Maybe Forever (Maybe... Book 3) (18 page)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Mads

With Every Heartbeat

Over
the next few days, Lionel came by often—to spend time with Liv and Freya, to make amends with Laney. Sometimes he made awkward conversation with me, but more often than not he concentrated on his granddaughters. I didn't take it personally. In some ways he was like my own father—stiff, distant...uncomfortable with emotions. And to him, I was just the foreign man his estranged daughter had married. He was never rude to me. But he didn't seem to know what to say to me, and honestly I wasn't quite sure what we could talk about other than my daughters and my wife. Laney tried to get him interested in my furniture making and design. She showed him the collective's website and the gallery of images from our finished projects, but Lionel only nodded and said, "Looks good."

His interest in Liv and Freya gave me hope. If he could be this attentive with our daughters, perhaps he could begin to open up more with Laney. Sometimes I eavesdropped on them while I checked my email. Lionel was trying. He stopped fighting Laney when she asked him about his marriage with her mother. Laney would get exasperated with him and walk away. I'd convince her to go back and hear him out. By the time she'd return to the garden to sit with him and listen, Liv had often commandeered her grandfather's attention and was making him laugh with her crazy dances and songs. And if Liv's songs didn't work, a giggle from Freya was enough to make Lionel melt a little more.

By Friday, I knew I needed to check in with the guys at the workshop. While Laney and Cecily took Liv to the beach, I took care of Freya—she'd got sunburned they day before and was cranky—and had a Skype call with Jonas and Anton. They'd just come back from Milan and were excited about the reception they'd received.

"The Italians loved the original designs from the Vesterbrogade Project." Jonas sounded as excited as a little kid with a new toy. "We made some good contacts here—another hotel is interested in our work."

"That's great news." I gave them the thumbs-up. "Is it an Italian hotel?"

Before Jonas could answer, Freya began to cry. I told him to hold on and went to fetch her. Her shoulders were still red from being out in the sun too long and the bridge of her nose was still an angry red. I'd have to put some after-sun cream and aloe vera gel on the burns soon. I was careful with her as I picked her up. Tears were still streaming down her face but she smiled for me and threw her chubby arms around my neck.

When I returned to my computer, Freya rested her head on my shoulder and sang softly to herself. Jonas continued to regale me with news from Milan. Then Anton took over and started filling me in on the latest with Benny. I groaned on hearing her name. "Is she still causing problems?"

"She tried, she thought we ought to pay her extra salary since we ended her contract early."

"What did Anoushka say?"

"She said that since it was an internship, the only thing we owed Benny was her last month's salary." Anton waved to Freya, but she was already falling asleep on my shoulder. "How's the little one?"

"Sunburned. Wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get any sunscreen on her."

"Poor Freya...everything okay there? With you and Laney?"

"Better...I think we're back on track." I gently patted Freya's back. "We've been talking everything through, spending time together and taking care of the kids together."

"You think you'll be home soon?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted. I wanted to get back to work, but I also needed more time away, enjoying my family and not being distracted by the weight of so many professional commitments. "Laney and I, we need a bit more time."

"No worries, we'll keep everything going here. Jonas, Morten and I are all in your corner, you know. We know you're happier with Laney than you'd ever be without her."

"Thanks, it's good to know you guys have got my back."

"By the way, Ole and the Vesterbrogade group seem to like the latest revisions." Anton glanced over his shoulder. "Actually, when they heard the Italians were crazy about the original designs, they started talking about going back to it."

I laughed. Of course they wanted it again. All it took was someone else wanting it more.

Once Anton and I rang off, I took Freya into the bathroom and cooled off her skin with a cold compress. The aloe vera gel came next. Freya whimpered at first but as the gel soothed away the heat she settled down and a tiny smile emerged again. I hated seeing her like this. How did Laney deal with this all the time? All I knew was I wanted to make everything better for my little girl.

She was growing so fast—just yesterday she'd managed to pull herself up on her own and balance for a few moments. Laney and I had watched, mesmerized, as our youngest daughter planted her hands onto the sofa cushion to brace herself and try to stand. In a few days she would be eight months old. Would she be an early bloomer and begin walking before she was even ten months old? Or would she be more like Liv, who'd taken her time about walking and explored every inch of the apartment crawling or scooting, only to take us by surprise on her first birthday by standing and taking off almost immediately in a wobbly run.

After a sleepless night thanks to her sunburn, Freya was more subdued than usual, which was understandable. Hell, I was pretty exhausted too. If anything I wanted to take a nap and I'd barely been out of bed for more two or three hours. Picking up Freya again, I asked her, "What do you think,
lille ven
? Shall we take a nap?"

My daughter yawned, her sleepy green eyes struggling to remain open. We retraced the path to the bedroom Laney and I had been sharing.  The bedroom faced the back garden and was shaded by most of the morning sun thanks to the lush canopy of a marbleberry tree. It cast swaying shadows on the wall as a breeze caught its branches. Freya and I watched the shadows dance. She giggled and pointed at the tree. I kept my arm protectively around her as I began to drift off. It wasn't long until even Freya settled down and her tiny sighs let me know she'd fallen asleep.

The air conditioner's hum formed a cloud of white noise that lulled me even deeper into sleep. Freya planted her thumb in her mouth. I wondered if she was dreaming of penguins.
Don't grow up too quickly
, I thought as my eyelids grew heavy.
Stay my baby girl for just a little while longer
.

