Well, here is some more as promised…
All together now……Not mine, can't begin to tell you what I would do with em' if they were!
Summary: Woody takes Jordan to Wisconsin to officially meet his family and share the big news about the baby. They meet some familiar faces from Woody's past as well…..and Jordan learns what was behind Woody's claim that he could be complicated too……..
Pictures Never Lie: Part 4: Meet the Hoyts
"Woody, be a pal and get my bag down from the overhead compartment." I said stretching and popping in my seat on the plane. Woody sighed and stood. As he reached up to get my bag I slapped him on the butt playfully. "Thanks Tiger." I said and he smacked my knee playfully back. He was nervous about his family meeting me for the first time. And a big family it was. I went over everyone's names in my head trying to get them all straight. Okay, first there was his Mom and Dad, easy enough, Mr. And Mrs. Hoyt. I was sure they'd make me call them by their first names though. Then he had a slew of younger siblings. Woody is the oldest, go figure. There was his brother Charlie, who was 24, 5 years younger than Woody and very similar in looks. After Charlie was another brother named Matty who was 18, then right behind Matty was a sister, Chrissy, who was 17. And last but certainly not least is what Woody's Mom calls "her little change of life surprise", John, 5. As we were walking off of the little plane and onto the runway, we spotted a crowd of anxious on lookers waiting by the gate to the runway. I assumed it was the Hoyts. We walked down the steps of the plane and as we neared the gate to Mitchell Field, little John came running out yelling "Woody! Woody! Woody!" I turned to Woody.
"So I'm gonna take a leap and assume that's your little brother John?" I asked as Woody gently let go of my hand. He ran ahead of me a little and swept up the chubby little brown haired boy. Woody threw his brother upside-down over his shoulder and began to tickle him as I caught up with them. John turned his head to have a better view of me. "How come you have a boy name?" He asked without introduction. Woody flipped him back over and continued walking with me along side them.
"John.." Woody said embarrassed and his face turned a little red. "Sorry Jordan, he's one of a long line of painfully shy boys." Woody said winking at me. John perched himself on Woody's hip and wrapped his chubby little arms around Woody's neck. Woody kissed the little boy's cheek and then with one hand squeezed the pair together. "Goodness! Look at how chubby these cheeks are getting!" Woody said and John pulled Woody's one hand away with both of his own. "Yeah, Mama said that their almost as FAT as yours used to be! But I'm gonna be big and tall and a detetive like you one day right Wood!?" John asked all but oblivious to me now.
"That's right pal." Woody said letting the boy drop down to the ground as I chuckled at his remark about Woody's adolescent chubbiness. I imagined Woody must have looked much the same as John when he was five. As I was ruminating on this, we finally reached the spot where the rest of Woody's family stood. Woody put his arm proudly around me. Everyone stood expectantly waiting for introductions to be made. Woody placed our bags down and cleared his throat.
"Ummm…….everybody this is Jordan." He said and I was greeted by six "Woody-smiles". I couldn't help smiling back.
"She got a boys name." John said. Everyone laughed and Woody's mom hurried forward to hug me.
"Oh hi sweetie! It's so nice to finally get to talk to you in person!" She said and hugged me warmly. I had to crouch to hug her. She was as tiny and mid-western- mom-like as I had expected. She had short, curly brown hair and Woody' charming smile.
Next I was embraced by his dad. I had expected a farmer and that is definitely not what I saw. He had to crouch to hug me for starters and he stood at about Woody's height. He was wearing a short sleeved, collared dark green shirt and a pair of khakis with brown shoes. He had very dark-brown hair,almost black with specks of grey and it was parted on the side and slicked back. I knew where Woody got his hair styling abilities from. They were all just so cute. Next Woody turned to his younger brother Charile. Now there was a cutie. He looked just like Woody but with a little bit of sharper features.
"This is my little brother Charile," Charlie happily moved forward to hug me, "And he's not allowed to hug you." Woody said smiling and grabbing his brother by the back of the neck to stop him from moving towards me.
I smiled and chuckled. "Hi Charlie." I said and put out my hand for him to shake. He took my hand gently and shook it. "Hi." He said shyly back.
