Unexpected Ride (21 page)

Opening the door, he found all three kids sleeping in a messy pile of blankets, pillows and toys… on the floor.  The youngest and smallest of the group was in the middle of the two boys.

“You kids ready for breakfast?” he asked.

After a few seconds, Gretchen opened her eyes and sighing heavily said, “Boy do I need coffee-milk this morning.”

He managed to get the kids settled at the bar with cereal and then mixed up baby cereal and fruit from a jar of baby food he found in the diaper bag, just as Melody woke up. The fruit wasn’t near as bad as the carrots so he went and picked the baby up and headed back out to the kitchen wondering how he was going to get the baby stuffed into the pouch that Dana had said she liked so much.  He needed both hands free to feed the child… one hand to spoon in the food and one to keep her grubby little hands from grabbing the utensil.

Holding her squirming little body in his good arm, he attempted to use his injured arm to loop the leg holes over the baby’s legs, when Gretchen said, “What are you doing Mr. Sanders?”

“Trying to get your sister in her pouch so I can feed her some breakfast too,” he replied.

“Why don’t you just sit her in her car seat?” Gretchen asked.

Out of the mouths of babes.
  It was distressing that after twenty five years as a detective he hadn’t thought to use the car seat to feed the baby and instead needed to have the obvious pointed out to him by a five year old little girl too smart for her own good.  This realization was only made worse by seeing the inquisitive stares of all three kids. 
He was way out of his element here.

“Eat your breakfast if you want to have time to play before your parents get here,” he replied in his own defense.

Once the three went back to eating and talking amongst themselves, he went in search of the car seat.  By the time Tommy showed up to get the girls a little before lunchtime, he felt like he had a better handle on the whole babysitting escapade.  He could do this… anytime Carla needed him to.  Besides with just the two boys it would be
much
easier.

Chuck had shown up within minutes of Tommy and the two stood talking until Tommy finally left with both girls.  Greg then sent the boys up to pick up their rooms after mentioning their mother was less likely to allow Gretchen to stay overnight again, or any friend for that matter, if she was left with a mess to clean up.  Once the boys could be heard upstairs in Matt’s room, he began cleaning up the kitchen.

“I think working leather with Dickie’s doing that arm some good,” Chuck observed, pointing at Greg’s injured shoulder.

He flexed his fingers and they somehow didn’t seem as stiff as they normally did, though it was painfully obvious that for whatever reason the arm and hand would never be what they once were. 

That was fine.  If Carla was brave enough to go to college then he too could find something else to do with his life.  Working at the shop, even only part time, was therapeutic and he found himself really enjoying it.  Dickie had taken to showing him how he designed and made custom seats for the bikes they built.  Shockingly, Greg found he was actually pretty good at it.  Perhaps not as good as Dickie, but with time, who knew?

“Yea, it’s feeling pretty good today,” he agreed.  “How are the wedding plans coming?”

“We picked a cake and stuff so I think everything is all set now.  Meredith called Dickie this morning and asked him to walk her down the aisle.  So now
I
get to ask her grandpa if he’ll perform the ceremony.  I know we’re all straight now but ole’ Judge Patterson still makes me nervous as hell,” Chuck laughed.

Greg listened as Chuck called Nathan Patterson and ask if he would perform the wedding ceremony for the man’s only granddaughter.  Chuck visibly relaxed after listening to Nathan’s response.   Would he ever be talking to Judge Patterson himself?  Asking permission to be with his daughter?  Sitting down at the bar, his thoughts and feelings for Carla threatened to overwhelm him.  Hanging up the phone, Chuck began cleaning up where he’d left off.

“You ok there, man?” Chuck finally asked him after glancing at him inquisitively several times.

“She’s never going to see that I’m worth it… that I can be there for her because she doesn’t need me to be there for her.  I can barely be trusted with four children for a couple of hours, while she could probably handle a hundred kids all at the same time.  My retirement and savings is nowhere near the kind of money her first husband made.  She’s family oriented and I’m a recovering workaholic,” he gushed.  “She’s used to a man who can take care of her… I can barely take care of myself.”

