Here's a little more, not much, but I inexplicably had a little extra time this week. Thanks for your reviews and encouragement. It's all happening...

Chapter 33

"What the hell does that mean?" Kevin shot at her.

"I mean Joan told me something that I'm pretty sure you don't know about and that you're not going to be very happy to hear," Beth countered. "The other night, when I was in her room, she told me that she was having second thoughts about marrying Adam."

"What? Since when? All she's been talking about for her entire life is marrying him."

"Oh, you can be so dense! Even I know that when they broke up in high school it was a huge deal and the relationship that they've had since has been tenuous at best."

"Okay, Dr. Phil, so are you gonna explain it in simple terms so my thick head can grasp the concept?"

"Sure. It's actually quite simple. Adam cheated on her and she isn't sure she can trust him. Sound familiar?"

"What? Are you serious? When?" Kevin nearly yelled, his face turning red.

"Kev, calm down. Joan is okay. It happened a long time ago and nothing else has gone on since then, but she's just not sure that a marriage between them is the best thing. That's all."

"That little punk! I'll kick his ass! Why did I not know about this?"

Beth placed her hands on his shoulders to try to calm him. "I'm guessing Joan wanted to avoid this scene. She was angry with Adam, sure, but she didn't want you to kick his ass or anything else."

"It's kinda part of the job. I'm a little sorry I missed out on it, but I could rectify that now!" Beth glared at him. "I'm just kidding. I won't beat up the little piss ant, but that's what he is. Why would he do that to Joan?"

Beth gave him a confused stare. "You did it to me, you little piss ant."

"That was different."

"Because it's okay to cheat on me but not Joan?"

"No, because...Oh well, I'm a bastard and you never should have married me. Call Joan and tell her she's doing the right thing."

"Wow, you gave that up pretty easily."

"There's no way I'm ever going to win that one. Luckily, you gave me another chance. Thank you for that."

"Kevin, wow. You're welcome. I'm glad we both took this chance, but you're sounding a little like a woman."

"I swear, I try to be nice and you make fun of me. Forget it. You'll have to take it on assumption that I love you from now on. God forbid I become the woman."

Beth laughed out loud as she bent to kiss him. "You're more than enough man for me, my love."

"I'm glad you realize it, but anyway, back to Joan. She didn't say why Adam wasn't coming, so what if it's just totally a coincidence. I think you should let her make explanations and do not tell my mother anything. I'm serious about that."

"I'm not going to say anything to anyone. I just thought you should be in the know in case things come out. I wanted to mediate your response a little, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine, but do not say anything and don't go on like you know something that everyone else doesn't."

"I've got enough to deal with today without adding to that situation. Would you finish with that stuff so you can blow the leaves off of the front lawn?"

"It's Thanksgiving. There are supposed to be leaves on the lawn."

"Could you please clean the front walk at the very least?"

"Yeah, I can do that. I don't think I'm a very good decorator. Why don't you finish this and add something else to my list?"

"Okay, you can give Liam a bottle and a bath so he's happy and clean when everyone gets here. We're eating at 4, so watch the time!"

"It's 10:30, I have plenty of time." Kevin called over his shoulder as he went to find the leaf blower.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Beth sighed to the empty house.

She picked up the decorations that Kevin had left on the dining room floor and completed the set up before the doorbell rang. Helen's smiling face met her on the other side.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Helen grinned as she hugged Beth. "Will is helping Kevin with the leaves, although I don't think they're doing too much work."

"I sent him out there to get out of my way. He was impeding progress in the house, as usual."

Helen nodded knowingly. "They're all like that, I think. Will is practically a gourmet chef, but he thinks I'm the busboy! I'd rather eat cereal and only have to wash one bowl."

The two women laughed together and set out to accomplish the remained of Beth's to-do list before the other guests began to arrive. After an appropriate period of time, Will and Kevin came back in the house and halfheartedly offered to help. Beth waved them off, sending Kevin to get his own shower and give the baby a bath while Helen allowed Will to watch football in the den.

They were still laughing about their men when Grace and Luke arrived. Grace took over for Beth, who decided to take care of the baby herself, after she sent Luke and her daughter in the other room with Will.

Beth thanked her in-laws for helping out as she jogged up the stairs to get Liam ready for the day. She was pleasantly surprised to find Kevin feeding him a bottle. Beth kissed Kevin on the top of the head as she tickled Liam's foot. She got all of the bath things ready and laid out the outfit her mother had sent especially for today.

"Kev, I'll give him a bath when he's done. That way you can get ready. Your family is already here, so I'm thinking mine will be here in just a little while. I'd like you to try to be down there when they arrive, please."

