Celia's Puppies (29 page)

“
Talk to me.”

Honey’s eyes filled. She shook her head and
looked away again. He kneeled down to her.

“
What is it? Honey, we’ve
been to hell and back and everywhere in between. Talk to
me.”

“
It’s all new, MJ. New
everything. I can’t be your wife because I’m not me. Or I don’t
know who I am… except for some drooling cripple who can’t even wipe
her own ass.”

He clutched her to him to stop her rage
filled words against herself.

“
You are the most
beautiful person I have ever known,” he said. “Inside and out. You
are the light of my every moment. The corner of every smile. The
first and last thing I think about before I go to sleep. You have
been since I was seventeen years old and you were just a scrap of a
kid trying to survive.”

“
I’m totally fucked up,
MJ.”

“
Fine. Ms Totally Fucked
Up, will you marry me?”

“
Why do you want to marry
someone as broken and fucked up as me?”

“
Because I want to be a
part of your next rebirth. Because I want you to be the mother of
my children. Because I want to die in your arms. Because I don’t
want to live without you.”

“
Oh God, MJ,” Honey
said.

“
Do you feel any of that
for me?”

Honey nodded.

“
Then let’s at least talk
to a priest,” MJ said.

“
You don’t think you have
Florence Nightingale syndrome?”

MJ laughed.

“
I’m serious.”

“
No. I love you. I’ve
loved you most of my life. I was just too stupid and vain to
realize it. It took a bomb to even make me notice how I feel and
your sister’s insanity to make it real. And for that, I’m very
sorry.

“
I’m sorry I was such an
asshole. I’m sorry for all the wasted time. I’m sorry we fought so
much. I’m sorry I had such a huge ass chip on my
shoulder.”

MJ shifted back to look into Honey’s pale
blue eyes.

“
My father died and I
never really knew him. After he was murdered, I learned how much he
loved and sacrificed for my sister, brother and me. He used to say
that we were his whole life. I just never believed him. I wasted a
lot of time being mad at him. More than anything, I missed my
chance to have him as my father and my friend. I don’t want to miss
my chance with the person who matters the very most to me in the
whole world – you.

“
Please Honey. Will you
marry me?”

Honey nodded.

“
I’m taking that as a yes,
Please say it.”

“
Yes, Michael Scully, Jr.
I will marry you.”

“
Today?”

“
You’ll have to change
your name.”

“
To what?”

“
Mr. Totally Fucked
Up.”

“
Sergeant Totally Fucked
Up. But okay, how about tomorrow?”