“Dude… you are going about this all wrong,” Chuck replied.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You are better at getting her to loosen up and just…
live
a little bit… than anyone I know.  Hell if not for you she would
never
have taken a real ride on my bike.  She still acts like she didn’t like it but I know she did.  She lights up better than the Christmas tree in there, which I still haven’t taken down, whenever you’re around.  I think she’s just afraid to care about you for fear of losing you too.  I completely get that… been there… done that.  The thing is, she and Meredith made me realize that if I wanted a family I had to share things about myself and have a little trust that everything would work out.  Now I talk to them about how I feel and they seem to really like that shit.  You should try it… tell Carla how much you want to get with her and don’t back down or let her talk you out of it because she’s good at that,” Chuck explained.  “I’ll bet you a fifty you could talk her into using that tattoo gift certificate I gave her for Christmas if you really tried… she likes it when you dare her to really
live
.”

How long he sat there lost in thought, he wasn’t sure but at some point he realized of all the advice the guys had given him about Carla… Chuck’s advice was the most on target.  The best times he’d had with Carla were when he was trying to get her to put aside her prim and proper behavior and just go for it.  Be it school or
sex
… daring Carla was not only enjoyable but drew her to him. 

He had dared her to go to school and that had resulted in an excited ball of fun that she was enjoying even now… he knew that.  He just needed to prove his worth by helping her with the boys now that she’d taken his dare. 
Would that work in other areas too?

Carla followed Edna into the hospital room and almost laughed out loud.  Bobby Jackson sat in a chair near the window holding a tiny infant in his large hands as though he was offering the child up to the heavens.  He was talking softly to the baby in an obvious attempt to keep it from crying and waking Lilly who slept in the hospital bed nearby.

“Do you see this shit?  Dana leaves me alone with him for ten minutes to go get some breakfast and he knows it and wants to act up,” Bobby said quietly to Edna.

The older woman made her way over to the man who easily made two of her and said, “Most times babies cry because they are hungry, have a dirty diaper, are tired, bored or were startled by something.  You’re a daddy now so which one is it?  It’s not like you haven’t done this already with Gretchen.”

Bobby looked thoughtful for a moment and then, as though comforted by the fact that Edna wouldn’t allow him to completely mess up, carefully readjusted the tiny infant up against his massive chest.  He began patting the baby who instantly settled down.  Looking at Edna he gave a half grin.

“It’ll come back… you got off easy with Melody because Tommy’s got Ms. Dana now but this one here is yours and you’ll do just as good for him as you did for Gretchen,” Edna said matter of fact and then shuffled over to where Lilly lay to press her frail hand against Lilly’s forehead.

Carla walked over and blocked Edna and Lilly from Bobby’s view when she heard the older woman ask Lilly a personal question.  Leaning down she said, “He’s absolutely perfect.  How much does he weigh?”

Though she already knew most of the details from Chuck she listened to Bobby’s description of his son and continued asking questions while Edna helped Lilly to the restroom.  The old woman was like a childhood blanket, always warm, comforting, and full of wisdom.  Once the bathroom door closed behind Lilly and Edna, Carla said, “Why don’t you let me sit with him for a minute and you go get something to eat or a coffee or maybe a gift from the gift shop?”

Taking the hint, Bobby allowed her to take the tiny infant from him and then was gone in the next second.  She sat holding the baby until Lilly finished up and she and Gran exited the bathroom.  Lilly looked a little pale but still very beautiful for having just given birth. 

She asked Gran about ten questions in quick succession as though she’d been waiting for the old woman to show up… or Bobby to leave.  Gran answered each one the best she could and Lilly’s relief that all was as it should be was written on her face as she lay back down in the hospital bed.

“I just don’t think he’s getting anything or I’m just not doing it right,” Lilly finished, relaxing back against the pillow on the bed.

“Ms. Carla, why don’t you bring that little guy over here and let’s see if between the three of us if we can get him to eat a little better,” Edna suggested.

