As You Wish (The Summerhouse 3)

Olivia stood there, holding tightly on to the small, precious hands of the children and she began to cry. Not ladylike tears, but bawling. She dropped to her knees, put her hands over her face, and cried hard and loud.

It was when Ace began to cry too that Olivia pulled him into her arms. “I’m happy,” she said. “I’m very, very glad to be here. I love all of you so much.” She pulled Letty to her.

“Did someone die?” Letty whispered in fear.

Olivia knew the child meant Ace’s mother, who would hold on until the fall. “No! Everyone is alive and well and happy.”

“Are we going to play records and dance some more?” Ace’s voice was full of hope.

“We can.” Olivia started kissing the children’s sweet, dirty, sweaty faces.

Ace looked to Letty to see if that was okay, but she was looking at Olivia in speculation. Usually, Livie was either grumpy or hurrying so she could run off with Kit. She never had time for something as silly as dancing around a tree.

“Got any of that sugar for us?” Mr. Gates asked.

With her arms around the children, she looked at the men, Uncle Freddy in his wheelchair, Mr. Gates with his hand on the back. Livie stood up, again marveling at how easy the movement was, and went to them. She hugged Mr. Gates, gave him big, loud kisses on both cheeks, then did the same with Uncle Freddy.

She stepped back, took the children’s hands in hers, and said, “Who wants mac and cheese for lunch?” When they looked blank, she said, “Macaroni and cheese?” and they nodded. It was 1970, and the US hadn’t yet started shortening every word. Invitation to invite, vacation to vacay, mayonnaise to mayo, tarpaulin to tarp, et cetera. All those would come with the invention of the cell phone.

“Kit’s working in the orchard,” Mr. Gates said softly, bringing her back to where she was.

For a moment, Olivia had to fight the urge to run to him, but she didn’t go. She might have a young body, but her mind was old enough to have learned that all people are important.

She was still holding tightly to the children’s hands. “I think that this afternoon I should make you two some stuffed animals. You need to see what you’re battling. My mom—” Olivia had to pause a moment to catch her breath. Her mother was alive! “My mother can come over and help us sew them. But you have to tell us what the space creatures look like. And I think we need to get Kit to make laser guns out of a couple of flashlights. We’ll use wire and plastic wrap.”

“What’s a laser?” Letty asked.

“A gun.” Ace’s eyes seeming to twirl around in circles.

Livie looked at Uncle Freddy. “Is there a camera around here somewhere? I’d like to take a thousand photos of everyone and everything. Tate and Nina will want to see—” She broke off. They didn’t yet exist.

“Who is Tate?” Letty asked.

Olivia started to say nothing, but if going back in time was true, then forgetting was also. “He’s your son, and he’s a movie star. Nina is your daughter and she has a little girl named Emma who looks very much like you.”

“Yuck,” Letty said. “I’m never going to get married.”

“I am!” Ace said. “And I’m going to have a hundred children.”

At that, Olivia laughed even harder and skipped with the children toward the house.

Mr. Gates watched them for a moment, then said, “I don’t know what got into her but I like it.”

Uncle Freddy was frowning. “Bill’s father was called Tate, for Tattington. If Letty did have a son, I could see that she’d name him Tate. And Nina could well be her daughter’s name.”

“Little early to be planning her kids, isn’t it?” Mr. Gates began to push the chair to the house. “Livie’s been around those children so long that she’s becoming as fanciful as they are.”

“It’s almost as though she’s a different person.” Uncle Freddy’s voice was soft, thoughtful.

“At least she seems to like us,” Mr. Gates said. “You think she and Kit had a fight and she’s trying to make him jealous?”

“No,” Uncle Freddy said, “I don’t. But something has happened to her! I sure wish I knew what it was.”

“Whatever it was, if it gets us... What was it? Mac and cheese? I’m all for it.”

As they rolled past the garden, Uncle Freddy pointed to the yellow squash. “You better take a basket of those over to the Willis house. How’s their new baby doing?”

“Poorly. It’s mewling a lot.”