BABY SHOWER BRAWL
"Alex, you don't have to," Loralei protested.
"I know," she said, "but I want to."
"Okay," Loralei said, relenting, "I don't want any of that traditional stuff. I'm not a traditional kind of gal."
"And you think I am?"
With Alex's laugh echoing in her ear, Loralei hung up the phone and stood. Uh. Her back creaked in about nineteen different places. Where was her husband when she needed a damn back rub? Oh yes. He was at work, where Alex had called. Duh. Alex had insisted on throwing the Donovans some type of baby shower party thing. She supposed baby showers were okay, but she wanted to make sure that it wasn't just a baby shower. She wanted to have everyone around, and she asked Alex to see to that. It was sweet of her friend, it really was. She hadn't had a chance to throw her a shower with Rachel. Too much shit had been going on at the time. Of course, Rachel had shown up just a bit on the early side. It was apparent that the new kid would make his/her scheduled appearance either right on time or late. Whatever. Loralei wanted to busy herself with making some type of preparations, but there was really nothing she could do. Alex insisted on bringing everything over in a day or so and simply play things by ear. She had even agreed to get everyone together to ensure that all would attend. Although she wanted to throw herself into the mix, Loralei was a little relieved that Alex wanted to take over the reins. She didn't know if she actually had it in her. At eight and a half months along, she was to the point where everything was uncomfortable, from sleeping to sitting to even breathing. However, she found that she was excited and anxious for the get together. She hadn't seen everyone in a while. The party would be a nice reminder of their little slumber party weekend. Parts of it had been very nice, very nice indeed.
* * *
Alex recruited Monica, Cody, and Jake to lug everything in. Somehow, Alex had managed to get a cake made. Loralei had no idea how she had had time. She wouldn't let her see it, claiming that she wanted it to be a surprise. Of course, there was also another surprise Alex had in store for Loralei as well. Well, actually, it was more like a 'gift' the boss had set her up to bring. She hoped that after Loralei saw it, she would still be her friend.
"Need any help," Loralei asked suddenly.
As Alex hid the cake from view, she smiled. "Nope. I think I got the hired help jumping enough to get everything set up. Come on, Loralei, we're using your house; let us take care of it. Besides, I'd hate to have you going into labor lugging around furniture or something. The boss would kill me."
She sighed in mock annoyance. "Okay."
"Hey, do you trust Uncle Cody to take Rachel to Angie's," Cody asked.
As Loralei made her way upstairs to retrieve her daughter, she smiled down at Cody. "Of course, but she's starting that screaming stuff. If your ears can handle it, go for it."
"I can handle the screaming. It's growling I can't quite take."
She giggled. "Jesus, Cody, don't let Frank hear you say that. He still hasn't forgiven me for that!"
* * *
By the time Cody came back from Angie's, almost everyone had arrived, including Kara and Farron. She watched the couple for a moment with a grin curling up the corners of her lips. Loralei hoped that the grudging peace made between Jake and Farron at the housewarming party would continue throughout this one. It seemed to be an unspoken thing between them. If you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours. She turned her focus away from the burgeoning young lovers and did a quick head count. No Donovan. He was running late. The rest of the gang sat around and waited for Donovan to arrive. Alex absolutely refused to get anything going until the boss came home. Not only did he need to see the cake, but he also had to be here when Loralei was given her 'gift.' In the meantime, Alex went into the kitchen in search of some type of container. She found a glass bowl in the cupboard. Perfect. She carried the bowl into the living room and set it in the middle of the coffee table. They watched curiously as Alex began to carefully tear up enough strips of paper for each person in the room. What the hell was she up to?
"While we're waiting for our tardy fearless leader, I thought we could set up our game," Alex began. "Since Mrs. Donovan preferred not to have something traditional, I decided to modernize the party somewhat. Each of you needs to take a slip of paper and make up a question you'd like to ask someone in the room. As soon as the boss arrives, we'll beat him into submission as well." From the periphery of her eye, she saw a brief, awkward exchange between Farron and Jake. Their eyes locked for a moment, and it was hard to read what was there. Oh God.
