Hey all, I hope everyone is staying safe right now. And with all this extra time on my hands, I have had a bit more time to write. And as you can see this one got a bit long, and I had planned more but it didn't make the cut.
The first good size chunk of this chapter does come from Alabama Boys, and the second part does come from 61 Candles. Italics at the end is the song Meatball sang at Brick's surprise party.
The plot is mine, and the rest belongs to their rightful owners.
Enjoy!
"Okay, here's your chance to see the 28-week fetus in 2-D. All the organs, inside and out. Don't worry, I'll talk you through everything," Zoe said, looking at Wade as the doctor placed some cool gel onto her stomach, clearing her throat.
"Talking through everything is supposed to be my job. Your job is to sit back and relax," their doctor stated, moving the wand around on Zoe's stomach to get a clear view of their baby.
"Explaining medical mumbo jumbo is how she relaxes," Wade informed the doctor; he's sat through his fair share of it over the last few weeks. It was the only way to get her to relax when she got herself overworked over anything, really.
"He's right. That is true," Zoe nodded, her focus on the small screen holding the view of their baby. She needed to be relaxed, right now.
"Then knock yourself out, Dr. Wilkes," their doctor told them, sitting back, letting the mother take the lead.
"There's the heart. All four ventricles pumping strong," Zoe said, reaching for Wade's hand to hold. "There's the spleen. Looks healthy. The small intestine. And there's... There's the..." She paused, gently squeezing Wade's hand. They had just talked about being on the same page on finding out the gender of their baby and this right, here is the moment they have been holding off on.
"What? There's the what?" Wade asked, looking from the screen to his fiancée, getting worked up over what could possibly be wrong with their baby.
"The penis," Zoe told him, watching him from the corner of her eye.
"My baby has a penis?" Wade asked, getting excited over having a little boy to do things with, working things out in his head that he could do with once his son got old enough to do certain things.
"Wait... is that his... ?" Wade's in the process of saying, looking intently at the screen, trying to find each body part on his own, and he's having a hard time in doing that.
"Yeah, that's his arm, Wade," Zoe told him, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles, knowing how complicated and how much of a blob the scan can be for anyone.
"A boy?" He asked dazed, wrapping his head around the fact in two months time he's going to be a father to a little boy.
"A boy," Zoe confirmed, putting her shirt down once the goop was wiped off her stomach. Her fears easily rooting place in her mind.
She was ready to raise a girl, because that would be easy for. She didn't know the first thing about raising a boy. And she wasn't quite sure Wade knew what he was getting himself into either when it came to raising a boy in the country over raising one in New York.
"I am woman enough to admit that I have no idea what we're doing or how to raise a boy," Zoe confessed on the car ride home, looking at the sonogram picture.
"I and you both, Zo," Wade sighed. "In over my head," he told her. "Though I am sure we can figure it all out as we go." That he believed.
"I don't doubt that, Wade," she told him. "I still want to be prepared to some degree," she told him.
"You have your dad in town; Jesse and Calla can be of some help," Wade told her.
"They could be off assistance,"Zoe hummed, scrolling through her phone and sending messages to George and Lavon.
"What are you up to?" Wade asked, seeing her face scrunch up in an annoyed sort of way.
"Trying to gather the troops," Zoe huffed out, sending one last message in the hopes they would come through for them. "We need a crash course in raising an Alabama boy," she stated.
"I think you're being a bit crazy about this, but for the fun of it I'll play along with you and see what the big difference is of raising an Alabama boy as you say," Wade chuckled.
"Don't you get it, Wade?" She asked him. "You know how to grow up in the city knowing the ins and outs of what a boy can and can't do on the streets of New York, Bluebell is a lot different, and you're going to be more lost than I will be," she told him.
"How so?" Wade asked her, nearing the welcome to Bluebell sign. He did remember some of his time of being a little kid, and he's certain that he can raise a boy; he just needs to stay connected to the inner boy in himself.
"Let's see, do you know what mud-doggin' is?" Zoe asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm going to guess that it has nothing to do with the version I played with filling a cup up with half soda and half liquor of choice and walk around the city drinking it, which results in a lot of…"
"Yeah I can get the jist of that," Zoe quickly cut him off. "And no that's way off, as this one involves real mud. See you know very little about raising a country boy and can use the help as well," she stated.
"You may have a point," he frowned, pulling into their driveway seeing the three sitting on their front lawn. "But those three?" He questioned. "What can Tom, Rudy and Meatball, teach us?" He asked with a sigh.
"Disgusting stuff I'm sure of, but I think you can do this solo as you're more than likely going to be the one playing in the mud with him," Zoe said pawning the activities off on him.