When I turned back to Woody he was a hugging the only girl of the brood. She was a lanky, sporty brunette of 17. She reminded me of myself at that age. She hugged him genuinely back and Woody kissed the top of her head. When they turned to me, both smiled.
"Jordan, this is my sister Chris. Chris, this is Jordan." He said. The girl eyed me cautiously, I think I understood the hesitation. Woody was her big brother, she had to check me out first to make sure I was good enough for him. Finally satisfied, she stepped forward and offered me her hand.
"Hi Jordan." She said and I put out my hand to hers.
"Hi Chris." I said and we smiled at each other. Woody interrupted.
"Oh, hey! You know what Chris? Jordan plays the guitar and sings." He said happily and wrapped an arm around me again. Chrissy smiled brightly and her eyes snapped up to meet mine.
"You do?" She asked enthusiastically. I nodded. "Yeah, yeah I do…" I said and smiled back. "Me too! I mean, I don't play the guitar so well but I'm learning." She said and rolled her eyes.
"Well, I could teach you some stuff if you'd like." I said and Chris nodded rapidly. I nodded back and we were now officially buds.
Next, Woody turned me to his brother Matty. He was about 5 foot 9 and had the same pronounced Widow's Peak as Woody. His face was a little thinner and his eyes were more wide and innocent than Woody's though they were the same pretty blue.
"And this stud over here is Matt." Woody said and rustled Matt's hair. Matt pushed his hand away shyly and looked up from the ground into my eyes. He smiled shyly and stepped forward to shake my hand. I took his hand and he moved forward to hug me gently. I hugged him back and Woody seemed not to mind. Then I realized that it was because Matty had his exact personality. And surprising enough, Matty would become the sibling I would become closest to. After I was released by Matty, I bent down to little John. He crossed his arms and looked me up and down.
"Boy, you're tall fer a girl." He said and I poked him in his chubby stomach.
"And you're short for an observer." I said and by his face I could tell John was searching his memory for the word observer. I stood using John's head for leverage. He fixed his hair and then climbed up Woody's leg. As we headed for the car, all walking in a little bunch, Woody picked John back up and wrapped his arm around me again.
An hour or two later, we pulled up to Woody's parents' house. I got out of the van with John on my lap and placed him on the ground. He had warmed up to me over the course of the drive and he took my hand as we walked up the driveway. Woody was close behind me carrying a bag and making Charlie carry about 4 bags. We all talked hurriedly as we entered the house and Charlie stood in the doorway with the bags.
"Hey mom!" he said yelling over everyone. "Hey MOM!" he yelled again and no one heard him. "WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO PUT JORDAN'S STUFF!!!" He yelled and we all stopped talking.
I suddenly felt hugely more uncomfortable than I think I have ever been. But God bless Woody's mom, she didn't miss a beat.
"Now don't be smart Charles, you just go put them where they belong." She said winking at me. I smiled in appreciation. I had forgotten how cool Mom's could be. Charlie scowled and headed up the stairs to what I assumed was Woody's room. John pulled me off to see his room and I followed smiling.
"I'll be back……..I hope." I called over my shoulder to the rest of the family who laughed as they headed into the kitchen to get ready for dinner.
Woody must have felt neglected so after about twenty minutes of me being held captive by John looking at photo albums in his room, Woody came looking for me. He knocked gently on the door frame as he stood leaning against it. I looked up and smiled.
"You were so cute Woody!! I especially love the cowboy stage you went through a while back! What were you like 4!?" I asked chuckling. Woody came to sit next to me on John's bed. He looked at the picture I was referring to for a few seconds then nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, about four…..so…you like the cowboy thing?" he said cutting his eyes at me over John's head. I smiled and cut my eyes back at him. "Yeah…….I like it a lot." I said and Woody smiled coyly.
"Well……maybe I could try going through that cowboy stage again." He said and our moment was suddenly broken by John's little voice chiming in as he continued to thumb through the photos.
"Are you guys talking about sex?" He asked and Woody turned about 8 shades of read while I could only cover my mouth to keep from laughing.
