Chapter 2
Eddie had been anxiously pacing the Delta concourse near gate 57 at Laguardia for over two hours waiting for flight 6188 from Rochester to arrive with Eva Janko aboard, but the plane's departure had been delayed with reported mechanical issues and it had just landed a few minutes ago. So much for needing to get everyone up at the crack of dawn to get here, she thought ruefully as she regretted the kerfuffle her actions had caused that morning and found herself wishing, not for the first time, that the doors to the restaurant and bar across the way were not locked so she could seek out some liquid courage before her mother made an entrance. It was not to be, however, and Eddie soon spotted a familiar figure emerging from the terminal and stalking towards her in six-inch heels accompanied by a single large suitcase wheeling almost reluctantly along behind.
"Mom! Over here!" Eddie called as she hurried towards the woman who was dressed to the nines in the morning hours with not a wrinkle in her clothing or a hair out of place after her delayed travel. How does she do that? her daughter wondered as she became immediately self conscious of her own outfit… one that had been assembled largely in the dark out of a mix of items available in easy-to-reach boxes and she instantly regretted the choice of the comfortable shoes that went with it after all the fuss they had caused.
"Edit!" her mother responded with a tight-lipped smile and a slightly puzzled look as she made her way over. "Where is... everyone else?" she asked as she glanced around, obviously expecting a full contingent to greet her. "I thought at least Jamison would be here with you."
"Oh, no it's just me," Eddie tried to smooth that fact over with a little laugh as she grabbed the suitcase handle. "Jamie took the day off but Kaylin came down with a fever and cough this morning so he needed to take her to the doctor," she explained, failing to mention that it had been her intention to let him sleep in otherwise regardless of her mother's arrival. "I thought we would just go over to the hotel and have a bite to eat before we head out to those bakeries on the list. We can meet him and Kaylin for dinner tomorrow afternoon if she's feeling better," she added but did not fail to see the judgemental frown her mother immediately offered. "What?"
"Nothing," Eva tried to brush off as they started walking towards the exit.
Eddie returned the look as her expression clouded up, well-versed in the dance now taking place between them within the conversation. "She was sick, Mom… what was he supposed to do?" she muttered as they made their way outside to catch a shuttle to the car. At that moment her phone buzzed with an incoming text from Jamie.
K's fine, it read. Doc says just bad cold. Fever's down.
"Thank goodness," Eddie replied out loud with a sigh of relief as she flashed the screen at the older woman while they boarded the tram. "See?"
"I see, Edit," her mother chastised as she settled herself on the seat. "I see my daughter already willing to play second or third fiddle in this relationship… behind his child and an allegiance to his job and that family… you could say you're in fourth for all intents and purposes and you act like you're happy about it," she added bluntly as they rode along in search of the designated row where Eddie had parked.
"But I am happy, Mom!" Eddie cried as she stopped herself, not quite believing they were already having this discussion after her mother had been in town for all of ten minutes. Eva had not been shy about expressing her opinion on these matters privately to her daughter over the course of the last few months, but Eddie thought they had put most of this behind them and we're ready to move on to the fun part of planning the big event. "I can't wait to be married to Jamie and Kaylin will be our little girl," she emphasized. "She's gonna be mine too and I love them both… she's the sweetest thing and he has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met!"
"Gonna be yours? You say that now, Edit," her mother continued. "But I've seen that he's a daddy to her already, and what has he told her to call you? Eddie still is it? You're not her mother."
"That's not fair," her daughter muttered. "We're not married yet and I want her to call me by my name until then… she's not ready to say anything else. Jamie left that up to me. He loves me and treats me better than anybody has ever before, you'll see! I'm certainly not worried about what fiddle I'll play!" she added indignantly. "We're going to be a real family, Mom… we already are!"
"I thought the same with your father too, and take a look at your history to see where we all ended up with that… you're here in this awful city working as a police officer of all things for God's sake, and he's in prison! He had his own priorities when we met and after a while I wasn't one of them and neither were you. Jamison is coming into this marriage with a child of his own already!" she stressed. "One that you've admitted he put before you during that whole scandal last fall… forcing you to stay back so he could keep the press away from the good Reagan family name when your father's indiscretions were brought up. It's clear how he's been raised by that overbearing father of his and you can't tell me when push comes to shove that he'll not pick that child over you. What man goes out and adopts a baby like that, anyway?" she added. "It's probably his in the first place and you just don't know it yet," she muttered, thankfully beyond Eddie's hearing in that instant as their shuttle pulled up behind a noisy bus or her daughter might have told the driver to turn around right then and there.