He agreed that he would do so. Liam had only eaten about half of his bottle, so it would still be a little bit before he'd be able to go. Beth left the nursery to get Kevin's things ready as well, knowing it would take a day and a half if he picked out his own clothes. She selected dark jeans and a rust-colored sweater over a blue, white and orange striped shirt with brown shoes. He reminded her a little of high school Kevin in that outfit, and he was devilishly attractive in it. She hadn't changed her clothes yet but had placed them on the chair beside the bed for a quick change once the preparations were all ready. She was wearing a denim skirt and a dark purple sweater over a floral printed button up blouse. The house was still a little drafty, so she thought that layers would be wise. She finished in the bedroom and headed back to check on Kevin, but he met her in the hall.

"Where's the baby?"

"Mom has him. She's going to feed and bathe him so we can get ready."

"Wonderful. I'm going to run down and check on Grace. I feel badly about leaving her alone to do my work."

"Okay, I'm going to get ready."

Beth didn't really answer him but ran back down the steps to the kitchen. Grace, now joined by Joan, was organizing the catered food, which had just been delivered, while looking through Beth's cabinets for serving dishes. Beth helped her find everything and placed the items in the oven that needed to be kept warm. As she did so, Beth glanced at the clock. It was almost 2:30. Joan prepared the buffet line, setting out the dishes, flatware and linens while Grace made sure that there were enough chairs for everyone in the living room and den. The three girls were fairly satisfied with their progress by 3pm. Grace and Joan shooed Beth back upstairs to change.

On her way up, she met Helen and Liam coming down. The baby looked alert and happy, and Beth hoped that he would stay awake at least long enough for her mother to spend some time with him. In the bedroom, Kevin was putting on his shoes. She looked him over, and it was really all she could do to not jump on top of him, but she didn't really have time for that. Instead, she stripped off her clothes, ran into the bathroom to touch up her hair and makeup and redressed in the outfit she had picked out earlier. She went back into the bathroom, and Kevin called out that he was going downstairs to greet guests. At this, she came out of the bathroom and wrapped her arms around him. She drunk in his scent, and he had to disentangle her from him.

"Later," he breathed in her ear before she finally let go. She turned back to what she had been doing, and a few minutes later, she heard the doorbell ring. Her father's voice drifted upstairs as she put the finishing touches on her look. She checked herself in the mirror and went to meet her parents.

She was very pleased to see that Kevin had played the part of host very well. Her parents were sitting with the rest of the Girardi family. She entered the room and found her mother holding the baby while her father leaned over her shoulder to play with Liam, too. It was her father who first noticed her appearance. He grabbed her into a hug.

"Hi, Beth! This little guy is getting so big. I can't believe how much he's changed since the last time we saw you."

Mrs. Reinhart looked up, too. She smiled and held out her hand to her daughter. "He's just beautiful and happy, Beth. You and Kevin are doing a wonderful job."

"Thanks, mom. It's not a bad job to have. We're really enjoying it," she smiled. "Did Kevin offer you something to drink when you came in?" Dr. Reinhart nodded. "I'm going to go make sure everything's ready in the kitchen," Beth continued.

She walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. Kevin still hadn't returned with her parents' drinks, and Beth wasn't sure why. What she found was Joan, Grace and Kevin deep in conversation.

"What are you three doing in here? I'm trying to host a party."

Grace grinned. "Joan was just giving us the scoop for today."

"Oh yeah? And what would that be."

Joan took over this time. "Adam drove to New Jersey with his dad this morning to visit his uncle."

"So that's why he isn't coming?" Beth asked cautiously.

"That's part of the reason. I told him I wasn't sure we should get married, and he said that if I didn't trust him, then he wasn't sure we should either."

"Joan, I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm not. If there are all of the questions, then this can't be right. I just don't want to ruin anyone's holiday, so I'll tell them all later."

Graced again entered the conversation again. "Rove has been my best friend since I was three, and now you are. Obviously the romantic answer would be for the two of you to get married, but that's not necessarily practical. I mean, the last thing we want is a big mess between us all."

"Grace, but if I break it off with Adam now, there's not much chance that we're still going to be friends."

"I think there's a much bigger chance that you will if you don't go through with this than if you have a bad marriage and a couple of kids to fight over. It will take time, of course, but it's probably the best option for salvaging the friendship."

Joan looked at Kevin with an uncertain glance. "Do you think she's right? I mean, do you think there's any way that we can get out of this without hating each other, or him hating me, at least?"

"I don't know, Joan. That's hard to say. If Beth and I had never dealt with our issues, I doubt that we'd have ever been friends. But then again, I couldn't have blamed her for not wanting to give me another chance."

