Chapter 5 – Hon-Tea
The weeks passed, and things started to get back to normal...but better. Jackie found herself being put in charge more and more. The days were random, some weekends, some weekdays…but 'strangely', they always seemed to coincide with the regulars at table 9 being back in town. She also noticed after certain phone calls between those times, Lulu seemed to have a bit of an added spring in her step. She'd deny it anytime any of the patrons might mention it, saying she was just her usual self…But there was no denying…She had a new sweetheart, and though they chose to keep it under wraps, everyone knew who it was.
Then one evening, she got another call, same time as always…but her reaction was much…much different.
"You were…" she smothered a shriek, running across the bar, flying through the kitchen and out the back door. "YOU WERE WHAT?!"
"I'm fine….there's nothing to worry about….I had my vest on and it was a small caliber…" Jess stated calmly. He didn't want to worry the family with the news, but he knew if Lulu heard the story from someone else, he might not survive the event after all. "You know things like this come with the territory…"
"YES I KNOW…." she retorted. "And NO it doesn't make me feel any better…." A thousand questions ran through her mind…three quarters of them she knew she probably couldn't ask…He had probably been in and out of the emergency room already, if Sheryll had managed to get that mule headed man there in the first place, but she still wished she could have been there with him…She didn't know what help she might have been…but she would have been there.
"Does Nelson and Mar.."
"No, and I'm not telling them till I get back, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mention anything…" Well, that was something at least…she rated the first phone call.
"Are…" She struggled to find something to say that wouldn't make her sound weak... "Are you ok…"
"I'm fine…" he assured her again. "My chest is bruised and my ribs ain't happy…but other than that no major impact."
"You take a bullet to the chest, but 'no major impact'? You sure you didn't get shot in the head?"
"Ha ha…Ow! Don't do that…."
"Don't get shot!" she taunted, but with still a bit of honey in her voice. Jess and Ang…neither had really been adrenaline junkies back in school. Adventurous, sure, but not bungie jumping off the Tappan Zee crazy…and yet they both immediately took to two of the most hazardous careers known…It had killed Ang, and left Jess a widower with a young daughter…and a dangerous job of his own…She remembered previous assignments when he had been out of contact with her and the family for days….Clint as well…On the longer ones, she had often taken up residence on Marilou's couch, or sometimes up in Tali's very room, trying to help keep things normal and focused….for the child at least. She remembered one night, opening her eyes in a fright, finding the little girl gone. She took the long black steel flashlight the girl's uncle had left behind from the nightstand, the one she had insisted to Nelson was 'just to light the way to the bathroom', and quietly patrolled the hall, ready to strike at whomever might be lurking in the darkness…Only to find Tali sound asleep…in her father's bed…
A long, warm silence had stood between them for a moment. "Would it be too lame to say I miss you?" she asked meekly.
"I miss you too." he sighed. "Wish I could tell you how soon we'll be home…We're not far…but…"
"It's going to take as long as it's going to take and you need to focus on the case to keep everyone safe." She responded with the same script he'd given Tali a number of times when she was on the phone with him, shortly after Ang had passed, crying for him to come back. He spoke gentle and lovingly to her, but he was never one to coddle, and Tali was so young, but still mature for her age. Somehow they found the way to communicate what they both needed from each other.
"You were paying attention." He noted.
"For years…" she drawled.
Another silence…neither were much for chatting on the phone…but if this was the only way for them to be together while he was away, she'd take it….Apparently, he wasn't complaining either.
"I should go. Everyone's….I should…"
"Yes…I know…Call me tomorrow?"
"Same Bat time…."
"And Don't Get Shot!"
He growled with mild frustration…."Yes ma'am…"
Around two weeks later, the case was finished and the team was heading back home, to paperwork…and family…
Lulu had already planned it out with Marilou and Tali, though they did not yet understand why she wanted to make this homecoming so special.
"Now, when he gets home, I want you to give Jess a Giant hug!"
"Of Course!" Tali laughed.
"Your grandma too…" the older woman looked at her guest, a little surprised. "Jess told me over the phone…this case was….was a bit harder on him than most…I want us to make sure he knows…we're here for him…"
Grandmother and daughter looked at each other, still quizzical, but then they looked back to Lulu and nodded in agreement.
Lulu was handling the finishing touches to his bedroom, when Jess made his way through the front door. She was making her way down stairs just in time to see the bear…ok, maybe double-deer…hug from the two ladies, and Jess' not so hidden reaction.
Seeing her coming down, he got a sense of what had really just happened. "I take it you are responsible for this…?"
"Don't…." she began rhetorically.
He stopped her voice in its tracks. "…Say it!" She just smiled and shrugged.
"Aunt Lulu, your turn!" Tali insisted.
