Page 21 of Sing with Me

“The repercussions, Son,” Mom said.

Somewhere off camera, Dad’s voice came through. “What repercussions, dear?”

“What I said. Repercussions.”

“Mom, make sure the kids are not around when you talk like that,” Diehl warned her.

“Don’t worry. They’re with their other grandparents for one last night. We fly home tomorrow.”

Frankly, Diehl had no idea how long this sort of arrangement was going to last. How could two school-aged children live in both Hawaii and Georgia?

Up until the year before, they had attended school in Atlanta. Diehl worked all the time, so he hired a full-time nanny to take the kids to school and back.

After Isobel died, her parents suggested that Elisa and Ethan stay with them for the next school year. They could learn more about where Isobel came from, her heritage, and that might keep her memories alive.

Diehl wasn’t sure why he had agreed to it.

He missed his children too.

He thought they might grieve together. However, those merger and acquisition talks at work kept him busy and away from the house. Instead of Elisa and Ethan only seeing a non-family nanny for the entire school year, Diehl thought it might be better for them to stay with their grandparents.

Now he had a hard time getting them back to Georgia.

“How did you get Elisa and Ethan to come back with you for the summer?” Diehl.

“Well, it took a lot of work,” Mom said.

Off camera, Dad yelled, “And bribes!”

“Bribing who?” Diehl asked. “My kids or the other grandparents?”

“Both,” Mom replied. “But we got the kids.”

“Mission accomplished, I guess.” Diehl wondered how much correction he had to make when he saw his kids again.

It wasn’t the time to tell his parents that he wanted the kids to stay with him in this house and not in the Brooks family home on Seaside Island. He would wait until they arrived in town.

“What did you do today?” Mom asked.

“I bought birdseeds for the bird feeder, and refilled the bird bath.”

“And?”

What did she mean? Diehl waited to see if Mom would explain herself.

“How’s the chef situation working out?”

“Nice not to have to cook on my own,” Diehl said.

“Skye’s a delight to be with.”

“She is.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Food.” They were professional all the way, except for the moment he wiped a tear from her cheek. She had soft skin.

“Told you to marry a nice girl,” Mom said. “Why couldn’t you marry a nice girl?”

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