Page 17

They have a conversation, which I’m trying not to pay attention to.
“Things good?” Noah asks.
Are they?
Probably. Maybe. Could they be better—yes, they could—but I suppose everything is manageable at the moment.
I give him a face, one that he understands. This isn’t the place to talk about whatever it is that’s going on.
Nola and I stay for about two hours. After a series of goodbyes, we get to the bike. “How about tacos?”
She smiles and then shakes her head. “I’m full. Did you have any of the cake?”
I shake my head. “The pink and blue freaked me out a bit.” We both get on before I start my motorcycle. “What would you like to do?”
“How about we take some snacks down to the beach? I think I really want to sit on the beach for a bit.”
But too full for tacos.
Thankfully, my parents don’t live that far, and we’re back at the house in record time. I move about the house, gathering things before she changes her mind.
She doesn’t.
We lay a blanket out and sit, watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.
“It’s so pretty here.”
“It really is,” I tell her. “I think everyone is going to end up moving back to Beaumont.”
“Why would they want to do that?”
I lift one shoulder in a shrug. “It’s a different life there. It’s slow, community-oriented. It’s where we grew up.”
“Yes, I remember. It’s boring.”
That’s my sign to change the subject. I lie on my side and pull her to me, her back pressing into my chest.
“Today was fun.”
She nods. “Three babies will be a lot, and they’ll be tiny. They’ll have to stay in the hospital for a bit.”
“If they’re tiny, that means I can hold all three at the same time.”
“True,” she says, laughing.
I rest my hand on her stomach. “Do you ever think about having a baby? I know we just talked about you stopping your birth control. Maybe we try. It’s not like we’re not getting married when my tour stops in South Carolina.”
Her hand covers mine. It takes her a minute to answer. “Yeah, definitely.”
SIX
My tour starts in three days, and I think I’ve finally convinced Nola to come along for most of it. She would have to skip her fall semester or do it online. The last time, she visited many of the historical sites in places we stopped. I joined her when I could. I’ve told her she doesn’t have to be at every show, although I love looking to the side and seeing her standing there, swaying to the music. But I get it; it’s a lot.
On my way home from rehearsal, I stop and buy her a bouquet. I haven’t done this in a while, and this could be part of the minor discourse we’ve experienced. Ever since Peyton and Noah’s gender reveal, things have been really good between us. I’m calling whatever it was the past few months nothing more than growing pains. It’s natural for every relationship to have its ups and downs, its good days and bad days, after all.
I understand she wants things for herself, and I fully support her. If it’s important for her to stand on her own two feet, then I’ll stand slightly behind her and let her shine.
Pulling into the driveway, I maneuver around our car and push the kickstand down. I’m hoping she’ll want to take a ride later, maybe head out to some roadside taco stand.