*     *     *

Freya and I spent the rest of the morning napping, which probably wasn't very smart, but we needed it. When she finally woke up, she was happier and in a playful mood. I took her outside but made sure she was in the shade.  Her unruly curls spiraled in every direction as she played with her DuPlo blocks. I'd spread a blanket on the grass and made a sunshade by stringing up another blanket between two trees. While she played, I lay on the blanket beside her and finished reading the novel Laney had given me. It wasn't often that Freya and I had so much time alone together. I set aside the book. I couldn't concentrate anyway, so I sat up and helped her build, loving how her eyes lit up with delight as she handed me blocks and I stacked them beside the wobbly towers she'd already constructed.

We were so lost in our own little world, we didn't hear my phone ringing. I grabbed it just before it transferred the caller to my voicemail.

My father's voice startled me. "When can you come home, son?"

"What's wrong? Is it
farmor
?" Freya abandoned her blocks as soon as she heard "
farmor
.
”

"She's had a stroke." Benjamin's voice shook as he spoke. "The doctors say she'll recover, but she is asking for you and for Laney."

My heart was beating so hard I felt like I couldn't breathe. "I'll come. Of course I'll come."

"Good, I'll tell her. I'm on my way back to the hospital. Henrik and Edwina are with her now," he added. "Will Laney come as well?"

"Yes, I think so. She loves
farmor
, she'll want to see her."

"So it's better between you?"

"It is. It's much better. I think we found each other again."

"Good, good. Your
farmor
will be pleased."

"Was she alone when it happened?"

"No, Edwina was with her, helping her in the garden. She made sure Alma made it to the hospital quickly. She's a smart cookie."

Freya chanted "farma" at me. I ruffled her hair as my father and I ended our call. I had to go back. I needed to see with my own eyes that my grandmother was okay. As silly as it sounded, I'd never thought much about the possibility of a life that didn't include my grandmother. I knew she was getting older, that her memory wasn't as good as it had been. One day my grandmother wouldn't be around. I was just glad that day wasn't today.

"Of course we're going home," Laney said as soon as I told her the news. "Alma needs us."

While she packed, I called the airlines and arranged our flight home. It wasn't the way I wanted us to go home together, but we couldn't always control these things. Cecily kept the girls occupied for us while we arranged everything. Henrik called at one point to let me know he could pick us up from the airport. I gave him our flight details. Tomorrow afternoon, we'd be on our way back to Denmark. And after we checked on my grandmother and made sure she was okay, we could start the next stage of our lives together.

CHAPTER NINETEEN: Laney

Home

"
Morfar
!"

Mads and I were jolted out of our much-needed sleep by Liv's excited shrieks. We'd been up most of the night discussing whether it was time for Alma to move to an assisted living complex. Neither of us wanted her to be own her own anymore, but we also didn't want her to have to leave her home. We still hadn't really come to any decision by the time we fell asleep.

"Mommy, Mommy!
Morfar
is here! Come!" It wasn't long until Liv was at our door, issuing commands.

"I'm coming, sweetie. Tell
morfar
I'll be there in five minutes..."

A bleary-eyed Mads rolled onto his side. He yawned and reached for me. "Do we have to get up?"

I nodded. "He probably wants to say goodbye since we're leaving today."

While Mads struggled out of bed, I went into the bathroom and tried to make myself as presentable as possible. I managed to tame my hair into submission and then change from my pajamas into a pair of shorts and a polo shirt. My father was already in the garden with Cecily and the girls. He and Liv were watering the flower beds while my aunt pruned her clematis and passion flowers.

I greeted my father with a wave and said, "You're here early."

"I wanted to spend time with my grandbabies before they head back across the ocean." Lionel replied as he held the hose steady for Liv. She squealed with delight when a bumblebee hovered over the stream of water. "And I wanted to make sure we had a chance to say goodbye."

"Lionel, you make it sound like you won't see the child again," Cecily chided as she snipped off another dead flower head. "She'll be back, won't you, Laney?"

"Absolutely," I said. "Later this year. We need to make sure everything is okay with Mads's grandmother, get her situated once she's home from the hospital."

Freya was pushing herself up in what looked like one of the yoga positions we'd practiced. I watched her plant her feet on the grass and slowly, wobbly raise herself upwards. She stretched her arms out towards me. I held mine open and waited, practically holding my breath. Lionel set down the water hose aside and smiled as he, too, watched Freya trying to find her balance. She was only eight months old—wasn't this too early for her to start trying to walk? But I'd seen how she watched Liv running back and forth...of course she wanted to keep up with her older sister. Liv clapped her hands and ran to Freya's side. She took Freya's hand and spoke to her little sister as she tried to balance. Freya tottered a bit but found her balance again. Behind me, Mads came out on the porch. I heard his sharp intake of breath as we all watched and waited to see what Freya would do next. She took one uncertain step forward, planted her foot in the grass and wobbled again, landed on her rump and giggled.

"Come, Freya," Liv insisted as she helped her little sister stand. "We are going to walk!"

"Don't rush her," Lionel said. "Baby girl's got to find her way."

"If she walks, she is a big girl then," Liv said. "And then we can play."

Freya stood to her feet again with Liv's help. She swayed, then seemed to find her balance. She took one step, waited and giggled. Then she took another. She landed on her rump again.

"They grow up so fast." Lionel scooped up Freya and kissed the top of her head. Mads and I reached for one another's hands. His fingers slid between mine. Our daughters laughed together and sang for their grandfather.

I hoped this peace we'd found would not evaporate when we returned to Copenhagen. Mads leaned in and kissed my neck, his lips skimming my skin and setting off tiny sparks throughout my body. We sat like this for a long while, the sound of our daughter
s’
laughter filling our ears, my aunt's gentle teasing of my father making me smile.

We were surrounded by love. And this was how I'd always wanted my life to be.