173.

Ed twisted and twirled Olivia's hair and gazed at her in the early morning light. All three kids were giving them extra time this morning, and he didn't mind one bit. "Two days from now we'll be waking up to waves," he said.

Olivia smiled sleepily at him. "Mmmmm. Can we go now?"

"Whatever you want."

Olivia laughed. It would be hilariously out of character for them to hurriedly shove clothes into suitcases and get out of town, but with all of the drama of the past twenty-four hours, the plan didn't sound like such a terrible idea. Instead, she asked Ed to tell her about the projects he had planned for the next couple of weeks.

"Outdoor shower," he said, "That's the big one. But we have the plumbing and drainage out there. Shouldn't be too difficult."

"Sure you don't want to hire a contractor?"

"Only if I fuck it up." Ed rasped the words into her ear, inducing a shiver. "Then, imagine, taking a shower together under the stars."

"Romantic."

"Very."

Olivia hugged his body to hers as he kissed at her neck and shoulders. He was forgetting sneaking off to shower together in their regular bathroom was challenging; it would be nearly impossible to use the outdoor version together unless it was very late at night. Even then, the thought of the kids in the house alone and them outside, distracted, was unsettling. At least, in the hot tub, they had a view of the back of the house. Nevertheless, she let him have his fantasy. Besides, at the moment, Ed was intent on shifting the conversation, or, rather, the activities, to other things.

"Ed."

He looked up at her, tenting the sheet with his head. "I think this is a good way to start the day, doncha think?" He didn't wait for her to answer.

She gulped and gasped and mumbled a few garbled words of praise. Mostly, she begged him to keep going and later would be fascinated at how he kept finding new techniques, new tricks, and her body craved all of them. Yes, she thought as her back involuntarily arched, this was the absolute best way to start the day.

…..

Outwardly, at least, Justin was neither upset about or embarrassed by the arrest, but Sarah checked with him about boundaries before she went to meet Brooke for coffee the next morning. In Ireland, the sisters had a moment when they had perhaps had too much whiskey when they agreed they didn't see enough of each other. Sarah blamed Brooke's location; Brooke blamed herself, but, finally, Caroline stepped in and gave her blunt yet perpetually sage advice. "Just set a date and show up, goddammit," she had said. Sarah and Brooke exchanged assenting nods. Sarah suggested drinks, but Brooke countered with Saturday morning coffee. It was quick. It could turn into brunch or shopping, but not necessarily. And they could alternate locations.

"Do you want me to stay home?" Sarah asked Justin.

"For what? I can't possibly be arrested twice in two days. Well, I guess I could…"

Sarah swatted at his shoulder, "Shut up! I meant, well, I hate to cancel on Brooke on our first date thing, but-"

"-Go," Justin said, "I'm good. And, oh, your Dad texted me. They want us over for dinner later."

"Uh-oh."

"They want to help."

Sarah sighed. "I know. I'm just so irritated at that dude and that we have to deal with it at all after what he did. And I'm worried about G. And I'm of course worried about you."

"It's gonna be fine," Justin said.

"If you say so." Sarah bear hugged him, "Are you sure you're okay with me going?"

"Yes."

"And…"

"...tell Brooke. It's gonna come out sooner rather than later. And if we keep it from her she's gonna feel some type of way, so, tell her. And, besides, Sonny's gotta know."

"Right," Sarah said, flashing one of her signature grins, "Sometimes I forget he's someone good to know."

Justin doubled over with laughter. "Oh, shitttt…"

….

Olivia did not have much time to bask in post-oral bliss. Ten seconds (it was probably longer but it felt the opposite) after Ed resurfaced from under the covers, Maggie and Wyatt went pattering into Noah's room and jumped on his bed. Hearing this, Olivia rushed to the bathroom and she and Ed quickly made themselves parentally presentable. "We've gotta stop doing this," she murmured on her way to unlock the door.

"No we don't," Ed replied.

Olivia opened the door just as the kids were poised to bang on it with all their collective might. "Hi my sweethearts!" She gushed with all the motherly affection in the world. "Good morning!"

