Monday early morning
November 7 — 2:42 a.m. PST
Oceanside, California
Alex slipped out of bed and silently dressed in the clothing she’d laid out the night before. She crept through the house. She picked up her cell phone from the charger and put on her shoes at the back door. She carefully opened the back door and slipped out into the yard.
She set up her straw-filled arrow target on the east side of the yard. Using an application on her phone, she measured the distance. She ran around the lap pool to the west end of the yard and marked the exact spot. She was running toward the back door when her phone vibrated to remind her. She fumbled for a moment before getting her earpiece in her ear. She placed the call.
“You’re already cheating!” Max said.
“How?” Alex asked in a low tone.
She opened the storage box next to the back door.
“I know you!” Max said with a laugh.
Chuckling, Alex took out her old longbow and a backpack. In the video, Max was doing the same thing. She went back to her marked space. They texted each other the distance details.
“Fair?” Alex asked.
“So far,” Max said. “Ready?”
“We have to set up the phones,” Alex said.
They went to set their phones in such a way as to focus on the targets. Alex propped her phone against one of the twin’s floaties and split the screen so the place where she would stand would be in focus. Max did the same thing. She ran back to her spot.
“Measure again?” Max asked.
“Oh, come on,” Alex said.
Laughing, Max shot his first arrow.
“Hey!” Alex said, firing a shot.
“Okay, together,” Max said.
As they did every morning when they were in Denver, they fired ten arrows in each hand to warm up. Alex set down the bow and put on a belt with throwing knifes tucked in the back.
“Ready?” Alex asked.
“On your call,” Max said.
“Go,” Alex said.
They threw ten knives with their right hands. None of them made center target. One of Alex’s was close, but still not in the center of the target.
“You’re still holding on to the knife too long,” John said.
Alex turned to look at him. Carrying a coffee cup, he walked out the back door toward her.
“What is it?” Max asked.
“John,” Alex said turning toward her phone. “He says we’re still holding on too long.”
“Who are you talking to?” John asked.
Alex pointed to the phone. John grinned at Max. He leaned over to kiss Alex and gave her the cup of coffee.
“I wondered what got you out of bed so early,” John said. “Max.”
“Max is at the Pentagon today. He only has until 6:30,” Alex said. She took a drink of coffee and gave the cup back to John.
“East coast is three hours ahead,” John said. “I should have known.”
“Is he going to school us?” Max asked.
“Max wants to know if you’ll teach us how to do it right,” Alex said.
Still holding the cup of coffee, John picked up a throwing knife. Locking eyes with Alex, he threw the knife without even looking. It landed in the center of the target.
Alex silently clapped and jumped around in celebration. Max went wild. He was screaming and hooting so much that his bodyguards came to check on him. John took a bow. When he stood up, he was laughing.
“Will you teach us?” Alex asked.
“Pretty, pretty please?” Max asked.
Alex pointed to the phone, where Max was on his knees begging. He laughingly agreed. For the next half hour, he worked with them on their knife-throwing skills.
They had the best time. Max’s alarm rang to remind him that he had to go.
“You have to practice!” John said with mock sincerity. “What are you doing with your time?”
The twins laughed. Waving and throwing kisses, Max clicked off the phone. John put his arm around Alex’s shoulders and kissed her cheek.
“Welcome home,” John said.
Alex smiled.
“I’ve missed you so,” John said.
She held out her hand, and he took it. For a moment, they just looked at each other. She gave him a crooked smile, and he groaned in mock agony. He grabbed her around the waist.
“Hop up,” he said.
She tipped her head in a silent “Are you sure?” He nodded.
“Hop up,” he repeated.
She jumped so that her legs were around his waist and her arms around his neck. Once up, he stopped.
“Where should we go?” he looked. “People can see us here.”
“The trash area is the only place,” Alex said.
“The garbage?” John asked, his voice rising with mock indignation.
Alex laughed into his chest.
“This is quite a conundrum,” John said. “Shall I make love to you by the fetid trash? Or has the mood passed?”
“Trash,” Alex said as she laughed. “I want you by the ‘fetid.’”
