The warm summer months brought happiness and healing to the Monk family as Adrian and Natalie's extended leave from the agency coupled with the limitations of a COVID plagued world kept the Monks largely at home, with the exception of taking Asher to therapy. Asher's pediatrician evaluated him in the middle of August and found that he was doing better than expected in terms of his development. He could follow objects and occasionally made cooing sounds and after a couple of weeks of therapy with Sharon Hope had begun lifting his head on his own. He also smiled constantly at his mommy and daddy, though he was still unsure about his siblings at that point in time. Still, he was a happy baby which made Adrian and Natalie most happy of all. They would do anything to give him and the rest of their children a joy-filled life but thus far all that meant was to be with a family that loved them.
In late September, Asher got to meet some of his extended family at a get-together housed outdoors at the Monk home commemorating the 100th anniversary of Davenport Toothpaste, and Bobby Davenport's 80th birthday. Peggy had requested that the party be held on Adrian and Natalie's property since Modern Aristocrat Magazine was going to be covering the anniversary and the Monks had the better view of the two properties. Monk had never even heard of the magazine and complained about having all of those people on his property; but, Natalie explained that the magazine was a staple amongst all the "hoity-toity country club set" that her parents left behind in California and that Peggy was so excited to be featured, that she felt like she couldn't say no and break her heart. And so, the party went on.
Present at the home that day were Bobby and Peggy and Natalie's brother Jonathan and some Davenport cousins that Adrian had never met, along with Bobby's brother as well as the camera crew. It was exactly the kind of gathering the stuffy Davenports loved and the kind that Adrian hated. Still, he did his best to be on his best behavior for Natalie's sake, and for his family.
While family members chatted and some others played croquet, Monk left Natalie's side for a moment to use the facilities and get the baby his bottle while she enjoyed catching up with her uncle. While he was inside, he happened to overhear his mother-in-law speaking with a photographer in the living room.
"I would like one of my husband and myself under the tree at water's edge. Not too much sunlight because the shine on Bobby's head tends to wash everything out and make it look like he has no hair at all. Oh, and the family photo, the one going to the Magazine, Mr. Davenport and I should be in the middle with my daughter and son on either side. Place her daughter next to her and Julie's husband on the other side of Jonathan. Mr. Monk and the baby should be on the end, and let Leland and Abigail sit on the ground in front of us."
"Okay. I think I have all of that. And, you still want to crop the family picture for the final edition to include just you, your husband, daughter, son and grandchildren."
"Yes. All except for the infant. We'll take some copies of the full shot for our private collection. But, for the magazine, just the immediate family."
Monk furrowed his brow and looked down at the baby bottle in his hand. Surely, she didn't just do what he thought she did. He walked out of the house disturbed.
Handing the bottle to Natalie, she picked up the baby and began to feed him and Monk sat down in his seat, but he continued to be watchful as the afternoon went on. He observed Peggy as she mingled with family and then as she introduced Bobby and goaded him into giving a speech. All the while, the photographer took pictures, supposedly candids, cataloguing the day's events. At no time did he see her come around his children, except for a moment that Abby walked up to her and tried to hand her a dandelion. He listened as she smiled slightly and took the 'flower' then as she bent down and posed for a single picture with her adorable granddaughter, then quickly scooted her along.
Natalie had been too busy playing hostess and keeping an eye on the twins that she didn't notice his shift in mood and things move so quickly with the family photograph that she hadn't picked up on the fact that Adrian and Asher were clearly at the end of the row. Nor did she realize that at no point in time was a single photograph taken of her youngest son – things were just too frenzied with all of her family there. But Monk noticed. He noticed it all and the longer the day wore on, the more livid he became.
The last straw occurred late in the afternoon after everyone had gotten their stomachs full of crème brûlée served in molded chocolate shells shaped like molars, plugged with smatterings of real gold leaf. Peggy was returning to the gathering from speaking with the pyrotechnician that had set up on the beach outside the Davenport's property, which was practically next door, about when to begin shooting off fireworks later that evening. As she walked out onto the lawn, Julie approached her with Asher in her arms. Monk watched as his step-daughter asked her grandmother if she'd like to hold him and then as Peggy got an indignant look on her face and pushed her granddaughter away. Monk clinched his jaw and stood, watching as Peggy picked up her empty wine glass and walked inside. He walked up to Julie who seemed a little lost after her grandmother's rebuff.