"May POPPINS!" Maggie shouted over her brothers' polite good mornings. "MAY POPPINS!" No one responded to her right away, so she twirled around and sang a few lyrics, "...dish...spoon...b'hin' d'moon!"

"I don't know what song she's singin," Noah sighed.

"Mary Poppins?"

"Dat song's not in Mary Poppins," he replied.

"Oh, well, we're figure it out," Olivia said.

"What are we figuring out?" Ed asked.

"A Mary Poppins song."

"Oh, well, I'll leave that to you." He kissed Olivia's cheek and flipped both his sons before crouching in front of Maggie. "How's my girl?"

Maggie wrapped her arms around his neck.

Olivia shook her head and led the way into the kitchen. "C'mon, Tuckers!"

"What are we doing, Mommy?" Noah asked.

"We are going to have coffee and juice and plan. Because we have the beach in two whole days," Olivia held up her fingers in a V-shape, "And we have a lot to do. I'll give you all some assignments."

Noah giggled, "signments like at school."

"Exactly."

"It's summer," Ed pointed out.

"You, sir, are being difficult, maybe insubordinate." She turned around, saw his smirk, and had to fight her knees from buckling, "We'll deal with you later."

"Lookin forward to it."

…

"Remember when you had to find a radio station that played Christmas songs to hear them?" Ed whispered to Olivia. They were on the couch sipping wine and supervising their brood while they put finishing touches on their gingerbread houses. A medley of holiday tunes blared from the speakers, and for what seemed like the millionth time, Olivia silently thanked their good luck at having an apartment that was mostly insulated from disturbing others.

"I remember." She closed her eyes for a second and smiled. The voices of her six-year-old twins and ten-year-old son were the only music she needed, but when they occasionally sang lyrics she was certain she was getting a preview of heaven.

"Dis is a FUNNY one!" Maggie shouted after they belted out the final verse of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause. She jumped down from her chair, skipped over to her parents, and spoke to them with her chin resting on the back of the couch. "Daddy, what if Mommy kisses Santa dis year?

"You think that might happen?" Ed asked with utmost sincerity.

Maggie's eyes grew so large they took up most of her face. "Uh-huh," she replied slowly, dragging the last sound out until she was out of breath.

"I'll keep an eye on Mommy tomorrow night."

Maggie crinkled her nose and Olivia laughed. "Don't worry, honey," she said, "I don't want to kiss anyone but Daddy."

"But Santa has the presents…"

"You kiss the people you love," Olivia said.

"I love Santa," Maggie retorted.

"Santa's a stranger!" Noah said.

"No kissing strangers!" Wyatt added.

Satisfied, Maggie skipped back to the table and busied herself with other matters, like how they needed to create some sort of path to guide visitors around their gingerbread village. Ed refilled his and Olivia's wine glasses, topped off the kids' hot chocolate which he'd kept simmering on the stove, and settled back in with his wife. He pecked at the side of her head a few times, not in a hurry to take the first sip of the fresh pour. Their home was immaculately decorated. It seemed that every year Olivia added something different and new and this year she'd taken the time to run both garland and lights along the perimeter of the windows. Ed's favorite part, though, was the tree. They'd taken a trip upstate to purchase it and he didn't regret a second of the trip or its result. The tree fit the apartment perfectly and it smelled great. Ed looked forward to leaving for errands each day just so he could return to the scent.

"Love you," Ed whispered into Olivia's ear.

"I love you," she cooed back.

"You gonna kiss Santa Claus?"

"I am going to kiss Santa Claus so much he might be late for Christmas." Olivia craned her neck backwards so she could give Ed the raised eyebrow flirty look she knew drove him crazy.

"Damn…"

"Ed?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm so happy."

"Me too."

They didn't need to explain further. Ed and Olivia both understood their uniqueness. They were older parents of school age kids, but they weren't any less energetic and were certainly more passionate than their younger counterparts. Olivia still, admittedly, was floored by Ed's devotion and desire for her and their family. They were perfect partners. And they were unabashed in their love for one another.