"Mom, please… you promised!" Eddie said in growing frustration as her eyes welled up. "You'll love the Reagans when you meet them. If you knew anything about their family you would never say such things! They've welcomed me and never said a bad word about Dad… if anything they've only tried to spare my feelings."
"Say what you want... I promised you I would come here and help you plan your wedding, Edit," Eva said adamantly. "And that I wouldn't bring any of this up in front of Jamison or his family. I fully intend to keep that vow, but none of them are here right now so we can talk openly, can't we? You are my baby and I won't stand back and watch my little girl get hurt in any way. Maybe I'll change my mind as things go on, but I've said my peace and now we will move on with a clear understanding of where I am coming from. I never sugar-coat things, do I, Edit Katalin? You're all that I have left."
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Bothered by the observation Eddie had made earlier and unaware that she was currently receiving the third degree and worse from her own mother, which would have angered him to no end, Jamie decided to take a moment after leaving the hospital and stop by his father's home in Bay Ridge to check on his grandfather since Henry had asked to speak with him anyway and he had not seen the older Reagan patriarch in several weeks now. He promised himself he would only stay for a few minutes even though Kaylin had perked up considerably since the morning as the ibuprofen had brought her fever down substantially. Still, he had no intention of getting anyone else sick in the family.
He was surprised to see both Frank and Henry seated at the kitchen table having an early lunch of soup and sandwiches after he knocked and made his way in through the back door. Frank jumped to his feet with a smile when he saw his son enter, eager to reach for his granddaughter but Jamie waved him off.
"We're not staying… she's not feeling good, Dad," he offered as he continued to hold Kaylin close. "Picked up that bug that's going around the 3-5… trust me, you don't want any of this. We just came from the doctor. I'm only stopping by for a second to let you know Eddie said that anything traditional would be okay for her mom tomorrow. Just try to go for someplace nice but neutral or you'll regret it, trust me. How are you feeling, Gramps?" he asked as he turned his attention to Henry.
"Oh, I'm fine," the older man gruffed quite hoarsely as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. Jamie was immediately concerned though with his grandfather's rather tired-looking countenance. "Your father is making more out of it than there is. Now sit down, son. I wanted to talk to you today anyway. It's too bad that Eddie couldn't be here, but I figured she'd be out with her mom all week and I don't have much time," he hesitated for a moment to gather his thoughts. Jamie could see that he was struggling to breathe a little despite his earlier assurances. "Francis, get that little girl a sandwich and some broth, you know how she loves grilled cheese," he squawked with a dry cough.
"Whatever this is can wait until you're feeling better," Jamie offered with unease while Frank left the table to do as instructed. He should have known better than to think he could just drop in and leave so he gave in and reluctantly took a seat, swinging Kaylin around to sit on his lap. The little girl tiredly laid her head on the table but offered her Grandpa a small smile when he slid a plate with half a sandwich and a few of her favorite cookies in front of her… they just happened to be his weakness as well and he always had a fresh supply ready and waiting for when she stopped in.
"Oh come on now," he defended when he saw his son's raised eyebrow as she quickly reached for the treat. "There's nothing wrong with iced oatmeal raisin from Wilder's Bakery when you're sick. Do you really care what she eats right now?"
"Funny, I don't ever remember you dipping into your secret stash for me no matter how sick I was, Dad. I thought you had that drawer booby-trapped still," Jamie huffed with a grin before turning back to Henry. "What's on your mind, Pop?"
"I was wondering if you had found a proper home for my great-granddaughter yet," Henry replied bluntly. "I heard that you've had to move all of Eddie's things into your little apartment now as well? There wasn't enough room for Kaylin to play there in the first place! That's no way for her to grow up, Jamison Reagan!" he barked roughly and followed with an accompanying glare without a hint of a smile. Despite his age, Henry had lost none of his famous ability to sweat a perp, and Jamie was solidly in his crosshairs at the moment.
