FAMILY
Chapter 2
This chapter is set during the episode "Sound Bodies"
Over the next few weeks, Bobby was distracted, both at home and, according to Alex, at work. He brought case files home every night and went over them long into the night. When she asked, he said that he was getting along "fine" with Bishop. But Annie knew that losing the easy rhythm he had with Alex was interfering with his concentration. Alex was still in the office, bored with sitting at her desk. She tried to help where she could, but she told Annie at their weekly gym and dinner date (Alex mostly walked on the treadmill these days) that she didn't want Bishop to think she was taking over. And, she said, Bobby needed to learn to work with Bishop since Alex would be going on maternity leave soon and would no longer be there as a buffer.
Annie was as understanding as she could be, but she felt helpless in this situation. All she could do was continue to pray for him. As she had always done, she told Bobby that she wanted to meet his new partner. But he told her that Detective Lynn Bishop had made it clear that she did not want to meet his wife since they were only temporary partners.
Things between Bobby and Bishop seemed to improve when they caught a poisoning case on Channel Island. Their investigation led to the discovery of sex parties among the teenagers on the island. Bobby told Annie that he and Bishop were working well together on the case. When he needed to explore an attic at a dog kennel, he said that Bishop had caught on quickly and distracted the teenage girl caring for the dogs. He felt that they were finally beginning to understand each other's methods.
Cases that involved children were always hard for Bobby and this was no exception. As it began to look like the poisonings had been perpetrated by three teenage girls on the order of a teenage boy, Bobby became increasingly moody and uncommunicative. But when one of the girls attempted suicide, also under orders from the boy, he came to bed early and held her close as he talked long into the night about how these girls could be so easily manipulated.
Annie was busy planning Ally's birthday party, which was to be a tea party. She sewed an apron for each girl who would attend, with their names embroidered on the front. They would wear the aprons and help to bake the cookies for the tea party. She also searched thrift shops for "dress-up" clothes. She knew that Bobby wasn't in the mood for party talk, but he had agreed to be the "waiter" for the tea party. Their next door neighbors were Rob and Janey, and Rob's brother owned an upscale restaurant. Surprisingly, they had a waiter's tux that would fit Bobby, and Annie was able to borrow it.
A few days before the party, Annie went down to Bobby's basement office after the children were in bed. Bobby was at his desk, going over a case file. Annie ran her hand over his treadmill and checked the magazine on the stand—"Criminology Law Review". She walked over to the leather couch and sat down. She folded her legs underneath her and watched him silently. He continued to read for a few minutes, then he leaned back in his chair and turned to face her.
"Can I help you," he asked, smiling.
"I didn't want to disturb you," she said.
Bobby grinned and folded his arms across his chest. "Yes you did."
"Well, OK. Yes I did," she laughed. "It's just that Ally's birthday party is coming up this weekend."
"And I understand you have my tux all arranged."
"Yep, you are gonna be a well-dressed waiter. Everything is taken care of…"
"And?"
"I just thought…I mean, it would be nice….if your….mother…could….come."
A frown replaced his smile and Annie resisted the urge to go run her fingers over the wrinkles on his forehead to smooth them away. Bobby unfolded his arms and leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees.
"My mother? You want my mother to come?" She nodded without answering. "Why?"
"I just think it would be…nice. It's been a long time since she came here, or went anywhere, really. She's been doing well. And Ally would love to have her Grandma here."
"And you think it will help her to stop being mad at me for Frank being arrested."
"Maybe." Annie didn't look at him as she traced designs on the warm brown leather. "And it occurred to me….that….she….well…that she missed a lot while you and Frank were growing up." She looked up at him. "I know that she did some terrible things and that you and Frank don't have very many happy memories. But, Bobby, neither does she. She was sick and couldn't help at least some of the things that happened. And she missed out on creating happy memories for you. She missed out on birthday parties and big family Thanksgivings and the wonder in her kids' eyes when they saw their stockings on Christmas morning. Those things are as precious to a parent as they are to a child, and she missed them."
Bobby rested his chin on his fist and stared at her thoughtfully for few moments. Finally he smiled at her and said, "You really are a Pollyanna, aren't you?"
Annie grabbed a pillow from the couch and threw it at him. Bobby caught it before it made contact with his head and laughed at her.
"Maybe I am, but what's so bad about that? Pollyanna looked for the good in every situation and in every person. And it brought out the good in people. I don't see what's so unrealistic about that."
"OK," he sighed. "I'll go pick her up that morning and take her back after the party. If she's having a good day. But if she starts acting up, she's out of here."
"Understood," Annie agreed. "You look tired. And frustrated. Do you want to talk about it?"
Bobby leaned back in the chair and sighed. "I don't think even Pollyanna can find anything good in this mess," he said motioning to the papers and photos on his desk.
