Louise was so lost in her grief. She did not even hear Tina come in. She had never bothered to get the locks changed. It just seemed like a hassle. Especially since Teddy had retired about ten years ago and the new guy Fishodor had hired took forever. That meant her family still had full access to the apartment.
"Louise!" Tina called.
"Aghhhh! Shit Tina!" Louise cried.
"Sorry didn't meant to scare you. Its just Lily said you seemed really upset by something at field day. She tried to talk to you after, but you were gone before she could get to you." Tina explained.
"So, you thought you would break into my house and give me a heart attack?" Louise questioned.
"Well after four calls and knocking on the door for ten minutes. I got worried." Tina replied.
"What if I was out?" Louise asked.
"I parked next to your car, and you never go anywhere in walking distance this time of day." Tina replied.
"When did I become predictable?" Louise sighed.
"Two thousand and always." Tina laughed. Louise acted mysterious and elusive but after twenty-nine years Tina had her patterns down pat.
"Whatever. So why did you break into my house?" Louise demanded.
"I used the key and like I said Lily was worried. What is wrong?" Tina questioned.
"Rudy has cancer" Louise sniffed.
"What?!" Tina cried she had known Rudy was back in town since Sylvie's first day at school. Lily had been talking about her new friend and when she asked for the last name it had clicked. She knew the return was pretty abrupt and the one time she talked to Rudy he did seem upset by something, but she never imagined it would be cancer. Though that did explain why he insisted the girls play at their house.
"Yeah, he said Chloe dumped him and when I took you to the ER a few weeks ago I saw him going to oncology." Louise explained.
"Woah" Tina gasped.
"Yeah, I mean I always knew Chloe was a snake but to dump your husband because he has cancer. That is lower than low." Louise scoffed.
"Sylvie hasn't said anything about her dad being sick but maybe she doesn't want to draw attention." Tina commented.
"I know I am the one who has been ignoring him, but I can't actually lose him forever. I just can't." Louise sniffed.
"Well, they are making a ton of progress with cancer research and Rudy is young. So, there is hope. We also don't know for sure if he is sick. Mita said that Chloe was a guest star at The Scientists Next-door. Henry was on set one of the days. I guess Rudy was there too, but Herny said she ignored Rudy all day." Tina recalled.
"OK so maybe their marriage was bad but what about Rudy going to the oncology ward?" Louise demanded.
"Maybe he was visiting somebody. Kaylee posted a GoFundMe for that kid Thadeus who was in Thinkgineers. Maybe Rudy was seeing him." Tina offered, still thinking it was wild that Kaylee had become one of her best friends.
"I hope so, but I mean when am I going to see Rudy again?" Louise questioned.
"Actually, that is part of why I am here. Zeke called and said the bus had broken down. Thankfully they weren't far from the school where the tournament was held. So, they were able to walk back, but it is going to be two hours before a replacement can arrive. I have a Zoom meeting with my publisher at four and it would be just wonderful if I didn't have two nine-year-olds shrieking in the background." Tina explained.
"Sylvie is over?" Louise gasped.
"Yeah, I approved the playdate before I knew Zeke would be late." Tina explained.
"Well, it would be nice to see Rudy and I always love hanging out with Lily." Louise replied.
"Great!" Tina cried.
Sylvie had to be home by five. Apparently, she had to help her dad with dinner. Sylvie didn't say anything about her dad having but didn't mean much. She doubted he mentioned her and if Lily didn't even know. What made her deserve to know? Still, she wanted answers. She tried to find a delicate way to approach the subject, but quickly abandoned that plan. What if Sylvie didn't even know her dad was sick?
"My dad said you two used to date." Sylvie announced out of the blue.
"Yeah, but we wanted different things." Louise sighed.
After a quick trip to Moos Clues, it was time to take Sylvie home. Apparently, Rudy had moved back into Sylvester's old place. That was another red flag. She knew Rudy had a writing gig in New York and unless you wanted a huge house in Logan and Chloe's neighborhood, or to own something right on the beach. Seymour's Bay was one of the last towns in America with affordable housing.
