Camden's Crossing Chapter 3
Sunday the day of the party
Lisa awoke about 5 am to Chloe fussing. Matt was still on top of her
"Mattie you have to get up I have to feed Chloe," she said
He groaned but didn't move, then the baby really got going which finally woke him up, he rolled off her and got up and picked up Chloe "Boy is she soaked right through the diaper and everything what are these the cheapo diapers and wow does she have a rash on her cheeks"
"Yeah I guess I won't be buying the generic brand any more and I have ointment in the changing table I have been using on them"
Lisa got up and put clothes on while Matt changed the baby and then handed her off the Lisa to feed her and he stripped the bassinet sanitized it and put clean bedding on it
"I think I will go and put on some coffee and get up Emma and Ethan, We will get started on the chores" he said as he finished putting on his clothes
"Well just make sure I get my coffee before you head out to do them or I will be a really big grump"
"Yes Ma'am" he said as he kissed her
"Oh you can wake up the other older kids too, they actually like doing ranch chores it's a treat for them because they don't get to do it all the time, you know how Sam and David especially like milking the cows" she said
"Sure No problem" he said and went out the door, he went into the older kids room first to Emma's room and woke up Bridget and Emma then to Ethan's room and woke up Ethan and Sam and David. They all headed downstairs to do bundled up because it was very cold and went out to start the chores while Matt put on the big coffee maker and he got out some stuff to get breakfast going He figured the big coffee maker would take a while Luckily they had the single K cup coffee so he first made himself a cup then made Lisa's He walked back upstairs
"Here you go honey let me put this on the table" he said
"Thanks Mattie, Hey you want to feel Chloe's head does she feel warm to you, I wasn't sure at first But I think she is"
Matt touched her forehead "Yeah she is Let me get the thermometer "
Matt took her temp "Well it is low-grade its only 100.1 Let me get her some Tylenol" Matt came back in a minute or two with a dropper full of baby Tylenol Lisa took her off her breast and Chloe immediately began to fuss Matt opened her mouth, "Well whaddaya know" he said then gave her the medicine
"What is it Mattie?" Lisa asked
"I think I know why she is fussy, running a temp and has the rashy cheeks. She is cutting teeth look at her bottom gums"
"She is only two months its to soon for that" Lisa responded
"Take a look for yourself" He said
Lisa looked in her mouth sure enough two little white buds were showing through the gums
"Wow this is early, well at least we know she isn't sick at least" Lisa said and then she put her back to her breast
"Well I am going to go help the kids outside" he gave her a peck on the cheek and went out
Lisa finished up with Chloe and brought put her in her bouncy seat and put her on the floor in the bathroom and she took a quick shower When she finished her coffee and then picked up Chloe bouncy seat and all and brought her down stairs, Annie was already up getting the pans out for breakfast
"Good morning Mom" Lisa said to Annie as she walked into the Kitchen with a fussy Chloe
"Hey good morning yourself, boy she is fussy didn't you feed her yet,?"
"Yup she is fed burped and changed she is just running a low-grade temp which Mattie gave her Tylenol for believe it or not she is cutting teeth" Lisa said
"At this age , wow she is starting young"
Heather came into the kitchen, "Do you want some help"
"Wow your up early I know it wasnt Chloe that woke you up, do you usually get up so early?" Lisa asked
"Well I smelled the coffee and wanted some I figured I could help make breakfast too" Heather replied
Annie took the baby and walked around with her to try to soothe her while Heather and Lisa started breakfast
Emma and Bridget came in around 6:00 with the eggs " hi mama Emma said we not only got the eggs we cleaned out the coop and fed the chickens here you go with the eggs . Do you want help with breakfast or should we go out with the boys , daddy and Uncle Crane and work on the livestock in the barn?"
