Chapter 50: New Year's Day Eve
(Kelly Singing in italics)
The sun had set a while ago. Kelly walked through the first floor of Murphy House making sure everything else was set aside for tomorrow. Phelan and Liv didn't school tomorrow but it was best to keep them on their routine.
Kelly sighed and took a seat in the living room. With the kids already in bed, so she had time to rest. Slowly she drank her nightly drink, Tullamore Dew, where her dad like Jamison, she like Tullamore Dew. Taking a sip of her whiskey, she let her body calm down. After taking a breath or two, she reached over to bring her guitar to her.
She laid it over her knees and rubbed her hands over the strings. Reaching over, she brought her glass over and took another sip of her whiskey. Rolling the guitar onto its side, Kelly tapped the body of her dreadnought. She started to play a bit with the strings. The front door opened, and she looked over towards it. Her husband walked in carrying a briefcase. Andrew McMichael was tall, blonde, and smiling as he slipped off his coat.
"How was your day?" Kelly asked.
"Oh, God! It sucked; it took me all day to get the Nightshade sorted out. I've never seen a ship run so bad," Andrew said.
Kelly sighed, "That bad?" she asked.
Andrew nodded and came over to Kelly. He leaned over and kissed her. "Oh yeah," he said, "You're in here and not on the porch?"
Kelly nodded her head, "Too cold," she said.
"Want a drink?" Andrew asked.
Kelly reached over and picked up her glass, "Could you freshen me up?" she asked.
"Sure," Andrew said and took her glass. Andrew walked over to the bar and poured Kelly more Tullamore Dew, and poured himself a drink, also. He carried the two glasses over to the sofa and handed Kelly her glass. Andrew took a seat.
"Thanks," Kelly said.
"You're welcome," Andrew said, "How was your day?"
Kelly sighed, "I checked in on most of the South Tenants today," she said.
"Didn't see Holden Kilpatrick?" Andrew asked.
Kelly nodded, held up her glass, looked at the amber liquid, and took a sip. After she swallowed, she looked at her husband, "Yup, my problem child of the south range," she said.
"So, you couldn't talk to him about his fields," Andrew said, "So, what are you going to do?"
Kelly took another sip of her drink, "I'm sending Huck up there to try and get a hold of him," Kelly said.
Andrew nodded, "Sounds like a plan," he said, "Thinking about playing?"
Kelly nodded, "Yeah, I'm just warming her up."
Andrew nodded, "Well, I can't wait," he said and took a sip of his drink.
Kelly smiled and started playing her guitar. After a moment or two, she found out that she needed to adjust the tuning, a bit. Once she got it to her liking, she started playing some chords, and finally, she got into a rhythm, and it then turned into a song. After a few minutes, she started singing.
Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can't tell where the journey will end
But I know where to start
The house was quiet, finally. Nathan walked into the living room of his house, carrying a cup of coffee. He took a seat in a recliner and set his coffee down. Reaching down he picked up his tablet and powered it up.
It was finally time to catch up with the sports news of the day. The Grandkids were in bed, even though they didn't have school tomorrow, but they still needed sleep. Nathan also needed a break. LK was also in bed, which was part of her normal routine. This was the time of day Nathan caught up with the day.
Haley came into the living room and took a seat on the couch. Placing her coffee mug down on the end table she looked over to Nathan.
"When do you want to arrange a call with Trin?" Haley asked.
Nathan put his tablet down and looked over at Haley, "We have all the time in the world, it's always been whenever Trin could do it," he said.
Haley sighed, "That's a long night, with all the Grandkids on the call," she said.
Nathan nodded, "That's what you get when you have four grandkids were trying to have a relationship with each other and they live half a country away," he said.
Haley laughed, "Being grandparents shouldn't be this stressful," she said.
Nathan shrugged, "Not everyone is lucky, I guess. Brooke seems to love being a grandma," Nathan said.
Haley smiled, "Yeah, but Brooke could seem to enjoy almost anything," she said.
Nathan sighed, "I love the three grandkids we have here, but, well I don't know," he said.
"You want to say, they are because Brian left us with them," Haley said.
Nathan nodded, "I didn't want to speak ill of our son," he said.
"Our son was an asshole, there is nothing wrong with saying that," Haley said.
Nathan nodded, "But why are we having the grandkid issues, Lucas doesn't have issues with his," he said.
"Lucas only has two grandkids," Haley said, "Speaking of Lucas, I'm worried about him."
