Chapter 25

XXXXXXX

Martin sat on the sofa checking his email while the kids played on the living room rug. He scrolled through his messages. Most of it was either stuff related to running, political campaigns, or promotional stuff. He stopped when he spotted a message from his older sister, Parker. The subject line read: Mom and Dad's Anniversary Party. He clicked open the message. Her message was that she had found a picture from their parent's anniversary party and she thought that he and Sam might want to see them. There were five attachments and he clicked on the first one.

One: His father and mother on the dance floor as all their family and friends watched.

Two: His father sitting on a chair saying something into Nate's ear, like a secret. There is a big wide smile on his son's face.

Three: Sam and his mother standing near the piano sharing a laugh as Grace stood between them, looking up at them.

Four: The entire family standing at the bottom of the stairs. At the top stood his sister, Parker and her husband, Curtis where they were flanked by their two teenage daughters, Amy and Olivia. Then just below them stood, his younger sister Reese, her husband Scott and their daughter, Claire. In the center stood Victor and Katherine, looking older but very distinguished and vital. In front of them, looking antsy, were Nate and Grace as Martin and Sam stood just to Victor's right. It was a great photograph of the Fitzgerald family, everyone looking happy and content.

He smiled at the photos remembering that is was a nice weekend that gave him a chance to spend some time with his parents.

XoX

The caterer had packed up, the house cleaned up, and Martin sat with his mom and dad in the living room having a nightcap. Sam was upstairs putting the kids to bed. He offered to help but she insisted that he spend some time with his folks before they had to head home early the next morning.

He swirled his warmed brandy and listened as his parents discussed the party.

"I can't believe how much work you kids put into this party," Katherine said as she toed off her high heels. She was still dressed in a lovely pale gold silk Chanel dress.

"Don't thank me," Martin replied as he loosened his tie. "Parker did almost everything. Reese and I offered but you know Parker…"

His mom laughed lightly and said, "I adore her but she is a bit of a control freak." She took a sip of her brandy. "In any case, it was a great party and I thank all of you."

Victor yawned and reached over with the poker to stoke the fire. "I saw Mildred spent quite a bit of time talking to Joe Bridges."

"She's trying to snag husband number five," Katherine replied as she lifted up her brandy glass, watching the color dance against the soft light of the fireplace. "Did you notice that she had another eye job? That poor woman is never going to be happy if she thinks it can be found in a mirror."

From where he was lounging in his leather armchair, he looked over at her and said, "I thought she was fishing for compliments."

Martin slumped down, one hand on the back of the sofa and the other holding the brandy. "She looked the same to me? How can you tell?"

His mom smiled at him and said, "Oh, my dear, Mildred isn't subtle. You just have to know her code words." Martin looked at her questioningly and she explained, "When Mildred asks if you like her new eye shadow or contacts, that means she had her eyes done. If she mentions her new lipstick, collagen; earrings mean face lift; and so on. It's just so tragic."

"What's tragic?" Sam asked as she came to join them. She sat down next to Martin, leaning her body against his so she could rest her head on his shoulder. She took the glass from him and took a sip.

"Mildred Hunter," Victor contributed.

"Mom and dad are discussing whether or not she had another round of cosmetic surgery," Martin shared, wanting to catch her up.

"She did look like the kind of woman who personally paid for her surgeons summer house," Sam commented, settling her frame into his. "I can't say I blame her. I might want to down the line."

Katherine leaned forward and set her gaze on Sam. "My darling, you are so lovely that there is nothing a surgeon can do to improve upon your looks."

Sam smiled shyly and said, "Coming from you Katherine, I take that as the highest compliment."

"Thank you, honey," Katherine said with a laugh as she stood up. "I'm heading up to bed." She stepped over and bussed Sam's cheek. "It has been a long, busy," she kissed Martin on the cheek, "but completely wonderful day and I am exhausted."

"I think I'll head up as well," Victor said as he finished his brandy and stood up. He nodded at them both and said, "Goodnight. See you in the morning." He wrapped his arm around Katherine and the two of them started out.

"Night," they both said as his dad wrapped his arm around Katherine and started upstairs.

Sam sighed against him and he pulled her closer as they stared at the crackling fire. He glanced at her and could see her face looking pensive so he asked, "What?"

With her eyes still on the fire she said, "I was just thinking how lucky you are to have Katherine and Victor as your parents. Married for fifty years and still affectionate." She turned her head and planted a soft kiss on his lips and finished, "And how lucky I am that I married you so I get to be a part of this family, too."

XoX

Martin saved the photo to his hard drive when he heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" Grace shouted as she made a mad dash for the front door.

"Freeze!" Martin shouted, stopping the little girl in her tracks as he closed the distance between them. "It's almost eight-thirty at night and there is no way my five year should be answering the door in her pajamas."

