History repeating – Part II
Chapter 9
It had been four days since Don had met Matthew for the first time, and he was becoming distinctly edgy. What was the protocol in this situation? He was damned if he knew.
Together he and Kate had sat the children down and told them. Their reactions were not unexpected.
Mollie frowned at Kate, the news that she had another brother distinctly confusing.
"But he's already out?" she asked, poking at Kate's stomach "You got real fat when Rosie was in there, why didn't you get fat again mommy?"
"Because I'm not Matthews mommy" Kate replied.
"Why?" such a simple and childish question but one that had both adults stumped for a moment or two.
Finally Don answered "Matthew had another mommy" he said.
"Does that mean you had another wife?" DJ asked, he'd been quiet so far, digesting the information.
"No" Don replied "I had another girlfriend, a long time before I married mom"
"So where is he?" Mollie looked comically around the room, as if expecting Matthew to pop out from behind the curtains.
Kate laughed "He lives with his Grandma and Grandpa" she explained "There was a bit of a mix up and daddy didn't know about Matthew until a few days ago"
"Well that's just silly" Mollie snorted.
"A bit yes" Don replied, out of the mouths of babes and all that.
"So why does he live with Grandma and Grandpa?" Mollie questioned "I've never seen him there"
"Not your Grandma and Grandpa" Kate said "He has another Grandma and Grandpa"
"Huh" Mollie looked like another question was forming and then changed her mind. Both her parents knew it was a lot to ask to understand the situation for a 5 year old, and they'd tried to keep it as simple as possible.
"Deej?" Don turned to him, the quiet and the brooding look had him worried.
"What?" the boy replied.
"You wanna ask anything?" Don prompted.
"Is he coming to live here?"
"No" Don said "We're all just going to get to know each other"
"How old is he?"
"Fourteen" he replied.
"Where's his mom?"
"She...died, a little while ago" Don explained.
Kate observed the conversation, watching her husband be interrogated by their son was hard and amusing at the same time, DJ obviously had the 'cop' gene.
"When will we meet him?" DJ fired again.
"When and if you want to" Kate said, noting the panic forming on Don's face "Dad already met him, a few days ago, he would like to meet you"
"Just me or all of us?"
Oh God, Kate thought,I'm on the receiving end now.
"All of us, the whole family" Don jumped in "He didn't know about us either"
"I'd like to meet him" DJ decided "Can he play hockey?"
"I don't know" Don smiled with relief "That's one of the things we'll find out"
"Daddy?!" Mollie demanded "Can I have some sweets?"
Don rolled his eyes, she'd got bored with the subject already.
Don picked up his cell again, he'd typed several messages, and then deleted them all. Had decided to wait until Matthew contacted him, then changed his mind and figured as he was the adult, it was his responsibility. And back again to letting Matthew make the next move.
He typed another message, read it and deleted it. Looking up from his desk at work he caught the tail end of a news broadcast, it featured the Knicks. He frowned at the screen and then turned to his computer, navigating his way through to the Knicks up coming games.
He then typed a new text and sent it before he had time to back out. He put the cell back in his pocket and cleared the computer screen, going back to what he'd been trying to work on before, the case he'd attended this morning of a body dragged out of the Hudson on his patch. They'd got an ID and the crime lab were doing their bit, his main job right now was tracing the woman's movements and trying to find someone that has seen her between leaving work at 5pm the day before and a small pleasure boat pulling her out the river at 8am this morning. Cases involving the river got to him these days, especially women. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end.
…...
"Hi" Matthew once again seemed to appear from nowhere in front of the Knicks stadium.
"Oh, hi!" Don replied, glancing from son to son "Matthew, this is DJ. Deej, this is Matthew"
"Pleased to meet you DJ" Matthew held his hand out and immediately DJ took it, and shook it.
"And you" DJ nodded, his demeanour was aloof and reserved but Don knew him well enough to know it was nerves. His cell buzzed, again. He didn't even bother to look, he knew it would be Kate, stressing that they were all OK, that DJ and Matthew hadn't taken an instant dislike to each other and had Don asked him about dinner yet?
"You gonna get that?" DJ asked his father.
"It'll be your mom" Don said "Checking up on us, again"
Matthew laughed and DJ gave him a speculative look.
"She's a bit of a stress head my mom" DJ said finally. Don let out a breath, the tone had changed, shoulders relaxed. He thought maybe it would be OK.
