Mia's round cheeks flushed a healthy rose as she flashed her smile, eyes sparkling with excitement. Her tiny hands barely covered Nicholas's blue eyes while he peeked through her fingers; giggling.
All three kids were already dressed in swimsuits for the beach; Nicholas in his blue wetsuit, Ethan in his orange and Mia in her floral pink favourite. All the kids sported a bright strip of green sun-block over their noses; something Ethan decided was "extra cool".
"You're looking!" Ethan chastised with a laugh.
"Am not!" Nicholas countered, still giggling.
"Are we ready?" Noah called from the kitchen.
"No!" Ethan yelled, pointing at the birthday boy, "Nicky's cheating! He can see!"
Holden, Lily and Luke laughed from where they sat, scattered around the living room.
"No peeping Nicky!" Noah replied, "Eyes closed."
Mia pressed her fingers tight together and Nicholas squeezed his eyes shut.
"Okay we're ready!" Luke called.
Noah appeared from the kitchen, also dressed for the beach in red boardshorts and that blue t-shirt that always took Luke's breath away. His eyes literally glowed as they reflected the fabric as well as his mirth. In his hands, Noah carried a long, flat object wrapped in Batman paper.
Everybody oohed and aahed as Noah reached the sofa on which the three children sat.
"Wow it's big!" Ethan exclaimed.
"What is it?" Nicholas yelped with eagerness. "Can I look now? Ha? Ha? Can I look?"
Luke cocked an eyebrow at Noah who returned the unspoken question with a wink. Luke had no idea what was in the parcel. It was definitely larger than any of the gifts they'd agreed to get Nicholas for his birthday.
Luke smiled over at his parents. Both Holden and Lily were enjoying the scene immensely, Holden rubbing his hands fondly up and down Lily's arms as she sipped on a mug of coffee.
Luke had noticed back on the farm how his parents still referred to each other as husband and wife; even though legally they were divorced. He supposed it was out of habit and truthfully he loved this about them.
"Okay," Noah sung once the object was placed on the coffee table between them all, "You can look now."
Nicholas's usually expressive eyes blew wider than Luke had ever seen as Mia released her hands from his face.
"That's for me?" he asked in disbelief.
"Aha." Noah nodded,
By now all three children were on their feet, tiny hands smoothing over the paper in anticipation of what lay beneath.
Mia looked as though she might burst with curiosity, jumping eagerly from one foot to the other.
"Can I open it?" Nicholas asked in a whisper.
Luke laughed out loud, "That's the whole idea kiddo!"
He looked up at Noah as his husband's hand came to rest on his shoulder. There was a look in Noah's eyes Luke couldn't quite read. It was almost as if Noah sought comfort in some way, although he wasn't sure what for.
Nicholas was just about to tear into the wrapping when he stopped and looked over at Ethan and Mia; regarding them for a moment.
"Wanna help?" he asked suddenly and received enthusiastic nods from both of them.
The adults shared a happy smile at Nicholas's generosity while the children set about ripping the paper to shreds, revealing beneath a shiny new custom made surfboard.
"Oh my God." Luke whispered, dropping from the sofa to his knees to get a better look at it. He smoothed his hand over the lacquered surface on which, carefully arranged with great consideration were various designs he instantly recognised as drawn by Nicholas himself.
"Wow." All three children breathed in unison.
Luke traced the multicoloured blue and green patterns like the waves of the ocean, and followed a line of tiny turtles, crabs and seashells crisscrossing vertically up the board.
"It's beautiful!" He sighed.
"It sure is!" Holden agreed as he and Lily stood to peer down at the board.
"It's mine?" Nicholas checked again, just to be sure.
"All yours baby." Noah told him, squeezing his small shoulders and kissing the top of his head, "Happy Birthday."
"Happy Birthday Nicky." Lily repeated, leaning over the table to kiss the boy's temple.
"It's so cool!" Ethan beamed.
Luke stood to his feet, running a hand through is hair.
"When did you do all this?" he asked Noah in wonderment.
