Author's Note: And thus starts the next volume of the story. Again, if you haven't read the first volume, I'm afraid you will be confused. I recommend reading that before you continue. Cookie points to the reader who can identify the source of the lullaby. As usual, reviews are very welcome, as are questions and comments.
Jericho: Improved and PreparedChapter I: The Best Laid Plans . . .
May 31, 2006
Well, Heather thought to herself, so much for waiting to start the family. She was starting the long drive from the Rogue River Medical Center home to the Green Ranch following her appointment with Kim Jackson, a clinic nurse who had recently become a certified nurse midwife. They had met in Rogue River to utilize the newly available 4D ultrasound equipment. She glanced up to the rear view mirror to check on 17 month old Johnston Jacob Green III - they called him "Chip", since he was a chip off the old block; just like his father in so many ways. He was sound asleep in his car seat behind her.
Oh, Jake, she returned to her thoughts. Happy Anniversary, she thought ruefully. Do I have a surprise for you!
Her thoughts wandered back over the first three years of their marriage. So many things had happened. They had returned from their honeymoon to learn that April had had a miscarriage. She was devastated at first and requested genetic testing. The conclusion was amniotic banding syndrome - a random, non-genetic event that occurs once per 1200 pregnancies and very unlikely to happen twice in the same family. April was mollified with the results and they went on to have their first baby – Brody Jacob Green in June of 2004. They were expecting their second, a girl, in July of 2006.
Hope and Gil had delivered their son Hunter between Heather's spring break trip and the wedding, and a daughter Piper in May of 2005.
Jake and Heather, having decided to put off starting their family, were surprised to discover that Heather was pregnant after her second spring break visit to California shortly before Jake graduated. Jake's second year of school and the rest of 2004 had seen him doing short under cover assignments in South America and the Middle East, usually posing as a player in the international terror community. Since he didn't have a longstanding cover to maintain, he was able to pop home to Jericho frequently, and was present for the birth of his son on his own 31st birthday in December of 2004. Heather mused at how tender Jake had been with the baby, surprising them all by singing a Folk Song Heather and Gail had never heard before:
Cheeks of rose, tiny toes,
Has our little baby;
Eyes of blue, fingers too,
Cunning all as may be.
Mouth so fair, skin so clear,
Just as soft as may be;
Bonny eyes, looking wise,
Such a precious baby.
Thee I love, sweetest dove,
Darling little baby!
While I live, thee I'll give
Kisses warm as may be.
Crow and play all the day,
Happy little baby!
May your life, free from strife,
Pure as 'tis today be.
When she questioned Jake about it later, he told her it was a song taught him by his birth-grandmother Sadie.
January had seen Jake assigned to a long-term under cover mission in Afghanistan. It had been open ended time-wise; he was to stay until the mission was accomplished. In the end, it took 14 months to wrap up the mission, with only two visits home to see his family during that time. Heather had managed to meet him in Germany for a long weekend one additional time. Overall, it was the longest and most miserable year of their lives. Jake hated that he couldn't be there to help Heather, and that Chip was growing every day and did not recognize Jake when he came back to Jericho for visits despite frequent videoconferencing. He had been home for 10 day over Christmas and New Year's Day, and was able to celebrate Chip's first Christmas. He and Heather spoke of how difficult the separation was, and Jake said he would try to come home for good as soon as the Afghanistan mission ended; a matter of weeks, he hoped. He had not only himself to consider, but the agents on his task force that were embedded in various roles in country.
Indeed, the Afghanistan mission wrapped up mid-February of 2006, just around the time Heather realized she was pregnant again. Jake petitioned hard to return to Jericho and consult from there. His chief was about to agree when he became aware of a new situation developing in Iraq. He felt this one required exactly the skill-set Jake possessed, and would only take a few months to accomplish. Jake wasn't pleased, but felt he didn't have the option of declining this last mission.
Jake had a week in Jericho before leaving for Iraq, where he would ostensibly be working for Ravenwood-like a private contractor who was doing overflow work the U.S. military was unable to handle (for the record) and smuggling weapons to Taliban insurgents (off the record). Jake was tasked with identifying those responsible and putting them out of business permanently. He was to start at the bottom of the food chain and work his way up, posing as a disenfranchised veteran looking to make quick money at the expense of the U.S. military. His military knowledge and linguistic ability made him the perfect candidate for the job. As much as he hated the thought of being away from Heather during another pregnancy, and Chip as he was learning to walk and talk, Jake was challenged by the assignment. Further, the quicker he threw himself into the role, the quicker he could go home to his family permanently.
Jake was quite surprised when he arrived at the supply warehouse in Baghdad and recognized his old Army buddy Freddy already working for the same private contractor. He pulled Freddy aside at the first opportunity and told him it would really be better if Freddy found a way out of his contract and home to San Diego. Freddy refused, guessing Jake was in-country on an undercover assignment and assuring Jake someone needed to have his back if things went sideways. Jake hated to put his friend at risk, but appreciated having a friend there at all.
