194.

The Tucker beach gathering grew as Friday afternoon wore on. By the time three p.m. arrived, there were at least sixty family members scattered between the beach and the house. Sarah, Olivia, and Brooke surveyed the crowd from a distance.

"Did we tell the town we were doing this?" Sarah asked.

"Actually, yes," Olivia said, " Your Dad knows the police chief. He offered him a job."

Sarah laughed, "Right."

"We thought about it."

Sarah now raised her eyebrows, "You're thinking about being here permanently?"

"We thought about it," Olivia said, "For a few minutes. And we don't want to live here full time. We want the kids in the city. We love the city."

"Gawwwd you scared the hell out of me," Sarah said, "Because I cannot live here and I must be close to you."

"We also took that into consideration."

"Thank you...where's Grandma?"

Brooke narrowed her eyes, "She's mingling. She's got to be the oldest person herel, like, she's the only aunt. She doesn't have any more sisters or brothers. She's like everyone's mother or grandmother. Poor thing. We're never going to see her this weekend and she's going to be exhausted."

Sarah watched Caroline toast with a twenty-something relative and remarked, "Poor thing my ass."

"Gosh," Olivia said, "It's so funny...you can tell who's a blood relative and who's not. They all look alike."

"Well, mostly alike, right Livvie," Sarah said with an elbow nudge.

Olivia happily played along, "Yes. Mostly alike. Ed's the most handsome." There he was, across the lawn, drinking beer and chatting but occasionally glancing over at her and beaming when they locked eyes. Olivia couldn't help admiring how effortlessly handsome he looked in his well-worn khakis, light blue polo, and deck shoes.

"Gahh, Livvie, I'm glad you're finally on board with my obsession."

"I kind of am the obsession."

Brooke choked on her drink. "Omigod."

"Well, hell," Sarah patted Brooke's back, "Brookey, you're sounding like me. Oh! Hey! It's G!"

Olivia immediately felt terrible. She'd promised to keep her phone close by so G could let her know when she was close. But, there she was, smiling but looking travel weary with an overnight bag in one hand and a tote in the other. She darted over. "Hi! Did you try to call? I'm so sorry."

"I didn't," G said, "I was listening to music and kind of zoning out, well, as much as you can and drive, so, I'm good."

Ed sauntered over, "Hey, G, welcome!" He gave her a quick, semi-awkward hug, "Place hasn't been the same without ya."

G smiled at the effort.

"Can I take your bags?" Ed asked.

"Sure." She handed over both the tote and the duffle and looked out into the lawn. "Is this everyone?"

"No," Olivia said, "We have about half here. More are arriving tonight. Caroline is in her element. Brooke, Sarah, and I are, well, talking about everyone from the sidelines," Olivia chuckled, "Care to join us?"

G smiled, "I'd love to."

…

There was typically little wiggle room in Maggie's morning routine. She woke up early enough to get herself ready, grab her lunch and backpack, shove on her shoes, and run out the door a few steps behind Wyatt. So when Olivia found her teenage daughter sitting at the island waiting for Wyatt for once, she pounced on the opportunity, though, she didn't make it seem like she was pouncing.

"What's taking Wyatt so long?" Olivia asked.

"Oh, you know, he has a presentation today."

"Right," Olivia replied. She had seen the presentation dozens of times in all of its stages. "Honey, about the subway yesterday…"

"Mom, it's not a big deal," Maggie said, "I told Wyatt to not make it a big deal. I wouldn't have even told you," Maggie winced and called out her own blunder. "Ooo…."

Olivia flashed a smile that wasn't totally forced. She wasn't stupid; she knew her children kept details from her, but she also knew and appreciated that they knew when to come clean and when it might be okay to omit a few things. Also, Wyatt eventually and almost always spilled the beans. "Maggie, those things happen. I just want to make sure, you can handle...handle it when someone gets creepy or aggressive."

"Mom, we don't ride at night and hardly ever alone. There's the potential for creepers everywhere," she groaned, "Gawwd, I'm really not helping myself here, am I?"

Olivia laughed. "All I've ever wanted was for you to be safe. But I know I can't be there all the time."

"No," Maggie said sternly, "You can't.

Olivia rounded the island and kissed her daughter on the head, "Believe it or not, I trust you. And now, I'm going to see what's keeping your brother. He may need a pep talk on the way to school."

Maggie grinned. She undid her ponytail, heaved her head forward, and re-tied her brown locks into a messy ponytail. "I'm a good pep talker!"