Nathan nodded, "He always gets this way this time of year," he said.
Haley nodded, "I know but his mood seems to get worse every year," she said.
"Well the skies are heavily overcast, so it could be a seasonal depression on top of it. Also, he's probably feeling the stress from the basketball season," Nathan said.
"I think the last four years are finally getting to him, he's had to be so strong for Sawyer. He's not taken care of himself," Haley said.
Nathan nodded, "I'll talk to him," he said.
Haley nodded, "Nate, I'm worried, I mean really worried, about him," she said.
"I know, Hales, and I'll talk to him," Nathan said confidently, mainly to comfort his wife, but in truth, he was worried too.
They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me
The house was quiet, too quiet. Ashlyn Scott didn't like the house quiet. Sitting down on the sofa she looked around the room, it was full, but it was also somewhat empty. James was in Miami getting ready for his next NBA Game. Brett was over her Dad's for the week. Maeghan and the twins were in bed.
This left Ashlyn basically alone. She hated being alone. She always liked the house when it was alive. The silence reminded her too much of the house she grew up in, her parents never talked, she didn't get along with her older sister. So, she would spend time around Angela and her family, who talked, argued, debated, and got along with each other. Something she always wanted in her marriage.
Her smartphone started going off. She reached for it and answered the facetime call. James Scott's face appeared on the screen. They had been married for fifteen years now; Ashlyn reflected on how they spent most of their marriage in different cities.
"Hi James," Ashlyn said, her husband liked being called by his full name.
"What's wrong, Ash?" James asked.
Ashlyn shook her head, "Nothing," she said.
"Ash, please don't lie to me," James said.
Ashlyn sighed, "Do you want to know the truth?" she asked,
"Always. I want you to be honest with me," James said.
Ashlyn sorted, "You're not here. Brett's not here. The kids are asleep. No, real friends are around. Want me to go on?" she said.
James nodded, "Go on," he said.
"In short, I'm bored. I'm sitting here in this big living room, full of beautiful stuff, but it feels so empty," Ashlyn said.
"What about Huck and Chase?" James asked.
Ashlyn sighed, "Chase and I aren't getting along right now," she said.
"What happened?" James asked.
"What do you think?" Ashlyn asked.
"Brett?" James asked.
"Exactly," Ashlyn said, "I feel like I'm losing my daughter," she whined a bit.
"You're not losing Brett," James said.
"She wants to spend more time over her Dad's then here," Ashlyn said.
"Ash, she's seventeen and will be going away to Norte Dame soon, she would by nature want to be out with her friends," James said.
"I'm…I don't know, I just feel like Brett sees Chase as the cool parent," Ashlyn said.
James laughed, "My Dad was a professional basketball player and my Mom was a Grammy award-winning musician, and my parents weren't the cool parents to a seventeen-year-old me. Ash, I doubt Chase is the cool parent," he said.
"Are you minimalizing my feelings?" Ashlyn asked.
James shook his head, "No, just trying to give you a distinct perspective," he said.
Ashlyn huffed, "How could you even grasp this, you're never here," she said.
"It's because I'm working," James said.
"So, how is that going?" Ashlyn asked.
"We lost tonight, Detroit kicked our ass all over the floor, the score doesn't reflect it, they only beat us by nine," James said.
"So, when are you coming home?" Ashlyn asked, "We miss you."
"As soon as I can," James said, "We're starting a six-game road trip."
"I'd like to see my husband and the father of three of my kids," Ashlyn said.
"Why don't you come down the weekend of the Twenty-first, we're on a homestand and I don't leave until the twenty-fourth," James said.
"I'm coaching on that Saturday," Ashlyn said.
"Come after the game and stay over," James said.
Ashlyn sighed, "I'd rather have you here next to me, in our home," she said.
"But I have to work," James said.
"We need you and not the money," Ashlyn said and cut off the connection. She threw the phone across the room. After a second Ashlyn collapsed into a ball on the sofa crying.
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
Keeping with her conceit that she wasn't just another rich person that ran for political office she got a small townhouse. Since her husband and kids, generally stayed back in her district, she shared the three-bedroom townhouse with her two closest members of her inner circle, Kari, and Skye. They were both single and devoted to their work for Izzy.
Izzy walked down the hall to her bedroom, dressed in her pajamas and wearing her robe. She had no one to impress anyway since Keith was away for work. So, Izzy wore her most frumpy set of nightwear.