"That's low even for you," he remarked, getting out of the car.
"Who wants to be the one to explain why I was pulled away from my music?" Meatball asked clearly annoyed.
"Zoe, mind explaining it to them?" Wade asked with a smirk. And he didn't know if Zoe was going to let the lid off, they were having a baby boy.
"I have asked you here today because Lavon and George refused. Also because you epitomize real Alabama men," Zoe started to say, looking at the three men seated before her and Wade.
"I resent that implication," Meatball said, getting upset with what Zoe was saying.
"I only epitomize with the ladies," Rudy Truitt stated with a smirk, getting Zoe and Wade to roll their eyes at him.
"No, n... no. No, sh... she's calling us rugged and manly," Tom explained happily, adjusting the hat on his head, far more interested in what he was needed for now.
"As you know, we're not rushing out to tell the whole town of Bluebell what we're having," Zoe started to say, Wade taking over.
"Wade grew up in New York, and that's a totally different place for a child to grow up than out here in the mud and dirt, and if we happen to have a boy, I'm going to need some down and dirty Alabama boy immersion, for Wade," Zoe told them.
"Who's in? For free beer," he told them, sweetening the pot for them to agree. Wade cringed thinking this might not be his best bet after all.
"Let's do this thing." Meatball smiled, sitting up straighter in his chair.
"Sold!" Rudy exclaimed, free beer is free beer, and you can't be passing that offer up.
"Oh, and free goat treats," Zoe said, nodding at Tom.
"Yeah!" Tom exclaimed, happy about the goat treats, you can never have enough goat treats on hand.
Wade sighed looking at the worm and hook in Meatball's hand as he taught Wade how to bait a hook. Wade rolled his eyes, because he's been fishing before and knows how to not only bait a hook but cast the line out and reel the line back in once a fish took the bait.
"Yeah, nope, can't say I am ever going to have a goat as a pet," Wade stated, eying the cute little goat Tom held in his arms.
"They make great pets," Tom told him, showering his pet goat in love.
"Not for everyone," Wade told him, walking off. If they ever decided to get a pet, it would be a dog or a cat. A barnyard animal, they weren't allowed to have a farm on the small piece of land that is theirs, and he was alright with that, because he didn't want a goat.
One look at the box Meatball had and Wade walked off. His newborn baby boy didn't need to know about anything in that box until he was 21 years old or older. Catching sight of the stuffed possum, Rudy had, he couldn't quite figure out what he needed to learn from the guy, and he learned real quick Rudy, Tom and Meatball couldn't teach him anything and perhaps he shouldn't be letting Zoe talk him into doing things like this, because maybe just maybe he could handle raising a boy in Alabama.
Now he had to convince Zoe that if anything they were only doubting themselves in their ability to raise their baby boy.
"You know; I can't wait to teach him how to throw a spiral. And tame alligators. Yeah, I'm gonna teach him about catching possums and fishing, about V-8 engines," Wade started to rattle off, forgetting, for the moment, that the two in the room with him didn't know they found out the sex of their baby, and he just told them.
"Catch a possum? When in the world did you learn how to catch one in New York?" Hunter asked him amused, not doing so well with holding his laughter back.
"Rudy taught me the other day," Wade shrugged, putting the cordless drill down. Hunter and Lavon were helping him with the nursery as they still had plenty to do. The walls were painted a light yellow color; Zoe called it a canary yellow.
"I need to see you trying to catch a possum," Hunter laughed, looking at the multiple white pieces of wood before him, that should, if built right, be the baby's crib.
"Ya know that might be a sight to see," Lavon chuckled. "I want to know if my hearing is deceiving me," he said, stopping what he was doing to look at his friend.
"You are getting up there in age, so you might need hearing aids," Wade joked, stopping what he was doing completely to look at his friends. "What?"
"You called your baby a him, that mean you and Zoe are having a boy?" Lavon asked him.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Wade denied.
"Are you kidding me?" Zoe asked, standing in the doorway. She wanted to see the progress they had made and bring them something to drink so they could take a small break. And instead of finding them hard at work, she found them standing around gossiping about their baby.
"Wha... No, uh, it's not sexist. I was gonna teach our little girl about that, too. Possums? Engines? Alligators?" Wade told her, trying to cover his tracks.
"I'm not even mad about that," she told him. George was her friend back then as well, and she knew what he got into with Meatball and his brother, it was no secret.
"Okay," Wade nodded. "I'm sorry about letting it out of the bag," he apologized to his fiancée.
"It's not that easy to keep it a secret is it?" She asked him, chewing on the corner of her lip. Wade could agree there. He's wanted to tell everyone they were having a boy.
