“YOU GUYS READY?” ADAM PUT his coffee cup in the sink.
“Yep,” Julia and Wyatt both said excitedly.
“Then let’s hit it.” On the way to the front door, he double-checked to make sure he had everything, various shopping lists, jackets for later in the day, and the keys for the car he had stored in Bayfield for just such an occasion. They stepped outside, and he turned to lock the door.
“Wait a minute, Daddy,” Julia said. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“You just went.”
“I have to go again.”
“Okay. It’s a long drive.” He and Wyatt waited on the porch.
It was mid-October and summer was long over, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do some summertime-type activities. Since they were heading to the mainland to do some shopping, he’d figured they’d make a day of it by going into Duluth. They could get their shopping done, go out to lunch, maybe even dinner, and check out a couple of the sights he’d heard about in the waterfront district. The forecast called for an unseasonably warm autumn day, so at least the weather was cooperating.
Julia came outside a few minutes later. “Okay, I’m ready. Wyatt, did you go to the bathroom?”
“Huh?”
“You know? The bathroom.”
“Oh, yeah. I have to go, too, Daddy.” He took off into the house.
The kids had been excited about the day, so they had to be stalling for some reason. “Julia, what’s going—”
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” Marin jogged toward them across her front lawn.
Dressed in jeans and a black printed blouse, a sweater over her arm and a wallet-type purse angled over her shoulder, she looked as if she were prepared for something other than the usual. She was wearing makeup, lipstick even.
“We were just heading out for the day,” he explained, feeling a bit confused. “Some shopping and other activities. What’s up?”
“Oh, sorry.” She stopped in the grass. “I thought I was taking the kids.”
Adam threw a questioning glance at Julia just as Wyatt came outside.
“Sorry, Daddy.” She frowned. “But you’re bad at picking out girl’s clothes.”
Marin laughed. “So that’s why you asked me?”
Julia glanced hopefully up at him. “Is it okay if she comes?”
Adam honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about spending the day with Marin. On one hand, he’d shared more of himself with her in the past month than he had with anyone, friends or family, in the past three years, a testament to the fact that he felt more than at ease around her. On the other hand, that comfort level coupled with his obvious attraction to her carried the risk of adding up to something so much more.
“Can she, Daddy?” Wyatt asked.
This was their day. How could he start it off on the wrong foot? “It’s all right with me if Marin doesn’t mind. We’re planning on heading into Duluth and taking in some sightseeing. That okay with you? Being gone the entire day?”
Marin considered it for a moment. “It sounds nice to get off the island and see more of the area.” She looked from him to the kids. “I’d love to come.”
The general mood was festive as the four of them took the ferry to Bayfield and then drove on to Duluth. During the couple hours it took them to get to Minnesota, Marin taught Julia and Wyatt several travel games. Twenty Questions, I Spy and the Alphabet Game. It reminded him of his own childhood, driving from St. Louis to his grandparents’ house in Kansas City.
While Marin kept the kids entertained, he found himself, rather than listening to the words she was saying, letting the sound of her voice roll over him. Her voice had a surprisingly soothing effect, on him at least. He could almost feel the tension that had been building inside him since coming to Mirabelle roll off him in waves.
“Where’d you learn all those games?” he asked during a pause in play.
“Two brothers and a sister,” she said. “Spending a lot of time on the train or in the car from D.C. to Manhattan. Manhattan to Long Island. It was either fight or play games.”
“Did your mom play them with you?” Julia asked.
Marin turned to look into the backseat. “She did.”
“She plays games with us, too, when she babysits,” Wyatt said.
“You’re lucky,” Julia murmured.
“You know, you’re right.” Marin cocked her head. “She was a good mom.”
“Here we are, guys,” Adam said as they approached the harbor city located at the very southwesternmost point of Lake Superior. “Look out into the harbor. See the big red ships? Some of them come all the way here from the ocean, through all the Great Lakes. This is as far as they can go.”
“Why do they come here?” Wyatt asked, his nose almost pressing against the glass.
“They’re carrying cargo coming and going. All kinds of stuff.”
“This is a big city,” Julia said.
Bigger than Adam had expected. The town had built up around the hills surrounding the harbor and it seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see.
“It’s rather picturesque,” Marin added. “With the lake. The hills.”
It was a warm autumn morning and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but there was a slight wind. The deep blue lake was choppy with white caps. They went over bridges and along a crisscrossing, confusing freeway system.
“Let’s get the shopping done first,” he said, and they drove into town. “Then we play.”