Entering her bedroom, she closed the bedroom door behind her. Turning on the nightstand light, she turned off the overhead light. Slipping off her robe she climbed into bed and pulled over her laptop. Checking the time, she opened her Skype App.
The Skype started ringing almost immediately. Izzy clicked on the answer button and the faces of her ten-year-old daughter and her six-year-old son appeared on the screen. Izzy held back her tears as she saw their blue eyes light up with the flash of recognition as they saw her on their screen. It had only been twenty-four hours, but she wanted to talk face to face with her kids every day. Izzy smiled, noting her two brunette children, she gave them their hair, and Keith had given them their eyes.
"Momma!" Nomi said.
"Momma!" Ellis said.
"How are Y'all doing tonight?" Izzy asked, feeling the more informal speech slip into her voice.
"I'm doing good, Momma," Ellis said, and smiled, he had recently lost a tooth, so he had a gapped tooth grin.
"Okay Momma, I hadn't seen Grandpa Lucas all day," Nomi said.
"What do you mean, Nomi?" Izzy asked.
"Grandpa Lucas was out all day, he usually sees us, every day," Nomi said.
"It was probably because he was busy, Nomi," Izzy said.
"Grammy Brooke says that Grandpa Lucas needs to nut up," Ellis said.
"Ellis, you shouldn't say that!" Izzy snapped.
"Well, Grammy Brooke says it all the time," Ellis said.
"It's not a nice thing to say, about anyone," Izzy said.
"But, Grammy Brooke, says it all the time," Ellis repeated.
"Still, just because Grammy Brooke does it, doesn't mean you should," Izzy said.
"Momma," Nomi said.
"Yes, Nomi?" Izzy asked.
"When are you and Daddy coming home?" Nomi asked.
Izzy sighed, "I'm trying to get home this weekend, Nomi," she said.
Nomi pouted, "What about Daddy?" she asked.
"He'll be back right around Saint Patrick's Day," Izzy said.
"I miss Daddy," Ellis said.
"I want Daddy home, now," Nomi said.
Izzy nodded and felt the tears streaming down her cheek. Slowly she started nodding, "I want that too," Izzy said with her lower lip quivering.
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
She walked down the hallway, she stopped to peek in to see how Wyatt had settled in. Trin smiled, see Wyatt was in bed and already asleep. This was good as he was up late last night and he need his sleep even if he didn't have school early in the morning. After closing his bedroom door behind her, she went back down the hall until she reached the kitchenette.
In the kitchenette, Trin took out a wine glass and looked over her wine rack. She wasn't sure what she was feeling tonight. Every night after Wyatt went to bed, she would have a glass of wine. It started soon after Wyatt was one, Fallon and Trin would have a glass together to wind down and talk about the day.
Now, Trin would have that nightly glass alone. Fallon lived in the village and Trin lived on the Upper East Side. The memories were fine, but they didn't get the wine picked, poured, or drank. Which forced Trin to settle on her favorite red for tonight's glass.
The wine wasn't something flashy, but she liked it. A man at a liquor store once told her "Don't worry about the name on the bottle, or the price, buy what you like, most people don't know the difference." That's what she did with her wine. After pouring her glass and putting the bottle away, she took her glass and headed to the living room.
Trin found herself standing in her window looking out over the city. The City was full of bright lights and bright stories, she loved looking out over it at night. Even though it was cold outside, she loved to walk through NYC, more specifically Manhattan held her attention, and felt an energy that charged her up. But like the wintry weather, NYC was cold and didn't have the warmth of where she was raised.
Slowly she sipped her wine and watched the city. Being a single mother wasn't the end of the world as her nineteen-year-old self once thought it would be. In fact, it was common enough now and once a week she would join her support group and meet other men and women that were raising their child or children alone.
A few times she even got hit on too, by men and women. Trin found it flattering but she wasn't sure she would date anyone in her support group. She hadn't really dated since Brian, and that wasn't dating. Wyatt was more important, and most men came to her either one of two ways, hit it and quit it, or when they find out Wyatt is eleven, they are gone like the wind.
After another sip, she turned away from the window. That was when she heard one of her cell phones buzzing. Walking away from the window she took a seat on one of her sofas and put her wine glass down.
The Cell Phone that buzzed was her private one, not the one her company gave her. Somethings shouldn't be on a corporate phone. Looking at she smiled and opened the first text message.
