The plane touched down in the late afternoon, and the heat hit them the moment the doors opened.

It was thicker and heavier than Montclair, carrying the salt smell of the ocean and the green scent of tropical foliage. Franz had been here before, years ago, when Alex first bought the property and wanted someone to check on the renovations. He remembered the way the light looked at this hour—golden and slanted, painting everything in amber.

The children were asleep before the plane had even landed.

Julian carried Kyle with the boy’s head lolling against his father’s shoulder and his dinosaur backpack dangling from one arm. Franz lifted Lily and Leo, one in each arm, their bodies slack and heavy with exhaustion. Lily’s face was pressed against his shoulder, her breath slow and even. Leo had the whale crushed between them.

"Are you all right?" Arianne asked, walking beside him with her hand resting on the curve of her belly—a gesture that had become automatic over the past weeks.

"My shoulder doesn’t hurt anymore," he said, adjusting his grip on Leo. "They’re not that heavy."

"You’re carrying both of them."

"I’ve carried heavier things."

She didn’t argue. The family moved through the small airport together, Vincent walking with care but steadily, Amanda at his side, and Aunt Estella bringing up the rear with a carry-on bag over her shoulder. The staff from the estate were waiting outside with three cars, their faces open and welcoming.

The drive to the estate took twenty minutes along a coastal road, with the ocean visible through gaps in the trees as a vast blue expanse that stretched to the horizon. Lily stirred once and lifted her head, but Franz murmured something to her and she settled back against his shoulder.

The estate was a white two-story structure tucked among the trees with its windows facing the water. The floors inside were pale wood that creaked softly underfoot, and the air smelled like salt and something floral—jasmine, maybe, or plumeria. A wide veranda wrapped around the ground floor and overlooked a private stretch of beach.

Franz carried the twins to their room, a bright space with two beds and a window that looked out over the garden. He laid Lily down first, then Leo, and tucked the whale beside him. Neither of them woke. The ten-hour flight had claimed them completely.

Then he led Arianne to the master suite.

The room was on the second floor with a wide balcony facing the ocean. The late afternoon light spilled through the glass doors, golden and bright, and the waves rolled in and out with a constant, gentle rhythm. Arianne stood at the railing with her hands resting on the wood and her eyes on the water.

"The property next door belongs to Gilbert," Franz said, coming to stand beside her. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I know. Alex mentioned it." She paused. "He suggested I buy one here too, years ago."

"And you said no."

"I didn’t think I needed one. I could always stay at Alex’s or Gilbert’s if I wanted to get away."

"Why didn’t you ever come?"

Arianne said nothing. The waves rolled in and out below them. "I never took the time. There was always something more urgent. Work. The company. Dominic." She said his name without flinching now. "By the time I might have wanted to come, Alex was gone."

Franz didn’t say anything. He put his hand over hers on the railing, and after a moment she turned her hand over and interlaced their fingers.

"Have you been here before?" he asked.

"No. This is my first time."

He looked at her. She was watching the water, her profile sharp against the golden light and the small swell of her belly visible beneath her dress. Alex had offered, and she had never come. She was here now with him, with their children, with the baby growing inside her.

"The kitchen and living room are connected," he said. "Open layout. You can see the ocean from almost every room."

"I should help unpack."

"You should rest. Doctor’s orders."

"I’ve been resting for weeks."

"And you’ll rest for weeks more." He squeezed her hand. "Come inside. Dinner will be ready soon."

–

The children woke just before dinner, bouncing off the walls like they hadn’t just spent ten hours on a plane.

The dining table was set near the windows with the ocean visible through the glass and the sunset painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. The staff had prepared a feast—local seafood, fresh fruits, rice, vegetables, more dishes than they could possibly eat. The children took their seats with the particular chaos of small bodies shaking off sleep.

Franz sat beside Arianne. He picked up a shrimp from the platter, peeled it, and placed it on her plate. Then another. Then another.

Lily noticed. "Uncle Franz, why aren’t you eating?"

"Mommy Aria needs to eat first. She’s eating for two."

"She eats a lot now. More than before. She had three pieces of toast yesterday. I counted."

"She’s feeding the baby," Franz said, peeling another shrimp. "The baby gets hungry."

