Alex changed into sleep pants and a matching sleeveless shirt, stopping by the bed to stroke Bobby's hair. He didn't move. She kissed his forehead and checked on Molly in her crib before leaving the room.
She made her rounds of the apartment, ensuring the place was locked up, and then she checked on Maggie and Tommy in their beds. Everything was secure and both children were sleeping peacefully. As she crossed the hallway from Tom's room to the bedroom she shared with Bobby, she heard a knock at the front door.
On her way across the living room, she looked at the time. Almost eleven o'clock. Who could possibly be at the door at this hour? When she looked through the peephole, she saw the familiar face of a man she'd never met and she let out a low sigh. Frances Goren had given birth to two handsome sons. One of them slept in the bedroom down the hall; the other now stood outside their apartment.
She opened the door and glared at the man who shuffled in the hallway. Frank's hands were buried in his pockets and he shifted from one foot to the other in a manner she found all too familiar. He looked up, expecting to see his brother. It was clear that he had not expected a woman to answer the door.
Confused, he looked around, checking the number on the door of the apartment. "Uhm, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong apartment. I was looking for my brother."
As tempted as she was to send Frank on his way, her conscience would not allow anger and resentment to get the better of her. Whatever she thought of him, he became family when she married his brother. "You have the right apartment," she replied, her voice cold. "Your brother...was badly injured in a car accident the night your mother died. He's asleep right now."
He scanned her slowly, and the look in his eyes made her uncomfortable. She'd seen it too often when she worked vice. A similar look from her husband was a very welcome invitation, something that set her body on fire, but from his brother, well, it was just creepy, and it sent a cold chill through her veins. When he smiled, she could see traces of Bobby in him, and that unsettled her even more.
"You're his nurse?" he asked in a tone she didn't appreciate.
Hired help was fair game. "No, I am not his nurse, Frank. I live here."
Frank laughed to himself: So, little brother has a girlfriend. "I'm at a distinct disadvantage, then, gorgeous. You know me, but I have no idea who you are."
Her back stiffened. She did not like the seductive tone of Frank's voice or the roguish gleam in his eyes. She knew that Bobby had not told Frank about her and the children, and she still was not sure how she felt about it. She couldn't help the surge of near-resentment that welled up in her as Frank placed his hand on the door frame near her head. He gave her a charming smile, convinced he had a shot with her. "You certainly are beautiful," he remarked. "My brother always had good taste in women."
Bobby had never explained his decision to her. When she tried to discuss Frank with him, he would change the subject or shut down on her. Often, she wondered what went on in his head when she brought up Frank's name. Surely he did not present a threat to her or the children. Perhaps it was more about punishing Frank by excluding him. That made more sense to her. Whatever his reasoning, she was now confronted with her brother-in-law and the decision about what to tell him was hers.
"Why don't you let me in," he pressed, turning up the charm. "We can have a nice talk and see where it leads."
You have got to be kidding me, Alex thought. Her brow furrowed as she glared at him, and his smile faded a little, replaced with confusion. Obviously, he wasn't used to having his advances spurned. Her eyes narrowed. "Back off, buddy," she warned. "I'm not interested."
"I see. Do you think my brother can give you a better time than I can? Come on, baby. Let your hair down a bit. I'll prove to you how much better I am at this than he is."
"First of all, never call me baby again. And second of all, I know your brother can show me a better time. That's why I married him."
Stunned, Frank stared at her. Girlfriend, he expected, but wife? He could not wrap his mind around his quirky little brother settled in a marriage. "W-Wife?" he managed. "Since when?"
"Since two years ago, in September."
"Wife?" he repeated. "He never told me he was married."
Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe he felt a need to protect his family from you."
Understanding dawned and Frank laughed. "Well, I see he's told you about me."
She was not amused, and she stood in the doorway, arms folded over her chest. Frank's laughter died as he got the impression this was not a woman to be trifled with. "Look, I was kind of counting on crashing on his couch..."
She shook her head. "No. That's not gonna happen."
"I won't bother you if that's what you're worried about..."
"It's not. You won't bother me. But, like I told you, Bobby is badly injured, and he's not up to dealing with you at the moment. He doesn't need the stress of you being here. And I don't know you well enough to trust you around my children."
