There are several references and a small flashback taken from the short stories in the AiP series, Birthday Wishes & Valentine Kisses and Christmas to Last a Lifetime.
It's briefly mentioned what Jon did between college and getting hired at John Adams High. This is a nod to an unsold pilot Tony Quinn did with Michael Jacobs a few years before BMW called Black Sheep.
It was 7 a.m. on his third day of vacation and Eli was at work.
Not because he had to be but because it was more peaceful than being at home.
Young, inexperienced interns ran around the station trying to impress the higher ups either by being too good at their jobs or schmoozing or both. The one assigned to him and his substitute had potential to be very good at what she did if she could ever get past the anxiety that caused her to stumble over herself in words and actions.
Despite the upheaval the interns caused, the misfiled papers, frequently spilled coffee, and getting lost to and from the bathroom, Eli would still rather be at the studio redirecting them than be at home.
Katherine had taken over his place the night before to do his packing for the trip to Philadelphia for him. The moment she stepped in the door she announced that the place was in need of a major overhaul of organization which had to be done before they left.
What caused this response he couldn't say. It wasn't like she hadn't been to his place before.
With Katherine in a cleaning frenzy and staying the night, he camped out at her place, playing Titanfall with Dylan and eating pizza. It was a nice reprieve from having to be on call 24/7 for his girlfriend whose demand for attention had only increased since their mutual vacation began.
The attention demand was an interesting change, he had to admit. And a very curious one.
Before spring break began, the intensity of her interest in him came and went, and Eli now saw a direct correlation to the time she spent with Jon. The more she was with Jon, the less interested in him she was. With his best friend temporarily out of the picture, her focus on him was concentrated and he didn't care for it.
However, it helped him understand Dylan's frustration fully. The teen often complained about his mother's focus being constantly on him, to the point it was overwhelming. He admitted that part of the reason he liked Eli being around so much was because it lifted that weight off him.
And what a weight it was.
Eli pushed away from his desk and put a foot on top of it. He clasped his hands behind his head and wrinkled his nose.
Katherine expected every moment he had devoted to her. Even in tasks for which there was no logical reason for him to be around, she insisted that he was. At one point, she instructed him to wait for her outside of the bathroom.
In her house.
It was a request he not only ignored but one that caused him to go for a walk around the block and reconsider his life choices.
He wasn't without sympathy for Katherine. He knew she spent most of her life feeling overlooked and unwanted, which was why she sunk her nails into whoever would pay even a little bit of attention to her and would become extremely jealous of anything that took that attention away from her.
He wasn't without sympathy, but she seriously needed to work through this extreme reaction to normal relationship dynamics with someone who could help. That reaction was, in part, what killed her relationship with Jon all those years ago.
Audrey was the primary reason, of course.
But even then, she couldn't accept Jon wasn't the right person for her. No, she had to go and torch every bridge that connected them by turning Audrey into Mr. Feeny and Jon into the school board. He now understood that she truly thought that by getting rid of Audrey and having the board put a ban on Jon's interaction with her, she would get him back.
Of course, it had the opposite effect and drove Jon to marry Audrey much sooner than naturally would have happened.
Eli sighed.
What a mess she created, and he wasn't sure she fully understood exactly what she did to Jon and to Shawn.
Especially Shawn.
Although he wasn't very involved with Shawn's upbringing during that year, he was very present in the aftermath of Chet returning for him.
He knew all about the plans Jon had for Shawn and Audrey, long before the other two knew. He was the first one Jon showed the ring to that he'd bought for Audrey that December.
Eli thought he was out of his mind.
His best friend went from being unable to make any kind of commitment to Katherine in four months of dating to ready to recite marriage vows to Audrey in four months of her student teaching under him.
When Jon told him he wanted to adopt Shawn he knew he'd lost his mind.
It was an about-face that made his head swim.
And scared him since they tended to follow each other's paths closely and his stance on those subjects had not changed.
Eli mulled over that time in their lives and how Katherine's destructive tattling affected them all.
His relationship with Jon was altered significantly as his best friend withdrew from everyone except for Audrey when Shawn was taken from him.
Losing Shawn was a blow he never recovered from. Even now with Shawn back, he could still see Jon was struggling with everything that had happened. And while he was glad Shawn made it back home, he never should have left in the first place.
Meanwhile, Katherine went on her merry way as though nothing major had happened.
The intern interrupted his thoughts to bring him coffee that was promptly spilt on the glass desk just missing his laptop. He smiled tolerantly and sat back as his offer to help clean up seemed to rattle her more.
Once she was off again to wander the studio looking for a trash can, Eli's thought returned to Jon and Shawn. As he recalled that year with Audrey, something stood out to him that he hadn't noticed before.
Shawn was a thorn in Kat's side for merely existing in the same space she did. Jon's time and attention went to him more often than not and that was something she couldn't tolerate. The means to which she went to get rid of Shawn began subtly but when Jon wouldn't comply they became childish. She outright lied about the kid more than once and even attempted to present him as a liar to Jon.
It never got through to her that this wasn't getting her closer to Jon; it was driving a wedge between them.
Now that he thought about it, he was seeing that pattern again but with her own son.
And if it was happening to him, he wondered about what she might attempt to do with Julia because the only one closer to Jon than Audrey was Julia.
Eli leaned back in his chair again and frowned as he chewed on a pen cap.
Katherine wasn't lying about Dylan or anything like that. However, her jealousy often flared when he opted to spend time with the teen. Even a small amount sparked pouting that he didn't pay attention to her.
Which wasn't true.
Most of his attention was on her.
He was growing resentful over the way she treated him and that resent had grown in the last three days as her behavior was now impossible to ignore. Ordinarily, he would have walked out by now, but two things held him where he was:
Dylan and Jon.
Dylan needed an adult in his corner right now and Katherine's behavior regarding Jon had him both curious and concerned. The investigative reporter in him had to continue the ruse of happy boyfriend to see what story he could uncover.
He knew he was sitting on something big.
Pressing his fingertips together and tapping them against his bottom lip, Eli glanced up at the clock on the wall.
It was a quarter to eight and time to go. Audrey had arranged for him to meet the district custodian at 8:15 so he could get Jon's phone.
He stood and stretched, then grabbed his own phone off the desk before putting his jacket on. He was halfway through the door when his phone went off.
It was Katherine.
"Yeah, babe, what's up?" he greeted her in a cool, docile tone.
"Eli, where are you?" Her voice was fraught with anxiety.
"At work."
"What are you doing?"
He rolled his eyes. "Walking out of my office."
"Where are you going?"
Eli paused and glanced at the digital clock that was mounted next to the "On the Air" sign over studio B.
"I have something I need to get done before I come home."
"Like what?"
"Reporter things."
"That's not an answer." Her tone clipped and angry and very close to scolding. "Eli, where are you really?"
