Chapter 2 Making Adjustments

Mark lies in his bed in the new house today he had to start getting ready to get back on the road. It was noon according to his phone. It had been a month and a half since the wedding. On the weekends having Janet and sometimes even Glenn Jr. out to the house was great. It kind of gave him a snapshot of how it would be when his other child arrived. He gets up knowing where Paula would be she got up earlier than he did. He walks out into the den and there she was sitting near a lamp reading what he knew would be her newspaper app. He walks up behind her bends down and kisses her placing his hand on her belly she was almost 14 weeks along.

"Hey honey you ready for lunch?" Paula grins at him as he sits beside her on the love seat. He asks did she want to go out for lunch. "Okay so the last time you asked about going somewhere for lunch we came back and there was construction underway." He smiles that devious smile of his. "Okay so what are you fixing, taking away, or adding to the house now?" He tells her that the camera system was ready to be installed and the master bathroom was set to be redone. "Mark I don't get it we bought this place and yeah I agreed we should do the nursery add on but honey when we came back from our honeymoon I barely recognized the house. How long is the bathroom going to take?" he says about a week. "Is this it? Or do you have more surprises on the way." He asks her what was wrong with making home improvements. "Mark we left a 4 bedroom on a quiet street and when we came back we now have a 6 bedroom with finished basement surrounded by an 8 foot privacy fence."

Mark stands up and paces the den. "Paula as far as the privacy fence, you know I'm all about safety and I don't know a thing about these people. You haven't been back here since childhood so you don't either." She says that's not true. She asks him did he not feel safe here. "I am starting to. Just a few more things have to be done." She sighs "What, hell I'm going back on the road and want you and Janet safe is that a crime?"

Janet walks into the room followed by her shadow Glenn Jr. "Morning y'all" Glenn Jr. crawled up on the love seat and stared at Paula he then looks at Mark and announces that he is a good boy. Mark tells Janet to get packed so they can head out and take lil man with her. "Are we still fixing lunch Mrs. P?" Paula looks at Mark he shrugs. Paula says that they all are going out for lunch. "YIPPY!" the kids both scream excitedly Janet and Glenn Jr. run back towards their bedrooms. Mark yells for them to stop running in the house.

Glenn Jr stops the moment Mark had finished yelling. Janet had made it to her room but he had not he now stands in the middle of the hall looking back with a fearfully expectant expression on his face. Mark asks what he would usually ask Janet "Is there a problem?" Glenn Jr. puts his finger in his mouth and shakes his head no. Mark turns to Paula with question in his gaze he was completely confused the kid was just standing there staring at him. Paula says it was because he yelled. He turns back to watch Glenn Jr still standing where he'd stopped. "Come here Glenny" the child walks back in the den and stands in front of Mark who is now sitting on the loveseat. "Uncle Mark is sorry for yelling okay." Mark reaches out to take Glenny's hand out of his mouth. The boy tensed and closed his eyes as he let his hand be taken from his mouth he drops his hands to his sides. "Glenny just don't run in the house I don't need you getting hurt okay sport." His little answer was a very quiet yes sir. "Go get your street clothes on and ask Janet to help you if you need anything okay. The same subdued answer was given as Glenny backed away and then turned around and slowly walked to his room. He turns the knob and disappears in the bedroom. He turns around to close the door but thinks better of it and walks on into his room.

Mark and Paula goes to get dressed Paula packs a few things and tells Mark since the bathroom was being re done and he was going back on the road she was going to go to Grandville and see if she could stay at Angel and Sophie's place until it was done. There is a knock on their bedroom door. Mark makes sure they are both fully dressed as he opens the door Janet comes in looks under the bed and then walks to the closet that Paula had just closed. "What did you lose a sandal or something?" Janet turns around in a circle and says she couldn't find Glenny. Mark walks out of the room calling him. He heads into Glenny's room and the door was still open. It was a play room with a bed basically. Mark checked the closet and no Glenny. Janet was getting upset. Paula comes in the room and opens the toy chest that looked like a 4 foot wide and 1 foot deep football and in the bottom laid Glenny he looks up and covers his face when she reached for him. Paula withdrew her hand and told Glenny that he didn't have to hide and that no one in the house would hurt him. Janet walks over and puts outs her hand Glenny stands up and tries to crawl back over the side. Janet picked him up before he toppled the thing over and sat him on the floor. Mark walks over Glenny walks behind Janet. Janet looks behind her and then back up at her dad. "Glenn Jr come here" Mark says as he gets on one knee Glenny walks from behind Janet. "Where you hiding from me?" he looks at the floor. "No. I'm up here look at me." Mark says as he tilts Glenn Jr's face up with a finger under his chin. "Little partner you don't have to hide from me I'm not going to hurt you okay." He looks over at Janet.