Trin smiled as Fallon stated she got a guy's number. That was good as Fallon hardly dated. Fallon was well known as being rich and she wanted a guy that wanted her and not access to her money. The next text message was Ellie complaining that one of her friends blocked her. Trin sent her condolences. Trin didn't like Ellie's side friends and thought she wasted time with them. The third message was interesting, it was from one of the dating apps Trin used. Or at least tried to use, she was a brunette single mother and it seemed guys wanted blondes with no kids, hence why Ellie seemed to clean up. The dating apps weren't her brightest moments, but she figured she was still young, so why the hell not.
Trin opened the message.
"Your profile said say more than just Hey when you message me, so here's my first message. How you doing?" Trin ready aloud.
She clicked on the profile and looked it over. Trin nodded, put the cell phone down and grabbed her wine glass. What to do with that? She thought, taking a sip of her wine. After she swallowed the sip, she put down the glass, and picked back up the cell phone and started typing. Why the hell not? She thought.
I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands
I hope I get the chance to travel the world
But I don't have any plans
After dinner, she had time to clean up. Following this, she did her evening PT, then changed into her gym clothes. She ordered an UBER and waited for it to arrive. Once it arrived, she took it to her gym. Once there she did the best road work she could do on a treadmill.
Kay Scott felt the burn as she ran, her hair, now just long enough to pull back into a ponytail, bounced off the back of her neck. Feeling the tight steel coils of her leg muscles work, it helped to break the tension in her body. She hated the off-season, she hated rehab, and she hated being inactive.
The feeling of sweat on her body felt good. Everything about running felt good, wearing her running shorts, and sports bra felt good, even her headband felt good. The music blasted in her earbuds kept her pushing forward. Looking around she noticed she attracted eyes, men, and women's eyes.
Kay knew that men found her attractive. She worked hard to stay in shape. The way she was dressed helped draw their eyes, and surprisingly her sleeve tattoo did it too. In some ways she found it flattering, now, in the past, she found it annoying, on a good day. On a dreadful day, she found it disgusting. Of course, the attention of the ladies was welcome. Over the years she had become comfortable with her sexuality and who she is.
Once her run was over, she returned to her apartment, via an UBER. After a quick shower, she changed into shorts and a battered UCONN t-shirt, it was from her freshman year, and it was the NCAA Championship t-shirt.
Drying her hair, she took a seat in her favorite chair and pulled her laptop over to her lap. Powering it up she looked out the nearby windows. Chicago was lit up in the night. Kay never liked big cities, growing up where she lived in a small town and when she went to college it was out in a rural area.
Once the computer was open and up, Kay opened on her internet explorer. Once open, she clicked the shortcut to open her email. As it started to open, Kay reached over and took up a few bands and started another session of rehabbing her right arm and shoulder.
Slowly she went down the list of emails. Most were either junk or notifications. One by one, with just her left hand, Kay clicked and either junk mailed them or deleted them. Until the last one came up.
"Interesting," she said out loud with a sigh, "Carrie Garland emailed me."
Finishing up with the bands, she put it aside. She handed over a small hand weight to her right hand. Slowly she started her next set of exercises, she noted she was going to have to up the weight soon. Her right was never her strength on the court, but without it, it was rougher. She's been trying to get it back as best as she could, but the strength wasn't there anymore. But she'll get it back.
Looking back at the still unopened email, Kay didn't want to read it. Carrie rarely emailed her, and usually, it was only unwelcome news. Four years ago, things were different, but that was then, and this is, well, now.
Kay sighed, "Fuck it! What's worse could Carrie do to me?" she asked and clicked the email.
It opened, and Kay stopped working her left arm and shoulder. Next, there was a loud bang as she dropped the hand weight. She closed her eyes, but the tears still leaked out of the corners. Kay slammed the cover closed on her laptop, and nearly tossed it on the table. In one smooth motion, she stood up and hustled her ass out of the room and slammed the bedroom door bed her.
I wish that I could stay forever this young
Not afraid to close my eyes
Life's a game made for everyone
And love is the prize
The door was cracked open, and she looked through the gap. Her eyes rested on the sleeping figure of her ten-year-old daughter. Angela took a heavy breath and gently closed the door.
"I caught you," Karen said to her youngest child and only daughter.
"You caught me red-handed, Mom, I'm checking in on Jessi," Angela Scott said.
Karen smiled, and shook her head, "Don't worry, I still do it, too," she said.
"Check on Jessi?" Angela asked.
Karen nodded, "Yeah, Jessi too," she said.
"Mom?" Angela asked.