Whoa. So Eddie wasn't the only one getting blasted unexpectedly from a parental figure at that very moment.
Jamie was immediately taken back by the sharp tone which was normally reserved for only the most serious circumstances. He wasn't used to hearing such ire from his grandfather out of the blue and hadn't meant to let their housing situation spiral out of control, but with their often opposing schedules, finding a suitable house for a child in the city within a reasonable distance to work given his and Eddie's combined salaries had proven to be nearly impossible in the current market. Neither one had wanted to settle on a place that wasn't near a good school or in an iffy neighborhood, but nothing promising had turned up and they were beginning to consider a concession to look for another apartment lease somewhere while they put off their dream for a few more years, especially with the expenses of the wedding coming up in just four short months.
"No… um, well we haven't yet..." he admitted with marked hesitation, sensing that was not the answer his grandfather wanted to hear.
Henry paused and reached behind him to grab some items off the counter. Once he turned back around he immediately threw a set of keys in front of Jamie, startling Kaylin as she was eating her cheese sandwich. "There," he admonished. "Then those are for her. Now you don't have to think about it anymore."
Jamie instantly shot a worried look at his father; he had no idea how to answer that. Henry wasn't making a lot of sense and given the things he saw daily on the job, all types of possible medical issues were popping into his head, anything from Alzheimer's to a stroke. "Grandpa," he reiterated, watching him carefully and not knowing his agenda, "what are you talking about?"
"Pop, dial it back a little," Frank warned as he could read the concern now emanating from his son. "You're scaring the boy."
Henry smiled. He was still sharp as a tack and recognized the anxious tone in his grandson's voice. "Now Jamie, don't you worry about me," he said. "I haven't fallen off my rocker just yet. Those keys are to your grandmother's house."
Jamie's eyebrow raised as he glanced back and forth between the two older men, but that revelation had done little to put his mind at ease. His grandparent's old house was located just a few blocks away from where they now sat in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn with its stately tree-lined streets and abundant parks. After Grandma Betty had passed away, Henry had sold it to the Petersons and moved in with Frank after Mary had died of cancer and the children were all gone. It had been a handsome brick home at one point; quite similar to the house he now shared with Frank but on a slightly smaller scale and with a more open floorplan. Jamie had been saddened to watch as it had fallen into such a state of disrepair in the years since. He had spent many happy hours in that house as a child but it was in a bit of a bad state at the present. Regardless of its current condition, anything in this zip code was well out of their ballpark financially and certainly not an option.
"Gramps…" he started in puzzlement, "I don't understand where you're going with this. Eddie and I can't afford…"
"Betty and I shared a lot of great memories there," Henry interrupted nostalgically. "We raised your father in that house and babysat all of you grandchildren. The Petersons took pretty good care of it until about four or five years ago when Mark died unexpectedly and left Ella alone. She called me three weeks ago; she was diagnosed with stage four cancer a few months back and she was behind on the mortgage. The bank was going to foreclose on it if she couldn't find her way out of it. She moved into hospice at the beginning of the week and doesn't have a lot of time left."
"Oh, that's too bad, Pop," Jamie said. "Doesn't she have any family that can help her out?"
"Nah," Henry replied. "They had a daughter, Mia, but she died in a car accident twenty years ago. They outlived all of their other relatives."
Jamie was starting to get a clearer picture of where this was headed, but it was completely improbable on a newly promoted NYPD sergeant and a third-year patrol officer's salaries and he was shaking his head as he continued to hold his little girl. He would have done almost anything to give her the opportunity to grow up in such a wonderful home but there was no way it could happen now… maybe if he had stayed in law but then the fates would have changed and his life would have been totally different at this moment. The conflicted expression on his face didn't stop the elder Reagan from continuing.
"Your Grandmother loved that house, Jamie. It's a fine place to raise a family. I feel like I owe it to her to try to leave it in a good way before my time is up," Henry admitted.
"Pop! Please don't talk like that!" Jamie cried, suddenly fearful that Eddie had been right and there was something seriously wrong with Henry now… he knew how devastating that would be for the whole family, but to her in particular as she'd become very close to the older man over the past months. He had treated her as family right from that very first night when Kaylin had come into their lives and welcomed her into the Reagan home. Her own grandparents had remained in the old country when her mother had immigrated to New York. She'd never met them and had been happy to embrace Henry's warm and inviting demeanor as an elder. It didn't hurt that he had hundreds of fascinating cop stories to share as well. She could sit and listen to him reminisce for hours, and he was only too happy to do it. Eddie reminded him very much of his beloved Betty when she was younger.
