Same Page
27 days later—
April 4, 1995—midnight
Jeffrey Parker was thirty-five years old with sandy brown hair and deep set chestnut
colored eyes. He was in the middle of restoring his old cherry red bicycle with the
banana seat and long handlebars. When they were visiting Grandma Parker in Encino a
few months ago his son noticed the worn bike with it's front tire missing and loose seat
and thought it was cool because no one else would have one like it. For his Easter
present Jeffrey and Audrey decided it'd make a nice surprise for him especially since
he didn't believe in the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus anymore.
"Jeff, I made you a cup of tea."
Audrey kissed him on the cheek and placed the white china cup with the soft pink
handle on a coaster on the end table.
"Thanks, dear. How is the bike coming along?"
"It looks good. But you know you shouldn't over do it."
"We've been over this."
"I don't know how you can be so calm."
Jeff tightened the seat with a screwdriver before standing up to join his wife on the sky
blue colored sofa.
"Because we made an agreement. I don't want our household shaken up and besides
I'm an eternal optimist. It's 1995 miracles happen everyday. I don't want the kids to be
upset—and I know you don't want that either."
Jeff cradled his wife of ten years in his arms.
"You jerk," Audrey broke in his arms obviously not meaning the name she just called
her husband, "How can you be so optimistic after what the doctor's told us?"
"I see the glass as half-full. You always saw it as half empty. Now don't start crying.
We don't want to wake the kids. I want them to be happy. I want to see them grow up
for as long as I have a heartbeat to do so. I'm restoring my old bike for my number one
son and trying to find that collectible Shirley Temple doll for my number one daughter. I
want to hear their laughter. I don't want to see their tears. Megan's too young to
understand, but she's got intelligent tendencies. Drake will know something is wrong if
we act even the slightest bit different. The best gift that we can give our children,
Audrey, is a family that loves each other. Am I really a jerk for wanting that?"
"No, of course not. But I wish you wouldn't work so hard. It's not good for you. I'll put the
bike in the pantry."
They softly kissed each other on the lips.
"Okay. Audrey, you know that I love you."
"I love you too, Jeff."
That's when Drake Parker's world was instantly shattered. He quickly stood up and put
his back against the cold wall and hid on the kitchen stairwell and watched his mother
go into the pantry with his bicycle. If it was yesterday and not today he'd have been the
happiest kid finding out his Easter present in advance, but right now he didn't give a
shit.
Drake didn't think when he left his San Diego Padres glass on one of the steps as he
slowly walked up stairs and into his room.
Dad's sick?
Josh figured he was deserving to sit at the "loser table" because not only could he not
make any new real friends, he actually used an old fashioned IBM Selectric typewriter
that belonged to his father and would type out his school reports even if he wasn't
required to. Even with the burning of the midnight oil at nine years old typing a report on
Abraham Lincoln that wasn't due for another three weeks and the radio set to an easy
listening station, he could still hear his parents arguing. And this time it worse. He
heard glass breaking. That had to be his mother.
Josh wanted a hot fudge sundae with extra chocolate syrup.
Grammy had gone on anotherone of her worldly adventures so there was no one here
to run to when Walter and Kimberly Nichols started fighting.
"stop!" he muttered under his breath from the safety of his closed door in his room.
He hated this. Josh had watched enough Oprah after school to know what happens to
the children of divorce. Kimberly would probably get custody of her only child and who
said that would be for the best? Josh was closer to his father. His mother would never
agree to joint custody and that was something that Josh didn't want either. In a perfect
world he would live with his Dad and Grammy.
In a very perfect world—he would have what he always wanted. Josh would have a
sibling—a brother.
Josh Nichols always wanted a brother.
Drake clutched at his pillow and allowed himself to cry. No one else was here so it was
all right. He heard his father's footsteps and put the covers over his head and
pretended to be asleep.
Jeffrey with only the glow of the hall nightlight made his way through the maze in his
son's room—the usual boys mess of clothes, comic books, and games all over the
floor.
"Drake, are you sleeping?"
"Hmm, hmm." He mumbled making sure the evidence was wiped clean from his face.
Drake's father pulled the covers off his face, "Goodnight, son. I love you." Jeffrey
kissed him on the cheek.
I love you too, Daddy.
Please don't go.
"o-kay."
His heart was breaking. Maybe this was just a dream and he'd be waking up from it at
any minute?
No. Stuff like that only happens in the movies.
"Lenny in the office is going to give me two tickets for the Padres home opener. They
are playing the Houston Astros on the twenty-sixth. Do you want to go?"
Jeffrey was going to tell Drake at breakfast, but he couldn't wait a moment longer.
"s-sure."
"'Night, Drake."
"n-night d-ad."
Jeff gave him an extra kiss, which would have bothered Drake ("I'm not a baby
anymore!") if it were before what he had learned. Now he wanted to be "babied" and
welcomed the additional kiss and a gentle hair tousle.
Drake and Josh the opposite ends of the spectrum who were really more alike then
they were different, the extrovert, the introvert, the popular happy-go-lucky boy, the
geek who had to eat at the "loser table", the one who liked pretty girls, the one who
liked magic were both on the same page in the book of life when the both of them
cried themselves to sleep that night.