"Okay!" Noah shouted from the table, "We're ready!"

The kids backed away from the table and Ed and Olivia approached. They analyzed and scratched their chins and pretended to be overly critical as they judged the design and the imagined practicality of the homes and the village. Ed mentioned something about parking. Olivia complemented the inclusion of a town square.

"Overall," she said, "We give it a ten out of ten."

The kids beamed.

"PIZZA!"

The trio shouted this as if the pizza dinner were in doubt. It was a tiny detail Olivia and Ed loved about their kids. They were given almost everything they wanted, but they behaved as if they had to work for even the simplest of pleasures. They were exceedingly polite and never took anything for granted. They'd been talking about the December 23 gingerbread judging and possible pizza dinner reward for a month even though they ate pizza at least once a week.

"Get Alfredo bites too," Ed said to Noah who already had their favored pizza joint's website pulled up on his phone. "And we're picking up."

"Okay," Noah said, "Can I go?"

"With me," Ed replied with a wink. He also squeezed Olivia's hand. Noah was increasingly asking for more independence and while they were okay with him going on short errands during the day, the four block nighttime walk to the restaurant was still out of the question.

While everyone else was either gushing over the houses or excited about pizza and impending presents, Olivia didn't immediately notice Wyatt shrink into the background. He was always quiet and the least effusive, but he rarely drifted off alone during family time. But now he was in a beanbag, still in the living room, but clearly separated from everyone else.

"Honey?" Olivia said softly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothin."

"Whatcha doing?"

"Looking at pictures."

She glanced at the screen and cringed. Wyatt was looking at pictures alright. In particular, he was looking at ones that included Grandma Caroline. "You miss Grandma, don't you?"

Wyatt nodded.

"I miss her too."

"She was good at Christmas," Wyatt said.

Olivia ran her fingers through Wyatt's thick, shaggy hair. No matter how hard they tried, his hair always seemed to get out of control. "She was. She loved cooking for us and giving us presents and she always bought the best things." Olivia gazed at her son and waited patiently for his reply. This would be their second Christmas without Caroline, and, in a way, she was heartened that Wyatt still remembered her even though he was sad. "I love her so much."

"Me too."

"You know what one of my favorite memories is?"

"What?" Wyatt brightened. He loved memories.

"After the pandemic, remember?" Wyatt nodded, "We went to her house and you and Noah and Maggie all ran to her and she almost fell over. The three of you were tackling her-you were so happy to be there again."

Wyatt grinned. "Yeah…"

Olivia smiled and kissed his head and thought to herself, "he can't possibly have remembered that, can he?"

"Mommy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Gramma's favorite Christmas song was White Christmas."

"Mmmhmm."

"Can we sing it?"

"Sure baby," Olivia said, "Let's do that right now."

…

The shocking silence of Brooklyn compared to Manhattan was a welcome sound to Sarah. She was usually taken aback by the smack of stillness when she exited the subway in Brooke's neighborhood, but on this day she didn't mind it at all. She didn't even rib Brooke about being boring. And, she did like the coffee at the shop she chose.

"Where's Sof?" Sarah asked.

"With Son at swimming."

"Oh fun!"

"Yeah. I'm glad he goes. I hate it."

"Why?"

"They're so serious. I just want her to be able to swim. They race once they're a year old." Brooke expected Sarah, ever the competitor, to counter, but she did merely stared out into the street. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, um, yes, but, I have to tell you, Justin was arrested last night."

"WHAT?"

The entire cafe went silent. Brooke and Sarah nodded politely at the stares and lowered their voices. "He was arrested," Sarah said, "For assault." Brooke's was still slack jawed. Sarah clapped her hands. "Brookey? What?"

"Justin?"

"Well, you thought he was a thug, so here he is, living down to your expectations."

Brooke turned white.

"I'm kidding!" Sarah said, "Jesus, sorry, bad joke."

"Really bad joke," Brooke said. "What happened?"

"Well, I can't say much, but, basically, he knocked the fuck out of a guy who was trying to get in to kill G."