Suppressing a curse, Eli held his phone out so she could hear the sounds of the station and one of the directors barking about how no one ever listened to him.
"Is that an answer?" he asked gruffly.
"I'm sorry," she replied. Her voice was dripping with sweetness. "I miss you is all."
"Uh-huh."
She abruptly shifted from contrite to issuing commands. "Anyway, before you get home, I need you to stop by Super Foodtown and pick up some things for me."
That was quite a bit out of the way from both the station and the District Office.
He rolled his eyes as her list grew impossibly long. "I'm not gonna remember all that, Kat. Just text me."
"Eli?"
There was that tone again: anxious and suspicious.
"I thought you were on vacation. Why are you still at the station?"
Eli squinted at the front doors and watched the cars pass by.
"I have a few things left to do."
"You've said that. But you haven't said what."
"No, I haven't," he said shortly. "Kat, I need to get going if you still want me back by 9."
"I do, that's why I need to know where you're going and why."
"Uptown. I promised a colleague I'd take care of a few things for them before I left." As he said colleague, Audrey came to mind.
Close enough, he mentally shrugged.
It wasn't a total lie.
"Who is this colle-."
"Sorry, baby, I gotta go."
He terminated the call and silenced the phone so he wouldn't hear Kat's nonstop calls and texts as he headed out in the crisp spring air.
"Wait," Julia said holding her hands up, palms out. She was standing in the living room leaning over the back of the couch with her arms around Shawn. "You mean go back to the apartment you lived in with Mom and Daddy as a kid?"
"Well, Mom didn't actually live there," Shawn replied. "But yeah. I'd love to take you back to Mom's place too, but it's a wreck and I don't think the owners would like it. We'll drive by it though. I'm kinda surprised you haven't done that already."
She shook her head, sending a cascade of curls over his face. "Nah, some places they don't like to go back to."
"Why?"
"They missed you too much," she shrugged. "Those places reminded them of you."
He smiled morosely. "Well, I can't wait for you to see the place, sis. It'll give you a feel for who Dad was back then."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Awesome." She popped a kiss on his cheek. "Hey, Shawn, do you think we could spend the night sometime? You know, like in the stories you told me?"
Shawn thought about this request for a moment then said. "Man, I'd love that. Probably not now though because of Dad and I don't think Mom could sleep on the couch at all. But after the baby's born, definitely."
Julia grinned. She was excited to see the place she'd heard so much about. "You know that there's a box in the attic back home that has a bunch of Dad's stuff from Philly in it."
Shawn recalled seeing the box when he went up to get the chest of Richie's letters. He was curious about what Jon had kept and wished he'd had time to look in it before they left.
"That's cool. You been through it?"
She shook her head. "I'm only allowed to go through the attic stuff with Mom or Dad. It's been a while since either one of them felt like doing that. I can't remember what all's in it."
Just as Julia was about to say more, Maya stuck her head in the doorway from the kitchen. "Mrs. Matthews," she paused then clarified, "Riley's mom, said you guys aren't going to the zoo with us."
"No, not today, Maya," Shawn told her. "I'm takin' my parents and Julia to Dad's old place."
Maya perked up at this and opened the door fully. "Can I go?"
He shook his head apologetically. "Not this time." At the dejected look on her face, he continued, "But I do want you to go over there soon."
A skeptical frown crossed her face. "Really?"
"Yeah." He waved her over to them. When she sat down, he gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "I want you to see the place. It's an important piece of my family's history. One of the few I've been able to hold onto."
"Okay," she gave him an uncertain half-smile. She glanced at Julia then bounced up. "Have fun."
Shawn watched her scurry toward the basement looking like a puppy that had just been kicked. He sighed. He wasn't sure how to explain why he didn't want her to go while at the same time assuring her that it had nothing to do with her.
"Maya," he called. "C'mere."
She turned and came back up the stairs. Hesitantly, she approached him. When she got close enough, he put his arm around her. "I've got some stuff to sort out with my parents and Jules is going because she's part of it. My younger siblings aren't going now either. I'll take you before them."
Maya clearly didn't accept this explanation and saw it as a personal rejection. "I don't get how Julia is any more involved than me. We're almost the same age," she muttered.
Shawn looked at Julia with deep affection then looked back at Maya. "When I was a kid I asked Dad for an engagement ring, a marriage, and a sister. They found out they were havin' Julia before they moved to the City, and they weren't there very long before they came back. She was born here."
"Really?" She gave the other girl an inquisitive look. "I didn't know that."
"Yep," Julia confirmed. "At Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Same hospital Daddy recovered from his accident at."
"Yeah," Shawn continued. "She's further proof that Mom and Dad always kept their promises. Dad bought a ring like I wanted, married Mom, and I got a sister in 1999," Shawn said softly. Nostalgia swept over him for the by-gone decade.
"Right at the end the 90s," he said with deep warmth.
"What's the big deal about that?" Maya asked.
He smiled ruefully, knowing there was no way she or even Julia could understand his sentiment. "Last great decade be a kid."
"Why?" Maya asked with a frown.
"I'll tell you about it some time, promise." He ruffled her hair fondly and grinned as she pretended to be annoyed but was unable to hide her smile. "Just remind me."
"Okay," Maya said giving him a hug. "Guess I'll go see what Riley's doing."
Shortly after she left Jon came bounding up the stairs with more energy than Shawn had seen since he'd returned home. Audrey was on his heels, nervous that he was so excited but trying not to nag him to calm down.
"Are we ready?" he asked, grabbing his jacket from the coat closet near the front door.
"We are," Shawn said. Julia let go of him as he stood up. "You okay, Mama?"
Audrey gave him a tired smile. "Yeah, honey, I am."
With everyone in jackets and everything they needed for the day, they said goodbye to the family, which took a solid ten minutes. Once out of the house, Shawn took the driver's seat of the Yukon and instructed Julia to take the passenger seat. He wanted Jon and Audrey together in the back for Audrey's peace of mind.
Before he started the engine Audrey got his attention and laid out some ground rules that were non-negotiable. "If I think this is getting too much for your dad at any time, we will stop and come back later." Looking at Jon she said, "Under no circumstances do we overdo this visit to the past."
Annoyed with the restrictions, Jon grunted his agreement.
Shawn reached through the space between the seats and grabbed her hand. "Just say the word, Mama, and we'll stop."
"Okay," she said squeezing his hand. "Let's go."
Shawn started the vehicle and pulled out of the driveway with a very specific route to take in mind.
The brownstone home on West 10th Street stretched high into the cloudless sky. Built from dark sandstone quarried from New Jersey in the early 1900s the home was a part of the most recognizable American architecture. This home in particular always reminded Eli of the one featured on Sesame Street with a door of chestnut brown rather than primary green.
He let himself in and disabled the alarm.
Or he tried to.
