Disclaimer: See Part 1.
REUNION Part 3
Sam stood up and removed her jacket. That's when I saw what was different about her. She looked like she was about five months pregnant. She sat back down and didn't say a word. Tiny and Keyop just kept looking back and forth between each other, Sam, and Jason.
"You're pregnant!" I finally managed to say.
Neither one said anything, but Jason gave Sam a sly smile.
"When? How? Don't answer that. I thought you weren't planning on having any kids."
"Who said this was planned?" Jason said.
"Congratulations!" I hugged Sam first and then went after Jason.
"Hey, none of that." He tried to get away, but I hugged him anyway.
Tiny and Keyop started talking at once and kept it up until Mark and the Chief returned. "What's going on in here? We could hear you all the way down the hall," the Chief said.
"We're going to be uncles," Tiny told him.
Jason had slipped away from where he had been standing by the door and was now over by Sam. Neither of them said a word. Jason put his hands in his pockets and looked at the Chief and Mark.
"Jason."
"Chief."
"You must be Sam."
"Yes, sir."
There was an awkward silence for several minutes. I walked over to Mark and whispered to him, "Say something!"
He took a deep breath and walked over to Jason. "It's good to see you again." He turned to Sam and said, "Hi, I'm Mark."
"Sam. Nice to finally get to meet you."
Jason hadn't said anything. "Why doesn't everyone sit down?" the Chief suggested.
Jason sat on the arm of the sofa next to Sam and Mark sat next to me on the other sofa.
"Princess tells us that you're a design engineer, Sam," the Chief said.
"Yes, sir."
"What do you design besides racecars?"
"Engines mostly."
"If you want a change of scenery, we're always looking for good engineers."
Sam looked up at Jason, then said, "I'll keep that in mind, sir."
There was more awkward silence until Tiny decided he had had enough. He started asking Jason questions about his racing and what he had done since he left. Jason responded with as few words as he possibly could.
Finally, Sam stood up. "If you all will excuse me, I need to walk."
"Do you want me to go with you?" Jason asked.
"No. You stay here to talk to the others. I'm sure I can walk up and down the hall without getting lost." Then she disappeared out the door.
"The doctors tell her to walk every few hours," Jason offered.
"When is she due?" Mark asked.
"Who knows? Every time she goes to the doctor they give her a different date."
"They can't tell?"
"How should I know? They ask her questions and she answers them. They run a few tests. It's all as clear as mud. Sam thinks it should be sometime in May, but they could come earlier."
"They?"
"She's going to have twins."
"Twins? You two didn't fool around."
"How do you think we got in this mess?"
Mark and Tiny chuckled at that. The Chief just shook his head. After that, things warmed up a bit. An hour later, Jason started to worry.
"She should have been back by now."
"Maybe she went back to your room?" I suggested. "I'll call out to the reception area. Maybe they've seen her." I made my call, but no one had seen her.
"I'm going to go looking for her," Jason said.
"We'll all look," Mark replied.
We only had to open the door to find Jason's wife. She sat on the sofa looking out the windows as the fish swam by.
"I still think it looks like a giant aquarium," she said.
"Where have you been?" Jason demanded.
"I went for a walk and then came back here. I thought you might talk more if I wasn't around."
"If you weren't pregnant, I'd lock you up."
"Like I haven't heard that before," Sam countered. They bantered back and forth like that for a couple minutes.
"All right, you two. It's getting late. Is anyone interested in dinner?" the Chief asked.
Center Neptune only had a staff cafeteria, so we all returned to the mainland for dinner. It was almost like old times. Keyop and Tiny really hadn't changed that much. They still had to tell their stupid jokes. I have to give it to Sam, though. She laughed at the appropriate times. Every now and then I would catch her glancing at Jason, but he just smiled at her, never saying a word. Sam had gotten stuck with Tiny on one side and Keyop on the other. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but not from being seated between them.
"Is everything all right, Sam?" I asked.
"The kids are just really active tonight. They'll probably be rugby players."
Keyop asked, "What does it feel like when they kick?"
"Here. You can feel for yourself," Sam said. She took Keyop's hand and placed it on one side of her stomach. She then took his other hand and placed it on the other side.
Keyop never said a word, but he had the silliest grin on his face. At least he did until Jason saw what was going on.
