_OceanofPDF

Colton pointed his fork at each of us. “You’re the same kinda crazy.”
“Now I see it.” Ted laughed, taking his wife’s hand on the table. “Can’t
you, honey?”
They looked at each other deeply, as if having a conversation without
speaking.
Logan swallowed hard, then drank his coffee as if he wanted to hide
behind the cup.
In the moments that passed, Doreen didn’t answer.
Dante broke the tension with a question. “I hear you’re working for
your father’s label?”
“Since I was a kid.” I glanced at Logan, and he met my eyes with
anticipation.
Eventually, I would have to tell this story. Better I do it in front of my
husband than where he couldn’t hear it. “Until this morning actually. My
stepmother…” Insulting her wouldn’t look good, even if she deserved it.
“She and I had a falling out. My fault actually. Anyway, we thought it
would be better if I moved on.”
“Your own thing, yeah?” Colton suggested.
“Maybe? I don’t know. I think…” Could I even say it out loud?
“Ella can do whatever she wants.” Logan’s foot rested on mine.
“I’m going to spend a while just being with my husband. You know,
making sure he has everything he needs full time.”
Logan nodded slightly, and I smiled at him in victory from the top of the
mountain of things I’d never, ever wanted for myself.
Doreen—the one we were trying to persuade—let out a short scoff.
“That sounds exhausting,” she said, smiling at Ted.
“My wife needs to rest after last night,” Ted said. “I think a week in
Cambria will do us some good.” He winked. They laughed together as if
sharing a private joke.
“What’s in Cambria?” I asked.
“Ted wanted to get away from the rat race,” Doreen said. “The boys
were all grown. Lyric was in college. So we bought this house up there and
it’s just lovely. Deep in this wooded area. Miles from the nearest road. You
can hear the ocean and see it even, from the top of the hill.”
After taking a sip of mimosa, Ted said, “When Lyric moved out, right
about then I had my first midlife crisis.”
“Your first?” Logan asked. “I didn’t even know you had one.”