Just Go With It (Hosie)

XIII

"So, what are we doing?"

Hope sighs while grabbing three putters and pulling out a camera, "Well, Maya forgot her camera in the room, so I'm gonna have a nice surprise waiting for her when she gets back from the spa."

Andrea furrows her eyebrows, "A stolen camera?"

"What? No, some pictures of us having a great time, reassuring her of all the fun we have together."

Andrea shrugs, "We already have fun together."

Hope nods, "I know, but now, she needs to see that for herself, after that little stunt from last night..." She mumbles the last part, not wanting to upset the kids again.

Pedro guiltily adds, for a different reason, "Well, I forgot to flush the toilet before we left the hotel, so she's actually gonna have two surprises."

Hope shakes her head, "I swear you take a Chang more than anyone I've ever met. Seriously, you've gotta look into some Pepto Bismol or something," Pedro only shrugs, and Hope guides them over to the first hole of their course, "Here's your putters. Now I'm gonna set the camera over here, and I'll set the timer on it to take some photos."

The two nod as Hope sets it up and pushes the button before making her way over to the kids.

"Okay, let's just look right into the camera. And we're having fun, and we love each other, big smiles, and..."
The kids smile widely at the camera, on either side of Hope, "Great. Now Andrea, lay down on your back."

"Why?"

Hope explains the scenario behind the next photo, "Because you just hit the ball, but you followed through too much and it made you fall on your back," Andrea chuckles before lying on the ground, "Okay and Pedro, you think it's funny, so you're laughing. But I'm a concerned mother, so I'm trying to help, like...this," Pedro poses mid-laugh, as Hope bends down, acting like she's helping the girl up.

"Okay perfect, we can take a break from the pictures. Andrea, ladies first," Hope gestures toward the course, and Andrea sets her ball down before getting into the worst stance Hope's ever seen, holding the putter backwards, and she's about to still attempt the shot. And Hope can't take it, "Okay, wait, we have to fix this monstrosity before this goes any further, hold on," She hands her putter to Pedro before making her way over to the little girl. She grabs her putter and glances toward the girl's feet, "I can't believe someone named after me just looked like that trying to play golf. Okay, put some space between your feet," Hope uses the end of the putter to point to where her feet should be, "Okay, better. Now hips," She pokes the girl in the stomach, making her giggle a bit, "Good, here," She hands over the putter, turning it the right way this time, "Line it up, eye your target, and then nice and easy swing, alright?"

Andrea nods with a smile, feeling like a pro now that she's got Hope's stamp of approval.

She does as she's told, giving it a nice and easy swing.

And since this is the first hole of the course, it's pretty easy, and the ball bounces off the back wooden board lightly before rolling in. Hope grins and high-fives the girl who jumps up and down, "I did it! Thank you!"

"Hey, that was all you, love. Good job. Alright now Pedro, you're up."

Pedro grins, "I don't need help, Hope. I'm really good."

Hope nods, "I like the confidence. Let's see if you can back it up."

Pedro drops his ball on the green, and gets into the stance he saw his sister get into.

But he swings back, and then back forward harshly, hitting the ball hard, sending it flying to the back wooden board, and it rebounds, directly at Hope's ankle, "Ow! Holy Chang!"

Andrea covers her mouth as her eyes widen, looking a lot like her mother. And Pedro laughs, a loud belly laugh that Hope can't help but chuckle at.

"Oh, you think that's funny?"

He only nods his head three times, his wide grin never leaving his face.

Andrea adds, "That would've been a good picture for you."

Hope only rolls her eyes, "You guys are killing me. Slowly and painfully."

Pedro still smiles, "This is so much more fun than we have with our real dad," He tells Andrea, as Hope begins to set up her own shot.

She pauses at his words, "Oh man," She sighs to herself before turning toward the kids, seeing Andrea taking her brother's hand comfortingly. And she gets an idea, "Hey, how about this? I'll teach you how to swim, okay? Before your mother gets back from the spa in, like," She looks at her watch, "four hours?"

Pedro furrows his eyebrows, "Is that even possible?"

Nope. Doubtful.

Hope nods, "Yep, but that means we gotta get through this course quick, so let's get to it."

—————————————

Hope holds Pedro by the edge of the pool, who wears two small floaties on his arms, as Andrea and Lizzie are on the lounge chairs, soaking up some sun, and MG is only a short distance from Hope and Pedro in the water, with kids goggles over his eyes, and large floaties around his biceps.

Pedro holds tightly onto Hope, "It took my friend a whole summer to learn how to swim. How are you gonna teach me so quick?"

Hope shrugs, "Same way my father taught me," And she tosses him into the water.

He gasps, but Hope knows MG was right there to catch him, "Don't worry, it took Uncle Niklaus eight hours to teach us both. But there's two of us here now, and we're completely sober. You're gonna be fine." Though MG's words aren't at all promising, since he's a grown adult, able to touch the bottom of the pool with no problem, yet he still wears floaties.

Hope only chuckles at the memory and shakes her head, lifting her shirt over her head to reveal the bikini top beneath, leaving her in only that and her trunks.

Lizzie and Andrea both pull their sunglasses down a bit, tilting their heads up from their chairs to get a good look.

Lizzie scoffs when she notices the child checking out Hope too, tossing a towel over Andrea's face, "If I catch you doing that again, I'm telling your mother."

And the little girl only giggles, removing the towel, "I'm nine, not blind. And mom does it too. Blame my genetics, not me," She shrugs. Hope's not bad to look at, easy on the eyes. And Andrea sees the way her mom was looking at Hope each time they went swimming. She enjoys the view too. Even back at home, when Hope is at work in her scrubs, Josie still seems to enjoy the sight a bit too much.

"Can't argue with that, my friend."

—————————

"Alright, you're doing great—"

"Is he doing great?" MG mumbles to Hope.

She nods, "He's going great," She confirms, encouraging the kid, "We want to advance a little, though. I need you to swim to Uncle Milton over there. If you can get to him without touching the bottom, we'll give you another dolphin cookie, okay?" She says to the boy, who she holds in her arms in the shallow pool, still wearing his floaties for now.

"Is that what your dad gave you?"

"Uhh..No Dad gave us something he'd call a Heineken," Hope tells him, recalling her dad giving them each a sip of the adult drink when they did well. They thought it was the coolest thing in the world back then.

"I want one of those!" Pedro smiles.

"And I want to keep my life, kid. So let's stick with the dolphin cookie, so your mom doesn't kill me. Okay, are we ready?" The kids nods, taking a deep breath, "Don't think about it. Commit to it. Ready, and... Kick!" She tosses him forward a bit, cheering him on along with MG, Lizzie, and Andrea, "You're so close! Doing good, buddy!"

He's just a few more feet away.

"Reach for it! You got it!" MG helps the kid by holding his arms out to shorten the distance, and Pedro grabs onto him quickly, grinning from ear to ear.

Hope claps her hands together, "That's my boy! Sit on the edge and have your cookie. We're gonna move on in a minute, though."