Arianne looked at her plate, which was rapidly disappearing under a pile of peeled seafood. "Franz. Stop."

"You need to eat."

"I am eating. You’re feeding me too much. The baby is still very small. It doesn’t need seven shrimp."

"The baby needs protein."

"The baby needs you to stop piling food on my plate."

He paused with a shrimp halfway peeled. "You’re sure?"

"I’m sure."

He conceded and set down the shrimp, then wiped his hands on a napkin. Then he picked up a mango smoothie from the table and placed it beside her plate. "At least drink this. Vitamins."

She gave him a look, and he gave her one back. Then she picked up the smoothie and drank.

Kyle, who had been watching this exchange with great interest, asked, "When can we see the baby?"

"Not for a while," Julian said. "A few more months. Maybe next spring."

Lily’s face lit up. "That’s around our birthday. Me and Leo’s. The baby can come on our birthday and we can all share!"

Amanda smiled from her end of the table. "The baby will come whenever it wants to come, sweetheart. Babies don’t wait for birthdays."

Lily’s face fell. "But I want it to come on our birthday. Then we could have cake and a baby."

"The baby will have its own special day, which is even better because then you get two celebrations."

Lily considered this. "Two cakes?"

"Two cakes."

"Okay." She seemed somewhat mollified, then looked at Leo. "The baby is like you. It does whatever it wants and doesn’t listen."

Leo looked up from his plate and typed: I LISTEN.

"Not always. Yesterday you didn’t want to wear your hat and I had to tell you three times."

THAT WAS DIFFERENT.

"How was it different?"

Leo paused with his fingers hovering over his tablet. Then, with great dignity, he typed: THE HAT WAS ITCHY.

Amanda reached over and smoothed Leo’s hair. "Leo is still our baby, and he’ll be a big brother when the new baby comes. That’s a very important job."

"I’m going to be a big sister," Lily said. "I’m the oldest, so I have the most jobs."

"You have very important jobs," Amanda agreed, "and you do them very well."

Lily looked pleased and returned to her dinner, occasionally glancing at Arianne’s belly as if expecting the baby to make an appearance right then and there.

At the end of the table, Vincent sat apart.

He had eaten little, his fork resting on his plate and his eyes moving over the faces of his family. His wife, helping Leo cut his food. His son, passing Arianne another napkin without being asked. His grandchildren, chattering about birthdays and itchy hats. The woman who had taken over his company and his son’s heart, carrying his third grandchild.

More than a year ago, they had buried Alex and Layla. Vincent remembered the weight of the dirt in his hand, the cold of the headstone against his palm, the way Amanda had gripped his arm so hard he thought she might break. He had lain in a hospital bed after his heart attack, staring at the ceiling, wondering if the family would survive.

Now there was this. The ocean. The sunset. The children’s laughter. The baby coming. The family, standing and together.

His throat tightened. He picked up his fork and set it down again.

Franz caught his eye across the table. Vincent nodded once, and Franz nodded back. Neither of them said a word. Neither of them needed to.

After dinner, the children ran out onto the veranda to watch the last of the sunset. Their voices drifted back through the open doors, Kyle asking about whales, Lily explaining what she’d read in her whale book, Leo’s tablet dinging occasionally with a comment or a question.

Arianne remained at the table with her smoothie finished and her hand resting on her belly. Franz sat beside her with his chair turned toward hers.

"You’re still feeding me too much," she said.

"You ate everything."

"You wouldn’t stop putting food on my plate."

"You’re eating for two."

"The baby is the size of a lemon. It doesn’t need to eat too much."

He reached over and placed his hand on her belly, covering hers. "A lemon needs protein."

She looked at him. "A lemon."

"It’s a very small lemon, but it’s growing." His thumb traced a slow circle against her dress. "You’re doing well. Both of you."

She didn’t answer. She turned her hand over beneath his and interlaced their fingers. Outside, the children shrieked with laughter at something. The waves rolled against the shore, and the sun slipped below the horizon.

Somewhere in the house, Franz’s phone buzzed with a message.

He didn’t check it. Not yet. Not while her hand was in his and the ocean was gold and pink and the children were laughing.

The buzz came again a moment later. And again.