"Bye Lily! Bye Miss. Belcher!" Sylvie called as she climbed out of the backseat.
"First of all, you can call me Louise. Secondly let me walk you to the door." Louise replied.
"OK" Sylvie replied.
Louise offered to let Lily join them, but she was engrossed in the family text chain. Apparently ZJ and Bobby had accidentally gotten each other's athletic cups. Louise didn't need to know anything beyond that. but knew she would have enjoyed something like that when she was Lily's age. Louise walked Sylvie to the door. Rudy must have seen them on the Ring Camera. Because he was waiting when Sylvie opened the door. Rudy had always been thin, but he looked extra skinny and had bags under his eyes. He still had all his strawberry blonde hair, but Louise knew you didn't always lose your hair right away or at all.
"Louise!" Rudy cried pulling her into a tight hug. Even though they had just talked that afternoon it had been such a short period of time.
"Rudy" Louise sniffed.
"I'll start on dinner while you two get reacquainted." Sylvie announced.
"I actually went ahead and started cooking, but it's going to be just us tonight. Grandpa is having a bad day. He's already asleep." Rudy explained.
"OK" Sylvie replied.
"How are you?" Rudy asked.
"I'm fine I took over the restaurant. How are you?" Louise questioned.
"I've been better." Rudy sighed.
"Yeah, sorry about your divorce." Louise apologized.
"Thanks, but it's so much more than that." Rudy sighed.
"What else?" Louise asked.
"My dad has cancer and it's terminal." Rudy replied.
"Rudy" Louise gasped trying to fight the urge to say, "Thank God." She certainly did not want Sylvester to be sick but better him than Rudy.
"Yeah pancreatic. He's terminal. They are giving him six months." Rudy explained.
"So that's why you moved back?" Louise questioned.
"Yeah, it was originally just supposed to be until after he passed, and I got his estate settled but then Chloe said she wanted a divorce." Rudy explained.
"God, Rudy I am so sorry." Louise apologized.
"Thanks" Rudy sighed.
A few more weeks passed and then it was time for the twins' graduation. Tina had decided they would wait until after graduation to tell the kids about the baby. That way it didn't take away from the twins' accomplishments and she would be sure everything was OK. She was nine weeks and had just had her NIPT testing done. So far everything looked great, but they were still waiting on a few things.
"Graduation!" ZJ cried as he jumped from the fourth step down to the landing.
"We are men now!" Bobby added.
"You guys are so lucky. I mean you never have to step foot into Wagstaff again." Lily sighed.
"We've got you and Mason's graduations." ZJ reminded.
"I would fully support you skipping my graduation and I am sure Mason feels the same way." Lily replied.
"What?" Mason questioned.
"You would be OK with ZJ and Bobby skipping your graduation as to avoid Wagstaff." Lily insisted.
"I mean not really." Mason replied.
The Belcher family crowded into the auditorium. Tina, Zeke, Mason, Lily, Bob, Linda, and Louise filled most of one row. Gene and Elliot were in attendance of course but chose to stand in the back. So, they could make a quick exit if Hans got fussy. Mr. Frond made his usual speech. Pretty much everybody who had attended previous graduations was mouthing along and Lily was whispering "Shut up already" under her breath. Zeke's phone buzzed but he didn't think much of it. Even though their last name was Belcher-Tisdale. The school recognized Tisdale as the true last name. Meaning they were near the end of the ceremony. Rather than at the beginning. Zeke's phone buzzed numerous times until finally he just shut it off. Eventually the ceremony ended. There was a small reception after but nothing too fancy. The rest of the family got in line, but Zeke decided to step outside and see what the big deal was. The calls were coming from his stepbrother. Which only raised his confusion. Fred never called Zeke. They had talked maybe twice since Zeke turned eighteen and cut that part of the family out of his life. There was a voicemail demanding he call back immediately. Sighing Zeke hit redial. The phone rang and rang but Fred never answered. He hung up in favor of leaving a message. Annoyed by Fred's urgency. He was about to head inside when the phone rang again.
