“I want to talk to the boys for a minute.”
The next voice he heard was Matty’s. “Dad? Hey, Dad!”
“Hey, kid. How are you? Get some good beach time in today?”
“We did,” Matty said. “We were at the beach for the whole day today. I’m a little sunburned but we swam a lot, and there’s some kids in the cottages next door so we played beach football.”
In the background, Danny could hear Tommy demanding the phone. The boys bickered for a moment until he heard Heather tell Matty to pass the phone over.
“Daddy?”
“Hey, kiddo. Having fun at Gram and Gramp’s?”
“Yeah!” Tommy’s voice was pure childhood excitement. “At the beach today, I built a sandcastle and we used seashells for windows and then Grandpa was a sea dragon and attacked it and later this week, we’re gonna go to a water park. You coming with us, Daddy?”
“That’s sounds great, buddy. But I have to work.” Tears threatened to drown Danny’s voice. He pressed his hand over his eyes, a vain attempt to dam up his tears as a different part of his heart exploded.
“Don’t be sad, Daddy. When you come up, you can play the dragon, okay? Lucas wants the phone now.”
Tommy was gone before Danny could even respond. He wondered if his sons were missing as much as he thought they would.
“Dad?” His older son’s voice came over the phone, and he sounded worried.
Danny took a breath before answering. “Hey, champ. How are you?” He didn’t want Lucas to hear how upset he was.
“I’m okay.”
“But?” Danny knew that tone from his son.
“We always come here for a family vacation, but you’re not here,” said Lucas. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Mom’s been crying. Are you getting divorced?”
The question broke Danny’s heart, and he tried to be careful with his answer. “Me and your mom haven’t said anything about a divorce. Your mom needs a little time out of the city, so she surprised you guys with a trip. I want you to have a good time and not worry, okay? Tommy said you’re going to a water park?”
“Yeah, later in the week.”
“That’s great! You have a good time, but remember, you’re the oldest and that’s a big responsibility. Make sure you listen to your mother and keep an eye on your brothers, okay? And you guys can call me any time you want while you’re there.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Danny wished his eldest’s answer sounded more reassured. “I’m serious,” he said. “You call whenever you want.”
“I will. Oh, dinner’s ready. Do you want to talk to Mom?”
“If she wants to talk to me.” Danny wasn’t sure what he and Heather had to say to each other at this point, but he wanted Lucas to feel better.
“Mom, do you want to talk to Dad before I hang up?” There was a pause. “Here’s Mom.”
“Heather?”
The only answer was a beep—and then silence.
Danny wasn’t surprised, but he was a little pissed. For the sake of the boys, Heather could have at least said good night.
After, Danny listened to the stillness in the house again. Sometimes the boys were too boisterous, but he’d much prefer that to the silence. Danny thought about how sad Lucas sounded and fought back the tears again, wrestling them down and hiding them away. The emptiness echoing around him was too much.
He tapped the screen of his phone and sent a text to Lauren.
A moment later, her response came back:
