Chapter 4

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Michelle and Robert reluctantly got up and took a shower together to save time and then got dressed to make breakfast and prepare for the arrival of Michelle's family

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Michelle and Robert reluctantly got up and took a shower together to save time and then got dressed to make breakfast and prepare for the arrival of Michelle's family. Michelle went to wake up Beau to get him dressed for the day, but he could barely contain himself, bouncing around his room in excitement knowing that his grandma and grandpa Devereaux were coming soon. He peppered his mother with questions about when they would be there, what fun activities they would be doing and chattering about all the things he needed to remember to tell them since the last time he saw them. Michelle caught his excitement and laughed with him as she tried to get him dressed, his face washed and hair combed. She couldn't help but pick him up in her arms and kiss him all over his cute little face as he giggled and begged her, "Stop mommy! Stop! No more kisses!"

Michelle folded Beau's jammies and laid them on his dresser then helped him make his bed and straighten his little room before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. Robert made waffles and added some fresh blueberries on top. They all sat down at the table to eat and talked about their plans for the day once everyone had arrived.

"Daddy, are we going to take the boat out today?" Beau pipped up as he looked at this dad with his big blue eyes.

"Well buddy, we'll see ok? If we don't go today we'll go some other day this week for sure, as long as the weather is good. I promise." Robert reached over and pushed his son's bangs off his forehead and gave him a smile.  "Or maybe we can go crabbing instead, yeah? You like that, so we could go after high tide either today or tomorrow."

They finished eating and Michelle washed the dishes and straightened up the kitchen. Just as she was wiping off the counters she heard car doors closing and walked to the front of the house to see her mom and dad along with her aunt, uncle and cousin exiting from their rental SUV. The only family members missing from this family get together was her Gran who was still in Boston and her brother Stefan, who was working as a camp counselor for the summer at Camp Nominingue, outside of Quebec. She opened the screen door and ran out to greet them as hugs and kisses were exchanged all around.

Robert and Beau soon followed to greet the family and he shook hands with Maurice and Joseph, as Joanne scooped her grandson up in her arms to kiss him all over his cheeks and exclaim he was growing too fast.

"No I'm not grandma, I'm 4 so I'm a big boy now, not a little baby. I'm going to preschool you know!" Beau asserted, as the family laughed with amusement.

Everyone grabbed the luggage and carry-on bags and brought them into the old, weathered gray three-story house, to be deposited in the rooms they always claimed as their own when they visited. By noon they were changed into swimsuits, shorts and coverups and relaxing out on the large wrap-around porch off the kitchen as they shared news of family happenings and teased each other with inside jokes. Michelle brought out some beverages, a veggie and cheese plate and other snacks to nosh on, as they all enjoyed their time together.

Awhile later, Beau walked down to the beach hand in hand with his grandparents to look for shells and sea glass, as Bernice went to take a nap, Joseph and Robert talked world politics out on the porch while Michelle and Chloe caught up with each other's lives in the open kitchen. Chloe was 20 and currently attending McGill University back in Montreal. She was looking forward to moving into off-campus housing in a few weeks with two of her best friends, since she was no longer a first year student required to live in the "Upper Rez" student residence hall that she had called home the previous year. She was living the typical coed lifestyle with lots of research and studying, stressing about grades and exams, dating campus hotties from the hockey team and partying on the weekends. Michelle enjoyed listening to her cousin's tales of campus life, but in the deep recesses of her mind, she always got a twinge of regret that she had quit RISD when she only had a few more semesters to go before graduating with her class and a Masters degree. But all in all, she was happy with being at home to raise her son and trying to be the best homemaker she could be for Robert and Beau.

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