End Week 22
"Fawkes. This is gettin' ridiculous. Will you just admit...."
"No." Darien growled as he pulled a sixth pair of pants from his dresser and unsuccessfully attempted to get them on.
"We both knew this day had to come, partner. It's time."
"No! It can't be!" Darien wailed, dropping to the edge of the bed and clutching the pair of pants as if it were a stuffed toy he couldn't bear to lose. "There has to be something here I still fit into!"
"Sure. At six an' a half months pregnant an' considerin' those butt- huggin' pants you love so much? Good luck. This is too depressin' even for me. I'll be in the van."
"I'm not doin' this. I won't."
"Your other choice is walkin' around in your birthday suit, an' even though I'm pretty sure the hookers on the corner wouldn't mind, I don't wanna see it. So. Are you callin' Claire or am I?"
"Bobby...."
"Fine. I'll tell her. Hey, Claire!"
Bobby strolled out of the room and caught up with Claire in the kitchen.
"Are you boys ready? We'll all be late if we don't get going soon."
"We're takin' the day off. It finally happened."
"Oh, no. He must be so upset."
"That's puttin' it mildly. Will you make our excuses to Eberts an' the Fish? Don't tell 'em the real story. The poor guy'll never live it down."
"Of course. Give Darien my condolences."
"I will. Thanks."
"No problem."
When Bobby re-entered the bedroom, Darien was back at his fruitless quest to find something to wear.
"Man, give it up, will ya? I got us the day off. We're goin' shoppin' for maternity clothes an' that's final. I know you remember what keepie said about wearin' anything too tight around your belly...."
"Stop it! Just go and leave me here to wallow in my freakish misery."
"Don't think so. Today is not a wallowin' day. It's a shoppin' day." Bobby informed his despondent partner as he safety-pinned the waist of Darien's pants together, pulled his shirt over it to hide the correction and proceeded to drag him out of the house.
"It's too soon! I don't need maternity clothes yet!"
"Did you manage to even come close to buttonin' *anything* you tried this mornin'?"
"No, but...."
"Then shut up an' get in the van."
"I can't go out like this! I look like I swallowed a watermelon whole! How can I walk into a store...."
"Will you relax? I got a story all prepared...."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Good morning, gentlemen. Can I.... ah, help you?"
"Trust me, I know it looks a little weird. It's one of those empathy things? He didn't dare ask his wife what size she is now so he figured if he put this thing on, them bein' near the same height an' build, he could get the right size clothes an' avoid upsettin' her, ya know?"
"Of course, What a clever idea. Well, what can I show you today? We have a fine selection of dresses and skirts..."
Darien immediately jumped in.
"Not exactly what I was thinkin'. There are times she's more macho than I am. Pants, maybe?"
"Pants it is. If you'll follow me?"
"Right behind you." Bobby replied, grinning proudly at Darien's quick thinking.
A little over an hour later, the two had selected several items both agreed on and one or two only Bobby liked but which the younger man had given in on to make Hobbes happy. The one Bobby currently held in his hands, however, Darien was adamantly opposed to and was not shy about saying so, though he kept his voice lowered so only Bobby would hear.
"I have never worn an elastic waistband in my life and I'm not startin' now! Buttons and/or zippers an' that's it!"
"It only makes sense. It'll stretch and see you through the rest of the pregnancy probably. You won't have to keep buyin' new stuff as you gain weight."
"Gain weight. I cannot believe you just said that."
"Fawkes, I'm sorry...."
"You are such a jerk sometimes! Do you ever push the start button on your brain before you talk, huh?"
"Darien, calm down. No hormone hissy-fits in public, okay? I know. Lemme take this stuff to the counter for them to hold onto and we'll go hit the furniture section. You stay here and cool off. I'll be right back."
Eager to escape the 'Wrath Of Fawkes' as he'd begun calling it lately, Bobby grabbed the clothes they'd chosen, rushed to the counter with his request and slowly made his way back, wanting to give Darien as much time as he could. "Everything okay, now?"