When Maggie smiled it was like Olivia was looking into a mirror. "You are sweet girl," she said, "You are."

…...

G was okay with sleeping in the kids' room. There were two queen-sized beds plus room for toddler trundles, and she had been granted one of the queens. The kids piled into one bed at first, but Maggie was quick to take advantage of the guest, and even when G snuck into the room at midnight, the little girl made her way over to the other bed.

"Hi G," Maggie whispered, not sounding the least bit tired.

"Hi Maggs."

"Do a story?"

"Oh, um, well, how about we go to sleep and we do stories in the morning?" G whispered. The last thing she wanted was Olivia or Ed to have to come into the room and find out the disruption was on account of her.

"Story for b'time!" Maggie protested, her voice growing in volume.

"Well, um, okay," G said, "Want to come up here?" Even in the dim light G saw Maggie's dazzling grin. She lifted her onto the mattress and instinctively cuddled the little girl. "What story do you want?"

"Beach story!"

Beach story? Shit. Very quickly, G made up a story involving a sand princess and a realm of the ocean which may or may not have been based on Poseidon and Aphrodite and maybe a bit of Charybdis, but G had forgotten most of what she'd learned about mythology. Maggie loved the tale, though, and asked for another.

"How about we tell another one tomorrow?" G said. "I'm very tired. Aren't you very tired?"

"Wanna grillcheese?" Maggie asked.

G almost evaporated into a puddle of nerves. What was it with this family and grilled cheese in the middle of the night?

"No, um, let's just go to sleep and when we wake up we can do stories and grilled cheese?" G suggested.

Maggie yawned, looked around, and shrugged. "Okay," she said. "I seep here. Wiffou."

"Okay." G stared at the ceiling. Would Ed and Olivia think it was weird if they found her asleep with Maggie at her side? Would they even know? Should she say something? Ugh. It was all exhausting. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe-no-Olivia said step out of a comfort zone. Well, walking into someone else's family reunion certainly ticked that box. Yet, all throughout the afternoon and evening, Olivia gravitated toward G. At first G assumed it was because she didn't want G to feel like an outsider, but maybe it was to prevent Olivia from feeling like one.

G tried to stay awake until Maggie was sufficiently asleep so she could transfer her to the other bed, but Maggie outlasted her. The next thing G knew, the sunlight was peeking in through the slats in the shutters and Maggie was next to her, sound asleep on her back, her face both cerubic and triumphant.

"G?" Noah sat up, "You sleepin' in?"

"No…"

"Kay, me an' Wyatt are goin' downstairs."

"Okay. Me too," G stood up, "What should be do with Maggie?"

Noah shrugged and turned the doorknob, "Looks like small sister's sleepin in."

Wyatt put his finger to his lips, "Shhh," he hissed then held out his hand, "C'mon. Gamma ha'ci'min'roll!"

"I don't really know that for sure," Noah said once they were in the hallway, "But I'll ask, kay?"

"Okay," G said with a smile, "Fingers crossed."

….

Ed was flirtatious and frisky on the cab ride home from Phoebe and Fin's. Olivia attributed his mood to the bourbon and to the fact that the evening had been enjoyable and fun. Somehow, there had been no awkward moments. The four of them got along like old friends rather than four cops with longstanding, tangled feuds and disputes. After dinner they drank a bottle of port and told old war stories and only once did Tucker's job come up.

"Must have been weird seeing him with flowers," Phoebe said after Olivia boasted about a time Ed picked her up and unexpectedly and for no reason gifted her a bouquet.

"Yeah," Olivia said, "Usually when IAB showed up I was the one handing over a badge and a gun...tough to go from that to flowers?" She pretended to be overly shocked and they all laughed.

But now, on the debrief, Olivia wanted to make sure they were okay. "I was joking about the flowers," she said, "you know that right?"

"I do." He smirked, kissed her, but then his face clouded.

"What?"

"Nothin," he said, "It was a good night. Way better than I expected."

"But…?"

Ed shifted so he was facing her, "You want to go somewhere for a nightcap? Vanessa's maybe?"

"That's all the way downtown."

"But Noah's good? Lucy's there?"

"Sure…"

"I really like that place."

"And the tenderloin really was overdone," Olivia said. "I didn't eat much. I hope they didn't notice."

"I didn't want to say anything, but, yeah," Ed replied, laughing. "And they didn't notice, or, well, they might notice tomorrow when there're a lot of leftovers, but they didn't eat much either. It really was fun, Liv, but…" he trailed off and looked pathetic.