"This is a fun bunch," Cody said. "First spin the bottle and now the question game!"
Just as everyone had taken a slip of paper and a pencil, Donovan came through the front door. "Before anyone says anything, I know I'm late. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said as he entered the room.
"Gawd, Boss, finally," Alex said. "I thought I was going to have to give her the gift without you."
Donovan glanced at Loralei for a moment with a mischievous little smile before fixing his gaze on Alex's face. "We can't have that, can we?"
"Okay, I don't like the sound of that. You guys have something up your sleeves, don't you? What gift? Spill it, Frank," Loralei said.
He approached her and gave her a brief kiss. "You'll see soon enough." He chose a chair near her and waited with a secret smile hidden behind his hand.
Alex handed him a slip of paper and instructed him as to what he needed to do. As he sat and scribbled something on the paper, Loralei heard a soft chuckle issuing from him. She turned around and fixed him with a suspicious gaze. "All right, Mr. Smarty-pants, what the hell do you think is so funny?"
He looked up at her and grinned. "Nothing, baby, really. You're paranoid."
Loralei turned back around and glanced at each person in the room. All of them, even Cody, appeared innocent. Hmmm. What were they planning? She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't see, but behind her, Donovan nodded toward Alex, giving her the signal. She hid her own little smile and disappeared into the kitchen. Loralei continued to wonder what kind of plot her husband and friend had against her. Damn it, I am paranoid. When Alex reappeared, she was carrying a fairly good-sized box that had a gigantic and elaborate blue ribbon tied around it. With a smile, she presented the box to Loralei.
Loralei immediately noticed that the box was very lightweight. "What is this? If I open it, is it going to explode in my face," Loralei asked suspiciously.
"No, Loralei," Donovan insisted from behind her. "Open it."
She turned toward him again. "If you're so anxious, why don't you open it," she asked.
He sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. "Loralei, open it. It's not going to explode or turn your hands black or anything like that. Honestly, baby, would I do that to you?"
"Yeah," she said with a smile, "You would."
"Ha! She has you pegged," Cody said.
Donovan shook his head. "Really, I wouldn't. Open it."
Keeping her eyes fixed suspiciously on her husband, she began to work the gigantic ribbon loose. Once she had it torn off, she took the lid off the box and peered inside. At first it looked like an innocent dark blue garment. When she plucked it out of the box, she groaned as the people in the room burst out into uproarious laughter. The 'gift' she had received was a gaudy tee shirt decorated with flashing lights. Two large arrows [bright red, of course] pointed downward. Written above the loud arrows were three words: Twins On Board.
Donovan wasn't laughing, hiding, or crying. He was watching her with great amusement, waiting for her to strangle him. Instead, she turned toward him, with shirt in hand. "You sneaky bastard," she said, half-serious/half-hysterical. Before Donovan had a chance to say a word, she threw the tee shirt at him and he caught it before it smacked him in the face. "I'm going to get you for this," she said. "You won't know when or where, but your ass is mine, Donovan."
Laughing now, he reached for her, but she smacked his hands. "Loralei-"
"Nope, you will never touch me again, bucko," she said before turning away. Whenever he tried to put his hands on her, she'd jerk away defensively. "Nope. Not gonna touch me again," she said.
"No," he quizzed from behind her. He laid one finger on her back then another, then yet another until his entire hand was on her. "How about that?"
She came up to her feet, raring back as if she were about to strike him, and he grabbed her hand and brought her down onto his lap with a solid thump. "It's your legs that are gonna break, not mine!"
Farron chuckled warmly at the playfulness Donovan and Loralei exhibited. He noted that his normally serious brother changed into a different person when he was with his wife. A kinder, gentler, more fun loving version, if you will. He was happy for his twin, truly happy.