"The poisoning case?" she asked.
"You know, Ally's going to be ten in a few days. Before we know it, she'll be dating. How do we protect her from this?"
He got up and started to pace, running his hand through his hair and across the back of his neck. Annie stayed on the couch and kept silent while he went on.
"It's these kids, all these kids. Channel Island isn't a very big community, but there are thirty-five kids involved in these sex parties. And those are just the ones the Health Department knows about. Who knows how many others there are." He stopped pacing for a moment and looked at Annie. "These kids….most of them come from good homes; their parents weren't abusive or negligent. A lot of them grew up in church. So how did so many kids get pulled into something like this? And how did these three girls get pulled into something worse—not just sex, but committing murder? Nature can't explain it; this many kids in such a small group can't just be 'wired' that way." He began pacing again. "So if it's not nature and it's not nurture, what is it? How do we protect our kids?"
"Do our best and cross our fingers?"
Bobby stopped and frowned at her, then sat down heavily in his chair. "So you're saying there's nothing we can do? I can't accept that."
"Well, I guess you can cross your fingers; I've got prayer." She grinned at him, but he didn't smile back. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Babe, I don't mean to make light of it. I just don't have any satisfactory answers. The Bible says: 'Traina child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.' But it doesn't say what will happen between the time you 'train' the child and the time he is 'old'. For me, and for any parent who believes in God, that's when you rely on prayer; that God will protect them and guide them to make wise decisions."
"And parents who don't believe in God just have to cross their fingers?" He smiled sadly at her. "I don't think I can trust either prayer or crossed fingers. I want my kids to be safe."
"Look at you and your brother. You grew up in the same home, with the same parents, with the same problems, and you turned out vastly differently. What explains that?"
"I don't think we turned out so differently," Bobby said softly.
Annie frowned. "What are you talking about? Frank has literally thrown away everything for his addictions. You have a family, a home, a career."
"And that's what I'm talking about; addictions. Frank is addicted to gambling, to drugs, to alcohol; anything that will take away the pain and the memories. But I've got addictions, too. Just different ones." He waved his arm to include his desk and bookshelves. "I'm addicted to knowledge, to finding answers, to understanding why people do the things they do, to controlling my environment. Frank and I, we both have addictions; they're just different addictions."
"OK," Annie nodded. "So I'm going to sound like a broken record, but it comes down to choices, doesn't it? You and Frank made different choices. He chose behaviors that would temporarily mask a childhood he doesn't want to deal with, and those behaviors became addictions. You chose behaviors that would help you understand that same childhood, and they became addictions for you. But your addictions allow you to function and to contribute to the world. Frank's just make him a drain on everyone around him."
"And how do we ensure our kids make the right choices?"
"We do exactly what we are doing. We love them, we talk to them, we provide them with a safe environment, we model the good choices we want them to make…and then we trust them."
"And cross our fingers?" He smiled at her.
"And cross our fingers," she laughed. Then more soberly, "We should also probably spend some time considering what we will do if it does happen. What if one of our kids becomes sexually active? What if they become involved with drugs? What if Ally tells us she's pregnant when she's fifteen?"
He smiled sadly and said, "I think my head might explode."
She nodded and returned his smile as she got up from the couch. "It's getting late, are you coming to bed?"
"Soon," he said as he turned back to the case file on his desk.
Annie walked to the stairs and turned before going up. "Just don't stay down here too long. I want to show you some things that Pollyanna would never do." As he turned his chair so he could see her, she lifted her shirt and flashed him before turning and running up the stairs. She could hear his laughter as she went out and closed the basement door.
The morning of the birthday party was clear and warm. Ally was in a state of excitement from the moment she woke up. She danced through the house, chattering incessantly, eating very little. After breakfast Bobby and the twins left for Carmel Ridge to pick up Frances.
Janey arrived to help with the party. Alex had wanted to come and help but one of her nephews was also having a birthday party that day. They finished decorating as Bobby returned with his mother. Seeing the glow on her face made Annie happy that they had included her in this day. Bobby took Phillip and Andrew next door where they would be staying with Rob and his sons. When he got back he went upstairs to put on the tux. Annie sent Ally to her room to change into her party dress and went into her bedroom to check on Bobby.
The sight of him in the tux caused her to stop and catch her breath. Once again she was overwhelmed by how handsome her husband was. The white shirt and black jacket showed his muscular chest and arms and narrow waist to full advantage, as well as his dark curly hair and brown eyes. She closed the door and leaned back against it, her eyes roving over him.
"I…um…think that I don't have to return the tux until tomorrow or the next day," she said softly.
He smiled at her and went to stand in front of her. He put his hands on the door on either side of her head and leaned his face close to hers without touching her.
"So, do you think you might need someone to…serve…you later tonight?"
"Uh huh," she whispered.
