Eighty-five.

Wyatt's acting debut was featured in the third episode of the series, and Ed and Olivia hosted a watch party in lieu of Caroline's regular Sunday dinner. The matriarch arrived armed with three bags full of ingredients for their meal, scurried around the kitchen, and only accepted an iota of help. Her television did not have streaming capability, necessitating the venue change. She didn't mind, though. She was excited to see Wyatt on screen, and, as an added bonus, Ed and Olivia owned more modern utensils. Their vegetable peeler, for example, was a breeze to use. However, Caroline swore by her trusty old range and her decades-old pots and pans so much so that she brought her roaster from home.

"Gramma did you know," Noah climbed onto one of the island chairs and slapped his palms on the granite as he spoke, "I only like carrots when you make 'em?"

"Why my dear, no I didn't know that, but," Caroline took a drink from a gin-and-tonic that had been sitting for so long the ice was completely melted. "I suspected. And I believe I know why."

"Why?" Noah leaned forward as if he were about to be the recipient of the world's most tightly guarded secret.

"First of all, they taste the best when they cook right next to the meat. That way, they don't taste totally like carrots," Caroline arranged the carrots and potatoes around the roast, "But I think the best explanation is that you ate my carrots the first time we met. So it was love at first taste."

Noah giggled. "I did?"

"Yes. You were a little older than Maggie and Wyatt and your Daddy brought you and your Mommy for dinner and I was so happy because I've always wanted a grandson."

At the table, Sarah screwed up her face and interjected, "You have two grandsons from Uncle John and Aunt Margie, remember?"

Caroline tapped Noah's nose, "I always wanted a grandson like you, dear boy. Now, tell me about first grade. What are you learning?"

"Bout Thanksgiving," Noah said. "Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a hol'day but Thanksgiving isn't happy for everrybody! Da 'Mericans were mean to da people who lived here before them! So we're learning 'bout da Lenape. They lived here before this was New York! They were really good at growing food and hunting and fishing and they lived in clans and the moms were in charge of 'em!"

Caroline listened intently, but when he was finished with the lecture, she looked at Ed and muttered, "What the hell ever happened to listing things you're thankful for?"

"And making turkeys with your hand!" Sarah chimed in.

Ed shrugged. "That's where we're at now, Ma. Tellin' the whole story."

Caroline turned on a burner and filled a pot with water to boil. "Is there something wrong with asking children to think about how lucky they are?"

"I'm sure they'll touch on that, Ma."

"Yeah!" Noah said, "Ri'now we're re-search-ing!"

"Researching?" Caroline raised her eyebrows, "How are you doing that?

"We have da iPad with one map and then da reg'lar map of the United States of America and we're putting da names of in-dij-niss people where they useda live!"

"Serious business," Caroline murmured.

"Yep!"

"How's Mia?"

"She's good but she doesn't liketa do research," Noah replied matter-of-factly.

"Well, bless her little heart."

….

Arms akimbo, Ed read the sign standing guard at the beginning of the lighthouse visitor line. "Damn," he muttered to Olivia under his breath. "Forty-one inches." He looked down at Noah. The little boy was staring out into the sea and the breeze made his hair stand on end. "I don't think he's gonna pass for that tall."

"He's about ten inches too short," Olivia said, remembering the stats from Noah's last check-up.

"Maybe they won't notice?"

"I doubt it," Olivia replied, "And...I'm sure they have that rule for a reason?"

"Right, well, we'll just have to come back when he's taller," Ed grinned. He loved thinking about a future that included Olivia and Noah.

"Couple years," Olivia murmured wistfully, "Let's not grow up too quickly, though, sweet boy."

Noah pointed down to the beach. The ocean waters crashed against the rocky shore at the foot of a cliff. "Sand!" He exclaimed, "Waves!"

"Wanna go down there, pal?" Ed looked at Olivia, "Take a walk?"

They each took one of Noah's hands and meandered down the path to the water. Ed picked up some stones and handed a few to Noah. "Remember?" He coached, "Step, arm back, step, and throw!"

Noah heaved his first stone.

"Good one!"

Ed lobbed a baseball-sized rock into the rough waters. Noah clapped his hands and copied the praise. "G'ONE!" He picked up an onyx-colored rock and gave it to Olivia. "Frow!" The trio spent a half hour or so tossing stones into the water. Noah's sand toys were back at the hotel and they weren't planning on planting themselves at the beach out here anyway. Noah didn't miss the toys; he delighted in unearthing the rocks and giving them to Ed and his mother.

