Chapter 133: Fate
With photo albums and loose pictures spread out all over the table, Eddie sits in the formal dining room lost in the world of yesterday when Jamie walks in.
"So this is where you disappeared too." He notes.
Eddie briefly glances up and smiles a little "Sorry." She apologizes before looking back down and flipping a page in a photo album "I'm working on Jessie's baby book." She explains so Jamie walks over. He comes to stand next to his wife and looks down at the album in front of her on the table "How did that turn into you looking through my old albums?" he inquires.
"Well like you did with the wall..." Eddie begins to explain as she slowly flips another page "I want to find a couple of photos of you and your parents and me and my parents and add them in – but not the same ones you had framed."
"Okay." Jamie accepts just as Eddie's eyes land on a photo she's never noticed before and something about the background location of the picture strikes a familiar cord in her. "Jamie…" Eddie slowly inquires as she points at a photo "…where was this taken?"
Jamie leans over to look "Uh…" he hesitates as he thinks back "I think that was a day camp Mom used to volunteer at a few weeks during the summer."
"Where?" Eddie demands.
"It was someplace close to Montauk..." Jamie casually replies "…but I don't remember the name."
"Was it Cedar Springs?" Eddie presses.
"Could have been." Jamie admits "Sounds a bit familiar - why?"
"Jamie…" Eddie breathes out in shock as she suddenly pushes her chair back, gets up and quickly rounds the table to her own box of photos. She starts frantically searching through them.
"Eddie what are you doing?"
Suddenly Eddie pulls out a picture and just stares at it.
"Eddie what's wrong?" Jamie presses in concern as he sees tears start to fill her eyes "You're scaring me."
Eddie takes the photo and holds it out to her husband across the table "I met her Jamie." She emotionally whispers as her tears start to fall "I met your Mother."
For a moment Jamie simple stares at his wife confused but then looks down at the photo she is offering him and there, in the foreground he sees Eddie as a young girl posing for the photo with a friend but in the background is unmistakably his Mother.
"But how?" Jamie questions in shock as he takes the photo to look at it closer.
All Eddie can do is speechlessly shrug in reply as she watches her husband's eyes drift back down to the photo.
There is a good fifteen seconds of silence as Jamie and Eddie both let the revelation sink in before Jamie finally looks back up "How have we not figured this out before?" He presses in true wonder.
"Because all you Reagan's insist on being called your first names like Mary instead of Mrs. Reagan!" Eddie insistently chides "So that's what we called her. Mary. And I never put two and two together before! Oh my god Jamie I met your Mother!" Eddie again repeats as she moves back around the table to hug her husband tight "I have never been so happy about anything in my life - well except of course you and Jessie obviously but Jamie…" Eddie excitedly continues as she pulls back "I can put a memory to the name and her face. I can hear her voice. I can… I can relate now and Jamie she was the most kind, the most gracious… she was your Mother and I met her." Eddie cries in happiness as she moves to throw her arms around her husband again in another hug.
"Oh god…" Eddie breathes out in sudden realization as she moves to break away from her husband and look at him.
"What?" Jamie presses.
"Jamie…" Eddie slowly inquires as her hands start to shake "…did you skin your knee riding your bike when you were about 11?"
"I did..." Jamie carefully replies.
"Oh god…" Eddie breathes out in shock all over again as she moves to sink herself down into a chair "That's how I met her." Eddie recounts "I remember I skinned my knee in some game. See I scored the winning goal and some older girl was a sore loser and pushed me because of it and it hurt so Mary came over and she was sooo nice and comforted me as she was cleaning my scrapes…" Eddie pauses as she looks up at her husband "...and she told me not to worry because her youngest just skinned his knee riding his bike and she knew how to make it all better! Jamie! She actually talked to me ABOUT YOU! And that maybe I'd get to meet you one day and how she really thought we would hit it off!"
For a moment Jamie simple stares at his wife in complete dumbfounded shock and disbelief but then he simply moves to sink down overwhelmed to sit in the chair next to his wife "She talked to you… about me?" he questions in awe.
"She did." Eddie states in equal awe.
"Boy did she call that one." Jamie huffs out in an amazed laugh.
"Did she ever!" Eddie agrees "And the crazy thing is you know things haven't always been easy between me and my Mom and even at that age we had our problems and… and I remember thinking at the time that Mary was so nice and… and I wondered why couldn't my Mom be as nice as her and now decades later I discover that that woman ended up being my Mother in law and I didn't even know it!"
Jamie offers his wife a little smile "You met my Mom." He quietly states overwhelmed.
Eddie nods her head up and down "I did and she liked me Jamie." She reveals as she gets happy giddy little look on her face "Your Mother, my Mother in law liked me!"
"You have no idea how happy it makes me to know that you two actually met." Jamie reveals.
Suddenly Eddie looks down at her right hand and her anniversary ring then quickly reaches for the photo. She squints trying to look at it "I can't tell if she's wearing her rings. Would she have been wearing her rings?"
"She always wore her rings." Jamie states.
"So when I met her…" Eddie begins as she slowly holds up her right hand "She would have been wearing this?"
Jamie nods "Yeah. Quite likely."