“
Don’t push
it.”

~~~~~~~~

Thursday evening — 6:45 P.M. EDT
Over the United States

“
How far along are you?”
Jill whispered into Heather’s ear.

They were seated in together in the Lipson
Company jet. Jacob, Sam, Aden, Blane and the Board members were
wrapping up details in the meeting area. Sandy and Nash were locked
in a competitive game of Grand Theft Auto. Delphie, Noelle and Katy
were baking cookies in the plane’s little kitchen. Tanesha hated to
fly so she took a sleeping pill and was fast asleep next to
Heather.

Heather’s face registered shock. She yanked
her shirt down to cover her expanded belly.

“
I know the signs,” Jill
said. To keep other’s from hearing her, she continued talking in
Heather’s ear. “Don’t worry. No one knows.”

Heather nodded.

“
This is from the party?”
Jill asked.

Heather nodded.

“
And the father?” Jill
asked.

Heather looked at Jill. She shook her head,
then dissolved into tears. Leaning over, she spoke in Jill’s
ear.

“
I found out, you know,
about the baby. I didn’t want to tell him on the phone. I called
him and he was like ‘Come out! Come out! Come out!’ He paid for my
ticket, picked me up at the airport, wined, dined, danced, amazing
sex, the whole nine. He had plans for the whole weekend. Said I was
the best thing that ever happened to him. I told him the next
morning at breakfast?”

Heather had been speaking so quickly that
she had to gulp for breath.

“
He looked at me, said,
‘Excuse me,’ stood up and left. The restaurant. He left me sitting
there thinking he was in the bathroom. He didn’t even pay for
lunch. I sat there like a fool for an hour. When I tried to call
him? Number changed. I took a cab back to his building, you know?
The doorman gave me my overnight bag and told me to ‘vacate the
premises’ or he would ‘call the cops’. I... I thought I found my
prince, like you found Jacob. But... Heather doesn’t get a prince.
I spent all the money I had at the restaurant. I had to sleep at
the airport.”

Jill hugged Heather.

“
When I got home, I told
Mom about what happened and stuff. She told me I got what I
deserved. She told me to have an abortion and grow up.” Heather
pushed back from Jill. “She took me to the clinic. I kept thinking
about Katy and I couldn’t go through with the abortion. Mom kicked
me out. I’ve paid rent since I was sixteen years old and she kicked
me out! She won’t speak to me. I’ve been couch surfing ever since.
I thought I could stay with Sandy but she has Aden’s kids once a
week. Of course, she’s happy to have me stay but I don’t want to
get in the way. Especially with a baby.”

“
Do you have
insurance?”

Heather shook her head. Jill looked up to
see Jacob, Blane, Aden and Sam coming toward them.

“
The state eliminated the
program you had, Jill. I haven’t been to the doctor.”

“
Heather, you have to
go!”

“
I’ve been taking the
vitamins and eating well. I’m not drinking alcohol or caffeine.
What will they tell me?”

“
Oh Heather!” Jill said.
Jacob leaned over to kiss Jill. “Jacob, Heather needs a place to
live. Can she stay at the Castle?”

“
Of course,” Jacob said.
“A couple of apartments are ready.”

“
She can stay with me,”
Blane blurted out. He blushed bright red. To avoid looking at
Heather, he picked up Katy who came running toward them holding
cookies. “Sorry, it’s none of my business.”

Blane helped Katy pass out the cookies.

“
Are you moving in with my
Uncle Blane, Auntie Heather?” Katy beamed as she gave Heather a
cookie.

“
I don’t know why not,”
Jacob said. “It’s a good idea, really. Heather can help you with
your upcoming meds round. You wouldn’t have to move in with
us.”

Blane nodded. “I mean, you haven’t known me
since I was ten or whatever, so I would understand if it seemed
weird... But I thought we got along great this week. Can you
cook?”

“
Spaghetti,” she
said.

“
Ok, I’ll cook. How about
clean?”

“
Fastidious,” Heather and
Jill said together.

“
Great. You can clean. I
know I’m gay and all, but I’m not at all fastidious,” Blane said.
“Would you mind helping me?”

“
I took the classes to be
a Nurse’s Assistant but I hated touching people I didn’t know,”
Heather said. “Are you going to do Ribavirin? Sorry, I heard you
and Jacob talk about having Hep C and AIDS.”

“
I’m healthy enough to try
to kick the Hep C,” Blane said.

“
I’ve done that before,”
she said. “I’d be happy to help you, even if I don’t stay with
you.”

“
Wow,” Blane said. “Do you
care if I’m gay?”

“
No,” Heather said. “Do
you care if I’m pregnant?”

At that moment, it seemed like every ear and
eye turned to look at Heather. Standing, Sandy touched Nash and set