Laughing and kissing the whole way, he carried her to the trash area. He pressed her back against the house and stepped down his pajama bottoms. While she wrangled with her compression tights, he kissed the side of her neck and moved his way to her breast. They rose fast and fell with sharp, laughing glee. They stood panting against each other as the sun peaked out over the horizon.
“Welcome home,” he whispered and kissed her nose.
She kissed him hard. They were locked together when the door to their house opened.
“Alex?” Quince called. “Are you out here?”
Alex and John silently disengaged. John put his index finger to his lips.
“The coffee pot was on,” Quince mumbled. “And the electric kettle was hot.”
Alex shrugged. John pulled up his pajama bottoms and left the privacy of their trash area. Alex put on her compression tights.
“I see your bow and the knives. Your phone is here . . .” Quince said. “Hi John. Have you seen Alex?”
Alex came around the corner. Quince looked at her and then at John.
“Wha . . .” Quince started.
“A raccoon got into our trash,” Alex said with a grin. Her neck flushed and blotches began to form on her chest. “We were cleaning it up.”
“A raccoon?” John burst out laughing.
Quince looked at Alex and then at John. For a moment, she looked incredulous, and then she laughed. Recovering first, John put on his most doctoral look.
“Is there something we might help you with, Quince?” John asked in an excessively prim London accent.
She burst out laughing causing John and Alex to laugh again. Alex picked up her longbow and went around the lap pool for the target.
“Raz is here to work out with you, Alex,” Quince said. “Troy’s waiting in the living room.”
“Can you send Raz back?” Alex asked.
Quince nodded. Alex was pulling the arrows from the target when Raz came through.
“I heard you have a raccoon problem,” Raz said, working to keep his face straight.
He took in Alex’s red face and blotchy neck and burst out laughing. They laughed their way through getting the rest of the arrows and knives. By the time they were done picking up, Quince had brought the twins downstairs. Seeing Raz through the window, Máire and Joey wanted all of Raz’s attention.
“I’ll get changed,” Alex said.
She kissed the twins “good morning” before heading upstairs. John was just finishing his shower when she arrived. She gave him her crooked smile.
“Shall we?” Alex asked.
“Do not tempt me,” John said. “If I’m late, he’ll give me the crap assignments.”
Laughing, Alex stepped into the shower. Wearing a swimsuit and carrying a towel, she was back downstairs by the time John was leaving for his training. He brushed her lips with his in a kiss. Smiling, she made her way through the kitchen to the backyard. She walked out the door and started laughing.
Raz was flat on his back in the grass with Joey standing on his stomach. Máire was sitting in between his calves, and Quince was taking pictures with her cell phone.
“You cannot make this stuff up,” Quince said with a laugh.
Laughing, Alex picked up Máire and gave her to Quince, but Joey refused to get off Raz.
“Joseph,” Claire said from the doorway. “Would you like to help me make the croissants this morning?”
Raz grunted when Joey jumped up and down on him and ran off. Quince set Máire down and she ran after her twin.
“Countdown to the terrible twos,” Quince said as she passed.
Alex smiled and helped Raz up.
“How did that happen?” Alex asked.
“We were looking for the raccoon,” Raz said.
Alex laughed. Raz took off his jacket and shook it to get the grass and dirt off. He set it down on the chairs next to the house. Facing the house, he pulled off his shirt and Alex saw the straight scar from his back fusion. Her mind filled with that precarious time.
“I kid you not!” Raz said when he turned around. “We were hunting raccoon.”
His eyebrows dipped with concern for her.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shook her head and she smiled.
“Did you find him?” Alex asked.
“Misogyny, please!” Raz said as he stepped out of his shoes. “We saw her.”
“Really?” Alex asked.
“No,” Raz said. He turned to the chair and stepped out of his athletic pants.
Alex dove into the pool, and he followed.
“Did you get the workout from Vince?” Alex asked.
“3000 meters,” Raz said. “Freestyle for warm up. Drills after that”
“Here we go,” Alex said.
She took off swimming.
F