"Never mind that, let's get a drink and have an adult talk," Karen said and walked past her daughter that dwarfed her.
"I'm not so sure I want to have an adult talk with my mom," Angela said.
"What we can't talk about current events and news stuff?" Karen asked.
Angela shook her head and followed her Mom. "I thought you were referring to something else," she said.
"No," Karen said.
They came to the kitchen and Karen poured them each a glass of wine. The staff had gone home for the night, so it was just the residence of the house in the building. They stood across the counter from each other. Finally, Karen broke the silence.
"Jessi is a great girl," Karen said, "If I've not told you this before, Angela, I think you're doing a fantastic job raising her."
"Thank you," Angela said, "But Mom what's with the spoonful of sugar?"
Karen shook her head, "You've always been able to read me the best," she said.
"What are you getting at, Mom?" Angela asked.
Karen sighed, "I was thinking about you sending Jessi to live with Lucas for middle and high school," she said.
"What about it, Mom?" Angela asked.
"I don't think it's a great idea, Angela. Jessi's life is up here, she has friends and is in a good, I'll admit private, school. Why would you uproot her and send her to live with her uncle?" Karen asked.
Angela sighed, "One, it would probably be with Keith, and not Lucas. Two, she'll have cousins down there," she said.
"Which she only sees during the summer," Karen said.
Angela sighed, "And three, Mom, I'm probably going to be retired by the time she's in middle school," she said.
"But you'll be working for ESPN up here," Karen said.
Angela shook her head, "Probably not," she said, "I need to go back home," she said and sipped her wine, letting it settle in for Karen.
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
The sun was down, and kids had gone to bed. Kayla Drake walked through the small hallway of the second floor of Vitoria Cottage. Kayla reflected that all the cottages had names, but some of them just had funny names, the Garland's, her husband's older sister's family, lived in Triangle Cottage, which wasn't shaped like a triangle, and Kayla had no clue why it was named that.
Kayla opened the first bedroom door and walked in. Slowly she crossed the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed. She looked down at her son lying in bed. Jory looked up at her with sleepy eyes and smiled.
"Hello Momma," Jory said.
Kayla smiled, "Hello," she said.
"Are you here to say good night?" the seven-year-old asked.
Kayla nodded, "Yes, it's bedtime," she said.
"I don't want to go to bed," Jory said.
Kayla smiled, "I know, when I was your age, I didn't want to go to bed either," she said.
"You were my age?" Jory asked.
Kayla nodded, "Yes, I was a little girl once," she said.
Jory nodded, "Really?" he asked.
"Really," Kayla said.
Jory nodded. Kayla adjusted the covers on the bed and leaned forward and kissed Jory on the forehead.
"Good night, Jory," Kayla said.
"Night Momma," Jory said.
Kayla got up and left the room. She turned the lights off and closed the door behind her. Sighing she walked to the other bedroom and entered it. Walking across the room she took a seat on the edge of her daughter's bed. Fiona looked up at Kayla and gave her a tired smile.
"Momma," Fiona said.
"Hi Fi," Kayla said.
"I'm tired, Momma," the six-year-old girl said.
"You had a long day, so get some sleep," Kayla said.
Fiona nodded, "Okay Momma," she said, with a big yawn.
Kayla again fixed her child's covers and kissed them," Good night, Fi," she said.
"Night Momma," Fiona said in a sleepy tone.
Kayla left the room shutting off the lights and closing the door, again. She walked downstairs and greeted her husband in the living room. Christian offered her a glass of wine from his seat on the couch.
She took the wine and sat down next to him. Kicking off her shoes, she pulled her feet up under her. He smiled at her as Kayla took a sip of her wine.
"The kids are bedded down?" Christian asked.
Kayla nodded, "They're very tired out," she said, "Taking them with me to work does that to them."
Christian rested his hand on her knee, "Why are you so tense?" he asked.
"It's been tough since Keith went away," Kayla said.
"He'll be back soon," Christian said, "Turn around I'll rub your shoulders."
Kayla turned around and Christian shifted around and swept her hair away. He slowly started working the tension out of her shoulders.
"It's still going to be two or three months before he's back," Kayla said.
"We'll get through it all," Christian said.
"I hope so," Kayla said and moaned from Christian's hands.
So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
Brooke pushed through the door to the bedroom and looked at the young boy in the bed. He looked up at her and smiled. Brooke came to the edge of the bed and sat down. Ellis Scott looked at his Grandma.
