Chapter Three
At the ranch, Liz called Mac who was over at The Grove playing checkers with old Henry. She told him about the caller and there was silence for several seconds before Mac made a happy noise, saying, "Charlie, my nephew Charlie! My goodness, he's older than Shannon! I'll come home to call him, Liz, thank you for letting me know. I haven't seen him since he was 10 or 11!"
Both smiling, they disconnected and Mac explained to the Groves' first permanent tenants, Henry and Beth, before hopping onto the ATV for the short trip back over the bridge. Returning to the guesthouse he and Richard were sharing until all the babies got older, he decided to call Charlie at the hotel. That would verify that this was his nephew, or at least that someone using the name Charlie Fielding was staying at the hotel.
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A dozing Charlie nearly fell out of his chair when the desk phone rang. He answered, "Hello?"
"Charlie? This is Mac. Liz said you called. I'm so happy to hear your voice after all these years! How are you?"
"I'm doing fine, Uncle Mac and it's good to hear your voice, too. How are you?"
"Wonderful, kiddo. Are you here on business or pleasure and how long can you stay? Got time for a trip out to the ranch?"
"Yes, we do. Eleni, that's my little daughter, and I are here for several days. And it's pleasure, Uncle, I'm retired."
"Good for you! How old is Eleni?"
"She's 18 months."
"Just the two of you?"
"Yes sir, my wife and I adopted her but then Carol became ill and died shortly after the baby's first birthday."
"Oh Charlie, I'm so sorry to hear that. And now you're raising Eleni by yourself?"
"We have a live-in nanny but yes, Eleni and I are each other's family."
"Not any more, Charlie. I have a large family and you are part of us."
Charlie had to swallow before he could say, "Thank you, Uncle. I worry about Eleni, don't want her to grow up in foster care if something happens to me."
"You can let that worry go now, son." Mac looked at his watch. "Is Eleni napping now?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
His uncle laughed, "We have a lot of children here, kiddo. I have 6 grown grandkids and 10 great-grands. I'm familiar with nap times!"
"That's wonderful! To be honest, Uncle, I've been worried about the trouble between you and Dad. I've never known what happened and wasn't sure if it would extend to me or not."
Mac sighed, "My wife and your mother couldn't stand each other. And your father and I felt obligated to stand up for our wives although with what I know now, your mother's instincts were right. But your dad and I didn't let that separate us, Charlie. You didn't know that?"
"No, I didn't. We never talked about it and then I joined the Marines when I was 18. I eventually had my own family and lost track of what happened with the Fieldings."
"I was in the hospital for back surgery when your dad died, so I couldn't make it to his funeral. Made it to both of my younger brothers' funerals, though, Art and Gordon. It's hard for me to believe that I'm the only one left and I'm the oldest! So, a Marine, huh? Thank you for your service. You'll do fine here; my son-in-law is a Marine as is one of my grandsons, one of my granddaughters-in-law and her father, who lives here too. You might even know one of them, wouldn't that be something?"
"It sure would be!"
"Let's see, it's 1400 now, you think Eleni will be awake by 1500?"
Charlie grinned at the use of military time. "I'll wake her at 1430, she slept most of the drive here and I want her to sleep tonight."
"Good idea. Now, let me give you directions to get here. Do you have GPS on your car?"
"I do."
"Makes it easier, here's the address." Charlie wrote it down.
"It's about a 20-minute drive from town. Quail Hill Road is a little curvy so if Eleni gets carsick you might want to give her a soda cracker or two. We always have them available for Tim, my grandson, and his kids."
"Thanks for the tip."
"Oh and bring your swim gear and plan to stay for dinner. We'll eat outside tonight."
"You know that already?"
Mac laughs, "Everyone will want to meet you two and to fit us all we either eat in the shelter or outside. The shelter is fine when it's too hot or chilly out but we're more relaxed outside."
"How long were you in?"
"Fourteen weeks, although the last couple of weeks we were allowed into the house."
"Wow! We live in Sedona and were in for 5 weeks."
"Terrible thing, thank God we're alive! All right, I'll expect to see you in about an hour then. Call me when you see the grocery store on Quail Hill Road and I'll meet you at the gate."
"Will do!" As he hung up the receiver, Charlie felt better than he had since Carol's death. An enormous burden had been lifted from him and he felt a lightness he thought might be a combination of relief and happiness. Eleni would be loved and cared for; she'd have a family if something happened to him. They both had family now. He made a note to set up a guardianship for her in his will. He hadn't changed anything since shortly after he and Carol disowned Delilah. Now he could list his cousin Shannon and probably other folks too.