"Keyop," Jason growled. "Take your hands off my wife."
Keyop jerked his hands back as if they had been burnt. We all started to laugh when we saw the devious smile cross Jason's face.
"Don't worry, Keyop. He'll have to go through me to get to you," Sam told him.
"No. I'd go around you," Jason replied.
Mark hadn't tried to say much to Jason other than asking a few questions about his racing career. I could tell that Jason still harbored resentment for Mark and the Chief, but he was attempting to keep the piece, even if only for Sam's sake.
After dinner, we all headed back to Center Neptune for the night. We said goodnight and went our separate ways. Mark and I watched as Jason and Sam went back to the guest quarters.
"He should have met her 20 years ago," Mark said, "but she probably would have ended up dead."
No one was around so I slapped him. "Mark, that is a horrible thing to say!"
"Hey! Well, it's the truth. Even when we were kids, all the women he ever said hello to ended up dead."
I smacked him again. "She's certainly been good for him. I always felt that Jason just needed someone to love him. We had each other. Tiny and Keyop had each other to pal around with. Jason didn't have anyone."
"Like it's our fault? He always was a loner. Why do you think the Chief was always sending him to a psychologist when we kids?"
I was going to smack him again, but he dodged out of the way.
* * * * * * * *
We were able to convince Jason to stay four days, but I could tell it was hard for him. I drove them back to the airport. I hugged Sam and told her to keep in touch, and then I turned on Jason. He was never much for hugging when we were kids, but occasionally you could catch him unaware. "You keep in touch in too," I told him.
"I won't make any promises."
"At least call me when the babies are born."
"I'll add you to the list. Keyop insists that I call him every week with updates, but that's not going to happen."
"Your incorrigible, you know that?"
"Now tell me something I don't know." They announced that Jason and Sam's plane was boarding. They both waved good-bye and then they were gone.
* * * * * * * *
The next few months slipped by. Sam would e-mail me occasionally. Jason was less frequent, but it still surprised me to hear from him. "Sam makes me," he wrote. Sam was more likely to tell me what Jason was up to, while he would tell me how Sam's pregnancy was going. He even sent me a copy of a picture from one of her ultrasounds. "See if you figure out how they can see a baby. All I see are shapes, but nothing that looks even remotely like a baby," he said in one of his rare e-mails.
In early May, the Chief had a weeklong meeting not far from where Jason was living. He hinted to me that he might stop by their house for a visit, but he wasn't sure what kind of a response he would get.
Late one evening after I had gone to bed, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. I recognized the Chief's cell phone number. "Hello?"
"Hi, Princess. Sorry to wake you this late. I'm not going to make my flight tomorrow."
"Is something wrong?"
"Sam's in labor and I'm keeping her company until Jason can get here."
"Where is he?"
"He had a meeting with a couple of his sponsors. I brought her to the hospital and I didn't feel right leaving her here alone."
"That's nice of you. Keep us posted."
"I will. Goodnight."
I couldn't go back to sleep right away. I was going to be an aunt! I finally fell asleep and was awakened by the phone again. This time I didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Princess." Jason. I would recognize his voice anywhere.
"Is everything all right? How's Sam?"
"She's fine. She fell asleep a little while ago." He sounded tired.
"Are you daddy yet?"
"Yep. God, it's weird to say that. I'm actually someone's father. They made their appearance about two this morning."
"Well, what are they? I want details."
"Both boys, one was just over 6 pounds and the other is about 6 and a half. Both are 22 inches long. Like that is really supposed to mean something to me."
"It means something to someone. Did you see the Chief?"
"Yeah. I was glad he was there when Sam went into labor. I was a mess. He was the only calm one in the room. The doctor and the nurses were running around like idiots. He left just before the twins arrived. He may still be around somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find him." He covered the phone and said something to someone in the room. "Sam wants to say hello."
"Hi, Princess." God, if Jason sounded tired, then she had to be exhausted.
"Hi, mom! Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"How is everything?"
"Fine. Jase was a real trouper. He was a lot calmer than he lets on. Don't tell anyone this, but he may have cried when they handed him the first baby." I heard a loud "Hey!" in the background.
"Tell him that his secret is safe with me."
"I will. I have to go now. I'll talk to you later, Princess."
