I pushed the luggage cart while Jenna pushed the stroller with Rosie and Junie, who were looking around the terminal. It was bright and sunny and warm. I smiled. I loved coming to California but I was even happier that I was here to see my eldest daughter.
"Mom! Dad!" I heard and then was enveloped in a tight hug. Samantha pulled away and smiled at me.
"Hi, Dad," she smiled. I smiled, too. She looked so good. Healthy, happy. Her blue eyes were sparkling as she moved on to say hi to her mother and siblings. The smile on her face was wide. It was real.
"Hi Sammy!" Rosie said.
"Hi Sammy!!" Junie said, louder.
"Junie! I call Sammy Sammy. You find a different name!" Rosie complained. Four year olds... sheesh.
"I wanna call Sammy Sammy, too!" Junie said.
"But I already do!" Rosie complained.
"Rosie, you can both call me Sammy. It's okay," Samantha said, undoing the buckles on Junie's stroller seat and then Rosie's. She picked Junie up and put her on her hip while holding Rosie's hand. It was then I noticed she didn't have her crutches with her.
"Okay, Sammy," Rosie said. And that was that. Rosie was placated.
"Sam," I said. "You're not using your crutches."
"I know," she grinned at me. "I've been working so hard in physio. My stamina is way better and I've even been working out with the basketball team."
"Sam," I warned.
"At practice and with my doctors' permission. I'm still not allowed to play," she said.
"I know it's hard for you, but I'm glad you're following orders," I said. Samantha smiled back at me.
Rosie was talking at Sam a mile a minute while Junie just listened and held on to Sam's shoulders and put her head down on the shoulder where Sam was holding her.
"You okay, Junie Bug?" Sam asked her.
"I okay, Sammy," Junie smiled at her big sister. "I wif you."
Samantha smiled at her sister and kissed her head. Junie giggled.
"You look fantastic, Samantha," Jenna said to Sam. "You look really healthy, happy. Are you?"
"I am, Mom. It's been really great since that Monday thing," Sam said.
"And how's Dylan?" Jenna asked. Samantha blushed.
"He's fine," she said. I laughed.
Samantha and Dylan were getting pretty serious, from what Samantha, Brendon and Sarah had been saying. They said when he took Samantha out, she was always back by or before curfew, they had Dylan's phone number in case of an emergency and they'd had him over for dinner. Samantha said they didn't embarrass her, too much.
We got outside and found Brendon standing by their car. How we were going to fit the five of us and all our luggage and Brendon as well was beyond me.
"Sarah brought her car for luggage," Brendon said. "And I have car seats for the little ones. Jenna or Sam can ride back with Sarah if you want.
"Can I go with Aunt Sarah and Mom?" Sam asked. I was a little disappointed that she didn't want to ride with me and her sisters. But I certainly wasn't going to say no. I smiled.
"Sure. But no talking bad about me," I joked.
"What's the fun in that?" Sam pretended to pout.
"You mean, you were going to talk bad about me?" I whined.
"Of course," Sam said. "What else's would we talk about?"
Sam smirked at me. I pulled her into a hug, kissed her cheek.
"See you back at B and Sarah's," I said to her. She smiled, helped get her sisters settled and then went back to Sarah's car and climbed into the back. I got into Brendon's car and we pulled out of the airport. Junie and Rosie fell asleep in their car seats not long after we left the airport.
Brendon and I chatted about Sam, how things seemed to be going.
"She's doing so well, Tyler. With the exception of the accident, this has been a really good thing for her. She is just so resilient!" Brendon said.
"She's not pushing herself too hard, is she?" I asked. I worried she was pushing herself to recover faster. The basketball season was almost over and she probably wouldn't be able to play still, but I worried she'd push herself to her own detriment. Samantha was tenacious. And she knew this was an important year for basketball if she wanted a scholarship. But I also knew she had applied for other scholarships and had been nominated through both South Columbus and Mulholland for other academic scholarships.
"Maybe a little harder than she should, if I'm honest. But not to a point where I think she's doing herself any injustices. Her doctors have been on top of that with her as well. No one wants to see a regression," Brendon said.
"Good," I said, satisfied.
We pulled into Brendon and Sarah's driveway. I opened the back doors to start getting the girls out of their car seats. Sarah pulled in a few seconds after us. The three of them got out of the car laughing.
"Sam, want to give me a hand with your sisters?" I called out. She turned around and smiled at me.
"Sure, Dad," she said and approached Rosie's side of the car. I watched as she gently rubbed Rosie's arm.
"Hey, Bug," she whispered. "We're here. Wakey, wakey."
Rosie's scrunched up her face and slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm sleepy," she whined.
"I know, Bug. But you can't sleep in the car! We're all going inside. I can't carry you because you're just too big, but if you come out of the car now, you can snuggle with me on the couch and take a nap if you want," Samantha said.
That was all it took. Rosie was helping undo her car seat buckles and sliding out of her car seat. Sam helped her out of the car, took Rosie's hand and led her into the house.
I gathered some of our luggage. Brendon. And Sarah helped with the rest and Jenna carried our precious cargo, and her carryon.
We brought everything up to our room and went back downstairs, where Sam was sitting on the couch, Rosie curled up into her, and Junie leaning on her other side. Both little girls were asleep again.
