the yard. “Do you think she’ll throw it in reverse and back out?” whispered Kurt with a laugh. They were hiding behind the wide square pillars on the front porch.

  There were five signs lining the driveway, one for each word, written in large block, multi-color letters, “WILL YOU MARRY ME, MARISSA?”

  Thirty long seconds went by before Marissa slowly crept down the driveway. She parked in the circle and got out slowly, as if she was expecting what was about to happen. Sure enough, she still jumped, letting out a scream as everyone popped out from behind the pillars, chanting, “Say yes, say yes,” while spraying neon colored confetti at her from aerosol cans.

  Kurt made his way up the front walk, meeting her halfway. He got down on his knee and opened up the little velvet box. “Say yes,” he pleaded with a grin.

  Marissa’s hands went up to her mouth as she looked around at the signs, balloons, the four kids, and back down at Kurt. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Yes! Absolutely! Positively!”

  Nicholas ran to Marissa and gave her the bouquet of flowers, getting the first hug from her. Paige placed the homemade veil on her head, and one by one, they gave her hugs. Kurt, pushed aside, was last. Marissa and Sadie lingered in their embrace, and Sadie whispered in Marissa’s ear. Marissa mouthed, “I love you” back in Sadie’s ear.

  Kurt swept Marissa up and carried her inside, where they poured sparkling juice into the plastic champagne glasses and ate gourmet cupcakes (as big as their heads) in flavors like peanut butter cup, red velvet, chocolate lava, cappuccino, vanilla butter cream, and even bubble gum goo for Nicholas. His entire face and tongue were blue in no time. “I love wedding cupcakes,” he said.

  They barely got into their first bites when Paige shared the idea of the destination wedding. Kurt crumpled to the couch in defeat as they each chimed in one by one with their ideas. The girls had researched hotels, airline tickets, and wedding packages right down to the flowers, photographer, and cake.

  “If these girls had another hour, your dress would have been ordered online and already proceeding through shipping. I swear I just told them this morning.” Kurt looked at his watch. “Literally not even four hours ago.”

  “What was your idea?” asked Marissa.

  “My idea? Ha! I was out mowing the lawn.”

  Within seconds, Marissa was staring at two screens, set up side by side, looking at breathtaking resorts fit for royalty. “Did you girls remember that it actually costs money, a lot of money, to fly and stay at these places?”

  “Are you serious, Mom? This is your wedding; splurge a little.” Paige looked at Kurt and shrugged, giving him a wink. “Sorry.”

  Kurt snickered. “Yeah, I can tell.”

  “Aren’t you going to sell your house anyway, Marissa?” asked Jayna.

  That got a laugh from both Kurt and Marissa. “These kids have all the answers! Sell the house and we’ll be rolling in money.”

  The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool with just Kurt, Marissa, and the kids. He enjoyed it when the pool was full of company, but it was nice to have his family all to himself for a change. They were going to be a family of six!

  Kurt threw his arms up in the air and told Marissa and the kids to book whatever and wherever they wanted. “Not that it will probably make a bit of difference, but I liked the sound of Tortola, that Peter Island place.”

  “I picked that place,” Jayna said proudly.

  Dear Sadie,

  Some day you may acquire a wicked stepmother! Kidding! But I’m sure your dad will re-marry. He can’t be alone the rest of his life, honey. I gave him my blessing. I want him to be happy.

  Try your hardest to embrace her, but between us, look out for Dad. Don’t let him end up with some floozy, fifteen years younger, or some mean hag that doesn’t give Nicholas affection. He’s still little and I want to make sure he doesn’t grow up not knowing how to be loved.

  It breaks my heart that I can’t see you through life, the big events, and the ordinary everyday stuff. What I would give to be able to spend a day with you and your future family at the park or planting flowers or being there at the bus stop as you send your firstborn to kindergarten.

  I guess what I’m trying to say is that since you won’t have me, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have anybody. I really hope you can form a motherly bond and your kids can form a grandmotherly bond with someone who will love your father.

  I love you,

  Mom

  Chapter 63

  Sadie

  The night before they were leaving for Tortola, Sadie had a million things to do. She was always a last-minute packer, and she wished she had prepped days ago. Packing for ten days took time, especially since she was also packing Nicholas’s suitcase and stopping to help Jayna every other minute.

  Travis kept distracting her with Bitmojis of him with a giant heart on his back that read, I LOVE YOU MORE, and, CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU! She playfully reprimanded him that she had a to-do list a mile long.

  Sadie still had to finish a written chemistry lab report and email it to her teacher tonight, and it was nearing ten o’clock. Their flight left at 6:00 a.m., which meant they had to leave at 4:00 a.m. for the airport, which in turn meant Sadie had to get up no later than 3:15 a.m.! She was starting to panic. Travis, Andrea, and Benton were accompanying them on the trip. Sadie was ecstatic, while Paige was bummed that Cody would be back home. No other family members were able to make the trip, which was actually okay with Sadie and, from what she could tell, her dad too. Sometimes it just added more drama.

  Kurt and Marissa had grown very close with Andrea and Benton over the past year. Thank God Sadie loved Travis’s parents, because having her parents and her boyfriend’s parents as close friends could have been difficult.

  She quickly abandoned the neat folding she was doing to save space and just started shoving swimsuits, sundresses, cutoffs, and sandals in her suitcase. Besides the wedding, she would be living in her swimsuit most of the time anyway.

  Sadie thought of her mother. “Whatever you forgot, you buy new” was her motto when they went on vacation. With that, Sadie zipped her bag and hauled it downstairs to the mudroom next to Nicholas’s.

  By midnight, she had sent her mediocre paper to her least favorite teacher. He was obviously annoyed that Sadie was missing school during her senior year at the same time she was getting college applications ready—even if it was for her father’s wedding and half of the vacation was over Thanksgiving brea
k anyway. Jerk.

  When Sadie finally turned her light out, she said her prayers half to God and half to her mom. When they returned home from Tortola, Marissa and Paige would be living with them. Most of their stuff had already been moved over, but Marissa was adamant that they not move in officially until the day they returned from their wedding/honeymoon.

  This was the last night it would be just the four Bookers. She prayed to God that he would keep them safe when they traveled, that the wedding would go smoothly and be beautiful. She prayed that He would bless their marriage and their new family. She prayed that her mother was okay with it, that her mom was happy that they were happy. She told her mom that no one could ever replace her, but she was so thankful that decades ago her mom had befriended Marissa.

  At seventeen, Sadie was well beyond her years, but she still needed a mom, and lying there in bed, she knew there was no one else she would rather have as her mom than Marissa. It had taken a long time, well over a year, but her guard was finally down. She not only accepted Marissa; she loved her too. She was ready to have a mom again.

  When her alarm went off, she hadn’t remembered falling asleep. Sadie showered in under three minutes, threw her comfy travel clothes on, and her hair went up in a bun. She packed her travel-sized toiletries in her carry on and zipped up the garment bag containing Nicholas’s and her dad’s wedding attire and her and Jayna’s own dresses for the wedding. They were out the door in record speed to pick up Marissa and Paige.

  They barely had the Denali in park when Paige flew out the door with a robe on and her hands over her face like she was crying. “Uh oh,” said Jayna.

  “She’s a wreck, you guys. My mom has been up all night crying, saying she isn’t ready to get married. I’ve tried everything. I told her to just get on the plane, that she didn’t have to go through with the wedding, but she’s refusing to go.” Paige was very dramatic, flinging her arms and fumbling for words.