A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter 33

Andy rubbed the back of his neck again. He looked sheepishly at his daughter and her husband. "Well, first of all, I have to say that if what I'm going to tell you, sounds bizarre and it will believe me. I want to assure you it did happen and I promise you I have not fallen off the wagon. So this is isn't a drunken hallucination."

Nicole didn't quite know what to do with that statement, but after looking at her dad straight in the eye for a moment she realized that her father was telling the truth about being completely sober and no matter how bizarre it ended up sounding, what he was about to tell her was serious. "Okaaaay," she said. "If you say so, I'll believe you." Nicole's eyebrows were knitted together with worry for her father.

Knowing there was no way to postpone telling Nicole and Dean what had happened the last couple of weeks. Andy sat down and began his story of what Sharon and they had gone through. When he was finished, he blew a breath out and said, "now, do you see what I mean? Is that not the most bizarre story you've ever heard?"

Nicole shook her head as if to clear it. She stood up and he did too. She hugged him and he hugged her back. There were tears in both their eyes. Andy felt his throat close up and he suddenly couldn't stop himself from sobbing into her shoulder. It took a few moments for him to get control of his emotions, but he finally did and he apologized. "I'm so sorry, Nicole. I thought I was over it but I guess I wasn't."

"It's okay, Dad and it's perfectly understandable. Your story does sound quite bizarre but I believe in you and if you say it happened, I believe it did. I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you. First, you had to have felt helpless when you knew Gary was there and you heard the shots. Then at the hospital, it must have been terrible for you to be told Sharon was dead." Nicole wiped away her own tears, before continuing, "after all you'd been through already and then to find out she was being held against her will in the psych ward by that horrible Cora person and given those dangerous drugs. It sounds like you've both had a terribly rough time."

"You have no idea," Andy said swiping the tears from his face. It had felt good to release the terror and grief he'd been ignoring off and on since this ordeal had begun so that he could be there for Sharon.

Nicole laid hand on her dad's arm for comfort. "I'm so glad you were smart enough not to take their word for it. I'm also glad Rusty saw her in the window or you might have been too late, even if you had eventually figured it out. Everything that happened at the psych ward sounds really scary. Terrifying actually for Sharon, that Cora woman was evil and deserves to be in jail for a very long time. Poor Sharon! No wonder she looks so fragile."

Andy let out a relieved breath, glad that Nicole believed him but then, hearing his daughter's words his eyes got real big. "Do you really think she seems ... fragile?"

She nodded slowly, "yes, a bit. I mean she didn't get up to greet us till we were right next to the couch after we'd toured the house .Thats not usual for her at all. Then there's the fact that she was limping , and when I hugged her I noticed that she felt thinner than I remember her being."

Andy set his hand on top of Nicole's and squeezed. "Well, do me a favor and don't let her hear you say that, please? She needs to believe she is capable of getting stronger and back to normal."

"You don't think she believes she is?" Nicole asked.

"I'm not sure really. She gets so frustrated with herself when she gets tired after only three or four hours of activity, and when I try to get her to rest she tells me not to coddle her. Sharon tells me, that she'll never build up endurance if she gives into the fatigue." Andy voice was thick with worry as he spoke, "I'm concerned that she'll overdo it and compromise her immune system or her health in some other way."

She is a very strong woman, Dad. My gosh! Anybody who could do what she did in spite of how ill she was just three weeks before that happened and then as drugged she was. She's incredible!"

"Yes, but it has all taken a toll on her being in the middle of not just one but two bomb blasts in two days, not to mention the fiasco that we just went through. She still has nightmares at least one or two a night and her appetite fluctuates. She has to take several pills each day. Mostly vitamins and supplements, plus although the medications they gave her in the psych ward are completely out of her system. Some of the side effects... well, let's just say they are far-reaching," Andy said sadly.

Nicole listened knowing that Andy needed to talk about what had happened and verbalize his worry.

"It would take a toll on anyone, but Sharon is very strong and I have every confidence that she will recover completely. I know she will. She just needs love and time and a healthy dose of grandchildren to give her a reason to get better faster."

Andy agreed but added, "not just the grandchildren. Olivia needs her, very much, Rusty, and I need her to recover completely too."

"I know, Dad. I know and I'm sure she knows," Nicole said patting his cheek.

"You know, Andy," began Dean, "I remember how grumpy you were when she had to take care of you especially after your heart attack. Now, it's your turn to care for her and I'm guessing she's not liking it any more than you did. You gave her fits. When she pushes back at you for being overprotective, remember what it was like to be feeling like an invalid and being treated like one. Sharon is like you, she's used to being the strong one, taking care of everybody else. It's gotta be hard for her to be the one being taken care of just like it was for you," Dean said wisely.

