Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 47
Thursday – November 24, 2005
The Sanders Home
9:44 am
"Mom!" By the time Greg caught up with her at what he presumed was her rental car, Bev was in tears. "I don't want you driving when you're upset."
"Well, I'm not going back in there to be further humiliated." Bev searched her purse for a Kleenex, but dropped it, spilling its contents in the process. "Dammit."
"I swear, we weren't trying to humiliate you." Greg scrambled to gather up her things, noting the meds she was taking as he picked up her bottles. "If you had called ahead of time, I would have asked Dad and Lily to leave so we could be alone, but you showed up unannounced and we didn't know if finding out about them would upset you or not, so we played it safe by not telling you."
"I should have known she'd make a move before the ink on the divorce papers was dry. She's always had a thing for your father. All those late nights he spent at the office with her." Crying into the tissue she finally found, Bev said, "They must be having a field day at the practice with this."
"She hasn't told anyone there." Greg handed back the bag. "Lily's a class act, not a gossip. The last thing she wants is people in her personal business."
"I've only been gone two months and it's like I never existed." Staring at the house, she cried, "Life is better than ever. You're all so…happy." She blotted her eyes. "And who the hell is Danny? Was your father hiding an illegitimate child from me all these years?"
"No, it's a really long story, but the short version is, I met him working a case and ended up saving his life. He comes from a strict Mormon family who flipped out when he came out of the closet. They caused a shitload of problems for me and him, even tried to sue me, they're still suing the County. In the end, Dad adopted him, both to help him out and to end some of the drama for me. It's been great. He's the little brother I never had."
Bev stared at the house in disbelief. "Scott has the gay son I always wanted?"
"Mom…"
"You know what I'm having a hard time with, Gregory?" Steadying her breathing just as the doctor had taught her, Bev quietly said, "How you and your father could take in a stranger, but turn me out."
"Danny's a kid who was betrayed by people he thought loved him unconditionally." Looking her in the eyes, Greg told the truth, even though it hurt, "You're an adult, the cause of your own problems, and you broke our hearts. It's not the same. We empathize with Danny, and I didn't turn you out, I told you I'd give you a chance if you got help. You did and I'm here for you, but you can't show up out of the blue for the first time and expect it to be like nothing's changed. Everything's changed, and it's going to take time before I'm comfortable with you. It may take years before I can trust you." Taking her hand, he squeezed it. "But I'm still here, and if you keep going to therapy and doing what you're supposed to be doing, I think things will get a lot better real fast." Taking her in his arms, Greg thought of the abandoned people he had met at Golden Acres Retirement Village the previous day. "I love you, Mom. I don't love what you did to me or Dad, but I love you."
Bev's tears finally slowed. "I didn't think I'd have anything to be thankful for today, but now I do."
"Do you want to come back inside?"
"No, thank you, that's okay." Backing out of the hug, she pressed a palm to his cheek. "I don't want to waste time. I'm going to check out of my hotel and check into the Malibu clinic today instead of tomorrow."
"Are you okay to drive?"
"Yes." After a kiss to his cheek, she forced herself away. "I'll call you, Honey."
"Okay. Take care, Mom, and have a safe trip." Through blurry eyes, Greg watched her walk away.
Drew's Guest House
9:55 am
Walking up the cobblestone path to the guest house, Drew cleared his throat and wiped his palms on the jeans he had thrown on in a hurry. While Marta comforted Cassie and Mrs. Muller paced the house like a lunatic, he decided to address the issue with Mr. Muller on his own.
"Howdy, Mr. Muller." Drew greeted the earnest farmer with trepidation.
"What brings you down here, Mr. Stokes?"
"Drew, please…call me Drew. I'm not much for formality and we're peers." Considering what he was about to say, he immediately regretted pointing out their ages were nearly the same.
"Okay, Drew, then you go ahead and call me Ed, 'cause I don't like formalities either." With a slight smile, he stepped back to invite his daughter's boss inside. "Have you seen my wife and Marta by any chance? Betsy went up there 'bout an hour ago. Not that I mind the peace and quiet, 'cause the TV in here is real nice and the pre-game is on."
"Who are you rootin' for?" Drew asked, seeing an icebreaker. "Detroit's got so many injuries, I think it would take a miracle."
"Yeah, Atlanta's gonna kill 'em." Ed was grateful he had something to discuss with the rich businessman besides the weather. "I bet you're chompin' for the Cowboys game this afternoon."
His Texas pride showing, Drew beamed, "I'm mighty proud of The Boys this year. We're in first place and it's gonna stay that way. The Denver Bozos don't have a chance in hell."
"I don't know, you're gonna need at least two hundred yards passing. I think Denver just might walk away with the win." Ed proudly shared, "The Broncos are my team."
"Care to place a wager on the game?"
"I don't gamble."
"Right, yeah, sorry, I remember Marta mentioning that when I suggested taking you and your wife to a Caesar's one evenin'."
"Betsy feels like a sinner just being near The Strip. She don't drink either. Me, I like my beer and she's gotten over that."