Just before his lips touched hers, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Mommy!" came Ally's voice. "Zip me up!"
Bobby smiled and pulled away. "We can finish this later," he said.
Annie sighed in disappointment and watched him walk away. The knocking came again, more insistent. "Mommy!"
She went out and zipped up Ally's dress and went downstairs. She went to the kitchen to find Janey and Frances having a cup of coffee before the guests arrived. She sat down with them and relaxed until the first little girl arrived. Bobby the waiter opened the door and welcomed the little girls with a British accent that made them giggle. As each one arrived he led her into the living room and took her gift with a flourish and put them on the table Annie had set up for that purpose.
Once they had all arrived, they played a few games with them. Then Annie handed out the aprons she had made for each girl, including Janey, Frances, and herself. They all exclaimed over their names embroidered across the bib. The girls all trooped into the kitchen and had fun rolling out the cookie dough that Annie had made the night before and cutting out figures. Once the cookies had been cut out and were ready to bake, and the girls had all been cleaned up, Frances and Janey took them in the backyard for a few more games. Annie finished baking the cookies and helped Bobby set the small folding tables with paper table covers and mis-matched thrift-shop teapots, cups, saucers, and small plates. When they were finished, Annie admired how pretty the total effect was.
With the cookies cooling on the counters, Bobby went outside and, in his best British butler's voice, announced that tea was served. The girls trooped in and washed their hands. They giggled as they waited while the "butler" seated each one of them, pulling out their chairs for them. Bobby then served the tea and cookies. Annie, Frances, and Janey kept the cookies, tea, and juice (for those who didn't want tea) coming as the girls devoured them. Annie saw Frances leaning against the wall, watching Bobby with the giggly little girls. She went and stood next to her and watched with her.
"Bobby's a good father," Frances said with wonder in her voice.
"Yes he is," agreed Annie.
Frances looked at her for a moment, then asked, "And is he a good husband?"
"The best," smiled Annie.
Frances watched her son lean down and kiss his daughter on the cheek as he served her tea. She sighed and pushed away from the wall. She smiled at Annie and went to the kitchen to wash dishes. Annie stood where she was and watched Bobby for a few more minutes, smiling as he spoke to each little girl and left her blushing and laughing.
After the tea and cookies it was time for the presents to be opened, exclaimed over, and the giver thanked profusely. At last the party was over and the parents began arriving. The British butler saw each girl to the door and presented her with a small bag of party favors and the apron that Annie had made. After the girls were all gone, Bobby helped Ally carry her presents to her room and went to change out of the tux. The women cleaned the kitchen, took down the decorations, and folded up the tables and chairs.
Annie walked next door with Janey to pick up the twins. She hugged Janey and thanked her for her help. Janey told her that she was welcome and reminded her that she would be helping with her son's birthday party the next month. Back at the house, the twins ran upstairs so that Ally could show them her presents. Annie sat down with Frances for some tea and cookies of their own.
"I'm glad that Bobby seems so happy," Frances said. "I worried about him when he was growing up. He was never as studious as Frank was, never got the kind of grades that Frank did."
"Mm…hmm," Annie murmured noncommittally.
"But, I think that the Army was good for Bobby, don't you think?"
"Yes," Annie agreed. "Yes, I do."
Frances reached over and patted Annie's hand. "I think you've been good for him, too," she said softly.
"I hope so," said Annie. "Because I know he's been good for me."
Frances rested her chin in her hand. "I know Frank would be a good father. If he could just find someone and settle down, maybe he wouldn't have so many problems."
There were things Annie wanted to say. She wanted to tell her mother-in-law that marrying her wasn't the reason Bobby was successful. She wanted to tell her that the lack of "a good woman" wasn't the reason Frank had problems. She wanted to tell her that each of her sons had made choices in their lives that had led them to where they were now. But Annie didn't answer; she just poured some more tea, knowing that arguing was useless.
All three children wanted to go with Bobby to take Frances back to Carmel Ridge. Bobby said that he would stop and feed them dinner on the way home. While they were gone Annie finished cleaning up and took a long hot bath.
After baths and bedtime prayers, the children fell asleep quickly. Annie went downstairs to let the dog in the house for the night. She turned off the lights as she headed back upstairs to their bedroom. As she went in and closed the door she realized that only one small lamp on Bobby's side of the bed was on, leaving the room bathed in a soft light. She smiled as she saw Bobby standing in the middle of the room dressed in the tux and holding a serving tray in one hand.
"Excuse me Madam," he said with a British accent. "I believe you requested a bedtime treat?"
As he held the tray so that she could see what it held, she giggled. Sitting on the tray were a bowl of whipped cream, a small platter of strawberries, and his handcuffs.
"Indeed I did, Jeeves. Indeed I did. And this treat looks very…intriguing."
End Chapter 2