Page 45 of Wishes at Water's Edge
Grayson has been my best friend for a while now,she thought as she started to dive into the dishes, scrubbing them off thoroughly before setting them into the dishwasher.But now that we’re parents together, the teamwork we’ve formed is better than ever.
She smiled as she thought about all of the little ways he looked out for her and supported her. Those things greatly increased the fondness and connection she felt with herhusband, and she knew that the older Cash got, the more parenting was going to strengthen her bond with Grayson.
After a few minutes of tidying up the kitchen at a whirlwind speed, she went upstairs to get Cash. She never liked to leave him alone for very long while he was awake, and she could hear him gurgling energetically over the baby monitor.
“Are you all ready to go?” she asked him as she stepped back inside the nursery.
Cash lifted his feet in the air and gave her a goofy smile. She scooped him up and kissed his cheek.
“Me too. Let’s go, handsome fellow.”
She went outside with Cash to the garage, where she settled him into his stroller before starting off down the sidewalk toward Hazel’s home. The women of her family had arranged to meet that afternoon at Hazel’s house to do preparation work together for Julia’s wedding.
It was a beautiful afternoon. Sunny and warm for autumn, with vibrantly blue skies overhead and a soothing hint of a breeze. Alexis enjoyed her walk, since it was seldom that she had time for intentional exercise anymore, and she loved looking down at Cash and watching the way he was gazing around him with rapt attention.
“We should do this more often, shouldn’t we, buddy?” she said, more for herself than for him. “I’m learning something new about parenting every day here. As long as the weather is nice, I can go out and get my exercise and you can have an epic adventure in your magical moving carriage.”
She chuckled over the way he was wiggling his feet and continued on her way, enjoying the scent of autumn in the air and the beautiful sights and sounds.
They arrived at Hazel’s charming little house a few minutes later. Alexis left the stroller in the driveway and went inside through the back door, carrying Cash in her arms. She heardthe sound of voices in the living room, and soon discovered that Vivian, Hazel, and Julia were already there, surrounded by papers and crafting supplies and mugs of coffee.
“Hi, Alexis.” Julia looked up from arranging craft supplies on the coffee table. Although she was smiling, it was apparent from her messy hair and her frazzled tone that she felt extremely flustered. “We’re just getting ready to make the centerpieces. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.” Alexis handed Cash off to his grandmother without a word, since it was clear that both Cash and Vivian were overjoyed to see each other, and gave her sister a hug. “Is everything going okay?”
Julia groaned. “Yes, in theory. I’m just—ah! I feel so behind. I wanted to be ahead by now, and I keep trying to get ahead, but I never can. Things always come up to slow me down.”
Alexis winced and shared a look with her mother. They both felt badly that Julia had been waitressing more to cover Alexis’s maternity leave right when she was planning her wedding. Alexis knew that waitressing could be exhausting work, and it probably wasn’t helping with Julia’s feelings of being overwhelmed.
“You make sure to take whatever time you need, honey,” Vivian said, patting Julia’s shoulder. “We can try to do without you at the pub tomorrow. I’m sure that would give you more time to do all of the things you need to for your wedding.”
Julia shook her head emphatically. “No, I won’t hear of that. I can absolutely keep working and plan the wedding at the same time. It’ll work out fine—I just need to get more organized.”
Alexis smiled at her sister. Julia had always been the queen of organization—she was even more organized than Alexis herself, which was really saying something.
“But being organized can’t create more time,” Hazel pointed out in her sweet way. “Make sure you don’t push yourself too hard, Julia. Remember we’re here for you whenever you need it.”
Julia smiled at her gratefully. “Thanks, Hazel. I definitely couldn’t do it without you guys. I really appreciate you coming over here to help me.”
“Hey, you know I can’t say no to a craft day.” Hazel grinned. “Crafting is one of the finest joys in life.”
“I absolutely know you can’t say no to a craft day,” Julia said, throwing her head back with laughter. “Do you remember that time in sixth grade, you would literally announce every morning at breakfast how many days were left until that craft fair that Grandma was going to take you to? And then when you got back from it, you talked for weeks about all of the things you’d seen that you wanted to make yourself.”
Hazel grinned, unabashed. “Of course I remember that. That was where I got the idea to crochet fluffy little sheep. I made one for Samantha when I was pregnant with her and it was her absolute favorite thing when she was a baby. She still has it somewhere.”
“And you made that crocheted octopus for Cash,” Alexis pointed out. “He loves it.”
Hazel’s eyes danced with amusement. “And it all began on that epic day back in sixth grade. No wonder I was counting the days.”
“You children were always getting so excited about one thing or another,” Vivian said, smiling fondly at the memory. “That was one of the best parts of having a house full of kids—there was always some joy or another to celebrate. Dean had just fixed something or Alexis had just found a perfect outfit at the thrift store or Julia had aced a math test or Hazel had baked an apple pie that was almost as good as Grandma’s.” She laughed. “There was always something to celebrate.”
“I think it’s still that way, even though we live in different houses,” Hazel said cheerfully. “Now we’re celebrating Mom’s relationship with Terrence, Alexis’s new baby, my new house with Jacob, and Julia’s wedding.”
“Hear, hear,” Alexis said, grinning. “And what about Dean? What are we celebrating for him?”
“Well, the en—” Hazel began, and then coughed suddenly. “The energy levels. He has so much more energy than he used to after hiring more mechanics at his shop.”
“True.” Vivian nodded. “I’m so happy for him.”
