Chapter 6

The weekend brought sun and heat, and the Axe family headed for the beach. Samuel and Maddie went along, and Michael and Fiona found them as they took a stroll along the boardwalk. They staked out quite a bit of sand and the kids went screeching for the water. Sam worked on the next unit in the textbook, taking notes, while catching bits and pieces of the conversations around him.

"Sam, are you going to spend your entire weekend wrapped up in that book?"

He glanced at Maddie, who stared at him behind her big sunglasses and pursed her lips in a disapproval. Smiling in reassurance, he replied, "No, Maddie. I'm just finishing up. Then I'll have the lesson plans done for the next week, at least. It all depends on how things go in the classroom."

"Have you been getting a lot of disturbances from the kids," Michael asked as he sat up and rested his elbows on his knees.

"No, it's actually been pretty quiet. After that first day, the Spencer kid settled down. Yesterday, this other kid, Joel, came in and tried to stir things up, but I wouldn't let him." He shook his head. "I swear, Mike, it almost came to blows. But after the lesson I taught Nick in gym class, Joel must have heard about it, because he just said, 'This ain't over, dude' and went back to his seat."

"Well, if you need any support, I've been itching to get in a little target practice," Fiona said with a sassy grin.

"You've got no business getting involved in any of this, Fi. You're too far along."

She stared at him as she unconsciously ran a hand over her rounded stomach. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I saw you when you and Mike were walking over here. You're starting to carry low."

"He's right, Fiona," Yvette broke in as she returned from the surf with the kids.

Fiona wrinkled her nose at Sam and frowned. "You turn into a teacher and now you're an obstetrician too?"

"No, I just remember what I saw with Eve, although I didn't know at the time. You just wait, I'm betting that baby comes this week." He looked over his sunglasses at her and winked. "Hey Mike, wanna take bets?"

"No, I'm a little too close to the mother of my child." He grinned.

Fiona looked at Sam as if she had a secret that he'd somehow gotten wind of, and he knew it was better just to let it lie and not rile her. He held up a hand in surrender.

"Okay, whatever. But I'm sticking by my prediction." He went back to finishing up his task, and then he was ready to play with the kids.

Samuel taught Esperanza how to throw a frisbee, so Sam joined the two of them, and eventually Michael got interested enough to be included. The women sat on the towels with Maddie and watched while little Samuel napped under a beach umbrella.

Maddie sighed and piqued Yvette's interest. "Something wrong, Maddie?"

"Huh? No...well...maybe, I don't know. It's just good to see Samuel so active. When he's not working at Carlito's, he's been spending a lot of time just doing...nothing." She paused and watched him reach for a shot that went over his head. "I don't know, but I think there's something wrong with him. It's like he spaces out or something. And then when I startle him, he looks at me like he doesn't know who I am at first."

Yvette and Fiona glanced at each other, worried expressions on their faces. Fiona spoke. "Has he been to the doctor lately, Madelyn?"

"Yes, he just had his annual checkup last month. The doctor gave him some pills for his cholesterol and something else, and he's been taking them, but he seems like he's getting worse."

"A while back, when we went to Disney, Sam said he suspected something was up. Maybe we should have listened to him," Yvette said, her brow wrinkled with worry. "Maybe he should go back for more tests."

"Yes, it might be something simple that they can easily fix," Fiona suggested with a smile.

"But if it's not..."

"Then at least you know, and you'll know what you can do for him to make whatever it is more bearable," Yvette finished.

"I can't lose him, girls." Maddie's voice clogged with emotion and from beneath her sunglasses, a tear slipped down her cheek. "Not now. I need him."

Fiona and Yvette put their arms around her in comfort.

Michael caught a glimpse of their moment and picked up the frisbee that he missed.

"What's the matter, Westen? Can't catch?" Samuel laughed.

"Catch this, Samuel!" He whipped the frisbee so hard it sailed over the waves.

