Chapter 29: Getting Through The Holidays
September 5, 1992 - Saturday
Rob pulled the car into Kara's driveway. He and Alan had driven her home and the long journey had finally ended. Rob turned the car off and turned to look into the backseat.
"Hey, we're here. Nap time is over!" He shouted.
Alan was startled awake. As he adjusted to what was going on, he spied Rob and Kara sitting in the front seats, staring at him. Rob was laughing and Kara was just smiling.
"Yeah, we made it," Alan said on the phone, yawning. "How's Allison?"
"She's doing much better," Ellie said, "I think she'll probably be leaving soon. Her next semester starts soon and she needs to get to California."
"We need to think about making travel plans, too. Colorado is waiting."
"I already did."
"I knew there was a good reason to keep you around."
Ellie laughed.
"That, and the fact that I make really good scrambled egg sandwiches," she added.
"Oh, yes, I forgot about those. Yes, that too," he said, looking around, "Well, I'm going to go. We're going to eat something really quick and then head back."
"Oh, and hey, I almost forgot. Richard called today, wanting to know how things were going, and to give us an update."
Richard had gotten called back to his job, a couple weeks before the trial had started. Since then, either Richard or Melissa would call every Saturday or Sunday to catch up on things.
"Did Melissa have the baby yet?"
"Nope. Not yet. Any day now," Ellie answered.
"No?"
Rob was standing by his sister in the kitchen. Overhearing the conversation, he invited himself into it.
"What? She still hasn't had that baby? Jesus, what is little Jodie waiting for? Christmas?"
Deciding to listen to what Ellie was saying, instead of what Rob was saying, Alan continued the phone conversation, "I would imagine the next few days will be nerve-racking for them."
He heard a strange sound coming from somewhere on Ellie's end. At first, it sounded like static, but suddenly he wasn't so sure. The noise repeated a few more times, and was drowned out by Rob's constant rambling. Alan gestured for him to be quiet, but Rob just waved him off. Ellie was quiet on the phone for several seconds, and then her voice was finally heard again.
"Oh, when you get back, I've got something to talk to you about."
"What is it? What was that noise?"
"When you get here, I'll tell you."
"Something bad?"
"No, not at all. I'll talk to you about it when you get home."
It was Alan's turn to be quiet. Then, after a heavy sigh, knowing that he would never get anything out of her over the phone, he conceded.
"Well, I'll talk to you later. Hopefully, in a few hours . . . in person."
"Okay. Be careful, Alan."
"I will."
"And don't let Rob talk you into stopping at every bar on the way."
Alan laughed, as he glanced over at Rob, who was now bugging Kara by playfully moving the frying pan around on the stove while she was trying to cook something.
"Yes, boss," he said.
Rob and Alan walked outside onto Kara's front porch. She had a nice little house. It was a few miles away from her father's mansion, so the two of them saw each other often. Rob was a little surprised that their father wasn't there to meet them when Kara arrived home, but his sister told him Rob Sr. was in a meeting and wouldn't be able to visit until later.
Rob looked at Alan.
"I drove the last one hundred miles, so you get to drive first now."
"Sure," Alan said, nodding and catching the keys Rob threw his way.
Rob turned toward his sister.
"You take care of yourself, sis. I don't want to get another one of those horrible phone calls."
"I will."
"Ever . . . never . . . again, okay?"
Kara sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Okay, Rob," she said softly.
"You almost gave poor Alan a heart attack," Rob joked, trying to make the mood a little lighter.
Kara and Alan exchanged looks, and then they both looked at Rob, who was looking at them like he knew something more than he was letting on. He clapped his hands together and slapped Alan on the back.
"Okay, let's get this show on the road," Rob announced.
He took a step toward his sister and embraced her, and then gave her a quick kiss and hopped happily down the stairs and toward the car, leaving Alan on the porch with Kara.
"Good bye," Alan said, uneasily, as he began to back away toward the steps.
Kara took a step toward him and unexpectedly hugged him. He returned the embrace and felt her grip grow tighter. She kissed his cheek, and then let him go.
"Thanks for everything, Alan. You've been a really good friend to me."
"Same here," he said, smiling at her. "Take care of yourself, Kara," he added.