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An hour later, Eleni munched on her soda cracker as they drove around the curves Uncle Mac mentioned. It really wasn't too bad but Charlie wouldn't want to drive it for the first time in the dark. When he saw the sign up ahead for the grocery store, he called the number Mac gave him.
"Hi Charlie, I'm just getting to the gate. I hear your car now."
He smiled when he saw the sign for the ranch and turned in as the gate opened. On an ATV, which astonished Charlie considering how old his uncle must be by now, Mac waved at him to follow. They were both decades older but Charlie thought he'd still know him anywhere. They parked at the side of a large house, next to a bright yellow and black Challenger and three pickup trucks.
Mac gave Charlie a quick hug before helping him extricate Eleni and the diaper bag. Walking up to the front porch, Charlie set Eleni down and she immediately started to explore. Mac put his hands on Charlie's shoulders and beamed at him.
"Oh, you're a Fielding all right! You were a mirror image of your dad when you were a kid and you still are! Welcome home, Charlie."
Charlie bit the inside of his mouth to keep from crying. He was nearly 70 years old for Pete's sake! Seemingly reading his mind, his uncle smiles, "It's the stress, son; feel free to let go."
He's not ready to do that yet. Eleni's back with him now and she hugs his leg. "Papa ok?"
"Yes, sweetie!"
Eleni gives Mac her best toothy grin, "I Eleni."
"Pleased to meet you, Eleni." Mac looked at Charlie, "You're Papa?"
Charlie nodded and Mac continued, "The other kids, whether we're related or not, call me Grandpa or Grandpa Mac. She's welcome to that if you'd like."
"Thanks; that might be less confusing in the long run." Leaning down, he picked up his little girl, "Eleni, this is Grandpa Mac."
Eleni nods seriously, reminding Mac of Brynie when she was this age, and distinctly says, "Grandpa Mac."
"That's right, sweetheart!"
"Papa an' Grandpa Mac."
"Yes!"
She chortled and both men grinned.
Mac picked up the diaper bag, "Let's get inside to the air conditioning. Then we can change and get to the pool before the big kids get home from school."
"How many people live here, Uncle?"
Mac chuckled, "There were 84 of us in the shelter. One of the women had some health issues and had to be extracted by helicopter; she's in town. The Bishops, the in-laws of my 3rd eldest grandson, went home to Oklahoma or moved to town and Taos – 16 of them. Let's see, the Vances moved to town, that's another 6, the Carters moved to London, that's 2, Kelly and Rob, my two youngest grandkids, live in town, that's another 2 and Mateo is in college in Santa Fe, that's 3. Ned, Barry and the rest of the boys moved into town, except for Bill, that's another 4. Oh and the Slaters, that's 8. That leaves about 44 still here but I'm forgetting Ana, who joined us from Bacia, she's also family. Let's say 44 full-time, our friend Pete drives a moving van, he lives here when he's not working.
"We're pretty well spread out though. The house is 3 stories and has 12 bedrooms plus assorted other places to sleep. We have a bunch of guesthouses and the barn has 35 bunkrooms. All of us who don't have babies in the nursery moved out of the house when Mackie, that's Tim and Ellie's youngest, was born in November. There's also a community of seven brand new homes where several of my grandkids and other family members live, that's where our pool is."
"Forty-four people here? Are you all related?"
Mac laughs, "Pete, Bill and Lu claim they're the only ones who aren't related in some way. Although Lu helped raise four of my grandkids and Bill was part of their group so I'd have to say Pete is really the only one. Between the Gibbses, Hubbards, Mallards, Cranes, Barnes, spouses, kids, in-laws and godparents, yes."
"Gibbs? I saw that name when I was looking online for you. It sounds familiar."
"That's my son-in-law, Shannon's husband, their son and his family and their daughter, who's a newlywed and will continue using Gibbs professionally. She and her husband are both doctors working at the same hospital, and the youngest of Shannon's adopted sons is also a doctor at the same hospital, which is confusing enough as he and Kelly are both pediatricians! Now, I don't remember whether you and Shannon have seen each other since she was a baby."
"I don't think so. The last time I remember seeing you I think I was ten and she was on a blanket on the floor trying to turn over."
"And now she's Mom to 6 kids and Nonny to 10 grandkids."
"Wow." Charlie took a deep breath, "When I was looking online for you, I saw an article about Joann."
Mac shakes his head, "Horrible woman, heartless criminal, murderer, kidnapper and traitor."
"Sounds like you went through an ordeal, sorry that happened."
"Thanks, Charlie. Five years ago when I learned of the first crime she committed back in 1977, I was shocked. It's taken me years to understand how I could have lived with a criminal for two decades and not known."