The alarm loudly announced its warning that it had been armed.
Eli frowned and stared at the security panel.
It should have already been armed.
He must have hit something wrong. After all it had been quite a while since he'd been over on his own.
On the second attempt he successfully disabled it.
A feeling of apprehension overtook him, and he shivered. Eli glanced around the foyer then double-checked that the front door was locked behind him.
From the foyer he headed to the living room. He wasn't used to the place being so quiet and still. Even when he used to come over in the middle of the night, life could be felt in the home.
There was no life now. Just an empty chill.
And an unsettling feeling that something wasn't right.
Eli walked through the living room inspecting everything closely. On a bookcase near the fireplace mantel, he saw a metal Harley Davidson plaque that once hung in Jon's old apartment in Philadelphia. He smiled at the memories it brought back.
As he passed by the leather couch, the pillows and blanket on it caught his eye. The pillows were laying haphazardly near the center of the furniture. The blanket was pulled down towards the seat cushions. His gaze was drawn to the coffee table where The Enthusiast and Pointe magazines were knocked askew.
This was unusual.
Audrey always straightened things up prior to leaving for an extended time.
He put his hands on his hips as he studied the room closely.
The circumstances they left under were unusual, he reminded himself. He wasn't sure Audrey was even the last person out of the house.
Growing apprehension accompanied him as he made his way past the kitchen and progressed slowly through the lower levels of the house, not because he didn't know where he was going but because he did, and he wanted to make sure everything was in place.
Eli recalled the first time he went over to the brownstone. After one year of teaching, he was ready to head back to broadcasting. He left with an invitation from Jon to stay with "them" if he came to New York. In the summer of 1995, he received interviews with multiple stations in the City and took Jon up on his offer. For whatever reason he heard "him" instead of "them" assumed it would be the two of them in the City just like old times.
It was not like old times.
Jon done the unthinkable.
He had gotten married.
Although Jon failed to notify him beforehand, he was, apparently, the first person after Audrey's father to know about the marriage.
He tried to be happy for them; he knew losing her and Shawn had been incredibly hard on Jon. He had withdrawn from everyone and everything until he was in a position to go after her and take Shawn with him.
Things didn't work out then and it was him and Jon again like old times.
Except Jon had never been depressed in the old times.
Then when Eli went over to the apartment one day in July to hang out, Jon was gone. He had no idea where he was and did not hear from him for weeks. Then out of the blue, Jon called with the invitation to stay with "them".
From there, distance and change of lifestyle for his best friend kept them separated once school and his new job at WLNY-TV in Riverhead, New York began. Feeling left behind, he threw himself into work and Jon didn't seem to notice.
Then the accident happened.
Eli paused his thoughts as he stood in the kitchen and inspected it carefully.
This was Audrey's domain. The one area she preferred no help in and that she kept in meticulous order and cleanliness no matter the state of the rest of the house. Occasionally, she allowed Jon or Julia in to help, or she would teach the little ones basic cooking skills. Otherwise, "everyone out!" was frequently heard while she was at work.
The kitchen was not meticulously in order.
Grease marks encompassed the right front and back burners. Rings from either coffee or tea mugs stained the counter. Crumbs of some sort littered the countertop from the stove to the sink.
He could not believe Shawn would leave the kitchen in such a state knowing how important it was to Audrey. Nor did he believe the older girls would do this.
But someone did.
As he scanned the food prep station in the middle of the kitchen he kept looking back over his shoulder. For some inexplicable reason his attention was drawn to the sink.
To satisfy his curiosity, he went to the sink and looked it over. The bottom of the basin glistened in the light that reached into the kitchen from the windows across the hall. Eli ran a finger over the drain.
It was wet.
It shouldn't have been.
He checked for a leak in the faucet and found none.
The frown deepened into a suspicious scowl as he moved away from the sink and past the refrigerator. Among the kids' school papers and artwork was a picture in a magnetic frame of Jon and Shawn on the Harley. Shawn had Jon's helmet pulled down over his eyes for some strange reason.
He chuckled. Those two were quite the pair back in the day. Even before Audrey came along.
His expression darkened as he realized this was taken shortly before the accident. Once, just once, before he lost Shawn completely, the teen showed up on Jon's doorstep wanting to hang out. Jon took him on a short road trip to New Jersey. He came back hopeful that his relationship with the teen was on the mend. Then Shawn suddenly withdrew and shoved away all of Jon's attempts to reach him. A couple of weeks later, Audrey's father died and then the accident happened.
The old saying "when it rains it pours" did not adequately cover this situation. When life unleashed on Jon it flooded his world with angry torrential downpours that lasted for over a year.
He took a leave of absence from the station in order to help Audrey until her aunt and uncle could make it to the States. It was during that three-month period of taking care of Jon that their bond was forged.
He didn't resent her after that, rather he considered her to be his sister. There was no one else who could have done for Jon what Audrey did for him.
And for that he was grateful.
Eli moved on from the kitchen and headed upstairs to Jon's office.
The office was usually locked to prevent the younger kids from getting in and messing with important books and papers. Audrey told him it would not be locked if no one was home.
He opened the door and let the light chase out the darkness that filled the room.
This was not a room he was familiar with since it became Jon's office and from what he knew no one else was either. Audrey was the only one allowed in.
It was depressing compared to the other rooms of the house.
He looked for sources of lighting and didn't see enough to make much of a dent in the shadows that loomed inside. Heavy, burgundy curtains and chestnut brown blinds covered the windows. The wood paneled walls and hunter green wallpaper didn't fit his best friend's personality in the slightest. Nor did the elaborate executive desk of rich mahogany that was decorated with five hand carved lion heads, one in the center of the desk and one on each leg.
Eli stared at the barred teeth of the central lion head and made a face.
Nothing in these furnishings said "Jon" to him.
Years ago, Audrey, in a rare loss of control, blurted out how much she hated the office because it was where Jon tormented himself over all the mistakes, he believed he had made with Shawn and with her.
Part of punishing himself must have been to make this room as miserable as possible.
It was too heavy, too rich, too…
Blake Turner.
Eli curled his lip in disgust.
Turning his attention to the floor-to-ceiling bookcases, he swore as he saw all the books Audrey had mentioned.
How many books on child rearing and prodigal children does a man need? He wondered as he shook his head.
He knew Shawn's refusal to see him hurt Jon deeply, but until this moment, standing in this room, and seeing what Audrey hated so much, he hadn't realized how deep that hurt and guilt ran.
Feeling overwhelmed, Eli took a seat at the desk and stared at the room. Looking over it from floor to ceiling he was reminded that it wasn't always like this.
When Jon and Audrey moved from Philadelphia to the City, he helped them move and set the house up. The room was brighter and cheerier then. Soon after, he moved out to LA and met Trina. When Jon and Audrey brought Julia home from Philadelphia, he and Trina stayed in this room for several weeks to help the new parents out.