"Better. I just thought of somethin', Hobbes; somethin' neither one of us realized. It came to me when you mentioned gettin' furniture for Bobbi." Darien said as they began to move toward the area where the cribs, changing tables and other pieces were on display.
His point dawned on the other man fairly quickly and Bobby suddenly frowned.
"Oh, crap. You're right. You got a one-bedroom an' so do I. I could maybe fit a highchair in my place, but anything else is a no-go."
"We can't live at Claire's forever. We're gonna have to give up our apartments."
"Yeah, we are. Man, this is gonna take a while to process. I love my apartment. I've been there ten years."
"I know. It's the first thing I ever claimed as mine that I didn't take from somebody else. I'm really proud of my place.... but we need to find a home the three of us can live in together."
"When do you wanna start lookin?"
"We better do it soon. Only three months to go."
"Three an' a half."
"Right. Two extra weeks. I'll take more time any way I can get it."
"C'mon. You're not gettin scared already. It's a ways off still."
"Scared? I'm terrified. For a long time I've done for myself, only depended on me. On the street you look out for number one or you don't survive. Now there's gonna be you an' Bobbi...."
"Hey. You ain't in this alone, kid. We'll lean on each other, depend on each other. We'll get through this just fine. What do you think about this one? The clowns too much?" Bobby asked, sensing Darien slipping into a minor funk and knowing he had to draw him back out quickly or live with his friend's distance and distraction for at least a day or two.
"A little." Fawkes replied, his eyes sliding away from the sheet set Bobby was trying to show him.
{C'mon, kid. Don't go all dark an' moody. I didn't mean it that way...}
Regretting the downward slide his comment about Darien's fear had started, Hobbes tried a second time to halt it, this time finding success.
"How about the zoo animals? Giraffes and zebras are cool an' educational."
"Over the top. I like the kittens."
"Yeah. Not bad. I like how they look real instead of cartoony, you know? A little cutesy, but babies an' cute kinda go together. I could go for that. Should we get the sheet set now and put the crib on layaway?"
"Good idea. Maybe the changing table too."
"Do they have that in the kittens?"
"I don't know. We can ask."
"There's somebody. You keep lookin' for the rest of the stuff we're gonna need later on, okay? If we can get everything in one place that's a bonus. Try an' find a highchair done in somethin' about kitties too."
{Bobby Hobbes likes cats.... every day it's something new, interesting and unbelievably strange. This is definitely something to store away for future gift-giving and blackmail purposes....} Darien chuckled to himself. {If I can't find a highchair with cats, maybe I'll give him a little surprise of my own. Little? What am I thinking? It'll knock him on his ass....}
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A few hours later, Bobby dropped Darien off at home to take a badly needed nap and took the spoils of their shopping spree to the keep to show them off to Claire.
"Yeah, so I think we picked up enough clothes today to get him through 'till she gets here." Bobby mumbled, his head stuck in a shopping bag as he rooted through it for things Claire hadn't seen yet. "Hey, check out these sheets for the crib." He announced happily, pulling them and himself out of the plastic sack with a great deal of rustling.
"Oh, how sweet. I love kittens. What a wonderful choice. I'm sure the baby will adore them."
"She won't care. Babies don't care if it's Wrestlemania sheets underneath 'em, long as they ain't sleepin' on pointy rocks or in a snake pit or somethin'."
"From what you've told me about her already, I think this baby will definitely have her own opinion. Darien should have consulted her." Claire replied off-handedly as she casually rifled through some of the items Bobby had laid out on the admin. chair. "These were a good choice. The stretch waistband will keep them in his wardrobe right up to the baby's arrival I should think."
"That's what I told him, but he hated 'em. Somethin' to do with him bein' sensitive about his weight. I had to sneak 'em in when he wasn't lookin'."
"He's right where he should be as far as his weight goes. He's no heavier than any other pregnant wom.... person is at this stage. Because his body isn't constructed properly for carrying a child and because he was so thin to begin with, he might think he looks excessively heavy, but he's fine."
"Have you got the radio on?"
"Yeah, just quietly. I often do. Why?"
"Can you turn it up a little? I swear I recognize that song."
