Cheryl St.John - Child of Her Heart

She nodded in agreement, however.

“I thought we’d find something else to do,” he suggested. “Spend some time seeing the sights. Will you join us?”

Warm relief swept over her at his suggestion. She shouldn’t be reliant on others for a good time, but she’d eagerly been looking forward to today. Justin and the kids were so accepting and friendly. They didn’t know about her dilemma or have opinions about what she needed to do. She could relax and enjoy herself around them. “I’d love it.”

“Great. We’ll take my vehicle.”

“Are we going to see the whales and dolphins, Dad?” Lamond tugged on his father’s hand.

“No, that’s tomorrow, remember?”

Justin led them to a Lexus SUV with a cherry sheen so deep it was almost black. “Give me your keys and I’ll get Anna’s car seat. Do you have a stroller in your trunk?”

Meredith dug her keys from her bag. He returned quickly and fastened Anna’s carrier in the rear seat, facing backward. If this man was as efficient in court as he was with babies, he was a force to be reckoned with.

They all piled in and buckled up. Meredith chatted with Mauli while Justin drove south on the highway. Mauli had been frequenting the gift shops in the little beach town and described the delightful presents she was storing away for Christmas and birthdays.

When Justin parked, it was at a wharf area, and they got out. Their first stop was the public rest room in a charming cluster of shops built to look as though they’d been there a hundred years. While Meredith changed Anna, Justin unfolded the stroller he’d stored in the back of his vehicle. Lamond asked to push it, but Justin told him that was Meredith’s job.

Funnel cakes caught Lamond’s attention next, so Justin bought enough to go around.

“You’re a bad influence,” she said as the boys ran ahead and Mauli hurried after them. “I don’t usually eat this stuff.”

Justin leaned toward her and brushed powdered sugar from her chin. Her heart skittered at the touch and at his attention. Her reaction surprised her.

“Yeah, I’m bad to the bone,” he replied. “Watch yourself. I might suggest ice cream later.”

She laughed and felt Justin’s warm gaze.

“That’s a nice sound,” he said.

Warmth bloomed in her cheeks and she glanced aside.

Justin shifted his attention ahead. “Turn up here, fellas.”

After they’d turned right, a fantasyland of metal sculptures came into view, some intricate, some sturdier, all of them turning and spinning in the wind. Meredith’s attention was riveted. “Oh, my!”

“Isn’t it great? I kicked myself for not getting one of these last year. This time I’m buying something for myself and having one shipped to my mom, as well.”

Jonah and Lamond wound through the display of art. “Dad, I like this one!” the younger boy called.

Justin went to study the sculptures with his sons.

“Come on,” Mauli said to Meredith. “The guy who designs them works inside this building. If we’re lucky, he’ll be making something.”

Sure enough a tall young man in a cap was seated at a bench pounding metal into hollow shapes the size of half baseballs. He looked up. “Hi, ladies.”

They watched as he shaped half a dozen of the cups, all the while talking about his craft. He then fastened the cups to a frame that looked like a small windmill. It already had a dozen or more of the wind catchers attached. Finally he placed the whole piece before a huge fan. When he turned it on, the gadget came to life, smoothly rotating in the breeze.

Justin and the boys had entered the shop, and the boys made appreciative exclamations.

“I like that one, Dad!” Lamond said.

“You like all of them,” Justin replied with a laugh.

“But I like that one the best.”

“I do, too.” He turned to the artist. “Can I pay for that one and when it’s ready have it shipped to my home address?”

“No problem,” the man replied. He pushed an intercom button. “My wife’ll come down and take care of the details.”

“Now let’s find one for your grandma,” he said to the boys, and they began a new search.

Meredith pushed Anna’s stroller back outside and admired the metal sculptures, wondering if she’d regret not buying one today. It would be fun to have one in her yard as a remembrance of the ocean breezes.

She decided on a piece with six long, delicate, gently curving arms, the wind cups fashioned like shells and a counterweight on the opposite side of the wheel. As the wind caught it, the arms spun the shells in a whirl of shining metal. Pleased with her choice, she went inside and paid for her purchase.

“It’s only a few dollars more to ship two together,” the short, friendly faced wife of the artist said. “Unless you need priority or express shipping?”

Meredith blinked, turning the words over in her mind. “I only want one, thanks.”

“Your husband is having one shipped home, too, dear. Oh my, you haven’t disagreed on which one to get, have you?”

The woman’s assumption came clearly into focus. “I, uh, we’re not—”

Justin came to her rescue. “No, we want both of ours sent to the same address. I don’t need priority delivery, do you?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“We’ll save a few bucks on shipping this way,” he said to her. “I’ll bring yours over when they arrive. That okay?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

Purchases and delivery confirmed, they walked outside.

Meredith didn’t know what to say. The woman had assumed they were married.

“It’s okay,” Justin said to her. “It’s perfectly natural for a casual observer to assume we’re a couple, since we’re shopping and sight-seeing as what must look like a family. I’m sorry if you’re embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” she replied, almost defensively.

“Then there’s no problem.”

“None whatsoever.”

“Then let’s continue our holiday.”

He walked forward and she caught up to him.

Their next tour was of a boatyard. The owners built reproductions of rowboats and fishing boats dating back to the 1800s, and all the boats were available to rent and take out on the water.

“I’ll try this one,” Justin said, pointing to a particular rowboat bobbing on the calm inlet. “Who’s coming with me?”

Jonah and Lamond ran forward, but Mauli hung back. She glanced at Meredith and shuddered. “I don’t think I want to be on the ocean in a boat that small with those two kids jumping around. You go ahead, though. I’ll stay here with Anna.”

Meredith shook her head. Anna was awake and fussing. “I’ll just sit here with you, thanks.” She called across the distance, “We’ll stay here. Have fun.”

He and the boys scrambled into the boat and Justin rowed out in the water.

Meredith and Mauli bought drinks and sat at a round table with an umbrella. Gulls swooped nearby, pecked at the ground then flew off.

Meredith placed a receiving blanket over her shoulder, took Anna from her stroller and opened her nursing bra to place the baby at her breast. “So you’re a student?”

Mauli nodded. “I’m in my third year.”

“What’s your major?”

“Ethnic studies. African-American history last year.”

Meredith’s interest picked up. “Do you want to teach?”

“Teach or counsel. Kids probably.”

“Big surprise.”

Mauli smiled. “Yeah, I like kids.” She sipped her soft drink and glanced at Meredith. “You haven’t asked. My dad is black and my mother is white and Hawaiian. In Hawaiian, my name means dark-skinned.”

“I wouldn’t have asked.”

“You’ve heard a lot of questions about Anna, haven’t you?”