"What did she say to you?" he asked.
Julie shrugged sadly. "I don't know what her problem is. I offered to let her hold the baby and she got all huffy and told me that I should take him back to the nursery and put him to bed until everyone else went home. She acted like she was offended that I even asked."
Monk took a deep breath and straightened his suit and the cuffs of his sleeves. "Can you keep your mother busy for a bit?"
"Sure." Julie replied. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to go pick a fight with your grandmother." He answered before heading inside. As he walked up the steps, Natalie looked up and saw him just as he disappeared. She then looked down and watched as her eldest daughter and youngest son walked her way. A huge smile came over her face when the baby looked up at her and smiled as well. She immediately took him from her daughter's arms.
"Where'd Adrian go?" Natalie asked.
Julie's eyes shifted. "Oh. He just said he needed to go inside for a few minutes. He'll be back out."
"He's not feeling sick is he?" Natalie asked. "Sometimes rich desserts give him a bit of a stomach ache."
"No. I'm sure, he's fine. Have you been having fun catching up with your cousins?" she asked.
Natalie looked towards her house with curiosity. "Um…yeah. It's been great. Can you hold your brother a little bit longer? I'm going to go check on your dad."
Julie stepped in front of her. "I wouldn't do that. At least not now."
"Why not?" Natalie asked.
"Because, he's gone to talk to grandma."
It took Adrian a little while to figure out where his mother-in-law had gone, though the remnants of her presence were not hard to spot. An open bottle of wine sat on the counter and a little had sloshed on the tile. Adrian got a wet paper towel and cleaned it up before corking the wine and then moving back through his house to find her. He finally discovered her in the most unlikely of places – Lee and Abby's bedroom. Standing at their dresser with a glass of wine in one hand and a picture of the Monk family in the other she startled when he spoke as he entered the room.
"That's from shortly after they were born." he said. "I remember those days. You came here and took care of Natalie while she was on bedrest and took care of the children for us when they were young. You seemed happier then. What happened?"
Natalie's mother turned to him and smiled a contemptuous smile. "What on earth are you talking about, Adrian. I'm as happy as a lark."
"No, you're not. You're bitter, distant and cold and it seems to me that most of the time you'd rather be anywhere but here. But you taking your misery out on other people and on liquor isn't going to solve anything."
Natalie walked inside the house and began to look for her husband. She stopped just outside the children's door.
"Mr. Monk, you may be a very good detective but diagnosing me as bitter is a bit above your paygrade. What would you know anyway?"
"I know when someone's unhappy. I spent too many years in that place myself and I can tell you that's no place to be."
"Like I said, I'm happy as a lark. Now go back to the party." She said, taking a drink.
"Not until you and I talk about why you're excluding my son." He replied. Peggy lowered her glass and glowered at him but Monk continued. "I overheard you instructing the photographer to place me and my son at the edge of the photo so that we could later be cropped out. I considered for a moment that it was me that you didn't want in the picture and if that was the case, I guess I could understand why. A lot of people wouldn't want to be seen with me. But then, I watched as the photographer took multiple photos of everyone at that party except for Asher and saw when Julie tried to hand him to you and you stormed off, like you were embarrassed of him and I knew that it was our A.J. that you were avoiding. And, I've come in here to tell you that you can avoid me all you want to. You can mock me. You can cut me out of your pictures. I've had sixty years of that sort of treatment and frankly I've gotten use to it, but one thing I will not allow you to do is come into our house and treat our son as if he is a second-class citizen. I will not stand for it. Not now, not ever."
Peggy rolled her eyes. "Oh, Adrian. Don't be ridiculous. I am not avoiding your son. I think it is admirable what you and Natalie have chosen to do. Not many parents would choose to undertake the burden of caring for a child with special needs."
"Our Asher is NOT a burden!" Natalie said, stepping from out of the shadows.
"Sweetheart!" Monk said, surprised by her presence.
"Is what he said true?" she said. "You don't really have to answer that because I know Adrian doesn't lie. So, please explain yourself!"
"Excuse me? Explain myself? Young lady, you forget you are talking to your mother."
