Reunited After 25 Years 33: Deadly Wave

At first relieved at avoiding a confrontation, Andrea fetched a soft drink from the refrigerator, turned the television on, and sat on the sofa. Malinka climbed into her lap, and she held the cat and stroked it.

"Looks like it's just you and me today, Malinka," she said. She enjoyed the solitude for an hour or two, but as time passed, the house began to seem oppressively quiet. Andrea realized she was lonely, that she missed her husband, as she was unused to spending weekend afternoons without him. On impulse she grabbed her handbag and left the house.

As she walked up the driveway of her old house, she heard laughter coming from inside and instantly felt less lonely. Denny opened the door when she rang the doorbell.

"Oh, hi, Mom. Come on in," he said. Andrea entered the house to see Anton, Darya, and Fawn sitting on the floor around a Monopoly board.

"Hello, Andrea," Anton greeted her cheerfully. "We finished the paperwork,and are now teaching Fawn to play Monopoly. Care to join us?"

Andrea suddenly wanted very badly to join in, and was soon just as absorbed as the others were in playing the game.

"I do not know about you, Andrea, but I myself am pretty hungry," Anton gently reminded her with a laugh after awhile.

"Oh my God, look at the time!" Andrea gasped when she saw the clock.

"Do not go home. Stay and have dinner with us," Fawn insisted.

"Oh, no, we couldn't..." Andrea began.

"You're welcome to stay. There's plenty," said Denny.

"It is very good. You can trust me." Anton laughed.

So Anton and Andrea stayed and ate their fill of Vietnamese cuisine and stayed long afterwards, talking and laughing until quite late.

"I am very sorry, but Andrea and I must leave. We both have to go to work tomorrow," Anton finally said. To her surprise, Andrea found herself reluctant to leave.

"You had a better time today, right?" Anton asked on the way home.

"Why, yes, I did," Andrea admitted. "I guess the pressure was off today."

"Did you feel pressured last night?" Anton asked thoughtfully.

"Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Andrea told him. "I was a bit upset at you for not telling me that they were meeting us for dinner."

"If I had told you, you would not have agreed to come," said Anton.

"Probably not," Andrea admitted.

"Perhaps it was wrong for me to trick you," Anton reflected. "I thought what I did was a good thing. But perhaps it was wrong."

Andrea sighed. "You meant well, Anton. I know that."

They reached their house and went inside.

"You know where I was earlier today, Anton?" asked Andrea.

"Where?"

"I went to Dennis' grave and chewed him out good for having made this mess."

"Perhaps that was a good thing." Anton laughed. "To get it out of your system."

"Yeah. You know what, though? Dennis will someday have grandchildren that won't be mine."

"They will never know him."

"They'll be his grandchildren, all the same. His and that Vietnamese woman's together."

"So do you wish for Fawn to remain childless so that will not happen?" Anton's voice had a slight edge.

Andrea sighed. "I want to have your baby, Anton. Then someday you and I will have grandchildren together."

Anton didn't say anything. Andrea felt that she'd ruined what had up until then been a very pleasant afternoon and evening. A moment later, she felt Anton's arms around her.

"I love you, Andrea," he murmured into her hair.

"I love you too," she told him.

"I know that," he said. She clung to him, enjoying the softness and warmth and comfort of his arms around her.

"Well, aren't you just gorgeous?" Andrea asked nine-month-old Tara Price. The baby grinned in response. Tara was the daughter of Anna White Price. Anton and Andrea were meeting up with Anna, Tara, and Anna's four-year-old son, Tyson, for a day on the beach.

"Do you remember me?" Anton asked Tyson.

"Uh huh," the little boy replied. "You're the spy that talks funny."

All the adults burst out laughing. "He remembers you all right, Anton," said Anna.

At the beach they unpacked the chairs, quilts, umbrellas, and cooler and got everything organized. Anton helped Tyson build a sand castle while Andrea and Anna held Tara's hands and walked with her along the shore.

"She's been taking steps holding onto furniture for a long time now," Anna said to Andrea. "I just know she's gonna let go and take a step by herself any time now!"

"I remember Tyson was an early walker, too," Andrea remarked.

Soon tiring of the sand castle, Tyson wanted to play in the water on his raft, then collect seashells along the shore.

"Here's a real pretty one!" he chortled with glee as he proudly held a seashell up for the others to see. Just then a giant wave swept the seashell out of his hand.

"My seashell!" he cried, running after it.

"No, Tyson, no!" shouted Anton, rushing after him.

Another giant wave crashed to shore, drenching them all. When it subsided, Tyson was nowhere to be seen.