From then on, they were in and out of each other's lives but talked almost daily. He returned for Grayson's birth and stayed in the room once more. When he returned for Julia's eighth birthday with family in tow, Audrey warned him to stay away. No longer a guest room, it was Jon's office and not a place anyone wanted to spend time with him.
The change occurred when he became a principal.
Eli mulled all this over for a while, then sat up and opened the center drawer of the desk, pulling it out as far as he could. In the back corner was a small green box where the extra key to Jon's office at the DO was kept.
Audrey's doing, he realized. Jon would have thrown it in the back and not been able to find it when he needed it.
After slipping it on his keyring and shutting the drawer he stood, glanced around one last time, and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, he happened to look over his shoulder and see the blinds behind the curtains askew in a peculiar way. They were pushed apart just slightly at the right height for an adult to look through.
Eli shivered.
He couldn't shake the compulsion to check the rest of the house to make sure it was secure. Once he was back in the foyer, he made absolutely sure the alarm was set properly before leaving and double checked to make sure the door was locked behind him.
Standing at the edge of the stoop, he sighed.
Something wasn't right.
That he didn't know what it was bothered him greatly.
Julia was fascinated with the route Shawn had chosen to take. From the Matthews' house they drove past his elementary school and John Adams High. Shawn took a detour from the direct route to Roosevelt Boulevard so they could go past the public pool and park that he and Cory spent their childhoods at.
Julia had seen blurred versions of these places on the family's annual trip back to Philadelphia as they drove past without ever stopping. Her father had an aversion to these places as there were too many painful memories tied to losing Shawn. They were not places he wanted to revisit in any way. He would only speak of them if he was telling a story about her mother or Shawn.
She had never been to Chubbie's.
"Really?" Shawn was surprised to learn this. He assumed Cory and his family would have smuggled her off for a visit. "We have got to change that, Sis."
The moment the words left his mouth he remembered that Chubbie sold his place while he was still in high school, and Peg Leg Pete changed it into a pirate-themed restaurant. For all the times Cory mentioned it, this was the first time it registered in his mind that Chubbie's, along with so many other places, was gone.
This raised the level of concern Shawn had for his friend's mental health.
"Dad?" He glanced in the review mirror and made eye contact with Jon. "Cory keeps sayin' he wants to go to Chubbie's. Is there a new one? The old one was sold."
At this Julia gave a heavy sigh. It seemed like all the places she wanted to see from the past were gone or changed so much they might as well be gone.
"No," Jon replied. "The pirate place lost its charm pretty quick, and Chubbie's kids bought it back. They've been runnin' it ever since."
"Really?" Shawn was relieved to hear this, but surprised that Chubbie's kids cared enough to take the place back especially since he didn't know Chubbie had kids.
"Cool," he said as he made a right turn. "I wonder how much it's changed?"
"I dunno," Jon shrugged sounding uninterested. "Last time I was there the original Chubbie still owned it."
Julia leaned over the center console. "Shawn, will you really take me to all the places you hung out at when you were a kid?"
"Absolutely." He took his eyes off the road long enough to flash her a smile. "Just you and me."
Audrey saw the look of delight that crossed Jon's face as their oldest children made plans together. She reached over, took his hand, and gave it a squeeze.
He'd been waiting a long time for Shawn to have the relationship with his sister that he wanted so much as a kid.
After the city tour, Shawn turned onto the Boulevard and headed toward the apartment.
Jon was surprised to see very little had changed in the neighborhood. It just looked older and more tired. But he easily recognized all the hallmarks that were there in the 90s. Even the parking lot looked the same, complete with parking vigilantes trying to claim spots with creative, official-looking barriers.
"You lived here, Daddy?" Julia asked in mystified awe. She had always envisioned the area the apartment was in to be like the Matthews' neighborhood just with apartment complexes instead of single-family homes. She couldn't picture her father living anywhere but the swanky Village neighborhood she was growing up in. Of course, Julia also couldn't envision the Village being the bohemian haven that her parents told her it once was either.
Shawn pulled into an empty parking space not barricaded off and led the way to the apartment.
Julia skipped ahead of her parents and took Shawn's hand as she asked a million questions about the place. Audrey took Jon's hand and watched him silently take in their surroundings. He seemed baffled by how little had changed.
The elevator, Shawn said, was the only truly new thing in the building and it was replaced ten years ago.
"That was long overdue," Jon remarked. "The old one was conveniently out of order every time you really needed it."
Shawn nodded his agreement as they stepped inside the elevator. "Yeah, this one only breaks down once a month instead of once a day."
Jon chuckled.
Julia, who wasn't too sure the "new" elevator was all that trustworthy, held on tightly to Shawn as it lurched suddenly to it began its ascent to the fifth floor. It lurched again when it arrived at its destination and Julia decided she would take the stairs when they left.
Shawn strode down the hall at a determined pace, reaching the apartment well ahead of the rest of them. He unlocked the door and disappeared inside. Julia took off after her brother, leaving Jon and Audrey to wonder what had gotten into the two.
Shortly after Julia arrived inside the apartment, her voice, filled with amazement, drifted out into the hall. "Oh wow! Everything looks so…old!"
This remark made Jon very curious, and he quickened his pace, practically pulling Audrey down the hall with him.
Once they reached the door, he checked up suddenly as the brass number 8 caught his attention. Audrey ran into the back of him.
"What's wrong?"
Jon traced the number with his finger. Old and worn yet it looked as though it was regularly polished.
"Nothing, babe," he replied putting his arm around her.
That's so strange, he thought. Who cares that much about a door number?
But it was not nearly as strange as what he walked into.
The moment Jon stepped into the apartment, he experienced the most surreal moment of his life.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he was thrown twenty years back in time.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The apartment was exactly the way it was in 1995.
Exactly.
For several moments he felt very disoriented and slightly dizzy. A torrent of memories rushed over him.
Are time warps real? He wondered, overwhelmed by what he was experiencing.
No answer came to him as his eyes were drawn to the books that sat on the landing by the staircase above the refrigerator.
He remembered the first time he went up those stairs expecting another room only to find a small attic-like space that was only good for storage. Shawn used to eavesdrop on him and Audrey from there and frequently gave himself away by knocking a book or two onto the floor.
His eyes swept over the exposed brick walls that had been painted white and faded to a grayish off-white. He tried to just take in the apartment and not think of anything but once the memories started, they refused to stop.
Everywhere he looked felt like he was reliving specific moments from his past. The very spot he was standing in now was where he stood when he walked into the place for the very first time. He felt the same shock he experienced back then when he discovered the apartment was not even close to what was advertised in the newspaper classifieds.
