PART 8 Pacey

I was out on the back porch, cooking the food on the grill. Gretchen with Ashley in her lap and Andie were sitting at the picnic table talking while all of the guys played an amateur game of soccer with the kids. Joey and Jen disappeared somewhere inside the house catching up on what I knew was much needed talking. I knew Joey had really missed spending time with Jen and it was the only thing she disliked about being back in Capeside. When we lived in Boston we were able to get together with Jen and Tom at least once a week.

The sliding screen door opened up behind me and Joey and Jen came out onto the porch. Joey had the baby monitor in her hand and she plugged it into the outlet on the porch.

"So where have you girls been?" I asked them.

"She kidnapped me and forced me to engage in girl talk," Jen said pretending to be totally appalled.

"Oh, you loved it," Joey said slapping her playfully on the arm.

"Ow," Jen said rubbing the spot on her arm then leaning over the grill to see what I was making. "Mmm, looks good. But something is definitely wrong with this picture," she said scratching her head pretending to be thinking. "Oh, that's it! Pacey's cooking, now that's something you don't see every day."

"Funny, Lindley, real funny," I joked back.

"Actually," Joey said putting her arms around me from behind. "Pacey's been doing all of the cooking lately and the laundry and the cleaning."

"Impressive," Jen said. "I always thought if there was anyone who could house break Pacey it'd be you, Joey."

"You better watch it Lindley or I just might do something horrible to your food."

We all laughed after a moment and Jen started down the stairs. She turned back after a second and said, "I really have missed you guys." We smiled at her as she walked away.

I turned to Joey then. "How's Ryan?"

"He's good. He's sleeping. I brought the monitor out so keep your ears open."

I nodded. "You and Jen have a good talk?"

"She asked me to be her maid of honor," she said with a beaming smile.

"That's nice," I said sincerely.

"Yeah, it is," she said glancing out towards the yard to see what everyone was doing.

"So, how's everything going out here?"

"Fine."

"Well that food looks like it's almost done so I better go in and get the stuff," she said heading for the slider.

"Gretchen and I took care of that. Everything is out on the table."

"Oh," she said surprised. "You didn't have to do that."

"This is your thing. Just enjoy yourself."

She wrapped her arms around me again and looked up at me. "Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?"

I smiled embarrassed and shrugged my shoulders. "You should probably go entertain our guests. And I should get back to this food."

"Right," she sighed. "Listen for the baby," she told me as she released herself from my grasp and headed down the stairs.

"Jo," I said grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards me to kiss her. She hugged me before she turned and walked away.

She sat at the picnic table with Gretchen and Andie. Jen had joined the soccer game but she wasn't really playing, she and Tobey were pretending to be into the game but they were just busy talking. Finally, Jack kicked them off the field since they weren't serious about soccer and they joined everyone else at the table.

Andie got up from the table after awhile and headed towards me. As she approached, a big smile came across her face.

"Getting hungry?" I asked her. "It's almost ready."

"Need any help?"

"I'm good."

She leaned up against the railing of the porch. "This was really great of you guys to invite us all here." "I can't take any of the credit. It was all Joey's idea."

"You and Joey seem really happy," she said tilting her head to the side a little bit.

"Definitely."

"I just keep thinking about the last time I saw you. You guys were broken up and you were heading off to the Caribbean for the summer."

"That was a million years ago and frankly, I can't believe that was the last time I saw you." I said with a disbelieving laugh.

She laughed. "I know. Me either."

"So, how is Italy?"

She drew in a deep breath. "There are no words to describe how much I love it there."

"That's really, really great."

"Aside from the fact that I have a beautiful family, I have a really great job that I love. I get to help kids on a daily basis. I know from experience how much it means, as a kid, just having someone to talk to and I really love feeling like I make a difference. I mean, maybe I don't always make a difference but it's nice feeling like I do."

"I'm sure you do. You certainly made one with me," I told her.

"Well, you do know that you did the same thing for me?"

I just smiled at her and we were quiet for awhile after that. There weren't many people in the world that you could just be with quietly without it feeling too awkward. Andie had always been one of those people. From the second I met her I knew she would be.

"Jack and Tobey seem really great together," I said after awhile.

She smiled. "Tobey has been really great for Jack." She glanced out towards the yard then glanced back at me. "Can I tell you something in confidence?" She had a giddy grin on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"You have to promise not to say anything."

"Andie, what are we in second grade. Do you want a pinky swear?" She laughed. "It's just that they asked me not to say anything because they want to tell everyone themselves but if I don't tell someone I'm going to explode and Roberto already knows so I can't tell him.." she rambled on and on without taking a breath.

"Andie, just say it," I finally cut her off.

She glanced out at the yard again to make sure no one was coming, then back at me with a giddy grin still on her face. "Jack and Tobey are going to adopt a baby."

It was the last thing I expected to hear but it still made me very happy for some reason. A smile formed on my face. "Really?"

"Isn't that so great?" she said almost in tears. She was holding her hands at her chest trying to contain her happiness. "Can you believe they made me keep it a secret?"

"When are they going to spill the beans?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

I folded my arms across my chest and smiled to myself.

"What?" Andie asked sensing that I had something on my mind.

"It's just.well, it's really amazing the way everything with all of us turned out."

"We're all happy," she agreed.

"And, for the most part, things are good."

"And most importantly, we're all still friends," she said.

"We're so lucky that we have this chance to see each other again."

We were interrupted by Ryan's cries coming through the baby monitor.

"Here," Andie said grabbing the spatula from my hand. "I'll take care of this. You go take care of your son."

"Thanks," I told her as stepped inside the house.

Inside the nursery I picked Ryan up from the bassinet. He stopped crying almost immediately and it made me think all he really wanted was for someone to hold him. I cradled him in my arms and smiled as I thought about Jack and Tobey as fathers. I remembered thinking that no one should be denied the opportunity to experience the feel of your own child in your arms, depending on you and your touch for his comfort. Good for them. Good for all of us that we were having a chance to see each other again, to witness the happiness in each other's lives, to remember what it was that brought us all together in the first place.