Realizing it was too early to have a beer with the man, Drew soberly said, "Mr. Muller, I'm actually here to talk to you about something serious."
"Oh God." His hand rushed to his heart. "Is it Betsy? Is she sick or hurt, is that why she didn't come back?"
"No, no." Feeling terrible for scaring the man who already lost a son a few years back, Drew rapidly shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to give you a fright, my apologies. Your wife is in the house and she's not ill." Although that wasn't exactly accurate, since he was rather certain she was sick to her stomach. "Marta's in the house talking with her, while I'm here talking to you." When he saw the man's puzzled expression, Drew anxiously said, "I'm pretty sure there's no good way to break this to you, so I'm just gonna say it and hope we can work through it without too much drama." He sucked in and released a quick breath. "Over the years, I didn't really pay much attention to Marta, because my wife handled the staff. I did know that my children were being raised right, like my mother and father raised me. To the kids, Marta's been a much better mother than their real one. That's sad, but true. It was only after the trauma with my wife that I started knowing Marta on a personal level and…"
"Look, if you have a problem with my daughter, then come on out and say it." Ed couldn't believe the jerk would fly them all the way out here to say he was canning Marta.
"A problem?" Drew released a nervous laugh. "I don't have a problem with your daughter, Ed, I've fallen in love with her. I'm here because I'm an old fashioned guy and I wanted to tell you personally that one day in the future, I'm gonna ask her to marry me."
Staring at the man who had just rocked him to the core, Ed remained speechless.
"Believe me, I know I'm not the guy you dreamed your daughter would marry." Drew humbly said, "I'm forty years old, divorced with three kids, and I've sinned plenty. On paper, I'm your worst nightmare, but in reality, I'm a guy who wants to spend the rest of his life making sure your daughter is loved, honored and provided for, and I can do that, I can do it real well. My kids have loved her to pieces for years, and it didn't take long for me to understand why. Marta's special, she's the kind of woman my mother hoped I would marry. We've been living here like a family for months, raisin' the kids, havin' supper together, goin' to church, it's the only vision of the future I can possibly imagine. I can't wait to make it all legit in the eyes of the law and the Lord one day, and when we do, I really hope you'll give us your blessing."
"Uh..." Ed harshly cleared his throat. "When you say you've been living here like a family for months, do mean like husband and wife, as in…you're having sex with my little girl?"
Taken aback that sex was the only part the man cared about after the heartfelt plea, Drew held his gaze and danced around the answer, "After much consideration, and without any pressure from me, when Marta conveyed that she was ready for intimacy, I very lovingly and respectfully began engaging in relations with her, yes."
"You, a forty year old divorcee, a guy who had an affair with a stripper girl, and slept his way around Texas while playing ball for A&M…you took my daughter's virginity?"
"Took isn't exactly the right word. She…" Drew stumbled a few steps after Ed's right jab clocked him squarely in the jaw. "Yeah, I woulda done that if I were you too." Rubbing his jaw, he asked, "Is there any chance you just had to get that out of your system and now we can move on and accept the situation?" The slam of the door told him the answer was no. "I understand. You need some time. Take your time, and thank you for not killing me. Enjoy the Falcons game."
The Vartanns – Sun Lakes, AZ
10:30 am
"And so the football and drink-a-thon begins," Gina grumbled while sitting at the kitchen table angrily stirring her tea.
"Gina…" Having reached her limit, Marge approached the kitchen table while drying her hands on a dish towel. "The first time Reggie brought you home when you two were dating was Thanksgiving. Thinking back, didn't he drink beer and watch football with his brothers and father that day? Didn't he tell you it was as much of a tradition in this house as turkey and pumpkin pie?"
"Yeah, so?" She tossed her spoon on a napkin. "What are you getting at?"
"He's not changed, not one bit, but you have. The same exact behavior you found endearing, irritates the hell out of you now. It's the same with his job. He was a firefighter when you met him and you thought he was a hardworking hero, but now you hate everything about his career." Shaking her head, Marge confessed, "It reminds me a lot of Amy and Tony. They started off one way, but one day she came home and wanted to change everything about their marriage overnight and was surprised my son balked. It doesn't work that way. You can't come home one day after years and knock out the foundation. What they are when you say 'I do' is pretty much what you get for the long haul, give or take some things, like remembering to clean up after themselves once you remind them a thousand times."
"This is all because of her!" Gina snarled at Becca, who had just innocently strolled into the kitchen.
"What the hell did I do?" Becca huffed, "All I did was walk in here to get a god damn beer. And before you lecture me on the dangers of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the beer is for Tony, not me! And no, I don't mind fetching my husband a drink, because he does a million things to make my life better every day, so there!" With that she whipped open the fridge, grabbed a bottle and flew out of the room.
Watching Gina cry, Marge calmly said, "Yes, I do like Becca because, unlike you, she's not bashing one of my sons every chance she gets."
"If Tony was my husband, I wouldn't bash him either! But I'm stuck with Reggie, while Becca gets the man I…" Gina caught herself before the slip and raced for the back door. "I need some air."