His son-in-law's words made sense and indeed if Andy hadn't been so close to the situation he would have figured it out for himself. "Hmmm, thanks Dean for pointing out what should have been obvious," Andy said in a sincere tone of voice. "I should have figured it out for myself, but I guess I was just too close to the situation to think about it rationally," Andy said, feeling better after talking to Dean and Nicole.

"Glad I could help," said Dean and shook hands with his father-in-law.

"You both helped. Nicole for believing in her old dad and giving him the benefit of the doubt and you for reminding me how it feels for a strong person to be forced into the role of invalid."

Andy led the way back into the house and found the boys trying to play with Olivia, by getting in her face, making monkey faces and jumping up and down scratching their armpits, pretending to be monkeys. It was a game they played with Charlie that never ceased to make her laugh. Olivia who was cuddled in Sharon's lap was way more interested in where her bottle was than playing with her nephews. She pushed Ian's face away from hers and started to whimper and then dissolved into a full-fledged tantrum.

At the same time, Sharon said sharply, "Ian and Ryan, knock it off and I mean right now!"

The boys both looked shocked and stopped their monkeying around immediately. They retreated away from their beloved grandmother who had never before yelled at them like that. Eileen who had heard her granddaughter's tantrum and Sharon yelling at the boys and then trying to calm the baby down hurried across the living room to hand over the bottle to Sharon.

Once Sharon calmed the baby she got her situated in a half sitting half laying position and gave her the bottle. She started sucking enthusiastically right away. Since she'd been on the new hypoallergenic formula she'd been more enthusiastic about eating. Also, the cuddling and love she'd been getting from Sharon and everybody else were going a long way in improving her disposition and ability to thrive. That's not to say she didn't have a crying jag now and again, but they made it their mission to try to make her feel safe, warm, and comfortable. Cuddling her and loving her up at every opportunity. Finding a formula that agreed with her had been trickier, but had finally been accomplished and she was starting to gain weight and grow a bit more.

Ian looked like he had gotten his feelings hurt when the baby shoved his face away and Sharon had yelled at them. He also looked a little jealous of the baby in Gramma Sharon's arms. Once she looked up from the baby and saw the look on Ian's face, Sharon felt bad for yelling at them. She gestured for Ian to come back over to her. Ryan had already claimed a seat on Andy's lap. When Ian came over to her, Sharon spoke softly to him. "Ian, honey. Livvie is younger than Charlie and she's deaf. She can't hear you and the faces you were making at her were frightening to her. I'm sure you didn't mean to scare her did you?"

"No, I didn't want to scawah hah. I didn't know it would scawah hah. It doesn't scawah Chawley. She laughs, but how did Wivia get deaf?" Ian asked curiously, and Ryan listened closely too.

"Well, we're not sure yet. She may have been born that way or it happened because she was sick a lot right after she was born. She'll be evaluated by a doctor in a couple of days . Anyway, she's not used to being around other children. Also, right now she's more interested in having her bottle than watching you make faces at her. Give her some time and once she understands more that you are not threatening her when you make those faces, she'll be laughing and giggling at you just like Charlie does," Sharon said kindly. "I'm very sorry I raised my voice like that. I should have been more patient."

"That's okay, Gwamma Shawan we fowgift you," said Ian.

"Thank you." Sharon pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at his malapropism. She then smiled gently at the boys, to let them know she wasn't upset with them anymore. "Ian and Ryan, I hope you understand that just because we have Olivia and she sometimes needs special care, doesn't mean we love you less than before she came into our lives. We love you very much and we always will. Do you understand?"

Ian smiled back at her and nodded. "We love you too, but I'm glad you told me because I was wowwied that you loved her moah."

"That's not the way it works with parents and grandparents. Ian, we always have enough love to give each child, no matter how many children there are to love." Sharon tried to ease the young boy's mind.

"Weally? You'd still love us even if youah children gave you gwanchildwen?"

Sharon slid her eyes over to Emily who was sitting to her right. She had an '"oh no, don't look at me, I'm not ready for kids anytime soon' look on her face. "Of course, it doesn't matter whether you are related to me or not. I love you because you are you. You're both sweet and kind, funny and smart. You are important to me. You are also the first children to call me Grammah Sharon and made me feel like I really was your Grammah," she said and gave each of the boys a kiss on the cheek. She had looked up at Andy as he sat down beside her and pulled Ryan onto his lap. Then Ian joined his brother on his grandfather's lap too after Sharon kissed them both.