"Boy….what did you……where did…..go wash your hands for dinner!" Woody said swatting John's rear as he hurried out of the room. When he turned back to me, Woody just shook his head in astonishment. We laughed and Woody leaned over to kiss me as I looked down at the book containing pictures from when John was first born. I ran my thumb over one particular picture of Woody cradling an infant John and holding him proudly up for the camera. I smiled and laid my hand on my stomach. Woody got the idea and laid his hand on top of mine. We smiled at each other.
"When do you wanna tell them?" I asked and Woody sighed heavily. "Well……I don't think that my parents are gonna take it badly….I mean, my mom had Charlie put your stuff in my room so, I think she's pretty sure we're sleeping together…" He sighed again." At dinner." He said and I nodded in agreement. We stood together and headed down the stairs to eat.
Dinner was awesome as I expected, and we all seemed to really be genuinely enjoying each other. I talked to Chrissy about music and the bands I was in, told Charlie and Matty about some Bruins games I had been to lately, and explained to John why my name could be for boys or girls. Just as Woody's mom was bringing out dessert, she asked what this big surprise Woody had for them was. He smiled shyly and suggested she sit down for this one. She smiled like she already knew and looking back on it now, I think that she might have. She took a seat next to Woody's dad and everyone listened attentively. Woody cleared his throat and took my hand under the table.
"Well….uh Mom, Dad…..everyone else relevant." He said smiling at his siblings and parents nervously. "Jordan and I are…going to have a baby." He said it slowly to let it sink in. Charlie winked and gave Woody a thumbs up, Chrissy smiled at me, Matty smiled at Woody and John chuckled, probably thinking about his revelation that we were talking about sex. I looked finally at Woody's mom and she was genuinely smiling. So was his dad, but a little more uncertainly.
"Oh! I'm going to be a grandmom!" Woody's mom said standing and moving to our side of the table. We both stood and she hugged us. Woody's dad followed closely behind and hugged me.
"Congratulations Sweety." He said rubbing my back. I kissed his cheek before he went to shake Woody's hand.
"Congratulations Son." He said and patted Woody on the back. I caught Woody's mom glancing at my ring finger just like Dad had done a few weeks earlier. Woody apparently caught her as well.
"Mama……"He said in a warning tone. She quickly began picking up dishes as she pretended not to have been doing what she clearly had been doing. Woody took some dishes from her and carried them into the kitchen following her. His dad suggested to the kids that they go watch some T.V. They all stood wordlessly, and headed to the rec. room in the basement, except for Charlie who had apparently been newly inducted into the Adult Club of the Hoyt family. He picked up some dishes and so did I. We headed into the kitchen catching the middle of Woody's conversation with his parents as they rinsed dishes.
"I'm 29 years old! I didn't plan on being a father yet, but it's gonna happen and I'm going to be ready for it." Woody said taking dishes from his mother and placing them in the dishwasher. His father chimed in from his position leaning against the counter.
"So, how are you going to go about supporting a baby and a…and Jordan?" he asked calmly. It wasn't an interrogation, they were just being parents.
Woody smiled and looked at me as I handed dishes to his mom.
"Dad, Jordan is a Medical Examiner…first of all, she doesn't need to be supported, second of all, I'm a Detective with the Boston Police Department…I don't make great money yet but in a year or two I'll probably be doing a little better. Until then, we're gonna move into Jordan's dad's house while we save up some money to get a place of our own." He said and his parents just nodded.
"I'm proud of you Son, you've really thought this out well." His dad said and Woody smiled in appreciation.
"I really have Pop. I love Jordan and I'm gonna make sure I can take care of this baby." He said keeping eye contact with his dad. His dad smiled and stepped out to hug him. Woody seemed both surprised ad touched by the gesture. There were hugs all around again and Charlie tried to get one from me, which Woody once again prevented him from doing by grabbing the back of his neck.
Later that night……….
Woody and I sat on the couch in the
family room together around 11:30. All the kids were in bed and Charlie headed
off to his apartment which was only about 5 minutes away. All that remained
were Woody, myself and his mom and dad. We were chatting in the living room
when Woody suddenly yawned and stretched. We all chuckled.
"Your all tuckered out there partner?" I asked smiling. Woody
chuckled and stood from the couch.