Nick and Carrie's
10:46 am
"Gosh, that was hot, wasn't it?" Carrie fanned herself, panting. "Nicky?" When he answered in gibberish while nodding, she burst out laughing. "I'll take that as a resounding yes."
"That's what I call a happy Thanksgiving." Nick smiled when he saw his squeamish fiancée automatically placing a Kleenex box into the hand he had extended without thinking. "Thank you, Darlin'." Realizing that the structure of their automatic post-coital routine lulled him, his goofy smile grew. "We're definitely in the zone."
"What?" Carrie asked, averting her eyes while Nick took care of business, secretly loving that their required condom use meant no mess for her to handle. While she loved everything else about the act, the ickiness was something she never would embrace.
"We're at that point now where we no longer have to discuss certain things, because we know each other so well." Tossing the wad of tissue in the trash, while knowing Carrie was watching to see if he'd made the two-pointer, he sweetly explained, "It's like when I used to see my parents getting ready for work in the morning. My mom would bring my dad coffee while he fetched the paper from the driveway. They'd meet in the hall and he'd take his cup while handing her everything but the Sports section. Then they'd part ways…my dad to take a dump, my mom to do her makeup, then they'd meet up again in the center of the bedroom for him to zip her skirt and her to straighten his tie." Smiling at the memory, he said, "They'd turn for a kiss, and then they'd speak for the first time, each telling the other their schedule for the day. One more kiss and off they'd go."
Carrie propped up on an elbow and studied the lines on her man's face. "The idea of us talking less makes you happy?"
"When you say it like that," he chuckled as he rolled to face her. "It's not about not talkin', it's about knowing each other so well we're not sittin' around guessin' what's on each other's minds. My mom knew my dad wanted coffee, like he knew she wanted the paper, but they also knew the big stuff about each other without talkin' too. I don't know, I guess it's stupid, but…seein' us start to do little things automatically makes me think we're on the right road to happily ever after."
"Have you ever seen the Cameron Crowe movie Singles with Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda?"
"Uh…" Unsure of the segue, Nick thought about it for a second. "Is that the one where Bridget Fonda wants a boob job?"
Laughing at his choice of memories about the movie, she nodded, "Yes, that's the one. Her character, Janet, thinks that she'll know a guy is Mr. Right because he says gesundheit when she sneezes. She even fakes sneezing to see what her boyfriend says, remember? He says something like 'don't get me sick, because I have to play with my band this weekend'."
"Yeah, I remember that. The guy was such a frickin' loser."
"Finally at the end of the movie, after everything they've been through, she sneezes naturally and he says gesundheit. In that moment, she knows it will all work out in the end." Smiling at her future husband, Carrie sighed, "I think you just had your gesundheit moment, a naturally occurring event that proves there will be a happy ending for us."
"Yeah." Pulling her on top of his chest, Nick laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"I had my gesundheit moment while watchin' you hand me a tissue box."
Drew's Guest House
11:01 am
Clutching a tissue box, Betsy Muller walked into the guest house belonging to the worldly man who had stolen her daughter's innocence. "Ed?"
"I'm in the john!" Ed splashed another scoop of cold water on his face before patting it dry.
Tugging out a few fresh tissues," the conflicted mother took a seat on the couch and absently watched the football game she didn't care about.
"I think he expected us to light up cigars and celebrate him taking my daughter's innocence." Ed huffed over to the couch, "I never expected this in a million years, Betsy, not in a million."
"She says she loves him."
"Of course she does! This is the only damn life she knows! She went from our house to his! And she loves the kids so much, of course she got confused. His wife leaves and she jumps in to fill that tramp's designer shoes, probably terrified he'd find a new wife who might send her away from the only life she knows and the only thing she knows how to do. So, what does she do, Betsy…she climbs into his bed and does Lord knows what to keep him happy with her. Marta's beautiful to me, but she's not a supermodel. A rich, athletic guy like Stokes could have any babe in town, so what exactly do you think he's having Marta do to compensate for her lack of a figure? Twisted things those babes wouldn't. Think of what a guy like him is used to, Betsy! He's probably telling her it's normal and she's so innocent, how would she know if she's doing things only a prostitute would?" Sick from the thought, Ed crashed back onto the cushions. "We never should have let her do this nannying thing. She lost the best years of her life trapped in a house raising someone else's kids, never dated, never went to college…of course she thinks that pig with all his money and smooth talk is a prince."
"She wanted to help. Do you think she would have been okay with being away at college while her brother was home dying without ever getting a fighting chance to survive?"
Cursing himself for not having the money to pay for his son's medical bills, Ed mumbled, "It's my fault. If the farm…"
"No!" Betsy's old wounds reopened. "It's the damn insurance company's fault for declaring our son's treatment experimental. Don't you dare go there."