Kara laughed right along with the others. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves. Secretly, though, she felt Farron had separated himself from the group. He probably hadn't realized he'd done it, either, but the two of them stood by the stairs while the main group was seated in the living room.
"Ahem! Earth to married people," Cody said.
Loralei glanced at Cody and stuck out her tongue. "Aw, shaddup."
"Hey, what about the cake? Don't you think we should bring out the cake," Monica said with her own mischievous little smile.
"Oh yeah," Alex said, "the cake! Jake, would you and Cody do the honors?"
The men stood up graciously and entered the kitchen. Loralei and Donovan turned slightly as they watched Cody and Jake approaching them with a fairly large sheet cake. Loralei burst out laughing, nearly falling off Donovan's lap right on her ass. Her husband was shaking his head, grumbling incoherently, probably thinking of murder. Emblazoned on the cake in letters two inches high was: Congratulations Loralei and Sex Machine.
"Cody, you did this," Donovan asked as he stared at the cake.
"Now why would you assume it's me," he asked in good-natured exasperation.
Donovan looked up at Cody, grinning sardonically. "I don't know, why would I? You're so very serious all the time."
After they had eaten enough cake to choke a horse, Alex gathered everyone around so they could play their question game. She gave the glass bowl to Cody. "Codeman, you read."
Cody rolled his eyes. "Oh, hell, I guess I can." He dug around in the bowl until he selected a piece of paper. "Oh, goody! This one should be interesting. Loralei: Where and when did you conceive the new kid?"
Loralei burst into laughter yet again, but Donovan's face seemed to turn a little white. Horrified, he glanced up at Loralei. "You don't plan to answer that, do you?"
She looked down at her husband. Her eyes were glinting evilly. "Now would I embarrass you like that, love?" She sprang off his lap and inserted her pregnant body behind him. She covered his ears with her hands. "I'll answer that, Cody. We did it on the stairs when we first moved in, and let me tell you, that was one hell of a lay!"
The people in the room burst into laughter as Donovan's hands came up to take hers away from his ears. Of course, he had heard it, and wicked redness had begun to spread from his face to his neck and settled on his ears. They turned a wonderful shade of beet red. He was smiling a little, wanting to laugh and crawl into a dark hole at the same time.
Cody, nearly dying now, raised his hand as if he were Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. "Oooh, ooooh, can I expand on that question? What about Rachel? Where was she conceived?"
Although Donovan was holding onto her wrists, his grip was light and she quickly covered his ears again. She looked over at Cody and winked. "The shower," she whispered loudly, exaggerating the words as she said them. The deep red color spread again, even more rampant than ever before. God. He thought he would die right then and there. Loralei leaned down a little and removed her hands. "Told you I'd make you pay, Sex Machine," she whispered into his ear.
Kara watched the question game from where she stood on the bottom step of the staircase, leaning against the railing. Farron stood to the other side of the railing, with his back against it. She ran her fingers through his hair and lightly touched the back of his neck. Farron tried to hide the smile that crept up on him when Kara leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Look...Frank's ears are flame red."
Loralei had managed to embarrass the hell out of his twin. He turned his head just a bit to whisper, "The color suits him, does it not?" He couldn't stop himself from chuckling when she began to giggle.
He turned his attention back to his brother and sister in-law. Their love for each other was more than evident with each look that passed between them. Even if it was one in exasperation, like Donovan was bestowing on Loralei at the moment. Even if they tried, they could not hide their love for each other, their daughter, and the new addition they would soon be welcoming.
"Okay, okay...next question!" Cody announced, reaching into the bowl. He retrieved another piece of paper. "Farron: how many lives do you think your drug smuggling destroyed?" Cody almost had a heart attack after he realized what he'd just read. He shot a quick look at Jake. Everyone would know he was the one who posed the question.
Loralei quickly glanced at Farron, then at Jake. Jesus, here's where it explodes, she thought.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" Farron spat through clenched teeth. He felt Kara's hand stroking his back tenderly, as if trying to sooth the evident hurt away. He glared humorlessly in Jake's direction. "Count yourself lucky this is a party celebrating my future niece or nephew, or..."