She nodded and faintly smiled as he turned and descended the few stairs toward the car. She watched him closely, as he got into the car, and then as he started it and backed up. When the car was in the street, she waved toward Rob and Alan. They waved back and she watched Rob lean over and beep the car horn, causing her to laugh some. The car disappeared down the street, leaving Kara by herself.
"It's too bad," Rob said out of the blue.
"What is?"
"About you and Kara."
Alan found that to be a very strange thing to say. He continued to drive, stirring in an unsettling manner, trying to think of some way to change the subject. He couldn't think of a thing.
"What are you talking about?" Alan finally asked, deciding to just get the conversation started, so it could quickly end.
"You and Kara. The cave. The little intimate moment."
Alan kept his eyes on the road, trying to ignore what his friend was saying. Rob waited patiently for him to react, but when he didn't, he continued.
"Alan, she's had a crush on you for a long time. It was just a matter of time before she acted on it."
"How much do you know about this?"
"Enough. That night I overheard you two talking about it, was all I needed to know." Rob noticed the questionable look on Alan's face and continued, "I was drunk . . . but not that drunk, you idiot."
Alan laughed.
"Well, it's in the past now, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."
"You mean not to tell Ellie."
"Yes, Rob."
"I would fear for my sister if Ellie found out about it," Rob said, kind of joking, but knowing that he was kind of right at the same time.
"I think this whole thing has been over-exaggerated by now."
"Alan, you were kissed by a beautiful and intelligent woman. I think Ellie would take that badly."
"If it were presented in the right way, it could work out."
"Oh, so you would downplay the whole beautiful and intelligent part?"
"I don't know."
"So, what you're saying is . . . you don't find my sister attractive?"
"Your sister is a very beautiful and intelligent woman," Alan admitted, "But . . . can we just stop talking about this?"
"You know, if you had dated my sister, we couldn't be friends anymore," Rob stated, totally ignoring Alan's plea to end the discussion.
"Why is that?" Alan asked, re-interested in the conversation.
"Because, as a man, I know that you . . . as a fellow man . . . would do something really stupid, causing my sister to dump you. Then, I would have to disassociate myself from you . . . because you were stupid."
"That doesn't make a lot of sense."
"I know, but it was fun to call you stupid twice in the same sentence."
Alan was about to say something, when Rob suddenly clapped his hands together, acting like he just figured out the mysteries of the world.
"What now? Need a potty break?"
"Funny," Rob said, "Actually, I just made a major breakthrough in regards to you and my sister."
"Could you keep it to yourself?"
"Oh, no, you don't. This is too good," Rob said, sitting up straighter, "Okay, look. Your life parallels what happened on All My Children a few months ago."
Alan rolled his eyes.
"No, no. No eye rolling! I'm being serious."
"I know you are and that's what is frightening," Alan said, laughing.
"It's just like Erica, Jack and Jack's brother Travis."
Alan turned the radio up, but then Rob turned it right back down.
"Travis found Erica in bed with Jack!"
"How does that resemble what's going on in my life?"
"Shut up, I'm getting to that."
Alan stared at him, and then went back to watching the road.
"Anyway! Travis was this nice good guy, with morals. Guess what happened to him?"
"He lived happily ever after?"
"Are you crazy? That never happens on soaps!"
"How stupid of me."
"He dies Alan! Travis dies! The good and nice, understanding guy . . . is murdered!"
Alan was about to ask him to shut up, when Rob became animated and started to point toward the side of the road.
"Look!" He shouted, gesturing toward a bar that was getting closer, "The Iron Well! Let's stop and get a drink."
Alan looked at the bar closely.
"Uh, I'm thinking no."
"Why no?" Rob asked, smacking the dashboard.
"I really want to get home, Rob."
"You are such a bore!"
"And you are such a bad influence on me," Alan added.
"Yeah. But! You need that in life, because you're . . . well, dull. No fun. None whatsoever. You workaholic nut."
"Hey, I agreed to drive Kara home with you. That counts for something."
"No, it doesn't. You only did that because the one in charge of your relationship, told you to."
"No, she didn't," Alan challenged.
"Well, yeah . . . I know. But who cares really?"
"I think you need someone of the female persuasion to occupy some of your time," Alan suggested, "Maybe you would settle down a little bit that way."