"I can't help it." Staring through the window at the castle-like home looming in front of them, Ed's heart broke. "I feel like I sold my baby girl to the man who paid the highest price, because I couldn't provide for my family." The Biblically trained father sighed, "Marta is a concubine, a servant girl whose duties extend to sexually pleasing the head of the house." He lowered his head to pray on the matter. "Forgive me, Lord, for choosing this fate for my daughter by sending her to live in a house overrun with sinners."
The Vartanns – Sun Lakes, AZ
12:33 pm
"God dammit!" Reggie stomped the floor. "I've got a hundred bucks riding on this game and that asshole drops the friggin' ball like it's coated in butter!" The tequila and beer he had rapidly consumed in the last two hours coursing through his veins, he grumbled, "Mother Fu…"
When Becca saw her father-in-law anxiously glance in her direction she allayed his fears, "Don't worry, in some of my less proud moments, I've uttered far worse without having hard-earned money on the line." Winking at Tony she said, "I understand that potty mouth is kind of a Homicide Detective job requirement. You can't point a gun at a thug and say 'Please put your hands in the air, Mister'. I'm sure it takes a commanding 'Hands where I can see them, Mother F'er' to get the job done. At home though, Tony's gotten really good about leaving it all at the front door."
"Marge is always cooking up a storm on Thanksgiving, and Gina hates football." Smiling at his tolerant daughter-in-law, Dennis explained, "I'm afraid without any women watching ball with us for years, we've let ourselves go completely barbarian. Luckily Matt's at his mother-in-law's until dessert, because he's the worst of the bunch."
"Oh. Should I go and leave you alone?" Becca asked, never thinking she was intruding on Vartann man tradition. "I don't want to make you guys uncomfortable."
While Tony answered 'no, of course not, Honey', Reggie griped, "Yeah, could you? Because this is our special father-son time, and it's more fun if we don't have to watch what we say."
Tony glared at his brother. "This isn't your house and she's not your wife. You have no business talking to her that way."
"Really, it's no big deal." Becca stood, ready to prevent any further tension. "I need to check my voice mail anyway, because I waiting for some callbacks on the BPAC fashion show."
"Stay," Tony patted the couch, believing the voice mail check was a ruse.
"Okay." Becca immediately returned to her seat.
"Jesus Christ." Shaking his head, Reggie mumbled into his beer, "I bet she rolls over real good for you too."
For a split second Dennis considered preventing the brawl he knew was coming, but since his youngest son had insinuated that Becca was a subservient whore, he decided to move out of the way and let Tony give Reggie the verbal thrashing he thought he deserved.
"Outside!" Tony grabbed his brother by the neck and flung him in the direction of the front door.
Before Becca knew what was happening, her husband was blowing a rage at Reggie on the front lawn. "I must have missed something."
Dennis headed to the picture window, where he proceeded to open it. "I'm glad that you did, Sweetheart. It wasn't pretty. Reggie was being a first class ass, and if you ask me, he's been looking for a fight since he walked through the front door."
"I've never seen Tony this angry." Watching him yelling with his brother, she saw vein after vein popping into view. "I had no idea they hated each other this much!"
"Are you kidding?" Dennis laughed, "My boys would walk through fire for each other. Historically, when one of them is having a problem, they intentionally pester one of their brothers until they get enough kicks in the ass to get over whatever it is they're struggling with and then they move on. I had a very similar relationship with my four brothers, I'm sure that's where they picked it up."
"And people say I'm crazy?" Watching Tony shove Reggie to the ground, Becca shrieked, "Maybe it's because I'm an only child, but this seems a little wrong to me."
"Any minute now the neighbors will phone Marge. Once she finds out, she'll run out there and stop it."
"Why don't you just stop it right now?"
Dropping a hand on his daughter-in-law's shoulder, Dennis said, "Because Reggie insinuated you were the type of girl who drops to her knees when Tony snaps his fingers and points to the floor."
Marching out to the front porch, Becca yelled, "You rip him a new one, Tony! That jerk has been dogging me since he got here!"
When his brother looked in the direction of his wife's voice, Reggie jumped to his feet and charged. "I'll show you who's the better man!" Ramming his head into Tony's gut, he tackled him through the hedges and onto Mrs. Swanson's front lawn.
"Don't hurt him! Oh!" Hearing her husband yelp in pain, Becca rushed outside with Dennis on her heels. "Tony!" Hurrying around the hedges she asked, "Are you okay?! What did that barbarian do to you?!"
"He wrestled me to the ground and I bashed my head on one of the frickin' lawn gnomes." Blood ran between Tony's fingers as he held his hand to his head.
"I'll get ice and a clean towel!" Becca raced towards the house.
"Nice going, asshole." Tony snarled at his brother. "I probably need stitches."
"You're getting sloppy, T. You looked away when Becca called your name." Reggie laughed as he held his t-shirt to his gushing nose. "By the way, there's blood all over your frou-frou powder blue sweater, Tough Guy, but I'm sure the wife will buy you a new one if you command her. Hey, I bet Becca makes a much better genie than Amy, except for filling out the top of the costume."
"Are you trying to make me kill you?!" Tony grabbed at a shrub to pull himself, but immediately sat back down.