"Who'd you tell?" He asked, an amused smile on his face.
"We brought the room decor!" Earl announced entering the room with Harley, carrying fishing equipment into the nursery.
"I tried to tell them no, but they're both so excited about having a grandson, they won't listen to a word I say, think you can try?" She asked, giving him a pout.
"I might have an idea," Wade told her. She might not like it, but it would be a compromise for all of them. Instead of having fishing poles and a fish net, they could go to the store and get kid sized fishing gear, that their kid won't harm themselves on once he gets older.
"I'll take it, maybe," she told him. "You guys can sort this out, and I'm going to the practice," she said, sharing a quick kiss with him.
"No, we're not putting that on the wall," Wade shouted, taking the fishing equipment off the wall the crib is to sit against.
Listening to Harley and Earl bickering about everything to do with their unborn grandson and Lavon and Hunter arguing about what piece goes where and what screw to use for each section has him thinking he should've joined Zoe in going to his place of work.
Unbeknownst to Wade, Zoe wasn't having a much better go of things at the practice while talking to Brick.
"Did you have that bad of a day too?" Zoe asked, joining Brick in his office.
"No," he said, having more to explain as to why he sought out the privacy his office held before it all came crashing down around him.
"I've had better," she said, cutting him off, laying back on the leather sofa. "My dad and Earl have totally high-jacked what should've been a totally normal nursery, and now it's going to be so tacky," she sighed. "And I don't think I am ready for this baby. How can I possibly be ready to be a mother when I don't know the first thing about raising a boy," she kept saying.
"Well, uh, being a better listener might help," he said. "But look... I raised two girls all alone, now, didn't I? And I managed just fine. No one's ready for parenthood, it will come to you along the way," Brick was in the process of telling her, when his youngest stormed into the office, demanding $200, pronto, saying it's for girl stuff.
"Oh, also, the little league coach from Daphne is at reception with some kid. You guys really need to get someone to fill-in out there. Not me! Thank you," she told them, taking a bit more money from her father, going on her way, Brick following her out the door.
"Good to see you, too, Magnolia," Zoe muttered, leaving Brick's office, to see if she can be of some sort of assistance.
"Hey, Coach. Everything okay? There was a collision in the outfield…" the coach explained, the player telling them that her left arm hurt.
"Okay. We'll take care of that. Now, the exam room is right in here. I will be right in. Up you go. That's it…" Brick said, helping the player up.
"Hmm, you know what? Why don't you go have lunch with Magnolia? And I'll take this," Zoe told him. With Magnolia away at school, and home for a short period of time, she didn't want him to miss out on having a little more time with his daughter.
"I am Dr. Wilkes, and I am going to fix you right up," Zoe told her patient. Setting about to get everything she needed to check the little girls' arm and anywhere else it might hurt.
"Is m... my mom coming soon?" The little girl named Scarlett asked, looking every bit scared and frightened.
"You know; I left a message, but why don't I try her again, okay?" Zoe asked, walking to the phone, when the mother burst into the room. A woman who took Zoe by surprise.
"Oh, baby! You poor thing. Oh! Are you in pain?"
"A little bit. But I'm just glad you're here now."
"I... I'm Dr. Wilkes, Scarlett's left ulna is fractured. But it's a simple break. I can set it in no time," Zoe offered, trying to stay professional while fighting the awkwardness that filled the room, because she couldn't keep this from the ones that needed to know. And yet she didn't think she could be the one to announce the news of this.
"Oh, well, thank you for taking such good care of my daughter, Dr. Wilkes," she stated, realizing for the first time since entering the exam room who it was, and she really wanted to leave before anyone else saw her. "But I think we should go to the hospital." And leave this awkwardness in this room, went without saying.
"I am a surgeon. I can set that arm just as well as anyone in Mobile," Zoe stated, she didn't want Scarlett to suffer because of her mother's doings.
"Well, no offense. But I'd be more comfortable there." Zoe nodded at that statement because she'd feel more comfortable once the two of them left her office, but she wouldn't outright kick anyone from her office or exam room.
"Mom! Come on," Scarlett pleaded; she really wanted her arm to stop hurting.
"Well, obviously it's your decision. But I am excellent at setting bones. Unfortunately, or fortunately, my partner is not here right now," Zoe told her, getting her to relax some.
"Oh. Please... ? Just let Dr. Wilkes do this?" Scarlet begged her mom.
"Uh, well... all right…" she caved with a nervous laugh.
"Great! Because she's panicked about having a boy. And I was just telling her she should be! All Alabama boys are the worst. Besides Daddy," Scarlett beamed, because they had time to chat while waiting.