It worked out that Jake could bunk with him since someone had recently moved out of Freddy's CHU (containerized housing unit, pronounced choo; the same as used by the military). The 8'x22' aluminum shipping container had bunk beds at either end, and a common area in the middle. Heather was relieved to learn that Jake had a friend on the assignment; she had a bad feeling about it and hoped it would wrap up quickly so both Jake and Freddy could come home to the States.
Her thoughts returning to Jericho, as she continued to catalog the things which had happened since they had been married. April and Eric seemed happy enough now, though they had had a rough patch when Eric had confessed to carrying on with Mary Bailey from Bailey's Tavern. Eric had gone so far as to move back in with Johnston and Gail for a few months while he and April worked things out, but then April found out she was pregnant again and they decided to reconcile. April had forgiven him, and it seemed that Eric was leading the life of an exemplary husband now. The town had not gotten wind of his indiscretion.
Stanley Richmond was still single, but not for the lack of trying. He has been out on at least one date with every single female within 50 miles, it would seem. His 'date' with Mary Baily had ended in catastrophe when he had tried to show off on the mechanical bull at Bailey's but slipped off and broken his humerus. Bailey's insurance carrier had demanded the permanent retirement of the mechanical bull for liability reasons. Mary had not been pleased.
Emily Sullivan had announced her engagement to Roger Hammond, the banker she had met in Topeka several years earlier. They had a fall wedding planned and had purchased one of the vacant homes in The Pines. Emily and Heather had bonded to the point that Emily had asked Heather to be a bridesmaid in the wedding. Heather had graciously accepted and then found out she was pregnant a second time. She had been hoping to deliver before the wedding day arrived.
Uncle Emmett and his lady friend Eleanor had been married the previous Christmas in a lovely wedding held at Green Ranch. Heather had gotten to know Eleanor quite well and found her to fit nicely with the family. Listening to her British accent brought Heather fond memories of her honeymoon and all of the friends they had made.
Although she and Jake had been unable to take any other extensive trips, they had entertained visitors from California – Steve and Lauren from Julian had brought their children for a visit on their way to see her family in St Louis. Another set of visitors had been Brian and Nora hEoghanáin who had come from Ireland to visit their Green cousins. Jake had arranged to be in Jericho at the same time they were. The two couples had taken the 12-hour drive to Bowling Green, Kentucky to meet the Green family members who lived there. It was a grand reunion, and Heather probably would have enjoyed it more if she hadn't been pregnant with Chip at the time. Horse trading arrangements were made between Jake and his distant cousin Shane Green along with promises to bring the family and visit Jericho. Audrey and Bertrand Lefebvre had also visited Green Ranch from Calais when they were in the states to visit Audrey's family in North Dakota. They brought the sad news that Colette Moreau had died of a heart attack the year following their visit; she had been 86.
The residents of Green Ranch, and of Jericho as a whole, had been deeply saddened the previous summer by the death of Scout McCall. He had been 77, and had devoted 54 of those years to Green Ranch. He died much the same way that he had lived; quietly in his sleep without any fuss. Annie McCall had leaned heavily on her children and grandchildren for support, and had taken to reminiscing with E.J. more than usual since they were the last remaining members of their generation left in Jericho.
The Planning Ahead Committee had continued its work, holding annual drills and recruiting more community members to the cause with each passing disaster. The summer of 2003 had brought the European Heat Wave killing 40,000 people. December of 2004 had seen the Indian Ocean Tsunami with 310,000 dead. September of 2005 and the debacle of Hurricane Katrina had really gotten the attention of the townspeople. As best they knew, operational security had remained intact, and they had succeeded in educating several other towns about the importance of preparing, including the Kentucky branch of the Green family when they had visited the previous summer.
Jake and Heather's European guests had provided the opportunity to establish ham radio communications with the eastern hemisphere. Now Jericho had international contacts in France and Ireland in addition to a number of contacts around the United States. Oliver Wilson had become the go-to guy in the community for ham radio use and for spare parts. He had a basement under his home and a warehouse behind his garage off Route 160 filled with enough old appliances and engines to supply the town with spare parts in perpetuity
The town improvement proposals Heather and Hope had made at Thanksgiving so many years ago had all been implemented to one extent or another. Will and Erin McCall, who had been saving their money, bought the old Cooper place and opened a Bed and Breakfast the following year after a number of improvements were made. They upgraded the kitchen so that it could be used to prepare breakfast for guests, and simple farmhouse lunches and dinners for the community or whoever happened along. One entre and several side dishes were offered at each meal rotating through the week and changing seasonally. The new 'restaurant' had been an immediate hit with the people of Jericho and the surrounding communities.