Lu smiled, descending the last step and crossing the room to where the three of them stood. Smiling as she brushed back the young girl's lovely locks with one hand, and reached the other around Jess's waist, then brought the former to meet it around the other side. Giving what she made appear to be a herculean hug, in truth, she made sure it had no major impact…
"And hello to you too…" Jess smiled, reaching his arms back around her, then bending down to give her a peck on the lips.
Tali smiled brightly at the pair, as did Marilou. But her smile dropped suddenly, with the realization of why Lulu had made such a fuss over his arrival…and what her son in law had not wanted her to say….
"Now, not to sound too bold, but let's get you upstairs…..you must be…exhausted…." Lulu remarked, trying to watch her words.
"You two go on up," Marilou remarked, "I want a moment with him first."
"Race ya!" Tali called, speeding passed Lu as she made it to the stairs, but as they slowed her a bit, the other woman caught up, and the two started giggling all the way to the room.
As the sound of their voices was ebbing, Jess turned to Marilou. Before he could utter a word…
"Where…." She just over whispered.
His eyebrows jumped. His hands guided her eyes down his sternum, just above where his ribs began to part.
"Vest."
He nodded. "Small bullet. I was going to tell you all in the morning…no sense having you and Tali needlessly upset for days…"
She gave him a disapproving stare, nodded once in understanding, then sent him off to join the others.
Getting to the first step, he turned back. "Is there any way I could ask you for…"
"Water's already boiling…" she responded, disappearing to the kitchen.
Jess smiled. He knew she wasn't happy with him right now, but the woman had the patience of a saint…She knew the situation, and she might not always agree with his work or how he parented Tali, but she always held her place, and let him be the parent. And he knew, she knew, he knew how lucky he was for that….and so much more.
As he walked in, he nearly didn't recognize his room. He turned back to check the hall to make sure he hadn't walked into Tali's. The girls must have raided a dollar store, because there were a mixture of kids' birthday and New Year's Eve decorations taped to the ceiling. The entire room smelled of strawberries, and there was glitter spread all over the carpet…
"Oh my….Wow…." was all he let out…
"Do you like it? Aunt Lulu put me in charge of decorating!" Tali announced excitedly. "I accidentally spilled the Strawberry perfume on the carpet, but grandma and I cleaned it up….It's still pretty strong, but shouldn't last more than a couple days…"
Jess looked around with wide eyes and a forced smile. He could see that Lulu was holding back a good deal of her own laughter.
"It's wonderful, sweetie, thank you so much!" He walked over and gave her a giant hug, which she happily returned.
"Oh, I almost forgot…I think I saw Wally flying around. I got some pictures of him…or at least I think it's him…on my cell phone….I'll go get it!"
Before he could say a word, she had flown out the door, leaving the two of them alone.
"You know, I hold you solely responsible for all this…"
"What, I thought you'd have a certain appreciation for a room that...smells like Strawberry Shortcake….and looks like it's been tied up with crepe paper and drowned in Pepto Bismol…."
He doubled over laughing, but suddenly reached up to hold his chest. Shifting a quarter turn, he sat down on the bed as Lulu rushed to his side in concern. He reached for her hands as they reached to help him…
"I'm fine….I told you it hurts when I laugh…"
"Well then…." She stopped, looking towards the door to see if Tali was coming."…words that won't be spoken before 9…"
He gave her a bemused look, huffed a laugh, and held his chest again.
With a soft tap on the door, Marilou came in with a mug that had a string and spoon coming out of it.
"Thank you, Marilou….so much…"
She smiled sincerely, looked to Lulu with a knowing nod, which the other woman understood to mean the secret was at least partially out, then turned back for the door, without a word.
"Lucy….you gonna have some explaining to do…"she teased.
"Yup…she knows…which means Nelson will shortly…Clint already does, obviously….which leaves…."
They both looked at each other.
"The hardest of all…." She responded.
With that, Tali walked back in the room.
"Ok," Lu began. "You show him the pictures….I'll handle the laundry…"
"Watch out for his stiiiiiiinky socks!" Tal laughed.
"Hey! Watch it!" Jess warned gleefully, grabbing his daughter and throwing her down on the bed…"Now let's take a look at this Wally-wannabe!"
Lulu smiled, lifted Jess's go bag onto the dresser, and started to open and pull things out…
"What in the world!?" she professed in amazement.
As both the others turned in her direction she started pulling out about a half dozen honey bears…all in protective plastic zipper bags….all empty!
"That's dad's honey bear collection…" Tali answered matter of factly.
Lu smiled at her niece and nodded…but as that still did not answer her question, she raised her eyes to the bag's owner.
He rolled his way to face her, leaned on one elbow, and answered with a smile. "Hon-tea."
"Hon-tea…" she started to crack up. "You still drink that?"
