Summer Sunsets (31 page)

Chapter
Twenty-One

It’s been over a year since
Helena was born—a year of sleepless nights and walking the floor,
not to mention a million wonderful changes. I sit on the beach
where Skye and I always vacation. Somehow we even managed to get
the same cabin we stayed at last time, when things finally started
to come together for the two of us.

Right now, the sun is
setting, casting an orange watercolor glow across the ocean while
Skye holds Helena’s hands and walks with her just at the edge of
the water where the tide is ebbing toward the sand. Helena’s pudgy
toes dig into the sand, and she points at the gulls reeling
overhead, spiraling around one other. Her hair is baby-fine, and
Skye has taken the very top of it and pulled it into a ponytail
that reminds me of Pebbles on the old Flintstones show. She’s
wearing a navy sailor dress that only makes her more adorable
somehow. Skye is also wearing a navy dress that’s pretty close to
Helena’s.

Although I’d expected
Helena would look like Skye, she’s a mixture of people—Skye’s
cheekbones, my nose, the shape of Helen’s eyes, and a mouth that’s
distinctly her own. Every day, Skye and Helena are the first two
thoughts in my head, and every night, they are the last ones I have
before drifting to sleep.

I shift in the sand and
think of how I used to worry Skye would never be at peace, that she
would never find direction enough to forgive herself for the past,
but Helena changed all that, and I’ll always be grateful to my
daughter for that. It also helped that Skye finally met with her
father and they were able to at least find enough middle ground to
talk so he could meet Helena. While I didn’t really believe in him
much to begin with, since that point, he’s been nothing short of
good to Skye, and I’ve learned to tolerate him. One day I might
like him if he ends up being the man he seems to think he wants to
be. I guess only time will tell, but I’m glad Skye has finally been
able to let go of the pain of his choice.

Staring at the two women in
my life, I see Helena has turned loose of Skye’s hand, and her gaze
has shifted to me. One hand reaches out to balance her while the
other madly rubs at the gums where new teeth are probably ready to
surface.

“
Hey, baby!” I call, stretch
my arms out, knowing she’s coming for me. Her eyes widen, and she
hurries her steps, momentarily losing her balance and toppling into
the sand. Skye starts to hurry, her arms reaching to scoop Helena
up, but I shake my head.

“
She’s not crying. Let her
get up on her own. It’ll be okay.”

Frowning, Skye hesitates
and forces herself to fold her arms across her chest and not
intervene, which is always hard. I know she wants to catch her
daughter before she cries and thus spare her future pain, but
that’s just not possible, not for any of us.

It doesn’t happen very
often, but sometimes, I still see that old expression on Skye’s
face, the one that tells me she knows how unpredictable things are
and that life is like a seascape where the tide doesn’t care what
it erases. In those moments, I know she isn’t at completely at
peace. Then again, who is? Still, she always comes back to find me
and Helena. It may not be as quick as I would like, but she does
return, and that’s enough.

I hear Helena giggle and
turn to her. “Come on, baby. Come to Daddy!” I make the goofy face
she likes, and she squeals before clambering back to her chunky
feet and toddling her way into my arms.

“
She really is a daddy’s
girl,” Skye says, shaking her head as she walks over.

“
What about you? Are you a
daddy’s girl, too?” I ask hopefully, nodding toward the sand next
to me.

“
Yeah, I guess I am.” She
sinks onto it and leans her head against me. “How could you
tell?”

“
Well, you haven’t run off
with the milkman.”

She laughs. “He’s blond.
You know I hate blonds.”

I kiss Helena’s forehead.
“Yeah, that would definitely be the reason you haven’t escaped with
him. I can tell that.” Helena leans contentedly against me, and I
see her eyes are growing heavy. “I think it’s someone’s nap
time.”

“
But I’m not tired,” Skye
whines, knowing it’s not her I’m referring to.

I touched Helena’s baby
curls, amazed at their softness. “Hey, I look for any reason I can
to get you into bed. You ought to know that by now.”

“
Oh, really?”

Skye leans over and kisses
my ear, which would be okay if it were one of those quick pecks,
but it’s not. It’s a little less PG than that, and I’m definitely
feeling a reaction.

I suck in air. “Careful.
Isn’t that how we ended up with a munchkin?”

“
Are you complaining?” Skye
leans back and challenges, one eyebrow cocked slightly.

“
Hell, no.” I lick my lips.
“C’mere, you.”

And she does. That’s when I
know that whatever doubts I might have had about the future,
everything is going to be okay. It might not end quite the way I
think it might, but that’s okay. I’ll take whatever I can get so
long as my girls are with me.

About the Author

Maria Rachel Hooley is the
author of over twenty-five novels, including the
Sojourner
series,
New Life Inc.,
and
When Angels Cry
. Her work
has been featured in numerous publications such as
Green Hills Literary
Lantern, Westview
, and
Kimera
. She has written
over twenty novels in numerous genres. Her first chapbook of
poetry,
A Different Song,
was published by Rose Rock Press in 1999. She is a
high school teacher and lives in Oklahoma with husband and three
children. You can view more of her work at
www.mariarachelhooley.com
.