"Well I think for now we are ok in here Why don't you go and help with either milking the cows or taking care of the stables" Lisa replied
"Ok mama we will and they took off outside again as they were going out the Door Grandpa Eric F and Jackie we coming in the house and Grandpa Eric C was coming down the stairs
"Can I help with anything?" asked Jackie
"Sure we can put you to work" Lisa replied why don't you start with the cracking the eggs in the bowl while I start on the pancake batter"
The women all worked together even Annie let both grandpas take over with Chloe while she went into the kitchen to help Brooke and Ridge along with baby Michael came in the main house a short while later and helped where they could Then Martin and Ruthie along with Becky, Billy and Lindsey
"You know with the amount of people we always have there we will need to build an addition on just to seat everyone" Lisa laughed "but it is a good thing our house is huge"
The older kids plus Crane and Matt came in the house around 6:30 The boys brought the milk to the kitchen where they strained it and put it in the jugs
Matt headed upstairs to get in the shower he had just gotten out when the phone rang he answered it "Hi this is Mattie"
"Hi Matt its Richard I just wanted you to know that we are in the car and we are heading to the house but..." He hesitated
"But what" asked Matt
"We didn't have a choice we told her it was a bad idea but she insisted and they came with us and are in the car behind us" Richard said
"Oh God you don't mean Sarah and Ben" Matt whispered
"Yup that's what I mean" he replied
"You do realize Lisa is going to go through the roof, and we have a house full her family and mine plus the Mcfaddens will be here this afternoon we are like having 50 people here" Matt said
" I know, she wouldn't listen, and when did she ever listen to us anyway, we are about half way there now we will be there in a less than a 15 minutes Sorry about this Matt"
Matt quickly got dressed into his church clothes, By the time he went downstairs the little kids were up and the older kids had already showed and were dressed breakfast was almost done
"Hey Lisa" Matt said as he walked into the kitchen
" Oh good you down here can you get the little kids set up for breakfast?" Lisa asked
"Uhm actually that has to wait a few I need to talk to you in your Office NOW!" he said as he pulled her out of the kitchen and into her office
"Geez Matt what's gotten into you this morning?"
"I just got off the phone with Richard, They are on their way here and should be at the ranch shortly and Sarah and Ben are with them" he told her
"WHAT!... are they crazy how could they let her do that they Don't they know what a scene this will create We haven't even decided if we were going to let her see Jacob" Lisa said
"Richard and Rosina tried to stop her but she and Ben booked themselves on the same flight and came anyway"
"Oh my god" Lisa said as she collapsed on to the chair near her desk
"Well I guess we have no choice in the matter do we however at least for now she isn't going to be introduced as his mother He can call her Miss Sarah or something because now isn't the time for anything else, AND HE WILL NEVER CALL HER MAMA" She said as she started to shake and sob"
"SHHH its ok" he said as he pulled her into an embrace " I am in agreement with everything you said, I will meet them outside and confront her and tell Sarah this OK" Matt said
"OK" Lisa replied
He let her go and then said "I am going to put my coat on and wait for them outside OK"
Just as Matt stepped outside, the two cars pulled in
Richard and Rosina got out of their car first While Ben and Sarah sat waiting not exactly sure of what they should do now that they were there
Rosina walked over and gave Matt a hug and So did Richard
"We tried to tell her this wasn't a good idea Rosina said " at least not yet not this way especially with you having a houseful of people but she wouldn't listen, how did Lisa take the news"
"As you can imagine she is upset, but graceful as always she will allow Sarah in the house now but under certain conditions because we don't want a scene."