"That's enough, boys," Dennis declared when he saw his middle son was woozy. Kneeling next to Tony, Dennis inspected the gash. "Yeah, you'll need stitches."
"What's with you and my gnomes?" Standing on the front porch, Mrs. Swanson grinned uncontrollably. "Nice cut. Serves you right, drunkard. You broke Barry, the same gnome, you peed on at Easter."
"You name your garden gnomes?"
"Don't talk back to me, young man!" The eighty-one year old shook her finger at the wayward son of her neighbor. "You'll replace Barry and repair all this damage or I'll press charges and take you to small claims court!"
Tony held up his free hand. "Don't worry, Mrs. Swanson, I'll pay, and I'm very sorry for the inconvenience."
Becca and Marge emerged from the house just in time to see Gina, who had been out walking.
"Oh my gosh." Gina shoved Reggie aside and rushed over to Tony, removing her sweatshirt to press to his bleeding head.
"Thanks, Gina." Tony appreciated the gesture.
"Are you okay?" Shooting daggers at Reggie, Gina barked, "I can't believe you did this to him!" She jumped up, shoving her husband hard. "You're a psycho!"
Gaping at his wife, Reggie replied, "Uh, I don't know how you coulda missed it, but I'm covered in blood too. Right before Moose Jammie Boy took a header into a gnome, he busted my nose."
"Would you drop the moose jammie thing already?!" Becca marched over to her brother-in-law. "For someone who doesn't get along with his wife, you sure have a lot in common with her! You're both judgmental idiots who love to talk about stuff they know nothing about. For your information, they're lounge pants, they're extremely comfortable, and men who are confident with their masculinity don't have a problem wearing them!" Then she turned to Gina. "And you even judge books without reading them! The monk in The Mermaid Chair was not a pervert! He was a happily married man when a truck slammed into his pregnant wife's car, killing her! He was at the monastery hiding from the pain of life when he fell in love with a woman and..."
"A married woman!" Gina snapped back. "You can't justify adultery, Becca! It's a sin, just like murder and abortion!"
"You can try all you want to make me feel bad, but I'm not ashamed of having an abortion." Becca yelled for the gathering neighbors, who were o enjoying the Desperate Housewives episode playing out before their eyes. "Attention, retirees! I had an abortion when I was scared shitless in college! Not that it matters to Miss Priss here, but I had it because the guy I thought I was going to marry one day threatened to throw me down a flight of stairs if I didn't! I took the threat seriously, because when he was making it, he gave me a black eye and sprained my wrist!" Returning her ire to Gina, Becca snarled, "Maybe if you didn't spend all your time worrying about other people's business and focused on your own life, your marriage wouldn't suck."
"What happens in my marriage is none of your business!"
"It is when your husband spends two grand of our money to bang at Tony's bachelor party!"
"Becks!" Tony hoped it was just the dizziness making him think she had really said it out loud. Then he saw his brother's reaction and heard crowd members gasping. "Damn."
"Unbelievable." Reggie threw icy glare at his brother. "You looked me in the eyes and said you'd take it to the grave."
Tony's head pulsating, he quietly said, "I'm sorry. It's a joint credit card account, Reg. I couldn't let her think it was me. I asked her not to say anything, but…"
"I'm sorry!" Becca's gut twisted when she saw Gina's tears flow. "I didn't say it on purpose, I swear. She went all holier than thou, and it just…slipped. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." In the voice of a scared little girl, she begged, "Please don't be mad at me, Tony. Please!"
Watching his grown wife morph into a terrified little girl, Tony gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm not mad at you, Honey. I was wrong to ask you to lie in the first place."
"It's true?" Gina stood there stunned, watching Reggie stare at a shattered gnome. "You cheated on me…with a hooker? You touched one of those vile women and then came home and touched me and the baby? You touched us after you…oh my God. You could have AIDS. You could have given it to me."
"No, no, really." Becca tried to help. "They test all the girls at the brothels for disease and they have to use a condom to do anything, even BJs. It's not…"
"Shut up!" Facing the bitch, Gina's patience unraveled. "I don't want to hear you! Or see you! I wish you weren't a part of this family!"
"I really don't get why you're saying that," Becca softly replied while letting go of Tony's hand and backing away from the group. "I've been nothing but nice to this family, but you and your husband keep harping on me. Is it because I helped Matt and Janey with a bridge loan and sent Dennis and Marge on a cruise, but haven't given you money? If that's what it is, then name your price, and I'll gladly write you a check to shut you up. That I can handle, what I can't handle is…"
"I don't want your money, I want you gone!" The last shred of her sanity fraying, Gina began to mumble, "You weren't supposed to be here when my marriage ended!"
When Becca noticed everyone else looked just as clueless as her, she felt much better.
"Can you people pleeeeease leave my property?" Mrs. Swanson droned. "I have a turkey that needs tending, but I can't trust you whack jobs out here."