He took the place because it was all that he could afford at the time with money he'd saved from working at an auto repair shop in New Jersey while he finished his teaching degree. It was the first place he had to himself after boarding school, living with Richie, and couching surfing for several months until he moved to Philadelphia.
At the time, the apartment was as cold and lonely as he was. It took a long time for him to make it into a place he wanted to be. Yet even when he had decorated it to his taste, it wasn't home.
New York was home.
Philadelphia was an escape from his parents and his past.
It wasn't until Eli started coming down on weekends and they hit the bars together that he began to feel more settled. That feeling increased as he became more familiar with the city.
His gaze drifted below the landing near the refrigerator where more books, a collection of trophies, and office items sat on a shelf. He could no longer remember what those trophies were originally for, either hockey or handball, possibly tennis. They were packed away in the attic, and he hadn't looked at them in ages, but the ones in front of him looked identical from a distance.
Under that shelf was the pine wood desk coming out from the wall with two wide drawers supporting its other end. It was covered with papers and an old IMB desktop computer.
The computer looked like the one he bought when Shawn moved in with him. The one he bought because he figured they could both use it for school.
School…
He was suddenly watching himself franticly searching through the papers on the desk for his teaching portfolio on the morning of his job interview at John Adams High. There was no computer then, just piles of books and papers. He couldn't figure out what happened to his work. He knew he had put it right there on the table. He needed to leave early since he wasn't sure where the school was, and he had already fallen behind schedule. He was in such a panic that he missed seeing what was right in front of him- his portfolio sitting by his motorcycle helmet on the kitchen table.
He was late for that interview and Mr. Feeny was, of course, the one interviewing him. It put him on the wrong foot with the soon-to-be principal and he found himself at the top of Feeny's must-watch list after being offered the job by the principal and jumping through school board hoops for his contract.
Jon managed to free himself from the memory and move far enough into the room that he could lean against the desk.
The dreamlike fog that encompassed him grew as he turned his attention to the back wall. Against that wall was the dresser with the mops and brooms in the corner next to it. An old lamp with a round glass base sat at the end next to another pile of books. Somehow the old CD/cassette tape stereo that he once set in the window to play Rod Stewart and the Miracles while he and Audrey had a Valentine's "date" on the rooftop survived.
And next to that was a fish tank.
Jon frowned and walked over to it. He examined it closely then turned around quickly to Shawn pointing at it with his mouth slightly open.
"This isn't-?"
Shawn nodded with a small smile. "It is. It was still here when I moved back."
Jon looked at the tank in stunned silence and took a step back. He didn't know what to make of this.
Wire still screened in the windows behind the tank and the faded valance was perhaps a little less dusty than before but still the same. A largemouth bass still hung awkwardly on the wall over the tank. The ridiculously tall CD towers were still at the end of the dresser near the window. He ran his finger over the spines and inhaled sharply. The CDs were all a mix of his and Shawn's; they had collected new CDs over the summer for Shawn since his were in the trailer Virna ran off with. As far as he could tell all the albums were the ones they had then. He saw nothing more recent than 1995.
Then he looked up and saw the white metal Harley sign on the wall by the window near the stairs. It was the same one that was hanging in his home in New York.
Memories of those happy times overwhelmed him: Shawn's schemes to get him and Audrey together, sneaking her over so they could have that mundane family life that he now took for granted but was so new and exciting for them both at the time.
He turned around and saw for the first time the old green couch they spent so much time on as a family. Sitting in each corner was a pillow; one multicolored with black and white stripes and one green with gold lattice. On the back was a throw identical to the one he used to have.
Jon didn't understand where Shawn found these items. They had been thrift store finds when he moved in because he had no money and couldn't be picky about coordinating pieces. The pillows and throws were packed away in a box in the attic with trophies and other mementos of his time in Philadelphia.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the pine side table and blue shaded lamp with the dark wood base and a red 60's pickup truck sitting next to it. He looked down and saw the same rug with a white and navy triangle pattern under the couch.
More memories hit him. This time they were not so pleasant.
It was on that couch where Audrey told him about her eating disorder.
It was on that couch where he and Shawn brainstormed how to help Audrey while keeping her with them.
It was on that couch where Katherine waited to catch them coming home together.
It was on that couch where he lived after losing them both.
A wave of dizziness swept over him, and he forced himself away from the memories. If Audrey knew what the couch was triggering, she'd make him leave.
And he didn't want to.
Jon walked over to the couch and put his hand on the back. He saw the coffee table with magazine issues backdated 1995 and earlier of Tempo, Enthusiast, and Aviation. Then there was an old TV on an old TV stand.
He looked over his shoulder at the antique wood heater by the door and the coat hooks nearby with fireplace tools next to them.
He couldn't see any detail that wasn't accurate as far as he could remember.
Jon heard a noise that sounded like clinking dishes behind him. His attention turned to the kitchen, another place they'd spent so much time in, especially Audrey.
His breath caught on an inhale as he saw his wife standing by the sink and running her hand over the countertops in reverie. On her very first night over, she cooked for him and Shawn, an act of love she did regularly. That act and her telling Shawn she was so glad to see him that first night was the moment he started to fall in love with her, although it would be months before he could admit it.
The last time he saw her in that kitchen, she was pregnant with Julia.
He forced his gaze from her to her surroundings: from the mug rack and ironing board at the end of the dusty blue cabinets to the giant first aid kit at the other end by the side of the refrigerator- that kitchen had not changed. Even the appliances looked the same.
He was utterly overcome. For as much time as he had put into keeping Shawn's room a time capsule, Shawn had put as much into keeping the apartment one too.
He barely made it around to the front of the couch before he collapsed into it.
Audrey saw this and left her own journey to the past to be at his side.
"How," Jon stammered looking up at his son as Audrey took a seat next to him. "How did you…? Where did you…? How?"
Shawn sat on the arm of the couch so Julia could sit next to their father.
"Apparently, not long after you and Mom moved out, the buildin' was slated for demolition. The landlord got into financial trouble and was caught usin' city financin' to fund some other business ventures," he explained.
"Before it was torn down a management company bought it and let it sit for years. When I came back to Philadelphia several years after leavin' Cory, they were just reopenin' it and refurbishin' apartments as they went. I was one of the first tenants so they gave me my choice of where to live and said they would upgrade my place immediately. I chose number 8 and asked them not to touch it."
"But how did you find the stuff to put in it? Most of this is packed away in the attic in the City." Flabbergasted, Jon looked around the room again. "At least I think it is."
"You weren't the only one who's spent a lot of time in thrift stores." Shawn regarded his father fondly. "I also spent a lot of time on eBay."
Jon smiled his approval. "It's perfect. At least as far as I remember. I still can't believe you did this. You got pictures of the place or somethin'?"
Shawn ran his thumb over the fabric of the couch arm. "I was able to memorize what a hotel room I'd never seen before looked like, so it wasn't very hard to recall the details of home, you know?"