"Glenny my dad would never hurt you. Look at me I bet I do way more than you do and I'm still good. No more hiding you scared us do you like scaring us?" Glenny starts crying saying he's sorry and wipes his eyes. Janet hugs him and he soon stops crying. They all head out to Mark's truck. After lunch Mark drops Janet and Glenn Jr off at Megan's house.

"Janet is really good with him." Paula says as she now drives Mark to the airport. He agrees saying Janet told him that she was practicing being a big sister. "She's sweet she's going to be a fine big sis. So how long will you be gone?" Paula hated to ask because she hated having to share him with the world. The almost 2 months she had him to herself, was wonderful. Now he was going back on the road and to check on a few of his business ventures. He asked her again did she want to come. "No I think me and the baby would like to stay on the ground." they arrive at the drop off point for the airport Mark tells her that it would be about 5 weeks before the company came back this way but if she needed anything at all he was just a phone call away. He leans over and kisses her they tell each other at the same time to please be careful. "I will honey call me when you get to the hotel."

"Yes darlin I'll call you. Did you get in touch with the girls?" Paula tells him yes and that she was heading over there after she dropped him off. They kiss again and Mark takes his luggage and waves at her as she drives out of the parking lot.

Paula drives back to Grandville South and heads towards Ivey Mansion. As she is turning into the cul-de-sac the guard waves her down. She powers down the window. He sees it's her and waves her on. Paula gets out and hears someone playing the backbeat to a song very slowly. She walks up on the front porch and looks over Joshua and Angel where playing guitar together. He'd play and she played base. Paula had heard Angel tell someone that she couldn't play any instrument she seemed to be doing fine following Joshua. When they stopped Paula claps and says "Well little girl you lied to me I recognized the song so you can't be that bad. It was on your last CD." Angel smiled and said Joshua taught her all she knows. "Well don't let me stop you."

Joshua gets up and stores his guitar back in its case. He asked Angel did she want him to takes hers back upstairs. She tells him "Yes please, and thank you Babe" as she hands him her guitar. When he walks in the house Paula sits on the porch swing claiming it got lower. "So what were you saying about Mark and having no bathroom for a week? Your call kept cutting in and out."

Paula sighs "I don't think Mark is happy with the move. When we got the house it was a cute little 4 bedroom. When we came back he told me he had a surprise for me and when we turned on our street we were met with an 8 foot privacy fence that he had to call Logan just to get the new code that went with it. He added two more rooms and a basement. Now he's redoing the master bath. He says it's because he wants to keep us safe. I think he's trying to rebuild the Ranch. When I mentioned the fence he got defensive. He told me since I had not lived there for a time I didn't know anything about the people there anymore and that is just not true. I just don't want to argue with him. I like the house the way it was because it reminded me of my old house. I heard him talking to Logan about buying the empty house on the right of us and extending the fence."

Not wanting to argue with Paula Angel saw what Mark was doing. "I don't think he dislikes the move but with all the stuff that happened with Janet it's a new area for him. Has he had the camera system reinstalled?" Paula nods her head saying it was coming with the new bathroom. Angel smiles "Mark is surely part McBride, this is a major case of impulse buying I think he has me beat he is impulse buying security features and major construction for his new home. I think he will calm down soon. My dad says he may have another surprise I know he isn't happy with the condo."

Paula couldn't imagine Jonathon in a condo after seeing what he lived in in Dublin. "I can imagine why as you know Jonathon volunteered the use of his Dublin home for our honeymoon. The damn thing is massive. So is LEGNA so you might want to watch out you'll go to visit him and pass the building cause if he builds on to it and makes it half as large as the Dublin office you won't recognize it."

Angel realizes she hadn't told anyone the news about being back in LEGNA "Well I won't be visiting anymore." Paula asks why automatically assuming Jonathon had banded her and demanding to talk some sense into him. "Oh, no I meant that I won't be visiting because I now work there. He's giving me a second chance." Angel says with a huge smile. "I can hardly believe it myself. I think Joshua spoke to him whatever the reasoning I'm just glad my dad was willing to give me another shot."

"That's great sooo Angelic Impression reopens when? Janet will be so excited." Paula watches Angel's way to expressive eyes. Angel breaks eyes contact all together looking out at the lawn. Joshua walks out of the house Paula doesn't acknowledge his presence and Angel must have not heard him walk on to the porch.

