On January 25th, the Hobson Quints are born.
Gary and Clementina had the trip to the hospital carefully planned. Her suitcase was packed and left by the door. Their in bed watching the Bears-Steelers game on TV.
"Gar, my water just broke. Im going to need new underwear."
Starting to panic and not thinking, Gary reaches into his chest of drawers and pulls out a pair of GRAY BOXER SHORTS!
"Thats YOUR underwear!" she says with a groan.
They finally get a cab. Theres a blizzard outside. Its midnight by the time they get to the hospital. Theyd been to Lamaze classes for the previous weeks and Garys trying to give Clementina moral support by breathing along with her.
"Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!"
Clementina looks up at him and says, "Fuck You! You fucking breathe!"
Gary and Clementina name their daughters after various people real and implied.
JAYNE- After Aneta Corseauts (in the mid-60s she was Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith Show) character in the original 'The Blob'. Since the previous Marchs events reminded Gary of that film.
JOSEPHINE (JOSIE)- After Josie in 'Josie and The Pussycats'. From Clementinas childhood love of comic books.
EILEEN (ELLIE)- After Louis Creeds daughter in Stephen Kings 'Pet Semetary'.
SKYLAR- After a baby-sitting charge in the 'The Baby-Sitters Club' series of book byAnn M. Martin.
and
LOIS MARISSA- After Garys mother and one of his best friends Marissa Clark.
Mc Gintys A Month Later
Gary has yet to tell anyone at Mc Gintys about Clementina or even their daughters. He hasnt told his parents, the Evanses, Jake & Joan, their friends or Dr. Ross.
For some unknown reason he feels that he must hide them from the world.
Gary secretly raising their children in Clementinas apartment, causes eyebrows to raise as he is 'heading out' more often than usual to help tend to the girls & work with the paper as usual.
He still refuses to tell Marissa where he is going to so much.
Three Years Later Christmas Eve Clementinas Apartment
While putting together a Bat-Cycle for Ellie thinking about how the girls treat Carl when he occasionally finds his way to the apartment.
They feed him regularly and with love, and are not even above giving old Carl an occasional tail-tug...more in the spirit of friendliness than in one of meaness, Gary was convinced; they were like tiny monks yanking a furry bell rope. At these times Carl would crawl lackadaisically under one of the radiators where the kids couldnt get him.
It didnt surprise him that the old Egyptian queens and pharoahs had wanted their cats mummified and popped into their triangular tombs with them in order to serve as spirit guides in the next world. Cats were weird.
"How you doing with that Bat-Cycle, Chief?"
He held out the finished product. "Ta-da!"
Clementina pointed at the bag, which still held three or four plastic widgets in it. "What are those?"
"Spares," Gary said, smiling guiltily.
"You better hope theyre spares. The kid will break her rotten little neck."
"That comes later," Gary said maliciously. "When shes twelve and showing off on her new skateboard."
She groaned. "Come on, Doc, have a heart!"
Gary stood up, put his hands on the small of his back, and twisted his torso. His spine crackled. "Thats all the toys."
"And theyre all together. Remember last year?" She giggled and Gary smiled. Last year seemingly everything theyd gotten had to be assembled, and theyd been up until almost four o clock Christmas morning, both of them finishing grouchy and out-of-sorts. And by mid-afternoon of Christmas, Skylar had decided the boxes were more fun than the toys.
"Gross OUT!" Gary said, imitating Josie.
"Well, come on to bed,"Clementina said, "and Ill give you a present early."
"Woman," Gary said, drawing himself up to his full height, "that is mine by right."
"Dont you wish," she said.
"Just a minute," he said. "Theres one other thing I gotta do."
He hurried into the hall and brought back one of his boots. He removed the fire place screen in front of the dying fire.
"Gary what are you-"
"Youll see."
On the left side of the hearth the fire was out and there was a thick bed of fluffy gray ashes. Gary stamped the boot into them leaving a deep track. Then he tromped the boot down on the outer bricks, using it like a big rubber stamp.
"There" he said, after he had put the boot away again. "You like?"
Clementina was giggling. "Gary, the kids will go nuts."
During the last two weeks the kids had picked up a disquieting rumor to wit, that Santa Claus was really parents. This idea had been reinforced by a rather skinny Santa at the mall, when Jayne had glimpsed an ice cream parlor a few days ago. Santa had been sitting on a counter stool his beard pulled to one side so he could eat a cheeseburger. This had troubled the kids mightily it seemed to be the cheeseburger, somehow, even more than the false beard.
Gary replaced the fire screen carefully. Now there were two clear boot tracks in the fireplace, one in the ashes and one on the hearth. They both pointed toward the Christmas tree, as if Santa had hit bottom on one foot and immediately stepped out to leave the goodies assigned to the Hobson household. The illusion was perfect unless you happened to notice that they were both left feet...and Gary doubted if Jayne was that anaylitical.
"Gary Hobson,I love you," Clementina said and kissed him.
"You married a winner, baby," Gary said, smiling sincerely. "Stick with me and Ill make you a star."
They started for their room. He pointed at the card tabl Lois had set up in front of the TV. There were oatmeal cookies and two Ring-Dings on it. Also a can of Micheloeb. FOR YOU, SANNA the note said in Lois large, sticklike printing. "You want a cookie or a Ring-Ding?"
"Ring-Ding," she said and ate half of it. Gary popped the tab on the beer.
"A beer this late is going to give me acid indigestion," he said.
"Crap," she said good-humoredly. " Come on, Doc."
In their room Clementina was lying on their bed.
She smiled at him lazily. "What took you so long, Chief?"
"The light over the sink was out." Gary said, "i changed the bulb."
"Come here," she said and tugged him gently toward her. Not by the hand...
END OF CHAPTER 4.
MORE TO COME...