The car drove past the Iron Well.
"Good-bye fun, happiness, and drunkenness!" Rob shouted, paying very little attention to Alan's comments. He turned to look back at the bar, and then glanced toward Alan, who was shaking his head while driving, "Hello, boring dinosaur fossils and tourists!"
Alan slowed down some. He did hate the tourists, that was for sure.
"Ha! See? We could go back, have a few drinks, kick back, relax and then continue onwards, home to the tourists. What do ya say?"
"Yeah, okay," Alan said, turning the car around.
"Yes! Finally, Alan Grant is acting like an honest-to-God American! You've become one of us, after all these years! I'm proud of you!"
"Do me a favor," Alan said, as he pulled into the bar parking lot.
"Anything," Rob said, keeping a keen eye on the lot and some of the beautiful women hanging around.
"Stop talking to me."
"Whatever," he said, frowning at Alan.
It had been dark for a few hours now, when Alan quietly walked into his house in Glasgow. He was immediately greeted with a loud squawking noise, coming from somewhere in a different room.
"Hello?"
"Hello . . . how are you," a strange voice said from the other room.
"What the . . . ?" Alan began to say, as he followed the voice, "Ellie?"
"In here, Alan," Ellie's voice was heard.
His searching brought him to the master bedroom. They had refinished it, turning it into an office of sorts. Much to his dismay, Ellie had put one of those annoying computers in there, as well, and she would spend hours typing different papers and organizing her thoughts in their new office. There was also some furniture . . . a couch, an end table, and a comfy chair . . . as well as a desk and a filing cabinet. A television was set up in the corner.
He walked into the office, and saw a parrot's cage sitting in the room. Inside the cage, a parrot, squawking and talking, as Alan became visible in the doorway.
"Hello," it said.
"Hello," Alan answered, an automatic response when someone is greeted. Then he frowned, as he realized what he did. He looked from the parrot, to Ellie. "What is this?"
"Oh, this is what I needed to talk to you about."
"It's looking like you're telling me, was an afterthought," he said, frowning at the parrot again.
"Remember Margaret?" She asked cheerfully, ignoring his comment.
"Who?"
"Margaret."
Upon hearing Margaret's name, the parrot went into some unidentifiable song about her, singing cheerfully, whistling and squawking afterwards.
"No," Alan said, looking at the bird.
"She saved your life in her field." Alan looked puzzled. He wasn't following, and it was starting to annoy Ellie. "You. Broken leg. Field. Nice lady who found you. Ring a bell?"
"Oh, of course. Margaret." He hadn't remembered her name. It was an honest mistake considering his condition at the time.
"Yes, Margaret," Ellie repeated.
"Margaret, pretty gal," the bird said, and then it whistled.
Alan was still confused.
"What about her?"
"Are you really that dumb? Cause the man I fell in love with was a highly intelligent scientist. If this is who you are now, I'm going to have to end this relationship," Ellie commented.
Alan looked at her, half smiling. He decided to turn his amused expression away from her, in an attempt to figure out what it was she was trying to say. Why can't women just come out and say what the hell they want to say?
"So, this . . . bird . . . it's Margaret's?" he finally asked.
"Give the man a prize," she answered in a pleasant way.
He was glad to see she was smiling now, so he thought it safe to continue the questions.
"Why do you have this thing?"
"This thing has a name. His name is Jack."
"Fair enough," he said, walking over to Jack. "Hey, Jack, why are you in this house?"
Ellie laughed.
"Jack is here because Margaret asked us if we would bird-sit for a week."
"Bird-sit?"
"Yes."
"I take it you said yes?"
"Did you hit your head today?" Ellie asked.
"Very funny," he said, smiling.
"Bird sit," Jack repeated.
Alan looked at the bird in an odd way, "Actually, I was thinking that we are leaving for Colorado next week. So, why agree to this?"
"She'll be picking him up before we leave."
"You hope," Alan said, frowning again.
"It'll be fun having him here, so relax. And besides, he's cute."
"I'm cute as the day is long," Jack said prominently.
After staring at Jack for several seconds, mostly making sure he wouldn't be interrupted again, he finally said, "It talks a lot."