"Well, that's my Scarlett. Never been one to shy from the truth," Alice laughed.
"Well, we have that in common," Zoe nodded, getting everything ready to set Scarlett's arm.
"Good luck with the baby, Dr. Hart. You're gonna be a great mom," Scarlett smiled, her arm in a blue cast.
"Yes, children are life-changing. Good luck," Alice told her, in a hurry to leave Bluebell behind once again.
"Thank you," Zoe said, seeing them out.
"Dr. Hart, have you seen…" Brick said, coming to a stop seeing his past before his eyes.
"Brick, this is Scarlett and this is Mrs…" Zoe trailed off because she wasn't sure what Alice's last name is, and she's trying to make everything seem as normal as possible.
"Uh, uh... Kincaid. Nice to meet you," Alice said, putting a fake smile on as she shook Brick's hand. "Okay, baby, let's go," she said, ushering her daughter out the door.
"Brick? Are you okay?" Zoe asked, looking at a man who was lost and saw a ghost from his past.
"Was that Alice? As in... Alice, my ex-wife?" Brick asked, looking from Zoe to the door.
Zoe nodded her head, letting Brick walk off to his office. She got him a glass of water, trying to find a way to explain herself to Brick.
"Here," she said gently, handing him the glass and taking a seat next to him on the couch in his office.
"Thank you," he said, accepting the glass of water and taking a drink from it. "Well, that was a shock. Clearly, Mrs. Kincaid hadn't let her new family know about her old family. I've imagined that moment so many times inside my head but instead of saying what I have been sitting on all these years... I just shook her hand. After 15 years. She just seemed so normal," he sighed.
"If it makes you feel better I could have stabbed her with a measles vaccine," she told him, trying and succeeding in getting him to laugh. "I'm so sorry. I wanted her out of here before all of that," Zoe told him.
"I'm okay. Thank you, Zoe," he told her sincerely, giving her a side hug. "I think it goes without saying we won't mention this to Lemon and Magnolia."
"No, of course not," she easily agreed, because she didn't know how they would react, and it wasn't her place to say. That would be up to Brick. "And Brick? For what it's worth, it was her loss entirely." She could easily say that Brick was a second father to her growing up, and she couldn't imagine someone leaving him the way Alice had done.
"Hell, yeah," he laughed before sighing.
"Brick, why don't you go on home and be with your girls, and I can finish up here," she suggested more so demanded.
"And you're going to be alright here this far long in your pregnancy?" Brick asked her. He didn't want something to go wrong and for no one to be around to help her.
"I'll have Wade stop in," she said, pleasing Brick.
"If you need me to come back, don't hesitate on calling," he told her.
"Got it," she told him, going to her office to give her fiancé a call while Brick got his things in order before leaving for the night.
"So... you work for the rodeo, huh? That must be cool," Wade said, handing over the non-alcoholic beer he promised Lemon he would give the kid. Why she came to him to scare off her sister's boyfriend for; he didn't know, but it gave him some help on the whole fatherhood front.
"Ride the horses, meet the ladies. You know how it is," Chet smirked, giving Wade a lazy shrug.
"Oh, I know how it is," Wade nodded, mumbling a yeah. "But uh, you got a girlfriend now. Maybe it's time you... reform," he tried using the only tactic he could put together.
"What girlfriend are you referring to exactly?" Chet asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't do girlfriends.
"Uh, Magnolia Breeland," Wade told him. Chet chuckled, Wade mimicking his chuckle.
"I assure you; she's not my girlfriend. We're just having fun," he smirked, sitting back in his chair.
"Does she know that?"
"I'm 17 years old. I look like this," he said cockily, standing up. "Gonna live the life I was meant to."
"Yeah, well, listen, Chet... you're gonna live the life I let you live. And that means staying far, far away from Magnolia," Wade warmed him, nearly at his wits end with this Chet guy.
"What are you gonna do about it, old man?" Chet taunted, chuckling.
"Old man? Old man?" Wade asked outraged because he's not that old. "Listen, you arrogant, obnoxious little…" he trailed off, seeing a lot of himself in the kid standing before him, and he didn't like what he saw.
"Why are you staring at me? That ain't cool. I mean it. You're creeping me out."
"Don't move," he grumbled, storming out. Giving Wanda a heads up that he's stepping out for a few minutes.
"What's going on?" Zoe asked, seeing her fiancée enter the practice as she sat in the waiting room. When she called him and got no answer she thought he would call her back and not show up looking so out of sorts.
"Zoe, I am freaking out," he stressed, pacing around the waiting room.
"About what?" Zoe asked, watching him, curious to know what he was so freaked over.