Eddie blows out a slow breath of air as she tries to keep herself from hyperventilating "Wow. I met my future Mother in law, years before I even should have. I didn't even know it and when I did, she was wearing what is now my ring. Okay talk about fate."
"Yeah." Jamie agrees "If you can't call that fate then I don't know what you could."
"We have the absolute cooled story to tell Jessie now when she's older!" Eddie giddily decides.
"Sure Jessie…" Jamie agrees "…but what about the rest of the family?" he inquires "They are all going to FLIP."
"This is going to make for the best Sunday Dinner conversation ever!" Eddie excitedly exclaims as she looks down at the photo in her hands "We need to get this framed."
…..
Jamie, Eddie and Jessie arrive at Frank's house and are immediately greeted by Danny "There's my girl!" Danny sings as he swoops in and snatches the carrier away from Jamie "Come to Uncle Danny!"
"Hey!" Erin unhappily protests to her older brother as she walks in the room "Who says you get her first?"
Jamie and Eddie exchange an amused look as Danny sets the carrier down.
"Because I delivered her." Danny sweetly reminds his sister as he begins to carefully scoop his niece up and into his arms "That gives me first right of refusal."
Erin makes a super unhappy face and glowers at her older brother.
….
Henry walks into the dining room to see Sean just finishing setting the table to the old seating and he frowns "You forgot didn't you?"
Sean looks up "Huh?"
"The new seating arrangements?" Henry prompts as Eddie enters bringing a plate of food to the table.
"Oh rrrrrrrrright." Sean breathes out in remembrance causing Henry's frown to grow.
"Don't worry about it." Eddie chimes in "We can sit in our old spots. We finally just got her down for a nap upstairs so we won't be rocking that boat and risk waking her up by bringing her down here while we eat."
Henry gets an unhappy look on his face "But she's family!"
Eddie offers her grandfather in law a sympathetic smile "I know you want her at the table Henry but she's a baby."
"Eddie's right Pop." Frank adds as he walks in the room "And you know that. Nicky, Jack and Sean didn't start joining us for dinners until they were in booster seats."
The unhappy look on Henry's face grows "Fine." He huffs out "Hope I last that long." He mumbles completely to himself under his breath.
…..
"Before we begin eating." Eddie starts once everyone is gathered around the table "I would like to make an announcement."
"Oh wow are you pregnant again already?" Danny inquires across the table to his sister in law.
"God no." Jamie immediately rejects "One screaming baby is enough right now thanks."
"Then what's this big news?" Erin inquires.
"Well…" Eddie states as she reaches to pull a gift box out from under her chair and offer it out to Frank "I wanted to show you all something. Frank, I'll let you do the honors."
Taking the box, Erin passes it to her Father.
Frank eyes his daughter in law and youngest son a moment to see them smiling eagerly in anticipation at him so more then a little curious himself now, Frank opens the box and his eyes are immediately drawn to his wife in the background of the framed picture staring back at him.
"Where did you get this picture?" Frank asks a couple of seconds later "I've never seen it before."
"It's mine." Eddie reveals with dancing eyes "That's me in the forefront. I'm the kid on the left."
Shocked, Frank lifts his eyes to look at his daughter in law to see her smiling and nodding her head at him "I met her." Eddie reveals "I met Mary."
"What do you mean you met Mary?" Erin suddenly questions as she turns to look at her sister in law beside her "Like our Mom Mary?"
"Yes!" Eddie happily reveals "I met your wife…" She states as she looks at Frank "Your Mother…" She adds as she looks at Erin and Danny "…your Grandmother…" She continues as she looks at Sean "…and your daughter in law." She finishes as she looks at Henry.
Danny holds his hand out to his father requesting the photo.
"How?" Erin asks as Frank hands the photo to Danny.
"It was that Day Camp near Montauk." Eddie begins to explain.
"You mean Cedar Springs?" Erin questions.
Eddie turns to look at her sister in law in surprise "You know it?"
"Yeah…" Erin confirms "…I used to go there with Mom when she went."
"Wait you were there?" Eddie clarifies as she looks at Erin "But you weren't?" She adds as she looks at Jamie.
"No." Danny replies for his brother as he passes the photo to Sean "Girl went with Mom." He explains "Boys went with Dad."
"Until I got mad one day…" Erin points out with a slight chuckle at the memory "…and accidentally pushed some girl out of my way during a game and then Mom sent me with the boys from there on out."
At hearing that, Eddie stares at her sister in a law a moment in shocked realization then slowly turns her head to look at Jamie with wide eyes to see him staring back in equal realization "So she's the one…" He begins as he looks at Eddie but points at his sister.
Eddie takes a deep breath and purses her lips together "Yup. Looks like. About the right age. Tall thin brunette chick – man I wanted to kick her ass so bad!"
Jamie simply starts to hysterically laugh "Oh man and here I though this story couldn't get any better!"
"What?" Danny inquires as Sean passes the photo to Henry "What are we missing here?"
"Oh you tell it." Jamie dismissively prompts his wife through his laughter "I'm too busy laughing over here."