After several attempts and encouragement from Edna, the baby was able to successfully nurse.  Even more of Lilly’s anxiety disappeared and was eventually replaced with a smile.  Edna had yet to hold her grandbaby but that’s not what she’d come for… she was playing surrogate mother to Lilly.  She was giving advice and encouragement that a mother would give to her daughter at such a time.  If it was possible to respect the old woman anymore, Carla did in that moment.

By the time Bobby and Dana returned, Edna had answered all of Lilly’s questions, helped Lilly successfully feed her son, changed the baby, and had it swaddled and back in the bassinet.  Edna looked a little tired from all the activity but smiled the smile of an angel.  Bobby set some flowers down on a stand near Lilly’s bed and bent down and kissed her forehead.

“How were the girls for you last night?” Dana asked Carla.

“They were perfect.  The baby even slept through the night even though it was a strange environment for her,” she replied.

“Well we owe you so if you ever need anything, just ask,” Dana smiled.

“Actually… I was curious if you would be willing to help Ben with some of his schoolwork.  He has a hard time staying on task at school and talks too much so his grades aren’t what they should be,” she said.

“Sure, anytime!  I’m home all day so just let me know when is a good time for you and then just bring him on by,” Dana replied.  “Tommy said Gretchen really had a good time with your boys so maybe sometime soon they can stay over at our house.”

“How about next weekend?” she asked.  “I have a copy of the to-do list that Meredith gave me for Chuck’s event and I haven’t done
any
of my items yet.”

“You know we could do a trade-off.  Your boys could stay overnight at our house one weekend night a month and perhaps Gretchen could stay with you one weekend night a month in return,” Dana suggested.

“That’s a great idea, but it’s only fair if I keep both the girls since you’d have both of my boys.  Besides, it would give you a little bit of alone time with Tommy,” she replied.

“Okay… but if that ends up being too much don’t be afraid to say something,” Dana said.

“They’ll be fine.  I haven’t had a little girl around since Meredith was little.  It’ll be fun!” she replied.

They visited for a little while and then Carla took Edna out for lunch before taking her back home.  After making sure that Edna was settled in she hurried home.  Poor Greg had been with the boys quite a bit over the past twenty four hours.  Her cell phone rang and, pulling over into the parking lot of a gas station, she answered upon seeing her father’s name on the display.

“Hey, Daddy!  Sorry I didn’t get back to you… things have been crazy!” she explained.

“No big deal.  I just wanted to tell you before you happened to see it on the television or in the paper that Jarrod Tompkins has spilled the beans about Doug and me paying him to be on his way all those years ago.  There will be those who will say that being a judge I should have turned him in, even though I wasn’t a judge back then, so I just wanted you to be prepared for it.  Mudslinging is never fun… but even though I choose not to participate doesn’t mean the opposing political party won’t go after me with all they have.”

What could she say?  One bad choice twenty five years ago was still hanging over her head like a big dark rain cloud.  It had rained on Chuck’s showcase in New York and now it was raining on her father’s career.  She couldn’t go back and undo the damage.  She would just have to face it.  Greg was right… if she dealt with it now it might finally be over for good.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy,” she said.

“Stop apologizing for another person’s stupidity, Carla.  I chose to do what I did back then.  We all make mistakes… even judges.  Either the general public will accept that along with my apology for not having dealt with him back then or they won’t.  If not, I may just need to step up my retirement plans a little bit.  That’s all,” her father replied.

After hanging up with her father she found herself driving home a little slower than before.  Her thoughts were scattered and her heart breaking that a profession her father both loved and was good at might possibly be ruined because of Jarrod Tompkins.  It wasn’t right to hate… but people like Jarrod made that concept even harder.  Her father would now be forced to make public appearances, which he hated, in an effort to salvage his reputation… which also meant he wouldn’t be available to help her with the boys as much. 
What else?
She felt tears gather but swallowed them back down.

Pulling into the driveway, again she found the boys in the side yard passing the football back and forth while Greg sat on the porch with a glass of tea coaching them. She made her way to the chair next to Greg’s and sat down.  He smiled in triumph at obviously having held down the fort just fine while she’d been at the hospital with Edna.