Will McCall, having lived his life in the shadow of Green Ranch with first Scout, and then Wes in charge, flourished with his newfound autonomy. After purchasing several horses from Green Ranch, he contacted the Amish community near Cedar Brook and commissioned the building of a wagon. Even before the B&B opened, he was offering hay rides to Jericho and surrounding communities and horseback rides for folks that lived in towns and didn't have their own horses. Those ventures had gone so well that he had commissioned a carriage from his Amish acquaintances the following year to pick guests up at the Jericho Air terminal and to take couples on romantic rides.
Will had also researched the raising of sheep for wool. He had chosen Icelandic sheep that could also be used for milk and meat if necessary. He had traded a colt for two ewes and a ram from a breeder in eastern Kansas. The two young ewes had each produced twins the following spring and triplets the next. The Amish ladies had helped Erin, Hope and several other ladies learn how to card, spin and dye the wool in exchange for a supply of raw wool. Soon Erin was able to take both raw wool and skeins of yarn to the co-op store to sell. She had been able to interest some of the younger girls of Jericho in milking Dolly and Bessie the ewes. They were able to create a niche market by selling sheep milk, yogurt and cheese at the Farmer's Market to folks who were unable to consume dairy products made from cow milk for one reason or another.
The co-op store, opened in the old Madison building, had been a huge success and ongoing proposition. Many Jericho households had something they wanted to try their hand at selling in the store, and were happy to staff the store for a few hours per week. Many items were purchased outright by folks visiting the store from Jericho or other towns. Other items were traded barter-style by their creators to other Jericho entrepreneurs. New ideas were appearing weekly, so one had to check back often.
The Farmer's Market had been another success, offering a venue for food-items to be sold or bartered. Several farmers had ventured into the world of organic crop production, making it another niche market that attracted folks from neighboring communities. Again, the variety of offerings was growing weekly as folks decided to sell duck and goose eggs for those that might not tolerate chicken eggs, artisanal breads and cheeses, jams, jellies and preserves, and a long list of other foodstuffs. At first, Gracie Leigh had been resentful of the competition. Then she had realized that her store was still the source of canned and boxed convenience foods and staples.
By this point in her long drive, Heather was pulling into the driveway of Green Ranch and Chip was stirring. She put away her musings and returned to the reality of today. As she unbuckled Chip, his eyes popped open. As is the case with many babies, his eyes had been blue when he was born, but they darkened to a beautiful shade of brown during the next few months. A small clone of Jake, Heather thought with a grin.
"Mama," Chip said happily patting Heather on the cheek, then snuggling into her neck. Heather had not known it was possible to love him as much as she did.
"Mama loves you," she reassured him as she snuggled him close to her and carried him toward the house.
In the 20th week of her pregnancy, she was already almost as big as she had been when she went to deliver Chip. Iraq was in a time zone eight hours ahead of Jericho. She usually Skyped (a vast improvement on their earlier videoconferencing endeavors) with Jake in the evening. She glanced at her watch – just after noon. She didn't want to wait ten more hours for their conversation, so she hurried straight through the vacant great room and up to the master bedroom she and Chip had been sharing in Jake's absence. She sat Chip in his crib and handed him some crackers to keep him occupied while she turned on her computer and tried to make contact with Jake.
He was doing paperwork at his desk, so answered immediately. "Heather, is everything O.K.? Are you alright? The baby? What about Chip?"
"Yes, we're all fine." Heather leaned to the side so Jake could see Chip in his crib behind her.
"DaDa," Chip shrieked rom his crib when he saw Jake on the computer screen.
"I just got home from my ultrasound appointment." Heather continued. "It's a good thing you're sitting down. Not only have we failed two methods of birth control, but now we're having twins. Kim Jackson thinks they're both girls. No wonder I'm already as big as a house!"
"Oh, my. Congratulations, I think?" Jake sat back in his chair, not exactly sure what to say. Twins did run in the family, but they hadn't really planned any of these kids quite this soon. "I guess I really need to get this wrapped up and come home then, huh?"
"Yes, please," Heather said with a rueful laugh. "It's sort of overwhelming. I drove all of the way home from Rogue River trying to sort things out in my mind."
"Are they healthy?" Jake asked, the reality of having twin daughters sinking in.
"Yes, they're great," Heather said, "right on target for 21 weeks even if they weren't twins. I guess it's true that babies take what they need. My due date is still October 8, but Kim said it isn't unusual or problematic if twins arrive a few weeks early. So please come home as soon as you can!"
"I'll do my best. You know how much I hate being away from you, and how much hate Iraq at this point. We're making good progress, but still a ways from the end game. I'll keep you posted, O.K.? Will you bring Chip over to the computer so I can talk to him a bit? He's usually asleep when we talk in the evenings, so I haven't seen him for a few days."
Jake, Heather and Chip enjoyed a lively conversation before signing off and returning to their own worlds. Jake knew he had to wrap things up and began thinking of ways to make the process go more rapidly.