The first stop was a superstore where he pulled out a list to replenish school supplies. The aisles were overflowing with shoppers and more than once Adam had inadvertently brushed up against Marin, but they’d soon managed to get everything the kids needed as well as a few special treats.
When they’d finished, Marin carefully navigated the cart through the crowds. “I could use some shampoo and a few other things if we have time for a detour.”
“Us, too.” He pulled out another shopping list. They headed to the health and beauty aids section and stocked up on a variety of items. Next, they found a mall nearby with a fairly large department store. “If we split up, we can get to the fun stuff quicker,” Adam said, glancing at Marin. “Would you mind taking off with Julia to get her the clothes she needs?”
“That okay with you?” Marin asked, glancing at his daughter.
Julia grinned. “Definitely.”
Adam handed Marin the list he’d put together earlier that morning of all the things Julia needed.
She smiled. “Oh, you’re good.”
“Been doing this for a while now,” he said, walking through the crowded parking lot, although he’d always shopped alone with the kids. Having Marin along not only made the excursion more efficient, it also added an enjoyable dimension to an otherwise mundane task.
“If in doubt, get it,” he said to Marin as he grabbed two carts, wheeling one off toward her. “I’m not sure I’ll have time to make it here again, so I’d rather have too much for her than not enough.”
“Will do.” Marin smiled down at Julia. “Let’s go!”
Adam and Wyatt took off for the boys’ section. Less than an hour later, they’d managed to find everything on Wyatt’s list, sweatpants, jeans and khakis, shirts, sweatshirts, socks and underwear. Adam had even grabbed a sweatshirt and fleece jacket for himself. Everyone had been warning him how chilly the fall evenings could get on Mirabelle, so he thought it best to be prepared. All they needed was to decide on a couple pairs of shoes for Wyatt.
Wyatt sat on the floor as Adam fitted him with tennis shoes. “When do we get to the fun stuff?” he asked, his patience all but gone.
“As soon as we’re done here.”
“Then can we be done?”
Adam checked the fit, then tossed the shoes in the cart. “Okay, we’re done. Let’s go find Julia and Marin. If the girls are finished we can go.”
The girls. It seemed like such a natural thing to say, as if Marin and Julia belonged together. Don’t do that. Do not get used to this. He saw Marin and Julia outside the girls’ dressing room. As he and Wyatt approached, the conversation he overheard had him pausing.
“I really think pink is your color,” Marin said. “Or turquoise. Brights look best on you.”
“One of these is for Kayla’s birthday party,” Julia said, apparently debating two different outfits. “I just don’t know which one.”
“How did school go this week?” Marin asked.
“Better,” Julia said.
“That’s good.”
They might not be mother and daughter, but they sure looked and sounded the part.
Julia’s eyes suddenly widened and she pulled a black outfit off the rack. “What about this one?”
Adam took in the too-short black skirt and a suggestive screen print T-shirt and realized he’d forgotten to remind Marin that his daughter was tall for her age. So many clothes that fit her were inappropriate for her age, and he was almost afraid to see what had accumulated in Marin and Julia’s shopping cart. He pushed his and Wyatt’s cart forward. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Marin held out the two outfits. “Black or pink?”
“Which one, Daddy?” Julia said.
“Pink,” he said decisively.
“Told you! It’s your color.” Marin grinned and held up a beaded necklace. “And it goes with this.”
In truth either one of the outfits went with the necklace Marin was holding up and Julia looked good in black, but as he looked in the cart to peruse their selections, he could see Marin understood, as if she’d read his mind. And he was glad to see that Marin had apparently gotten some shopping done for herself.
“Okay!” Julia tossed the pink outfit in the cart.
“Are we done yet?” Wyatt groaned.
“That was the last thing on our list,” Marin said.
“Finally!” Wyatt whipped around. “Let’s get out of here before I die.”
The kids ran ahead while he and Marin turned the carts around. “Thanks for remembering she’s only seven.”
“Tall for her age, though,” Marin said, glancing up at him. “But she is your daughter.”
“She gets it from Beth, too.”
“Oh, no!” Wyatt groaned again as they reached the front registers. The lines seemed to stretch for miles. It looked as if the entire town was out shopping this weekend.
A store clerk signaled to Marin. “I can help you check out.” She scooted behind a free register. “If you and your husband come over here.”
Husband.
Julia and Wyatt giggled.
“I’m not…we’re not… Oh, never mind.” Marin wouldn’t look at Adam as she piled Julia’s clothes onto the counter.
And Adam was hit with the sad realization that he’d never be a husband again.