"It takes more than pushing someone down the birth canal to be a mother. Now, tell us. Why did you tell the photographer to cut him out of photographs?"
Peggy looked at them with an air of superiority. "For reasons of privacy, of course. It is difficult enough to deal with having a child with issues without having the readers of Modern Aristocrat gawking and talking about your misfortune. I did it for the family."
"Wrong, Peggy!" Monk said. "You didn't do it for the family. You did it for you! That's why you wouldn't hold him. You didn't want to be photographed with him – because it's bad for your image at the country club."
"And that's why you won't go with us to the special presentation at Asher's school. You're ashamed to be seen with him." Natalie added.
"I told you, I was busy."
"Spare me, mother. I didn't tell you what day it was. You didn't want to go." she said.
Peggy stopped and pursed her lips. "Fine. You've got me. I didn't want to go to the presentation. Asher is a beautiful child today, I will give you that. But I know and you know too that there will come a day where this beautiful child grows into a young man who is dependent and can't care for himself and will always have to be treated special."
"We don't want him treated special. We want him treated just like a little boy, which is what he is. And in terms of ability, our Asher will do anything he sets his mind to." Natalie replied. "He may take the scenic route getting there, but we have him in early intervention and he's already making great strides and farther along than where they thought he would be at this point in time."
"He can lift his head and smile and occasionally coo. Hooray!" Peggy said. "You were already beginning to sit up and hold things at this child's age and you recognized your name when we would speak to you and you were already babbling up a storm."
"This child has already had more challenges in his life than I had in my first five years and he has triumphed over all of them." Natalie said. "He's farther ahead on some things than they say he should be and he is learning new things every day and we couldn't be prouder of him."
"That's good that you are, dear. Like I said, I think it is admirable that you are doing this. You always have been one to buck convention and take on new challenges. Be that as it may, you are not me and in my day this was not done."
"This? What is this?" Natalie replied.
"Feeble minded children were sent to homes, for the good of the family. I know it's different today, but I guess I'm just not as progressively minded as the younger set and it's taking me a little more time to get use to the fact that my grandchild is retarded."
Before Natalie could respond, Monk stood. "Mrs. Davenport, I'm going to kindly ask you to leave our home."
"You're kicking me out? I'm just answering your questions."
"Be that as it may, this is Asher's home too and he is welcomed here and loved here and anyone who cannot welcome and love him as we do is not going to be allowed to stay. Now get your things and please leave."
Peggy looked at Monk incredulously. "Natalie, are you going to stand there and allow your husband to talk to me that way?"
Natalie walked beside Adrian and hooked her arm around his. "Yes, mother. I am."
Peggy clinched her jaw and grabbed her glass. "Very well! You don't have to tell me a third time. I will not stay where I am not wanted."
As she walked out the door to go find her husband, Monk and Natalie stood side by side at their back door.
"Oh, and forget coming to Adrian's birthday party next month. You're no longer invited." Natalie yelled.
Peggy reached Bobby and grabbed him up by the arm and began to drag him away while others watched.
"What? What's the matter with you?" he said. "Have you been drinking again?"
"Just get in the car, we're going home!"
The lines of communication were completely silent between the two households for the next couple of days, and later that week Natalie was surprised to see a for sale sign posted in her parent's front yard. Bobby stopped by the house shortly before they left and let her know that they were returning to California at Peggy's insistence. Natalie had no real quarrel with him, though she wished he was stronger. But she shed tears when she saw their car pull away. Nevertheless, she and Adrian would make no apologies for the stance they had taken. In just this short time, both had become strong advocates for people with disabilities and the easiest way to find oneself on the outs with either one of them would be to look down at their kid.
This fervent love was shown early on when the couple was asked to be a part of a nationally syndicated news program that was highlighting the work of Sharon Hope and her center. It was just before Thanksgiving and A.J. was a little over six months old. The program aired in the middle of the afternoon in California at Peggy Davenport's country club right in the middle of her bridge game. One of her cohorts, Dolores Dillingham was sitting across from her when she pointed at the TV screen and asked, "Peggy, isn't that your daughter?"
Peggy looked at the screen and her jaw set, "I have no daughter. Turn off the television and deal."