Twisting around slightly, Claire reached back and dialed up the volume on her portable radio. "Who is that? I know I've heard it before..."
"That? It's Jim Croce, isn't it?"
"Right! 'I'll have to say I..."
Bobby halted mid-sentence, a 'eureka!' look sweeping over his face.
"Bobby? What is it?"
"You keep blank tapes hangin' around don't you?"
"Video or audio?"
"Audio. I wanna... record somethin'."
"Of course. Any particular length?"
"Nah. Doesn't matter."
Curiosity dominating her expression, Claire walked to a drawer on the left side of the lab, extracted a cassette and returned.
"Here you are. If it's that one song you're interested in, I've got Jim Croce's greatest hits in my CD case over there. You can tape it on the stereo in the back of the lab."
"Yeah? Cool! Thanks."
"Do I get to know what this is all about?"
"Not yet. You'll probably know tomorrow mornin'..... 'till then it's a secret."
"Alright." She laughed softly. "You know how to use that stereo I presume?"
"I can figure it out. Thanks again."
"You're welcome, Bobby."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THAT NIGHT: DARIEN'S BEDROOM
"What the heck.... Unspoken? That's all it says. Unspoken. Sounds like the new Jewel album or somethin'."
Curious, Darien popped the cassette he'd found on his pillow into the walkman he kept by his bed and pushed play.
*Well, I know it's kinda late.
I hope I didn't wake ya,
But there's somethin' that I just gotta say.
I know you'll understand.
Every time I tried to tell you the words just came out wrong,
So I'll have to say I love ya in a song.....
Every time the time was right all the words just came out wrong,
So I'll have to say I love ya in a song.....*
Tears streaming down his cheeks, Darien had trouble seeing well enough to stop the player when the song ended. "Unspoken..... yeah, but you found a way, buddy. One shock after another with you.... unbelievable..."
Pushing the button that would rewind the cassette, Darien laid back on his bed and adjsuted his earphones. When the tape clicked off he pushed play again and closed his eyes against fresh tears.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
TBC.......
"Fawkes. This is gettin' ridiculous. Will you just admit...."
"No." Darien growled as he pulled a sixth pair of pants from his dresser and unsuccessfully attempted to get them on.
"We both knew this day had to come, partner. It's time."
"No! It can't be!" Darien wailed, dropping to the edge of the bed and clutching the pair of pants as if it were a stuffed toy he couldn't bear to lose. "There has to be something here I still fit into!"
"Sure. At six an' a half months pregnant an' considerin' those butt- huggin' pants you love so much? Good luck. This is too depressin' even for me. I'll be in the van."
"I'm not doin' this. I won't."
"Your other choice is walkin' around in your birthday suit, an' even though I'm pretty sure the hookers on the corner wouldn't mind, I don't wanna see it. So. Are you callin' Claire or am I?"
"Bobby...."
"Fine. I'll tell her. Hey, Claire!"
Bobby strolled out of the room and caught up with Claire in the kitchen.
"Are you boys ready? We'll all be late if we don't get going soon."
"We're takin' the day off. It finally happened."
"Oh, no. He must be so upset."
"That's puttin' it mildly. Will you make our excuses to Eberts an' the Fish? Don't tell 'em the real story. The poor guy'll never live it down."
"Of course. Give Darien my condolences."
"I will. Thanks."
"No problem."
When Bobby re-entered the bedroom, Darien was back at his fruitless quest to find something to wear.
"Man, give it up, will ya? I got us the day off. We're goin' shoppin' for maternity clothes an' that's final. I know you remember what keepie said about wearin' anything too tight around your belly...."
"Stop it! Just go and leave me here to wallow in my freakish misery."
"Don't think so. Today is not a wallowin' day. It's a shoppin' day." Bobby informed his despondent partner as he safety-pinned the waist of Darien's pants together, pulled his shirt over it to hide the correction and proceeded to drag him out of the house.
"It's too soon! I don't need maternity clothes yet!"
"Did you manage to even come close to buttonin' *anything* you tried this mornin'?"
"No, but...."