"Well, I just met Chet, Magnolia's little boyfriend, this cocky, annoying little bastard who thinks he's God's gift to women cause he rides bulls at the rodeo," he huffed out, sitting in a chair next to Zoe. She took his hand, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.
"I have a feeling I know where you're going with this," Zoe sighed.
"Zoe, he's me. He's younger me. And we have to raise one of those. Doc, don't you see? Our son's gonna be a grade-A butt yank," he sighed, using his free hand to hold his head.
"Yes. Thank you for pointing out what I already knew this morning. But a little girl gave me some great advice," she told him. "Yes, Alabama men have their problems, just like everyone else. But not all of them are cocky, arrogant little shits. Some of them turn out to be nice guys. Look at our friends, Wade," she told him.
"Excellent point," he nodded, sighing. "You should have seen this kid, Zoe. He was arrogant and spoiled and…" he trailed off not wanting to think anymore of how his son could be just like him. "You know, maybe they made a mistake. Maybe there was, like, a... a freaky tail or something," he said hopefully, looking to his fiancée. "That would... that would actually be kind of cool."
"No," Zoe told him, shaking her head. It wasn't possible they made a mistake like that and no it wouldn't be cool if their kid had a weird freaky tail.
"Then we are up Christmas Creek," he sighed once more, thinking back to his ways as a kid growing up.
"We might be. But the good news is that we are in this together," she said. After having a full day to think about things and advice from different people, having a boy didn't scare her as much as it did earlier in the day. "Now, all we can do is our best, and if we just be there every day, and do the work, read, like, a zillion books, and maybe ban crossbows from our house... ... then maybe we can avoid making our own little Truitt brothers," she told him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Or Chet," he groaned out. "So bad," Wade laughed.
"So bad," Zoe laughed, leaning in for a small kiss, not wanting to get carried away at work. "You feel better now?" She asked him, pulling away from him.
"Yeah. But there is one more thing I need to do before I am all the way better," he told her, determined to help Lemon out like she wanted him to do.
"Does it involve me taking off my clothes?" She asked with a smirk, keeping the mood light.
"For once, good doctor, it does not," he laughed, pulling her in for another kiss.
The door making a small chime broke them from their small moment, Wade feeling Zoe tense up slightly, knowing that she needed him to be there with her, to face whoever the person happened to be.
"Zoe," she said, seeing Zoe and a guy she didn't know standing before her.
"Uh, Mrs. Kincaid, what... what are you doing here?" Zoe asked, feeling weird calling her Alice after everything she has done.
"Uh, I was hoping to... um, to talk with Dr. Breeland," she sighed.
"What? Why?" Zoe asked, not wanting her to storm back into her friend's life and ruin everything they have built since she left them all those years ago.
"Look, I... I had no choice but to come here today, you realize that," she sighed, getting a small nod from Zoe. "I did a... ... terrible thing. For 15 years, I've lived with that. With that guilt, but, uh... seeing Brick just made me realize that I need to explain myself. For them. Would you please just tell him I stopped by?" She asked, handing Zoe a card, making her haste exit.
"I need to see Brick," she sighed, looking at Wade.
"Did that happen to be his ex-wife?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her. Zoe nodded to confirm he was right. "Do you think it's a good idea to tell Brick?"
"No," she sighed. "But he knows that she was here," she told Wade.
Wade nodded, walking with Zoe to help her get things locked up at the practice before they made their way to Brick's place.
"I hope we're not interrupting," Zoe said, knocking on the door, before entering the porch where they sat eating their dinner.
Zoe, you can't interrupt, but you are crashing yet another Breeland family event," Lemon told her a smile on her face. "Or are you just here for the roast?" Lemon asked teasingly.
"I am hungry," she said, eyeing their roast up. "B... but um, there's a problem with a patient. And, um, Brick, I really need to consult with you," she told them, getting Brick's attention. "Sorry... but if there's any leftover roast, I am eating for two," she told them with a smile. Wade rolled his eyes waiting outside for her, having heard every word she spoke.
"What is going on?" Brick asked in a hard whisper, not wanting his girls to hear.
"Alice came by," she flatly told him, the name tasting sour in her mouth.
"What?!" Brick harshly whisper yelled.
"I don't think that she'll come to the house. Even so, I think she might want to make amends. Not that she deserves forgiveness. Because she doesn't," Zoe told him, she didn't think Alice could say anything to deserve forgiveness. "Um here's her card," Zoe said, handing him the card Alice left with her.