"What?"

"I get the feeling I'm not explaining this well."

"You're not."

"Well," Sarah looked around uncomfortably, "Can we go somewhere to get a drink...it's stuffy in here."

"What does a drink have to do with, um, never mind, yes," Brooke stood up, kissed Sarah on the head, and linked elbows with her. "Let's go."

…

It had been a beautiful day in upstate New York. The pilots could not have asked for a better day for the air show. Ed, Olivia, and Noah watched in delight as the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds zipped across the sky. They stared in awe at the parachute team, and while Noah seemed like he wanted to try skydiving, Ed and Olivia looked at each other, laughed, and shook their heads. No way, they agreed.

Time passed too quickly for their liking, and soon the air cleared and the crowd dispersed. On the way to the car, Ed pointed to black clouds in the distance. "Good timing," he remarked. On the highway, it was clear they were driving into the heart of the storm. The rain started in Yonkers and fell in blinding sheets by the time they made it to the city.

"There's a spot!" Olivia was so shocked to see a parking space open in front of her building she shouted the words and looked back apologetically at Noah. He had fallen asleep and was sufficiently conked out, so neither the loud voice nor the thunder woke him up. They had been unprepared for a storm, and Ed bore the brunt of the rain shielding Olivia and Noah on their way inside.

In the apartment, Olivia got Noah out of his wet clothes and laid him in bed. She'd let him sleep for maybe another hour. When she went back into the living room, Ed was still standing in the foyer, drenched, and starting to shiver.

"Oh, Ed," she grabbed a kitchen towel and rushed to him before realizing the small hand towel wouldn't be nearly enough. "Give me your shirt. I'll put it in the dryer."

He stared into her eyes, peeled off his polo, and handed it to her.

She glanced at his chest and bit her lip. "Maybe the jeans too?"

Ed smirked. At an agonizingly slow pace he removed his belt. He hung it on the coat rack and stepped out of the jeans. Clad in only boxer briefs and socks, he stood waiting for further instructions.

Olivia collected the pants and took a step toward him. "Come with me."

On the way to the bedroom she dropped the clothes into the dryer and closed the vented doors. The noise offered a sort of barrier between her room and Noah's, and she closed her bedroom door, creating another. She touched Ed's skin and held one of his hands to her face. "You're cold," she said.

"A little."

Olivia kissed his chest and up and down his arms. When she finally wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips, the feel of his burgeoning erection sent the familiar chills up and down her spine. They'd been sleeping together for months, but she still got nervous in these intimate moments. However, it only took seconds for the nerves to give way to pure bliss.

They fell onto the mattress, breathing heavier, hands flying all over each other's bodies. Ed always paused to look at her, admire something specific like a freckle or the curve of her hip. Olivia loved how his biceps became taut and seemed to strain against his skin. She held onto those strong arms and gazed at his face as he pressed into her. His cheeks flushed, his eyes closed then opened and he looked at her intently, watching and listening for clues.

Olivia smiled and pulled him toward her. She wanted to kiss, a least for a little while. One of her favorite sensations was being wrapped up in a fierce liplock while their hips rocked faster and faster into one another's. She read somewhere, maybe in a magazine at the hair or nail salon, that many men preferred not to kiss on the mouth during sex, but Ed was certainly not one of those men. Today, until the very end and for several minutes after it was over, he let his lips linger on hers.

"Think the clothes are done?" He joked.

"Probably." Olivia traced a few lines on his face as she spoke, "I probably should have let you go home, but, I didn't want you to leave."

"I didn't want to leave." Ed kissed her hard on the lips and rolled to the side, "It was a good day, Liv. Thanks for makin' it happen."

"You're always thinking of nice things to do for us, for me," she replied, "You deserve someone doing the same for you." She narrowed her eyes, "Why do you look like you don't believe that?"

"Maybe it's just I'm not used to hearing it."

"I think you should probably get used to it." She smiled and kissed him. "You're a good man, Ed Tucker. I haven't said that to many people in my life, so you know I mean it."

"I know."