"Shall we?" he said, gesturing the way in front of him.
…...
Kate was speechless. She looked, wide eyed up the stairs at the back of two kids that had shot through the front door and straight into DJ's bedroom, laughing. She turned to Don as he came into the house and closed the door behind him.
"I take it they get on then?" she asked, he looked happy, and relaxed. A change from recent days, she liked it.
He nodded, chuckling "Haven't got a word in since the first three pointer"
"Oh" she said.
He chuckled again "They're fine. Honestly"
"But they just met..." Kate protested "Which is more than I have got to do!"
Don put his hands on her shoulders, smiling "There's nothing like a hoop and a ball to get guys together"
"Hmmm" she replied, saved from saying more by the thundering of feet coming back down the stairs.
"Hey mom" DJ paused, his hair was ruffled and he looked excited "We're gonna go play some ball" and he shot for the door.
"You mind if I meet Matthew first?" she called.
"Oh" DJ turned, he'd been so caught up in it all he'd completely forgotten that Matthew was a newcomer to the family.
"Hi" Kate said to the taller of the two "I'm Kate"
"I guessed" a cheeky grin told her "I figured Mollie and Rosie would be shorter"
"Mo-om" DJ pleaded.
"Go on" she told them, Matthew was obviously as desperate to get outside and emulate the game they had just seen as DJ "We can all meet properly at dinner, is there anything you don't like Matthew?"
"Nah" he replied "I eat most stuff"
DJ gave her a winning smile and some of her misgivings were eased, she watched them go and turned to Don.
"Your son all right" she snorted "Eats anything and full of witty comments"
…...
Dinner was a noisy affair, Mollie vying hard for Matthew's attention. She was on best behaviour, under threat of no sweets, no tv and no Grandpa if she misbehaved. Kate needn't have worried, she obviously intended to only show Matthew her sweet side, tonight anyway.
They had played Monopoly after, Kate trying to get into the swing of it, but it wasn't something she enjoyed. She was bankrupt before long and excused herself to bath Rosie and put her to bed.
"Come on you" she picked the infant from Don's lap where he'd been holding her, constantly pulling things out of her hands as she tried to shove them in her mouth.
Rosie arched her back in protest, holding her arms back out to Don and whining. She rarely cried properly, but she was a Flack, she made her feelings known.
"Come on" Kate cajoled, tickling her. Rosie started to smile again. If DJ took after Don, and Mollie Kate, then Rosie was bang in the middle. She could let rip when she wanted to, but seemed to have inherited the best from both their characters, and was incurably inquisitive.
"Wave night night" Kate urged and she did, pink cheeks and drooping eyelids watched them over Kate's shoulder as she was carried from the room, still waving her hand.
On her return she heard Don speaking sharply, quickening her step to the lounge she saw DJ and Matthew to one side, both looking like they'd rather be anywhere else, and Don crouched in front of Mollie, who had a thundercloud expression and tears running down her face.
"Now stop" she heard him say "You are being silly, it's far too late for you to be out, you stay here with mommy"
"Mommy!" she sobbed "Daddy is...is taking M-Matthew home and D-DJ get's to go and I d-don't! It's not fair!"
Kate gave Don a sharp look which he ignored "Come on Mollie" Kate said quietly "Me and you can have a bath and snuggle in mommy's bed until they get back?"
The devastated look on his daughters face broke Don's heart as she nodded and took Kate's outstretched hand.
"I'll be back soon" Don told her, still ignoring Kate. He'd seen her face and knew she wasn't impressed with how he'd dealt with things.
"Will you come to see me again?" Mollie's big brown eyes pleaded with Matthew.
"If you'd like" he said kindly "I had a lot of fun today"
"Yes!" she said immediately "Can he mommy?"
"Of course" Kate assured her "Any time he wants"
"Thank you" Matthew said "And thank you for dinner"
"You're welcome" she told him, sincerely. She had spent most of the day thinking how much of a big deal this must have been for him. It would have been for anyone, never mind a fourteen year old. But he'd handled it well, and had been very natural, he didn't retreat into his shell or put up a front, he was who he was. And they liked him.
"Sorry" Don whispered as he walked past her "I didn't think"
"It's fine" Kate swallowed the bit of resentment she felt, he was right, it was too late for Mollie to be out, but she felt he could have handled it better.
She reached up and kissed him on the cheek "Well done, you did great today" she whispered, rewarded by a wonderful smile.