"Yeah I think I'm gonna go peek in on the kids then go to sleep." He said and bent down to kiss me good-night. "You comin' soon?" he asked casually and I nodded.
"Yeah I think I'm gonna stick around down here for a bit." I said and Woody's dad stood as well.
"I think I'm gonna hit the sack myself…I'll leave you two ladies to some girl talk." He said smiling sleepily and kissed his wife good-night. Then he kissed my cheek and wished me sweet dreams. The two men headed up the stairs together and Woody's mom watched them. When they were out of sight she leaned forward to me and whispered.
"He's always been like that you know? Checkin' in on the kids. He's always felt responsible for them." She shook her head remembering something. "You know, Jimmy isn't Woody's real father?" She said simply and turned a little to look at me.
I was really surprised. I hadn't known that. "No, I didn't actually. Where's his real dad?" I asked somewhat tentatively because I wasn't sure if it was a touchy subject. His mother didn't seem surprised at this.
"I wouldn't imagine you would sweetheart. Woody doesn't really like to think about him much. The only real father he's ever had was Jim." She said sighing as she glanced over at a family portrait taken probably 3 years earlier by the looks of John. I let her continue at her own speed and didn't push her to go on.
"I had Woody, Charlie, Matt and Chrissy with my first husband, his name was Jack. Jack was….well, Jack was a mistake I made at a young age, but despite that, he gave me those four wonderful children. Unfortunately, Jack also gave me a lot of heartache." She sighed and laid her head back in her chair. "He was a good man most of the time, took the kids places, supported us all, but he was a drinker. And when he drank he was such a….such a different person you know?" She asked and I nodded.
I had suspected there was some personal experience behind Woody's claim that I was like an alcoholic. He had been sympathetic saying that I couldn't help myself, but there was a real concern in his eyes like he had been in a similar situation before. I just nodded encouraging her to continue, and feeling very privileged to have been allowed to know this information about their family.
"Now I'm not saying he ever once laid a hand on one of the kids before….. He had enough sense to know I would have called the police on him the first time he raised a hand to one of them." She paused for a second then continued with a sigh. "But this one night when Woody was about oh….12 if I remember correctly. Yes that's right because Chrissy was just a new born little thing and Matty was starting to walk all over creation."She smiled and then suddenly frowned connecting the nostalgic memory of her children when they were young to an unpleasant memory.
"And this one night, I was over next door with Chrissy and Matty at my girlfriends house. I left Woody to watch 7 year old Charlie who was asleep. Woody was so dependable….I trusted him completely to keep an eye on the house while I was next door. His father, Jack, had told me he was working late and wouldn't be home at his regular time that night….but…instead of working late I learned later that he had gone out drinking. He came in the house, Woody was watching football or something down in the living room and had fallen asleep on the couch. Jack tripped over one of Charlie's trucks stumbling into the house and he…just lost it. He charged up the stairs, threw Charlie's door open and ripped him out of bed screaming at him about the truck. Woody heard the commotion and woke up. He hurried up the stairs to find his father holding little Charlie up against the wall by his neck."
I shook my head in amazement. I guess Woody was right about being complicated too. I let her continue.
"Now Woody had a bit of a stammering problem when he was a little boy, but from what Charlie tells me, he had no trouble telling his father just where he could go that night." She chuckled a little sadly.
"Woody pulled Charlie away from Jack and took him to his room. When he got back to his father he told him…that….he should just leave. That we didn't need him around and we'd all be better off if he just left us all and went away." She sighed and stood. She walked over to the window and looked out at the few cars still passing through the little neighborhood.
"So……he did. But not by packing his things up and moving away. The next day I noticed that Jack was more quiet than he normally was. He moped around the house and told me he wasn't feeling well and wasn't going into work that day. I was a little concerned but neither he nor Woody had said anything about what happened the night before. So I sent Woody and Charlie off to school and around 3 O'clock I took Matty and Chrissy with me grocery shopping. When Woody and Charlie got home from school, they found their father on the living room couch. He had put his hunting rifle in his mouth and shot himself. Woody entered the house first and saw it. He tried to stay calm and sent Charlie next door to my girlfriend's house. Then he went back home through the back door to the kitchen and called the sheriff." She turned to me indicating that she was finished.