Brick took the card, muttering under his breath. Wade and Zoe shared a look, both feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Look, maybe I was worth leaving at the time. But... but those girls? No. You don't... You just... you stay," Brick said, getting flustered with his words. "Look, I have been there every day for those girls, and doing what parents are supposed to do. You know, just... trying your best," he sighed.
"And she can't take that away from you Brick," Wade told him. "What you do is up to you. However, now you have that option to hear her out or forget about her and fully move on," Wade told him. Brick nodded.
"We'll let you get back to your dinner," Zoe told him. "I am sorry," she told him, walking off with Wade.
"Want to eat at the Jammer, or take it home?" Wade asked, as they made their way to the Rammer Jammer.
"I want to go home and just relax for the rest of the night," Zoe told him.
"I think we can manage that," he smiled. "As long as there are no more groups of people wanting to teach me how to raise a boy," he teased her.
"Didn't go over so well did it?" She asked him.
"Yeah, uh no, it didn't," he chuckled. "If anything it made me more panicked about having a kid in general," he told her.
"I want to believe that we're going to be okay," she softly smiled.
"We might be," he softly said, kissing her head, as they entered the Jammer.
Zoe took a seat to see what was wrong with this Chet character as Wade interrupted what he was saying to a group of teenage girls, after putting in their order for takeout, and grabbing a bat from his office.
"Hey, Elvis, time for a lesson in civility," he said, resting the bat on his right shoulder.
"Whoa! We were just talking, bro," Chet said, the girls leaving the table.
"Shut up, Chet. Just shut up, okay? See, I get you. I get you deeply. But Magnolia, she's a good girl, and she is far better than all this," he stated, eyeing Chet up.
"Man, this is getting weird. You obsessed with me or something?" Chet asked, trying to turn it into some sort of joke.
"Oh, yeah, that's it. I'm obsessed with you," Wade retorted scoffing. "Come on."
"Thanks, Wade, but I think I can take it from here," Magnolia said, taking Wade's bat. "You worthless worm, you're not gonna be able to see or pee by the time I'm through with you, so you better run!" She warned him "Run!" She told him louder, giving a sigh when Chet took off.
"Give me my bat," Wade said, taking the bat back from her, letting her walk off as he turned to Zoe. "You know, come to think of it, raising an Alabama girl looks pretty darn complicated, too," he sighed.
"True. Very true," Zoe agreed.
"Hey, you okay?" Wade asked Zoe as they waited for their breakfast, at the sudden town meeting they were called into before they were even out of bed.
"Yeah, it's just... I've been thinking, and I realized that I have nothing to pass down to my child. I tried to look for this little wooden toy that my dad made me when I was little, and I can't find it," Zoe sighed. "And other than that I don't have anything else like that."
"Can't you ask your Dad what he did with it?" He asked, trying to recall if he had anything like that he could pass down to their son.
"I could," she said, chewing her lip. "But I feel guilty that I could possibly lose it; I had it right through College; I mean it's silly, but it reminded me of home," she explained. "And there's no way I can ask my mom, she says sentimentality is for the bridge and tunnel crowd. And I want our son to have a sense of family and tradition," she further explained to him.
"Look, I can't promise anything, but I will go over to my Dad's today, and I'll see if I can't find something, all right?" He compromised. "I can talk to your dad as well, if you want me to while I am there," he offered.
"Would you?" She asked him, with a pleading look. Wade smirked, pulling her in for a kiss.
Lavon cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the packed Rammer Jammer. "I won't keep you long," he told them. "We all know that tomorrow is Brick's birthday, and it may not be a special one by any means, but Brick has always been a guy whom we can count on, even in his grumpy ways. And I propose that we throw him a party at Fancies and make his day a bit more special," he suggested.
"I have jobs for everyone sorted out," Lemon stated, getting up and handing out papers with their job titles for the following day.
Wade groaned, seeing that he was put on the duty of taking Brick fishing along with Lavon. As for Zoe, hers was easy with covering the practice with her father. When they got their job details and with everyone on board with celebrating Brick's birthday, the meeting ended just in the nick of time as Brick entered the establishment, AB hot on his heels trying to stall him.
"For Pete's sake, what is going on?" Brick huffed out, seeing everyone staring at him.
Everyone mumbled and went about their business. Leaving an irritated Brick to stew at the counter.
"I'm going to stop by Dads for lunch, want to come along?" He asked her.
"You know; I just might," she smiled. As much as she didn't want to hurt her dad's feelings about misplacing the little wooden toy, asking him about it might sound better coming from her.
After breakfast Zoe headed off to work, not that she was on for the day, but she did want to get in as many days as she could before she could no longer work. Lemon easily catching up to her. They smiled and shared a hug as they walked.