"Grammy Brooke," Ellis said.
"Ellis are you ready to go back to school?" Brooke asked, her six-year-old grandson.
Ellis nodded, "If I have to go," he said.
"Yes, you do Ellis," Brooke said, "Now, get some sleep," she bent down and kissed him good night.
"Yes, Grammy Brooke," Ellis said after the kiss. Brooke smiled and left the bedroom. She reflected it was Chase's old room. Most recently she had been putting Ellis in it.
Brooke's travels took her to Izzy's old room, which was now fittingly occupied by Izzy's daughter Nomi. Entering the room, Brooke saw her ten-year-old granddaughter sitting up, playing with a small basketball.
"Not ready for bed yet?" Brooke asked.
Nomi shook her head, "No, not yet Grammy Brooke," she said.
"What's wrong, Nomi?" Brooke asked.
Nomi sighed, "I miss Daddy and Momma," she said.
Brooke nodded, "Your Momma should be home this weekend," she said.
"I hope so," Nomi said, "I want Daddy home, I want my old room."
Brooke nodded, "I know you miss your Dad, and he'll be home soon," she said.
"Why did he have to go away?" Nomi asked.
Brooke sighed, "Because he was called to do so," she said.
"Why?" Nomi asked.
"I wish I knew, Nomi, now try and get some sleep," Brooke said.
"Yes, Grammy Brooke," Nomi said.
Brooke kissed Nomi good night," Night Nomi," she said.
"Grammy Nana Brooke," Nomi said.
Brooke sighed as she left her granddaughter's room. She knocked on the next door and got no answer. Brooke opened the door and peeked in. Keni had already gone to bed. Brooke smiled and noticed that Sawyer also fell asleep and they were cuddling together. Brooke smiled and noticed in Sawyer's arm was her better stuffed UCONN Husky named Jon-Jon, that Angela gave her when she was a baby.
Closing the door, Brooke smiled. The two girls have always been close, and she wondered what would happen when they become adults. Shrugging she knocked on another door, and there was no answer.
Opening the door, she looked in and found the room empty. The bed hadn't been made and nothing had been moved. Shaking her head, she closed the door behind her. Brooke knew they would be back, and she'd have the same conversation they always had on this subject.
Brooke shrugged; this was life at Beaulieu Manor.
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
All four of the kids that were normal residence were in bed and asleep. That is no small fete, for one parent to do. Huck was rather good at it since he had to do it most nights. Chase would schedule her time at TRIC around his work schedule, so she was home when he was at the fire station.
Typically, if Huck could get PJ to go to bed the other three would follow suit. Which often made Huck think about his wife and her siblings in comparison to his own children. His wife was the oldest, she was followed by two girls, a boy, and a girl. Chase had three girls and a boy in that order, and probably would have had another girl, that was until he got fixed.
He found himself sitting in the living room looking at the door. A bottle of water was held in his right hand. Tree Hill Hall had no alcohol in the premises as Chase didn't drink.
The door flew open and Chase walked through, bundled up against the cold. She slammed the door and dropped her coat off her shoulders.
"It's fucking cold outside, I thought winter never came here," Chase said, as she hung up her jacket.
"Fluky weather," Huck said.
Chase laughed and walked over to the couch, leaned over and kissed Huck. She sat next to him and reached for a blanket. Kicking off her shoes, she settled in, cuddling up to Huck. She wanted his body heat to warm her up. She pulled the blanket over to cover both.
"Are the minions in bed?" Chase asked.
"Yeah, all tucked in like bugs in a rug," Huck said.
"Why did we have so many kids?" Chase asked.
"Because you couldn't keep your hands off me," Huck said.
Chase laughed, "Where is the oldest one?" she asked.
"She's out and about," Huck said.
"To be young and seventeen again," Chase said.
"I don't think Brett would plot to socially destroy a bitchy cheerleader," Huck said, "Hell Ash wanted her to be a cheerleader."
"Thankfully she hasn't had to deal with a bitch like Jessa," Chase said.
Huck nodded, "Thankfully," Huck replied.
"Whatever happened to Jessa?" Chase asked.
Huck shrugged, "I wish I knew," he said.
Before Chase said anything, the door opened, and Brett walked in. She was bundled up from the cold, and yet she still was shivering.
"It's cold," Brett said.
"Tell me something I don't know," Chase said, from under the blanket.
"Wow, Momma Chase is cold," Brett said, "That means it's really cold."
Huck nodded, "Yup," he said.