"Honey, you're scaring me." Reggie reached out, but promptly got his hand smacked away. "Let's go inside and…"
"No!" She retracted her hand like it had been grazed by a leper. "Now that I know where those fingers have been, don't you dare touch me. I'm not going anywhere with you, you lying pig!" Gina rushed back to her brother-in-law's side. "You know exactly how I feel, don't you, Tony? Can you believe he expects me to be okay with him screwing someone behind my back?"
"Gina…" Tony squeezed her hand. "You're in shock. Let my mom and dad take you back to the house and…"
Not hearing anything but her racing thoughts, Gina manically rambled, "Amy cheated on you. Reggie cheated on me. We understand each other's pain. Hold me. Hold me like I held you that day in San Diego. Remember that day, Tony? I was there for you. Now it's your turn to be there for me." Caressing his cheek she smiled, "Hold me, you'll see. It's beautiful."
Marge gasped as her worst suspicions were confirmed. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Grateful some nosy neighbor must have called 911, she made the sign of the cross when a patrol car and an ambulance pulled into the cul-de-sac.
"I love you, Tony," Gina confessed when his arms circled her trembling body. "This feels even better than I dreamed it would."
His shock intensifying, Reggie drifted towards his mother. "I…I don't get what's happening, Ma. Why is she…I don't get it."
Mrs. Swanson felt equally confused.
"Honey, I…I think it's a severe case of post-partum depression." Marge grabbed her boy's hand. "She sounds delusional, like."
"I agree." The retired detective hurried to grab Becca by the arm and lead her towards the house. "I want you safely inside in case she gets physical. Can you check on Sierra for us? She's in their bedroom asleep in the Pack-n-Play. I need to talk to the responding officers."
"Don't let her hurt Tony." Becca cried, watching over her shoulder to make sure he was still okay.
Recognizing a complete mental breakdown when he saw one, Tony played along, "Honey, would you come to the hospital with me, so I can hold your hand while I'm getting stitches?"
"Of course I will." Gina ran her fingertip over Tony's bottom lip. "I'll do anything for you."
"Thank you."
"Kiss me."
"No, the first one should e special. Let's wait until I get cleaned up." To keep her distracted while the EMTs unloaded their gear, he tenderly stroked her hair. "How long have you felt this way about me, Gina?"
Closing her eyes, she nuzzled close, unaware Tony's blood was coating her shirt, "I felt this way since you cried in my arms."
Drew's House
1:06 pm
Standing in the kitchen, sniffling in Drew's arms, Marta whispered, "They'll come around. They're just in shock right now."
"Yeah, I think it's best if we just go about our day as planned here, hoping they participate and see how happy we are together. What do you think?"
"I agree." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "Even if they don't come to the house for dinner, they'll see us out in the yard playing with the kids, hanging out with your family."
"Honey, I'm so sorry I blurted that half-ass proposal." He felt terrible. "You're worthy of somethin' much better than that. Honest to God, I already have something planned down to the nitty gritty. I even shared the plan with Nicky." When he caught her smile returning, his unfurled. "I'm thrilled you had the brains to say no just now."
"I can't wait to say yes one day when the time is right."
"Hey!" Nick cheered as he hurried into the kitchen with Carrie. "Quit your smoochin' and give me a hand, Bro! I got a box full of wine bottles and another full of desserts in the entry way. Sorry we're a little later than we said we'd be." He grinned at Carrie. "Somethin' came up…twice."
"Nicky!" Carrie swatted him hard.
Listening to his brother and Carrie try to stifle their laughter, Drew put on a brave face. "I'd say you also had time to drink some wine before you got here."
"Yes, but don't worry," Carrie assured Marta, "we called a cab to drive us and we promise to be on our best behavior when we meet your parents. Where are they?" She excitedly asked, "How did they take the news?"
"Well…"
Drew took over, "Looking at it from the bright side…at least no one was hospitalized."
Summerlin Memorial Hospital
1:10 pm
"It's okay, Sara." Watching his wife fret as the nurse prepped his arm for bandaging, Gil assured, "Really, it was an accident that anyone…"
"I gave you a second degree burn!" Sara screeched, feeling horrible about the mishap while working their shift at the homeless dinner.
"The most important thing is that you and the baby didn't get hurt."
"We were supposed to put our turkey in two hours ago. We'll be eating dinner at midnight now."
"Don't worry, we're covered." Gil smiled through the pain. "When you were in the restroom beating yourself up, I called my father and asked if he and Lina would go to the house and take care of dinner. They were happy to do it. Dad already had a key, I just had to give him the alarm code. No one else is due to arrive until later."
"Thank you."
"Really, it doesn't even hurt." He dug his fingernails into the exam table to fight the urge to yelp.
The nurse knew the guy was lying. "The pain meds should kick in real soon."
Gil breathed deeply, hoping the nurse's definition of 'soon' was less than sixty seconds. "It's not just the burn, is it? It's who was there…"
"No!" Sara rolled her eyes, trying not to dwell on the fact that Lady Heather had been five feet away when it happened and saying 'be careful, Sara'.
"Look on the brightside, it would have been much worse if you burned her instead of me," Gil chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Everyone would have thought it was jealousy."
