Goodbye Earl(24)

Ada—the planner—had gotten pregnant on purpose at twenty-four. God—the even better planner—surprised them with two boys at once. With Gabriel, they had been trying for a girl so Grayson could go ahead and get his vasectomy. Gabriel wasn’t a girl, but they couldn’t imagine their life any differently and didn’t want to. And although they couldn’t have loved him more, Pacey had been their oops baby after they’d put the vasectomy off. Grayson got snipped the same week Ada peed positive.

All four boys had their daddy’s dark hair and eyes and a decidedly adorable Castelow nose, but they had Ada’s mouth too. The four of them looked so much alike; if they were the same age, they could’ve been quadruplets.

Ada needed to get showered and dressed. She had errands to run before the RACK brunch at Caro’s. She hadn’t drunk that much at Duke’s, but even two glasses of rosé gave her a slight hangover now. Last night she had three and it’d been so much fun! Her baby sister was getting married and Kasey was back in Goldie! Ada had gotten borderline trashed and kept telling everyone Madonna called rosé summer water, and that was why she called it that too! She had a blast with her girls!

When she and Grayson finally decided to leave, Kasey and Silas were on the karaoke stage singing “Summer Nights” from Grease, drowning in neon light. At home, Ada and Grayson paid their babysitter and had quick sex, half-hanging off the bed. Grayson had only been a little drunk and kept pulling Ada closer to him and laughing at how much everything was making her laugh. Afterward, like always, Grayson went to the kitchen for a pop.

Pacey hummed out of the room and down the hallway to his brothers’ bedrooms.

“Love you, baby,” Ada said as she watched him disappear.

“Boys, we’ll head to Gram and Pop-Pop’s in twenty minutes,” Grayson said with a raised voice, leaning out of the doorframe. A scatter of small okays lifted through the air. Grayson came back into the room and sat next to Ada on the bed.

“I’m so sorry I’m hungover. I have a lot of stuff to get done today,” Ada said to her husband. A bad mood would creep up like an itch if she strayed from her schedule.

“You’re fine, just a lightweight. Ease up on yourself.” Grayson was naturally like this—laid-back, flexible—the exact opposite of who Ada was. It was why they worked; when she spun, he was still.

He was wearing a short-sleeved button-down with anchors on it, a pair of peanut-butter khaki shorts, and black flip-flops. He had plans to take the boys to his parents’ to grill out and swim for the day. A few of his friends were bringing their kids too. Ada appreciated how much Grayson took the boys and let her have time to herself. She had girlfriends whose husbands had never changed a diaper or given their children a bath. Grayson had been hands-on with their boys since day one, and while Ada didn’t set the bar so low for men that she thought the smallest things deserved praise, she was exceedingly thankful for how good of a husband and father he was so she could keep her worries to everything else in life.

“Will you be gone most of the day? I will,” Ada said. She was up now, walking to the bathroom. She heard Grayson get up from the bed and follow her. She sat on the toilet and looked at him leaning against the counter.

“Probably. We’ll connect later. It’s fine.”

“Did you see how Kasey and Silas were last night? Roses and Caro were excited about it. I don’t know how to feel.”

Ada stood and washed her hands, continuing the conversation with Grayson in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Four little feet pattered in the hallway—two of the boys were running and laughing. Usually, she’d remind them to be careful if they were getting too rowdy, but today she pretended like it wasn’t happening.

“It’s been a long time for them. Maybe too long. I don’t know what I think, since I haven’t thought about it much, honestly,” Grayson said.

“What happened with him and that woman who worked at the bowling alley or the bookstore? Was it the bookstore? Did she work at both?”

Grayson shrugged.

“Y’all don’t talk about this stuff?” Ada said with a mouth full of toothpaste.

“I mean, sometimes we do. Not all of it, though. You know I love to mind my business,” he said.

“But…he’s your brother,” Ada said. She spit and returned the toothbrush to its cup next to his.

It drove her crazy thinking there could be something potentially important about Silas’s life going on and Grayson wouldn’t know because he minded his business. It was his brother! Whether they wanted it or not, they had some shared business!

“Kasey’s engaged, though. I mean, right?” Grayson asked. He scratched at his beard, crossed his arms. He was watching Ada suds up her face with her expensive LunaCrush cleanser. She splashed it off and her sinuses ached. Grayson handed her a soft bamboo washcloth.

“Well, yeah, right. But! She and Silas have fifteen years of unfinished business, and it’s so weird she’s finally back here after all this time anyway. I don’t feel like I know anything about what’s going on.” Ada dried her face and leaned against the counter too, patting rose toner on her forehead and cheeks. Swiping it across her neck, tapping it down her nose. She’d exfoliate her face in the shower, finish her routine. She was in her lacy pink bra and panties, and although the AC was on full blast, she could tell how hot it was outside already. The morning sun slanted through the window and onto the tiled floor, warming her bare feet.