"Hello?", Jack greeted, taken aback by how happy the man was. Nobody ever answered the phone for a stranger like that, at least not in Seattle they didn't. He wondered if the man he was talking to was his grandfather. Nora could have easily moved back home after giving him up. The man didn't sound that old at all, almost as if he could be a brother or someone special to Nora. Maybe this wasn't even Nora's house anymore. Maybe the grief was too hard to handle, and she moved out. Jack methodically planned to tell the man on the other line about Nora and ask where she was. He figured that he would ask the man if he knew where she moved, if she moved. All he wanted was answers, and now with a letter to prove that he had a mom wanting to be reunited with him, somewhere out there, how could he not do everything in his power to get those answers, "This is probably a dumb question, but is there a Nora Michelle Gibson there?" Jack asked nervously as he clicked the button on the emergency brake over and over again, causing Andy to slide his hand away from it.
Silence filled the other line as the man sighed. Thoughts of his mother being dead, and him being years too late filled Jack's head. Andy tried to calm him, rubbing his arm as he waited patiently for the man on the other end to speak. The man on the other end cleared his throat, he sounded hoarse, almost as if he had been working in the sun all day. Was Nora's house a working farm? Jack knew they had a lot of those around there, especially near Amish country. "Is Kersey near Amish country?", he asked as Andy shook her head. Jack stopped his racing thoughts as soon as the man started talking again. The man chuckled as he talked, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Gibson? God, I haven't heard that name in years. Nora used to be a Gibson, but her last name is Archer now. I'm her husband Dylan. Can I ask who's calling?" Dylan explained. That ended that question. Jack was talking to his stepfather, and by the sound of him, he already liked him. He was straight to the point and friendly, even with strangers, even with the presumably secret son his wife had from her first marriage.
"Okay, Dylan, I need you to not hang up when I tell you this. Please", Jack pleaded as Dylan pressed for him to continue. "Your wife had a son with her first husband A baby boy she gave up in 1991. I think I'm her son and I think she might be my mom", he confessed as silence filled the other end. Jack feared that he scared Dylan off. His heart beat out of his chest as he waited patiently for anyone on the other end to pick up and at this point, he would be satisfied if whoever it was told him not to call there anymore. He drummed with is fingers on the door and was dripping with sweat as Andy turned up the air conditioning.
"Hang on just a second Jack. Nora's just outside feeding the chickens and vacuuming the pool. She spends more time in that damn yard. Anyways, she'll be happy to hear it's you. She's been waiting for you to call since the day I married her", Dylan chuckled as Jack laughed too. He couldn't help but laugh. His mom had a green thumb like he does and loves to multitask. She smiled bittersweetly as he thought about what Dylan said. He couldn't believe that his mother had been waiting for him to call, and that his stepfather knew and was supportive. He certainly wasn't expecting that. He listened closely and heard a screen door open in the background. He Dylan shout, "Nora! Nora! Phone's for you. Says he's your son. Of course, I'm sure Nora, hell the guy sounds like you. No, you do not sound manly. He just, just come in here and answer the phone. You've been waiting 20 years for this call". Jack heard the sound of a metal bucket hit pavement with a clatter, then he heard a woman cry, "It's him? It's really him?" and a screen door slam shut.
"Hello? Are you? Who's calling?" she asked, choking on her words. He could tell that she was just as nervous as he was. She spoke rapidly, her voice going up an octave when she asked who was on the other line. She held back tears, breathing deeply to keep calm. It was almost as if she couldn't believe that it was the son, she gave up all those years back, finally calling her. By the sound of her voice, Jack could tell almost immediately that he had the right person. He had heard this voice in a dream before, but prior to today, he always thought it was just that. A dream.
