Paul jogged after him to make sure he didn’t get too close to the road or the bus as it came to a stop.

When Ethan was safely on the bus, Paul watched him take a seat.

Ethan smiled and waved.

Paul returned the smile and the wave. What a cute kid he was. When he thought about what Ethan and Hope had been through with Ethan’s father, Paul felt enraged for both of them. As he walked back to the house, he replayed the conversation with Ethan. It touched him to know how concerned Ethan was about his mother.

Despite everything he’d been through, he was a good kid who didn’t seem damaged by the trauma of losing his father from his life so suddenly and dramatically. Most of the credit for that went to Hope, who’d probably sacrificed her own well-being to see to his. Knowing that made Paul want to make it up to her, to give her everything she’d been living without for so long now.

She was loading the dishwasher when he came back into the house. He took note of his mother’s occupation with the morning edition of the Gansett Gazette and went over to Hope.

“Everything okay with Ethan?”

“Yep, he’s on his way.” Before they could be interrupted, he said, “Where do you want to go this week?”

“Oh, I, um… I don’t know.”

“Anywhere you want as long as it’s drivable from Providence.”

She bit her lip as she thought about it. “There was this place we used to go with my grandparents on the Cape.”

“What’s the name of it?”

“It was called the Seaside Inn in Yarmouth. There was nothing fancy about it, but it’s right on the beach. My grandparents used to take my sister and me every year. I haven’t been there in ages. I don’t even know if it’s still there.”

“Sounds great. I’ll look into it.”

“You don’t have to… We don’t have to…”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” Paul squeezed her shoulder and went to sit with his mother for a few minutes before they had to leave.

Jenny and Alex appeared a few minutes later, looking sleepy and dopey and sex drunk.

“Coffee,” Jenny said, making a beeline for the coffeepot.

“I just made a fresh pot,” Hope said.

“God bless you, woman. I need all the fortification I can get today. It’s seating chart day.”

“Better you than me,” Hope said, shuddering. “I’ll never get married again.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth when she was wincing. “Sorry, that wasn’t very nice of me to say when you’re so excited about your wedding.”

“No worries,” Jenny said, stirring cream into her coffee. “I get it. I’ve planned two weddings now, so I know what you mean. It’s a lot.”