Just Go With It (Hosie)

XII

"Okay, my turn!" Andrea exclaims, picking up a card from the stack at the center of the table.

She and her brother have been playing a game of truths with their pretend mom and Maya. And the two children are having an absolute blast with Dr. Hope.

Andrea reads the question on her card, "If you could be one person, besides yourself, who would you be?"

"Rachael Ray," Maya immediately answers, "Because I've always wanted to be a great cook."

Andrea nods, accepting the response before turning to Hope.

"You know what? I don't really want to be anyone else. I choose me," She says seriously, but then she considers it for a moment, "Or maybe Batman. That would be cool."

Maya nods, "That's a good one. What about you, Pedro?"

"Mr. Henderson."

Andrea furrows her eyebrows, "The driver?"

Pedro shrugs, "He's an interesting man." Then the boy considers it for a moment, "Actually, I want to be like you," he says turning to Hope.

"Really? Why me?" Hope asks, genuinely curious, while Maya only swoons at the sweetness of the boy's response.

Before the kid gets to answer though, Andrea shares her own answer, "I would want to be my mom," She says, referring to her actual mother.

Hope turns her attention to the young girl and nods, "That's a great choice, kiddo," She says genuinely.

Maya smiles softly at the sweet sentiment. She thinks it's wonderful how a broken up family can be so well put together and cohesive. It's honestly hard for her to imagine why they got a divorce, but she remembers the story of infidelity. It's just hard to picture, "Should we move on to the next question?"

The kids smile and nod, so Maya picks up a card, "Name something that makes you sad...That N'Sync broke up," She answers sadly for herself.

Hope furrows her eyebrows at the response but rubs the woman's back, "Yeah, that was tough on all of us, honey," she wants to scoff at herself.

Andrea turns to her brother, "Pedro, what's your answer?"

Pedro looks down, "I don't wanna say mine."

Maya assures him, "Hey, you can tell us anything, remember?"

Andrea nods, "Yeah, share."

Hope eyes the boy, "You don't have to if you don't want to, buddy."

Pedro sighs, "I don't want this to change when we go back home," he says, his voice breaking as tears flow from his eyes, and Andrea hugs him knowingly.

They've had so much fun here. And their mom seems happy. And as soon as they go back home, their mom will be stressed, and their dad won't do anything to help, and all of this time they're getting to spend with Dr. Hope now, it won't be the same back at home.

Andrea whispers to him, "We're okay. It's all gonna be okay."

Hope feels herself deflate, knowing the kid is referring more to their home life, but Maya doesn't know that.

She shakes her head at Hope, thinking the kid is referring to Hope and not his actual father, and Maya begins to pick herself up from the couch.

Hope tries to call after her, "Wait, this has nothing to do with—this is from a long time ago.." But Maya has already retreated to their bedroom, upset.

Hope sighs, turning her attention to the weeping boy and his concerned sister, before getting up and going over to them.

She picks up the boy in her arm, shushing him softly as he cries into her neck. She takes Andrea's hand in her own and guides them to their bedroom.

———

She puts them into bed and orders them ice cream by room service. She sits at the foot of their bed now as they all enjoy the cold treat, "Just a minor setback. No biggie."

"We're sorry," Andrea tells her.

Hope nods, "I know you're sorry, and I know you got real stuff going on with your family, and it's painful, but we gotta just hold it together until we get back to the mainland again. You're the ones who wanted to come out here and have a good time and swim with the dolphins—or stand with the dolphins, since you can't swim. You think we can stick it out for just a little bit longer?"

They both nod and reply in unison, "Yes ma'am."

Hope nods, "Great. Only a few more days, alright? And then I'll kill you off in some kind of boarding school train accident or something."

Pedro furrows his eyebrows, "I thought it was a car accident?"

Hope shakes her head, "I don't know. Either that or a science explosion. Maybe your mom will write the answer down on an index card. You're gonna be dead soon, though, so that's the good news."

"Can we still spend time together when we get back home?" Pedro asks.

Hope gives him a confused look, "We do hang out at home, bud."

He tilts his head, "I know, but not like this..And our mom is happy out here with you. It's different when she has to be around Dad." He admits sadly.

Andrea sighs, "Why can't you and my mom just hang out all the time? You two get along better than our parents. Or you could at least just tell her to stop thinking he's gonna change for us."

Hope softens at them, "Guys, that's just not how the world works sometimes. She's got to figure out this stuff with your dad on her own. I love your mom, but she and I aren't meant to be together like that. It's just for the story, remember?"

They nod slowly at Hope, though they wish things were different.

"Okay, good. So, give me some fake hugs right now and laugh really loud like we're the happiest family in the world. Is that possible?" She quirks an eyebrow at them.

They both nod, smiles finally creeping onto their faces as they move down the bed, wrapping their arms around their fake mom.

Hope squeezes them tightly, tickling their sides and making them both laugh loudly, "I love you guys," She says a bit loudly, hoping her date would overhear.

And she does, coming into the doorframe with a smile on her face as she observes the three of them.

Hope feigns ignorance, "Hey honey, what's up?"

Maya grins at the kids, "Well, I just got off the phone with your mom, and you guys are gonna have plenty of time to spend with your mama tomorrow, because Alyssa and I are going to have a nice, long spa day!"

The kids' smiles only grow, and Hope turns to them, "Aw, isn't that great? Awesome..I'll see you in just a minute, honey, okay?" She tells Maya, who nods with a smile and head off to their bedroom.

Once Maya's out of sight, Hope turns her attention back toward the kids, "Okay. Show's over. Back to bed you go," She tosses them back gently, and the two crawl under the sheets.

Andrea notes to her brother, eyeing their fake mother, "She's absolutely losing it."