Chapter 44
Chicago Bound
Davis emerged from the house through the sliding glass door and onto the patio to join the others with Margery right behind, fawning all over him. He seemed to enjoy the attention from her, quite a change from the rancor they regularly inflicted on one another, over the past decade. Once he made the decision to have the surgery, Margery confided that almost losing him made her come to her senses about what a fool she had been for divorcing him. A couple of post- divorce trysts never held a candle to the love and passion she once shared with Davis. This recent health crisis crystalized the stupidity and the ego involved in their bickering that lead to their split. Now that they were rekindling lost love, all they wanted to do was to make up for lost time.
Margery led him to the lawn chaise that she previously absconded, just for him.
"How are you feeling, Daddy?" Winona stood beside him, balancing Willa on her hip. The baby rubbed her eyes waking from her nap. "You look great." Upon observing him, she thought perhaps she spoke too soon.
The older man winced in pain, as he slowly lowered himself onto the chaise. "I might've done better sitting in a straight-back chair," he complained.
"I'm sorry, Davis," Margery said, taking a seat in the chair beside him. "I thought you'd be more comfortable in this chair so you could stretch out a little. Enjoy your family."
Gayle handed her father a lemonade and another to her mother.
"I'd better take it easy on liquids," he continued to complain, setting the glass on the table beside him. "I don't want to have to get up, out of this chair any time soon."
"I have good news for you two," Gayle changed the subject. "After tomorrow, the room Winona and Raylan and the baby have been staying in will become vacant." She looked at her mother. "It's yours if you want it."
"I'm fine where I am, Dear," Margery addressed her oldest daughter, referring to staying in the same room as Davis and sounding somewhat offended.
"It has its own bathroom. Lots of privacy," Gayle continued to try and bait her mother.
Winona tried not to snicker. "Mama, she meant for the both of you." Winona was pretty sure she'd identified the problem in communication between her mother and her sister.
"Why? Where are you going?" Reality suddenly dawned on Margery.
"Raylan and I are going to Chicago with Anna and Adam. We'll only be gone for a few days," Winona explained. "When we come back, we're going to find a place of our own."
"Raylan? I thought you were married to the realtor fellow. What's his name?" Davis exhibited confusion they hadn't seen in the past few days. "Uh . . ."
Margery explained, seamlessly, "Dear, Winona isn't married to Gary the realtor anymore. She's getting back together with Raylan, the marshal. Willa's Daddy."
"Oh," Davis said.
The others were unsure whether he really remembered or not.
A little shaken at Davis' lapse in memory, Margery asked her youngest daughter, "Are you taking Willa with you?" She looked up, shading her eyes from the rays of the sun. "I'd be happy to watch her for you."
"Thank you, Mama," Winona said with a smile. "But I'm sure Raylan wants her to come, too."
"Well, alright," Margery said, not sounding too sure. "How about I take her now? Take a load off your hip."
"You want to see Grandma, baby girl?" Winona lifted her daughter up and passed her over to Margery.
"Come here, little princess," Margery gushed and sat the baby on her lap. "You are such a pretty little thing. You hurry back home because Grandma's going to miss you." She kissed the baby's cheek and set her on her lap.
Gayle reached over and stroked her niece's silky blonde tresses. Willa reminded her so much of her baby sister when she was little.
Standing near the doorway of the house, Raylan watched Winona's family with Willa and took a long pull on his bottled beer. He knew he had to talk to Winona about Karen's job offer. To Anna, too. But not today. It wasn't the right time. This was a celebration.
"Are you all leaving in the morning for Chi Town?" Tim walked up behind him, interrupting Raylan's thoughts.
"Yeah," Raylan answered him. "No point in puttin' it off." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out one of Foxy's tins. "Here. You keep this." He tossed the tin in Tim's direction.
Catching it with one hand, Tim asked, "Is this that miraculous voodoo stuff Rachel was telling me about?"
"Voodoo or not, the shit works. And it works fast, too," Raylan answered with a grin, pointing to his own face as Exhibit A. "You can pick some up at Limehouse's store if ya' need more. You'd have to call him first. They have this raft set up to get you over the river and to their holler." After another swig of his beer, he added, "Just tell Foxy I sent ya'."
Tim opened the tin and took a sniff. "Hmmm. Smells alright."
Raylan chuckled. "What were ya' expectin'? Eye of newt?"
"Maybe. Something like that."
Winona walked up and tugged on the back of Raylan's shirt, grabbing his attention. "Steaks are ready," she announced to the marshals, as Rachel had joined them. "Come and get them while they're hot."
The remainder of the afternoon and evening consisted of good food and good company. After Gayle's boys had their fill of hot dogs and watermelon, they had a ball playing with the garden hose out in the yard in the heat of the day.
The arrival of mosquitos in the setting sun and wet grass drove the party indoors. Rachel and Tim took the move as their cue to get on the road. After they left, Anna and Winona decided to get some laundry going so that they could finish packing for their trip.
Raylan brought Willa around to collect 'goodnight kisses' from the family before taking her upstairs for a bath.
