Page 19 of Tides That Bind

I honk when the light turns green even though I’m way back from the intersection. “Great.”

He huffs. “You could say thank you, Riley.”

But I can’t because Riley hangs up.

I sigh in frustration at everything—the weather, my husband’s deployment, his useless best friend and the traffic I sit in for the next forty minutes until I finally pull into the driveway with a near-exploding bladder and a cramped foot.

And find a large, cardboard box still sitting on the front step—soaked.

I park behind Riley, because in this weather, he’s definitely not going to the beach, and I march around the house in the pouring rain. By the time I make it to the front, I have to stop.

I grab my now very tight stomach.

“Braxton Hicks,” I tell myself. “Just a strong one.”

I rub the bottom of my belly until it passes and take a few deep breaths before I get to the porch. My blonde hair is a shade darker from the rain, just like the cardboard box that I manage to push into the house after unlocking the door.

I step into the entry and out of my wet sneakers, brushing a matted lock from my face. When I do so, I find Riley coming out of the kitchen.

“You never use the front door. I thought someone broke in.” He’s about to turn on his heel.

“Riley.”

He shakes his head. “What?”

I make an obvious gesture with my hand at the box.

“Oh, oh I forgot, sorry. I got hungry and…”

I don’t wait for him to finish. I storm upstairs.

TWO MONTHS LATER

When the kite crashes,I hold my breath.

Lucas runs over to it. “It’s broken.” He sighs. “Daddy made that.”

I quickly wind the rope around the spool. “Maybe we can fix it. Let’s bring it home and see.”

Doing my best to secure the kite under my bag and not do any more damage, I try to ignore the blank stare on Lucas's face. I tilt my head toward the water.

“Come on. Let’s go in!” I call out to Lucas as I jog toward the shore. When there’s no answer I look back, finding him now sitting on the beach blanket with his hand in a bag of chips. He alternates between bringing one to his mouth and tossing another to Tides. My feet sink into the wet sand.

“Not now.”

Nothas been at the forefront of Lucas's answers to my questions these days.

How about we go to the diner for dinner? We’ll get milkshakeswithour burgers.

Not tonight.

Want to watch Avengers?

Not now.

Do you want to stay home from school today and go to the arcade?

Not really.

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