"Children? Bobby's children?"
His face became unreadable, and that annoyed her. "Yes, Bobby's children."
"Really? He has kids? Uhm, boys? Girls?"
"One son and two daughters."
"Wow...I don't suppose one of 'em's named Frank, huh?"
"That would be a very safe bet."
"How old are they?"
"The two oldest are five and two, and the baby is two months." Her voice tightened with barely restrained anger. "I will not allow you to disrupt my family or to hurt Bobby again. You have a choice to make, Frank, if you want to be a part of our family. You have to prove yourself to me before I let you near my children. Bobby can make his own decisions, but if you do anything to cause him any grief, I swear you will live to regret that. Your mother's funeral is tomorrow. Show or don't show – it's your decision--but God help you if you do anything to disrespect her."
She stepped back and closed the door, leaving him standing in the hallway. Too upset to relax and unwilling to wake Bobby, she turned on the television, sat down and began to flip through the channels.
Bobby turned over in the bed, seeking his wife's warmth and comfort. When he rolled into empty air, he woke fully. He looked at the alarm clock, squinting to force the numbers into focus. 12:47. Where was Alex?
Slowly, he sat up, and the room tilted only for a moment. He got out of bed and grabbed his cane. He knew better than to try walking without it. He could handle it if he was careful, but Alex had no tolerance for willful insubordination of Dr. Wrightweiler's orders. He limped from the room.
When he came into the living room, she looked away from the television. "Hey, baby. What are you doing up?"
"I...missed you. Why are you still up?"
"I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you."
He crossed the room and sat beside her. Alex didn't usually have trouble sleeping. "What's wrong?"
She shifted her position, leaning against one arm of the long couch. She drew him to her into a semi-reclining position, settling his head just below her breasts. He slid his arm around her back, snuggling into her, and he sighed softly, content. With one hand, she played with his hair while she rubbed his back with the other. "What's wrong?" he repeated, his voice barely audible.
She hesitated before saying, "We had a visitor."
"This late?"
"Yeah, well, he's not exactly know for his consideration of others."
He digested that statement, along with her tone of voice, and forced himself to sit up. "Who was it?"
"It was Frank. He was looking to crash on your couch."
He ran his fingers through his hair and rested his hand against the back of his neck. "Why didn't you get me up?"
"Because you need to rest and recover. Tomorrow will be a difficult enough day."
"You should have woken me up."
"Don't worry. I handled him."
"Handled him? Wh-what did he do?"
"He didn't do anything or you would have been woken by an ambulance."
He had no doubt of that, but he wasn't in the mood to be amused. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him that until he proves himself, he is not welcome around the children. Whatever you decide about your relationship with him is between you and him, but the children...no. He has to earn a place in this family."
He mulled over her words, not disagreeing with her. "Earn a place..." he muttered. "You would consider giving him a chance?"
She didn't answer immediately, until he looked at her. "He's your brother. Don't you think he should have one?"
He shook his head. "No, I don't. He's unreliable, popping in and out of my life, gone for years at a stretch. The kids don't need that kind of instability, especially if they like him, which they will. Frank can charm a snake from its hole if he sets his mind to it."
She gave him a crooked smile. "Well, this is one snake he failed to charm."
The look on his face changed from annoyance to anger and he looked away. Memories of high school floated through Bobby's head, of the girls he'd dated that his brother had charmed into his own bed. He shifted uncomfortably. "What did he...say?"
"It's not important..."
He jerked his head around. "I need to know, Alex."
"He was just flirting, trying to convince me he could show me a good time. When I told him I was your wife, he backed off." She noticed the increase in his breathing and reached out to rub his shoulder. "I can handle your brother, Bobby. He's pissing in the wind. You are the one I love."
His only answer was a brief nod. He leaned back and tipped his head against the cushions. "Is he going to be at the funeral tomorrow?"
"I don't know, but I warned him not to disgrace your mother if he does show up."