"Gramps, we can't," Jamie said, shaking his head and remembering his observations the last time he took note of the structure, mentally calculating the cost in time and money that would be needed to restore it just from outside appearances, and that would be on top of a hefty mortgage. It was well outside of their means. "Eddie and I are just getting married. We're not ready for a house like that and there's no way we could afford it."
"Hear me out, Jamie," Henry said as he cleared his throat again. "I've given this a lot of thought," he continued gruffly, pausing for a sip of broth. "I've been meeting with a financial guy to do some estate planning and he told me I that I needed to start gifting some of my investment savings away for tax purposes. Your father has his own money. I want to give it to my great-grandchildren. Nicki, Jack and Sean will get help with college. You and Eddie... I'm not gonna be around long enough to see Kaylin or any of your other kids go to school. I want her to have a good home to grow up in, or the others whenever they come, God willing, and I want to see my money making a difference now, not just coming as a cold check from the estate of Henry Fitzgerald Reagan somewhere down the road when I'm already in the ground."
"Pop!…" Jamie tried to interrupt again, but Henry deftly ignored him and continued.
"The down payment is your wedding gift, the rest is for Kaylin. I know you'll see to it that she has what she needs for school later on. Ella was not looking to make a profit, there was no one to pass it along to. She just needed to be bought out of what she still owed quickly so she could take the little bit of equity and live out her few remaining days. We rushed and had settlement last week and she went into hospice Monday." He flipped over the sheet of paper in front of him on the table and pushed it towards Jamie. "Here, you take this and show it to Eddie. That's what my planner figured out you'll need to pay in each year for property taxes. You just need to cover that. He'll draw up some kind of contract. I'll hold the mortgage and you'll have equitable title for the amount I can gift you every year. When the time comes, the deed will be passed to you in the will and it will be yours outright... unless I live another thirty years and you pay it off first," he smirked sadly as he got up and pushed his chair in. "Just think about it," he said abruptly as he stood up. "We'll talk more later. I'm tired and going to lay down." With that he stood and continued to make his way towards the stairs and up to his room.
Jamie looked disbelievingly at the keys and paper in front of him and turned to his father. "Dad?" he questioned as he scooted Kaylin up on his lap. His heart was pounding now and it had nothing to do with the house, at least not directly. It felt to him like the older man was putting his affairs in order. "Is there something wrong with Gramps? I mean I think someone needs to look at him… he seems so tired and Linda hasn't been here much lately," he said nervously as he had been in the position to be the last to know such things before. "Please tell me the truth!"
"No, Jamie," Frank assured softly. "At least nothing new that we know about. He's got health problems creeping up on him as everyone his age does… but this whole situation with Ella Peterson has upset him greatly for the past few weeks," he admitted as he got up to pour them both a cup of coffee. "Seeing her sick and alone in that house… it was stressful and I think it's brought back some of the grief he felt over your grandmother again after all these years. He truly loved her," he paused and looked out of the back window as the thoughts of his own mother's loss choked him up, "and she truly loved that house… He wants to see it put back in order and I think Eddie reminds him of Mom, she was always feisty that way," he smiled as he sat back down at the table and looked Jamie and the little girl who must be under the weather given the fact that she was content to sit so quietly. "Nothing would make him happier than to see Kaylin growing up there. There's a lot of Reagan family history under that roof... which will need to be replaced by the way. It's a fantastic opportunity for you son, but don't underestimate the amount of work it needs. Ella turned into quite the hoarder after Mark died. I think she had a cat too. It'll take you months before it's habitable. Just go home and talk to Eddie before you decide anything," he advised.
His son didn't have any other words to add at that point. Jamie Reagan was speechless.
So there could be an interesting round of pillow talk coming up between our favorite Jamko pair. Will Eddie confide in Jamie as to everything that was said, or did her mother succeed in planting little seeds of doubt that might crop up later and grow dangerous given the right circumstances? How will she react to the news about the house offer and is Henry really okay?