Olivia climbed on a boulder and took a seat. She took a deep breath of the fresh sea air and sighed contentedly. "This was such a good idea, Ed. Good weekend to get out of the city." The August temperatures had been consistently in the nineties.

"Have you ever been out here before?"

He was shocked at himself for not asking sooner. When Olivia mentioned she was free for four straight days the idea to go out to Montauk popped into his head. It had been almost three months since they returned from Paris, but Ed had a hunch another getaway was needed. Olivia battled each day with the specter of Mike Dodds looming overhead. Work distracted her for only so long; once the day's duties were done, the horror of the Sergeant's death came rushing back. It was suffocating.

"Yes," Olivia replied, "When I was younger, very young, my mother's friend had a place out here somewhere, but we never came to this particular spot. So this," she gestured around to the immediate area, "Is a first. What about you?"

"Long time ago. Took Sarah and Brooke."

"Did they go to the top?"

"Yeah. They tried to race and got in trouble. Don't mess with those old ladies workin' in there."

"They did seem a little prickly."

Noah skipped over to Olivia and, with Ed's help, scaled the rock and flopped into his mother's lap. The scent of the breeze clung to his hair and skin. His Teva sandals were soaking wet and caked with sand on the edges. She was proud of herself for bringing him a second pair of shoes.

"Firsty, Mommy!"

Olivia gave him his water bottle. "Ed, you want to go back up and have a drink at the restaurant? Looks like there's a great view from the patio."

Of course Ed wanted to go. He hoisted Noah onto his shoulders and led the way back up the path to the cafe. Ed was in such good shape he wasn't winded when they reached the top of the hill. He swung Noah's ankles and asked him what he wanted to drink and if he was hungry.

"Wanna snack!" Noah exclaimed.

"Hungry, Liv?"

Olivia perused the menu. The offerings were adequate, but not very interesting. "How about...just some fries for now? I think there are probably better options in town."

"You got it. I'll go order."

They sat on a wicker loveseat with Noah in the middle. The swarming bugs were a nuisance, so it was clear this first drink would be their only one. Nevertheless, Ed rested his arm on the back cushions, loosely enveloping both Noah and Olivia. His fingers dangled on her shoulder and he played with the sleeve of her shirt.

Noah laughed hysterically at a red-winged blackbird that landed on the table in front of them and was pecking at crumbs left behind by the last occupants. "He eatin!" Noah shouted. "Ope! Flew 'way! Bye bye birdie!"

"Bye, bird!" Olivia and Ed said almost simultaneously in whimsical, childlike voices. They turned to each other, laughed, and kissed.

Noah tilted his head back so far his chin was pointed out at the ocean. "You kiss Ed, Mama!" He erupted in more giggles, puckered his lips, and made a "MWAH!" sound.

"Yes, I kissed Ed," Olivia said, grinning, "And now I'm gonna kiss you!" Olivia bear-hugged him and kissed all over his face.

Once he caught his breath, Noah said, "Wanna buil' san'cassa!"

Ed downed the rest of his beer. "Well, let's head back. How big should we build it?" Ed held his hand about three feet from the floor. "This big?"

Noah shook his head. Ed raised his arm a few inches.

"This big?"

"Uh uh."

Ed stood up and raised his hand to his head. "THIS big?"

Noah nodded vigorously. "DatBIG!"

"We have a lot of work to do, pal." Ed held out his arms and Noah jumped into them.

"Oh, look, the bird's back!"

Noah slung his arm around Ed's neck and squealed again at the sight of the gorgeous bird who was not shy about being near humans. Fascinated yet tad nervous the bird might come closer, Noah glued himself to Ed's chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Ed saw Olivia taking pictures of the two of them, heads together, studying the movements of the winged creature. He held the pose until Noah got impatient.

"Cassa, ED!"

"Oh, yeah," Ed held out his hand for Olivia's. "Ready?"

"Absolutely," She sprung to her feet and kissed both Ed's and Noah's cheeks, "Castle time!"

….

"Omigod, omigod, omigod, Wyattttt you were so good!" Sarah encircled her arms around Wyatt and twirled around the room with her lips pressed to his head.

The others echoed Sarah's enthusiastic praise. Everyone but Caroline had watched the first two episodes and Brooke joked she was eager to see the main character's son because she was so devoted to him. "When it was Wyatt I was...surprised," she said, grinning, "Even though I knew it was coming! That was so crazy! Like, I know that kid! That's my brother!"

Luckily, Wyatt's first appearance occurred around a fairly tame fictional case and there were few profanity-laced lines of dialogue, so Noah was allowed to watch. He screeched when his little brother appeared on screen first toddling around the living room where he "lived" and then on Marisa's hip. "WYATT'S A STAR!" He shouted.