"She must have been a talented liar."
"Oh yeah. After Shannon was grown, we split. Best thing I ever did."
The two men were inside now and Mac showed Eleni the playroom. Lia, Henry and Ricky were in there with Liz, playing in a larger, stronger version of their old kiddie corral, and Eleni squirmed to get down.
Mac nodded, calling to Liz, watching the kids and the toddlers, "Liz, Lia, Henry, Ricky, come meet new family."
The three toddlers tumbled over each other like puppies and Eleni chortled again. Mac grinned, "Liz, like you to meet my nephew Charlie Fielding. Charlie, Liz Crane, godmother to my grandkids."
She smiled, "Welcome, Charlie. I'm glad to meet you in person."
He returned the smile, shaking her hand. "Happy to meet you and thanks for not hanging up on me when I asked for Mac."
Mac thought for a minute before asking, "Charlie, what do you want to be called by the kids? Feel free to be Uncle, Mr. Charlie or Papa. Whatever you select will end up being your name by all the kids."
Charlie laughs, "Then Uncle Charlie is fine."
"All right. Lia, Henry, Ricky, this is Uncle Charlie and this is Eleni."
Lia smiled and leaning forward, gave Eleni a little kiss. Eleni giggled happily. Ricky, not to be outdone, also kissed her and this time Eleni squealed. Then Lia held her arms up and Charlie picked her up so she could kiss him too. Ricky wanted up, too, and Charlie picked him up for a kiss. Still shy around strangers, Henry hugged his leg.
"Henry's a little shy sometimes."
"He's fine, aren't you, champ?"
Henry nodded with a little smile.
Charlie turned to Mac, "Are all three yours?"
"No, Lia and Henry belong to my grandson Tim and his wife Ellie; they have five kids with another on the way. Right now, Henry's a foster child but they hope to adopt him. Ricky belongs to Jimmy and Breena Palmer, who are family but not blood related. Breena's parents, sisters and their families sheltered with us; now they live in town. Jimmy is Ducky Mallard's unofficial son, no blood relation and one of the five doctors in the family.
"Right before we evacuated, my granddaughter Sarah discovered her blood relatives and her godparents. One of them turned out to be Ducky's first love. They're married now. And Ducky is a retired Medical Examiner who worked with my son-in-law for many years. Jimmy was his assistant. That's the original connection."
"Ok, I've got that but I don't understand about your granddaughter."
Liz patted his arm, "She's the adopted adult child of Shannon and her husband. The easiest way to think of it, Charlie, is that many of us are chosen family. For example, I'm really only godmother to Tim and Sarah; I didn't meet Geordie, Rob, Tony and Kelly until shortly before we evacuated. There are many stories involved and believe me, I know I haven't heard them all yet. We are a complex family."
Mac snorted before he launched into an abbreviated version of Tim's kidnapping, discovery and the adoptions of his siblings.
Charlie followed as best he could, at the end he understood what Liz meant. "Wow!"
Mac laughs, "That's part of the reason we stick with one name for the kids, much easier!"
"I guess so!"
"Now, let's get changed and get over to the p-o-o-l."
Charlie nodded and reached for Eleni. "Come on sweetie, let's get you changed."
With a smile Liz said, "There are changing tables in the nursery, on the second floor. Mac, if you'll watch the kids, I'll take Charlie and Eleni upstairs."
"Sure, thanks, Liz."
Liz took the diaper bag and the three walked up the staircase. Charlie's mouth dropped at the number of cribs in the room and Liz smiled. "Mac hasn't told you about all the new babies? Ricky, Henry and Lia nap in here if they're at the ranch with us during the week, plus Henry and Lia's little brother Mackie and their four new cousins."
"I don't know which impresses me more, the size of the family or the organizational skills this place must take."
Liz laughed heartily. "You'll know the answer when you meet Tim, then. He's the organizational wizard. He's the one who heard about the threat, gathered all of us, bought the shelter, had it installed, and organized everything."
"And he's Mac's biological grandson."
"Yes. And you'll know as soon as you see him. And four of the kids."
"Four?"
"Lia's adopted as is Ricky."
"Oh, like Eleni. My late wife and I adopted her when our daughter Delilah had too many problems to keep her. I need to let all this seep through my thick skull."
She smiled, "Bit overwhelming?" Something is tickling her brain; something she was told about a woman named Delilah. She doesn't remember who she is to their group but she does know it wasn't a pleasant story.
"Yes!"
Still on the changing table, Eleni kicked her legs, Papa said they were going swimming, let's get to it! When she was ready, she consented to going with Liz while Papa ducked out to the car for his bag and swim gear.