“What’s up with the braces?” Sully asked.
She explained Noah’s condition, his limitations but good prognosis. “The hardest part for him right now is that he’s growing and suffers some muscle contractures and pain, but he’s getting stronger all the time. This might be a setback, losing his mom. She was his best cheerleader.”
Helen walked over from the house to the store and joined them on the porch and chatted for a while, listening to Hannah’s story, then briefly telling her own.
“It was so similar, except it was my little sister, pregnant at eighteen, then a routine surgery when she was twenty-two went awry and we lost her. From that point on, it was the two of us, just me and Leigh. It was both the hardest and best part of my life. I am grateful for every day of it. As you will be, I’m sure.”
“It’s a gift,” Hannah said. Then in a whisper she added, “I’m so afraid I’ll screw it up.”
“I know,” Helen said. “Every parent says that.”
“Well, I did screw it up,” Sully said. “But Maggie turned out great in spite of me. You want a sandwich, sweetheart?”
“Oh, thank you, Sully,” Helen said. “That would be so nice. Hannah, how about a sandwich for you two? It’s probably break time.”
“You guys,” Hannah said. “You make me feel like a visiting relative!”
“Locals turn into family around here,” Helen said. “That’s how Sully made me love him. He wooed me with lunch. And other things.”
When Sully brought a plate of sandwiches out, Hannah called Noah to come.
“Just a little while longer, Hannah! Please.”
“Come and eat,” Sully said. “Bring Beau with you. You can play again after lunch. I can’t have you wear out my dog.”
“’Kay,” he said. As they were walking toward the porch, Beau was jumping at the ball and Noah just gave it to him. When he got to the porch, he said, “It’s better if Beau carries the ball, I guess. I’m not going to make him fall down.”
* * *
By the time they got back to Owen’s house, Owen was on the dock, sitting in a canvas deck chair. A couple of fishing rods were standing up, balanced in the slats, their lines out. Noah went nearly running to the dock and Romeo got up, wagging in anticipation.
“Owen, whatcha got there?” Noah said.
“I’m doing a little fishing. You want to try?”
“Is it okay?”
“Of course. I invited you.”
Noah fished for an hour before he caught anything and giggled at the way Romeo barked at the fish. About a half hour later, Noah got up to go ask Hannah for some drinks. Romeo jumped up with excitement and accidentally knocked him off the dock and into the water. With lightning speed, Owen reached those long arms down into the water, grabbed Noah’s collar and hauled him up onto the dock before he could sink.
Hannah, hearing the commotion, came running, her feet pounding on the dock. But what she saw was a soaking-wet Noah, sitting on the dock, laughing so hard he snorted.
“Oh, Noah, did you fall in?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Noah said between giggles. “More like some big horse knocked me in.”
“I told you he’s a little clumsy.”
“You need dry clothes right away. I don’t want you getting a chill.”
“I’m not getting a chill. And I only got one fish so far and Owen threw him back!”
“I have an idea,” Owen said. “It’s after four. Get cleaned up and dried off and I’ll take you out for dinner. We’ll go to town to Shandon’s. They have the best burgers in Colorado and the biggest ice-cream sundaes I’ve ever seen.”
“Owen, you don’t have to do that,” Hannah said.
“It’s the least I can do! Romeo tried to dunk my fishing buddy! I haven’t had anyone to fish with for a long time. What do you say, Noah? Want to go out to dinner?”
“Can we, Hannah?”
“If you’d like. But let’s please get you dried off and warmed up.”
Noah squished and laughed all the way back to the house. Hannah made him take a warm bath and helped him get into dry clothes, as much as he would let her help. She had to use the blow-dryer on his shoes and muttered, “First thing we’re going to do is get another pair of these shoes...”
“They cost a million dollars, my mom said.”
“Then I’ll have to get a loan,” she said.
In an hour Hannah and Noah were sitting politely on the porch, patiently waiting. “I could go get him,” Noah said.
“It’s only five. Let’s not be overanxious.”
But just about then, Owen came out of the barn. He walked across the yard and said, “I see you’re ready to do the town. Can we take your SUV, Hannah? You’ve got Noah’s booster all hooked in.”
Owen drove, the seat pushed all the way back, Noah laughing at how Owen had to fold up his long legs and his knees still hit the steering wheel. It was as if Noah had never been out to dinner before—he yammered the whole way. Does Romeo ever get to go in the truck? Can Romeo fetch? Are you gonna have a hamburger and ice cream? How long you been fishing? How long you been here? Your whole life?
