Page 42 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
Andre leaned in close and lowered his voice as if he were sharing a secret as he said, “I got it from the giraffe in the park!”
Joni wiggled from Violet’s arms, giggling. She reached for each of their hands and pulled them toward Rowan. “Come on! There’s hamburgers and hot dogs and lizards and snakes…”
As Joni rattled off several types of animals, Violet said, “Joni’s got the greatest imagination on the planet.”
Joni let go of their hands and ran to Rowan. He was a big man, at least six four, with shaggy hair, a short beard, and kind eyes. He lifted Joni up and kissed her cheek. “Love you, Jojo.”
He set her in the sand as she said, “Love you, too, Daddy.”
“How’s it going, sugar?” Rowan threw an arm over Violet’s shoulder, hugging her against his side.
Sugar?
Rowan extended a hand and said, “Hi. I’m Rowan. It’sAndre, right?”
“No, Daddy,” Joni said. “His name ispretzel!”
Andre shook his hand and said, “She’s right. My nameispretzel, but you can call me Andre if you’d like.”
Joni grabbed Violet’s hand and said, “Can me and peanut butter go down by the water?”
“You know the rules.” Rowan winked at his little girl.
Joni turned wide, hopeful eyes up at Violet and said, “Would you like to play by the water with me?”
Violet glanced at Andre. “Think you’ll be okay for a few minutes?”
“Of course,” he said.
“Yay!” Joni dragged Violet toward the water, where a few other children were putting their toes in the water and then running up the beach.
“She’s a cutie,” he said to Rowan.
“Violet or Joni?” Rowan smiled and said, “I’m kidding. She’s a great kid, and Vi’s pretty awesome, too. Let’s go grab a drink.”
They walked down the beach to where a group of people sat on chairs and blankets in a semicircle, talking and eating. There was a mix of twentysomethings and seniors. Parked by the dunes were three trucks with enormous tires, one with coolers in the back. Near the trucks there were two grills and a table covered with platters of burgers, hot dogs, salads, pasta dishes, cookies, and a host of other delicious-looking food.
Andre and Rowan grabbed sodas, and Rowan introduced him to some of the other volunteers. After chatting with the others for a while, they sat in the sand talking. Rowan was easygoing, smart, and he kept a keen eye on his daughter, who was busy building a sandcastle with Violet.
“So, who goes first?” Rowan asked.
“For…?”
“You know, the regular crap that we’re avoiding but probably should get out of the way.” He sipped his soda.
“Ah, well, Violet’s already filled me in on how you two met. She said you own a food truck and that you’re raising Joni alone. I’m sorry about your wife.”
“Carlotta was my girlfriend, not my wife, but thank you. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. But you’ve got one up on me. Vi didn’t tell me anything about you, other than your name.”
“That doesn’t really surprise me.”
“Nah, it shouldn’t if you know Vi as well as I think you do.” Rowan set his soda can in the sand and looked over at Violet and Joni.
Joni was sitting in Violet’s lap, playing with the ends of Violet’s hair. Violet was rocking side to side, and she looked like she was singing. Andre had seen Violet with dozens of children in Ghana, and she’d been just as at ease with each and every one of them.
“To be honest,” Rowan said, “Violet told me everything I needed to know by taking you to the coffeehouse. I saw Steph and Cory the other day, and they told me you’d been there a few times with her. But even if I hadn’t known that, the way she looked at you before going off with Joni? That told me she totally digs and trusts you, because Vi doesn’t look for approval from anyone.”
“It’s mutual.” He told Rowan how he and Violet had met and about their time together overseas. And then he said the hardest thing of all. “She took off more than two years ago, and I had no idea where she was or how to find her.”