I couldn't believe what I had just
heard. I understood why Woody never told me much about his family before.
"Oh my God." It was all I could say. "Thank you for sharing that
with me Mrs. Hoyt…Jane." I said when she started to protest me calling her
Mrs. Hoyt.
"How bout 'Mom'?" She asked cautiously. I sighed and chuckled. "I know a little something of you myself Jordan." I smiled and agreed that maybe after a little bit of getting used to I could start calling her that. We hugged and she wished me sweet dreams before heading off to sleep herself. I stayed in the dimly lit room for a little bit longer with my thoughts.
When I finally gathered myself, I climbed the stairs quietly. I opened the door to Woody's room quietly and he was still awake, lying in bed. He smiled at me when I came in and shut the door softly. "oooooo……hey I never got to have girls in my room when I was a kid." He said smiling and I rolled my eyes. Woody realized that there was something different about me.
"What's wrong?" he whispered as I got undressed and put a pair of shorts and a tank top on. I crawled into bed with him and laid my head against his chest. Woody began to stroke my hair out of my face gently and rub my shoulders. I sighed thankful that he was giving me time to respond.
"Jordan?" He asked tentatively. "You okay?" he asked and kissed the top of my head. I rolled over onto my stomach slowly and crossed my arms over Woody's stomach. I laid my chin on my arms and sighed.
"Your mom and I talked." I said and Woody nodded still perplexed. "About what?" He asked and I smiled sadly.
"About Jack." I said and Woody's eyes dropped to the floor in the corner of the room and his body tensed a little. He sighed.
"Oh." He said and then laughed sadly. "Told you I was complicated too." He said and flicked his eyes between the corner and me. I bent up to him and kissed his lips.
"I mean, I basically killed the guy right? I think that's complicated." He said and I looked at him sternly.
"Woody, as far as I can tell, your father killed himself. You didn't pull the trigger." I said forcefully and Woody shook his head.
"No I didn't. I just helped him load the gun." He said and I knew he was talking about what he had said to his father about not needing him.
"Woody, what you said to him was something any scared little boy would say. You wanted him to stop hurting your family and making your mother upset. You just wanted to make the sadness leave your house." I said and laid my head back down on his chest. Woody sighed heavily.
"Can we…not talk about this too much Jordan? I mean you have your thing with your mom and…I have Jack…….it's not something I like about my past but it's something I have learned to deal with. And I promise you I will NEVER be like him. Never." I rolled onto my side and Woody laid his hand on my stomach.
"I know you won't Woody. You're a wonderful man. You were raised by wonderful parents, I was raised by a wonderful father, and we're gonna be wonderful parents." I said smiling and tearing up a bit.
Woody kissed me and we snuggled down into the covers together and drifted to sleep.
The next day we woke up feeling more bonded than the night before. We both knew what it was like to lose a parent. We went down stairs following the wonderful smells of the kitchen. We had a big country breakfast with biscuits and gravy and steak and eggs, toast, jelly, bacon. It was wonderful. Woody said he wanted to take me out and show me around the town he grew up in. We took the kids with us and let them go see friends while we walked around town. Woody showed me his high school, the playgrounds he played on, the tee-ball field he learned to play ball on and the movie theatre he lost his virginity in the balcony of while seeing "Backdraft" of all movies.
"And quite a backdraft it was!" Woody said chuckling and shaking his head. At the end of our immature little fit of laughter, Woody suddenly grew somber as he looked out across the street from the movie theatre at something. I followed his line of vision to see a group of young women coming out of a hairdressers talking away to each other.
"What?" I asked looking from the women to Woody. He sighed and leaned back against the wall of the movie theatre. He crossed his arms and looked down at the ground. 'oh shit.' Was all I could think. There's only one woman in the world grown men respond to that way. It was the girl who stood him up at the prom.
I watched Woody's painful display and I felt anger well up inside of me. I grabbed him by the hand and before he could respond, I dragged him across the street.
When we hit the sidewalk I told
Woody what to do. As we approached the women, I stopped at the window of a shop
and let Woody walk by the women alone. I had the distinct feeling that I was
really going to enjoy myself. I stood casually pretending to admire a dress or
something as one of the women stopped short as they passed Woody.