"Then shut up an' get in the van."
"I can't go out like this! I look like I swallowed a watermelon whole! How can I walk into a store...."
"Will you relax? I got a story all prepared...."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Good morning, gentlemen. Can I.... ah, help you?"
"Trust me, I know it looks a little weird. It's one of those empathy things? He didn't dare ask his wife what size she is now so he figured if he put this thing on, them bein' near the same height an' build, he could get the right size clothes an' avoid upsettin' her, ya know?"
"Of course, What a clever idea. Well, what can I show you today? We have a fine selection of dresses and skirts..."
Darien immediately jumped in.
"Not exactly what I was thinkin'. There are times she's more macho than I am. Pants, maybe?"
"Pants it is. If you'll follow me?"
"Right behind you." Bobby replied, grinning proudly at Darien's quick thinking.
A little over an hour later, the two had selected several items both agreed on and one or two only Bobby liked but which the younger man had given in on to make Hobbes happy. The one Bobby currently held in his hands, however, Darien was adamantly opposed to and was not shy about saying so, though he kept his voice lowered so only Bobby would hear.
"I have never worn an elastic waistband in my life and I'm not startin' now! Buttons and/or zippers an' that's it!"
"It only makes sense. It'll stretch and see you through the rest of the pregnancy probably. You won't have to keep buyin' new stuff as you gain weight."
"Gain weight. I cannot believe you just said that."
"Fawkes, I'm sorry...."
"You are such a jerk sometimes! Do you ever push the start button on your brain before you talk, huh?"
"Darien, calm down. No hormone hissy-fits in public, okay? I know. Lemme take this stuff to the counter for them to hold onto and we'll go hit the furniture section. You stay here and cool off. I'll be right back."
Eager to escape the 'Wrath Of Fawkes' as he'd begun calling it lately, Bobby grabbed the clothes they'd chosen, rushed to the counter with his request and slowly made his way back, wanting to give Darien as much time as he could. "Everything okay, now?"
"Better. I just thought of somethin', Hobbes; somethin' neither one of us realized. It came to me when you mentioned gettin' furniture for Bobbi." Darien said as they began to move toward the area where the cribs, changing tables and other pieces were on display.
His point dawned on the other man fairly quickly and Bobby suddenly frowned.
"Oh, crap. You're right. You got a one-bedroom an' so do I. I could maybe fit a highchair in my place, but anything else is a no-go."
"We can't live at Claire's forever. We're gonna have to give up our apartments."
"Yeah, we are. Man, this is gonna take a while to process. I love my apartment. I've been there ten years."
"I know. It's the first thing I ever claimed as mine that I didn't take from somebody else. I'm really proud of my place.... but we need to find a home the three of us can live in together."
"When do you wanna start lookin?"
"We better do it soon. Only three months to go."
"Three an' a half."
"Right. Two extra weeks. I'll take more time any way I can get it."
"C'mon. You're not gettin scared already. It's a ways off still."
"Scared? I'm terrified. For a long time I've done for myself, only depended on me. On the street you look out for number one or you don't survive. Now there's gonna be you an' Bobbi...."
"Hey. You ain't in this alone, kid. We'll lean on each other, depend on each other. We'll get through this just fine. What do you think about this one? The clowns too much?" Bobby asked, sensing Darien slipping into a minor funk and knowing he had to draw him back out quickly or live with his friend's distance and distraction for at least a day or two.
"A little." Fawkes replied, his eyes sliding away from the sheet set Bobby was trying to show him.
{C'mon, kid. Don't go all dark an' moody. I didn't mean it that way...}
Regretting the downward slide his comment about Darien's fear had started, Hobbes tried a second time to halt it, this time finding success.
"How about the zoo animals? Giraffes and zebras are cool an' educational."
"Over the top. I like the kittens."
"Yeah. Not bad. I like how they look real instead of cartoony, you know? A little cutesy, but babies an' cute kinda go together. I could go for that. Should we get the sheet set now and put the crib on layaway?"
"Good idea. Maybe the changing table too."
"Do they have that in the kittens?"
