Missing You (Sequel to Somewhere In Neverland)

The Beach

Alex's POV:

It was the middle of summer. We were back at the house. On this particular day, I had nothing to do but sit on my butt and drink beer. Marina was running around the house, making sure everything was perfect. Peter's best friend Tucker was coming over for the first time for a sleepover and Marina wanted to make a good impression. She used to be so free and apathetic towards others judgement, but ever since we had the kids, she felt so much pressure. 

"You sure you don't wanna sit down and cuddle with me, baby?" I asked her. I was lying on the couch. Jimmy and Stella were crawling on the carpet in front of the tv. Peter was waiting at the window. Brian was curled up in the recliner, eyes glued to the screen. It was a rare moment to have all the kids not tugging on us.

"No, I gotta mop this floor before-" And then she looked over at me. Her nervous expression softened into a smile. "Okay."

I watched her waltzed over. She uncrossed her knit clad arms and opened them up to hold me. She lied next to me, nuzzling her head into my neck. I squeezed her a little harder. "The house is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you. Don't worry about it."

She took a calm exhale. "Okay." She ran her thumb along my chin, tickling every little hair. "How are you doing, Alley Cat?"

"I'm amazing, Big Butt. So glad I took this summer off to spend it with my beautiful family. I can't wait until we go to the zoo this weekend. Brian is gonna shit his pants when he sees the baby panda." I said.

"I'll make sure to bring extra pull ups." She laughed. "Oh! That must be Tucker!"

She popped up and went outside with Peter. I stood and followed. A beat up chevy nova barely stopped while a kiddo got out with a little backpack. There was smoke coming out of her window. "Bye sweetie, I'll see you in the morning," a crackling voice said before booking it.

"Tucker!" Peter ran over. "Lemme give you a tour!"

"Peter, wait, are you gonna introduce us?" Marina asked. I wrapped my arm around her.

"Oh, yeah. This is my mom, my dad, Brian, Stella, and Jimmy."

"Hi mom, hi dad." Tucker waved to us.

I laughed. It reminded me of calling my friends parents mom and dad.

I heard Peter show him the house. "This is the kitchen and living room. That's Jimmy and Stella's room. We can't go in there. This is the bathroom but we have a big boy bathroom upstairs... This is mom and dad's room. Daddy won't let me play with his guitars, but mommy says I can play her pink guitar."

"Ew, pink guitars are for girls!" Tucker said.

"No, my uncle Mark plays a pink bass guitar!" Peter argued.

"Who's that?"

"He sings in that band I told you about. That song I showed you about the rock show."

"Ohh..." Their voices trailed as they went upstairs.

"Alley baby, it's too nice to be inside. Let's go outside." Marina took my hand.

"I'll grab the kiddos, you get the bluetooth remote." I said.

I picked up Jimmy and Stella. Brian followed me out. He was really quiet. Marina filled a tray with pinwheel sandwhiches, a pitcher of lemonade, utensils, and of course the remote. The older boys ran downstairs at the smell and ran out to the swingset. 

"Daddy, daddy, play uncle Mark!" Peter asked.

"Sure thing buddy." I set down the little ones on their blanket. Marina hit play on that station. Brian grabbed a soccer ball and practiced kicking it around.