Hannah sighed and just chuckled. Once at the pub and seated in a booth, they looked at menus and Hannah said, “I think the burgers are huge. Do you want a kid’s size or do you want to tell me what you want on your burger and share it with me? Because I won’t be able to eat a whole one anyway.”
Noah chose to share and in no time their table was filled with the most beautiful food. And it should not have surprised her that Owen knew a lot of people, but then, anyone who lived around here for a while would be well acquainted. A few local firefighters were there and stopped by to say hello, which thrilled Noah. They even invited him to drop by the firehouse sometime to sit on the big engine. The pub’s owner, Rob Shandon, introduced himself to Hannah and Noah. Owen introduced them as his rental guests.
“Aren’t you usually out of town when the place has guests?” Rob asked.
Owen explained his trip had been canceled but he was glad of that because he now had a fishing buddy. Anyone who stopped by the booth to say hello to Owen was introduced to Hannah and Noah.
Noah had barely put a dent in his burger when it was time for ice-cream sundaes. When they came to the table, Noah actually sighed, making Hannah and Owen laugh.
On the way home, the sunset still an hour away, Noah was nodding off in the back seat.
“Someone had a big day,” Hannah said.
“Need me to carry him in for you?”
“Nah,” she said. “I’m getting some pretty good upper body muscles.”
“I’m going to let Romeo out for his evening romp. If you’re not too tired, would you like to sit on the porch for a while?”
“I’m not the tired one,” she said, giving a grunt as she hoisted Noah into her arms.
When she got him inside, he flopped back on the bed, his arms and legs totally limp. She got rid of those heavy shoes first, then the braces, the socks, then tried to sit him up to pull his shirt over his head. He put his head on her shoulder and didn’t help a bit. “Give me a hand here, buddy. We’ll get your pants off and you can just wear your T-shirt and some flannel bottoms, in case you get cold in the night.”
“Hannah,” he said in his tiny voice. “I knew we were having a vacation. But I didn’t know I was gonna like it.”
“We’re just getting started, honey.” She kissed his brow. “Snuggle under, snug as a bug. I love you, Noah.”
“Love you, too, Mama.”
For just a moment, Hannah nearly crumbled in tears. And quickly, Noah began to snore softly. He’d been with her for just a moment, his mother. She found herself hoping he would remember that in the morning. “Hold him tight, Erin,” she whispered.
* * *
Owen leaned back and put his feet up on the porch rail, admiring the moon glistening on the lake. When Hannah stepped onto the porch, she was looking somehow bedraggled. He should have insisted on carrying Noah.
She sat down with a sniff.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “Something’s wrong.”
“It’s just one of those things that I suppose could happen a lot. He just said, ‘I love you, too, Mama.’” She inhaled a jagged breath. “Poor guy. And I miss her so much, too.”
“Of course you do,” he said. “You know what would be good? We should raid the landlord’s liquor closet and wine cellar.” He stood.
“Oh, that’s locked,” she said absently. He tilted his head and gave her a sly smile. “Oh, right, you probably have the key.”
“What’s your pleasure? Wine? Cocktail? Brandy? Liqueur?”
“A glass of wine. Any red would be lovely, thank you.”
He went slowly, giving her a chance to cry a little if that was what she wanted or needed. He returned with a bottle, a corkscrew and two glasses. He showed her the label and she said, “Whoa. I don’t know much about wine but whoever bought that does. Bordeaux ’82.”
“Let’s see if it lives up to its reputation. There are a lot of counterfeits running around and I’m no expert.” He pulled the cork and smelled it. “I think we’ll be okay.”
Romeo came to the porch and lay down right beside Hannah. She casually gave that big head a massage. “Good old boy, you did a good deed today. You made a little boy happy. We’ll work on your gracefulness.”
Owen poured a small amount in a glass for Hannah to taste. She swirled and sniffed and tasted. “Oh, Owen,” she said. “This is so nice.”
He smiled and added to her glass. Then he poured his and put the bottle on the deck. “You know, the melancholy way the day came to an end notwithstanding, we all had a very nice day. Noah had some big fun!” Then he brought the wine to his lips. “Damn, that’s actually wonderful. And I didn’t even let it breathe.”