He nodded, smiling even more broadly.
Now it was Tali's turn to be confused.
"Ok kid, skitter over" Lulu directed. They both made room for her on the bed. "Back when we old folks were in school, your aunt used to do a little singing…"
"You mean like choir and Madrigals? I love that!" she interrupted excitedly.
"Well, I wasn't really the chamber music type, but in the interest of time, let's say yes…." She continued. "Problem for me was I had the Worst allergies! Spring, Fall….even Summer and Winter….my nose and throat could close up at the sight of an ALOE PLANT for heaven sake! I'd be coughing and sneezing….which made my throat all scratchy…which made it impossible to sing. Only one thing brought it back to some version of normalcy…"
"Hon…Tea…" she answered slowly.
"Yes. Tea is generally good for a sore throat…but I was having so much of it, I spent more time in the bathroom than on stage…it makes you…have to go….it's what's called a diuretic. So it was making me crazy, but I needed it…"
"Or did she…." Jess interjected.
"Exactly…You see there were Some things about the tea itself that were helping my throat….especially some particular teas that I would get…but what was helping on the overall was the Honey….so in time….I started cutting out the middle man…I'd boil water and put a mega ton of honey in it….Boom…there you go…"
"Don't you mean 'Boom-there it is…'" the young girl corrected with a mischievous grin.
"Mind your elders!" Lu teased. "Anyway, the honey helped the most, and I had friends who turned me on to other bee products like Royal Jelly and so on, so as my throat was being treated, my health got better, my energy went up….all sorts of good stuff!" she laughed. "Then one day in the Commons…"
"Huh?" Tal looked at her, confused again.
"Ummm, the hall where we had our meals….in College…One day your mother caught me having tea…but with no tea….we talked it over….and Hon-Tea was born!"
"And then your dad saw your mom doing it….and I got hooked!" Jess concluded.
"Apparently!" Lu laughed.
"Well then…I'm going to have to try it!" Tali announced.
"Well, with Your sweet tooth, don't go filling it to the rim. It's still mostly Water you know…" Jess insisted.
"Oh dad…really…c'mon!" she laughed, snuggling into him. He wrapped his arm around her, and squeezed back.
"Tali…Tali…." A voice came from downstairs.
"That's grandpa….he wanted me to help him build a bonfire for later….we didn't know you were coming this early…but…you're in good hands…" that Cheshire smile struck again. "I'll let you two be…as long as I get time later to show you the rest of the pictures of Wally."
"Absolutely Kiddo!" Jess squeezed her again. As they released, she slid the phone in her pocket and headed for the door.
"If you need anything, I'm a ring away" she offered, stopping at the door and tapping her pocket.
"A-Ring-Away-A-Ring-Away…. A-Ring-Away-A-Ring-Away… A-Ring-Away-A-Ring-Away…. A-Ring-Away-A-Ring-Away" he started chanting, his hands doing a hula motion…
"DAD!" she laughed, and made her way out.
Lulu's chest hopped in silent laughter. "The two of you…."
"Yesssssss…." He smiled, looking toward the door, then towards her, then patting the bed next to him.
No second invitation needed. She imitated a charge at the bed, then paused as she arrived next to it, turned and sat gently, softly kicked her feet up next to his, then regained speed and toppled him over in a hug.
As the laughter subsided, they held each other close in that same warm, soft, electric silence they had been sharing on the phone.
"You know….there was one part of the decoration that was my idea…"
"Oh really," he looked down at her, "What was that?"
"The….canopy…" she responded, lifting the pink sparkling tulle swathe and spreading it over the full breadth of the bed. As she turned back to him, she tried to hide it, but he could see the tears that began to slip down over her cheeks…"It's to…protect you…" she stammered. "I know I can't….I won't stop you…it's what you do…" she affirmed staunchly. "And I know I can't protect you when you're out there….and I can't deny…that scares me….I mean, all of us could have lost you…the same way we lost Ang….any day….now…I finally have you…so now I have…even more to lose…Now don't you go thinking I want to go back to the way things were…I Do NOT! I just…I guess I need to admit to myself…to you…it scares me…."
The tears would not be stopped, but they didn't put him off the way she feared they might. She had always been the rock. The scariest times for Tali, when none of them had the faintest idea when…or if…Jess would be coming home…Lulu was always the one cracking jokes, wanting to order pizza or watch a movie…Keeping their minds and hearts away from their fears…Keeping things normal….
Now, she had a new normal.
He reached to bring her even closer, running his fingers through her hair again, wiping away her tears…
"I love you….I always have." He could already see she was all in on this, she thought….Might as well go for broke…
"I love you." He echoed, to his own surprise, more than willingly.
He softly kissed her forehead and held her all the more tightly…
The Silence….had won….