"He'll repeat whatever you say. He's really kind of cool. Watch," she said, as she put her face really close to the cage.
"Hello, Jack."
"Hello, Jack," Jack repeated.
Ellie smiled, and then glanced at Alan, "We've been practicing this one for a while," she looked back at Jack, "Alan."
"Alan. Squawwk."
"Interesting," Alan said.
"Yes, I would like a biscuit," Jack said.
Alan held a finger up to Jack's cage, rattling it slightly. The bird rushed toward his finger and tried its hardiest to bite him. He backed away quickly, glaring at the bird. Ellie laughed at the look on his face.
"So, where's Rob?"
"Oh, I dropped him off at his house. After long periods of time, he tends to give me a headache."
"You guys went to the bar, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"Alan, drinking and driving is stupid."
"I had one drink, waited an hour, and then yanked Rob out of there."
"So, he was drunk again?" Ellie asked. Rob was drinking way too much as of late and it worried her.
"No, not really. He was talking with a group of women."
"Really?" Ellie asked, interested.
Alan smiled at her.
"Yeah. He's a real lady magnet. Just ask him, he'll tell you."
"He is a good looking guy," Ellie admitted. Jack began to sing 'Hey Good Looking, Whatcha Got Cooking', causing both of them to look his way. When Ellie's eyes drifted back to Alan, he was staring at her in a strange way, so she added, "Not as good looking as you, though. How's that?"
"That'll do," he said, smiling.
"So, does Kara have a nice house?"
"Yeah, it's pretty nice. Very neat and clean."
"Basically, the total opposite of her twin," Ellie observed, laughing.
"That's a fair assessment," Alan agreed.
She saw that he was in some sort of deep thought. "Something wrong?"
He had been thinking about just coming out and telling her about the whole Kara and cave thing. He had almost built up enough courage to blurt it out, but then he decided against it. In his mind, it wasn't a very big deal . . . what had happened . . . but Rob had gotten him thinking that Ellie might have taken the news in a total wrong way. He hated to have a secret, no matter how small he deemed it to be, but Rob's warnings were etched in his mind now, so he dropped it.
"No, nothing wrong," he said, smiling, "I'm just a little tired. The drive wore me out, that's all."
He watched her walk to Jack's cage, preparing to pull a sheet over the talkative bird.
"Good night, Jack," she said.
"Good night. Squawk."
She smiled and placed the white sheet over the cage and then walked back over to Alan.
"Well, come on . . . I'll tuck you in, too" she said, gently taking his arm, "I'm sure you and Jack will be good friends. You'll learn to love him."
"I'm sure."
Alan smiled at Ellie, frowned at Jack's cage, and then followed her out of the office.
Startled by a sudden noise, Ellie quickly sat up, trying to adjust to the darkness of the bedroom. It took her a few minutes to realize what the noise was. It was the phone. She reached for it, as she glanced at the clock. It was 3:03am.
"Hello?"
Alan was awake by now, too. He had been sleeping on his side, so he turned toward her, listening.
"That's great, Richard," she said excitedly.
Alan smiled in the darkness. His eyes were adjusted enough to where he could see Ellie now. She handed the phone to him.
"Richard," he said softly.
"It's a girl!"
Alan sat up in the bed now.
"Congratulations, Richard," he said in a happy way.
"Thanks!" Richard yelled into the phone. Then there was a pause, as someone was talking to him. "Hey, Alan. I've got to go. The doctor is asking for me."
"Okay. Take care and give Melissa and the new baby my love."
"I will. Bye!"
There was a click and then a dial tone, so Alan reached over Ellie and hung up the phone. As quick as it had begun with the phone ringing, it was now over. Quietness enveloped their bedroom.
"That girl is going to be a night owl," Ellie joked, killing the silence.
Alan had already laid back down and closed his eyes when she had spoken.
"Yeah," he said softly, laughing.
November 13, 1992 - Friday
About 9 weeks later...
Taking care of some last minute details before the weekend, Alan turned the light switch off in his office and walked into the hallway of the university. His evening classes had concluded a little bit ago, so he was just killing time, waiting for Ellie.
He quickly glanced into some of the classrooms, as he passed them, making his way to the building exit. While looking away from where he was walking, he bumped into another professor.