"Woody! Woody Hoyt!?" she said and out of the corner of my eye I
could tell she was trying not to laugh. Woody hesitated and I willed him not to
back down. He smiled kindly.
"Hi Diane." He said and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets as the other women stopped and walked back to where Woody was standing. They all chuckled and whispered as they walked back over.
"So…..how are you doing? The
big city all it's cracked up to be?" She asked and jabbed one of the other
women with her elbow. Woody just kept on smiling and he opened his mouth to
respond but nothing came out. He was gonna stammer. I couldn't let that happen
so I swung in for the rescue. I crept from my position by the window.
"Woody, Sweetie, come take a look at these maternity clothes I …" I
pretended to just notice the women as I wrapped my arms around Woody's waist
and he proudly wrapped his arms around me. Now he was ready to play hardball.
He kissed me and laid a hand on my stomach.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Where the hell are my manners!" Woody said mock laughing and I went along. "Diane, this is my girlfriend Jordan Cavanaugh, she's a Dr. With the Massachusetts Medical Examiners Office. Jordan this is Diane Hughes, we went to school together." Diane was speechless. She stumbled over her words. "So…you finally found someone for yourself Woody, I'm happy for you." She said getting her little dig in. I Smiled and laid my hand over Woody's where it lay on my stomach. "He actually found a couple of people for him. We've got a baby due in April!" I said sweetly. "And with Woody making Detective and being assigned to Homicide, we should be able to get a nice little town house together." I said and Woody nodded in agreement. Diane was speechless. She just nodded and smiled a big fake smile. The other women looked around the street at each other, pretty much anywhere but right at the happy couple.
"That's….terrific, really I'm
happy for you." Diane said.
"Yeah, I'm really, really happy with my life now, big jump from the chubby
stuttering kid you stood up at the prom huh?" Woody said and took my hand
in his. Diane just stared at him.
"Well, we have to be back at my parent's soon, I'll see ya around Diane." He said. "Ladies." He said nodding to the gaggle behind Diane. We walked off around them as the kids were hurrying out of the drug store talking to each other and the two of us. Woody picked little John up and he swung from Woody into my arms. I caught him and let him slide to the ground as we walked off around the corner together and never looked back.
When we got back to Woody's parents house, we all decided to go to the lake for the day. It was hot, the kids were irritable and swimming in the cool waters of lake Michigan sounded like a really good idea to everyone. We all changed and got ready to go and were out the door by a little after noon.
The lake was more beautiful than I had imagined. As soon as we got out of our cars, the kids took off running to a dock. The adults carried the beach chairs and blankets down to the water. When we had set everything up and I had finished laughing at Woody and his dad trying to get the umbrella steak in deep enough, Woody smiled coyly and came running after me. I pulled my t-shirt off and left just my bikini top and board shorts on as I charged into the water with the kids. Woody sacked me into the water and the kids jumped on top of him to try and save me as we all laughed and splashed around. Charlie, who was standing up on an embankment holding onto a thick, frayed rope hanging from a tree, made a Tarzan yell and swung straight for us. He obviously knew what he was doing and managed to careen over us and land in some deeper water. We all laughed until a minute had passed and Charlie hadn't surfaced. We began to look around us in the clear water when all of a sudden, Woody got pulled under. The kids all started screaming and laughing at the same time. I laughed as we all hurried away from where the two oldest brothers were wrestling. Both took each other under and we laughed as we searched the water with our eyes for sign of them. I screamed involuntarily when I felt a pair of strong hands grab me around the ankles and yank me under. I heard Matty and Chris yell as well, and assumed that Charlie had gotten them.
Later we all played football and let John get a few touchdowns to feel important. When I got too tired to do anymore as it was nearing 6 pm and the sun was quickly disappearing, I was heading to the chairs to get a sweatshirt when I notices Matty standing near another group of chairs chatting with a girl about his age. He kept looking at his feet shyly and the girl was flirting pretty heavily with him. I smiled as he flipped his hair out of his face and the girl mussed it playfully. He grabbed her by the wrist playfully and pulled her into his arms and tickled her. They then chased each other up the sand and walked along the water holding hands. I smiled at them as Woody came up behind me. He pulled a sweatshirt over my head and I chuckled putting my arms up through the sleeves.