The Blakes
1:26 pm
"There's nothing wrong with my shirt." Sean shook his head at Ryan, "You're just picking on me because you're jealous that my girlfriend will at Thanksgiving dinner with me, but yours is in Pennsylvania."
"Whatever, Dude." Ryan washed his hands of the matter. "I was trying to help, but if you want Lindsay to think you're queer, that's your business."
"Lindsay doesn't think like that." The mature brother rolled his eyes. "She's not hung up on appearances."
The Willows/Brown Home
1:30 pm
"You're so totally hot!" Staring at the photos on Colin's family's website, Lindsay continued to talk to the snapshots from the Maloney Family Reunion in San Diego. "You surf. That's so cool, whoa…nice six pack!"
"Lindsay!" Catherine rapped on the door.
"What?!" the teen grumped, pissed that her mother interrupted her drool session.
"It's time to go."
"Go where?!"
"Turkey, pumpkin pie…any guesses?" Catherine said, "You can't keep avoiding Sean."
After logging off the PC, Lindsay trudged over to the door and jerked it open. "He's wearing an eye patch and has twelve stitches, Mom. I can't tell him about Colin when he's already hurting."
"I know, Honey." The empathetic mother who had broken many hearts in her time, softly explained, "But it's going to hurt a lot more if he's blindsided."
Regional Hospital – AZ
1:46 pm
"How could we be so far off?" Tired of pacing the Psych Floor waiting area, Dennis leaned against the wall. "Three career detectives in the family. Why didn't we see this coming?" The distraught father stared at Tony, who was sitting on one side of the room holding Becca on his lap, while Reggie sat next to his mother. "You never for a minute…"
"No, of course not. I would have flipped out and I certainly would have told you." Tony's freshly stitched head throbbing, he whispered, "I heard it coming directly from her mouth and I still can't believe it." The scene of Gina losing it in the ER, to the extreme of being wrestled off him by orderlies, had left him shaken and questioning everything that had happened between them over the years. "How long until her folks get here?" His father had the unpleasant task of calling them to say their daughter was being involuntarily admitted because the doctors believed she was a danger to him, herself, her husband, and Becca.
"At least two more hours." Dennis took a seat next to his wife. "I really can't believe this is happening."
"How the hell do you think I feel, Dad?!" Reggie squeezed the water bottle in his hands. "She's my wife and I didn't have a clue that she was in love with my brother." Moving his gaze to Tony, he started to ask the burning questions. "What did you say to her when you showed up in San Diego that day?"
"I swear, I don't remember." Tony cleared his throat and readjusted Becca on his lap. "I was out of my head."
"So you could have come on to her."
"What?!" Tony and Becca simultaneously barked.
"Reggie." Marge grabbed her boy's hand. "I know you're upset, but you need to stay rational. Tony would never…"
"Gina said she fell in love with him that day," Reggie replied. "People don't fall in love without something happening. You heard her screaming on the lawn and in the ER, Ma. She believed they had a future together before Becca came along. I'm sorry, but…Tony had to do or say something to make her think she stood a chance with him."
"Reggie, look at me." Upset that his brother could think the worst of him, Tony said, "Do you honestly think that on the day I was devastated from seeing my wife cheat on me, or any other day for that matter, that I'd hit on my pregnant sister-in-law? I know you're blown away here, but take a deep breath and really think about what you're saying."
"Why did you come to San Diego that day?" Reggie's nerves were getting the best of him. "You'd never come to me for help over Matt. Mom…Dad, you know I'm right about that. He goes to Matt when he has a problem, not me."
"San Diego is closer," Becca argued in her husband's defense.
"No, he coulda hopped a plane and been in Phoenix in the same amount of time. I keep thinking about after that day too. Gina kept calling you, and sending care packages." Overwhelmed and paranoid, Reggie's wheels kept turning. "What happened, Tony? Be honest with me. Was it like in a movie?" He grasped at straws. "You know, where two people were overcome with emotion and they kiss without thinking?"
"Stop it!" Dennis ordered his son. "No son of mine would covet his neighbor's wife, and certainly not his brother's!"
"Wrong! Tony used to go to swinger parties with Amy. Sorry, Pop, but it's the truth. He screwed friends' wives, so maybe a brother's wife was the next step." When he saw Tony's reaction, Reggie shrugged. "Now we're even, Bro. A dirty secret for a dirty secret."
"Anthony already told us, because he was afraid Amy would," Marge curtly informed her son. "Amy didn't, his own brother did. Now stop before you say something that makes yourself look even worse."
"Can't you see he's hiding something?!" Reggie yelled, convinced his brother's body language told a different story. "Why did you go to San Diego that day, Tony?! It wasn't to see me, was it?! Was it?!"
"No! I didn't go to San Diego to see you! I went there to sit on the beach where I proposed to Amy and put a friggin' bullet in my head!" Hearing his mother gasp in sync with Becca, Tony gulped, realizing what he just admitted. "I…I almost did it too."
"What stopped you?" Becca reflexively probed, having been in that same dark place herself.