"Bye, Sam."
REUNION Part 3
Sam stood up and removed her jacket. That's when I saw what was different about her. She looked like she was about five months pregnant. She sat back down and didn't say a word. Tiny and Keyop just kept looking back and forth between each other, Sam, and Jason.
"You're pregnant!" I finally managed to say.
Neither one said anything, but Jason gave Sam a sly smile.
"When? How? Don't answer that. I thought you weren't planning on having any kids."
"Who said this was planned?" Jason said.
"Congratulations!" I hugged Sam first and then went after Jason.
"Hey, none of that." He tried to get away, but I hugged him anyway.
Tiny and Keyop started talking at once and kept it up until Mark and the Chief returned. "What's going on in here? We could hear you all the way down the hall," the Chief said.
"We're going to be uncles," Tiny told him.
Jason had slipped away from where he had been standing by the door and was now over by Sam. Neither of them said a word. Jason put his hands in his pockets and looked at the Chief and Mark.
"Jason."
"Chief."
"You must be Sam."
"Yes, sir."
There was an awkward silence for several minutes. I walked over to Mark and whispered to him, "Say something!"
He took a deep breath and walked over to Jason. "It's good to see you again." He turned to Sam and said, "Hi, I'm Mark."
"Sam. Nice to finally get to meet you."
Jason hadn't said anything. "Why doesn't everyone sit down?" the Chief suggested.
Jason sat on the arm of the sofa next to Sam and Mark sat next to me on the other sofa.
"Princess tells us that you're a design engineer, Sam," the Chief said.
"Yes, sir."
"What do you design besides racecars?"
"Engines mostly."
"If you want a change of scenery, we're always looking for good engineers."
Sam looked up at Jason, then said, "I'll keep that in mind, sir."
There was more awkward silence until Tiny decided he had had enough. He started asking Jason questions about his racing and what he had done since he left. Jason responded with as few words as he possibly could.
Finally, Sam stood up. "If you all will excuse me, I need to walk."
"Do you want me to go with you?" Jason asked.
"No. You stay here to talk to the others. I'm sure I can walk up and down the hall without getting lost." Then she disappeared out the door.
"The doctors tell her to walk every few hours," Jason offered.
"When is she due?" Mark asked.
"Who knows? Every time she goes to the doctor they give her a different date."
"They can't tell?"
"How should I know? They ask her questions and she answers them. They run a few tests. It's all as clear as mud. Sam thinks it should be sometime in May, but they could come earlier."
"They?"
"She's going to have twins."
"Twins? You two didn't fool around."
"How do you think we got in this mess?"
Mark and Tiny chuckled at that. The Chief just shook his head. After that, things warmed up a bit. An hour later, Jason started to worry.
"She should have been back by now."
"Maybe she went back to your room?" I suggested. "I'll call out to the reception area. Maybe they've seen her." I made my call, but no one had seen her.
"I'm going to go looking for her," Jason said.
"We'll all look," Mark replied.
We only had to open the door to find Jason's wife. She sat on the sofa looking out the windows as the fish swam by.
"I still think it looks like a giant aquarium," she said.
"Where have you been?" Jason demanded.
"I went for a walk and then came back here. I thought you might talk more if I wasn't around."
"If you weren't pregnant, I'd lock you up."
"Like I haven't heard that before," Sam countered. They bantered back and forth like that for a couple minutes.
"All right, you two. It's getting late. Is anyone interested in dinner?" the Chief asked.
Center Neptune only had a staff cafeteria, so we all returned to the mainland for dinner. It was almost like old times. Keyop and Tiny really hadn't changed that much. They still had to tell their stupid jokes. I have to give it to Sam, though. She laughed at the appropriate times. Every now and then I would catch her glancing at Jason, but he just smiled at her, never saying a word. Sam had gotten stuck with Tiny on one side and Keyop on the other. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but not from being seated between them.
"Is everything all right, Sam?" I asked.
"The kids are just really active tonight. They'll probably be rugby players."
Keyop asked, "What does it feel like when they kick?"
"Here. You can feel for yourself," Sam said. She took Keyop's hand and placed it on one side of her stomach. She then took his other hand and placed it on the other side.
Keyop never said a word, but he had the silliest grin on his face. At least he did until Jason saw what was going on.