As she watches Sophie drive into the yard Angel says. "I signed as Angel not Angelic Impression. I can't do that anymore. That band name has got me in more trouble that I care to recount. I get what I want this time not what makes the most sense for people that didn't really think I knew what I was doing. The reason I was going to keep the name was because I was going to rebuild it and hope that I picked the right people this time. When I signed the contract knowing that this was a second chance to do what I like. I treated it as such. I won't cue anyone ever again in those positions under that band name. That's why Scott was so pissed off because I replaced him but I thought I was doing him a favor, I let him out of his contract then Troy shows up expecting to be a part of my band from an audition I'd set up. I gave Joshua the names of the other two original members of Angelic Impression because I don't trust any of them anymore." Paula asks so what was the new band name. Angel looks at her and smiles a genuine smile. "Personal Touch it's a great way to do this because the band members wanted me in it I know them, well most of them and the other person I've never worked with it's truly a new start. The best part is I get to work with Joshua."

Sophie walks up and greets everyone including Joshua who is waving for her not to say anything to him. Angel turns around and sees him. He stands in the door watching her. She was 12 weeks along now around the same time she'd lost the first baby. From what he'd heard there were other factors involved. She asks why he is staring at her like that. "huh, oh nothing babe." He walks over sits beside his Angel as Sophie walks in the house and Paula follows her saying she had to find the bathroom. "Hey" She turns to him "I'm glad you're happy with what direction we're going. Professionally, I was kind of nervous about asking you." Angel gives him a sure you were look. "No seriously because I know that you could have just started where you left off. I really started thinking about asking you to join when you were writing out all the security measures that you would require just being on stage again. I think that's why I was such an ass when you said you couldn't perform with us."

Angel held out her hand he takes it and they hold hands "Joshua you thought I had used you. I didn't make it any better because I was afraid to tell you then why my decision had changed. When Scott said that Candy was comforting you I just knew that if the stuff he was saying had made you doubt me. That he could break us up. I felt trapped inside my own head with nowhere to turn." Angel looks away they hadn't spoke about their disagreement they had out in the hall of LEGNA.

Joshua kisses her hand and squeezes it. Angel looks back at him. "The minute you walked out of the building after telling me if I believed it than I didn't know you. I knew you hadn't used me or the band. I spent that entire session wondering what you were about to say. As for your belief that Scott, Candy or anyone for that matter, could convince me to break it off with you. That is where you don't know me, if you think it was even an option. Angel leaving you would be like leaving a very vital part of me behind." Angel tells him she feels the same way. She stands up and sits in his lap. He kisses her and tucks his hands in her hoodie pockets rubbing her tummy with her hands on top of his. He speaks to the baby. Angel asks what he wanted to do for his birthday. He goes still she looks back at him. Joshua really had never celebrated his birthday after moving in with the Davenports and almost being thrown from his bedroom window on his 13th birthday by his adoptive siblings. He would always find something else to do. Mrs. Davenport tried to throw him a party the next year but he begged her not to. "I...I don't know. I mean it's just a day" he takes his hand out of her pockets and she gets up.

"It's not just a day. I was going to try to throw you a surprise party but I didn't know if you had plans. I know in the past you were usually out of town on your birthday." He looks uncomfortable. "So by your statement is it safe to assume that you had not made plans?" She smiles down at him.

"Angel, just drop it. Please. I don't need a party I don't want a party. I have been able to avoid that shit ever since I was 13. I would leave town because of stuff like this." She told him it would be different. "When I turned 21 my college roommate tried to throw me a party. My dumb ass thought why not. Half the people didn't know who the hell I was and the topper of my night was avoiding being swung on by my drunken roommate since all the guys there were his fucking friends I left. By my own design I don't associate with a lot of people. So who would you invite?"

He was angry his crystalline blue eyes told it before his question was even out. In that arrogant tone of challenge he used. Angel had wanted to throw him a party it didn't have to be a rave or anything like that, just a few of the people they both knew. Sighing she closes her eyes to prevent them from tearing. She had no right to be upset it was his birthday his choice. Biting her lip she says quickly. "I'm sorry I've piss you off. I assure you it wasn't my intent I don't regret I asked. At least I know how you feel." Jonathon walks up greets them both and asks is Paula here yet Angel nods yes, and excuses herself.

When Johnathon steps out of Angel's path she just continues in the house not looking at him. He looks at the door after she'd closed it very quietly which she usually did when she'd rather slam it. Jonathon walks over and sits across from Joshua "Me or you?" Joshua raises his hand as he looks out across the yard. "You want to talk about it?" Joshua says there is nothing to talk about, gets up, walks out to his car and drives off. Jonathon walks in the house as Angel grabs her keys and heads for the door he asks did she want to talk about what had her so upset. She says she is fine and hits the remote access button to unlock her truck doors she hits the button multiple times when it doesn't work she breaks down crying. He walks over and takes the remote out of her hand. "Shhh It's not broken Honeypot you had it upside down you were locking it. Come sit down where are you trying to get to?" She says she was going to find Joshua "Chasseing Joshua down the road isn't going to fix whatever your issue is." She claims he wouldn't understand and he would probably agree with Joshua anyway. "Aye because you have witnessed this so much from me in the past, Try Me." She tells him "You're upset that he doesn't want to celebrate his birthday, or that he does not want a party?"