"Thanks Dad." I said and laughed before kissing him and nodding towards Matty and his companion.
"Is that his girl friend?" I asked and Woody glanced over at the two walking hand in hand down the water's edge. He shrugged.
"Dunno." He said and took my hand in his and headed off in the same direction as his brother was headed. We kept about a 20 ft. safety distance from them and carried on our own little conversation about time Woody had spent at the lake as a kid. Finally, Matt caught on that we were trailing them and veered off in another direction away from the lake. Woody and I chuckled.
"I guess we just got told." Woody said wrapping his arms around me and we continued on our path down the beach.
Later that night when we had gotten back from the beach I went out on the porch to get my drying sandals and found Matty sitting on the rail of the porch in the dark.
"Hey, Matt……what are you doing out here?" I asked. He turned his head to look at me and slid off the railing. He walked past me to sit on the porch swing by the door and I went and sat next to him.
"Thinking." He said and chuckled rubbing the back of his head. I smiled.
"Care to share with the rest of the class?" I asked leaning back on the swing. I looked over at Matt and smiled. His profile was the same as Woody's. He caught me staring and turned to look at me, being taller than I was, he had to look down a little.
"Scary isn't it?" he said and smiled. I just nodded and shook my head in awe of his perception. He leaned back as well and sighed. I tried him again.
"So you wanna talk about what you're thinking?" I asked and looked out at the moonlight shimmering off the newly forming film of dew on the late night grass. Matt sighed.
"That girl? You know the one I was with on the beach today?" He asked and I smiled. I could tell he was blushing even in the dark. "Yeah, I guess you did notice." He said and looked out at the yard as well.
"Is she your girl friend?" I asked and Matt sighed and thought for a minute.
"I'm….not…..sure……what she is. I mean we hang out together….go out to eat sometimes…." He suddenly blushed again. "We….we even danced together in her uncle's bar this one night." He said shyly.
I smiled having a memory of my own. "Sounds pretty serious." I said and Matty nodded.
"Yeah, I mean I really think that she wants to go out with me but…..I dunno, she gets all freaked out when I tell her that I like her….." He said and I laid my hand on his back.
"Would you care for some advice from a girl with a problem not far removed from your own girl's?" I asked and Matt nodded.
I sighed.
"Take her hostage if you have to." I said simply and then betrayed my joke with a smile. Matt chuckled. "You just have to keep at it Matt… You know? If Woody wasn't as persistent as he was with me…..we probably would have gone out a lot sooner, things would have moved too quickly, and then I would have freaked out and scared him off with my over-bearing insanity." Matt chuckled again.
"Yeah, Woody started telling me about you about a month after he moved to Boston. At first it was just that he noticed you."
I could feel myself blushing at the revelation. I hadn't known that Woody admired me before we even met. He must have jumped on his first shot at getting to come to the morgue. Damn, he WAS persistent. I shook my head amused.
" Then he started telling me about how he had to come get you in LA or something and he thought for sure you knew then how much he liked you." Matt smiled. "Then he said you went to LA together again. And that YOU kissed HIM." Matt said smiling proudly at me. I narrowed my eyes playfully at him in the dark.
"Details, details…..but in the end he asked for another one. After we….or……I decided that it would be better if we didn't get involved." Matt looked perplexed.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked and folded his arms across his chest. I sighed heavily and opened my mouth a few times trying to decide how to respond.
"Well….you see Matt….I haven't had the best luck with trust and men in the past….I have a long history of being burned. A lot of guys I've known in my life have let me down in the end." I said and looked down at my hands in my lap. Matt turned to look at me.
"But not Woody, right?" He asked and I smiled.
"No. Not Woody." I took Matt's face in my hands and kissed his forehead. "Talk to her. Trust me, if it's meant to be she'll come around eventually." Matt smiled and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him tightly back.
"Thanks Jordan. I'm gonna go run over to her house right now." He said standing quickly and hurrying down the front steps. He turned when I called to him.
"It's a little late don't you think her parents might not appreciate a late night visit?" I asked standing and walking to the railing. Matt turned around and walked backwards off into the yard.
