Forever

Vacation

Tommy walked out on the beach where Scarlett was. She was sitting in the sand as the sun set over the water. He sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
          "You were right, Scar. This view is breathtaking."
"If I could choose to die anywhere...this would be it." She said.
"Scarlett."
"This place was always special to me. From running around with my brother in the sand to sneaking out here and throwing a party with Kane and Chelsea."
Tommy held her tighter and kissed her cheek.
"My father taught me how to swim here and I got stung by a jellyfish for this first time in this water. Most of my favorite memories from my childhood were made here."
"I like hearing about the good parts of your childhood. You sound happy when you talk about it."
She gave a small smile and leaned her head back on him.
"I want to stop feeling like this. How do I get passed this, Tommy? I don't want to be sad for the rest of my life."
"Well I think we need a break."
She turned to look at him.
"You want a break from us?" She asked.
He gave a small laugh.
          "No, I would never want that." He said and then kissed her.
          "We need a break from all of this. I think you, me, and the kids should go to your house in Italy for a few months."
          "What about the business?" She asked.
          "That's exactly what we need a break from, Scar. I'm sick of the business right now and I know you are."
          "That's an understatement."
          "So then let's go. We can fly back home and pack more clothes and then be there by tomorrow. We can spend everyday on the beach with just us and our kids. Think about it. We can make those memories with our kids on the beach."
Scarlett smiled as she turned to face him. He ran his hand over her face.
          "We can take Myles out on the beach and take Bella out in the ocean. We can also spend Myles' first birthday together..just us as a family and we can take Francis so we can get some alone time too...and you can finally teach me Italian because we'll have the time." He said.
She smiled and then kissed him.
          "Well what are we waiting on?" She said.
They kissed and were about to get up until Bella ran out to them and jumped in Tommy's lap. He fell back like she tackled him, making her laugh. Tommy sat up as Bella had one arm around him as she stood in the sand. Scarlett moved so she could lean her head against his chest and he put his free arm around her.
"Bella, would you like to go on vacation?" Tommy asked.
She smiled and looked at Scarlett.
"Vacation?!"
"Yes. There's a beach just like this. We'll have a lot of fun." Scarlett said.
"When are we going?" Bella asked.
"We were thinking that we would go home tonight and pack and then leave tomorrow morning." Tommy said.
"How does that sound?" Scarlett asked.
"Can we take Ash?"
Tommy and Scarlett looked at each other.
"I think we can make room for him." Tommy joked.
Bella laughed, which made the two laugh. He never joked like this around anyone else, but his two girls. Tommy kissed Scarlett and then kissed Bella's cheek.
"Well..should we go now?" Scarlett asked.
Bella jumped up and down and then grabbed their hands and pulled.
"Let's go!" She said.
They smiled and stood up. Bella walked between the two as she held both of their hands. She would run forward and they would lift her up in the air as she laughed. The couple got inside and the Shelby's were in the living room and Polly was holding Myles. He saw Tommy.
"Da-da." He smiled.
Tommy took him and then Bella wanted Scarlett to pick her up so she did.
"Can you hold the business down for a few months?" Tommy asked Polly.
"Of course, but why?"
"We are going to Italy for a little while. We need a break from the business. It's what's best for us right now." He answered.
          "How long will you be gone?" Arthur asked.
          "I'm not sure. There's no time limit...we'll come back when we're ready." Tommy said.
          "What if you're never ready, Tom? Are you just not going to come back?" Arthur said.
He was just worried about the two and didn't want them to be gone long because how close the three were.
          "We will come back, Arthur. I promise. This is what I need...and what we need as a family to move forward after everything that's happened." Scarlett said.
He nodded.
          "When are you leaving?" Ada asked.
          "Tonight." Scarlett answered.
They all gave surprised looks.
          "This is good for you guys. You will enjoy your time." Polly smiled.
Everyone stood up and hugged each other.
          "Ada, I'm so sorry I won't be there for wedding planning. I'm just one phone call away." Scarlett said as they hugged.
          "Hey, you have to worry about yourself first. It's okay. I'm just going to miss you and I'm going to call you every week to update you on the planning."
          "I can't wait."
Eventually the couple and their kids were on the plane back to Birmingham. They left around dinner time, so they would get home around 2am. Bella was sitting on the plane floor as she played with Ash. Scarlett was holding Myles with her right arm. Tommy grabbed Scarlett's hand and kissed it.
          "This is the right thing, Scar."
He looked at her and held her face as she leaned on his hand.
          "This will be so good for us." He added.
She smiled and the night went on. Bella was passed out on Tommy's chest and Scarlett was asleep as she held a sleeping Myles. They landed and Tommy woke Scarlett up. The two carried their kids in the house and put them to bed. Tommy and Scarlett passed out not long after. The morning came and they woke up to Bella jumping in their bed.
          "We're going on vacation!" She yelled.
          "We are, but we're leaving you home." Tommy joked.
Bella made a face as Tommy got up.
          "You couldn't go without me, daddy."
Tommy threw her over his shoulder and she just laughed as Scarlett smiled at the two. Scarlett got up and fed Myles then packed her two kids suitcases. She was in her room as she held Myles.
          "Ma-ma."
Scarlett was completely shocked, but couldn't do anything but smile.
          "Tommy!" She yelled.
He came running in.
          "What? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
          "Ma-ma." Myles said again.
She smiled as she looked at him.
          "Did he?" He asked.
          "He did." She smiled.
Tommy hugged Scarlett and then picked her up and spun her around.
          "He'll never ask for me again." Tommy joked.
          "Probably not." She laughed.
Tommy kissed her. In that moment he saw the old Scarlett. He could see her smile and it felt so good to see her like that again. He stood back and held her waist and smiled.
          "So Italy?" He said.
She smiled.
          "Let's go on vacation." She said.