Matt motioned to Sarah and Ben that it was alright for them to get out of the car
"Matt I am sorry about doing it this way but I had to come" Sarah said
"Well this isn't the way we wanted it handled and as you can tell it is a packed house so this isn't the time to be introducing you to Jacob well as what your true connection is to him at the moment. Lisa is fiercely protective of all the kids and IF we end up explaining to Jacob who you are to him it won't be this weekend. I mean up until now you didn't even want to know whether you gave birth to a boy or a girl never mind wanting to see him, We don't want him hurt and I will make this very clear LISA IS HIS MOTHER"
"I understand Matt I would never try to step in and take over I just want to have a chance to know him that's all"
"Ok just so long as we are clear we will just introduce you as Miss Sarah and that Bubbe and Zayde are your parents at least for now Lisa and I will discuss how we want to handle future visits and what information Jacob will know and when to tell him, he is after all only 4"
"Ok I am fine with that now can we get out of the cold its freezing out here Oh by the way sorry not to have introduced him first . This is my husband Ben" Sarah said
"Nice to meet you" Ben said as he shook Matt's hand
"Same here" Matt said and they walked in the house out of the cold
Lisa had set 4 extra places for them to sit and eat breakfast
"Wow you weren't kidding when you said the house was packed" Ben said
"There will be way more once we get home from church My sister Lucy an her family will be here and the rest of Lisa's Cousins the McFaddens will be here too roughly 50-60 people good thing we have a big house huh" Matt said
Matt pulled Lisa aside " She agreed to be introduced as Miss Sarah or something like that for now she wont push any other issues now so just relax ok
The little kids were already sitting at the table Zachary and Jacob were signing up a storm with Heather
Heather looked up and saw Sarah and was surprised she knew what the situation was
"Hello Sarah" Heather said
Sarah looked over and saw her and noticed that the two boys were signing to each other
"Hello Heather what a nice surprise I didn't expect to see you here" Sarah said
"Matt and I have remained friend and since Zachary was diagnosed with a serious hearing impediment we've become much closer and I have been here a lot"
Matt introduced Sarah and Ben for the benefit of those who didn't know them
"Everyone this is Sarah and Ben Sarah is Richard and Rosina's daughter" then he introduced them individually to Lisa's Family who knew that she was his ex-wife Emma and Ethan said hello they knew who she was from 4 and a half years ago and subsequent conversations they had over heard. The little kids had no idea and were oblivious that anything was up so they all just said hello and said who they were
Sarah's heart swelled with joy but then with guilt and hurt when Jacob introduced himself
"Hi I am Jacob and this is my brother Zachary and my sisters Alexis and Leah" Since he was a couple of months older he was always the leader of the well pack
Sarah went over and kissed him on the cheek, and said in a choked up voice" Hi I am Sarah I am so very glad to meet you" and then so not to make a scene she just went and sat back into her chair next to Ben
They ate and then everyone pitched in and cleaned up after breakfast Lisa and Matt went to get the little kids ready for church, but then Chloe became fussy again so she went to take care of her so Matt was juggling the 4 kids to get them ready
"Hey Matt, Sarah and I will help you with the little kids" Rosina offered
"Uhm..." He hesitated he wasn't so sure if he wanted Sarah to help "Well ok sure Rosina and Sarah went in the boy's room and found their clothes on the back of the door,
Within 15 minutes the little kids at least were ready Chloe was asleep in the swing and Lisa and Matt where in their room putting their church clothes on
"I am still not comfortable with her here Mattie and you let her and Rosina get the boys ready did you lose your mind"Lisa said
"Hey wait a minute, don't give me that attitude and Rosina has helped with the kids before"
"it's not Rosina I have the problem with, its Sarah, If she thinks she can just come in here and play mama to my son..." Lisa turned away from Matt as she got all teary eyed and choked up
Matt came up behind her and turned her towards himself and pulled her into an embrace
"Its ok honey, and Sarah will never replace you as Jacobs mama" Matt reassured her
"I am sorry I shouldn't have snapped at you, Forgive me Mattie" Lisa said sobbing
"It's ok I am not mad at you Lisa You are under a lot of stress , we both ate with the houseful of people and now Sarah showing up, I think you are doing pretty well if you ask me"
Lisa finished getting dressed and then Lisa went and fed Chloe again got her changed and around 9:30 she and Matt helped all the Little kids get into their coats, Annie helped with Chloe putting her into her pram then everyone got into their vehicles and headed to church.