"No……they probably wouldn't……..I'm gonna have to do it Romeo style…..climb up the balcony…." He said and smiled. I chuckled and shooed him off with a wave of my hand.
"Go get her Romeo." I said and turned to someone coming out the front door. Woody smiled at me and I walked over to him and he pulled me to his chest. I laughed heartily when he scooped me off of my feet and carried me over to the porch swing. He sat down with me on his lap and I tucked my head under his chin.
"So…….givin' my little brother pointers?" He asked. I nuzzled further under his chin.
"No, just some experience." I said and Woody kissed the top of my head.
"I think he's giving you a little experience himself." Woody said and I looked up at him puzzled.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, I can't be sure but that seemed a lot like motherly advice to me." He said and I chuckled. "I figure we're gonna be in need of a lot of that in the near future. I mean if we have a boy." He said and I turned to look up at him again.
"I thought we were having a girl, oh omniscient one." I said and Woody jabbed me playfully in the side. "Well, see that's the thing," Woody said sitting me up better in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder.
"If we have a boy, I'm going to let
you handle the sensitive, male rearing…." He let it hang and I sat back to look
in his face. "And if you and….the rest of Boston are correct in your
predictions of a girl?" Woody scrunched up his nose and looked sternly off into
the distance as if he was looking into the future.
"Well, if we do have a girl….me, my badge, the pit bull I'm gonna need to
get….and not to mention your….father….are gonna take care of her protection.
Namely……wrapping the house in barbed wire the day she turns 13….or develops….which
ever comes first." He said and I just shook my head in amusement.
"Oh, okay." I said and laid my head back down on Woody's shoulder.
I must have fallen asleep like that because I woke up the next morning in bed with Woody. By noon we were all packed and ready to head back to Boston.
"You'll have to let us know when you've got some time off next month so we can come visit and meet your dad Jordan!" Woody's mom said as the guys were taking our stuff out of the van at the airport. I hugged her and promised to see her soon.
Next, I hugged Woody's dad and
kissed his cheek with a little more appreciation of him than when I first met
him. Then I hugged Chrissy and made her promise to keep up with practicing the
songs on guitar I had taught her. She did and when I pulled back from her, I
had to stifle a laugh as I saw Charlie out of the corner of my, standing face
fixed unhappily in a frown with his hand jutted out to shake mine. I finally
laughed and looked over at Woody who begrudgingly gave Charlie the o.k. to hug
me. Happily, Charlie smiled and briefly embraced me. I patted him on the back
and kissed his cheek. When I pulled back from Charlie, Matt was standing
patiently beside me. I turned to him and raised my eyebrows waiting. I opened
my arms and Matt stepped forward and hugged me.
"So how'd it go last night?" I whispered. Matt hugged me tightly and turned his
head to whisper back. "Ahhhh……what light through yonder window broke…..a few
pebbles to her window….a few smooth, yet persistent lines….and one particularly
painful climb up her drainpipe….and….I was in." he whispered and I leaned back
a little noticing his blush. I looked him over curiously.
"Hmmmmm……." I decided to play with the Shakespearean banter. "I think that …..our Romeo hath not been in bed tonight?" I half asked. Matt chuckled and then whispered before pulling back, " No, no that's not exactly accurate." He said smiling shyly. I mussed his hair and mouthed, 'be careful', before turning and bending down to be face to face with John. I took his cheeks in my hands.
"It was nice to meet you John Robert." I said and kissed his forehead. He smiled and wrapped his arms around my neck. He hugged me tightly before pulling back and pulling a teddy bear out from his back which he had tucked into his pants.
"Here." He said offering the little bear to me. "I want you ta give this to the baby….Woody says I'm gonna be it's uncle….I think I should get rid of some of my baby stuff now….so…..the baby can have him……..his name's Frank…." I chuckled and took the little bear carefully.
"Thank you John…..that's a very special thing. You're gonna make a wonderful uncle." I said and petted his head.
We said our final good-byes and walked toward the stairs of the little charter plane hand-in-hand.
More to come……….Garrett gives Jordan a goldfish to practice for the baby with while Woody deals with his own insecurities about becoming a father……