Jon nodded and bowed his head, overcome with emotion. All these years he believed Shawn had scrubbed his existence from his life save for the calls Cory forced him to take.
Audrey scooted close to him and rubbed his lower back as she rested her chin against his shoulder.
Shawn was surprised by Jon's reaction, until he remembered his own to the room Jon had made for him.
After a long while Jon looked up at him with tears in his eyes and his voice thick with emotion. "Why? Why keep it like this?"
"I spent the happiest days of my childhood here. This is the place I felt the safest, the most loved," Shawn said quietly. "I never stopped feelin' that way about this place. For all the bad that happened to me, for all the dark places I ended up, it was the memories I made here with you and Mom that got me through those times. Sometimes they were the only thing that got me through. "
Jon was speechless. He pressed his thumbs into the inner corner of his eyes near the bridge of his nose. Audrey got as close as she could and whispered something in his ear. He responded by nodding and putting a hand over hers.
After a moment, he sat back and looked around again. "Man, this is messin' with my head. I feel like I've gone back in time!"
Shawn smiled, taking that as a compliment.
Audrey caught his eye and gave him a knowing look. "Told you you're just like him."
When Jon looked at her, she grinned and pressed her lips into his shoulder. "Like father, like son," she murmured happily.
Jon gave a short, pleased laugh. Tapping his fingertips together, he looked up at Shawn. "So what else you got?"
Shawn ducked his head to hide a smirk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his key ring.
At Jon's quizzical look, Shawn picked out one key and held it out to him. Jon took the key. His mouth fell open when he saw the old GM logo on it.
He stared at Shawn.
"No."
"Yes."
"You don't."
"I do."
"Impossible."
"It's out in the parkin' garage if you wanna see it," Shawn grinned.
Stunned, Jon sat back against the couch. "You have the old Chevy too? How?"
Shawn grinned, proud of himself. "I got the VIN number the first time I rode in it. You know, in case it ever got stolen and parts ended up in Uncle Mike's shop. I wanted to make sure I could get them back for you." At the look on Jon's face, he laughed. "Found it on eBay about ten years ago."
"Are you kiddin' me?" Jon turned the familiar key over in his hand. "Unbelievable, kid. Does it run?"
"As well as your Harley."
"Get out."
"Uncle Mike, taught me a lot about dishonest practices in the automotive industry and how to make sure customers came back often and that was about it," he said with a laugh." But I remember everything you taught me about maintainin' a vehicle properly. I have never poured oil down a dipstick tube since."
A smile tugged at the corner of Jon's mouth as he inspected the key. "We had some good times before your mom showed up, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we did."
He looked at Audrey. "But better times with her."
Jon took her hand and interlocked his fingers with hers.
Audrey had been watching Shawn when she wasn't watching her husband. Now she held his gaze with that steady, peaceful expression he always associated with her.
"How do you feel about being back here now, Shawn?"
He pressed his lips together as he thought about her question. His gaze wandered around the room and over the people in it.
"Good." He paused, struggling to put the feelings that were washing over him into words. "Peace, maybe? It's surreal. I'd given up ever having you two here again." He turned his attention to Julia. "And now you're here and so is the baby sister I ask for."
He shook his head in awe as what he said sank in. "I feel like I'm in a dream."
Big E, the district custodian, was waiting for him when he got to the DO's front doors. Eli exchanged pleasantries and followed the man down the long hallway to Jon's office.
He had been down to see Jon occasionally during his first year as superintendent but hadn't been back since Katherine started working for him.
He remembered getting a call from Jon the day he found out she'd been hired without his consent. Someone being hired without his knowledge upset him more than who was hired.
Eli frowned. Four administrators, one teacher, and a secretary were all hired without Jon's knowledge and without any way to terminate employment.
His mind moved the information around looking for pieces that fit together.
I wonder, he mused, who hired Kat?
Shifting his attention, Eli stood in the middle of the outer office taking in every detail. Slowly he turned around and came face to face with the framed Peter Max poster.
Disdain crossed his face. Although he was quite familiar with the psychedelic art that illustrated his childhood there was something strange about this version of the library artwork. But no matter how long he studied the art he couldn't figure out why it bothered him.
His gaze swept over Katherine's desk as he went to Jon's office. He put the key in the lock then looked over his shoulder at her space. He frowned. That feeling of apprehension that followed him at Jon's house was here, too.
He shivered and opened the door.
The inner office was dark.
Eli fumbled to find the overhead lights. When the room illuminated, he sighed in relief. This office looked like Jon with a sleek, simple desk and a brighter, more laidback atmosphere.
This should have been comforting but only did the apprehension not dissipate, it increased.
Just like at the house, Eli inspected everything. The trophy case with a portion of Jon's sports memorabilia was the way he remembered it- all the pucks, jersey, and pictures were neatly in places where they could best be viewed.
Everything was in its place as far as he could see.
He turned his attention to the desk and began searching for the phone.
The PC sat on top of a monitor stand with photos of the kids all around. He reached under the stand feeling around for the phone as he wasn't sure where Jon had left it. He continued looking around the computer mentally cataloging everything he saw.
It struck him as very strange, there were no pictures of Jon with Audrey or any of Shawn.
And there was no phone.
He continued to search the area around and under the desk, and in odd corners, just in case it had fallen and slid somewhere when Jon passed out.
There was no phone.
He was about to give up when a glint of reflected light coming from the trash can caught his eye.
Eli picked the basket up and set it on the desk. When he moved it, something inside made a clinking sound like that of metal on metal.
He reached in and his hand closed on something solid, smooth, and cool. What he pulled out was a framed picture of Jon and Audrey shortly after they were married.
He stared at the picture for a moment. As he wondered why it would be in the trash, his girlfriend came to mind. He pushed the thought to the side and reached into the basket again.
He could guess what else was inside.
And he was right.
It was a picture of Shawn and Audrey.
He sucked in a breath and put the trash can back in its place. Cleaning the frames off with the hem of his shirt, he replaced them where he thought they went. Then he returned to his search for several more minutes but could not find the phone.
Unease now gripped his shoulders and held on tightly.
Jon not having his phone was understandable. Audrey not having it was unusual. That it wasn't at the office when Audrey was positive Jon had it with him was suspicious.
So where was it?
Shawn had been too upset when Jon collapsed to think about getting the phone. It wasn't something the paramedics would have been bothered with unless it had been on him. If they had picked it up, it would have shown up in his personal belongings at the hospital.
Eli sighed, took one last look around, straightened the photos by Jon's computer, and left the inner office.
He locked the door and as he slipped the key back into his pocket Katherine's desk caught his attention.
Walking behind the desk he slid the chair out and sat down. Eli tapped the wood grain pattern on the top of the desk with his fingers as his eyes swept over every detail, cataloguing it for potential future use.
