“How could something so small create something so disgusting?” Shane held his tiny son’s legs up in the air and positioned a diaper below the baby’s bottom. Then he retched. Twice.
He looked over at his mom. “Uh…I think I need some help here.”
Before Ava could respond, Aimee rolled her eyes at him and leaped from the chair where she sat. “For goodness sakes, Shane. You’d better not throw up on our kid.” She moved to his side on the sofa and took over. When she’d finished fastening the diaper, she snapped the light-blue onesie back in place, then lifted the infant to her shoulder and patted his back lightly. Suddenly, the baby burped, leaving a glob on her shoulder.
“Oh, gross,” Shane said, turning away. “Everything that comes out smells.” He wretched again.
Aimee laughed and turned to face Shane’s mother and sister. “Spit-up is my new fashion accessory.”
Ava smiled. “Ah, I remember.
From across the room, Katie bounced little Noelle on her knee. “Me, too. Now it’s peanut butter in my hair.” She laughed. “Welcome to parenthood, where going to the grocery store by yourself is now considered a vacation. And don’t even get me started on labor. I was just glad I didn’t poop on the table.”
Shane’s face twisted into a tight grimace. “Oh, please. Stop now. This conversation is taking a turn I don’t want to be a part of.”
The women in the room laughed.
“Oh, get over yourself,” Aimee admonished with a wide smile. “You didn’t go through nine hours of hard labor. The least you can do is listen with a little empathy.”
“Men are such lightweights,” Katie remarked. She leaned down to her toddler. “Take note, Noelle. Men are wimps and simply have no idea when it comes to all the things women have to deal with.”
Noelle’s dimpled hand lifted her shirt. “See my belly goat button?”
Katie rolled her eyes and pulled the pink shirt back over her daughter’s bare tummy. “Honey, mannered women don’t show their treasures in mixed company.”
Noelle’s eyes twinkled. “Me do.”
Ava laughed loudly. “I think this one is going to grow up with a mind of her own.”
“Like someone else we know?” Shane pulled a beer from the refrigerator and gave his sister a pointed look. “Katie, you want something?”
Katie glared back. “If you think that’s an insult, Shane, I’ll take it. I’m not ashamed to advocate for my beliefs and ideas. Knowing what you want and going after it isn’t a character flaw.” As if to punctuate her statement, she stuck her tongue out at her younger brother. “And, yes. I’ll take that beer.”
“So, how is the house coming along?” Ava asked, grinning.
Katie set her tiny daughter down on the floor to play. “With a little urging, the builders fast-tracked our project. We’re only a few months from completion,” she reported, ignoring the smirk on her mother’s face. “And, yes. Jon and I have butted heads a couple of times,” she admitted. “For example, he wanted granite countertops that had these swirls of blue…well, the name was actually steel gray. Believe me, they were blue. The marbled pattern was atrocious and didn’t begin to match the look we are going for.”
“We?” Shane asked as he handed his sister a beer.
Katie thanked him. “We…as in Jasmit Tan, our brilliant architect.” Her face brightened. “He has an incredible eye for design. Simple lines. Colors from nature. He detests rudimentary and dysteleological elements.
Shane arched his eyebrows. “Wow…that’s some big word there.”
Katie ignored him. “Jasmit often has up to a nine-month waiting list. We were very fortunate to cement this relationship when we did.”
“Yeah, I bet Jon feels really lucky,” Shane muttered.
Ave turned to Aimee. “What about you? What are your long-term plans for housing? Rooming with Shane in that tiny shanty has got to feel crowded.”
“It’s all I can afford,” Shane reminded. “Especially now that I have Carson. Do you even know what baby formula costs?” He shook his head. “And health insurance? I had to sell my bike in order to pay for that.”
Aimee laid the now sleeping baby on her lap. She gently rocked her knees back and forth. “All that is true, Shane. Still, your living space is pretty tight.” She turned to Ava. “The plan is for me to go back to work soon. The extra income will provide some options.”
“We’re hoping Aimee might be able to get her former waitressing job back.” Shane ran a hand through the top of his hair “Of course, that’ll mean added daycare expense.”
“Raising a kid is not cheap, that’s for sure…which is one of the main reasons we’re cohabiting,” Aimee added.
Ava sighed inside. She hated that Shane and Aimee were living together without being married. Sure, perhaps it was unfashionable to think like that in this day and age. She didn’t care. Shane and Aimee had a little son. They should make a commitment.
Alani, her best friend and the local pastor’s wife, thought the same and said so right to her son’s face. “You can’t expect God to bless anything you’re not willing to do his way. His way is for a couple to covenant to love, honor, and cherish each other…’til death do you part.”
Ava knew from experience that vows could be broken. Still, she fully agreed with Alani and had floated her own subtle hints. “If money is an issue, I’ll pay for the ceremony and reception. I could also help out with rent for a couple of months.” She’d gladly lift her son’s financial burden much longer, but Christel would have a fit. Her oldest daughter was a stickler for guarding Pali Maui’s financial picture, which seemed to extend to Ava’s personal bank accounts. Not to mention Christel, Katie, and even Aiden, had all followed their late father’s belief that she often coddled Shane and had failed to let him grow up.
Coddled was too strong of a word. She was his mother and only wanted to assist in whatever way necessary when he needed help. Wouldn’t any mother do that?
Regardless, Shane made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that it was far too early for Aimee and him to discuss the forever thing. Aimee had only been back on the island a short time. Even so, Ava hoped things would eventually head that way. Her mother’s intuition told her that her son was head-over-heels infatuated with this girl. Despite his effort to hide the fact, Shane had moped for weeks after his girlfriend left to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. Ava sensed her son was finally moving on, then Aimee showed up with her surprise bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.
Don’t misunderstand. Their entire family was thrilled, of course. Well, maybe not thrilled. No one wanted Shane to be blindsided. These things should happen in the proper sequence—dating, engagement, marriage…then baby.
Yet life rarely went according to plan. The best you could do was to do the best you could do, with whatever came at you. She’d learned that after Lincoln had died. They all had.
Ava lifted from the sofa and headed for the kitchen. “Anyone hungry? I have some shrimp and cocktail sauce in the refrigerator.”
When they all declined her offer, she got herself a banana out of the fruit basket and returned to the sofa and to her thoughts.
Plan or no…Ava couldn’t help but wonder about the future. There was a lot to consider. Especially when it came to her children.
Ava supposed Christel would eventually marry Evan. Her daughter’s relationship with the doctor seemed to be getting more serious by the day. Christel deserved that happiness, especially after her first marriage crumbled through no fault of her own.
Then there were Jon and Katie. Despite minor disagreements, their new place would be built soon. Fire had destroyed their former house, forcing them to live here at Pali Maui in one of the buildings designated for workers…affectionately known as the shanties. No doubt, their family would be glad to have a new, more spacious, place to call home.
Her oldest son, Aiden, was now settled in his new position as director of Maui Emergency Management Administration. The risk he’d taken saving the people on that boat, and the subsequent injuries he’d suffered, had cemented the notion he was the right candidate for the job. She couldn’t be any prouder of what Aiden had accomplished at such a young age. It was only sad that his dad wasn’t here to see it.
As for her, she was learning to be happy. Lincoln’s death and the aftermath had taken a hit on her soul. It had taken time to find her footing. If she were completely truthful, his betrayal still stung. Despite all that, she intentionally grasped joy at every opportunity. Her heart was full.
And now, Shane was learning to be a daddy. She had a new grandchild to love on.
How could the Briscoes’ future get any brighter?