"Or what?" Jake retorted. "You'll have the Colombian drug cartel come for a visit?" He glowered back at Farron. He could just not fathom how the boss could welcome his sleazy brother back into his life so easily. Jake was a firm believer that once a man was corrupted by easy money, the tendency never left him. Farron's latching onto Kara Everett only confirmed that suspicion. He wasn't about to be dissuaded by the fact that the playboy had chosen to live humbly rather than move into the Everett Estate. No, Farron Donovan, or his actions, impressed him.
"That's enough...both of you," Frank chastised firmly.
Kara had been shocked by crude question and the obvious attempt to make Farron an outcast. She wrapped her arms around him from behind to give him a supportive hug. He'd actually contained his anger, for Loralei's sake more than anything, and Kara was thankful for that. This should be a happy time for her, not one filled with anger and resentment.
"Read another one, Cody. Quickly," Monica suggested.
Cody nodded and reached into the bowl. "Jake: How often do you have wet..." he trailed off and refolded the paper. He stole a glance at Farron, who bore a most devious look in his eye. Before he could get rid of the paper, Jake snatched it from his hand.
Jake unfolded the paper. Jake: How often do you have wet dreams about Alex? His head whipped up and his eyes bored into Farron's. "You filthy fuck!" He growled and launched himself at his boss' twin before anyone realized what was happening.
Farron was ready for him. Of course, he knew what the remainder of the question held. He'd written it. He knew it was a stupid thing to do, but he just couldn't stop himself. He'd taken a lot of shit from the little prick and he was in the mood for a little payback. He'd almost felt justified after the biting question that was thrown at him just moments before. He quickly pulled away from Kara in time to dodge the better part of the punch Jake threw. He grunted as Jake's fist glanced off his chin and, without pausing, his fist snaked out and smashed into Jake's nose with enough force to knock him on his jean-covered ass.
"Come on, guys, please," Loralei implored.
"Goddamn it! That's enough!" Donovan bellowed and stepped between his brother and Jake. "Is there any reason that the two of you can't learn to get along?" He reached down and helped Jake to his feet.
Kara took a step down, intending to go to Farron. Instead, she stopped when she reached Jake. "That was a spiteful thing to ask, Mr. Shaw," she stated scornfully, coming to her lover's defense.
Jake snatched a napkin from the table and wiped the blood from his nose. His face drew into a slight sneer as he drew closer to Kara. Maybe, just maybe, Farron's Little Princess needed a wakeup call. "I think the next question should be 'how many women in this room has Farron slept with?'" He held his hands up in mock surrender when Farron took a step toward him.
"Are we done here," Donovan asked. He would throw them both out on their asses if they tried to pull any more stunts.
Farron nodded. He had no intention of pursuing the fight further. Damn it. Things had gotten way beyond out of hand. He saw Kara eyeing him thoughtfully. Her face held a look of anger, irritation, and just plain offense. He wasn't sure which one, or all three, was directed at him. That last remark Jake had made was underhanded and he could see Kara turning it over in her mind as she eyed each of the women in the room pensively.
Farron issued a heartfelt apology to everyone in the room, centering his attention on Loralei as he moved to her side and kissed her cheek softly. He didn't wait for a response; he knew he didn't deserve one. What had transpired between he and Jake was childish at best. He took Kara gently by the elbow and ushered her into the kitchen.
When Kara and Farron disappeared entirely, Donovan went to Loralei. "Baby?"
She shrugged a little. It was obvious the scene had upset her, but she was trying to blow it off. "I'm okay, Frank. They just don't mesh. They never have."
Before he had a chance to reply, Jake sauntered toward Loralei and Donovan looking mentally beaten down and ashamed. He was still tending to his bleeding nose. "Look, I'm sorry about that, I…"
Loralei waved him off. "It's okay, Jake. Really." It wasn't okay, that was plainly obvious, but she was a bit too shocked to say anything just yet.