The center drawer stood out to him. He lifted his hand to the handle of the drawer and paused.
The phone wasn't in the desk, of that, he was sure. Katherine would have had to go back to the office after Jon's collapse to get it and, unless she was lying about knowing about the hospitalization, there was no way for her to know the phone was left behind.
He was positive she did not know about Jon before he told her.
Still, he was compelled to open the desk drawer.
There was no phone.
But there was a curious black remote.
Eli picked it up and regarded it closely.
There was a TV mounted in the corner of the office, but it was not a tv remote.
Maybe it went to a SmartBoard often used in meetings, but he saw no company name or any identifying marks on it.
He turned it over in his hands several times before accidentally pressing one of the buttons. A flash of color caught his eye, and he looked up sharply.
Directly in front of him was the Peter Max poster slowly cycling through its various color schemes and line changes with each press of a button.
What, he thought as he slowly stood up and walked over to the picture, is the purpose of this?
Shawn stepped back into the living room after showing Julia his room (he still slept in the one he had as a teen) and their father's old room.
What greeted him made the surreal state he was in more intense: Audrey was fixing lunch while Jon, who had been banned from the kitchen, was watching hockey news on TV.
Julia caught the look of awe on his face and grabbed his hand. "This was a regular thing for you when you were my age, right?"
He nodded without taking his eyes off their parents.
Julia followed his gaze and watched them for a moment then said, "I'm so jealous."
"Jealous?" Shawn was confused by the statement. "Why?"
"Because," she said with a pout. "You had them all to yourself for a whole year. I was five when Grayson was born, and I can't really remember what it was like before him. But you do and you were old enough to really do things with them. Fun stuff. Lucky."
Shawn let up out a nasally "humph".
It never occurred to him that he was lucky. He just thought he was finally like everyone else. He recounted all the things he and his parents did, the places they snuck off to together far away from prying eyes and gossiping lips. It was an incredible experience to have them all to himself even if it wasn't for very long. It was something his younger siblings would never experience.
The revelation surprised him.
His whole life had been a series of unfortunate events it seemed that no one would envy, yet...
He was lucky.
"Shawn," Julia asked, giving his hand a squeeze. "Are you gonna keep the apartment?"
This question got Jon's attention and he muted the television in order to hear the answer.
Shawn looked at his family members in turn before answering. "I think so. I thought maybe once we were all here together, I could let it go, but now I wanna keep it even more."
"I can't imagine the buildin' lastin' much longer," Jon remarked. He glanced up at the ceiling. "As old as it is."
"That's the thing," Shawn said. "The buildin' itself is structurally sound. In good condition even. It's just the interior that needs work. Most people don't want a place that hasn't been updated since the 90s."
"Way before the 90s. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been updated since at least '71 'cause it looks the same as it did when I moved in." Jon corrected him. "How do you know so much about this place?"
"I might have looked into buyin' the buildin'." Shawn shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Then realized I know nothin' about bein' a landlord and I'm not sure I want the headache."
Jon glanced over his shoulder at Audrey and saw the pleased little smile on her face as he reached for the glass on the end table. "Yeah, this place isn't really worth all that."
"I think it is," Julia piped up. "I think it'd be cool to have this place for a vacation home."
"Vacation home?" Jon nearly choked on the water he started to drink. "I have got to get you out of the City more if you think this is a vacation home."
Julia rolled her eyes. "I mean I just think it'd be cool have this piece of our family's history to come back to is all."
Shawn nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's kind of why I wanna hang on to it."
Jon remained skeptical. "Is this neighborhood any safer than it was then?"
"Somewhat. There's been an initiative to revitalize the area and move more businesses in. Only started a few years ago but so far so good."
"Maybe," Audrey said as she cut a tomato into wedges. "Hanging onto it isn't a bad idea then."
Jon was now outnumbered and gave into to keeping the place. Shawn couldn't help but grin.
Walking up to the kitchen island, he asked, "Mama, you need some help?"
"She already kicked me out," Jon said, feigning grumpiness.
Audrey rolled her eyes at the complaint. "No, thanks, honey. Two of us are already in here," she put her hand on her belly. "And there really isn't room for anyone else."
Shawn nodded, then turned to Julia and hit the back of his hand against her upper arm. When she looked at him, he jerked his head for her to follow him.
They headed back towards his room but before they reached it Shawn directed her to the right where she saw the stairs for the first time. He took her hand and guided her to climb up with him.
Once at the top, he took two of the books out from between the banisters. This provided them with a panoramic view of the apartment. Their parents' voices drifted up from the kitchen and every word was very clearly heard.
"This is amazing," Julia breathed in delight then clapped a hand over her mouth over fear of being overheard.
"Don't worry, they only know you're up here when you knock a book off."
As he said this Shawn's hand slipped and very nearly knocked a book out that would have landed just outside of the kitchen if he and Julia hadn't grabbed it in time.
They exchanged sheepish looks then started to laugh quietly.
After settling back into place and listening to Audrey fuss over Jon for a while, Julia turned to him and asked, "If you wanted to go over what happened back then with Mom and Daddy, why'd you ask me to come? I'm not really a part of this."
"Oh, yes, you are," he insisted firmly.
"How?"
"Christmas."
"I don't get it."
0o0o
Jon shrugged it off clearly, becoming uncomfortable with the conversation. "It is what it is. Let's make this Christmas one to remember. Are you sure everythin' you want is on this list? There's nothin' on here that would go under the tree."
"It's not eeeeeverything," Shawn gave him a goofy smile.
The smile made Jon very suspicious. "What's not on here?"
"Well," he said, leaning against the kitchen table. He picked up a napkin and began to casually fold it. "I left it off, so I'd have somethin' to ask for on my birthday."
"What is it?"
Shawn unfolded the napkin and started to twist it. "It's sort of expensive."
"What is it?"
"But it's a lifelong investment for both of us." He coiled the napkin into a ball and tucked the ends inside of the coil.
"What. Is. It?"
Shawn put the napkin ball in front of Jon. The smile became a knowing smirk. "An engagement ring."
Jon stared at him with his mouth slightly open. He must have misheard the teen. "Say again."
"Well," Shawn said, ignoring the question. He folded his hands seriously in front of him." It's a lifelong investment for the three of us guaranteed to pay huge dividends in the future."
The stock market jargon only served to further confuse Jon who was absolutely flabbergasted by Shawn's request. "An engagement ring?"
"Yes," the teen was hoping his teacher was finally catching on. The man could be awfully slow at times. "Then we can elope. I hear Vegas is good for that sort of thing."
Jon was too stunned to say much. He threw his hands up in surrender. "Anythin' else you'd like?"
Shawn thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "A brother or sister would be nice. Actually, I'd prefer a sister. I really don't need another brother, but no rush on that. Let's get married first."
