Chapter 9
The next day, I was making lunch for Brady, Ash, and Kuki when the phone rang. We'd relocated our 'fun' to my house so that Kuki would feel like she'd gone somewhere. She'd made it blatantly clear that if she had to stay at her house all day every day there would be no hair left on her head. "Hello?" I heard Kuki answer. "No, this is Kuki Sanban, but I can hand you over to Abigail." She paused for a moment, concern covering her face. "Oh, he's not my son. Technically he's my soon-to-be brother-in-law, but that's kind of silly and long, right?" Another pause, obviously this was someone calling from the school about Joey. I wondered what had happened. Joey tended to get into some fights; like his brother, he had a short fuse. Kuki giggled nervously. "Right, well, physically, I can't do that. But, I'll send Abby over right away." My friend put the phone down.
"What's up?" I asked.
Kuki shook her head sadly. "Joey got into some sort of argument and tried to throw a desk. I should be going but I really can't. Especially because now I'm stressed out. Oh, Wally will be so angry. Joey was doing so well lately with everything. Will you go over there Abby? Just bring him home."
"Sure, girl. Abby'll go and get the kid. It's no big deal." I picked up Ash and grabbed Brady's hand before setting out the door.
Five minutes later I arrived in the principal's office, face to face with an extremely high-strung woman. "Mrs. Gilligan, I presume?"
"Yeah. Nice to meet you," I added.
The woman, Mrs. Withers, riffled through some pages on her desk. "And, what exactly is your relation to Joseph Beatles?"
"Friend. Close friend. He used to live with us, actually," I responded. I gave the woman a half-smile. Moments like this always reminded me just how young all of us were. We were twenty-two, too young to be taking care of a twelve year old boy who probably had severe problems due to his parents' death.
Mrs. Withers nodded tightly. "I told Ms. Sanban this over the phone, but Joseph attempted to throw a desk at another student today. I see from his files that this boy has had numerous other issues with his behavior-"
"Excuse me, but where is Joey?" So I cut her off. It was rude, yeah, but shouldn't the kid have been there?
"Joseph locked himself in the third floor restroom," the principal answered.
I tightened my grip on Ash, who was sitting in my lap. "And you didn't think you would tell Abby that first? Shouldn't your first concern always be your student?"
"But Joseph's behavior-"
"Joey lost his parents in the worst possible way, unexpectedly, barely three years ago. So Abby would say, yeah, the kid probably does have some behavior issues. But what is that worth when you compare it to the fact that no kid should ever have to deal with something that heavy?" I asked accusingly. Why was it that when you hit a certain age things stopped being about others? I thought schools were supposed to be 'safe places' and here's Joey being yelled at for throwing a desk. "His brother's been a wreck ever since, he's lived in three different places in three years, there's a kid on the way at his house, and he's trying to be a normal seventh grader!"
The principal just stared at me, obviously shocked by my outburst. "Well, why don't I just take you all up to the restroom and you can talk to Mr. Beatles?"
"Thanks a heap," I murmured following the pant-suit wearing woman out of the office.
Once we were standing outside the bathroom, I squatted down to Brady's level. "Can you go in there and ask Joey to come out, kid?"
Brady nodded with a huge smile. He came back out a minute or so later, holding Joey's hand. Joey was running his other hand over his bangs, flattening them to his forehead as if he wanted to cover his eyes even more than usual. As always, I was struck by how much he was like his brother. Wally never wanted people to know he had been crying either. "What happened, Joey?" I asked him.
Joey looked down at his shoes, but I noticed his hand gripped tighter around Brady's. "Stupid cruddy kids were talking about how much their parents sucked. And I don't know, Abby. Sometimes I just get so angry and I can't stop myself," he mumbled in response.
I'd never seen Joey this upset before. "C'mere," I replied, opening my arms for him to step into. For a second, Joey's red-rimmed eyes met mine and he gave me a look like I was insane. But, eventually, the long arms of a rapidly-growing teenager wrapped around my middle. As Joey's entire body shook with tears, I found myself thanking God that I had never lost a parent like so many of my friends had.
Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I let go of Joey and turned around. "Yes?"
"Mrs. Gilligan, Joey could've potentially killed that boy if the desk had been thrown. So, I'd like to think he would be given some sort of punishment. I know you aren't his guardian, but hugging isn't exactly the best way to get a point across," Mrs. Withers stated with a stern look.
I gave the principal (so much for great schools in the area) my own stern look, grabbed Brady's hand, picked up Ash, and started down the hallway with Joey trailing behind. "Bye!" I called. "We're leaving now and Joey's gonna get a lot of praise for throwing that desk. Ain't that right, Joe?"
The blonde-haired boy looked up at me with his red eyes again, but this time a slight smile was on his face. "Totally," he responded.
When we got back to my house, I sent Joey inside to talk to Kuki. Ash and Brady wanted to ride their little bikes around so I stretched out on my lawn chair and prepared to half-watch them. I had just closed my eyes when I heard the screen door slam. "Abby! Abby, Kuki's in labor!" Joey shouted from the porch.
"Mommy?" Ash asked, looking up at her mother's name.
Immediately, I was on my feet. "Joey, you go help Kuki out here while Abby gets Ash and Brady in the car!"
The twelve-year old grimaced and raised an eyebrow at me. Adding to the many similarities between he and his brother, Joey hated this kind of crazy, frantic stuff. "You know what would be way worse than helping Kuki walk out here?" I asked him. He shook his head. "Having to the deliver the kid on the driveway. Now, move it, Beatles!"