"I don't know, I keep telling myself that I don't even have a reason or the right to feel like this but I do. I just wanted to do something special for him. Now I've made him angry enough to leave."

"Come here" he hugs his girl and says. "Joshua's leaving had nothing to do with you he perceived me as sticking my nose in his business and he walked away from me. He knows your upset and truth be told you have a right to feel any way you do. The thing is what are you going to do about it?" She asks him to please not say anything to Joshua about her telling him. "Angel what you say to me is between you and I until further action is requested I will say nothing that was said to me. Now what are you going to do about the way you feel? Are you going to session today?"

Angel gets up "Yes I'm going to session and as for what I'm going to do about my feelings it's his birthday his decision. I just wanted it to be special for him."

Mark arrives at his hotel he is in Nashville for the night. He calls Paula "Hey darling how's everything going?" She tells him everything is fine. 'Okay so it won't be a major surprise I spoke to Logan and…" She sighs "What's wrong?"

Paula says "Mark, if you wanted to stay in Houston you should have because that house is never going to be the ranch." There she'd said it. He said nothing he was so quiet she thought he hung up. "Hello" he says he was listening. He then asks her what she meant. "Angel says you'll stop soon that your kind of impulse buying things for the house, but if you have been talking to Logan, major construction is about to happen again. What else have you found to do to that house?" He says he was thinking of redoing the kitchen and adding a breakfast nook. He also says it wasn't impulse buying anything. He asks hadn't they had this conversation before. "sure and you did then what you're doing now you jumped on the defensive and started talking about keeping us safe and asking was it a crime. To answer your question no installing a security system with the camera system and even the fence is secure enough. Adding bedrooms and basements and making the bathroom larger or whatever you're doing to it has absolutely nothing to do with securing the house. Please stop, just stop I like the kitchen the way it is. When we left, hearing Logan slam that hammer in the wall was like here is something else, Mark don't like about the house that we supposedly picked out together." She sniffs and blames it on her allergies.

He heard the shake to her voice he quickly mutes the phone sighs and unmutes it. "Paula the bathroom is a safety measure you know the large window in there that you said no one could see through. A few nights ago I walked around the house to take out the trash you were in the shower. Wanna know how I know?" She says she told him she would be in the shower. "Nope, Looking out of the window it looks out of focused looking in it I was able to make out your hair color, your body type, and when you turned to wash you face under the spray I could see you but you could not see me. By it being slightly darker outside than in the bathroom it takes away from the out of focus affect. When I turned to go back to the front of the house I saw the upstairs curtain next door move. I'm not used to people being that damn close. So at least give me the bathroom because I'll be damned if I'm going to be on the road and have some weirdo watching my wife and kid take showers. I'm taking out the window and putting a tub covering over it. Logan gave me the idea my first instinct was to go knock on the door. Find who that bedroom belonged to, and hang them upside down if it was a kid, or beat the shit out of him if it was man. Now what I'm about to say please listen to me. That house next door with the Peeping Tom is off limits Janet is not to go over there. I don't care if it was your best from friend from childhood as far as I'm concerned they don't say shit to me and I'll return the favor. I'd like it if you stayed your distance from over there but you a grown woman. The kitchen was just a thought nothing has been signed."

Paula sits back on the couch in the den of Ivey Mansion. She'd been pacing the floor listening to him tell her why he did what he did to the house. "Mark I'm sorry I just didn't want you to be unhappy with the house. I didn't know about the bathroom I'm so glad Janet opted to take her shower in the morning. As far as, me knowing the family that lives there? Yes and I'll talk to them." Mark asks who the bedroom belonged to. "He is an adult but he is harmless he shouldn't have been trying to watch me or anyone I will tell his mother."

"His MOTHER, How about just stay away from over there. Why the hell would you believe he is harmless? That's the first shit people say when talking about fucking pedophiles or stalkers. Oh I thought he was harmless. Is he registered?"

"No, would you cut it out? Alex is in a wheelchair. He's paralyzed from the waist down and he is what used to be called moderately mentally handicapped I don't know what his condition is called now. He got hit by a car while running from a dog when he was about 7 the fact that he woke from it was a miracle. He was in a coma for more than 4 months and brain damage occurred. I'm glad you didn't go over there raising hell his parents have to be in their 80s by now. Like I said I'll tell his parents." Mark says he still don't want Janet over there. "That's fine and removing the window altogether removes Alex for watching us." Paula changed the subject and they end the conversation on a lighter note.

Author's Note: Please read and review. End Note