"Oh, sorry about that," he said, looking toward the man he had run into. It was Dr. Thomas Valner. "Leaving so early?" He asked, as he readjusted the few folders under his arm.
"Yes, a little early, I'm afraid. I've been sick since the beginning of the week, so I cut my last class a little short."
"Ellie told me about your being sick. I hope you get well soon, sir."
"As do I," Valner said. He looked at his ex-son-in-law and smiled, "Alan, you don't have to tack 'sir' at the end of every other sentence. It's not entirely necessary."
Alan smiled, slightly embarrassed by the situation. He had thought he'd broken himself of that habit, but obviously not.
"I'll take that into consideration . . . Tom."
"So, I hear you and Ellie are going away for the weekend?"
"Did she post a banner somewhere? Everyone seems to know that," he said in a complaining manner.
"You didn't see the banner? It's very colorful and prominent amidst the boring trivial advertisements on the bulletin board."
Alan stared at him.
"I'm kidding, of course," Valner added, smiling.
"Of course."
Suspecting the conversation was going about as far as a snail trapped under a bucket, Valner changed gears.
"Ellie is a wonderful teacher. I can't begin to express how happy I am with her knowledge and the professional way she conveys that knowledge to the students."
"She is pretty wonderful, I agree," Alan said, smiling at last.
"And she's a publishing maniac!" Valner exclaimed, laughing.
"I know! She's published, what? Two papers already?" Alan asked.
"Yes. Two, and then I believe there's a third on the way shortly," Valner answered.
Alan frowned, "She loves those damn computers. She types into the wee hours of the morning sometimes."
Valner became slightly uncomfortable listening to the man, who had pledged himself to his daughter, speak of another woman, but it quickly faded away. It was pointless to think of that sort of thing, and now he could tell that Alan was realizing that he had been uncomfortable.
"It's good to see you happy."
"Thank you again, Tom."
"Well, I need to get home and get some rest. My weary bones are threatening to conspire against me and take me down."
Alan laughed.
"Take care of yourself, Tom. Exams are next week and I'm sure the students would be sad if they had to have someone else hand out the test papers."
"Good point, my boy. I wouldn't want to miss the chance to make them sweat, so I'll be sure to get better," he said, smiling in a wicked sort of way.
"Good night," Alan said, shaking his head.
"Good night. Oh, and hey! You better get moving on your own research. She's already one published paper ahead of you this year . . . soon to be two," Valner teased.
"I know, I know," Alan said, waving him off and sighing.
He watched his mentor walk out into the cold, rushing away from the building. Moments later he followed, going in the opposite direction, briskly walking toward the Seeley G. Mudd Building, where Ellie was teaching an evening class. It was an uncomfortably cold November evening and he had made the conscious decision to put on an extra sweatshirt under his winter coat, as well as donning his favorite accessory . . . the beaten up fedora. His breath showing up in the air, he shivered and quickly opened the door to the three-story building. He would usually wait for Ellie in his office in the other building, but he had finished his duties there, so he had decided to walk next door and wait for her there. He glanced at his watch. He had another fifteen to twenty minutes to wait, so it wasn't that bad. He went into the faculty office and grabbed some coffee to warm him up, and then walked toward her classroom. As he rounded the corner, he could hear her talking. Making it to the door, he could see why. The door was partially open. He moved to the side and listened in on the end of a discussion she was having with the students, reviewing for the upcoming final exam.
"As you know, there are four nitrogen bases that are found in DNA: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Adenine and guanine are purines . . . they are two-ring structures. Thymine and cytosine are pyrimidines . . . they are single-ring structures. You don't need to know the detailed structures of the bases for the exam, although it wouldn't hurt you, but do remember their general character. One ring or two."
After a quick and friendly dismissal, the students began to file out of the classroom, a lot of them nodding at Alan as they walked past. He was well known at the University, but only a few of them looked familiar to him, since they were all in basic undergrad classes. Most of them hadn't made their way to having him as a professor yet, but he had given several lectures where anyone could attend, so that was how he had met some of them.
The last few kids hurried out, leaving Ellie alone in the room. Smiling, Alan quietly walked in and watched her gather her things. He glanced at the chalkboard where there were various diagrams of letters. The letters represented the four bases of DNA and under each diagram was the corresponding name; adenine (A), cytosine ©), guanine (G), and thymine (T). He nodded to himself, impressed with her skills at drawing.