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-
"What's this?" Winona placed the neatly folded blouse into her suitcase and took the tissue-paper wrapped package from her mother.
Margery lifted a shoulder and smiled at her youngest. "Just a little something I saw and thought of you."
Keeping her eyes on her mother, Winona tore through the paper and tugged at the box. A bit of dark blue lace peeked out from under the wrapping. "Mama!" Winona gasped, holding up the silky nightgown. "It's gorgeous but . . ."
Blushing, her mother sat on the edge of the bed and patted a spot beside her. Winona sat, still running her fingers over the smooth fabric.
"I know what it's like when you become a mother," Margery said. "It's easy to sleep in old t-shirts and forget how it was before you had a baby to take care of."
Winona chuckled. "Raylan and I are fine in that department." She couldn't believe she was having this conversation.
"This isn't about your sex life." Her mama flushed deeper. "This is about remembering you're a woman and not just a mother. For yourself . . . not just for Raylan."
"Okay, Mama, thank you." Winona held the gown up in front of her. "Still, I think Raylan may appreciate it, too."
"There's something else in there."
Winona lifted another layer of wrapping to find a pamphlet on court reporting courses offered nearby, at the University of Louisville. "What's this?"
"You can tell me it's none of my business," Margery said. "But I know you have to do continuing ed to keep your certification up. And I also know how much you love Willa, but you loved your job, too."
"Yes," Winona nodded. "I did."
"Don't give that up without thinking. I used to feel differently, but I think working helps a woman keep her identity. And that's good for her kids, and good for her marriage."
Something clicked in that moment. "Is that what happened to you? To you and Daddy?"
Margery bit her lip. "When Gayle was about a year old, your father suggested I go back to teaching English, like I did before. Not because we needed the money, but because he knew how much I loved it. But your grandmother was insistent that 'good mothers' stayed home." She clicked her tongue. "So I listened to her, and after you were born, I was so busy, I really didn't miss my job all that much. But later, as you girls grew up, well . . ."
"Do you wish you'd gone back?"
"They say no one regrets things they do, it's the things they don't do that haunt them." She sighed and leaned into her daughter. "I wish I'd been strong enough to go against my mother, strong enough to listen you your father, who knew me better and loved me for who I was." Her eyes were damp when she looked at Winona. "I just don't want you to make that mistake."
"Thank you." Winona reached over and gave her Mama a tight hug. "I won't."
-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-
Adam was up and showered, bright and early the next morning. He made a run to the grocery store, went back to the hotel to pick up Anna and check out, and drove them over to Gayle's house. He made a b-line straight back to the kitchen and quickly assembled a basket of snacks for the road. He filled up the cooler with ice he had bought from the store, along with bottled water and juices. And if that wasn't enough, he insisted on cooking a rib-sticking breakfast for all before they hit the road, thinking they could wait until the morning rush hour was behind them before taking off. Gayle finally got him to agree that she could make coffee and pour some juice. Anna helped to set the table.
Adam whipped up a frittata and put it in the oven, fried up a couple of pounds of bacon, sliced tomatoes and onions and a jalapeno for salsa, and toasted English muffins for all. He placed condiments on the Lazy Susan in the middle of the table that consisted of Tabasco, his homemade salsa, sliced avocado and lime, an assortment of jams, and catsup for Davis's eggs.
One by one, the rest of the household made their way downstairs to the kitchen, following their noses toward the wonderful aromas of maple-cured bacon and freshly brewed coffee. They each took a seat at the table with Anna and Adam taking a seat at the nearby bar. Platters of food were passed around, as plates were filled and the food devoured. More than one of the adults had the passing thought that Adam would be sorely missed.
After seconds were passed around to some, Wade declared, "I can't eat another bite." He pushed himself away from the table and belched. "Excuse me," he added, giving his oldest son a wink. "That was wonderful, Adam."
"Daddy burped!" Davis squealed, giggling. He scooped another forkful of eggs into his mouth, swallowed, and let out one of his own.
Gayle gave her husband the evil eye. "Thanks for that, Sweetheart." Her voice dripped sarcasm, but her lips twitched into a smile.
"Oh, let the boys be boys," Margery said.
The elder Davis caught his namesake's eye and let out an even bigger belch. The boy erupted into even more giggles, his younger brother joining in.
"I swear you are not the same parents who raised me," Gayle said, shaking her head.
"Accordin' to Sniper Tim, in some countries, belchin' is considered polite." Raylan added his voice to the mix.
"Just remember, we don't live in any of those countries," Winona said, smiling sweetly.
Anna bounced Willa against her shoulder. She'd offered to hold her niece so Winona could eat. "It was a delicious feast." As she leaned over to give Adam a kiss, Willa let out the most enormous burp of all. The entire table burst into laughter, and the baby grinned, showing off her new teeth.
-fin-
A/N: We had a ball writing this fic, so much so that it went on a little longer than we anticipated. This seemed like a good place to break and start what will become the third fic in our Raylan and Anna series, making it a trilogy.
The next fic will focus on Anna's search for the pieces of her childhood and maybe some missing pieces to some of Raylan's childhood, as well.