Page 24 of His Loving Wife

“One night won’t be a problem. I hate for you to get back on the road too late,” I say.

“Splendid.” Aster claps her hands together. “We’ll bring in our luggage after dinner. Like I said, I’m starved.”

I nod to the bottle in her hands, a reminder. “How about that wine?”

Chapter 12

Now

By the time everyone has gotten their drinks and taken their seats, Andrew returns with the fish. This time the smell is much more pleasant, and I can feel my mouth salivating.

“That was fast,” I say, taking a drink.

“The guy at the fish place gave me this easy recipe. It’s a little spicy. Hope everyone can handle it,” Andrew says, placing the platter in the middle of the table. The meat is flaky and bronze on the outside and white and juicy on the inside when I take a bite. Even if it had been a slab of lard, I would have eaten it, just to make Noah happy. In his seat at the other end of the table, he is beaming.

“Good job, fishing buddy,” Andrew says to him.

“Tomorrow will be even better. I can’t wait to fish off the boat.”

“You’re renting a boat?” Aster asks, her tone a hair alarmed.

“Just for the rest of the week,” Andrew says. “Noah’s been hounding me about deep sea fishing.”

No one says anything for a few minutes, but it’s easy to guess what people are thinking. They’re well aware I’m not looking forward to a day out at sea.

“Well, the kids could be mighty fishermen. It runs in the family,” Aster says, breaking the silence. She nods to Noah and Willow. “Your grandfather lived to be on the water.”

He died there, too, I think to myself. I gulp my wine, refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the table.

As dinner winds down, Willow looks at me. “Mom, I told Sonja I’d call her.”

“You’re finished eating. Go ahead before the reception cuts out,” I say. Noah looks at me expectantly. “You can leave, too.”

We smile as the children scamper off to their respective bedrooms, then a thick silence hangs about the room.

“I must say, I’m proud that you’re even considering going on the boat tomorrow,” Aster says to me. “That shows growth.”

“You didn’t have to mention Dad. I don’t want the kids thinking of him every time they are on the water.”

“You seem to be the only person who has that problem.” She looks at David, making a tut sound. “Are we supposed to stop talking about him? It’s not like they don’t know what happened.”

“We’ve toyed with whether or not to buy our own boat,” David says, perhaps trying to change the subject. “Not sure if it’s worth the investment.”

“But it would be fabulous to have,” Aster chimes in. “Some of my happiest moments were made on the water.”

I take a big gulp from my wine glass. “Considering how much you two work, you may not get to enjoy it much.”

Beside me, I see Andrew smirk.

“It’s only a thought,” Aster says.

“How is work, by the way?” I ask.

“Busy as ever. David is working with graduate students now, which means all sorts of activities.”

“Lots of travel,” he says.

“And I’m not sure if I told you, but I’ve been working on this project focusing on young offenders. Really gripping stuff. I practically had to go to the beach house just to wipe my mind from it all.”