Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Nope.” She walks over, just grabbing the platter of fruit and a fork. “I’m good. We can have a picnic.” I laugh that she is using my words against me. She really needs to stop remembering everything I’ve said.
As we sit and eat, I turn on the television, flipping to the news as we finish up. Surprisingly there isn’t much left after we finish. “Go change,” I tell her, and she gets up and skips to her room while I clean up the plates and push the carts into the hallway. I’m in my bathroom when she comes back in and yells she’s done. I open the door and see her there in her bathing suit. “You need a cover-up and bring me some sunscreen; I’ll do it now before we get on the boat.” It takes her less than a minute to come back into the room wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top with the sunscreen in one hand and her hairbrush in the other. I do her hair first as she looks in the mirror. “We are going fishing today,” I remind her, and she lights up because she loves to fish. “How about we just stay the two of us today?” I focus on her hair. “Let everyone else relax.” And by everyone, I mean Abigail. I don’t say the words out loud, but I hope I don’t have to.
“Okay,” she agrees, and I wonder if she understands what I’m saying. I finish her fishtail braid, then apply sunscreen on her face and arms, and she does her own legs. I grab my backpack, throwing in more sunscreen, her iPad, and a change of clothes for her, just in case. When we walk out of the room, the carts are gone.
Penelope holds my hand, and when we get to the lobby, there are already two buses waiting for us and it looks like everyone is here. “Morning,” I say to Matthew, who is standing beside Max each with a clipboard.
“Right on time,” Max relays, writing something on the board in front of him before turning to Matthew. “Can you keep up with me, please?” He points at the board. “No wonder we are always late. You are supposed to check them off.”
“What is going on?” I ask of them as they check off names.
“We are taking control of the people,” Matthew states, “so we don’t leave with anyone missing.”
“I wish,” Gabriella mumbles, walking past us. She wears a huge straw hat, a black bikini top, a wraparound black skirt, and strappy high heels. “Gabriella is here.” She walks to the bus and gets in.
“Ignore her.” I hear Abigail from behind me. “Someone drank too much with Christopher and Matty on the beach.”
“She’s wearing heels,” Matthew observes, and I roll my lips.
“We are going fishing,” Max says, shaking his head.
“She put on a sequined dress this morning, so you are all welcome,” Abigail shares, looking at Penelope. “Love your hair.”
“Dad did it,” she affirms. I wait for her to look at me, and when she does, it’s like everything in me feels complete. She’s wearing a white bikini top, a white wraparound skirt, and flip-flops. Her hair is piled on her head. “It’s a fishtail braid.”
“That’s very cool.” She smiles at her. “You are one step closer to becoming a mermaid.” She winks at her before she looks at her uncles. “Abigail is present,” she announces before walking into the bus Gabriella just walked onto. I grab Penelope’s hand and go to the opposite bus, just to make sure that I give her space.
It doesn’t take long before the buses leave and an even a shorter time before we get to the marina, where four catamarans are waiting for us. “Two are for fishing, and two are for swimming.” I hear someone say and walk toward the boat that is fishing.
Five guys are waiting to help us set up. Penelope and I sit next to each other with the fishing poles in front of us. There is one seat left on our side, and before I can say anything, Penelope gasps, “Abigail, are you fishing?”
I close my eyes and curse everyone in the universe and even out of the universe. “Yes,” she confirms, looking around, and even she is trying to get away from us.
“Come sit with us,” Penelope invites, and I don’t know if she is guilted into it, but she comes over and drops into the seat next to me. Cooper comes onto the boat with Emma, Mia, and Parker. “Dad, can I go say hi?” she asks, and I nod at her as she goes, leaving me and Abigail alone.
I rub my hands on my shorts because they are so sweaty with nerves. “So you fish?” I say.
“Yes,” she confirms, “when we were younger, we used to go up to Canada where Uncle Max has a place, and we used to fish all the time.”