She still hadn't seen him yet, her back to him. She grabbed her coat, spun around and stifled a scream, as she saw an unexpected visitor.
Alan laughed and watched her look around, making sure no one else was around.
"You scared the shit out of me," she said in a nervous tone.
"Why is that? Are you up to no good? Only people who are up to no good get that shocked at trivial things."
Ellie rolled her eyes as she put her coat on. Ignoring his comment completely, she said, "How bad is it out there?"
"Very cold. You better bundle up."
She nodded, grabbed her back pack of books, and a small case.
"What's that?" Alan asked, taking her pack from her.
"Oh, this morning, I went to the eye doctor again. He wrote me a prescription and I picked up some glasses this afternoon." She took them out of the case and put them on. "What do you think?"
"Very sexy."
"You think?"
"It's hard to think right now."
She pushed him.
"Oh, shut up. Men are so predictable."
"Fine. I'm shutting up."
She glanced at him and, at the same time, they both smiled. She walked closer to him and kissed him.
"So, when does our weekend retreat/vacation begin?"
"Right now."
"Already?"
"Yeah. I've got everything in the car. We just need to drive to the cabin."
"Excellent. You are such a prepared guy."
He held the classroom door open for her, and then followed. At first, he smiled, as if to agree with what she just said, but then he laughed.
"That's not entirely true. If it wasn't for Rob, I would have never even thought of this."
Ellie pretended to look shocked, and then she relented.
"Yeah, I know," she simply said.
"You know?"
"Yeah. It was my idea."
"Oh, really?"
"Pretty much. I called Rob to ask him something, and then we got to talking about how you never take a break."
"Talking behind my back again."
"And then," Ellie said, paying little attention to the negativity in his last comment, "I asked Rob to plant the idea in your head. So, he did."
"Indeed."
"He's a great guy."
"He's controlling my life from two states away," Alan observed.
"Everyone should have a friend like him."
"Yeah, I know. He's definitely different."
A thought suddenly occurred to Ellie. She had never really found out how Rob and Alan became so close. Basically, in all reality, they were complete opposite personalties, so she wanted to know how the friendship came about.
"How did you two become friends anyway?"
By this time, they were downstairs and preparing to brave the winter elements. Alan had his hand on the push bar attached to the door, when Ellie asked her question. He took pressure off the bar and turned to her to explain the strange way that he and Rob had met.
"Years ago, he was a volunteer at a dig site where I was working. At that time, I was an Assistant Professor, with about four summers of dig site experience. I was interested in running my own dig site, so I had gone to Montana to check out the prospects there."
"Sounds like you had a grand plan."
"Yeah," Alan answered, and then continued, "Anyway, there was this guy who had somehow used the bonding glue on his shoes, causing him to basically get stuck to the fossil that he was trying to protect."
"Let me guess. Rob."
"Rob would be the correct answer."
"What a doofus."
"It was quite hilarious actually. He was stuck there, in the Montana afternoon heat, for a few hours," Alan said, shaking his head at the remembrance.
"He couldn't just step out of his shoes?"
"He had managed to glue his feet into his shoes. Something about not paying attention as giant globs of the bonding glue fell. That would have been fine, except for the fact that he had used a spray applicator to quicken the bond. Only seconds had gone by before he realized he couldn't walk anywhere."
Ellie was laughing pretty hard now.
"He was seriously thinking about just pulling his foot out, but that would have damaged the fossil."
"And would have gotten him in serious trouble, I presume," she added, wiping a few tears away, as she tried to slow her laughter.
Alan continued the story.
"The best part was that it seemed the debonder solvent was out of stock at the site. They had to borrow some from a nearby college, so it took longer than it should have."
"I guess he learned his lesson."
"Yeah, I think he did," Alan said. Then he remembered something else humorous, "When they were talking about cutting him out of his shoes, the look on his face was priceless. To this day, I don't think he really messes with the bonding glue."
Ellie finally stopped laughing long enough to verbalize a question.
"So that's how you met him?"
"Yep. I stayed there, talking to him for the hour or two he was stuck."
"Very nice of you."
