Chapter 21
"Kevin, come on! It's going to be midnight before we get there. Joan and I are supposed to go shopping this evening," Beth yelled up the stairs to her husband. He finally emerged at the top of the stairs and threw her an overnight bag.
"I need that stuff, leave it in the back seat. Are you sure you got everything?"
"Kevin, we are spending four days at your parents' house. They have everything you need. You still have clothes there. Your bathroom is still all set up. Come on before it gets dark!"
"Beth, it's seven thirty in the morning. We'll be there around noon."
"Please hurry! I want to see everyone. I want to go shopping with Joan. I still haven't gotten your gifts. So come on unless you don't want any presents."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming down."
Seven minutes later they were finally on their way, and seven hours later they arrived in Arcadia. Kevin maneuvered the car through the streets until he came to Euclid Avenue. Beth could barely sit still as they pulled up to the curb. When Kevin stopped the car, she jumped out and ran inside. He just shook his head and started unloading the car. His father came out to help him, a smile on his face.
"Beth bailed on you?"
"She had to pee. I wouldn't stop ten miles outside of town so she could go."
"That's pretty mean, isn't it?"
"She had plenty of opportunities, and she didn't have to go, so I said she could just wait. I told her she could hold it or go on the seat. A little risky, seeing as it's my car, but I knew she wouldn't do it."
Will just shook his head. "You need some help with this stuff? Looks like you're moving in for four months instead of four days."
"That's partly my fault. I just wanted to make sure I had everything I needed, you know?"
"Let's get some of this stuff inside, it's really freezing out here!"
Kevin nodded and began piling luggage on his lap. He wheeled around to the back door to use the ramp back there rather than the lift on the front porch. Will transported bags to the front porch where they could be easily taken inside once Kevin made it in the house.
As Kevin came in the back door, Beth was emerging form the bathroom. She took the bags he was carrying and took them up the steps into Kevin's old room. When she came back down, Kevin and Will were finishing bringing the rest of the bags inside. Helen had joined them in the living room, and the four of them put away all of the luggage. Beth was explaining how Kevin had denied her a bathroom stop. Everyone laughed except for Beth who maintained that if Kevin had needed to go they would have stopped on the side of the road if necessary. He agreed and apologized for being mean. Beth kissed him on the cheek and immediately asked where Joan was.
Joan was working in town as a counselor and living with her parents while she contemplated going back to school for an advanced degree. She and Adam were on again off again in their relationship. He was working for a graphic design studio in Baltimore. They were able to see each other fairly often but were still unsure of their future as a couple.
Luke, on the other hand, had settled down to be quite the family man. He and Grace had surprised everyone last Christmas by showing up married. They now had a three month-old baby named Hadassah. Luke was working on his Ph.D. in neurology at Johns Hopkins University while Grace had been working at an economic firm in Baltimore until she had taken her maternity leave. She was scheduled to start back after the first of the year.
Will was still working in the field, much to Helen's dismay. She was teaching at Arcadia High, but had been contemplating leaving to help out with her grandchildren. They were both crazy about the baby and were looking forward to having all of the kids back in the house for the holidays. Kevin had been required to work the past two Christmases, so it was especially exciting to have him and Beth there with the rest of them.
Beth pulled out her phone to call Joan when they heard someone yell from downstairs. Joan was waiting in the living room as the four of them made their way down the stairs. She and Beth embraced tightly and began making plans for their shopping trip. Kevin cleared his throat loudly to try to get her attention. The two girls turned toward him and Joan ran to jump on his lap. She tousled his hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She squinted and looked at his hair a little more closely.
"Kev, is this gray? Are you going gray? You are so old!"
"No way, there is no gray hair, and I am not old. You're the one that just had a birthday. Twenty-four is ancient."
"Then what does that make you at the ripe old age of 27?"
Beth stopped them right there. "Let's not discuss ages. I'm not allowed to have another birthday, remember?"
Kevin smiled over at her. "Oh baby, you'll be the most exquisite 30-year-old ever!"