"I hope you don't mind covering for my dad tomorrow," Lemon said, Zoe waved it off, because she didn't mind one bit.
"Nonsense, I get to work alongside my dad, never thought I would see that day again," she laughed.
"What's going on there?" Lemon asked, dragging Zoe with her to where Stanley stood. "What on earth, are you doing Stanley?" Lemon asked.
"Want to try my new mobile spa?" Stanley asked with a hopeful smile on his face.
"Huh. Spa day?" Zoe asked, looking at the mobile home, Stanley turned into a spa.
"Why not?" Lemon shrugged. George was having a father/son day with Moxley.
"So, what'll it be? Hot stone massage? Brazilian?" Stanley asked, bending down to be level with Zoe and Lemon as they sat in the chairs.
"We'll just take a pedicure," Zoe told him, Lemon agreeing.
"Okay, all right," he nodded. "Yeah Lemon, could you, uh, just lean this way a little bit?" He asked, motioning for Lemon to lean to her right. "To evenly balance out Le Spa. It's a little tippy. I'll be right back with your aromatherapy foot pack," he told them, getting up to leave them waiting.
"How are things with Scarlett?" Zoe asked. She hasn't had much time to talk to her friend about the information of her mother and new-found step-sister.
"It's been great; she's just so adorable. She needs a better taste in music, but she'll grow out of that teeny pop music soon enough," Lemon shared.
"Music aside," Zoe giggled, rolling her eyes. "When I talked to her, she didn't seem like you at that age," she teased her friend.
"Oh she's not," Lemon laughed. "She's a huge tomboy for sure, and I'm not holding that against her."
They let themselves get lost in girl talk and friend gossip as they got their pedicures, something they needed to have a bit more as they haven't had enough time to spend having a girls' day.
"How'd you know?" Zoe asked, Wade helping her down from the mobile spa.
"Wasn't too hard to figure out when you texted and said that you were at the spa with Lemon but still in Bluebell," he retorted. "Have a good time?"
"It was much needed," Zoe nodded.
"Our dads are excited about lunch. Ready to go?" He asked her.
"I don't know if one can be ready, with them up to something," Zoe frowned. "But I'm ready as I will ever be," she confirmed.
"Who would have thought that our dads would become such close friends?" Wade asked, leading Zoe to the car, opening the door for her as they reached the car.
"It is better than them hating each other," she shrugged, waiting for Wade to join her in the car.
"How right you are," he chuckled, kissing her knuckles.
The drive to Earl's place was quiet as they both lost themselves in thought. "Should we be worried?" She asked, looking at the house that seemed to be in good shape.
"A little bit," Wade nodded, getting out and going around the car to help Zoe out of the car.
Wade and Zoe looked at each other seeing their dads waiting for them. Upon entering the house Zoe was greeted with two hugs one from Earl and one from her dad, Wade shaking their hands. They looked around the living room, seeing that there were forts and foam darts everywhere.
"What kind of war went on in here?" Wade asked, looking over Zoe's shoulder.
"Finn wanted to play," Earl laughed, leading them through to the kitchen as lunch was done.
"I'm sure it was just Finn," Wade retorted, pulling Zoe's chair out for her and getting her a plate of food and something to drink before making his.
"We're all kids at heart," Harley laughed, sitting next to his daughter. Zoe shook her head, giving him her full attention. "I have a question for you," she told him.
"I'll try to answer it the best I can," Harley nodded.
"Remember that little wooden toy you made me when I was 2 or 3? The same one you made for Lemon?" She asked; Harley nodded. "Do you happen to know where mine is at?"
"I can't say I do," Harley frowned. "I'm sorry, sweetie."
"It's fine," she sighed. "I really wanted something to pass down to him, ya know?" She asked rhetorically, taking a drink.
"She's got her heart set on finding some piece of a family heirloom to give to your little nugget," Wade said, giving her knee a gentle squeeze.
"Did you check the boxes in the garage?" Harley asked. Zoe shook her head no, because she hadn't thought about it being in those boxes.
"I can do it when we get home," Wade told her. "Do you happen to have anything?" Wade asked, looking to his father.
"Can't say I do. Your mom kept a few things, but Jesse has them, so you'd have to check with him," Earl shared.
Wade decided that he wouldn't take the things from his brother, figuring that he would give them to his own kids, and he didn't want to take things away from his nephew.
They spent their afternoon listening to baby stories their fathers just had to share before they were allowed to go home. Zoe not even making it a mile before falling asleep in the car. Wade waking her when they got home and helping her to bed, as he looked through the boxes in the garage for the wooden toy, Zoe wanted so badly.
"Hey babe, you awake?" Wade quietly asked, stepping into the dark room the only light coming from the hallway.