"I don't know. We can ask."
"There's somebody. You keep lookin' for the rest of the stuff we're gonna need later on, okay? If we can get everything in one place that's a bonus. Try an' find a highchair done in somethin' about kitties too."
{Bobby Hobbes likes cats.... every day it's something new, interesting and unbelievably strange. This is definitely something to store away for future gift-giving and blackmail purposes....} Darien chuckled to himself. {If I can't find a highchair with cats, maybe I'll give him a little surprise of my own. Little? What am I thinking? It'll knock him on his ass....}
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A few hours later, Bobby dropped Darien off at home to take a badly needed nap and took the spoils of their shopping spree to the keep to show them off to Claire.
"Yeah, so I think we picked up enough clothes today to get him through 'till she gets here." Bobby mumbled, his head stuck in a shopping bag as he rooted through it for things Claire hadn't seen yet. "Hey, check out these sheets for the crib." He announced happily, pulling them and himself out of the plastic sack with a great deal of rustling.
"Oh, how sweet. I love kittens. What a wonderful choice. I'm sure the baby will adore them."
"She won't care. Babies don't care if it's Wrestlemania sheets underneath 'em, long as they ain't sleepin' on pointy rocks or in a snake pit or somethin'."
"From what you've told me about her already, I think this baby will definitely have her own opinion. Darien should have consulted her." Claire replied off-handedly as she casually rifled through some of the items Bobby had laid out on the admin. chair. "These were a good choice. The stretch waistband will keep them in his wardrobe right up to the baby's arrival I should think."
"That's what I told him, but he hated 'em. Somethin' to do with him bein' sensitive about his weight. I had to sneak 'em in when he wasn't lookin'."
"He's right where he should be as far as his weight goes. He's no heavier than any other pregnant wom.... person is at this stage. Because his body isn't constructed properly for carrying a child and because he was so thin to begin with, he might think he looks excessively heavy, but he's fine."
"Have you got the radio on?"
"Yeah, just quietly. I often do. Why?"
"Can you turn it up a little? I swear I recognize that song."
Twisting around slightly, Claire reached back and dialed up the volume on her portable radio. "Who is that? I know I've heard it before..."
"That? It's Jim Croce, isn't it?"
"Right! 'I'll have to say I..."
Bobby halted mid-sentence, a 'eureka!' look sweeping over his face.
"Bobby? What is it?"
"You keep blank tapes hangin' around don't you?"
"Video or audio?"
"Audio. I wanna... record somethin'."
"Of course. Any particular length?"
"Nah. Doesn't matter."
Curiosity dominating her expression, Claire walked to a drawer on the left side of the lab, extracted a cassette and returned.
"Here you are. If it's that one song you're interested in, I've got Jim Croce's greatest hits in my CD case over there. You can tape it on the stereo in the back of the lab."
"Yeah? Cool! Thanks."
"Do I get to know what this is all about?"
"Not yet. You'll probably know tomorrow mornin'..... 'till then it's a secret."
"Alright." She laughed softly. "You know how to use that stereo I presume?"
"I can figure it out. Thanks again."
"You're welcome, Bobby."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THAT NIGHT: DARIEN'S BEDROOM
"What the heck.... Unspoken? That's all it says. Unspoken. Sounds like the new Jewel album or somethin'."
Curious, Darien popped the cassette he'd found on his pillow into the walkman he kept by his bed and pushed play.
*Well, I know it's kinda late.
I hope I didn't wake ya,
But there's somethin' that I just gotta say.
I know you'll understand.
Every time I tried to tell you the words just came out wrong,
So I'll have to say I love ya in a song.....
Every time the time was right all the words just came out wrong,
So I'll have to say I love ya in a song.....*
Tears streaming down his cheeks, Darien had trouble seeing well enough to stop the player when the song ended. "Unspoken..... yeah, but you found a way, buddy. One shock after another with you.... unbelievable..."
Pushing the button that would rewind the cassette, Darien laid back on his bed and adjsuted his earphones. When the tape clicked off he pushed play again and closed his eyes against fresh tears.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
TBC.......