Page 76 of Right in Front of You

My brother came out from inside the cabin with a bottle of champagne. He popped the cork, saying, “It’s a big deal, Mols. I can count on one finger the number of people from Hope Bay who became doctors. Okay, maybe two if we include Doctor Burke.”

“Molly, are you going to give me my shots from now on?” Mackenzie pulled on Molly’s hand.

“Only if you would like me to.”

“You don’t like Doctor Burke giving your shots?” I asked.

“I do, but since Molly is a new doctor, she could practice on me.”

“Mac, Molly lives in a different city for now. Maybe if she moves back to Hope Bay?” Joelle looked to Molly, who shivered slightly at the mention of moving back. I wondered whether there was anything I could do to make her love Hope Bay as much as she used to when we were growing up, before her father started drinking.

“But Doctor Burke is getting old, and his hearing is not that good anymore,” Mac pouted.

“Mackenzie, that’s a little rude to say about Doctor Burke,” Jo scolded.

“But it’s true. Last time I asked him for a popsicle, he said he doesn’t have icicles,” Mac replied.

I was pretty sure that Doctor Burke had been joking about the icicles, but who was I to get in between a mother-daughter discussion?

“Daddy, is Mommy right?” Mac looked to her father. It was still a new sight for me to get used to. When Nick had been gone, the little munchkin would have usually come to me for advice.

“You miss her, don’t you?” Molly whispered from the side.

“Yeah, I do. But this is for the best. They’re a family now and they’re happy.”

As if on cue, Nick clinked the side of his beer bottle to get our attention. Mackenzie sat down on the deck to play with Nathan’s new toy car.

“We have another surprise and this one’s for everyone.”

I cocked my head and stole a glance at Jo. She was standing beside Nick and glowing. Her cheeks were flushed red, and as her hands slowly slid over her stomach, she said, “We’re expecting. We’re going to have a new addition to our family in just about seven months. Mac, you’re going to have a little sister or brother.”

Mackenzie shot up to her feet and screamed with joy. She was running around the boat deck, repeating, “I’m going to be a big sister! I’m going to be a big sister!”

After a round of congratulations to the expecting couple, I sat down beside Molly, who seemed to be taking in the sight of new stars up in the sky. The gentle breeze stroked her hair and an occasional ripple in the water echoed. I secretly hoped that tonight would revive something inside that girl. I wanted her to remember what it felt like to be in the company of good friends, close to home. I wanted her to know that I had her back, no matter what. I wanted her to trust me.

“Thank you so much for this. It was a really wonderful surprise.”

“The night isn’t over yet, Molly.” I kissed her on the cheek and left her to catch up with Jo while I talked to Max and Nick, who had set up fishing rods for Mac and Nathan. We turned the spotlights on the boat and put on some music. Joelle set up a table with sandwiches and fruit. After Mac caught her third trout, I took her to the middle of the deck for a dance to tire her out. It wasn’t as fast as I wanted it to be, but if no one knew about my injuries, I was pretty sure they wouldn’t have been able to tell that I had been pulled out of a burning house a month and a half ago.

“Uncle Carter, how do you kill a fish?” Mac asked me, with the most serious face ever, and then added quietly, “Ask me how.”

“How?”

“You drown it.” She started giggling uncontrollably. I lifted her up into my arms and spun her around. “That’s a funny joke, Mac.”

“I have another one.”

“You do?”

“How do you kill a bird?”

“I don’t know. How?”

“You throw it off a cliff.”

“You’re all full of jokes today, aren’t you?”

She yawned widely and snuggled into me, wrapping her little arms around my shoulders. “I missed you.”

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