Since he couldn't take back the confession, he treaded lightly into an explanation, "I…I um…was reaching for my pistol when I heard this kid laugh." Tony picked a patch of floor and lost himself in the tile pattern. "This family was running toward the surf. They all had their pants rolled up because they weren't dressed for the beach." The memory was so strong he could smell the salt water. "All of a sudden, I was thinking about us, about when we moved out west to Phoenix from New York and my Dad drove us to see the Pacific for the first time." He glanced up. "You were just a baby, Reg, so you wouldn't remember."
"I remember," Marge sniffled in a fresh Kleenex. "The water was freezing, but you and Matt were determined to body surf."
"Yeah." Tony calmed when Becca cupped his trembling hands. "I couldn't pull the trigger after remembering all of you, so I put the gun away, ran to my car, and drove to your house, Reg. I went there to see you, not Gina. I stumbled into the house crying, and she took me in her arms, but I don't know what I said or did. My family was the only reason I didn't pull the trigger that day, so the last thing I would have done was hurt any of you. I love ya, Reg. I may want to beat the crap out of you from time to time, but I'd never hurt you."
"I'm sorry, Tony." Reggie walked over, tears building in his eyes. "I love you too, Bro."
Becca quickly slid off her husband's lap, so he could meet his brother half way.
After a bear hug, Tony whispered in Reggie's ear, "Come on, let's take a walk."
Drew's House
1:59 pm
Walking up to the massive home, Ryan informed his family, "This is exactly the kind of crib I'll own one day."
"You better work on your grades if you want to afford a home like this, son." Paul rolled his eyes at the boy's delusional thinking. "Drew has an MBA and is an accomplished businessman; he didn't buy this place by getting D's in school and working at Mickey D's for minimum wage."
"Tiger Woods doesn't have an MBA, Dad, and he can afford a house like this." Walking up the steps, the teen explained, "I'm going to golf my way to the top."
"Lindsay's already here! I see Warrick's truck!" Sean couldn't wait to reveal the big surprise. "Remember, everyone…especially you, Kenna, don't blurt anything about me starting at Trinity Christian on Monday." With Carrie back at the DA's office, he had lost his homeschooling expert and his mother wasn't comfortable doing the program without her. "I want to see the happy look on her face when she realizes we'll be together."
The Grissoms
2:09 pm
"Who's ready for a surprise reunion?" Jim quizzed as he and Ellie followed Gil toward the Great Room.
"Heather can't come, Dad." Ellie snickered, "So how are you going to reunite the one-night standers?"
"Isn't she cute?" Jim asked his buddy.
"No."
Ellie blew Gil a kiss.
Rounding the corner, Jim plugged his ears for the shriek he knew was coming.
"Howdy, Miss Ellie!" Ren Clarke tossed his favorite Whispering Pines graduate a wink. "Happy Thanksgivin'!"
Secretly thrilled to see her favorite equine therapy coach in the room, Ellie droned, "Daddy, is this what you meant when you said there would be turkey?" She sashayed over ready for trouble. "Howdy, Cowboy Ren. I'm so glad I wore my sexiest city slicker clothes for ya."
Keeping the extra twang, he gushed, "You do look mighty purty, Miss Ellie."
"So, you missed me so much, that you tracked me down, huh?"
"Nope." The cowboy smiled, "Nick and Drew Stokes ordered horses from my father's ranch and I drove 'em down here yesterday. Nick mentioned it to your dad and I got this generous invite."
Sara yelled from the kitchen, where she was prepping appetizers with Lina, "I had nothing to do with this! It was between Gil and your father."
"Speaking of fathers." Gil saw his dad was in the backyard playing with Flash. "While you two get reacquainted, I'm going to play some ball."
Drew's House
2:15 pm
"Play ball!" Carrie tipsily shouted at the TV when the pre-game ended. "Go Cowboys! Yeehaw! Don't I sound like a Texan?!"
"Aww, not quite yet," Nick humored his fiancée, while everyone else laughed at her. "But you're really comin' along." Hearing the introduction of his team, he howled, "Oh yeah, now the Thanksgiving fun really begins!"
Author's Notes:
Some of the angst is dissipating, while you know there's one or two things still lurking out there (cough Lissa cough), but the next chapter will be a roller coaster dip into the sweet and funny as the Thanksgiving festivities go into full swing and a few people quietly lick their wounds.
I was hoping it read that you're proud of Greg, really feeling he had grown up, instead of just saying he had become one. As for Bev, that you really don't know if she's being legit or manipulative, or a little of both.
Gina finally reached maximum capacity. Now that she's in the hands of medical professionals and surrounded by family who actually know she's having a problem, I think she's in the right direction. Though, barring a miracle, things won't be right there for a while.
Sara burned Gil…in front of Lady Heather…who was telling her to be careful. That's for everyone who ever had a moment of stupidity in front of someone they can't stand and it just KILLS YOU! LOL you know who you are.
Thanks to:
KJT for her patient corrections! And to Maura for reviewing the chapters :)
Maggs