"You okay with them there?" I asked, sitting at the end of the couch with her. She nodded with a huge grin on her face.
We sat and talked with Sam and Brendon and Sarah, catching up on Sam's school news, how her classes were going, her social life, her physio and other doctors that she was seeing in light of the accident.
I smiled as I watched her talk animatedly about her friends, her classes, and even her physiotherapist. She really looked happy. And that made me happy. My kids' happiness was paramount.
"What do you guys want to do about dinner? We could go out or stay in for a barbecue," Brendon offered.
"We're happy to stay in, if that's what you'd like," I said. "Or whatever is easiest."
"Well, staying in is easier in terms of moving people. But going out means no dishes," Brendon smiled.
"Oh! What about that place we went to with Pete and Joe?" Sam said to Brendon.
"The one by the pier?" Sarah said.
"Yeah," Sam said, her eyes sparkling.
"We could go there," Brendon said, nodding.
"You guys will love it!" Sam said. "It's right on the beach and the food is amazing."
"Well, a ringing endorsement of ever I heard one," Jenna laughed.
Rosie started stirring just then and Sam turned her attention to her sister.
"Hello there, Rosie Posy," Sam smiled down on her. Rosie looked up at Sam and smiled.
"Hi Sammy!" She smiled.
"Did you have a good nap?" Sam asked her sister. Rosie nodded. "We were talking about dinner. What to you think about a restaurant that is right near the beach?"
"You can see the ocean?" Rosie asked. Sam nodded at her and Rosie looked at me excitedly.
"Can we go to a beach restaurant, Daddy?" She asked me. I smiled.
"You betcha," I replied.
Junie started to wake up and stretched and then sat up and looked around.
"Where me?" She asked. Sam looked down at Junie and smiled again. I loved watching her eyes light up whenever she was with her sisters.
"You, my sweet sister, are in LA with Mama and Daddy and me! And Uncle Brendon and Aunt Sarah," Sam said, pulling Junie into her lap.
Junie put her arms around Sam.
"Hi Sammy," she smiled.
"Hi, Junie Bug," Sam replied, her smile widening. "Want to have dinner near the beach?"
Junie nodded enthusiastically.
"I guess that's settled," I laughed.
It was getting close to dinner time, so Sam had a quick snack and we headed out to dinner. Once again we were in two cars. Sam rode with Jenna and Sarah again but as soon as we parked by the pier, she was at my side giving me a hug.
"I really missed you guys," she said.
"We really miss you too," I said, hugging her back.
We walked beside each other while I pushed the stroller with Rosie and Junie relaxing in it. They were jet lagged.
It was still pretty early, so we walked around the pier for a while, letting Junie and Rosie look at all the shops and rides and the people fishing off the end of the pier. Junie and Rosie started chasing seagulls and Sam joined in with them, being more careful than I'd ever remembered her being.
"Is she really okay?" I asked Brendon.
"She is. I've watched her at practice. She's being extremely cautious. She wants to make sure she heals completely so she can play basketball. Hopefully next year," he said. I nodded. I was glad she was being careful.
"Phew!" She said, coming over to Jenna, Brendon, Sarah and I. "Those two are just little balls of energy!"
"You just take it easy," Jenna said, wrapping her arms around Sam.
"I am. I promise," she said, smiling at her mom.
"Daddy, I'm hungry," Rosie said, coming up to us with Junie in tow.
"Then let's go get some dinner," I smiled down at my two little girls.
We went into the restaurant and asked for a table on the deck so we could eat outside and watch the water. The girls loved it. They've eaten outside and they've eaten beach-side before. But at two and four, it was still a novelty.
Heck, at 35, it was still a novelty to me, too.
Dinner was fantastic. Everyone was laughing and chatting. Samantha ate well, Junie and Rosie both finished their dinners. They started to tire and I watched Rosie crawl into Sam's lap. Sam was hanging on to her while she finished her coffee. We had decided to stay and have dessert/coffee because it was just so gorgeous out. And the novelty of eating on the beach in February was always a treat.
Rosie had fallen asleep in Sam's lap and I watched as Sam gently held her sister, smiled and kissed her head. Junie, in the meantime, had fallen asleep in my lap, where she'd climbed up after Rosie took over Sam's lap.
My family was together for the first time in a couple of months, and everyone was doing well. Happy, healthy, and whole.
We had a whole week of this. Even though Sam still has school.
I watched my daughter as she chatted with her mom. She looked relaxed as she sat back with Rosie curled into her, on her lap. She was very careful as she sipped her coffee, making sure not to spill on her sleeping sister.
Finally, it was late enough that Jenna and I were starting to feel the effects of jet lag. Both younger girls were out, and for the night, probably.
We paid the bill, and Brendon took Rosie off Sam's lap and carried her while I carried Junie. We placed them carefully into the car seats and headed back to the house. Once the littles were in bed, Jenna and I tried to stay up a bit longer with Sam, but jet lag won out and we were in bed by nine.
I got into bed and was content. Sam looked good, happy and healthy. School was going well for her, she had a good group of friends. And apparently a boyfriend.
Who I told her I expected to see this week. She laughed when I said that but promised she'd make sure he came over to get grilled by her overprotective father.
She was joking, but when it comes to Sam, and what she's been through, I am overprotective. I have to be. We've come too close to losing her way too many times.