"Keyop," Jason growled. "Take your hands off my wife."
Keyop jerked his hands back as if they had been burnt. We all started to laugh when we saw the devious smile cross Jason's face.
"Don't worry, Keyop. He'll have to go through me to get to you," Sam told him.
"No. I'd go around you," Jason replied.
Mark hadn't tried to say much to Jason other than asking a few questions about his racing career. I could tell that Jason still harbored resentment for Mark and the Chief, but he was attempting to keep the piece, even if only for Sam's sake.
After dinner, we all headed back to Center Neptune for the night. We said goodnight and went our separate ways. Mark and I watched as Jason and Sam went back to the guest quarters.
"He should have met her 20 years ago," Mark said, "but she probably would have ended up dead."
No one was around so I slapped him. "Mark, that is a horrible thing to say!"
"Hey! Well, it's the truth. Even when we were kids, all the women he ever said hello to ended up dead."
I smacked him again. "She's certainly been good for him. I always felt that Jason just needed someone to love him. We had each other. Tiny and Keyop had each other to pal around with. Jason didn't have anyone."
"Like it's our fault? He always was a loner. Why do you think the Chief was always sending him to a psychologist when we kids?"
I was going to smack him again, but he dodged out of the way.
* * * * * * * *
We were able to convince Jason to stay four days, but I could tell it was hard for him. I drove them back to the airport. I hugged Sam and told her to keep in touch, and then I turned on Jason. He was never much for hugging when we were kids, but occasionally you could catch him unaware. "You keep in touch in too," I told him.
"I won't make any promises."
"At least call me when the babies are born."
"I'll add you to the list. Keyop insists that I call him every week with updates, but that's not going to happen."
"Your incorrigible, you know that?"
"Now tell me something I don't know." They announced that Jason and Sam's plane was boarding. They both waved good-bye and then they were gone.
* * * * * * * *
The next few months slipped by. Sam would e-mail me occasionally. Jason was less frequent, but it still surprised me to hear from him. "Sam makes me," he wrote. Sam was more likely to tell me what Jason was up to, while he would tell me how Sam's pregnancy was going. He even sent me a copy of a picture from one of her ultrasounds. "See if you figure out how they can see a baby. All I see are shapes, but nothing that looks even remotely like a baby," he said in one of his rare e-mails.
In early May, the Chief had a weeklong meeting not far from where Jason was living. He hinted to me that he might stop by their house for a visit, but he wasn't sure what kind of a response he would get.
Late one evening after I had gone to bed, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. I recognized the Chief's cell phone number. "Hello?"
"Hi, Princess. Sorry to wake you this late. I'm not going to make my flight tomorrow."
"Is something wrong?"
"Sam's in labor and I'm keeping her company until Jason can get here."
"Where is he?"
"He had a meeting with a couple of his sponsors. I brought her to the hospital and I didn't feel right leaving her here alone."
"That's nice of you. Keep us posted."
"I will. Goodnight."
I couldn't go back to sleep right away. I was going to be an aunt! I finally fell asleep and was awakened by the phone again. This time I didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Princess." Jason. I would recognize his voice anywhere.
"Is everything all right? How's Sam?"
"She's fine. She fell asleep a little while ago." He sounded tired.
"Are you daddy yet?"
"Yep. God, it's weird to say that. I'm actually someone's father. They made their appearance about two this morning."
"Well, what are they? I want details."
"Both boys, one was just over 6 pounds and the other is about 6 and a half. Both are 22 inches long. Like that is really supposed to mean something to me."
"It means something to someone. Did you see the Chief?"
"Yeah. I was glad he was there when Sam went into labor. I was a mess. He was the only calm one in the room. The doctor and the nurses were running around like idiots. He left just before the twins arrived. He may still be around somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find him." He covered the phone and said something to someone in the room. "Sam wants to say hello."
"Hi, Princess." God, if Jason sounded tired, then she had to be exhausted.
"Hi, mom! Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"How is everything?"
"Fine. Jase was a real trouper. He was a lot calmer than he lets on. Don't tell anyone this, but he may have cried when they handed him the first baby." I heard a loud "Hey!" in the background.
"Tell him that his secret is safe with me."
"I will. I have to go now. I'll talk to you later, Princess."
"Bye, Sam."