Meet Me at Midnight

Beau

June and I dance close, our faces pressed together in the center of the pool dance floor. Everything from the ceremony has been cleared out of the way, and an intimate, candlelit dinner setup replaces it. We have a sweetheart table at the front of it all, but by and large, we’ve spent our time like this, plastered together and swaying to the music.

Stars dance in the sky above us, and a full moon hangs low on the horizon. The sound of ocean waves isn’t audible with the music, but memory tells me it’s there in sharp detail.

I desperately want a moment alone with my new wife, and an idea hits me as if by kismet.

“Come on,” I whisper, taking her hand and dragging her off the floor slowly. Her eyebrows draw together as she looks back at all the other guests, including Avery and our parents, but I put a finger to my lips as a cue and whisper, “Shh.”

Smiling, she nods, and we trot off together, bound for the beach. When we get to the end of my parents’ bush-lined path, we pause briefly so she can take off her heels, and I help her lift the train of her dress so we can run through the sand together. It’s dark back here, with only the moonlight to light our way, and we don’t stop, her giggles echoing around us, until we make it to the spot.

Our spot.

The place we always came together as kids.

I pull her close and kiss her deeply, tasting her tongue and mine together a million little times. Her hands pull at my hips under my jacket, and I sink mine into the pretty red hair at the sides of her head.

We breathe each other in, the lapping ocean telling its story behind us.

“I love you, Beau.”

“I love you, Juni. At midnight and ten a.m. and every other minute of the day until the end of time.”

“You know, it’s getting close to midnight right now, actually,” she whispers, and I tilt my head to the side.

“Is it?”

“Mm-hmm,” she says with a nod, her forehead moving against mine as I refuse to back up more than an inch.

I kiss her again, lingering this time and nipping at the flesh of her bottom lip with my teeth.

“And what are you going to do with this midnight that you haven’t done with the others? You’ve landed me, enthralled me, married me… What exactly are you going to do now, Mrs. Banks?”

She smiles, just a hint of excitement I can’t place behind her eyes, and then kisses me again. When I feel her rustling something out of the top of her dress, I pull back to find her holding a photo between us. She lifts it up to show me, and instantly, I realize what it is— a sonogram picture.

“Is that… Are you…? You can’t be serious.” My eyes bounce back and forth between June’s beautiful face, her belly, and the picture. “June…are you going to have my baby?”

“We’re having a baby, Beau.” Tears kiss her eyes as she nods, and I scream my excitement into the silence of the night, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around. She laughs, but me…I cry.

The two of us, we’re getting everything we’ve ever dreamed of.

June…June is getting the thing she always wanted most in the whole entire world. A family.

And I get to be a part of it.

“I love you so much, Juniper.”

“Not as much as I love you.”

“Maybe when you were thirteen that was sort of true…” I pause to kiss her again. “But not now, baby. I love you just as much as you love me. I love you more than anything.”

Three Years Later…

Juniper

Avery lifts the teacup to her lips, sipping on the imaginary tea her niece made for her. I look on from my spot in Neil and Diane’s kitchen, and Beau, Neil, and Diane work on hanging the final stocking on the mantel.

Christmas is coming up, and just like always, we’re celebrating at the Bankses’ house. Beau and I live in the house he built while we were falling in love, and our two-year-old daughter Addy is already a little beach bug. We take her paddleboarding on the weekends when she isn’t having tea parties with Aunt Avery, and by and large, all of my dreams have just about come true.

My parents still aren’t around often, but after a conversation with Beau last year, my dad is making more of an effort. For me and for Addy. We know what it’s like to have a loving support system, and we want the same for her—as many people as we can get. My mom is still too preoccupied with her search for…something, but she did visit for Addy’s birth and her first and second birthdays. She even called me on my last birthday. Not a text message, but an actual phone call that lasted for over an hour and included her taking genuine interest in my life. It’s still not a lot, but it’s more than she’s ever given me in years.

“How’s that look, Addy?” Beau asks, pointing to the stocking they’ve just hung for her soon-to-be-announced little brother.

Everyone else thinks they’re hanging it for Addy’s imaginary friend, but the truth is, in five months, he won’t be so imaginary.

I smile to myself as Beau waves me over, and I wipe my hands on the towel beside the sink to dry them before heading toward him.

Addy gives the thumbs-up while everyone chatters, and I take my spot under Beau’s strong arm as he clears his throat.

Diane and Neil look in his direction first and then Avery, and I don’t even bother to hide my smile as Beau starts to talk. “Well, now that we’ve got the stocking hung, we’ve got a little bit to be thankful for today. For family and love and midnights.”

“Oh yeah.” I nod. “Have to be thankful for midnights, especially now that we’re looking at even more midnight feedings.”

Avery narrows her eyes. “More midnight feedings? What are you guys talking about?”

“Well,” Beau says. “We know we told you this stocking is for an imaginary member of the Banks family, but next year, he’ll be pretty real.”

“What?” Diane whispers, tears hitting her eyes. “You’re… Junebug, you’re going to have another baby? And he’ll…? It’s a boy?”