"A little bit," she said, keeping her eyes closed and snuggling into the blanket.
Wade chuckled, kissing her head, setting the wooden duck on her bedside table letting her go back to sleep as he headed to the nursery to see what could be changed that his dad and Harley brought in. He changed it from the fishing décor to more of a nautical theme. She'd see the duck when she woke up and thank him.
"How about you and I go fishing?" Lavon asked, seeing Brick sitting at the bar of the Jammer, seeming to be upset about something.
"Fishing with Brick. Well, I'm in, too," Wade said, taking a seat with them.
"Uh, I didn't invite…" Lavon started to say, keeping up the act that it wasn't a plan to get him out of town for a few hours.
"That sounds like the most fun ever," Wade kept talking, ignoring what Lavon was saying.
"Look, I have known you both for years. You never once asked me to go fishing," Brick told them, thinking it a bad idea to agree to fish with them.
"Well, you know; I thought today of all days would be a good day to start," Lavon commented, trying to get him on board with the idea of it.
"Today of all days?" Brick questioned.
"Yeah," Wade smiled.
"Oh. Today... of all day... Uh, w-well, since, uh, you put it that way, uh, I-I would love to," Brick decided to go along with them. Having a sneaky suspicion that they were up to something.
"All right," Wade and Lavon said together.
They went their ways to get what they needed for an afternoon of fishing. Before meeting up and showing Brick the way to their special fishing hole.
"Uh, how much further is this, uh, "fishing hole" of yours?" Brick asked, looking out of place in his three-piece suit and fishing vest over it.
"Oh, it's right up here," Lavon told him, stepping up his place to be next to Wade.
"Okay," Brick said, fixing his suit jacket.
"Why's he talking in air quotes?" Lavon quietly asked, keeping Brick from hearing their conversation.
"Yeah, and why's he wearing a fishing vest over a three-piece suit?" Wade asked back. "You don't think?" He asked. Lavon never got a chance to answer as Brick broke their conversation up.
"All right, boys, let's do this," Brick smiled, walking ahead of them. The smile on his face dropping seeing they were at a little dock by a pond to do nothing more than fish.
"Here we are," Lavon smiled.
"Best fishing hole for miles," Wade told him.
"Y-You mean to say you brought me all this way... for fishing?" Brick asked, confused on the events taking place.
"Uh, yeah, that's what we meant when we asked you to go fishing," Wade retorted, giving him a funny look, not wanting to break their cover on what they were really doing.
"Are you okay?" Lavon asked, seeing that no, he wasn't okay.
"I'm absolutely fine! All right, all right, we're here to fish. Well, why don't you two just shut up and fish?" Brick asked them, going to where there's a metal bucket and two wooden crates to sit on.
They sat fishing in an awkward silence as the fish didn't want to bite. Brick mumbling to himself every so often.
"Something you'd like to share?" Wade asked, casting his line back out.
"How can everyone forget?" Brick stated. "I know it's not a big birthday, but my family couldn't even remember what day it is," he frowned.
"I'm sure they didn't forget," Lavon said, hoping he could keep it under wraps.
"Yeah, the days not quite over with Brick, you never know what the rest of the day holds," Wade commented.
"You guys are right," he smiled. "Here let me practice my surprise face," he said.
Wade and Lavon shared looks behind Bricks back, wondering how they were going to get out of this all while telling Brick to tone down his surprise face. With the fish barely biting and Brick pumped about the possibility of a surprise party the day couldn't go fast enough for Wade and Lavon. It felt like an eternity before they were given the go ahead that everything was set up at Fancies for Brick. Making their excuses, they packed their fishing gear up and headed for Bluebell.
The drive to Fancies took even longer than the hours they spent fishing. All three of them were happy to be at Fancies and have the terrible afternoon over with.
"Happy Birthday!" Was being yelled when they opened the doors to Fancies. The town and those closest to Brick there to celebrate his birthday.
"Thank you," Brick smiled, looking around, hugging Lemon and Magnolia. "This is more than. I could've asked for," he told them.
"We could never forget your day, daddy," Lemon told him.
"Um, and-and also, um, for entertainment, Meatball has offered to play," George hesitantly told Brick. Meatball being their only option at such a short notice.
"Meatball?" Brick questioned not quite sure of the choice in music. Lemon nodded her head, where she stood next to her father. "I love Meatball!" He exclaimed, getting cheers and a very relieved Meatball as he took his place on stage and started to sing.
If you were here
I could deceive you...
The rainwater drips through a crack in the ceiling...
My emotions wandering, yeah…
And I'll have to spend
My time on repair...
