Chapter 37

I got the expected greeting from my little buddies on Wednesday morning (and it had nothing to do with anyone yelling a catchphrase).

Brian watched with amusement as first Lucas and then Brandon scrambled up my torso until they perched on my arms.

Of course, this time, their mother had slathered them with sunscreen so they were a tad bit slippery. We had barely made it through the door when I had to put them down.

“Go get your towels and put them in the bag,” Sarah commanded. She got two wide grins before they scampered off. Sarah shook her head as they watched them go.

Then she hugged me. Our friendship did not extend to hugs. We offered high fives, fist bumps and even a Wet Willy once in a while. We did not hug until that morning. Now, apparently that was part of the repertoire because she pulled back, looking at me and then hugged me again.

“You just saw me Sunday,” I said.

“At lot has happened since Sunday,” Sarah said.

I introduced her to Brian and they shook hands before the boys hit the room again.

“We’re ready!” they declared.

“We have to wait for Aunt Susan,” Sarah told them. She got dual scowls and I saw it coming.

She pointed her finger ... and stopped.

“Damn you!” she said, turning to me. I was laughing already and Brian was fighting it hard. I had filled him on the etymology of the Internet meme I had inadvertently started.

Brian lost his battle when Sarah slapped my arm.

“You’re not helping,” she told him.

“I know and I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Brian said. “I just can’t help it.”

I’m not sure Lucas and Brandon understood what was happening but it didn’t matter. They were also laughing at their mother.

“I told Liz you’d want a commission on the shirts she’s going to sell tomorrow night,” I said.

Sarah was looking crossly at the four children (if you count physical and mental age) in her living room when Susan showed up.

“Thank God,” Sarah said. “Reinforcements have arrived.”

“Got ya, didn’t they?” she asked when she entered and saw Sarah’s expression.

“It’s going to be a long day,” Sarah replied.

“Is Rick coming here or meeting us?” I asked. Our normal beach was closer to his house but that didn’t mean anything.

“He’s going to meet us after noon,” Sarah said.

“I want to ride with Uncle Travis!” Brandon declared.

“Can we put the top down?” Lucas wondered.

I cringed again. Perhaps the only two people on the planet that loved my car more than me were standing before me looking up at me expectantly.

“I didn’t bring my car today, guys,” I said.

“Ah, man!” Brandon answered.

“You have that boss Mustang!” Brian said.

“That I’ll apparently never get to drive again,” I lamented.

“You can always give it to me,” Sarah proposed.

“And you can kiss me where the sun don’t shine,” I rejoined.

“For your car? OK,” Sarah said. “Just once, though.”

“I still want to ride with Uncle Travis,” Brandon said.

“Me, too!” Lucas added.

Sarah shifted her gaze to Brian.

“I am a certified and bonded security agent, Ma’am,” he said. “I have completed the defensive driving course offered by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.”

“Armed?” she asked after a nod.

“No, Ma’am,” Brian said. “I have a permit for this state but I am not carrying today. I was taught by my father that those items do not mix well with children that might not be familiar with them.”

“OK,” she said. “And stop calling me ‘Ma’am.’ You make me feel old.”

“If the shoe fits!” I offered.

“B-...” she started. Then she went silent and shook a fist at me.

“You better take your own car,” Susan said, laughing with the rest of us (so much for reinforcements). “You might have to drive yourself to the loony bin before the day is over.”

“Maybe I’ll just walk into the ocean and stay there,” Sarah replied. “I’ll float to Hawaii and be away from all of you.”

“No, Mommy!” Lucas said.

She looked down to the little guy that had raced to her and smiled.

“Well, OK,” she said. “But you’ve got to get Uncle Travis to quit picking on me.”

“I seem to remember a certain somebody getting an awful lot of digs in on me Sunday,” I said when Lucas gave me his best serious look.

“You need better security, I guess,” Sarah said, ruffling her son’s hair.

The boys were insistent about riding with me so we got their booster seats transferred to the SUV and headed to the beach with Susan and Sarah following us.

We got there before the sand was packed and staked out a nice section.

I had figured Sarah would wear a bikini. She always did. She proved my prediction correct as soon as we arrived. She had it on beneath a pair of denim shorts and a T-shirt. I watched as she shimmied them off.

Brian pushed his elbow into my ribs.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” he asked.

“It’s a cute butt,” I offered.

Sarah seemed to realize that she had stuck her rear end in my face because she turned around quickly.

I gave her a grin and a shrug.

“Nice buns on the mom,” I said.

She crossed her arms but I could see the smile trapped beneath her stern gaze.