Andy encouraged Jack to continue talking to her, despite the fact that he felt like he wanted to hurl, right there in his relatively new car. He was listening to the sound of his mother's voice for the first time in 31 years; three decades had passed since he heard from her. He cleared his throat, trying to fight back tears, and assured her that he was the person she thought he was, "Hi Nora, you may not remember me, but you gave up a baby boy at a fire station in Seattle on January 5th, 1991. You named me Jack…." he started, his voice cracking as he told her his name. Nora interjected before he could even speak. He pictured her standing at the clunky old landline she refused to throw out, shaking as she played with the cord. He pictured her shaking her head in disbelief, not wanting to admit to herself just yet that she was talking to her only child, now grown with a family of his own.
"Patrick after my father. Yes. I remember. Jack Gibson, is it really you?" she asked, shakily, her voice barely above a whisper as she sought to confirm Jack's identity.
"Yes, yes. It is me. I'm your son, and you're my birth mother. I just read your letter. And I know about everything", he answered calmly as he heard Nora burst into tears. He couldn't tell if they were tears or sadness or tears of joy. Jack listened as Dylan attempted to comfort her, to which she politely asked him to go outside and let her be alone for a few. She expressed that she wanted to talk alone to her son. Jack didn't know what to make of that, he hadn't been called anyone's son since Samantha and Marco died.
Nora apologized profusely through tears, so much so that Jack could barely make out what she was saying. Nora took a long shaky breath, before continuing, calmer this time, "I'm so sorry for leaving you, for everything. I'll understand if you don't understand"
"No, I forgive you Nora. Believe it or not, I know what you went through, and it wasn't easy", he explained as he glanced over at Andy and gripped her hand. Watching how badly his now wife struggled, gave him the strength to understand and forgive. He meant it when he said she was his rock, even though she didn't believe it at times. She taught him things that helped him in every aspect of his life with her perseverance and her fight to get her grief under control and get better. "Also Nora, just so you know, my life didn't actually turn out that bad. Sure, it sucked during my childhood, but now I have this absolutely amazing wife, and three beautiful kids with two more on the way. I'm a lieutenant at a fire station in Seattle, down the street from our house, and my wife's the captain there" Jack explained with tears of his own in his eyes as Nora cried on the other end.
"Why, you're a hero! Both you and your wife. Kids cute?", she asked
Jack chuckled at that comment, "Yeah, the kids are adorable. They aren't ours biologically, we adopted them, but sometimes I swear they're just like Andy, myself, or a mix of the two. We have two boys and a girl. Rowan's our oldest, then Dalton James or DJ rather, and finally our little Amelia or Lia for short. They're all so smart, and have so much energy", Jack explained. He and Nora talked for almost an hour in that car, back and forth about their lives now, the kids, what they do for work. It was barely a surprise to Jack when Nora invited them to Kersey. Jack explained that he had already planned a vacation to Coney Island, but wouldn't mind altering it to include a stop in Kersey. He was equally as excited to meet her in person as she was to meet him. After parting ways and exchanging cellphone numbers, Jack put the car into drive and started driving back to the hospital, feeling a hundred times better.
"Honey, I have an idea. We should spend our whole vacation in Kersey, that way you aren't rushed with you mother. She did mention that they have a campground at some pond over there, lots of hiking trails, state parks, and an amusement park. We can rent an RV like you wanted and drive across the state, from Philadelphia to Kersey", Andy suggested. "I want you to be able to spend as much time as you need with her, she sounds so nice, like you"
"She is. But what if she sees me and doesn't like me?" Jack asked "What if she doesn't like the kids? What if she was expecting someone different? What if I look so much like my father, who died, mind you, that all she can do is cry when she sees me? What if?", he asked as Andy reached down with her other hand and squeezed his.
"She's going to love you honey. She's going to love you, and me, and our little family that we built. I mean what is there not to love?" Andy asked "You're pretty great if I say so myself and you're a wonderful husband and father. You're also not a bad lieutenant, or interim captain either", Andy chuckled as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to laugh and nearly veer off the road. Her eyes snapped back to the road. "I'm driving. Don't make me get pulled over for kissing and driving"
"What crime is there in that?", he chuckled as they merged onto the freeway. "Were you serious back there about driving across the state in an RV?" he asked as he scrolled through his phone, looking up the campground Nora was talking about.