Instantly, I’m crying too. “Yep. Due in May.”

“Congratulations! I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandpa again!” Neil exclaims, damn near jumping up and down on his feet.

“Ahh!” Avery shrieks, jumping up from her spot at the coffee table and wrapping me in the tightest hug. “Yay! Oh my God, a little surfer boy. I can see it now.”

“Someone else to fall in love with.” I smile through my tears, and Beau presses a kiss to my forehead.

“Another piece of you and me, here forever.”

“I’m so happy for you!” Diane yells, racing over to wrap me in a hug. I squeeze her tightly and soak it all in.

This is the dream. This is the fantasy.

Who’d have thought? It all started with a single crush on Beau Banks by a young girl with stars in her eyes.

Maybe Cinderella had it right after all. There’s magic at midnight.

“Am I interrupting?” The deep male voice comes from behind us, and when everyone turns around to find Henry standing in the Bankses’ living room, his face morphs into concern. “Wait…what’d I miss? Is everything okay?”

“Beau knocked June up again,” Avery answers. “But why in the hell are you here?”

“Relax, Ave. I invited him,” Beau responds through a soft laugh as he heads over to Henry to give him a man-bro-hug thing. You know, the one where they hug but, like, keep their muscles flexed at the same time, while simultaneously clapping each other hard on the back.

Yeah, that.

“But why is he here?” Avery questions, Beau’s answer clearly not enough of an explanation.

“None of your business,” Beau responds, but Henry just shrugs.

“Beau here, took pity on me and invited me to attend your Christmas festivities in the name of making sure I don’t end up with my head face first in a bottle of whiskey.” He looks over at Diane and Neil. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Diane responds and walks over to him to give him a hug. “It’s so good to see you, Henry. Everything going okay with you?”

“I’m okay,” Henry says, a little sadder smile in place than normal. “Things are just a little different this year.” Henry’s dad passed away after a battle with cancer a few months ago, and I can only imagine the change is startling. His father raised him alone, and for all intents and purposes, he was the only family Henry had. Because of the cancer’s progression, they’ve both had a year to prepare for this inevitable moment, but that doesn’t make being without your loved one any easier.

Thankfully, as I know better than anyone, the Bankses are about as good as a substitute gets.

“Well son,” Neil says, shaking Henry’s hand. “It’s always good to see you. And you know I always love to hear some updates about the adrenaline-junkie business.”

Henry smiles. “And you know I always enjoy giving them to you.”

“Dada!” Addy exclaims as she barrels over to Beau and wraps her arms around his legs. When she looks up and sees Henry standing there, her eyes light up with excitement. “Henny!” she squeals and switches legs altogether. And from Beau to Henry she goes.

He doesn’t hesitate to pick her up and swing her around. “Hi, Addy.”

“Hi, Henny.” Addy smiles at him and places her two chubby hands on his face. “Play tea party with me now.”

“Addy,” I say on a sigh. “You need to ask nicely, not bossy.”

“Play tea party with me now?” she asks, basically using the same tone with the same words and just lifting her voice a little at the end in question.

“I’d love to,” Henry says through a chuckle and sets Addy back on her feet. She takes his hand, clearly giving him no other option, and drags him over to the table she was playing with her aunt Avery earlier.

I head into the kitchen to help Diane set out drinks, but as I’m standing behind the kitchen island, I don’t miss the fact that Avery has migrated over to the tea party.

I also don’t miss the way she puts her hand on Henry’s shoulder and whispers something in his ear. He looks up at her, from the tiny kiddie chair his over-six-foot frame is currently sitting in, and his face flashes with a tenderness I rarely see from Henry. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

Avery turns on her heels, but just before she makes the full one-eighty, she spins back around to face him again. “Oh, and just so you know, I have a boyfriend.”

My head jerks back. Avery has a boyfriend? Unless it’s some kind of secret boyfriend she hasn’t told me about and that she never spends any time with, I call bullshit.

Henry laughs. “Got it.”

“So, no flirty stuff, yeah?”

“Heard you loud and clear, Avery.”

“Good.”

“Good,” Henry responds. “Glad we got that settled.”

Avery walks—more like, sashays—away, and I don’t miss the way Henry’s eyes follow her the whole way. I also don’t miss the fact that when she comes to help Diane and me in the kitchen, her eyes find their way back into the living room where Addy is bossily telling Henry, “Drink yous tea, Henny. Alls of it.”

Is it just me or does it feel like there’s way more to this story?

I look out toward the patio, where Beau stands talking to his dad, and when he glances over his shoulder to meet my eyes, I smile and blow him a little kiss.

He pretends to snag it from the air, and when Avery catches on to the whole cheesy scene, she pretends to gag.

“Gross.”

“You know, Ave, one day, when you’re blowing kisses to your future husband, I’m going to remind you of this moment.”

She just rolls her eyes, but I swear, as they make the circuit from the ceiling and back to the floor, they stop on Henry for a hot second.

Is my best friend secretly in love with her brother’s best friend?

Boy, wouldn’t that be something.

THE END