Nicole and Dean sat on the orange swivel chairs across from Andy, Sharon and the boys. Sharon's mother had sat down next to Emily on the far end of the loveseat to the right of the couch. Emily was sitting closer to Sharon and Andy nod the part of the love seat closest to the couch . Rusty, Ricky and Richard, Sharon's father were out picking up some groceries and some supplies at the local store. Before introductions were made, Sharon apologized to Dean and Nicole for raising her voice to the boys. "I'm so sorry, Nicole and Dean if I overstepped boundaries," Sharon said feeling a little sheepish.

"Oh you don't need to apologize Sharon. This is your house and they were acting up. You had every right to make them stop. We didn't see anything wrong with the way you did it. It got their attention, which was necessary at the time and you apologized to them for raising your voice and explained why they needed to be less wild. To be honest, we don't usually apologize unless we are actually wrong. You weren't wrong. They needed to settle down before they hurt the baby or you. Sometimes they get a bit wild with Charley and we handle it the same way you did," said Nicole.

"Thank you for your understanding," said Sharon humbly. "Now though I'd like to introduce you to my mother, Eileen O'Dwyer. Mama, this is Andy's daughter, Nicole and her husband, Dean, and you've met the boys."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I've heard a lot about you," said Eileen warmly.

Dean and Nicole stood up to greet Sharon's mother and daughter and they stood up as well. When they had finished shaking hands they all sat down. "Also, this is my daughter Emily. Boys, do you remember me telling you about my daughter the ballerina?" Both boys nodded excitedly, too excited and awestruck to speak. "Well, this is her and her name is Emily, she dances for the ABT in New York. Do you know what ABT stands for?"

Ryan said happily, "the American Ballet Theater?"

"That's right, Ryan. Very good. I've heard that you like the ballet," Emily said, smiling.

Ryan was so excited he nodded instead of answering verbally. Finally, he found his voice and said, "we've been in ballet classes since I was three and when Ian turned one they put him in a special class. He just started in the real ballet classes when he was four."

"Really? You know I was three when I started too. I think it's great that you dance. There aren't nearly as many men as there are women ballerinas. It's like a hundred girl ballerinas to every one boy ballet dancer. So, that makes you two very special," Emily said to the boys. Then she turned to Dean and Nicole. "What made you decide to enroll them? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

Dean cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. He had put Charlie in her carrier so she could sleep, so his and Nicole's hands were free. Before he began his answer, he looked at Nicole. She stood up and said, "Ryan and Ian let's go out on the patio, I have something to show you." Then she walked the boys outside through the French doors.

Once she and the boys were gone, out of earshot Dean began his explanation. "Um sorry, the boys know their mother died but not that she died giving birth to Ian. We don't want him to feel guilty when it wasn't his fault. So we're keeping the specifics of her death quiet until they're older. As far as why we enrolled the boys in ballet, the answer is kind of two-fold. Their mother was a ballet dancer, she... uh died of cancer giving birth to Ian at thirty-weeks gestation. He had a pretty rough start and by the time he was supposed to be walking, it was clear that he was going to need some kind of therapy to help with that... Elise's mother, Helena suggested sending both boys to ballet class at her studio. Ryan started in the regular ballet classes at three, with his grandma, Helena as the teacher and then we put Ian in special classes with Torrey when he was just fourteen-months-old. Actually, at that point, it was physical therapy. Torrey was a teacher at Helena's studio. She was also a student at the University. She had a dual major in college, dancing and physical therapy. She was wonderful with Ian, making it fun for him, but also taught him how to move gracefully and do the basic ballet positions. When he was two he was in his brother ballet class recital of the Nutcracker, the first one Andy took your mother to. He was actually used more as a prop and was carried around by the girl that played Clara, pretending he was her little brother. By the time he was four he was actually dancing with his brother in the second Nutcracker performance, the one they went to as a family with Rusty. So, that being said, the answer to your question is, they took up ballet to honor their biological mother's memory, in Ryan's case and in Ian's case to help with coordination and strengthen muscles. I'm sure you've noticed that Ian also has a speech impediment that he just started getting speech therapy for. There have been a lot of issues but Ian conquers them one by one."

Emily smiled and nodded. "That's an amazing story. I'm sorry about your loss of Elise, but Nicole seems to love them like her own."

"She does and they love her. She's the only mother they remember. She's great with them. I couldn't have picked a better step-mother for them and she's adopting them legally so she'll be their adoptive mom before long."

TBC...

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