"Yeah, why?" she asked
"Because if you are, we can stay at that campground on the pond", he smiled as he talked to Andy about what he was reading on his phone. She smirked at him, figuring that he must be excited for the trip if he was taking over all the research that he usually either put on her or waited until the last minute to do. "It's beautiful. They have canoes for rent, and pedal boats. They'll love to swim on the beach over here in the Parker Dam State Park"
"Hmmm, that sounds great to me. I know Nora mentioned an amusement park nearby. I forget the name, but it started with a "D". That could be fun to take the kids to even if me and my pregnant self can't go on any of the big rides. I'll be with Miss Lia on the kiddie rides while you tackle the big rollercoasters with the boys", she added thinking about all the things they could do if they drove once they reached Pennsylvania instead of flying. "On the way there, we can stop at the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and take pictures for our Christmas Card"
Jack groaned at the thought of more Christmas card photos, "If we take anymore Christmas card pictures, we won't have any room on the card for our names. Anyways, do we really have to send out one of those?"
"You're funny. The pictures are going to go around the big one with us in front of our fireplace wearing our matching Christmas jammies. I even bought newborn jammies for the twins to wear when they're born", Andy reminded him.
"Oh, wonderful, I can't wait to wear matching plaid PJs with some silly saying on them for a picture that gets sent to every station in Seattle", he joked sarcastically as she removed her hand from the wheel to smack him in the shoulder. "Ow. Ok, I love that we're sending out a Christmas Card", he corrected.
Andy chuckled as she refocused her attention to the road, stopping to let a bicyclist pass. "That's what I thought you meant. What are you looking at on your phone?"
"RV rental places", Jack shared as he scrolled through a variety of different RVs, none of them appealing to him. He did this until they reached the hospital parking garage, shaking his head or grimacing at each one he looked at, saying that they were either too small or a fifth wheel, and he was adamant about not bringing a car there. His eyes finally lit up when Andy threw the car into park. He clicked on a picture of a motorhome with a beautiful interior, white cabinets, a kitchen table with booth seating, right by the window and beautiful pine countertops. The appliances were all stainless steel and up to date and there was a good-sized master bedroom and lots of storage space with the slide-outs out. Andy seating in the RV was a white leather, easy to clean, and there were plenty of beds for everyone. The couch downstairs transformed itself into a bed at night, and a lofted bed sat nestled above the cab with a window on either side of the bed. Jack chuckled to himself, knowing damn well that the boys would claim that right away, before Lia could even think about asking. He could picture his family living in there for two weeks without getting under each other's skin. He glanced down at the asking price and noticed that they weren't asking too much for the two weeks unlike other RVs that he had seen.
Andy glanced over at his phone while she reached into the back for Amelia's books that she wanted from home. "Did you find any good ones yet?", she asked as she pulled the canvas reusable bag into the front seat with them.
"Yeah, look at this one", he suggested as he showed her the pictures of the RV and the asking price. A smile crept to her lips as she scrolled through every picture. "I already love it. It has everything we need, and they aren't asking that much for a rental fee. Did you see the loft? Rowan would love sleeping up there; in fact, both boys would"
"How fast can you call the RV place and rent it?", Andy asked as Jack dialed the number. By the time they reached the door to Amelia's room, they had secured the RV for the two weeks. Jack grinned like a kid at Christmas as he put his phone back into his pants pocket. The Gibsons were going on vacation and he was going to meet his birth mother. Andy smirked at him before they walked into Amelia's room, "I guess that answers my question. So, we're actually doing this?"
"We're actually doing this", he confirmed as he kissed her. "Our first family vacation"
Andy chuckled as she rested her forehead against his and kissed him back, "The first of many to come"