Noah shook his head, and Luke realised now that the previous look he'd seen on Noah's face was a kind of sadness, "I didn't."
It didn't take long for Luke to understand; he had only to stare long enough in Noah's eyes to read the answer. He took a deep breath and dropped his gaze to the surfboard.
A whispered "Oh…" blew from his lips like a burn.
"What is it?" Lily asked, feeling the sudden change in atmosphere.
"It's from Josh." Noah explained.
Understanding Lily nodded and stepped back into Holden's arms to give the small family some space.
"Josh?" Nicholas asked confused.
Noah squatted by the child and Luke felt tears sting his eyes.
...
Noah had long abandoned his sound edits in favour of sneaking peeks at Nicholas as he knelt on a chair at the other end of the dining table industriously working on his next masterpiece.
Nicholas spent less and less time on drawing now that he'd grown in confidence in his new life and discovered in Mia the joys of having a regular playmate. But drawing was still Nicholas's most favourite hobby, not to mention the best way to get a look inside the child's head.
And it had become a habit, while Mia was at her therapy session, for him to share the dining table with Noah while they both silently worked on their individual projects; occasionally stopping for milk and cookies and sharing a fond smile.
Noah loved to watch him. Nicholas would frown down at the paper, occasionally scratching his cheek and at other times nibbling on the end of whatever coloured pencil he happened to be using. Noah could actually hear the cogs turning in his small head as he decided on the lines and shades he'd use next.
Sometimes the child would mutter or hum softly to himself as he worked. To Noah it was these sounds especially that made his heart ache in happiness. He would think back to the silent child Nicholas used to be and the first tentative time the boy uttered "No-ah".
He was about to suggest they take a break when a key jiggled in the front door and Josh entered, hair salt wet and slick against his cheeks. He was barefoot, wearing nothing but his blue floral boardshorts since it wasn't a long walk between the house and the beach.
"Hey kid!" Noah greeted, "How's the surf today?"
"Amped!" He grinned, "Water's extra warm and there was this dude hot-dogging it out there like crazy! I'll never be anywhere near as radical as that!"
Josh sauntered over to where Nicholas sat and peered over his shoulder at the drawing, "Beautiful dude."
Nicholas grinned up at his hero.
"Hey," Josh said, his eyes contemplative, "hang on a sec."
He disappeared toward the bedrooms and reappeared with a small sketchbook which he laid out in front of Nicholas.
"For me?" Nicholas asked.
"Yip." Josh replied, "But this is going to be a very special art book. So you can have it if…"
"If?"
Josh smiled and nodded, ruffling Nicholas's hair. He squatted down next to the chair on which the boy sat and held one hand on the book, "This book is just for patterns, okay?"
"Patterns?"
"Aha. Like these." He pointed to an area on the paper Nicholas had previously been working on. "I want hundreds like these, okay? All different ones."
"Okay." Nicholas agreed.
"And," Josh continued, "Pictures of the sea."
Noah's eyebrows rose. He wondered what Josh was up to but he didn't feel right asking. He could tell this was something special for the two boys to enjoy.
"You mean like the beach and stuff?" Nicholas clarified.
"Exactly! Anything to do with the beach and stuff… Deal?"
"Okay." Nicholas replied, obviously decided that sticking to a theme was a small price to pay for the ownership of a brand new sketchbook. "Deal!"
"Shake on it?"
Nicholas grabbed Josh's hand and they shook; gripped; thumb warred; twiddled their fingers together and broke their hands apart with a throw over their right shoulders.
Noah smiled at the secret handshake. He made a mental note to tell Luke about it.
...
"Nicky," Noah continued after recounting the tale, "I found the board hidden in the garage. I think Josh had it made for you for your birthday."
Nicholas nodded and then smiled as he realised, "The patterns were for my surfboard." His chest puffed out proudly.
"Yes! Yes I think so," Noah returned the grin, sniffing back his own emotion and hugging Nicholas for a moment.
When he stood back up Luke kissed his cheek, shaking his head, "That kid…"
Noah threaded a hand through Luke's hair, "I know…"
They both released a breath of shuddered air and then Noah pulled back, "Okay! What do you say we try this new baby out?"