He still couldn't believe this conversation was actually happening. Surely, he was still asleep and in the middle of a bad dream. "Are you kiddin' me?"
"No, I'm serious." And he was. It was the most serious Jon had seen him.
"Shawn," Jon said, trying to regain his bearings and some sort of control over his morning. "We've been over this. It's not gonna happen."
Shawn rolled his eyes, exasperated. "You diggin' your heels in on this too?"
"Yes, I am."
"Well, unlike your dumb rich friends I won't quit askin'."
His teacher gave a heavy sigh. "You wouldn't be you if you did. Look, let's just focus on Christmas, okay? Get your stuff." He motioned to Shawn's book bag.
Shawn grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. "What about in June?"
"What about in June what?" he asked, picking up his own school bag. "Christmas? It's Christmas in July, not June."
The teen rolled his eyes again. "What about getting' married in June?"
"Shawn!"
"She won't be your student teacher anymore," he reasoned. "Feeny can't do anythin' to you then!"
O0o0o
"Like I told, Maya, you're a promise kept, sis." Shawn reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Even if Dad didn't technically make that promise," he chuckled. "Cory told me that he did tell Mom that I really wanted a little sister. He told her I wanted a Morgan like he had."
Julia interlocked her fingers with his. "Mama told me why you wanted a sister so bad. Did you ever see Stacy again?"
A dark look clouded Shawn's eyes. "Yeah, a couple of times. She, uh, changed a lot. Not really the sister I remember."
"Drugs, alcohol, or both?"
Shawn raised his brows in surprise at her astuteness.
"I'm not that sheltered," she said rolling her eyes. "Daddy's talked to me about all that stuff. It's in his past somewhere."
"Alcohol," Shawn confirmed, relaxing a little. "She was Chet's daughter after all. She was in AA when I found her to tell her that Chet had died. What she went through with him and Virna really changed her attitude towards anyone named Hunter. She told me she was changin' her name and to forget about her."
Shawn fell silent and Julia gave his hand and arm an affectionate squeeze. Shawn mulled over the last time he saw Stacy and Julia's remark about not being so sheltered.
"Wait a minute," he said suddenly. "What'd you mean that stuff is in Dad's past?"
The sharpness in his voice made her sit up. "When he was talking to me about drugs and alcohol addiction, he kept saying things like 'I know what it's like' 'I've been there'. Stuff like that."
Shawn opened and closed his mouth without any words coming out as his mind raced over all the information he'd been gathering.
"You ever ask what he means?"
"He won't talk about it." Julia's gray eyes clouded up. "But Mom said not to worry because it wasn't the way he made it sound. She wouldn't say much more so I figured Daddy was talking about his Uncle Mike, you know, the one that overdosed when Daddy was in college."
Since he had never seen Mike Turner he had a brief moment of confusion when an image of his Uncle Mike came to mind. It was a disorienting thought. When that image cleared, he recalled Jon mentioning Mike's affinity for cocaine.
Maybe that was what Jon meant when he said he knew what it was like. In light of what he was piecing together about Jon's past this information concerned him.
He became aware of Julia watching him and he quickly said, "Yeah, that's probably it. Mike's death really hit him hard." He frowned. "I thought it was a heart attack though?"
"It was heart attack caused by drugs. Daddy's grandparents paid to have that listed as the official cause death with all mentions of drugs removed. ODing makes the family look bad, you know," she said rolling her eyes. "Daddy will say it was heart attack just to avoid people's questions if it comes up, but he told me what really happened. If he didn't tell you then you must have been asking too many questions."
Shawn considered this as he and Julia returned their attention to their parents and found they'd gone silent. Curious, the siblings pushed their faces through the spaces where the books were missing.
Not only were their parents silent, but they also weren't in the kitchen.
The two sat back and looked at each other in confusion.
"You two gonna stay up there all day or are you gonna eat with us?"
Jon's voice came from behind them and startled them so much they jumped and fell back against the banister. Several books tumbled from their perch and hit the desk and floor below.
Jon and Audrey were standing at the foot of the stairs watching them and trying not to laugh.
"How'd you know we were up here?" Shawn asked as he followed his sister down the stairs.
Jon arched an eyebrow at him. "You always go up there to eavesdrop on us. That or right outside your bedroom door. But then that's usually late at night and you fall asleep against the door frame. And drool."
Pushing away thoughts of drugs and overdoses, Shawn laughed as they went back to the living room, feeling lighter and lighter with each step.
It was good to be back here with them.
He saw Julia and put his arm around her.
And with his sister.
Just like old times, Audrey brought lunch into the living room so they could watch TV and eat. While the television was on, no one paid much attention to it. Stories about their year together began to flow and very quickly the years melted away. To Julia, it was like she was getting to step back in time and witness with her own eyes what her parents and brother had been like then. Before all the kids and stress of life took over, before their estrangement. She sank into the couch between her parents enthralled with the storytelling.
It wasn't that she hadn't heard them before, it was just that she'd never heard the stories told by the three who had experienced them at the same time.
The stories went through the entire time they spent together, but once they came to the end of the year, she noticed a shift. It seemed as though they now danced around what happened and their words stretched thin with longer times of silence between them.
Julia knew what they were avoiding.
She wrinkled her nose as they fell quiet with an occasional "those were good times", "we had a blast" comments.
She waited somewhat impatiently for someone to bring up one the story no one had ever told her in full. When the conversation stagnated, she glanced at her parents and brother then finally blurted out, "So how did Miss Tompkins get involved and break up the family?"
Audrey instinctively reached behind Julia to put her hand on the back of her husband's neck as a calming measure.
Shawn was not only surprised she didn't know but it caught him off-guard by how white hot the anger towards that woman burned in him at the mention of her name. He couldn't answer the question.
As for Jon, a deep bitterness towards his secretary began to seep into his consciousness. He hadn't thought about that incident in years and didn't want to address it now.
He always let Audrey tell the children that part of their love story and left the room while she did.
Audrey, knowing Jon's feelings on the matter, nudged Julia to sit by Shawn so that she could be close to him.
"If I hadn't relapsed," she told them somberly, "Katherine wouldn't have had anything to take to Mr. Feeny. We could have easily made up an excuse as to why I was with your father and Shawn that day. But because they were hiding my eating disorder and treatment, she found plenty of ammunition to use against us."
Jon's countenance soured and Shawn angrily stared at the floor.
"Since it's my story," she said looking directly at Julia. "I'll be the one to tell it."
Audrey recounts the time leading up to Jon learning about her eating disorder, how he and Shawn covered for her while she was in treatment, and how Katherine weaponized it against them.
Many thanks for reading and spending time with me. I appreciate your comments. I'd love to hear your thoughts any time. You can find my socials in my profile if you'd like WIP sneak peaks and artwork for AiP. See you soon.