Chapter 7
More introductions at the Camden's
Annie and Sarah were well underway getting dinner ready. Annie thought she had better get in contact with Ruthie. Annie dialed Ruthie's cell. Ruthie answered the phone
"Hi mom what's up?"
Annie replied," I need you to come home for dinner tonight, it is important. Plus I need you to babysit"
Sarah yelled out the door at the boys while Annie and Ruthie were on the phone.
"Is that Sarah?" Ruthie asked "Oh my God Matt and Sarah are there; you better believe I will be home in like 10 minutes and of course I will babysit."
"There is something else Ruthie" Annie added, "I don't even know if I should tell you over the phone but I don't think I have a choice because you will run into him before you get in the house, but then again Lucy and Matt adjusted and are OK with the news. I have to believe you will be ok and are grown up enough for this but since you are driving you should pull over."
Ruthie proceeded to let her mother know she pulled over. "Ok Mom I am parked so what is it you need to tell me?"
Annie proceeded to tell her everything that she and Eric had told Lucy and Matt, about Brian. When she had finished she waited for Ruthie to say something, anything but all she heard was sobs on the other end of the phone.
"Ruthie I know this is a shock but talk to me." Annie pleaded.
"I don't know what to say to this "she replied. "No wonder you and dad were always so pushy about the no sex before marriage thing and why you flipped out when Simon did what he did." Ruthie just rambled on "Oh my God I have another brother. Wait is he at the house now is that why you wanted me home not just because Matt and Sarah were there? What does he look like? What is he like?"
Annie Interrupted "Yes Ruthie, Brian is here and wait until you see him, he and Matt could be twins."
"Mom I am driving again I will be home in like 5 minutes, Just to give you a warning though it is 4:30 Sam and David would be home soon you might want to head them off so they don't run into Brian before you tell them."
"Oh thanks Ruthie I hadn't noticed the time and your dad just walked in from taking out Happy, I will send him out again to intercept them."
"Intercept who?" Eric asked.
Annie replied "I just talked to Ruthie I told her about Brian. She actually is excited but she also just warned me that it is 4:30 and Sam and David will be home any minute, so go out the front door and intercept them and have them come in the front. We have to tell them about Brian too."
Eric went out the front and Annie went out the back. Annie interrupted Matt and Brian's game, "I would like you to stay out back for a bit. Sam and David are due home and you dad went out front to wait for them so we can let them know too. Oh by the way I told Ruthie on the phone and she reacted the same way you and Lucy did she will be home in a couple minutes."
Just then Lucy walked in the back gate with Savannah and Kevin (she had already informed Kevin of the whole situation) Savannah ran over to the sandbox and joined her cousins.
"Hey little sister" Matt went over to give Lucy a hug
"Matt! You are here earlier than expected." Lucy said in a shocked voice, "You weren't supposed to be in until next week, not that I am complaining of course and I see you met Brian so what do you think?"
Matt answered her with a big grin on his face. "Oh I think he is Camden material. He fits right in."
Ruthie was almost home when her cell phone rang. She saw on the caller ID it was Simon. She answered it. "Hey Simon what's up"
"Hey Ruthie did you hear the news?" Ruthie replied slightly sarcastically, "There has been a lot of news at home lately to which STUFF are you referring too?"
"Well" Simon continued" I talked to Matt early this morning they should be in Glen Oak by now they are getting there a week early isn't that great? I am on my way home to see them now I should be there in 10 minutes. Wait why what else is going on…. "(Long pause on the phone) "Ruthie, are you still there?"
"Uhm yeah Simon, I am still here and yes I knew they were here, they are already at the house now. I think you need to call the house though, before you get there, because mom and dad will need to fill you in on some other stuff you need to know about and it isn't my place to tell you."
Simon in a concerned voice responded, "Is there something wrong? Is it dad? Come on Ruthie you can't say that stuff to me and leave me hanging."
"Simon just CALL the house, but give them a couple minutes though they are probably talking to Sam and David about this by now."
"Oh God, now I am worried. If it is something they have to tell the twins about, Ruthie come on tell me!" Simon again pleaded.
"No, I can't, it's not my place Simon, and look I am pulling into the driveway I have to go see you soon." She quickly hung up.
In the front Sam and David were getting dropped off by their baseball coach. Eric was already out front and Annie was just coming out the front door.
"Hey boys have a good practice?" Eric asked
"Yeah great" they said in unison. "When's dinner we're starving."
"Soon" Annie replied, "Listen, come sit on the steps with us there is something we need to talk to you about and no before you say it you are not in trouble." Annie and Eric took turns explaining to them about Brian, the fact that they had him before they were married and were too young to keep the baby and about the adoption, but because the boys were only 12 they left out some details that were to adult for them to know.
"So we really have another brother?" Sam asked.
Then David asked, "Where is he? Can we meet him?"
"Well actually your brother, his name is Brian by the way; he is in the back, playing basketball with Matt. Oh yeah I guess I have to add that Matt and Sarah are here a week early."
The boys left all their stuff on the front porch and bolted for the back yard.
Then Annie heard the phone ring in the house and went back in the house to answer it. She picked up the phone. "Hello?"
It was Simon, who sounded very upset, "Mom what's going on is everything ok, I just talked to Ruthie to tell her I was on the way home, because I knew Matt and Sarah were there. She said I that I should call home before I got there because there was something you needed to tell me before I got there. She refused to tell me and said that it wasn't here place to tell me. Is it dad? Is it his heart again, is he ok?"
"Whoa, Simon slow down." Annie told him. "Your dad is fine this isn't about his health" I didn't want to tell you on the phone like I had to tell Ruthie but you are on your way here aren't you?"