"I had even provided something for us to sit on," Alan said, laughing at the memory. "Two empty beer kegs."
"What a friend!" Ellie said, as she continued to laugh.
"We instantly hit it off as friends. The guy makes me laugh, and has done so ever since. But, he's a really smart person, too . . . with the exception of the bonding glue mishap," Alan joked, "He just chooses not to show it to people."
"I've noticed he's intelligent. I wonder why he doesn't pursue college."
"I don't know. I've tried to get him to go back to college. He was a student at some local college in Montana when I first met him, but he quit soon after that."
"Well, maybe I'll make it my mission in life to get him to return to college," Ellie said, as she opened the door going outside.
"Good luck," Alan commented.
They quickly ran through the biting cold, which seemed to take forever, and then finally made it to the car. They were on their way to a relaxing weekend in the mountains. The university had been built very well, geographically speaking. It was about ten miles away from the city, and about fifteen miles away from the mountains in the other direction. With only the final exams to go in the upcoming week, it was the perfect time to get away from it all. Soon, they would be back in Montana for the holidays and that always seemed to move at a quick pace, so Ellie was really longing for even the smallest attempt at relaxing with only Alan around to distract her.
December 25, 1992 - Friday
"Yes, mum. I know. Yes, I won't, so don't worry," Alan said into the phone. He glanced at Ellie, who was smiling at him, "Yes, I will promise to eat right and take care of myself," he said into the phone again.
"Isn't that sweet? Worrying about her little boy," Ellie teased.
Alan smiled, and continued to talk to his mother in Australia.
"Yeah, that was Ellie," he said, and then after a pause, "Yes, I'm taking good care of her, too."
"Yes, your son is delightful," she said, loud enough for Alan's mother to hear.
Alan quickly said his "I love you's" and then removed the phone from his ear, extending it to her.
"She doesn't believe me. She wants to hear it from you directly, I guess."
"Isn't that cute?" Ellie said, taking the phone from him.
His parents really liked her, which made things very easy. She hadn't met them yet, but he had hoped to take her to Australia some day in the near future, so that his folks could meet the woman he loved. He listened intently to Ellie's side of the conversation.
"Yes, I got the chocolates. They were adorable!" Ellie said, laughing, thinking of the cute little solid chocolate Koala Bears that his parents had sent a few weeks ago.
Alan rolled his eyes, and decided that not hearing more of this particular conversation would, indeed, be a better idea. He leaned in quickly, kissed Ellie on the cheek, and then headed out of the kitchen.
The conversation continued its jovial exchanges, and then near the end became quite serious.
"Oh, really? When? No, he didn't tell me," she said softly, placing a hand over her mouth suggesting she had just received bad news.
Alan had stepped back in the kitchen without her knowing.
"What did I do now?" he asked.
She wasn't expecting him to hear what was being said, but she decided to tell him anyway. She eyed Alan in a saddened way.
"Something happen?" Alan asked, getting a little worried now.
She shook her head no, and then quickly and politely ended the conversation with his mother, promising to call her back later. She turned to hang up the phone, and then taking a deep breath, she looked at him.
"You didn't tell me that your wedding anniversary was coming up."
His disposition suddenly became sullen, as he fell completely silent. She could see the instant hurt in his eyes, and then he lowered his head. Her first instinct was to care for him, so she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I'm fine with that."
His eyes were watering a bit, as he embraced her. She hadn't expected that, but it was a welcome change from the other times Kathryn's name had come up. Usually, he would just alienate himself from the people who cared about him, leaving all the pain inside to torture him.
"Alan," she said softly, still holding him, "I can't try to help you if you don't clue me in."
"It's on December 27th," he said, finally breaking their embrace, "A nice little after-Christmas wedding."
There was a tear slowly going down his cheek. Ellie reached in, gently dissolving it with her fingers. Leaving her hand on his face, she whispered to him.
"I want to help you through this, if you'll let me."
It all made sense now. His odd behavior from last year, just after Christmas. He had been very quiet and distant and didn't come back around until Rob's New Year's Eve party. She had wanted to find out what had been bothering him, but after two attempts to do so, she had given up.
"I'm not sure I need help," he said, taking her hand in his. "It does get easier every year."
