Happily Ever After
Chapter 11
The next morning little Robyn woke up early with her parents. While Jo was getting Robyn sorted for the day Virgil decided that he wanted to call Scott and John to ask their advice on what Jeff had spoken to him about the other night. It's not that Virgil was unsure about taking the role he just needed to hear his brothers tell him that he could handle it
"Virgil Tracy calling Scott and John Tracy come in guys." He was sure that his voice betrayed a little of the desperation that he felt.
"Hey Virg how is everything going over there?" asked John as he answered the phone.
"Hey what can we do for you?" Scott chimed in over the line.
"I really need some advice from you two; honestly I don't know what to think." Hearing their brothers sighing voice the pair instantly felt their brotherly instincts kicking in.
"Okay Virg what's the problem?" Scott knew that there was a problem, he just knew.
"Well Dad wants me to take over Tracy Crop while I am over here and to be honest I don't know if I can handle it along with looking after Jo at the same time. Dad did say that I could work from home if needed but I don-" It was obvious that Virgil was beginning to panic.
"Okay Virgil just calm down for a minute." Right now the best thing to do was to get his brother relaxed. "I think that Dad wants to keep you busy while you both are waiting on the twins to arrive. He would never have asked you if he thought that you couldn't do it. You will be fine with it plus you will have me, Dad or John if you run into trouble."
"So you both think that I should do it then?"
"Why not Virg if you can handle Thunderbird 2 then you can handle Tracy Crop for a couple of months. Did Dad say how long it will be for?" John jumped back into the conversation.
"He said for the remaining four months, due to Jo's pregnancy being high risk she can't return to the island." Of course that was the other issue their younger brother was facing.
"We have every faith in you bro; we believe that you can do this. If you need a day off I am sure one of us can come over if we aren't busy with IR. This may be a weird idea but why don't you ask Mom to move in with you? That way if you want a day off then Mom could take over and give you a break." said John with a thoughtful glance into the air.
"It's a nice idea guys but Jo said it herself that she doesn't need babysitting. Yes I have asked her about it and well it didn't go down too well. It would be nice to have Mom about, it would certainly help to ease my mind about Jo being on her own but she just won't have it."
"You can talk Jo about it again can't you?" Scott sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his fingers.
"Yeah I can have another go at it and see what happens, not that I'm expecting much." Jo was one of the most stubborn women that Virgil knew. Once she had her mind set on something it was very difficult to change her mind.
"Okay Virg we better let you go and spend some time with Robyn and Jo. Don't panic you can do this." Said John as he tried to comfort his brother once again.
"Before I go guys there is something I think you should know. Dad is giving Mom another chance but they're taking things slowly. Mom may want to see you John so if you get a call from Dad asking you to put five on Auto for a couple of days you know the reason for it." Virgil only thought it was fair to warn his brothers of the recent development. Part of him thought he should wait for his parents to tell them about it but he knew that his brothers would appreciate the heads up.
"Thanks for the warning. Scott do we let Gordon and Alan know about Mom or keep it between us?" asked John.
"Na I would keep it between us for now and give them both a shock when Mom arrives in the island."
"Well I better go here guys and thanks for the advice." He had to admit that he felt a whole lot better than before. Knowing that he had his brother's support meant a lot, knowing he had their trust meant a whole lot more.
"No worries. You know where we are if you need us."
Down stairs Lucy is getting breakfast ready for everyone, while Jo and Robyn are getting dressed. Jeff was sitting on the sofa enjoying a cup of coffee when Virgil came walking into the living room.
"Well son did you enjoy your sleep?" Asked Jeff
"I did thank Dad; I called Scott and John this morning wanting their advice on Tracy Crop. They think that I do it, if I am really honest Dad I just needed to hear their voices telling me that I can."
"You will do fine with it son, it will take a while to get into the swing of things but once you have I've no doubt in my mind that you can do a fantastic job." Jeff knew that what he spoke was the truth. He never would have offered his son the position if he didn't know with all his heart that the lad could do it justice.
While Jeff and Virgil were talking in the living room. Jo and Lucy were in the kitchen where Jeff had left his laptop open for the girls to see.
"You know what Jo I have an idea, did you say that Jeff is going to let Virgil take over Tracy Crop?" asked Lucy with a cheeky grin on her face.
"Lucy what are you thinking?" Jo queried, unable to help but match the grin with one of her own.
"This is what I am thinking." Quickly she taps away at the laptop. Going into Jeff emails she pulls up all his contracts and writes on the subject box MY EARLY RETIRMENT.
"You are not?" Jo couldn't believe what her mother-in-law was doing.
"That is what I am thinking of doing, it will be good for Jeff to get a rest from the business and more time with his family. He needs to get to know Laura and Holly now."
"Speaking of which were they?"
"Holly has Laura back at her apartment but both girls are going to meet me and you for some lunch today along with Robyn before we go back to the island. You know me, Holly and Laura are always about if you ever need us." It was a difficult subject for Jo, more awkward than anything.
"I know Lucy thanks, so have you sent the emails then?" asked Jo as she attempted to change the subject whilst she set up breakfast.
"Oh yeah I sent the emails from Jeff's account."
"I am telling you now that you are who Gordon gets it from now. He is the joker among your boys but he has a soft heart for Robyn. Everywhere Gordon goes Robyn wants to go with him. He is a great uncle and so are the others. I am a bit worried about Alan he doesn't want to spend any time with her at all. The only time he spent with her was when she lost her teddy bear." Jo knew that the youngest brother loved his neice, that much was obvious, but he seemed to want to put as much distance between himself and her as he could.
"I think that is something that we need to work on with Alan." said Lucy as Jeff, Virgil and Robyn walked into the kitchen looking for their breakfast. Half an hour later Lucy takes Jo out to do some shopping asking Virgil to come along to carry their bags. This leaves Jeff in the apartment on his own and he gives Scott a call to check that everything is okay back at the island.
"Jeff Tracy calling Scott Tracy comes in Scott"
"Hey Dad is there anything wrong?"
"No son just calling to check that everything is alright and to let you that your Mother and I are coming back to the island with your two sisters. We will be leaving this evening so should be back by early morning." Scott nodded his head at his dad's words, before remembering that his dad couldn't see him.
"Okay Dad anything else?"
"Yes could you call John and tell him to put five on Auto? I want him home for a couple of days to see your Mother." Scott rolled his eyes as Jeff spoke. Thanks for the warning Virgil.
"Dad does Mom know anything about IR?" It was a question that had been running through his brain for a while now. How much had his father told her about the operation? Had he told her anything at all?
"I don't know. I haven't told her anything but I think she knows that something is going on, it won't take her long to work this out. Can you make sure that everything is on operation cover up for us arriving? I don't fancy explaining to your Mother about IR when we get here." Jeff did not want to have to answer those questions before he'd had chance to explain it in his own words.
"Are you planning on telling her Dad?"
"I will Scott but in my own time." A small part of his brain disagreed with this but Jeff shrugged it off.