"Okay. Nightcap it is." Olivia patted his cheek and redirected the driver, "But I'm not letting you off the hook. I know there's something bothering you."

Ed put his hands up. "I swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

"I also think you're a little, uh, bourbon heavy, Captain."

"Maybe."

"So what is it? Let's cut to the chase?"

Ed swallowed, "Can we get to the restaurant first?"

"Sure, but, one thing," he kissed her firmly and grinned as he tilted his head back, "I love you. And I loved being there with you tonight. Thank you for letting that happen. You coulda blocked it, you coulda-"

"-I didn't," Olivia said. She stared into his eyes and didn't let him divert his gaze. "Is that what you wanted to say?"

"No."

"So...Vanessa's?"

"Yes please, ma'am."

Olivia laughed and leaned against him. "Captain Tucker, has anyone ever told you you're irresistibly cute."

"No."

"Well, you are."

"I'll consider it a first," he said, "Oh, and, by the way...you are, too."

…

Since Brooke and, to an extent, Sarah were at the helm of all events, Ed was able to arrange to partner with his cousin Michael for the golf outing on Saturday morning. He was happy to reconnect with everyone in attendance, but there were certain people he liked more than others, and Michael was at the top of the list. He was also a very good golfer, and once Ed got warmed up, they made a formidable duo. Rounding out their foursome were Ed's brother John and another cousin who was close to their age, but acted much older. Ed was content in the cart with Michael and ice cold beers. It was a gorgeous morning and the balls seemed to rocket from their clubs. Playing well, plus the alcohol, boosted their spirits. John, on the other hand, was not a good golfer and was having trouble. There were always several minutes lost looking for balls in the woods or rough. The other cousin was not bad, but he may or may not have been drunk at the beginning of the round and grew more belligerent the further behind they got.

While Ed and Michael waited out another search on the fairway, they cracked two more beers and wondered aloud how the other players were doing. They were under par and possibly in the hunt to win or at least grab a skin or two. Ed swigged his first sip, "Ten a.m. and on beer number three," he said, "Sounds like a typical Saturday for my Dad." He raised the glass reverently.

Michael laughed. "Mine too. Saturdays were for working on the car, but, then again, maybe that was an excuse to hide in the garage. Sounds trite, but it's true. You ever think about how different your kids' lives are from yours? Especially the young ones?"

"All the time," Ed replied. "And how different their childhood is from Sarah and Brooke's. Big time different."

"I bet."

"I'll be seventy when they're twenty," Ed muttered.

Michael nodded. He stared into the woods-if it weren't for John's pale legs he would be barely visible-and his eyes glassed over. "Natalia has cancer," he mumbled.

Ed nearly dropped his beer. "What?"

"Yeah. We found out two weeks ago. Funny...she's in the best shape of her life. When she retired she started doing triathlons, joined a bunch of groups to hike, swim, paddleboard...and then she woke up one day and sensed something was wrong. I thought she was nuts, but, women, man, I don't know what it is…"

"What's the prognosis?"

Michael guzzled at least half the can of beer, saw John reappear, sat back down in the passenger seat of the golf cart, and motioned for Ed to move forward. "Not sure yet. Ya know, the second there's a diagnosis there are a million specialists, decisions...we're honestly glad for this respite so we get a break from it all. It's dizzying. And I'm scared."

Ed stopped at the best of their two shots and selected a club. He made a couple of practice swings and took an extra long time to line up his shot. Before he made the actual swing, he looked up at Michael. "I can't imagine," he said before blasting a nine iron and smirking at his accuracy.

Michael took his turn and they rode toward the green.

Ed knew he should say more. He was worried about further upsetting Michael, but assumed transparency would be best. "I'd be goin' crazy," he said, "You're holding up well."

"It's Natalia. She's the optimist. They caught it early, she says. People beat it all the time, she says. And all I think about-"

"-what the hell, Mikey!" The cousin shouted, "You two on the Senior Tour or something?"

Ed and Michael admired their shots which were within inches of each other.

"We're not," Michael quipped, "But we may need to consider it. Hope you can putt, old man."

Ed, a little disappointed their heart-to-heart was put on hiatus, grabbed his putter and joined the others on the green. He glanced toward the ocean...toward their house...and, in a new way, felt tremendous and unquantifiable gratitude for everything he had. He'd enjoy golf now, but he was almost desperately looking forward to seeing his wife later that afternoon.

….

#Tuckson