He closed his eyes and struggled with the unresolved emotions churning in his gut. Frank's interest in his life revolved around what he could get from him and no more. He was particularly interested in the girls he dated, because his favorite game was to see how many of them he could charm away from his little brother. Bobby had gotten, and given, more than one black eye over it. Frank was often successful, and those were the girls Bobby never welcomed back. There were a few who remained loyal to him under the onslaught of Frank's charm, and to this day, they remained within the few happy memories he had of his childhood. It wasn't until he joined that Army and got away from Frank, who had already begun his descent into a dark world of drugs and addiction, that he came into his own as a lover. Vowing never to be like Frank or their father, he had never tried to charm a woman involved with another man. It was one reason why Alex had become off limits to him when she married Ricky. He had his principles and, for him, they were rooted in a deeply disturbed upbringing. His moral ethics distanced himself from the men he had as role models. Never be like them. Never be one of them. Never.
When Alex shifted on the couch beside him, moving closer and resting her hand on his chest, he opened his eyes and turned his head toward her. "I don't trust him, Alex."
"Do you think he would hurt the children?"
"Not physically, no. He's not a violent man. But we would end up fielding a lot of questions that I have no answers to, like 'when is Uncle Frank coming to visit again?' I...I don't know if I can do that to them."
She leaned over and kissed his temple. "Look, it's not something we have to deal with tonight. Let's go to bed and we'll handle whatever comes along tomorrow together."
He still had not fully adjusted to the fact that he no longer had to handle his life alone, and she realized that. When he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she kissed him. "Yes, Bobby," she whispered. "Together."
He went into the kitchen for a glass of water and a dose of medicine then joined Alex in the bedroom. He slipped into bed with a soft groan and she snuggled into his side. He pulled her close against him and gradually relaxed as the pain subsided. He shifted against her as he drifted to sleep.
Bobby usually woke before the alarm, but since the accident, she had been the first one up every morning. She knew he needed the rest to heal, and the medication he was taking contributed largely to his deeper sleep, but she still didn't like it. She just wanted him back to his normal self, and he was not healing fast enough to suit either of them.
She showered and dressed quickly, disappointed that Bobby slept through it. Standing by the side of the bed, she watched him sleep, gently fingering the hair that curled at his temple. He drew in a deeper breath and slowly released it, but he didn't waken. She wanted to wake him, but he'd had a restless night. She decided to let him sleep as long as he could. It was going to be a long day and it would tax his slowly recovering stamina.
Her fingers swept over the hair on his chest and she smiled at how young, how innocent he looked in his sleep. She kissed his forehead and left the room.
Alex got the coffee going and got out the kids' bowls from the cabinet. There would be no time for a hot breakfast, not this morning. She looked at the clock. Just after six. Again, she wondered whose bright idea it had been to schedule the funeral Mass at nine. They had to be on the road by seven-thirty, which meant getting the kids up before seven.
She pulled the milk out of the refrigerator as Bobby limped into the kitchen. "What are you doing up?" she asked. "You could have slept for another half hour or so."
He shook his head. "I'm up now."
"Sit down. I'll bring you a cup of coffee."
She set a coffee cup in front of him and sat across from him. Quietly, she said, "You didn't sleep well."
He shook his head. "I have...too much running through my head."
"Like what?"
He looked into his cup. "My mother, Maggie's injuries, the funeral, my brother...the past..." He paused. "You."
"Me? What about me?"
He shrugged. "I don't remember exactly. I just...I know it was about you, at some point. An-and it set me ill at ease."
In a reassuring gesture, she reached out and caressed his arm. "Bobby, please. You have nothing to worry about. I promise, I am not going anywhere. Maybe I don't have the best track record, but when I married you, I meant it forever. I've known you long enough, and I know you well enough to know what I've gotten myself into. We have three beautiful kids who adore you." She moved to the chair beside him and pulled it close. Leaning in, she softly kissed him. "And so do I," she whispered, smoothing her hand over his hair. "I really do."
She kissed him again and he slipped his arm around her, pulling her close and prolonging the kiss. When she pulled back, she gave him a loving smile. "With you I have everything I have ever wanted," she said softly. "Now I have to get Maggie and Tom up. We have to be on the way by seven-thirty."
He watched her walk away before he let himself think about the coming day. Unresolved emotions churned his gut and swirled through his mind. It was going to be a very long, stressful day.