"I told you," Caroline slapped her knee and raised her tumbler, "From the second he was born that baby was going to be a movie star!"

Ed and Olivia exchanged confused glances. Did she actually say that or is that the gin talking?

Maggie looked back and forth from the screen to her brother, trying to make sense of him being in two places at once. Wyatt's total screen time lasted a total of less than two minutes, but it unsettled Maggie. She wedged herself next to Wyatt in his beanbag and put her head on his shoulder. She played with a Baby Einstein toy for most of the episode, but when Wyatt got up in search of other entertainment, she followed him.

Wearing their proudest expressions, Ed and Olivia sat next to each other, mostly in silence, and listened to the reactions. Brooke asked if it was difficult to get Wyatt to follow directions. Sarah wanted to know if he was ever going to have any lines. Caroline predicted he'd own an estate in the suburbs by the time he was in middle school.

"Okay, Grandma," Brooke said in a critical voice. She didn't mind the silliness, but Caroline's cocktail limit had been reached and breached and Brooke was getting annoyed. She clicked her tongue when Sarah poured everyone another round, and Justin offered an apologetic shrug.

"Games anyone?" Sarah asked.

Brooke opened her mouth to say no and pivot to evening-ending cliches, but before she could say "it's late" or "I have to get Sofia up early tomorrow," Noah had both the Yahtzee game and the Uno deck in his hands.

"Grandma, do you have a preference?"

"No dearie. I'm not playing right away. My twin grandbabies and I are going to sing some songs."

Sarah and Brooke both broke into laughter.

"Great."

…

The adults sat in a semicircle on a ridge about three feet from where the crashing waves ran out of steam. Anthony, Sofia, and Wyatt were playing Sand Hole-a beach version of cornhole. Wyatt, always solicitous about the younger kids, helped the other two throw the bean bags even though he would have rather tossed around the football with Maggie and Noah. Maggie was standing in ankle-deep water and throwing tight spirals to her brother. She delighted in leading Noah into the waves and making him dive for the ball. After five successful catches, Noah and Maggie switched places.

"Noah's nicer than Maggie," Sonny observed. "Maggs sends him all over the place. He throws it right to her."

"He's gonna have to start testin' her soon," Ed was stretched out in the low chair so his heels were buried and his calves touched the sand. He was close enough to Olivia's armrest to occasionally hook a finger around hers. "She'll get bored."

Olivia saw Wyatt longingly check out his siblings' game and she stood up.

"Where ya goin?" Ed asked.

"I'm going to play with Sof and Anthony," Olivia said, "So Wyatt can play football."

"I'll go," Justin said.

Sarah stirred her drink. "Yeah, poor Wyatt's always the free babysitter."

Justin jogged over to the bean bag toss and said a few words to Wyatt. He beamed, yanked his goggles over his eyes, and ran out into the surf next to Maggie. Adjusting the rules for a third player, Noah shouted out commands, and the twins nodded. He called out a number and threw the ball. The tougher the potential catch, the more points Wyatt and Maggie could earn.

"Anyone wanna switch?" Noah asked after a while.

Wyatt glimpsed at Maggie, but his body language indicated he was already resigned to coming out of the water. He trudged toward Noah and held his hands out for the ball.

"Wyatt's so nice," Brooke said. "I love him."

"He really is genuinely a kind soul," Olivia said. She didn't say it to everyone, but she often worried about people taking advantage of Wyatt's considerate, thoughtful personality, especially as he got older. The one silver lining, though, was he and Maggie were very close and he was able to temper his sister's occasional impulsiveness. They'd been polar opposites from the second Maggie decided to make her appearance in the world eight years ago and Wyatt hadn't been quite ready.

"Dad? What's going on with the fireworks? Are we doing some of ours first like usual?"

"Yeah," Ed assessed the setting sun. "Maybe in an hour?"

"Oh, wow," Olivia said, "Is anyone hungry? We have all that food in the fridge!"

Per the usual Tucker Fourth of July meal plan, they'd eaten hot dogs and hamburgers as a late lunch and then would eat chips and dip, cheese, fruit, and other snacks on the beach as they waited for the show.

"I could munch on somethin," Sonny said.

"Me too," Sarah said. She bounced Mari on her knees, "Are you hungry, sweetie?" Mari looked up at Sarah and sweetly blinked her eyes. "Yes," Sarah cooed, "We'll have some cheese and some berries...you loooooove those strawberries don't you, gorgeous?"

"Let's go get the food then," Ed held out his hand and helped Olivia to her feet, "I'll help ya."