Joey quickly ran back into the house and had Kuki sitting in the backseat before I had finished buckling the two toddlers in. "You're gonna be fine, girl," I reminded her as I backed out of the driveway. Joey sat next to me in the passenger seat with his forehead pressed against the dash.
On the way there, I called first Wally and then Hoagie and told them to meet us at the hospital. Wally had had his phone on him at all times in anticipation of this call, but Hoagie was a lot harder to get a hold of. He finally answered the third time I called him. "Thank god you answered, man. Abby's needs you at the hospital. Kuki's having the kid and you need to help me with Joey, Ash, and Brady," I explained over Kuki's yelps.
"Ah…the three little monsters." Hoagie laughed at his own joke, as always.
"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled. "And soon to be four." Kuki screamed and I gave a look at Joey. He gave me a look back that made it clear he didn't want to get involved. "Very soon, so hurry up, alright?"
"Alright, sheesh!" Hoagie replied before I hung up on him.
"OK, girl, Wally and Hoagie are on their way. You are gonna be just fine, Abby knows. And we are almost there." We were actually stuck in awful traffic, but eventually we made it to the hospital. I grabbed a wheel chair and rolled Kuki in, yelling back at Joey to make sure he had Brady and Ash's hands.
"Why's mommy yelling?" Ash asked Joey, looking up at him beneath black bangs. Wally was going to be there any minute and Kuki was already in her room.
The boy shrugged. "Well, Ash, um…your new baby brother or sister is coming soon and your mommy is…happy? Yeah she's just really happy," Joey finished. He looked insanely proud of himself.
I hit my head against my palm. Joey just smirked at me. Ash looked confused. Then, Hoagie and Wally both came flying through the double doors. "Where is she?" Wally asked, his cheeks flushed.
"Room 145," I responded at the same time that Hoagie yelled, "Good luck, buddy!" Wally took off down the hall and Hoagie sat on the chair next to me.
"Well," he smiled, "that was an adventure."
I shook my head at my grinning husband. "Baby, what if we weren't married and had two kids?" I asked him. It was a thought that had bounced around in my head every since Kuki told me about her second pregnancy.
"That, my dear, would never happen." Hoagie pulled me against him and kissed my head.
I looked up at his clear blue eyes. "I love you," I told him.
"You have no idea," he responded; earning an eye roll from me. I leaned over and returned his kiss anyway.
After what seemed like forever (but I was thankful because Ash and Brady were getting restless), a nurse came over and asked our names. "Abby's right here," I pointed to myself. "And this is Hoagie, Joey, Ash, and Brady." I nodded at each person as I said their name.
The nurse smiled. "They were looking for Joey, Ash, and Abby." I picked up Ash and the three of us followed the nurse back to Room 145. Kuki sat on the bed, cradling a pink bundle to her chest. Wally had a look on his face that was a cross between Joey's 'head-to-the-dash' expression from earlier and complete adoration.
"Hey, Kooks," I smiled.
"Hey, Abby! She's a girl," Kuki giggled. I'll just put it out there that I was in no mood to laugh so soon after Brady popped out. But, that's Kuki for you. "Her name is Ryan Aiko Beatles." I handed Ash to Wally as Kuki said this.
Wally leaned Ash over the bed. "Look, bug, it's your baby sister," he whispered in her ear.
"Congratulations, guys," I said, pushing Joey closer to his family. "Abby's coming back later, but Hoagie and Brady really shouldn't be left alone. They're way too much…alike." Kuki and Wally laughed at this and I slipped out the door.
When I got back to the lobby, Hoagie and Brady were no longer sitting. Hoagie had Brady up on his shoulders and they both had their arms straight out, like an airplane. My husband ran around the lobby as Brady giggled and made airplane noises. I stopped and leaned against the wall, shaking my head slightly but smiling all the same.
"Have you been watching them?" a nurse asked. She didn't seem to think I knew them. "That man seems a little young, but he is such a good father to that little boy." I nodded and smiled at her. She was right, we were a little young. But, we were doing the best we could and that's all we could do. The nurse walked away and I went to rejoin my family.
Hoagie looked up at Brady when they saw me. "Requesting permission to land, Sky King Brady?" Hoagie asked.
Brady tapped his chin. "Well, I guess so," he giggled. They plopped down in the chair next to me.
"So, it's a girl. Her name is Ryan," I started. Hoagie stared at me and I could see a laugh building in his eyes. "Alright," I sighed, "make a lame joke now."
"Well, I was just gonna ask who you thought was naming these poor little girls," Hoagie blurted out.
We both said "Wally" at the exact same time. I took Brady off Hoagie's lap and placed him in mine. "Maybe, if we have another boy we can name him Mackenzie or something," Hoagie suggested.
I rolled my eyes at him for the second and in no way last time that day. "Abby doesn't know why she keeps a fool like you around," I said playfully.
Hoagie stretched out his legs in front of him and threw a long arm around my shoulders. "I am your baby daddy," he replied. "And I think there's something else too, I just can't seem to remember it. Oh, yeah, that's it! Abby loves Hoagie!"
He laughed and I smack him lightly on the head. It had been an extremely hectic, crazy day, but Hoagie always knew how to bring my stress down a notch or two. And Abby definitely loved Hoagie for that.
A/N: lalalaalalala...I'm deliriously tired right now so this is probably laden with errors. It is 12:17 AM but I haven't been sleeping like at all lately so for me this is rough.
Anyway, this isn't my best work, even for this story, and this chapter isn't very funny. But I kind of like the whole part with Joey at the beginning. I like writing Joey, he's cute.
Next chapter will bring a whole new little dilemma into the picture and also the return of Fanny and Patton and all of our friends that basically made the first chapters enjoyable! So yay!