"You're not getting a handy Dad?" Brett asked.
"What?" Chase asked.
"I can't see your hands, Momma Chase," Brett said.
Chase slipped her hands out from under the blanket, "See nothing is going on, I'm just freezing," she said, "You know poor circulation that comes with diabetes."
Brett nodded, "We have a game soon," she said.
"So, why are you still up?" Chase asked.
"My method?" Brett asked.
"Are you going to show Masonborough the old Diesel Power?" Huck asked.
Brett shook her head, "Dad, please don't ever say that again," she said.
Huck smiled, "Well they use to say that about how I played, with diesel power," he said.
Brett shook her head, "Well, I'm going to bed, good night Dad, Momma Chase," she said.
"Night," Chase said.
"Night," Huck said.
Brett smiled, nodded her head, and went upstairs. Huck looked at Chase and smiled.
"Are you going to finish what you started?" Huck asked.
"You're bad, I'm just trying to warm my hands up," Chase said.
"As I said, you couldn't keep your hands off me," Huck said.
Chase laughed, "You're bad," she said.
"With Diesel Power," Huck replied.
I didn't know I was lost
The cold was known to penetrate the body. Break it down and make it run off. If you could do anything in the cold you could do it in the normal temperature range. That was why he was out here.
The basketball bounced on the hard top. It bounced differently because of the frigid air making it denser. Freezing air bit at his hands making it hard for him to hold or even control the ball. Every step, every bounce, every second, on the court since his youth he played it like his last.
Moving, slower now than in his youth, he cut across the court, stopped, pulled up and fired off the ball. Hanging his wrist, he watched the ball arc towards the rim.
It has been said by many three-point shooters that they knew the ball was going to sink as soon as it left their hands. He was no different, and he knew the ball was going in. It was all in the feeling of the ball coming out of the hands, and the feeling of the body mechanics when you fired off the shot. The ball sunk through the hoop and the rattle of the chain nets gave a delightful jingle.
Lucas Scott slowly walked over to where the ball landed. He picked it up and looked it over. The ball was new, the leather still smells fresh. It was ball was harder because of the cold. He spun it around his hands a few times and then balanced it in one hand.
After a minute he hauled back and threw it in the air. The ball arced through the sky and landed in the Cape Fear River.
Shaking his head, he looked around, and memories held him in place. Shaking out of the paralysis brought on by the tyranny of nostalgia, he let out a primal scream of pain. Finally, he landed on the ground and hugged his knees. Tears streaming down his face, everything in his life was a jumble.
After a minute or five he lost track, he stood up, dried his eyes, and walked over to his coat. Picking up his coat, he shook it out. A few leaves and other debris came off it. Looking around the park, he knew he was going to be coaching soon, and he couldn't be this messed up on the sidelines.
He pulled on his coat and zipped it up. Looking around, he thought he saw a pair of red eyes in the shadows staring at him. Maybe they were from the Hell Hound that Robert Johnson sang about. Then again it could just be his imagination.
Taking a deep breath once, twice, and then a third time, his heart settled down. Walking away from the basketball court he came to his car and unlocked it. Climbing in behind the driver's seat, he looked at the court again.
"I'll be seeing you around," he said and started the vehicle. He sighed and put the vehicle in gear and drove away. The taillights of his vehicle faded out into the darkness.
I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know
(BLOG Post is in italics)
When the sunsets on New Year's Day the world doesn't end. But the pain and the lost feelings stay. That's how it always been, as long as I can remember it. Every year, I hope the fall out would blow over. But this year doesn't seem like it would happen.
RAVENHUSSAR
T3 Collective
Author's Notes
So welcome to the end of the first part of a story I wasn't even sure I was going to write. That is no attempt at humor, I always wanted to go out to the grandkids, but I wasn't sure if could or even was able to. So here we are in the longest Part of any story I've ever written, and that's not bragging. This started out as me trying to figure out if I could author this story with the kids having fresh voices that were their own and not a copy of their parents. They were called Experimental Scenes, which the first one is not even in this part. It went around with trying to figure out format and how and when and what I wanted to write about.
This story takes place eleven years after Keith and Izzy said goodbye at Beaulieu Manor before he returned to UNC. A lot of things have changed. There are reasons I skipped ahead so long; many will come quite clear. One I will share is I wanted to write some of the kids as teenagers and they were just toddlers and tweeners at the time. Stories do progress, as do lives, so expect changes.