"Well, I'm here for you. Just know that, okay?"
"I do know that," he said, clasping her hand a little tighter. "And I love you dearly for it."
"I love you, too," she said, ready to cry herself now.
She coaxed him to the kitchen table. They both sat down, looking into each other's eyes, Alan still clutching her hand.
"I have a hard time talking about this with people, Ellie. That's all. I don't want you to feel like it's something you've done. It's not you at all. It's me."
"What affects you, affects me, Alan. You've got to know that by now."
"When I think about Kathryn's memory fading even the slightest, I feel like I'm betraying her."
"I understand that."
". . . and then I feel like I'm not being fair to you," he added.
"Please, Alan, don't ever think that. I would never ask you to forget your past, just like you wouldn't ask me to forget mine."
"I need a drink," he said, joking and breathing in heavily.
"It's the afternoon. You sure that's a good idea?"
He laughed, "You have a valid point. I'll have some milk. Is that okay with you?" he said, smiling.
Relieved that the mood was swinging back to the happy side, Ellie nodded and gently kissed him. As they were sharing a tender moment, Rob Tandy walked into the house, unannounced.
"Woah. You two are really into all that kinky stuff, aren't you? They make bedrooms for this type of thing."
Ellie pulled herself away from Alan and gave Rob a look that told him to shut up.
"PMS?" Rob asked, walking backwards toward the door purely as an act of self defense.
Alan stood up and shook his head.
"You certainly are a dumb person," he observed.
"I was joking!" Rob said, holding up his arms, "Joking. A little joke."
Ellie had stood up by now, too, and was just staring at him.
"Rob-humor. You can't kill the person who is spreading Rob-humor around the world," he said, flashing a giant smile.
Ellie shook her head and went to the refrigerator. Rob carefully walked toward Alan, keeping his eye on her.
"So, Merry Christmas to my two very best friends!" he proclaimed.
"Merry Christmas, Rob," Ellie said, showing Rob that she wasn't mad.
She set a glass of milk next to Alan, while taking a drink from her own glass. He thanked her with a nod, and then looked at Rob.
"So, how are things?"
"Pretty damn good, actually," Rob answered. "I talked to Kara this morning . . . and the old man."
"Really?" Ellie asked, truly surprised.
"Yeah," Rob said, just as amazed as she was, "Can you believe it?"
"It's good to see that you're finally talking to your father," Alan said.
"So true. But, I don't think I'll invite him to my New Year's Eve party just yet."
"I think he'd need to have a lot more time to prepare for that fiasco," Ellie commented.
"Fiasco?" Rob asked, "That hurts, Ellie. You're mean."
"Mean . . . but truthful," Alan added.
"That's not the point, my friend," Rob countered.
Looking at Alan and Rob suddenly gave Ellie an idea.
"Why don't we all go away for the next few days. A little road trip," she suggested.
"Where to?" Rob quickly asked.
"Maybe the Museum of the Rockies. It could be fun."
She hoped Alan would go. It would help him get his mind off Kathryn just a little bit, being away from the house and dig site on the day of his anniversary.
"More like boring," Rob joked.
"Yeah, maybe," Alan said, ignoring the boring comment, "But I think Rob works tomorrow."
Rob stared at them, as they were both looking at him, waiting for a response.
"I'm not doing anything tomorrow," he said.
"Why not?" Alan asked, suspicious.
"No job can hold me down," Rob announced proudly, "I'm tired of getting pushed around by bar owners with attitudes. Sick of it, I tell ya. If I were the angry type, people would have to worry."
"You got fired again, didn't you?" Alan asked directly.
"Yeah. On Wednesday."
Alan snickered, "What for this time?"
"Apparently, they don't like it when the bartender joins the patrons in having an inoffensive simple drink or two," Rob said, frowning.
"Rob!" Ellie scolded.
"What?" Rob asked, shrugging his shoulders innocently, "They can't really think that I could stand there and listen to a bunch of drunk people complain about their problems, without being a little snookered myself."
Alan was no where near as shocked as Ellie was.
"So, when do you start again?" he asked, taking a drink of his milk.
"Monday."
"Oh, good lord," Ellie commented softly.
Alan clapped his hands together, "Well, that gives us two days of fun in Bozeman," he said.