"Yes I am about 5 minutes away." He responded.
"Boy this is not the way your dad and I planned on tell all you kids this but with the way this has been unfolding we have had no choice in doing it this way. Wait your dad just walked in." Eric came in and set down the twin's stuff that they had left on the front porch.
"Who's on the phone?" he asked.
"It's Simon" Annie told him, "He is on his way home because he knows Matt and Sarah are here and he talked to Ruthie who told him to call home because we would need to talk to him before he got here."
"Oh Boy, you better let me talk to him Annie" said Eric.
"Since it was me after all who came down on him the hardest when he was at college, on his promiscuity." Eric took the phone. "Hi Simon its dad, if you are driving pull over I need to fill you in on some things before you get here, unless you would rather wait until you get here and I will meet you out front "
"Well I am actually just pulling in front of the house now dad."
"Ok Simon, I will be right out." Eric hung up the phone, and headed out the front door. He got into the passenger side of Simons car to talk to him.
"OK Dad" Simon demanded." What's going on?"
Of all the kids they needed to tell Simon was the one he was the most concerned about, Eric thought to himself.
"Ok Simon here goes" Eric started; He filled him in on everything they had told Matt and Lucy and what he assumed Annie told Ruthie about Brian. He then said. "So that's why Simon, your mother and I have been so adamant with not just you but all you brothers and sisters about abstinence. We knew the consequences first hand as well as the pain making those kinds of choices."
"Does everyone else know?" Simon asked in disbelief.
Eric answered him," Well Mary doesn't know but everyone else does, but we didn't plan on it happening the way it did."
Eric went on to tell him of how everyone else found out. A stunned Simon just kind of sat there in silence for a bit.
Eric finally said, "Are you ok with this, knowing you have another brother?"
Simon finally spoke. "It will take a bit of getting used to but I can deal with it, and I would like to meet him, BUT what I am having real trouble with is the fact how you and mom were so judgmental and always on me when I chose to be sexually active, when it was none of your business anyway and when you yourself didn't wait!"
"Simon, I don't like your tone with me, but I will let it slide given the circumstances, you know your mom and I didn't mean to be that way, but going through what we did, the horrible pain we both went through having to give a child up, we never wanted any of you to go through it. Please understand and please forgive us."
Simon saw his dad get very teary eyed and he remembered his father's heart and he loved his dad regardless of any past faults.
So he said to his dad, "Of course I forgive you and mom too. So now I want to know more about my brother, what is his name and when do I get to meet him?"
"Uhm" Eric paused for a moment, "His name is Brian Davis, and he is in the backyard with everyone else, that's why we needed you to know before you got here or at least before you ran into him, Oh and before you run off, I have to warn you, boy are you in for another shock, he could be Matt's twin they look so much alike."
They both walked around the side of the house to the back. Everyone else was back there and already getting to know Brian, Ruthie, Sam and David having met Brian seemed to be getting along with him quite well. Brian looked up as Simon and Eric walked through the back gate he assumed the guy with Eric was Simon, so he walked over to meet them.
"You must be Simon, the only brother I didn't meet yet." Brian said with a big grin. He extended his hand to Simon, but Simon just grabbed him and gave him a hug.
"I should have known another hugger. This really is going to get some getting used to" Brian laughed as he spoke."
"Holy Crap "Simon said in a shocked voice as he looked Brian over. "Dad wasn't kidding when he said you and Matt could be twins."
Just then the basketball came flying at him.
"Hey" Matt yell over, "Maybe you want to take Brian on, but I have to warn you he just kicked my butt 21-7"
Simon laughed and said, "Why is that a surprise, Mary can even kick your butt throwing hoops, so not much has changed."
Brian thought to himself "I am really going to like being a part of this family, I hope everything goes well tonight at the party. I hope Bridget tell everyone to behave."
Back at Ivy's Bar
Bridget proceeded to tell Dave, Deena and Nicole what Brian had told her, and what he had asked her to do.
Then Dave put in his 2 cents "he is really going to bring them here, is he nuts?"
"Well Dave this party is for him and if this makes him happy, then yes he should be able to bring them here" Said Brian's sister Nicole.
The four of them walked over to everyone else over by the pool tables where most of the stuff was set up Ivy was up on a ladder with Adam holding it steady she was hanging party decorations.
"Listen everyone "Bridget started. Stop what you are doing for a few minutes we need to talk. I talked to Brian a little while ago, and he wanted me to let you all know some things that have happened over the past 24 hours."
"So…. the man's alive." Adam teased "Is he plastered already is that why we hadn't been able to reach him. Oh and we already know about the whole thing with his dad's Realty Firm it's been all over the new remember?"
"Oh Knock it off Adam" Bridget chastised him." No he had not been drinking, and I we need to have a serious talk"
So the four of them ( Bridget, Dave, Deena and Nicole ) took turns telling everyone the events that took place starting from when Brian and Bridget got to Nicole's yesterday and how Nicole let it slip about the adoption. And then everything that Brian had told them about what happened today, about meeting with the Camden's.
Dave also told them that Brian was planning on bringing them to the bar, for the party tonight. After everything was explained Ivy was the first to say anything, "and he is bringing them here? You said that his dad is a minister? Is that such a good idea, you know how some of these guys can get when they drink."
"Well that's what Brian wants" said Bridget. "He is a bit worried about it though he basically wanted me to tell everyone to behave and keep it low key, and well he just met these people and he thinks it is great they want to meet his friends."
Then Dave added, "So anyone that causes any kind of scene or gets to drunk or makes Brian look bad to these people is getting tossed out! After all this is a party for him it is HIS Birthday." Everyone at least said they agreed to behave and they continued getting everything ready.