Eddie takes another deep calming breath then turns to looks at her sister in law again. She holds her hand out like she is introducing herself to her "Hi I'm the girl you…" Eddie begins as she momentarily raises her hands and does air quotes "…'accidentally' pushed out of way all those years ago at Cedar Springs. Nice to meet you, you big bully!"
Danny's mouth drops open "Oh my god seriously?" He exclaims in total amusement as everyone watches Erin's face turn to a sheet of white.
"You were all completely right when you said she is the sorest loser because I scored the goal that won the game we were playing…" Eddie explains "…and she pushed me down because of it."
"I…I…" Erin stammers as she thinks back to remember the girl was a short, blonde "That was YOU?"
"Yup." Eddie confirms super unimpressed.
Erin looks at her Grandfather "Pass me that photo." She demands.
Henry hands it to Jamie who gives it to Eddie who instead of handing it off to Erin simply raises it next to her face and displays it for Erin "See. Me."
Erin reaches for the photo anyway and Eddie gives it to her.
Erin stares at it a moment then raises her head and looks at her sister in law
"Eddie…" Erin begins in an attempt to apologize "I had no idea… I…" but Erin's voice trails off when she sees a wide appreciative smile form on Eddie's face as she looks at her "What?" Erin prompts in confusion "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because if it wasn't for you pushing me down and me scraping my knee that day…" Eddie explains "I never would have met Mary. She came over and talked to me and cleaned and bandaged my cut…" She begins to ramble "…and was warm and comforting to me and that might not have ever happened if you hadn't have been such a sore loser and did what you did so I just wanted to say thank you. You gave me the one and only interaction I'll ever have with my Mother in law."
There is a moment of emotional silence around the table as everyone waits for Erin's reaction.
"I'm not a sore loser." Erin finally tries to half heartedly grumble but her fight over that particular sticking point is getting lost in the larger scale of the fact that unbeknownst to her at the time, Erin helped Eddie meet her Mother and that was a profound realization "But you're welcome." She quietly admits.
"Of course she was nice to you." Danny suddenly points out to Eddie "She had to try to make up for what her brat of a daughter had done!" He laughs.
Erin glares at her brother "Trying to have a heartfelt moment here so could you knock it off?"
"Oh now she wants to get all touchy feelie." Danny laughs.
"Well whatever the circumstances…" Frank jumps in "I think it's absolutely incredible that you met her."
"There's more though." Eddie giddily reveals.
"Do you remember when I was about 11 and skinned my knee?" Jamie inquires to his family around him.
Some at the table nod in remembrance, others shake their heads no.
"Well that was around the same time Erin knocked Eddie on her ass." Jamie reveals.
"It was not the ass!" Eddie and Erin both reject.
"It was the knee." Eddie corrects as she looks at her husband "Don't change the details…" She chides "They are important to the story!"
Jamie holds his hands up in amused surrender.
"Anyway…" Eddie continues on "Erin's antics made me skin my knee so Mary actually told me how her youngest…" Eddie states as she turns and gestures to her husband "…had just recently skinned his knee so I wasn't to worry because she knew how to take care of my wound."
"Wait…" Danny slowly breathes out in awe "…so Mom actually talked to you… about Jamie?!"
Eddie feverishly nods her head up and down yes "She did! And she said maybe I'll meet him some day because she thought we'd hit it off."
Everyone's mouths at the table drop open.
"You're kidding right?" Erin inquires in absolute disbelief "You have got to be kidding…right?"
"I'm not." Eddie rejects "Mary Reagan, Mother of my future husband actually told little girl me that she thought me and her youngest son would hit it off. How crazy is that?!"
For the first time since coming to Sunday Dinner, Eddie found everyone at the table to be completely and utterly speechless.
"It was fate." Henry finally speaks up "There is no other way to describe it."
"How did you two not figure this out earlier?" Sean chimes in in wonder.
"Yeah you've seen pictures of her before." Erin points out.
"You remember the face of everyone you've ever met only once?" Eddie tosses back "And I only knew her as Mary. I had no idea what her last name was."
"Well that just makes it even more crazy." Danny admits "It's like one of those if all the stars align moments."
"One of those everything happens for a reason things." Henry agrees.
"A one in a million chance." Erin tacks on.
"A once in a lifetime opportunity." Frank adds.
"Fate." Sean adds.
Jamie picks up his wife's hand and gives it a squeeze "Fate." He repeats.
"Fate." Eddie agrees.
Suddenly Jessie starts to cry over the monitor sitting on the side table.
"FATE!" the entire table calls out laughing in unison before Eddie starts to push her chair back.
"So much for getting to eat at least a forkful or two!" Eddie sighs before getting up "Oh and Bless us oh lord in these thine gifts, yadda yadda you know the rest…" She quickly adds with a dismissive wave of her hand as she turns to walk away "Don't wait for me." She instructs before disappearing to tend to her daughter.
"Well Jamie." Frank begins with an amused smile at his daughter in law's antics "I guess we have a new photo to place on the buffet don't we?"
Smiling, Jamie reaches for the framed photo of his wife and mother, stands and moves to place it with the rest of the family photos on display. He sets it in place then looks at it "Thanks Mom." He quietly whispers to the picture.
…..