"I got it, Grandpa!" Esperanza charged into the surf, came up sputtering, and slogged through the water to pick up the hot pink disc that floated on the surface.

"That's my girl," Samuel exclaimed.

"Sam," Michael asked as he closed the distance between himself and his friend and brother. "What's up with them?" He inclined his head toward the little chick hug fest on the beach.

"Got me, Mikey. Maybe Fi's having a meltdown."

"No, it looks like something is up with Ma."

"Well, you should ask her, she's your mom."

"Technically, she's yours too now. Remember?"

"You know, Mike, I can handle a classroom full of gangsta wannabes, but Maddie is a whole different story!"

"Hey, are you guys gonna play or what?" Samuel called out across the beach.

"I'll talk to my Ma later, Sam."

"Thanks, brother. Hey, how'd it go with that intel I got for you from my buddies?"

"We're making progress. Jesse's helping me run down some leads." Michael caught the frisbee and threw it to Esperanza. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem."

That night, as Sam and Yvette got into bed, he asked her, "What was going on with you girls on the beach?"

"Maddie's worried about Samuel." She let everything spill as he held her. "It must be getting bad for her to say something to us."

"Is she going to take him to the doctor?"

"She said she'd call on Monday." Yvette kept the worry out of her voice for Sam's sake. After all, this was his father they were talking about, and he warned them that something wasn't right.

"Good. They'll figure it out, and maybe it won't be such a big deal." He'd been trying to tell himself that for some time now, but as his father deteriorated, Sam began to think it was all good wishes for nothing. He would keep silent and wait, because he didn't want to increase the anxiety running around their households.

The phone rang close to 0520. It was on Sam's side, so he growled at the intrusion, dragged his arm out from under the covers, and picked up the receiver. "Hello," he mumbled into it.

"Sam, it's me!"

"Mike?" Immediately, his eyes flew open and he struggled to a sitting position. "What is it? Is it Dad? Is he okay?"

"I don't know about your dad, but Fi...she's in labor."

Sam threw the covers off and sat on the edge of the bed. Behind him, Yvette stirred. "Sam, what's going on?"

"Fi's in labor," he shot over his shoulder. "You need any help, Mikey?"

"No, we're almost to the hospital."

"Well then get off the phone and drive! We'll meet you there!" He stood and crossed to the bathroom, turned on the light, and squinted at himself in the mirror. "You want us to pick up Dad and Maddie?"

"They're already on the way. Sorry, Sam, I called them first."

Sam could hear a hint of an apologetic smile in his voice. "No problem, brother. How far apart are the contractions?"

"I don't know that. You'd have to ask Fi, but she's kind of...busy...right now."

Sam heard Fiona cry out and he cringed. It brought back memories he'd hoped to forget. "Okay, well, drive safe. We'll see you in a little while."

Getting to the hospital wasn't as easy as Sam would have thought. First, he and Yvette got themselves together, and then they had two sleepy kids to rouse and dress. Sam called Tom and told him what was happening, and he assured Sam that he and Pam would be praying for a safe delivery. By the time he got off the phone, Yvette came downstairs with the kids.

"We're ready, Sam!"

"Okay, let's go." Sam ushered them out of the house, locked it behind himself, and went ahead to get the car out of the garage. Once everyone was buckled into Yvette's vehicle, he drove them to the hospital.

"I hope it's a girl," Esperanza said. "Then Zoe and I can play with her when she gets older."

Sam laughed. "She...or he...isn't even born yet! Talk about looking ahead to the future!"

"I know, Dad. It's just that boys are stupid and boring, and they're mean all the time."

Yvette gave Sam a meaningful glance. He knew what she was thinking, that maybe they'd just discovered the root of Esperanza's trouble at school, the cause of her acting out at home. Sam had been too busy for them to meet with her teacher, but that one statement led them to believe that they shouldn't wait any longer. He nodded as if she'd said the words. She nodded back, pulled out her phone, and typed a note to herself on it.