Page 89 of Changing Tides

I check my watch and notice it’s almost eight. The show will start at sundown.

I sure hope Leia and I are able to make it, I think to myself as I watch the girl yawn as she climbs into Amiya’s lap.

Mom and Nana begin loading paper plates with all the side dishes while Ida Mae stuffs the buns with meat. I take one from Mom, and Ida Mae drops two burgers beside the potato salad. I finish it off by adding mustard, ketchup, pickles, and onions to each. Then, I walk over to the ledge and use it as a bar while I examine the activity below.

Spectators are sitting on the network of piers, elbow to elbow.

“You want another beverage, Sebastian?” Mom asks over my shoulder.

“I can get it. You don’t have to wait on me,” I reply.

“I know I don’t have to. Now, would you like a cold beer?”

“Yes, please.”

Avie is now sitting crisscross on the rug, cutting a patty into bite-sized pieces for Leia to dip in ketchup.

I guess a mom is always a mom, no matter how little or grown her baby is.

The door slams open, and Anson and Parker come barreling onto the roof.

“The party is finally here,” Anson bellows.

“You’re just in time,” Nana says as she hands them each a tinfoil-covered plate.

As darkness settles over us, I make my way to the rug. I lean my back against Avie’s, who has returned to the chair beside Mom, her legs stretched out beside Leia, who is doing her best to keep her eyes open as Minnow licks ketchup from her face.

Everyone cheers at the screech of the first rocket jetting above us. It explodes into a dazzling display of light, color, and sound. Sparks, stars, and a kaleidoscope of patterns fill the sky over and over, following the boom, and fizzle down to the water.

Leia curls into my side as she oohs and aahs. Avie’s hand finds my hair. Running her fingers through the wind-tangled strands, she gently massages my scalp. It’s a small but intimate and comforting act.

I sit here, surrounded by these girls and my family, completely content.

Avie

“What does one wear to a clambake?” Amiya asks from the living room, where she is digging through her suitcases, which have exploded in the corner between the sofa and the front windows.

I peek out of my room and down the hall. “I have no clue. I’ve never been to one either. It’s on the beach, so go with your gut,” I call.

Sebastian invited us to join him and the boys for a clambake tonight. They raked in a generous amount of them this afternoon. He even arranged for Leia to spend the evening at the splash pad, followed by a sleepover with his mom and grandmother so we could enjoy a late-night bonfire on the beach.

Rifling through my closet, I settle on a gauzy white minidress and a pair of natural raffia sandals.

I grab a brown leather crossbody and toss in my phone and lip gloss.

“Damn, your tits look amazing in that,” Amiya says as I join her in the living room.

The dress is loose and casual but has a dangerously low-cut neckline.

“As do yours,” I say as I take in her halter top and low-slung, ankle-length boho skirt.

“We are two hot bitches,” she sings.

Two minutes later, a horn blows, and we climb into Sebastian’s vehicle with the boys and drive out to The Point.

“Ah, do you smell that?” Anson asks as we exit the Bronco.

“What?” Amiya asks.

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