The name of the story Further on Down the Road is a Bruce Springsteen song off my favorite album by him The Rising. It's a dark song that matches the weather in this part. The basics of it about a person searching for something and promising to meet someone further down the road. It also feeds into the theme of these stories the metaphor of the road, and every story has Road in the title.
This is also my furthest reaching story with characters starting out scattered all over the place. We will see exotic locations such as Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Various points of Connecticut, New York City, NY, Washington, DC, and of course Tree Hill, NC. This represents the spread of the characters and the various back grounds they come from. I won't say they all won't come back to Tree Hill, but there will be travel between the various locations.
The Part is titled The New Year, which is a Death Cab for Cuties song. The title came later after the part was mostly done. The song seemed to fit with the general feel and mood of the part.
One main drive in this story is to peel back the reliance of music to tell my story. I want my words to tell the story. So, I'm hoping to have less music in this part, except where it seems appropriate.
A few things I would like to address and get out of the way.
There will be no chapter titles in this, it is very stressful to name chapters, and be clever about it. So, I'm not going to do that.
All the children, except for a few were randomized, so if there are girls that's how the Random Number Generator picked them.
Most of the names are take off a list of names I liked and assigned a number, and were picked by a random number generator, so please don't read into any of it.
The song in Chapter 1 is The New Year by Death Cab for Cuties. It is the title of this part, as well as fitting the mood of the first scene.
The song in Chapter 16 is Self Control by Laura Branigan. It's not the full song, but the chorus from the song. It's Bobbi-Lee reflecting upon her past.
The songs Haley listens to in Chapter 17 are the first one Hell Hound on My Trail and the second is Travelin' Riverside Blues bothby Robert Johnson. There is an importance to this song, which will come in time.
The song heard in Chapter 40 is Round Here by The Counting Crows. When I was editing the chapter, I felt this was a good, and short chapter, but needed a little more punch. For the better part of several hours I searched for the perfect song for this. I finally came to this classic song, as it expressed the emotions I was looking to add to.
The song heard in Chapter 45 is You Found Me by The Fray. It's about a man who has lost his faith. Cale is struggling with his faith as well. There is also another reason behind it, but I won't share it, just yet.
The song heard in Chapter 47 is God`s Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash. I love the song, and it fits with Chris Keller's style, and anyways there is always the Walk the Line connection, Elvis anyone?
The song sung in Chapter 49 is Breaking & Entering by Tonight Alive. When I started this storyline, I wanted Alix to sing a distinctive style than Kat. So, digging through YouTube I came up with several candidates, and having heard Tonight Alive before and listening to them more, I felt it was a perfect song.
The song in Chapter50 is Wake Me Up by Aloe Blacc. Why did I use that version? Because Kelly is playing an acoustical guitar and the Aloe Blacc one worked better. The lyrics are the same so it shouldn't matter. Also, I fund the song like most people through the Avicii version and enjoyed it and was sad to hear of his passing. The choice was just what fit better.
The Annus Horribilis Secerts
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Playlist
Chapter 1 The New Year by Death Cab for Cuties
Chapter 16 Self Control by Laura Branigan
Chapter 17 Hell Hound on My Trail by Robert Johnson
Chapter 17 Travelin' Riverside Blues by Robert Johnson
Chapter 40 Round Here by The Counting Crows
Chapter 45 You Found Me by The Fray
Chapter 47 God`s Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash
Chapter 49 Breaking & Entering by Tonight Alive
Chapter 50 Wake Me Up by Aloe Blacc
Poems
Chapter 38 Ellie's tattoo is the first stanza of Dylan Thomas' Do not go gentle into that good night
Translation Guide
In Chapter 10
Vse v poryadke, Raya, Mama zdes' dlya tebya - is Russian for "It's alright, Raya, Mom is here for you"
Da, Raya, eto Mama – is Russian for "Yes, Raya, this is Mom"
Ty skuchayesh' po tebe tetya Aliks, Raya - is Russian for "You miss you Aunt Alix, Raya"
Uzhasnyy god – is Russian for "Horrible year"
YA khotel trakhnut' tebya proshloy noch'yu, Arne, no ty takoy nevezhestvennyy – is Russian for "I wanted to fuck you last night, Arne, but you're so ignorant"
Vielleicht, weil ich nicht Arne Jared bin – is German for „Maybe because I don't Arne Jared"
In Chapter 11
Pie Iesu domine, Dona eis requiem – in Latin, Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest, Grant them Thine eternal rest