“Well, fine,” she said. “You might as well ogle the front, too!”

She lifted her T-shirt upward.

“I planned to,” I said. “You know me; you put it out there and I’m gonna ogle it.”

“Jerk,” she said, smiling and slapping my arm as she sat down next to me.

Susan was a surprise that day. She traditionally had worn a one-piece or a sensible two-piece to our beach days. My eyes about popped out of my head when she lowered her sundress to reveal a tiny bright red string bikini underneath. I had never, in all the years I’d been her friend, seen as much of Susan’s body as I did at that moment. The lines from her normal swimsuit were two or three inches above the suit she wore.

“Whoa,” I said.

“Yeah,” Brian said. “You should have let me bring a weapon. We might need it once the guys get a look at these two.”

I nodded and Sarah smiled broadly.

Susan was a little embarrassed ... so I decided to see if I could add to it.

“Wow!” I said. “That is ... really hot, Suze.”

She gave a shy smile and took a seat on the blanket. The boys were hopping up and down. They didn’t care about the fashion show. They wanted to go into the water and splash around.

“I can take them,” Brian offered. “I have two sisters with children and I’m lifeguard certified.”

“And probably a Boy Scout,” Sarah said. I could tell she had rolled her eyes behind her glasses.

“A Marine, Ma’am,” he said. “We’re like Boy Scouts with better toys.”

“Go!” she said, motioning to the water. “And stop calling me ‘Ma’am.’”

When the boys ran off with their new friend, I leaned forward to look across Sarah to Susan.

“Let me know if you need sunscreen,” I offered. “I mean, if Chris won’t kill me for it. You know, actually, yeah, even if he would. You look really great.”

“Thanks,” Susan said. “I decided to go all out today.”

“You’re close but everything is covered,” I joked. “I checked pretty closely.”

“Jerk,” Sarah said, pushing me.

“Well, I’m not going to be able to wear this suit much longer,” Susan told me. “I figure it’s a little too small for a mother to wear ... unless you’re a total whore like this one.”

The last part of the statement was so out of character that it took me a moment to process the first part.

“Really?” I asked with genuine excitement. “The adoption is done already? That’s great!”

“It’s a little more interesting than that,” Susan said with a grin.

“Liz might have to take her back to Tennessee,” Sarah said. “Irish twins!”

I had no idea what that meant.

“I went to the doctor yesterday,” Sarah said. “I’m 12 weeks along.”

“Keep going,” Sarah urged her.

“Well, we got home and got a call from the lawyers,” Susan said. “The adoption was approved.”

“An Irish twin is when you have two kids in the same year,” Sarah said. “I guess a West Virginia twin might be when your brother or sister is only three months older.”

“We decided two babies would be a little too much right now,” Susan told us. “But ... well, the last time we were at the agency there was this little girl. She’s three and she is so adorable. I wanted to take her home that minute. But we also wanted a baby. Now, we can have both. We called yesterday and Amber is coming next weekend to live with us. Then I’m going to have a baby in about six months.”

For the second time in two days, I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I scrambled across the sand and hugged Susan.

“I am so happy for you both,” I told her. “You ... you’re going to be such a great mom.”

I sat back and lifted up my sunglasses to wipe my eyes.

“Oh, hey,” Susan said, touching my leg.

“This is so great,” I said. “I can’t even tell you how happy I am.”

I pulled my hat back down and put my sunglasses back in place before I took the hands of both my friends.

“You guys,” I said, shaking my head. “I just wanted to tell how proud that I am to be your friend. I’ve ... I’ve really missed you guys.”

“We’ve missed you, too,” Sarah said. “It’s like ... it’s like I’m missing my oldest kid.”

I chuckled.

“I enjoy where my life has turned but I miss the day-to-day interaction,” I said. “I was telling Brian all about you guys on the way down here. He said we sound like a squad in the Marines. He said that he developed a lifelong bond with the people he met there. I just wanted to tell you both that even though I’m not here all the time I’m still going to be your friend. I can’t wait to spoil your little girl and whatever this one turns out to be.”

I patted Susan softly on the stomach.

“Hey, we’ll be in town next weekend!” I said. “I mean, I will. Liz plans to be but you never know. I know you’ll want to let Amber get acclimated but I hope I get the chance to meet her soon.”

“She’s visiting with us this weekend if you want to come over for a little while,” Susan said.

“I’m going to Nashville with Liz this weekend,” I said. “Besides, I want her to have the chance to get used to Mommy and Daddy. I’m just ... excited to have a little niece to add to my two nephews.”