Promises (TP 6)

39 - Doc

This is the second of a double update.

Patrick had always said that he wouldn't kiss and tell, but he had paved the way for his biggest secret by suggesting he had slept with Tessa. She didn't need to know it was once, and they stopped seeing each other for a month because of it. If it wasn't for the pregnancy, there would be no relationship. Hopefully she would trust him with her past, and it would help him understand her better.

Kristi had found out all Tessa's secrets. He had trouble not reacting, especially since he was in the dark. Kristi could be Tessa's best ally or her worst enemy. It would be his job to make sure she became an ally.

He glanced over at Tessa. She had one of her daughters on her lap, wrapped in a towel. Tessa held her tight while talking to her other daughter. He had never even paid attention to their names. What if they didn't like him? Tessa would need her daughters to be happy. Maybe his objective should be to woo the little girls to win their mother.

He set his goal in the last couple of hours. He wanted a family instead of being a weekend dad. He would need to adjust his expectations. Maybe it was enough to just care about Tessa to make a life together. He wouldn't need to love her like he loved Erica. With his plan set, he felt lighter as he scanned the crowd for his children.

Gabbie was off with her friend Anna and the other kids from The Point. Kevin was with the boys in the water again. He shook his head. Patrick rarely went in without his wetsuit, even in late August when it was the warmest. He watched some waves breaking down the beach and longed to be out there. Whatever happened, he'd have to make sure that Tessa understood surfing was important to him. Some men played golf, he surfed.

He walked over to Hannah with her friends. Ryder's arm was around her and his hand was on her bare shoulder. He wished she had a shirt over her bikini and it wasn't because of the sun. He was such a hypocrite, because earlier he had hoped that Tessa had a bikini on under her dress.

"Hey Dad! Having fun?"

He nodded. "Are you?"

"Yeah. We might go back to our house when everyone goes up to the party."

"Not if I'm not there. Plus, you're on your own for dinner. I'm not cooking. I'm cooking tomorrow so I want you home. Alone."

"Dad." She whined.

"Tomorrow's a school night." Graduation was still two weeks away. He didn't want to think about how Tessa would fit in, especially with his parent's visit. Dinner would be early, because it was a school night. Tessa's girls needed to get to bed. As certain as he felt a few minutes before, he suddenly didn't feel sure of anything, except he was ready for the party to move off the beach. He wanted a beer.

His neighbor Alex had rinsed off and was sitting next to his wife right in front of Tessa. He walked over because he was neighborly, but he really wanted to be near her.

"Hey Doc, you want one?" He held up a can in a foam koozie. Drinking was against the rules on the beach, but no one enforced it. As long as people kept it hidden, no one cared. Ironically, Point residents cared if beach goers were intoxicated. When that happened, they called the police.

"Thanks."

Alex handed him a can in the insulated foam. He drank in some of the cold liquid. He felt Tessa behind him. "So how's business?"

"Great. I've got enough work to keep two crews busy. I'll be staying close to home for a while."

Patrick nodded. That would be him. Would he take time off when his baby was born? I couldn't imagine living through it again.

"Where's your little one?"

Alex pointed down by the wet sand. "Sophie's playing with her."

He looked and saw his own son playing with the little girl. Thankfully, his kids liked little children, but he knew Kevin was probably more interested in the bigger girl.

"You know." Alex continued. "I think your son might move in on my girl. Sophie and I have been besties since she was about Abbie's age."

"How did you get to be friends with her?" He needed some tips.

"Besides letting her bury me. I saw her every day when I was building their house. She talked, because that girl can talk and I listened. Women just want us to listen to them no matter their age, right Jen?"

"What d'you say?" Jen was watching people and not paying attention to her husband.

Alex smiled. "They don't bother listening to us, but we need to listen to them."

"Good advice. Thanks."

He continued to drink his beer. He waved to Sasha, who walked by with her stepson. She had similar coloring to Tessa, but Tessa created more than a spark. She caused a full force combustion.

Abbie and Tessa's little one came running, kicking up sand. Abbie asked, "Alex, can we bury you again?"

"Nope. Once was enough. I'm dry now. Do you girls know Doc?"

Abbie nodded. "He's Kevin's daddy. He surfs."

He laughed. "I do, and you and your friend watched us."

"Me and Chloe like to watch Kevin."

Chloe. He needed to talk to Chloe. "Are you having fun on the beach, Chloe?"

"Yes. Are you a doctor who gives shots?"

He gave novocaine shots. "Not like the kind you get. I'm a doctor for mouths and teeth."

"Like a dentist?" Abbie asked.

He nodded. Chloe said, "See my teeth." She opened her mouth wide and tried to smile. Because she was missing two lower central incisors, she looked like a jack-o'-lantern.

"Perfect. Did the tooth fairy come?"

"Uh, huh. She left a whole dollar."

"Wow!" He felt a sudden longing to play tooth fairy again. He extracted teeth all day, but he loved when his children lost their teeth. They used to let him pull them out. He would pretend they were his patients and test them and either say they weren't ready or he'd give them a little twist and they'd come right out. When he started with Hannah, Gabby would insist on him pulling hers too, but she was too little. Erica would look at him with an expression of amusement and awe. He took a sip of his beer, trying not to remember that part.

Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm really good at pulling teeth. Next time you have a loose one, come see me and I'll take care of it for you."

Her little mouth formed an oh. "My sister Maya has a loose tooth. You could pull it."

"I'll tell you what, today is a party. Tomorrow I'll look at it free of charge."

"What does that mean?"

He heard laughing behind him and knew that Tessa had been listening. "It means I won't make your mother pay."

"Mommy! Did you hear that?"

"I did, baby."

He couldn't resist. He turned and smiled at her. She smiled back while her friend snickered.