"Yes!" All three kids yelled simultaneously.
And suddenly the mood was jovial once more; Ethan and Mia asking Nicholas whether they could have a turn on the board. There was much noise and fuss as they collected towels and bags and headed for the door.
Luke watched sadly. He felt that now familiar kick in his stomach as the door swung open and a blast of warm air blew in on the wind. His hands started to shake and he quickly stuck them in his pockets to hide how bad it was.
Noah touched his shoulder and he peeled his eyes from the doorway, "You gonna be okay?"
Luke smiled crookedly at Noah, "Yip. I'll get breakfast started."
"I hate leaving you on your own."
Luke shook his head, letting Noah know it was okay. "Today's about Nicky."
"Come on Noah!" Mia called impatiently, "Come on!"
Noah grinned and grabbed the surfboard from the coffee table.
"Have fun!" Luke patted Noah's backside on his way out the door.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay here with you?" Lily asked from the doorway with a concerned frown.
"No, Mom!" Luke insisted, "Go! Enjoy! How often do you get to visit the beach?"
She laughed her agreement and waved as she left.
It was awfully quiet once the door shut behind her.
…
It was 7:30 by the time they made it to the sand and already the sun was beating down warm on their skin. The kids hit the beach running; barely giving Lily and Noah time to help remove their sandals in their excitement to get in the water.
"Feet only until we get there!" Noah called after them. He grinned at Lily, "Nicholas couldn't even swim when he first came to us and now we can't keep him dry!"
Lily laughed, "Mia seems to enjoy it just as much."
"Oh yes!" Noah agreed, "She had a hard time with the water recently but really she was made for the beach that one. Apparently her mother had a great love for the ocean. Guess Mia inherited that from her."
"I have to say it's nice to be able to bring Ethan here." Holden added, shading his eyes from the sun as he watched the children running in the distance, "We never really found the time to bring the kids, did we? With the farm and everything else going on."
Lily took Holden's hand, "I know what you mean. Ethan's so lucky to have two such fabulous older brothers."
Noah blushed and smiled shyly. His heart warmed to hear her speak that way.
"We're the lucky ones." He answered. Then, clearing his throat, "So, shell we go?"
"Actually," said Lily, pulling back, "I think I'm going to head back up to the house and spend some time with my eldest. You guys go have fun."
Noah smiled; secretly pleased she'd decided to do so.
Leaving Lily, Noah walked with Holden down the dunes, carefully keeping an eye on the kids to make sure they didn't stray to deep. He shifted the surfboard under his other arm.
"Want me to carry that for a while?" Holden asked and Noah almost laughed; since Holden was already laden with beach gear.
"It's okay." He said, "I think I got it."
They spent an hour frolicking in the waves, trying out the new surfboard. Holden held onto Mia, who was still a little nervous about swimming on her own.
The ocean was calm and it was easy for Nicholas to demonstrate how to paddle the way Josh taught him. He seemed pleased to discover this was much easier to do on a surfboard sized for him.
"It's like a turtle!" He smiled, "Josh says that's why the sharks make a mistake sometimes and bite people. 'Cause they think surfers are turtles. That's what Josh says."
"I see." Holden explained, "And you're not scared of sharks?"
Nicholas shook his head, sitting still so Noah could lift Ethan up on the board behind him.
"Why not?" Holden asked, "I'd be scared."
Nicholas found this funny and giggled as they bobbed up and down on a wave, "Josh says it won't happen. So it won't happen."
"Yeah!" Ethan agreed; convinced that the amazing Josh of which Nicholas often spoke, could never be wrong.
Eventually the children grew hungry. Noah and Holden spent some time drying all three off with towels before they babbled noisily all the way home, eventually bursting through the door.
Noah laughed out load at Mia's tale of the time she dropped Pinola in the toilet. She scooted under his arm to enter the door just as he pushed it open. But the joyful laughter died dry in his throat as the air sucked out of his lungs. He halted, shocked, staring into the black eyes of Oliver Deagostino.