"So, you finally called." Fred scoffed.
"I am sorry I was at the twins' graduation." Zeke apologized. Assuming Fred knew about the kids from his mom's one attempt to visit in sixteen years.
"Well mom's dead." Fred announced coldly.
Zeke felt his blood run cold. He had never had much of a relationship with his mom, but he never imagined she would die before they could reconcile. She had never reached out but how many times had he thought about calling but never did? He slid down the wall and buried his head in his hands. He hated that he was ruining the twin's big day but this one hurt.
"ZEKE!" Tina called after the reception was over.
"T-Bird" Zeke sniffed.
"Where were you?" Tina questioned.
"Where are the kids?" Zeke asked skirting her question.
"ZJ and Bobby wanted to hang out with their friends, Louise took Lily to a Hawk and Chick fan club meeting, and Mason is picking up his last art project from the library." Tina explained.
"OK" Zeke whispered.
"Are you OK?" Tina asked.
"My mom died." Zeke replied.
"Zeke I am so sorry." Tina apologized.
"It was drugs. She always liked em better than me." Zeke sighed.
The kids were saddened by the death of their grandmother but not devastated, and none of them wanted to spend their first week of summer at her funeral. Which Zeke and Tina fully understood. She had visited only one time when the twins were small, and Mason was a baby. They didn't even remember her. Thankfully for everybody involved Louise was willing to babysit the kids for a few days.
"It's weird to be traveling without the kids." Tina started as they settled into a hotel for the night.
"Yeah, it's so romantic, ain't it? Our first trip was just us and it's to bury my mom. Because meth was the only thing she ever loved." Zeke scoffed he had successfully hit the anger stage of grief.
"Well, we will just have to take a better trip later on." Tina replied, trying to ease his pain.
It was a cool night about halfway through Louise's time watching Tina and Zeke's kids. Probably the last cold night of the year. It was a special night because Sylvie would be staying over. The sleepover had been arranged for several days. Before Zeke learned about his mother's death, and nobody had the heart to make Lily cancel. Besides Louise could handle Sylvie. Mason was locked in his room playing video games and the twins were out. When Rudy arrived to drop off Sylvie.
"Thanks again for doing this. She is acting tough, but I know the divorce has been hard on her." Rudy whispered after Sylvie ran off with Lily.
"No problem. How's your dad?" Louise replied.
"As good as the cane be." Rudy sighed.
"Didn't you say you had nursing care?" Louise asked.
"Yeah, why?" Rudy questioned.
"You got help tonight?" Louise wondered.
"I do, why?" Rudy asked.
"You wanna hang out? We haven't really talked since high school. We should catch up." Lousie asked.
Rudy jumped on the offer. He adored Sylvie he really did, but he was thrilled by the concept of talking with another adult. An adult who wasn't Chloe, his divorce lawyer, a potential employer, or some medical person who gave worse news about his dad's health.
The treehouse was the perfect place for Louise and Rudy to hang out. They were still close enough to hear the kids but not so close they had to keep the topics kid friendly, and it wasn't like the kids were going to sneak up on them. The twins were in that stage right between a treehouse being a fun place to play and it being a fun place to "play." Louise prayed that the stage would last at least through the week she was in charge. Mason was terrified of heights and had never made it past the third rung on the ladder, and Lily was banned from the treehouse after the "Amelia Earhart incident." Which was only partially Louise's fault. Mostly the pair just made small talk. Until Rudy asked about Louise's relationships. He had been with Chloe since Sophomore year, but the last relationship of hers he knew about was the two weeks she dated Wayne in their Junior year. Yeah, that was pretty awful. Louise's romantic life had been pretty dull. Benj was her only real relationship. If you could call hooking up when they were bored a relationship, but she wasn't ready to discuss that one yet. So, she just listed the handful of dates she had been on in the past eleven years.
"Logan Bush?!" Rudy laughed.
"Not so loud! Do you want the whole world to know?" Louise demanded.
