Page 116 of Everything We Found

“Neither am I,” Thomas added, coming to stand beside her. Though his eyes held a mischievous glint.

“Since when has that stopped anyone at a Garner pool party?” Nick challenged, already stripping off his T-shirt.

A chorus of “Please!” and “Do it!” chants from the kids wore down their resistance.

“Fine,” Aimee sighed, kicking off her sandals. “But I’m keeping my shorts on.”

One by one, the original six friends entered the pool. Caty posed them with the authority of a film director, holding up the photo for everyone to see. “Uncle Nick, you were on the blue raft. Mom, you were next to James. Aunt Nadia, you’re in front of Thomas.”

Julian grabbed Nick’s phone. “I’ll take the picture.”

They arranged themselves approximately as they had been thirty years ago, though without rafts and with considerable more laughter.

“This is ridiculous,” Kristen giggled when Nick tried to dunk her.

Julian took several photos before Nicole demanded to see the results. “This is terrible,” she teased Julian, taking the phone from him. “The angle is all wrong. I’ll do it.”

For the next few minutes, Nicole directed them into various poses, demanding they move closer, smile more naturally, stop making faces. She pointed at her dad with a warning finger.

“Everybody now!” Caty shouted when Nicole seemed satisfied with the original group shot.

Ian didn’t need to be told twice. He jumped into the pool with a splash that had Aimee shrieking. Natalya slipped in more gracefully, treading over to James’s side. He lifted Zelie from her arms, holding her above the water as she kicked her chubby legs in delight. Marcus swam up behind them, splashing his family.

When everyone was assembled, a chaotic mix of ages and heights, all crowded together in the shallow end, Nicole positioned herself in the shot and held up the phone for a selfie. “Say ‘Monkey butt!’”

“MONKEY BUTT!” everyone shouted and dissolved into laughter.

Nicole peered at the phone and gave them all a brilliant smile. “It’s perfect.”

Thomas slipped his arms around Nadia’s waist, pulling her against him in the water. She tilted her head back to look at him, finding his eyes clear and peaceful.

“Was it worth getting your clothes wet?” she murmured.

His answer was a kiss that tasted of salt water and happiness. “Every drop.”

Around them, their friends and family splashed and played, their laughter rising with the balmy afternoon air. The photo they’d taken wasn’t just a recreation of their childhood memory. It had captured something new. Something hard-won and cherished. Something no longer fractured but healed in all the broken places. Something stronger in the end.

And to Nadia, that meant… everything.

EPILOGUE

THOMAS

TWO NIGHTS LATER

Nadia’s bare feet padded down the hallway and into their room, the skirt he wanted to run his hands up her legs under and take off her floating around her ankles. She joined him in the empty walk-in closet he’d been standing in for some time, staring at the walls. They’d moved back into his house last fall, right before Thanksgiving. Everything had been repaired. No further reminders of that day except their own scars. Nothing else needed to be fixed, except for this small space where he once had wanted Nadia to build him a panic room.

“What’s cooking in that brain of yours?” She tapped his temple.

He turned to face her and fell into those jade eyes of hers. She took his breath away, always did without fail. He crossed his arms. “You sure you want to know?”

“Of course. No secrets, remember?”

He arched a brow and her brilliant smile faltered just a notch, hinting she might be slightly wary of his answer. He gave in to a sly grin.

“Uh-oh,” she murmured.

“I’ve been thinking about what to do with this room.” He paused for effect. “I’m liking your idea more and more.”