her game controller down. She came over to where Heather was
sitting. The women hugged.

“
I wondered when you’d
tell us,” Sandy said. “Did your Mom kick you out?”

Heather nodded.

“
You and the baby always
have a room at my house.”

“
I love babies,” Blane
said. “I don’t think I’d ever get the chance to be around an infant
again. When I was in foster care, they would leave me with the
babies because I loved them so much. I mean, I’m not a perv or
anything. Sam loves babies too.”

Jacob laughed at Blane. Blane’s head turned
from Heather to Jacob. He smiled at Jacob’s open mocking of
him.

“
Heather doesn’t have
insurance,” Jill said. “Can you fix that Jacob?”

“
She can go on my plan. We
have partner benefits at Lipson,” Blane said. “Sorry, I’m not
usually this impulsive. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Don’t
tell my boss. Ok? Or the board.”

Jacob patted him on the back. Blane’s eyes
scanned Jacob’s beaming face. They laughed.

“
This is what you meant,
isn’t it? Family.”

“
Yes, this is what I
meant. Loving will come.”

“
Love is coming in male
form, right? You didn’t make me straight, did you?”

“
I’m not God,” Jacob
laughed.

Puzzled, the women watched the men
talking.

“
I’ll pay rent. I have a
good job,” Heather said. “I work hard and can take a second job. I
also like to garden – vegetables and flowers. I’m no
freeloader.”

“
We’ll all chip in for the
baby,” Sandy said. “Tanesha will be all over this when she wakes
up.”

“
Sam and Jacob bought the
house for me,” Blane said. “I don’t have a mortgage. It’s not huge,
maybe fifteen hundred square feet. There are three small bedrooms
upstairs. We, meaning Jacob, haven’t finished the basement, so
there’s that. It’s a couple blocks from the Castle. If you can help
with the utilities, which is just gas for the kitchen, because we
have solar. But you could... ”

“
What?” Heather
asked.

“
Well, make it nice,” he
said. “I kind of camp out there. It’s like base camp. I go to work,
come home. Go to school, come home. The gym, hockey… you know camp
out there. I like to cook so the kitchen’s all right but it’s not
nice.”

“
I’ll get colors and fix
it up. I’m working on a couple of Jacob’s rehabs so I can do your
house at the same time,” Jill said. “That will be fun.”

Heather looked at Jill, then Sandy. The
women looked at Blane together. Blane was looking at Katy.

“
You’re going to be the
baby’s Daddy,” Katy said. “Do you mind if it’s a boy?”

Shushing Katy, Jill stood to take Katy from
Blane.

“
It’s all right, Jill. I’m
used to the psychic thing,” Blane said. “What do you say,
Heather?”

“
Let’s try it. If it
doesn’t work, I can do something else but...” Her eyes welled with
tears. “This is the happiest I’ve felt since he left me at the
restaurant.”

“
And who was that?” Sam’s
face was set in anger.

Heather shook her head.

“
Looks like it doesn’t
matter, Dad,” Jacob said. “Blane’s going to be a Dad.”

Katy clapped her hands. Sandy hugged Heather
again. Standing to give Blane her seat, Jill leaned to kiss
Jacob.

“
You’re a psychic too.
Aren’t you?” she asked him.

“
Like my mother and my
daughter,” he said. “That’s what Katy and I have been doing
mid-morning. Meditating together.”

“
I knew you were
meditating. I mean, I’ve seen you but...” Jill fumbled for words.
“What do you see for us?”

“
Babies!” Katy
exclaimed.

Jill looked at Katy then at Jacob. He
laughed.

“
You’ll get used to it,
Jill,” Sam said. “Now, I heard there were cookies? I need to wash
the bitter pill taste from my mouth.”

“
From Heather?” Jill
asked. “Heather’s one of the best people I’ve ever known...
I...”

“
He means the board,”
Jacob said.

“
Cookie?” Delphie
asked.

“
Just in time,” Sam said.
“See Jill, you’ll get used to it.”

As Jill and Katy moved past Sam to the
bathroom, Sam said in her ear, “You never get used to it.”

Delphie slapped at him and he laughed.

~~~~~~~~

Friday early morning — 3:35 A.M. PDT

Hollywood,
CA

“
Should we call Jacob?
Delphie?” Mike asked.

He set a cup of tea down for her. They were
sitting at the small kitchen table in her Hollywood Hills home.

“
Nah,” Valerie laughed.
“They like surprises. Plus we won’t be home for another
week.”

Mike’s eyes scanned her face. His big hand
covered hers and she looked up into his eyes.

“
Are you doing this for
me?” he asked.

“
Having you with me every
day highlights how my life doesn’t work. For me.” Valerie looked
down at her tea. “Did you know I still own the house in
Monterey?”

“
WHAT?!? Let’s go
there!”

“
It’s managed by a company
up there. They rent it out. It’s rented now by someone who works at
the Aquarium. I haven’t been back since...”