Church services were done by noontime Lucy and Kevin told Lisa that they would be to the house by 1 or 1:30
Everyone got in their cars and headed back to the ranch and were there by 12:20 the party was in full swing by 2 pm there must have been 50 people in the house it was controlled chaos
Matt had the camcorder and was filming the party the little kids were having a ball opening the presents then eating the cake, Jacob was helping Zachary with his gifts Lisa had a hard time letting him know that he already had his party and that these toys were his brothers but Zachary was always good at sharing so They played together well the party went on through the afternoon
At some point Jacob had went upstairs to go to the bathroom Sarah looked around and found no one watching and she went upstairs after him
She found him coming out of the bathroom trying to button up his pants
"Here Jacob let me help you with that" Sarah said
"Uhm Ok" Jacob innocently said
"Hey which one is your room?" She asked
He brought her to his room " I share this room with my brother Zachary"
"Well you know he is only your half brother" Sarah told him
"What does that mean" Jacob asked
"Well do you know when your mama had Chloe in her belly" Sarah asked
"Uhm Yeah and then she came out and was born" Jacob said
"Well you do know that you were not in your mama's belly like all the other kids were don't you" She asked
"I don't know" Jacob said
"You were actually in my belly Your daddy and I used to be married but now he is married to Lisa an I am married to Ben"
Jacob didn't know how to react this was too much for a 4 year old
"I am your real mama Lisa just adopted you after you came out of my belly I am sorry that I never came to see you but I will be seeing a lot more of you maybe you could stay with me and Ben I am your real mama and I miss you"
"No I don't like that" he said I live here with mama and daddy" he said
"She is not you mama I am your real mama and Ben and I want you to live with us" Sarah told him
"Noooo" he said
She got mad at him and slapped him on the face
He was getting louder as a result and Sarah didn't want anyone to hear so she covered his mouth almost suffocating him he squirmed away she let go realizing that he couldn't breath
"I am sorry honey, she said but you can't be loud like that " she told him "well I am going to go back downstairs, you come down when you are ready" she went to kiss him and he backed away
She then just went downstairs and joined everyone else About 20 minutes later Lisa looked around and realized she didn't see Jacob
"Hey Mattie where's Jacob?" she asked
"I don't know I didn't notice he wandered off" Matt replied
"You stay and keep everyone entertained he may have went upstairs to use the bathroom and you know how he has trouble with the buttons on the pants still" Lisa said
Lisa went upstairs and found him laying on his bed, it looked as if he had been crying but he was now asleep she touched his forehead "No temp " she though to herself "He must have been overtired I will let him sleep"
She covered him with a blanket and kissed his forehead and went back downstairs
"Did you find him" Matt asked
"Yeah he is on his bed sleeping" Lisa replied
"With all this commotion? He isn't sick is he?" Matt asked
"Well I felt his head he isn't warm maybe he was just tired we will see how he is when he wakes up" Lisa said
The party went on for a while most of the local people like the Mc Faddens and Lucy and Kevin headed home around 5 The rest of the Camdens and Heather left a short time later to catch a quick plane ride back to Glen Oak and so did Richard,Rosina Ben and Sarah they wanted to see Jacob but he was still asleep Lisa's Family weren't going home until Monday so they stayed in the ranch and helped Clean up. Chloe was in Grandpa F, fiancé Jackie's lap and she was giving her a bottle. and Brooke was feeding baby Michael. Eric F, Ridge and Ethan went outside to shut the ranch down for the night. The little kids went upstairs to play Jacob was awake and was very upset and started frantically signing to Zachary
Zachary came running downstairs and was pulling on Matt and Lisa to come upstairs he was signing faster than Matt or Lisa could keep up with
"Slow down Zachary" Lisa said and signed "too fast "
Matt and Lisa watched Zachary signed "Jacob was crying bad and said he is going to be taken away" and then he asked "why was Jacob going to be taken away"
Matt stayed with a very upset Zachary and Lisa ran up to the boys bedroom Jacob was inconsolable Lisa pulled him into her arms
"Oh my sweet boy whats wrong"
He sniffled and coughed "Thhaatt Sarah lady said you weren't my mama"
"What did she say can you remember"
"She said I wasn't in your belly like all the other kids I was in her belly and she is my real mama, I don't want to live with her" he said
"I am your mama its true that you did grow in her belly but that doesn't make her your mama I will always be your mama and no one will ever say any different you will always be with daddy and me" I love you the same as all your brothers and sisters I nursed you just like I do Chloe. You are my little boy and no one will ever take you away from your home"
He continued to sob and she lifted him in her lap and she found out he had wet and messed himself something he hadn't done since he was 2 1/2
She lifted him up grabbed some of Zachary's old pull ups and his PJs and carried him into the hallway Emma was coming in the hall with Bridget
"Mama what's wrong with Jacob?"