He sighed a little and chewed on his bottom lip. "I would really like to apologize."
Donovan glanced at Jake. "Jake, please. She said it's okay," he said. He wanted nothing more to rattle her. His wife was strong, but still, he couldn't help but worry.
Kara wasn't sure how she should feel about Jake's comment. It wasn't like she didn't know Farron was quite the philanderer before she came into his life. Hell, she'd found him with another woman shortly after he had been with her the first time. However, she had never known any of his women. She had decided instantly that Jake had referred to Alex. It could have been Monica, but she knew instinctively it was Alex. Maybe it had been the way he had kissed her during Loralei's spin-the-bottle game during the housewarming. Unlike the others, who had kissed with some hesitancy, Farron had kissed Alex with an air of familiarity.
Farron sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. Honesty. They hid nothing from each other; now was not the time to start. He wanted to reach for her. He wanted to hold her, apologize, and somehow erase the last few moments in time. He took another breath. "It was..."
Kara nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know. And it doesn't really matter, does it?"
"It doesn't," he questioned disbelievingly. She was going to let this go?
She leaned back against the counter as she watched him. She could make this into a major issue, or she could accept it for what is was; a crude attempt to bring unease into Farron's life. "No, it doesn't. I would venture to guess you and Alex had a tryst."
He nodded as he moved toward her, but stopped when she began to move away. "It was brief." What more could he say? It was obvious he hadn't loved Alex. If he had, he would still be with her.
Kara smiled wryly. "I'd rather not have any details, Farron. There is only one thing I ask," she stated firmly and took a step closer to him.
"Anything," he assured her as he, too, stepped in her direction.
"Work on this problem you and Jake have with each other. It's ugly." She reached him in one more step and slid her arms around his waist.
Farron wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly. "He knows what buttons to push. But I'll try." He kissed the top of her head before resting his cheek against it. He didn't think things between he and Jake would improve, not as long as Jake continued to hold onto Farron's past. In the meantime, he would do his best to keep his mouth shut. "No promises."
Kara sighed and tightened her hold on him. "Thank you for that; it's a start. Now...let's get back in there, Mister, and face the music."
Kara and Farron reentered the living room and saw that Alex, Monica, Cody, and Jake were trying to clean up the mess. The two of them stood back against the stairs again as each person carried an armload of garbage into the kitchen. When Jake moved past Farron, the two exchanged cold, murderous looks. No. Jake would not push his buttons enough to make him strike out again. He wouldn't do that to his brother or his wife.
Temporarily oblivious to Farron and Kara, Donovan approached Loralei where she sat and he kneeled beside her. "In the…excitement earlier, I forgot that I actually picked up something else for you," he said.
Loralei glanced down at her husband and smiled sardonically. "What, Frank? A hat with a propeller on top that matches the shirt?"
He smiled a little. The previous events hadn't quite messed her up as much as he thought. "Nope," he said. He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a small black velvet box.
In spite of her earlier exasperation, the fight, the stress, in spite of everything, she was touched. "Frank? What is this?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps it's an extra battery pack for the lights on the shirt, or maybe more paint in case the letters fade. Instead of asking me, why don't you look inside?"
She opened the box and gasped aloud. Inside was a three-diamond necklace. The pendant hanging from the chain was a small solid gold bar. There was one diamond at the top, another in the middle, and a third close to the very end. She looked at him with unshed tears in her eyes.
He smiled up at her. "I wanted to find something perfect that would symbolize my love for you and the beautiful children that resulted from that love. The diamond at the top represents our past; the middle, our present; and the third, our future. May we always be together, strong and resilient, just like those diamonds."
Kara leaned back against Farron when his arms came around her waist. He whispered softly into her ear so as not to disturb his brother and sister in-law. "That was a beautiful gesture."
Kara nodded and he heard her sniffle before she wiped a tear from her cheek and whispered in return, "They're beautiful."