"No, it's just you guys hated each other." Rudy recalled.
"We still do. It was two dates ten years ago." Louise sighed.
"If you hate him, why did you go out with him?" Rudy questioned.
"Because when I was a sophomore in college our bread guy had a massive coronary." Louise sighed.
"Ah yes the start to many a romance." Rudy snorted.
"Anyway, his nephew took over his job while he was in the hospital. His sexy, scrumptious, fabulous, God of the gays, gay nephew." Louise continued.
"OK" Rudy cooed.
"Well, that's what Gene called him." Louise sighed.
"Wait is Elliot, Joel's nephew. I Thought he just moved to Seymour's Bay five years ago." Rudy recalled.
"Nope that was Patrick, and he was I want to say the fiftieth "the one" for Gene." Louise clarified.
"OK so back to you dating Logan Bush." Rudy prodded.
"Anyway, Gene asked Patrick out every bread delivery and every delivery Patrick said no. Finally, Tina got involved and demanded to know why. It turns out that Patrick and his roommate made this idiotic rule where they can only be in relationships if they are both in relationships. Well, I was the only single girl Gene knew at the time. So, he begged me to go on a double date. So, he could have his dream man. I wasn't expecting much. Gene was worse than Tina when it came to falling in love. So, I wasn't expecting a long relationship and besides maybe my guy wouldn't be that bad. My guy was that bad. When I saw Logan waiting at the table, I was sure it was a sick joke, but it wasn't." Louise explained.
"Hold on you said it was two dates." Rudy interrupted.
"I was getting to that part. Anyway, I had not seen Logan in years. Not since he left for college and when we were on the double date, he was actually sweet. So, I agree to go on a second date with him the next weekend. Just us and that's where he showed his true colors. He was twenty minutes late, rude to the waitress, ordered a fucking Filet Mignon for himself but made me get a puny salad because he was short on cash. Then he ditches me halfway through to go watch a football game with his idiot friends. He even stuck me with the bill. Needless to say, we never went out again." Louise explained.
"Was Gene upset?" Rudy questioned.
"He wouldn't talk to me for a month. If it weren't for Lily being born. He may have actually hated me forever." Louise explained.
"Boy that would have been rough." Rudy sighed.
"Yeah" Louise agreed.
"So, what's the word on the Wagstaff gang?" Rudy asked.
"Kaylee and Arnold are married. He's pretty big in the local MMA circle and is teaching at that fancy STEMM school in Bog Harbor. Kaylee is a child psychologist who specializes in anxiety. Jessica and Megan are also married. Jessica is a urologist and Megan is a vet tech. Wayne is an alcoholic pothead who shows up to town council meetings to yell. Millie is in an out of the psych ward, Jodi owns a cleaning service, Abby is a hairdresser, and Harley is a lawyer." Louise explained.
"I guess I have missed a lot." Rudy sighed.
"Why did you never come back?" Louise asked.
"Chloe's parents moved away, and she decided she hated this place. We visited my parents once, but Chloe was so miserable we left after only two days. I didn't really have time to see anyone." Rudy explained.
"How did it take you so long to realize you were unhappy?" Louise questioned.
"I don't know. I think part of me has always known but then there was the little boy with severe asthma who got the hottest girl in school. It seemed like a movie. Which I guess is the only place where guys like me can have true love." Rudy sighed.
"I love you." Louise whispered.
"Since we are getting personal. Why did you dump me?" Rudy questioned.
"Because I couldn't give you something that you always wanted." Louise whispered.
"What was that?" Rudy asked.
"There were circumstances in my life back then, that really changed the trajectory of my life. I really did want to be with you, but it was better for me to just walk away. Then you were with Chloe." Lousie explained.
"What circumstances?" Rudy questioned.
"I don't want to talk about it." Louise sighed.
"Look I am not ready for another relationship and with how my divorce is going. I would have to say no even if I were, but I really could use a friend in town. If you want to start hanging out places other than the Wagstaff playground and your nephews' treehouse." Rudy offered.
"I would like that." Louise agreed.