"I will tell you later, right now I need you, and Bridget to watch the other little kids. Go get Zachary downstairs and bring him up. Tell daddy I need him NOW! in the little kids bathroom" Lisa told her
Lisa brought Jacob in the bathroom and ran the water in the tub Emma did as she was told and brought Zachary upstairs and Matt bolted up behind her. He walked into the bathroom as Lisa was stripping Jacob out of his clothes he had his thumb in his mouth something he hadn't done since he was a baby and he was still sobbing.
"What's going on?" he said gently as he stroked his son's head Jacob move away from Matt and nuzzled closer to Lisa
"It's ok baby daddy loves you too we both will keep you safe no one is taking you away from us" she said as she wiped the poopy off his bottom and then placed him in the tub
"Who does he think will take him away from us?" Matt asked
"I will give you a guess...and she is NEVER ALLOWED NEAR THIS HOUSE OR MY CHILDREN EVER AGAIN!"
"Oh my god what did she say to him" Matt asked
Jacob looked at Matt "Sarah said she" he pointed to Lisa "wasn't my mama I didn't come from mama's belly I came from Sarah's Belly, I don't like that Sarah lady I don't want to live with her"
"You will never have to live with her and I will try and fix it you don't have to see her if you don't want to"
The rest of the little kids have to get ready for bed" Lisa said do you want to finish up with Jacob while I tend to them she asked Matt
"Nooooo" screamed Jacob and her clutched around Lisa's Neck for dear life
"Ok baby I am not going anywhere Daddy will go and take care of them instead ok" Lisa said
Matt quickly got the rest of the little kids ready for bed he had them wash up in the master bathroom and he had grabbed their toothbrushes before he had left the kids bathroom Emma and Bridget took turns reading to them Matt then went down to bring Chloe upstairs and put her in the bassinet after he changed her and put her pjs on all the while Lisa was still consoling Jacob she finally managed to get his teeth brushed and then she got him dressed, he usually could do most of it by himself but he wouldn't do any of it
He wanted her to carry him, she went to put him in his bed and he screamed he didn't want to stay in his room
"Jacob its ok you will be safe in here Zachary will be in here it's ok baby"
Jacob was terrified Matt came in when her heard Jacob scream he knelt by Jacob's bed
"What is it buddy?" Matt asked
Jacob just sat there sobbing more with his thumb in his mouth
"I think he needs to sleep with us tonight and tomorrow we need to make an appointment with a child psychologist to help undo the damage S.A.R.A.H. has done" she picked him up and carried him the their bedroom" Do you want to sleep with daddy and me tonight" Jacob shook his head yes and she placed him on the bed
"Mama will be right back I have to get changed and go to the bathroom,"
Jacob wouldn't let her go so she sat with him for a while and she waited for Matt to come upstairs
Ethan had come in from helping grandpa and uncle Ridge and he was sent upstairs to get ready for bed Matt was downstairs filling in everyone in on what Sarah had done and how traumatized he was now
"I can't believe she did that What the hell was she thinking" demanded Eric F
"Calm down Eric Matt isn't the enemy" Jackie said
"Oh I know he isn't I am just as mad as hell to think any one would hurt any of my grandchildren"
"I don't know what Sarah was thinking but Lisa and I are going to make sure she never sees him again" Matt said "and I am definitely going to call Richard and Rosina tomorrow to let them know what she did"
"Well we are going to the bunk house but if you need us come get us ok" Ridge said and the four of them plus the baby went out to the bunk house
Matt went upstairs Lisa was sitting on the bed with Jacob I her lap
"Hey you have to take him so I can go to the bathroom and also get ready for bed Lisa went to get up Jacob didn't want her too,
"Jacob its ok. Go to daddy I am just going to the bathroom I will be out in a minute" Jacob transferred from Lisa's arms to Matt's arms and clung to his neck in a death grip
"Not so tight Jacob daddy can't breathe" Matt said he loosened his hold on Matt and then lay down next to his daddy
Lisa was out a few minutes later ready for bed she looked in the bassinet, Chloe was asleep she pulled it next to her side of the bed and then lay down next to Jacob. Matt then got up and did what he had to in the bathroom and a few minutes later crawled into bed.
Jacob slept in between them but unfortunately it was a fitful sleep Matt and Lisa didn't sleep very well due to Jacob being so restless and sobbing quite a bit all night .