Beach Love [Sequel to Unexpected Love]

Beach Love - Epilogue

Epilogue: 15 years later

                “Mom!” Mitchell yelled at me from his bedroom as I walked by with another load of laundry. I rolled my eyes and walked back to his door. My tall, tan skinned, shirtless teenage child was lounged across his bed fiddling his fingers across his Xbox controller. “Yes?” I asked. “So, are we like gone all summer on this trip? Because I wanted to spend some time with Cali, but if we’re gone all summer I can’t. So I was just kind of thinking…maybe she could come along with us? Not for the whole time, but just maybe a week or two?” He threw me his most charming and convincing smile he could, but I couldn’t help but shoot him down.

                “Honey, no. We’ve already talked about this. You cannot have your girlfriend come with us. It’s too much room as it is and you need to spend some time with the family. Besides, Monica and Jordan are coming, which means Owen and Audrey are coming.” I said. Luckily, Monica got pregnant with twins around the same time as my second pregnancy. Owen and Audrey are 15 years old, almost 16; so almost dead smack in the middle of Mitch and River. It worked out wonderful for us because we had a boy and a girl who could hang out and were around the same age.

                “Oh sweet, Owen’s coming! You didn’t tell me that!” Mitch said, sounding a little more enthused about this trip than before. “Yeah, well now you know. But seriously, I don’t want to hear another thing about Cali coming on this trip. You already know my answer is going to be no. Your dad’s going to be coming with us as well.” With that said, I left him to his gaming.

                Down the stairs and into mine and AJ’s bedroom, I sat the big laundry basket full of clothing and began unfolding the clothes into separate piles.

                “Hey mom,” a voice came from my bedroom door. I looked over my shoulder to see River standing there. Her long, straight, blonde hair was down to about bellybutton length now. Her hazel eyes, just like her father’s, sparkled with a hint of makeup around them to really make them pop. “Yes,” I responded.

                “What time are we leaving tomorrow? There’s this –” Before she could even finish, I sighed and shook my head. “Honey, I just got done talking to your brother about this. Nothing is going on tomorrow except for us four, plus Brady, going to the Bahamas. You guys should be excited!”

                “Mom! Of course I’m excited! But I’m fifteen, I kind of want to be involved and be with my friends as much as possible. You know?” She said with a little shrug. That’s my girl, never wanting to start an argument, but also vocalizing what she wants. Just like her father. “Look, I understand that. I really do. But, this is supposed to be a family vacation. Owen and Audrey are coming! So you’ll have Audrey to hang out with. Plus you’ll get to see Victoria.” I said, trying to get some positivity into her. I still think it’s so weird that my mother and I had Victoria and Mitch around the same time. I mean, Victoria is technically River and Mitchell’s aunt. It happens all the time now, but still it’s hard for me to get used to it. River smiled and flashed those glimmering white teeth. “Alright, I’ll go finish packing.” She said with a kiss to my forehead.

                She was getting so tall. She was around my height by now, maybe half an inch shorter. Since she was going to be a sophomore in High School next year, I totally understand that she wants a lot more friend time. However, this is a family vacation and it’s going to stay that way.

                “Hun, do we want to go on a quick shopping trip before we leave, just in case we may need anything?” AJ walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, as he was dabbing his face with a washcloth. “No, we can buy anything down there if needed. Besides, Mom and Dad will help us with anything we need.” I said. AJ sighed. “I know, but I just hate relying on your parents all the time.” He wandered towards me and gave me a kiss. “You know what I mean?” I nodded.