She nestled herself even closer to him. "I'm going to have to get Noah up soon. Want to have dinner here?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry to say I don't have a whole lot of options."

"We'll order," Ed replied, "I'd go to the market and cook, but," his face contorted into a mischievous smirk, "I'm a little worn out."

Olivia threw her head back and laughed. "I'd apologize but I don't think that's really necessary."

"Nope," he said, "Not necessary at all."

…

The evening began normally with Sarah and Justin joining the Tuckers for pizza and salad, but, after dinner and a few hands of Uno, Noah and the twins were set up in his room under the makeshift tent they'd built earlier in the day. They had cookies and popcorn and were excited to watch the next installment of the Boss Baby titles which never seemed to end. "No bedtime tonight, right Daddy?" Noah asked.

"End of the movie's bedtime."

"What if we hit pause?" Noah grinned.

"Then you'll be up all night and too tired to get ready for the beach."

Noah giggled and said, "Good point."

Ed kissed all three kids' heads and went to join the other adults. Justin and Sarah were sharing the large chair. It was a snug fit, but they seemed comfortable and Sarah had been very protective of Justin, even among friends and family, since the arrest. Sarah sipped the port wine Olivia poured and Ed noticed his glass on the table next to hers. She always waited for them to toast before drinking. Justin stuck with water. He needed a clear head.

"It's a conflict of interest for Barba to represent you," Olivia said, "So he's recommending someone else. He'll call you tomorrow. But, he did let it slip to me that he doesn't see this going very far. Nevertheless, we have to be prepared. This guy...he's on the ropes, and we don't know what he'll do."

Justin nodded.

"How could they even issue a warrant for his arrest?" Sarah asked.

"He reported it," Ed replied, "He had injuries. That's the way it goes. And that's why we have the other side, the courts, the judges."

Sarah groaned, stewed, and smoldered.

Olivia continued. "It'll take a while, though, for this to move through the system. So it's really important you're careful. That you don't get arrested again." Olivia felt awful saying this, but it was the truth. Justin's attorney would surely repeat the advice. It had to be said. "And it's possible he could take a plea, go to prison, which brings us back to the most likely scenario, that the charge will be dropped."

"Do I need to notify the university?" Justin asked.

"Not unless you want to. Totally up to you."

"Might be a good idea," Justin said, "I mean, I don't want them to be blindsided or have it come up later and it seem like I wasn't transparent."

"Right."

"And keep in mind," Ed added, "Barba's probably gonna want you to testify on G's behalf."

Justin nodded. He'd already come to this conclusion.

"Most importantly," Olivia said, "We want you to know we have your back. We'll do as much or as little as you want us to do with the case, but, at the end of the day, you're our family. We love you. And if you just need us to be family, we'll do that."

For the first time that evening, Justin showed some emotion. His eyes glassed over, but he didn't look away from Ed or Olivia. "Thank you," he said, swallowing hard, "We love you, too. And I appreciate all the advice you can give me. And thank you for getting the lawyer. I don't have this sense of dread in my gut I get when I'm stressed or worried, so, I'm really thinking the same. I don't see how this guy has a case. Such a waste of time and money and energy…"

"Big fucking waste," Sarah muttered. "But we're in it now. And we'll get through it."

"Yes we will," Olivia said.

"Absolutely," Ed raised his glass, "To sticking together."

The trio echoed the toast and the mood in the room lightened a bit.

"Well," Olivia said, "The kids are watching their movie. Do you want to watch something?"

"Yes," Sarah said, "A romcom. Maybe a classic romcom." She watched Olivia curl up under Ed's arm and grinned, "I mean, we have a classic romcom here in the flesh, but…"

Ed pretended to glare at his daughter but he maintained the expression for only a few seconds before allowing his smirk to take over. Olivia kissed his hand. "We're much more romantic than comedy, don't you think?"

"Hey," Ed retorted, "I'm funny."

Sarah burst into laughter.

"Yes, sweetie," Olivia replied solicitously, "You are. You're the funniest man I know."

…

#Tuckson