He motioned for her to stand back in the doorway, an evident pout on her small face, while he looked through the peephole to see who would be coming by unannounced this late on a weekday. He still couldn't believe that since becoming a father eight-thirty became a late hour for visitors. When he saw who was on the other side a slight sense of panic appeared in his chest.

As he turned the doorknob he looked over his shoulder to see Grace and Nate watching him, curious to see who their visitor was, and with a smile on his face he answered, Hi, Kelly. What are you doing here?"

She smiled broadly at him. "Hi, Marty, I'm sorry to come by so late but I just got back to town and wanted to bring by a little something as a sort of thank you for all you did to help find Monica." She held up two large colorful shopping bags stuffed with tissue paper and the handles tied up with colorful ribbon.

"You really shouldn't have gotten me anything," he replied.

"I didn't," she said with a coy smile. "These are for Grace and Nate."

"Who is it daddy?" Grace asked as she appeared by his side.

"You must be Grace," Kelly said to the excited little girl. "You're just as pretty as your picture."

He smiled at Grace and said, "Sweetie, say hello to Miss Grant."

"Hi," Grace said as she tugged on her pajama top. "Are you coming inside?"

Kelly looked at Martin questioningly and he knew that there was no way to keep this as a simple exchange in the doorway so he stepped back and motioned for her to enter. She moved into the living room as Nate and Grace eagerly eyed the bags as they bounced alongside Kelly, watching her with great interest.

Kelly sat down on the sofa as Grace, wide eyed, asked, "How do you know my dad?"

She looked up at him and softly said, "We're old friends."

"Yeah, friends," Martin concurred as he sat down on the chair opposite of Kelly.

He watched as Nate placed a hand on the bag and tried to peek inside. He was about to correct him when Kelly announced the bags were gifts for the kids, handing each of them one.

Grace had an excited grin on her face as she snatched the bag and yanked out all of the tissue paper, tossing it over her head so she could see what booty Kelly brought them. She reached into the bag and pulled out a large stuff panda bear, a handful of DVDs, and some games. Grace studied the panda bear and exclaimed, "It's Ping! Look daddy! It's Ping!" She held it up to show Martin when she saw Nate pull out his own panda bear. "And Nate got Pong!"

He picked up one of the DVDs and saw the cover of the cartoon he had gotten to know really well. Pantastic Voyage was an animated cartoon about a panda bear born and raised in the Washington National Zoo but suddenly transplanted to a wildlife sanctuary in China where she meets Pong and falls in love. A sort of east meets west, fish out of water film in which Kelly provided the voice of Ping.

He knew for a fact that the DVD wasn't set for release until next week so she must have given them an advanced copy. He gave the movie back to Grace and said, "What do you have to say to Miss Grant?"

"Thank you," both kids replied in sing-song obligatory tone.

"Seriously Kelly, this is incredibly generous of you."

"It's nothing," she replied, as she watched the kids happily examining their unexpected windfall. She reached into her purse and handed him a manila envelope. "And this is for you and the entire family."

Unsure, he took the envelope and poured the contents onto his lap. There were plastic badges attached to neck cords and when he looked at one of them more closely he saw they were passes to the movie premiere of the films sequel, Pandamonium. "Wow, Kelly, you really shouldn't have."

"It's really no big deal, Marty," she replied as he reached over and ran her hand over Nate's hair. "As one of the voices we get all this free stuff and since your kids are about the right age I thought you might like to take them."

He put the badges back in the envelope and said, "Well, thank you. I'm sure Sam would thank you as well if she were home right now."

Kelly lowered her eyes, leaning forward and reading the back of the DVD cover. "So, where is your wife?"

"She's at her book club," Grace interjected. While the statement was harmless, Grace decided to pick this particular time to mimic the gesture he would usually do when he poked fun at Sam's book club. When a grown man mimes someone taking a drink it is funny but when a five year old does it, well, it just looks like bad parenting.

Kelly raised an eyebrow and looked at Martin, who smiled nervously and said, "It's not really like that. She's just having dinner with friends."

"Uh-huh," she replied as she glanced around the living room. He followed her gaze, wondering how his home would look in her eyes. It was a in bit of disarray, kids books, toys and shoes littered the living room floor but if she looked beyond that she would see a rather stylish home. Sam had a great eye for furniture that was hip but eclectic, mixing and matching pieces to give their home a comfy but elegant look.

Grace hopped up holding the DVD and asked, "Can we watch the movie?"

"Yeah!" Nate chimed in, hopping up and down.

Kelly smiled at him and asked, "Can we dad?"

He considered his options. He could follow the normal routine, tell the kids that it was past their bedtime and insist that they go to sleep. However, that scenario left him alone with Kelly and if Sam came home he was pretty sure that would not go over well. But if she came home to find Kelly sitting in their living room, harmlessly watching a children's movie with the kids, well, he was pretty sure he stood a better chance when explanation time came. So he stood up, clapped his hands and said, "We can watch until mom gets home."