The program was filmed in the auditorium of Sharon's center and many of the children were gathered on bleachers behind the select group of parents chosen to participate. Monk and Natalie sat with Asher near the center of the alignment and even though they were not specifically being spotlighted, the situation was nerve-wracking enough that it brought forth many of Adrian's ticks, from insisting things were straightened to arranging the way parents and children sat on the stage to actually stepping in as a co-director of sorts when they would switch to different segments. All of his suggestions were good and actually improved the show; but, he was annoying enough to some of the film crew that one of them asked the show's host in private if Adrian was a parent or a student at the center. Natalie just let him be. As long as he wasn't spinning out of control in a way that would have a negative effect, she had grown to enjoy some of his antics as elements of him. If others didn't like it, tough. He was her husband and she loved him and was proud of who he was.
The show host did a short interview with Ms. Hope and her son who highlighted all of the things that the center was doing. She followed up with Sam who explained that she and many of her friends were no different than anyone else save for the fact their bodies had certain limitations. They had her ups and downs but were in all respects just people who liked to laugh, to love and to be around friends. Then finally, the host came to the Monks who were there to represent new parents facing these concerns for the first time.
"Your baby is beautiful." The host said. "Want to tell us your story?"
Natalie took the lead. "Yes, well, we found out rather late in my pregnancy that Asher has a rare form of Down Syndrome called Mosaicism. In regular Down's, or Trisomy 21, all of the cells in a child's body receive an addition 21st chromosome. With Mosaicism, the additional chromosome is just in some of the child's cells."
"We had him tested." Monk interjected. "They believe he is around 30% Mosaic."
"So, does that mean he won't be affected as much?"
"No way to tell." Natalie said.
"We never know until we get there because we don't know exactly which cells are affected." Monk added.
"Yes, we know he has some of the features of typical Down's but not others. His eye shape and the bridge of his nose are typical, but his mouth and the nape of his neck are just like our other two children."
"He does have the cute little Monkey toes." Monk grinned.
"Yes, he has the sandal gap. And, he's slightly more delayed than our other children were but he's really doing great." Natalie concluded.
"That's great." The host continued. "What kind of preparation did you get when you were told your child would be Down's?"
Natalie smiled softly. "Well, one thing – and you wouldn't know, but we don't talk of Asher as 'being' Down's. He has a chromosomal disorder that affects some of his cells. Other than that, he is just a normal little boy. He eats, he drinks, he likes to play with his siblings, he smiles, he cries. He's just a little boy – who happened to come with a bonus."
"A bonus which results in some issues." The host replied.
"Yeah. But everyone has issues. We deal with things as they come. For instance, he has a heart defect. He was born with a hole in his heart and the doctor is taking a wait and see approach right now, but he may have to have surgery. We will cross that bridge if we come to it. In the meantime, we're just your average American family and we support and love each other no matter what."
"What kinds of things have you learned?" the interviewer asked.
Monk smiled. "Oh, wow!"
"Yeah! Wow! That's a lot." Natalie said. "We've learned doctors don't always know what they're talking about and that when we stand together as a family we can get through just about anything."
"We've also learned about the small stuff." Adrian replied.
"The small stuff? Please elaborate."
"Well, it's just we tend to look at the big stuff. Your son has a chromosomal defect. The doctors say that he may require life-long care. You hear that and it's pretty intimidating. But then, life happens. And you learn the living is not in the big stuff but in the small stuff – some you 'don't sweat' and some you learn to celebrate. And it's different every day. You know, I have four children. My stepdaughter is in her late twenties and ever since I've known her she's been one of the kindest most generous people I've ever known. She's never judgmental in the least but accepts people for who they are. Even lepers. I couldn't do that, but she does, happily. Then there are my oldest biological children. They're twins but they are so different. Lee a deep thinker and sensitive like me. He's also a genius. His sister, Abigail, is like her mother. Outgoing. Friendly. Smart as a whip and artsy. Society would call them 'gifted.' And Asher, they would call him 'special.' But, my wife and I look at them and they're just our kids. They are each gifted and special in their own ways. And, if my older children grew up to bring half the joy to the world that my youngest son already does, I'd be a happy man indeed. I'm already happy, but how much more if they turn out as pure and sweet as our little Asher."