Beth added her own observation at this point. "I think Kevin's right about that, Joan. There were no guarantees about anything. So, maybe we're the exception. Maybe we're not a good guide to go by."

"Well, you're not normal, that's for sure," Grace quipped. "You're way too happy. Where are you hiding the good drugs?"

"Come on, Grace. We're fairly normal, aren't we?" Kevin asked Beth. She ruffled his hair, and then smoothed it back before grabbing her parents' drinks on her way out of the kitchen.

"Don't stay in there all day. The rest of the guests will be here soon."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Grace's parents as well as Beth sister Annie and her husband Clark were on the other side of it. Beth welcomed them all in, and soon it was time for dinner to begin. Grace and Joan helped to set out the meal as the rest of the guests played with the babies and watched football. Finally, Beth called everyone to the table, where Rabbi Polanski offered the blessing on the food and the family. They all filled their plates and then found seats throughout the house.

Later, as the guests were leaving, Grace's mother thanked both Kevin and Beth for having invited them. Annie and Clark had agreed to hang around for a little while, so did Joan, but Grace and Luke decided that they needed to go. Helen and Will walked out with them so that Beth's family and Joan was left. After a short time, Joan said her goodbyes, as well.

Beth and Annie took the baby upstairs to feed and change him. Their mother joined them. Kevin was left with his father-in-law and his new brother-in-law. He didn't know Clark very well, but he thought that they must have a few things in common. Their backgrounds and careers were both similar. Clark worked as an investigative reporter. He had previously worked for an outdoor magazine but had decided to do freelance work over the past eighteen months or so. Kevin was surprised to find that Clark enjoyed sailing, a favorite of Kevin and Beth's as well. The boat that Kevin and his father had built several years ago was in the back shed. Clark expressed interest in seeing it, so the three men headed outside.

Meanwhile, Beth and Annie were having a wonderful time with the baby. Mrs. Reinhart was trying out variations of "Grandma" as the girls laughed. Annie prepared the bottle as Beth changed her son. Mrs. Reinhart took the baby once her girls were done, and sat with her grandson in the rocker. Beth and Annie left her to find the boys. They were a little surprised to find the downstairs empty, but Beth correctly guessed that they were in the shed looking at Kevin's "toys."

Clark was asking Kevin about his experiences with various news organizations and all three men were sharing stories of international travel fiascoes. The two sisters stood in the doorway for a second, just watching their guys before they interrupted. Kevin suggested that they all go back in the house to catch the end of the game or find a DVD to watch. Beth persuaded Annie and Clark to spend the night, and by the time they got back inside, the baby was asleep in his bed. Beth's mom handed her the monitor as she and Dr. Reinhart gathered their things to leave. Beth was sad to see her parents leave and tried to persuade them to stay as well. Unfortunately, Beth's father had a series of meetings the next day and thought it best to return to their hotel. The family members embraced, and the Reinharts left.

Clark unloaded their bags from the car while Annie cancelled their reservations downtown. Kevin showed him to the downstairs guest bed and bathroom. After they had taken care of these things, they gathered in front of the television. Clarke and Kevin selected a DVD and the girls snuggled up with their husbands on each side of the room. They both jumped up in horror when they realized what the guys had chosen was a collection of home movies, school events and other completely embarrassing moments in the lives of Beth and Annie Reinhart.

"Clark, you swore that you would not take that thing out of the house!" Annie almost screeched as a photo of her with braces and a very unfortunate haircut crossed the screen. He swore that he hadn't taken his copy anywhere. He simply had made one for Kevin, as well. Kevin laughed and raised the remote and switched to a more appropriate movie. Beth and Kevin watched Annie and Clark almost as carefully as they watched the screen. Beth was satisfied that her sister and her husband were both happy and in love. Following the movie, they all headed to their rooms.

Beth checked on the baby while Kevin got ready for bed. When she crawled into bed beside him, Kevin pulled her close to him. "You were a great host today. I think Grace's parents had a nice time. That was a good idea to invite them."

"Thanks."

"So what are we going to do about Joan?"

"Kevin! I don't think we can do anything at all about Joan. She and Adam have to work out this stuff. We can't tell them what's best for them."

"I just don't want her to go through any unnecessary shit, you know. Stuff like that sits really hard with her."

"I know, but she knows how to deal with things a lot better now, and we're all here for her. It will be okay."

"I hope you're right. Can you believe this is our life?" he asked. "Our home, our jobs, our baby, everything, it just amazes me sometimes. Ten years ago I wouldn't have, I couldn't, I…"

"How could you have? That was a long time ago, and dare I say that we were both different people."

"I love you so much. I'm so glad it was you."

"So am I, Kev. And I love you."

"Goodnight."