Beth's eyes got wide with horror, "I told you not to use the T-word!"
They all laughed at her as Joan collected her things and ushered Beth out the door. She called behind her that they would be at the mall and should be home by the time Luke and Grace arrived. Kevin said goodbye to his wife and sister and followed his parents into the living room. Helen and Will sat down on the couch facing their son.
Will began the conversation. "So, Son, how have you been? How is work, Beth, everything? It seems that we never get to talk to you anymore, and we just want to make sure that things are going well."
Kevin chose his words carefully in answering, "Beth is fine. She is working a lot, but she likes what she is doing. She does it well, too. My work is good, too. I'm really busy all the time. I wish I had more time to spend with her, but it just isn't possible. We're going to have to do something. We're working on it, but right now things are just crazy."
Helen walked over to her son and hugged him from behind. "Kevin, I know that marriage is difficult and your careers are important to you, but you have to make time for each other."
"I'm working on it, Mom. Really, I am. I didn't want to say anything without Beth being here, but we're thinking of moving back to the area."
Helen returned to the couch with Will who looked at his son questioningly.
"I was offered a job in D.C., and Beth and I have been talking about what we want to do, about the path we want our lives to take, when to start a family, all that stuff. We're stressed, but we love each other more than ever, and we're ready to start a family, and to do that we have to change some things about how we're living."
Will looked intently at him. "Kevin, you're okay with your finances, with the mortgage, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah, the house will be paid off by the spring, and we're saving everything Beth makes. We're doing just fine in that department. We just can't go on like this with a baby. It won't work, and I don't want to leave Beth at home to raise a baby while I'm off in St. Louis or Seattle or San Francisco covering games on every holiday. This job has been amazing, such an unbelievable experience, but I can't do it forever and I don't want to try to raise a family like this."
Helen and Will looked at each other with a shared smile. Will spoke for the two of them. "Son, we are so proud of you and Beth and how well you two have done for yourselves. I'm sure that you will work out what you need to do for your family."
Helen added, "And we really like babies, too."
Kevin laughed. "Please don't tell Beth, she wanted to be here when we talked about it. So we're going to have to do this again later, okay?"
His parents nodded in agreement and Kevin excused himself to go upstairs to clean up and take a nap until Beth and Joan got back and Luke, Grace and the baby arrived. As the lift took Kevin up the stairs, Helen and Will hoped that he and Beth were prepared for the decisions they had made. They were still sitting on the couch when Luke opened the front door with the baby carrier in his hands. Grace followed close behind with the bags.
Will jumped up from the couch. "I thought you guys weren't coming until tonight!" He took the bags from Grace as Helen confiscated the baby from her son.
Luke explained that he had finished up his work earlier than expected and came home to an already packed Grace and Hadassah. Helen held the baby in her arms, and Grace handed her a bottle. She rocked the baby and fed her as Will asked Luke how his research was going. Luke explained a little bit about what they were working on in his lab and some of the exciting results they were finding. He didn't go into too much detail but was obviously optimistic their findings.
Will nodded his head and smiled admirably at his younger son. Grace and Helen were ignoring the conversation while having their own concerning the baby and how much sleep they were all getting. Grace yawned as she admitted that the baby was still up quite a few times during the night and Luke didn't seem to be able to hear the cries at 4 am. Helen laughed, assuring Grace that he had inherited the selective deafness from his own father. In a few minutes, the four adults were so intently engaged in conversation and laughter that they didn't hear the motorized lift bringing Kevin down the stairs.
"Can't a person get any sleep around here?" He asked coming up behind them and down the ramp in front of the landing.
Luke jumped up to embrace his brother. "I saw your car out front, but I didn't know you were in the house. These two didn't say a word," Luke explained as he shot a glance at his parents. They opened their mouths to speak, but the boys stopped them.
"No big deal, I'm just glad we're all here," Kevin insisted. "Now, I want to hold my niece. Mom, hand her over."