"That's beautiful, Mr. Monk. Simply beautiful." The host said. "One more thing. I know your experience with having a child with a disability is somewhat new but, if you were talking to a parent who is in the position you were in when you found out about your child's diagnosis what would you tell them? Natalie?"
Natalie looked at the camera. "I'd tell them to take things one day at a time and to not let the diagnosis get them down, because doctors don't have crystal balls and are woefully inadequate when it comes to determining how your child's life will go. And then, I'd say just support them and watch how you discover your greatest fear becomes one of your greatest blessings. Nobody told us when this little boy came into our life that sometimes the love would be so strong that we could hardly even breathe. But that's how it's been with our family. And for my immediate family, it's caused our family unit to be even that much stronger. Asher's older siblings adore him and our marriage has never been stronger."
"Mr. Monk?"
"Well, it's like Natalie said. The love…it's…it's overwhelming. And the inspiration and the joy and the laughter that he has brought to our lives already, it was quite unexpected. There was a time shortly after he was diagnosed that I went about trying to figure out how to 'fix' what was 'wrong' with him, but I wouldn't change him at all. I'd probably heal the heart defect because I don't' want him to have to have surgery – but having Down Syndrome is just a part of who he is and it doesn't stop him from being this funny, rambunctious, loving and happy little boy whom I love so fiercely and protectively that I'd take on anyone who tried to hurt him. He wasn't what we expected, but he's exactly who we needed and I've said it before to Natalie, having Asher in our lives truly has made our family complete. I couldn't feel more blessed."
Another month passed by Christmas came and went. Natalie went out of her way and bought Adrian a breadmaker that made perfectly square loaves. He bought her a new ring with all of the children's birthstones in it and they all got new neighbors. The Stottlemeyers found a house just a block away from the Monks that while not directly on the beach had a walk out balcony from which T.K. could see the water – making her quite content.
And so, on New Year's Eve as Adrian and Natalie put the children to bed, they couldn't help but reflect on how a year that had begun so traumatically, with Natalie thinking her husband was dead, had ended so peacefully. They had entered a new chapter and their love for each other and for their children had weathered it all. They felt so very blessed.
But, as things so often went in their lives, when things seemed calmest it was a signal that a storm was fast approaching.
The Monks had gone to bed shortly after midnight and were snuggled up together in a spooning position when the phone rang. Adrian quickly rolled over and grabbed it lest it disturb Natalie's rest and when he put on his glasses to read the caller I.D., he left their bedroom to take the call privately. He recognized the number as coming from Natalie's parent's house and immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
The last time he had heard from his in-laws was in October when Bobby sent him some Davenport stock for his 61st birthday. Since then, things had been silent.
"Hello?" Monk asked as he shut the bedroom door.
"Adrian. This is Bobby Davenport. I'm sorry for calling at a bad time but I don't know what else to do."
Monk took a seat and flicked on the light on the small lampstand beside him. "What's wrong?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "It's Natalie's mother. She's in the hospital. We were out tonight at a party with one of my biggest clients. It was just a small gathering with about a dozen people and everything went fine until, I don't know what possessed her to do it, but Peggy got the car keys from the chauffer and took off on her own. She was gone for well over an hour and my friend had offered to help me look for her. I was about to accept, when I received a phone call from the state police. She had been in an accident."
"Dear Heavens, is it bad?" Monk asked, shaking his head.
"Doctor's say she should be okay. She has a slight concussion and a couple of broken bones in her left leg. But the impact, they say the impact when she hit the other car was such that it threw the driver out of her seat. Adrian, the woman is dead and Peggy's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. They are looking to charge her and say she could go to prison for ten years. What on earth am I going to do?
Monk rubbed his hand across his forehead. "How can we help?"
"Well, I was hoping to coax you into flying to California to take a look. Peggy remembers nothing and I know it's a long shot but – prison? She'd never survive. Davenport would never survive."
Adrian talked a while longer with his father-in-law and then crawled back into bed with his wife who immediately awakened.
"Who was that?" she asked. He wasn't sure exactly how to break the news to her so he decided to just tell her.
"It was your father. Your mother had an accident, but she's going to be okay, physically."
Natalie sat up on her elbow. "Physically?"
Monk nodded. "I don't know how to say this, but she had been drinking. Another person was killed. He's sending a private jet out later this morning to pick us up. We're going back to California."