Ed's ulterior motive was so obvious it went unnoticed. Olivia saw his smirk out of the corner of her eye all the way through the cool sand, up the wooden path through the seagrass, and then across the flagstones to the back porch steps. The cooler was already out, so they went inside to grab the already-wrapped plastic containers and more drinks.

"That was easy," Ed curled an arm around her waist and swung her inside and around so her back was against the wall to the left of the door.

Olivia yelped, recovered, and held his head with both hands during the kiss. It was hot and passionate but necessarily short-lived. Ed playfully bit her earlobe and sloppily licked her neck.

"Ew!" Olivia screeched though she was still holding him close.

Ed tilted his head back and raised his eyebrows. "Ew?" He asked, feigning incredulity and then burying his face in her neck and sucking gently but also making sure to tickle her with his three-day old whiskers. Her laugh was so rewarding, so energizing. He stopped before they got too carried away, but it was with great reluctance. They fell into a warm, tight hug.

"I love you," Olivia droned into his ear, "I love you so, so much."

"I love you, Liv."

"Now," she put her palms on his chest, "We better get out there with food and drink before people start to talk."

Ed swatted at her rear end as she walked past him into the kitchen. "Too late," he quipped. "They've been talkin for about ten years now."

"We're going to keep them talking forever, right?" Olivia looked up from the counter with one eyebrow seductively cocked.

Ed winked at her. "Damn right about that, sweetheart."

…

Ed and Noah drove Caroline home in the Tucker family SUV and Sarah and Justin went home in an Uber which left Brooke and Sofia alone with Olivia and the twins. The lighthearted mood of the afternoon and evening faded away, or, rather, there was nothing to divert Brooke's attention away from what might be happening to her husband.

"Remember when he was undercover on Christmas Eve," Brooke asked, "And it lasted, what? A day? He came to dinner here that night?"

"I remember."

"I keep thinking the same thing's going to happen," Brooke laughed derisively at herself. "That's what people think when someone's just died."

When Olivia couldn't think of anything comforting to say, her default move was a hug. She gave Brooke a good squeeze and held her at arm's length by the shoulders. "You'll get through this," she said softly. "You're doing a fantastic job, you're a wonderful mother, you've got everything under control. One day at a time, honey."

"Yeah," Brooke sighed. Her shoulders dramatically rose and fell a couple of times as she took deep, calming breaths. "One day at a time. That's...really what has to happen. I drive myself insane thinking so far ahead, so big picture."

"There is a time for thinking big picture. But now is not it."

"Thanks, Liv." Brooke mumbled.

Olivia smiled sweetly and hugged Brooke again. The eldest Tucker daughter did not often use the truncated version of Olivia's name and it always warmed her heart when she did.

"Okay," Brooke said, "Enough of me for now...I...I have to ask you something. Unrelated to Sonny...and not even really my business."

"Go ahead."

"Is there something...up...with you and Dad?"

"What do you mean?"

Brooke smiled nervously and chewed a hangnail. Her deep-set Tucker blue eyes had a glint of Sarah-esque mischief and her round, smooth cheeks were rapidly turning crimson. "Well, um, Sarah and I noticed, you two are extra into each other lately."

Olivia's laugh was mostly due to Brooke's expression. She oozed with visible relief and maybe a little bit of pride at having had the courage to be so transparent. Olivia drifted to the island and poured two glasses of wine. "We had a little trouble," Olivia saw Brooke grow rigid with alarm and quickly continued, "For, well, a day or so. Just some tension stemming from me getting used to being retired, ugh," Olivia groaned, "Retired sounds so...old. Anyway. We talked. Fixed it, and…" she trailed off with a beguiling bite of her lip.

"Ah, make up sex," Brooke replied, more confident now since she wasn't the only one feeling a bit awkward.

"Exactly."

"That explains it."

"Were we really that obvious?"

"Liv, you two are always obviously in love, but the other night? During the movie? Dad never let you go."

"Yeah…" Olivia murmured, "What about tonight? How were we? A little better?"

"A little. But I love how Dad reaches over to help one of the twins and then accidentally bumps into you."

"And I did have his arm the entire show," Olivia recalled sheepishly.

Brooke brushed off that detail, "Ah, you were watching Wyatt. That was special."

"It was."

"He's in the next one, too?"

"The one after next. But I don't think it'll even be thirty seconds. He gets put to bed."

Brooke laughed, "Good think they wanted Wyatt then. Could you imagine Maggie?"

Olivia grinned and raised her glass. "My thoughts exactly."

…

#Tuckson