He approached the rocking chair and Helen placed the baby in his arms. He took the bottle and finished feeding her as well. The baby had just fallen asleep in his lap when Joan and Beth came in the back door. Beth took the bags up the back stairs, and Joan joined the others in the living room. A few seconds later, Beth descended the stairs and saw her husband holding the tiny baby.
"Hi, Luke, Grace, baby!" Beth began as she walked toward Kevin who was smiling up at her. "How you doing there, hun? She's so tiny, don't break her, please."
The baby stirred in Kevin's arms and looked up at her aunt. Beth smiled. Kevin held her out and Beth took the baby into her own arms. Helen vacated the rocking chair so Beth and the infant could sit. Beth took in the scent of powder, lotion, and baby and closed her eyes as she rocked. Kevin quietly approached her and took her hand in his. She opened her eyes and looked at him, not noticing anyone else in the room. Beth gazed down at the sleeping baby with longing. Her eyes traveled back to Kevin's and she nodded her head.
"It's time," is all she said to him.
Luke and Will moved to put together the bassinet so that Beth could lay the sleeping baby in it. Once she did, Helen retreated into the kitchen with Joan to make some coffee. When they returned, Beth was sitting on Kevin's lap leaving the rocking chair open for Helen. Kevin looked at Beth who agreed that he could make their big announcement.
"Okay, well, Beth and I have been talking, and being here with you all has helped make our decision a little easier. I have been offered a job at the Washington Post. I'm going to take it, and we're moving back, um, home, I guess."
Luke, Joan, and Grace expressed their delight in the announcement, and Luke started telling Kevin how they would have to check out his lab, that Kevin would really be interested in what they were working on. Kevin agreed to go with him soon. Joan, Beth, Grace and Helen were trying to decide on which day of the week they wanted to have a standing lunch date while Will went to get the paper to look for houses. They were making so much noise that Grace finally had to remind them of the baby sleeping in the study. This shifted their attention, and Kevin announced that he was hungry. Beth rolled her eyes and said that no one was surprised to hear that. Will suggested that they order Chinese food. Everyone agreed, and Joan grabbed the menu from the kitchen drawer. They all decided on the order, which arrived almost an hour later. The family ate around the dining room table for the first time in years. As they were finishing, the doorbell rang. Waiting on the other side of the door was Adam Rove.
Joan welcomed him in and offered him something to eat. He refused but asked Joan to take a walk with him. She agreed and left the family to wonder. Grace, normally reserved about such matters, was the first to speak after the door closed behind them.
"Rove needs to make up his mind what is going on, and Joan has to decide if she wants to be with him or not. This back and forth stuff has to go."
Luke turned his head and looked at his wife, his mouth gaping. "Come on, Grace, tell us how you really feel," he finally said.
"I can't help it. I'm so tired of this pissing around with their lives. They need to decide to be together or apart. That's all I'm going to say."
No one else said anything, but they all agreed with Grace's estimation of the Joan and Adam situation. Beth walked behind Kevin's chair and put her arms around his neck. She whispered in his ear, causing him to laugh and nod. The others looked at them, and he apologized for their rudeness but explained that the two of them were exhausted and were going to turn in early. Everyone wished them goodnight, and they moved toward the front stairs to go up to Kevin's room.
Beth climbed into bed followed shortly by Kevin. She snuggled close to him, and he placed his arm around her small frame. She loved his touch. It made her feel so secure and warm every night. Still, it was a little weird to be in his bed in his room in his parents' house. He sensed her apprehension, too.
"Uh, Beth, we're married. They aren't going to burn us at the stake or anything. We can sleep in the same bed, even fool around a little if you want, too."
She sat up and hit him with a pillow. He pulled her onto his chest where she remained, listening to his heart beat. He asked her what she was doing, and she explained that she was listening to him live. He shook his head and settled into the bed. He was starting to fall asleep when she said very softly, "I'm so thankful for that sound."
"What?" he asked groggily.
"I'm thankful for your heartbeat."
"So am I. Goodnight," Kevin mumbled before he fell asleep for good.