Jamie's Encore
Chapter 33 Maturity?
CONDO J&C
Caitlin wakes up to the smell of coffee brewing. She rolls over and looks at the red numerals of the bedside clock.
6:00 AM
She looks over her shoulder at Jamie, he is dead to the world. She should be too, given how short the night was. 'And whose fault was that?' she thinks. Then she smiles. Ah, the sacrifices one makes for love. She wouldn't change a thing! Not. One. Damn. Thing.
She swings her legs out of the bed, and gets to her feet. She reaches for her silk robe from where it drapes over a chair; slips it on and pads to the kitchen.
Nobody else is up yet, so she is surprised to see Pops at the stove. He hands her a steaming mug and motions to a chair. She sits, crosses her legs, and he joins her.
After a few sips, in silence, he speaks.
"I need to apologize to you and Jameson."
"Pops-
He motions for her to listen, only.
"For the last 5 years of my Betty's life we had no alcohol in our house. Doctor's orders; only Frank and Mary knew. Betty asked me to join her in that abstinence, I gladly agreed. Now here I am, acting like an ass to you folks. I can see how much you love each other. Jameson hasn't been this happy since, I don't know when. You don't deserve my actions."
He reaches out to take her hands, she places her hands in his.
"Can you forgive me, my dear?"
A tear escapes his eye.
"Of course, Pops." Caitlin sheds a tear also. "You've been forgiven for quite a while. We, I love you, grand dad!"
"Just so you know . . . I'm not doing this to open the information flow. I don't need to know; I don't want to know what prompted your vow. My grandson trusts you, and so do I." He raises their hands to his lips, and kisses the back of hers. Then he gets up and starts on breakfast.
88888888888888888
Caitlin retreats to the BR where Jamie is just waking up.
"Morning sunshine," he croaks in his first thing in the morning voice.
She throws open the curtains, letting the sunshine in. Sol is just peeking over the hills to the east of the city.
"Good morning, handsome! Coffee's a brewing!" She cheerfully exclaims.
"So, I smell. You been up a while?"
"Long enough to have a talk with Pops."
"Pops? Here?"
"Naw, down at the corner coffee shop."
"In your mid-thigh robe?"
"Your powers of observation are awesome, Lieutenant!"
"Well, you are my beautiful, talented wife after all."
"Aww, you say the nicest things! I should reward you."
"Yes, you should!" He winks. "Come here!" He reaches for her.
She scoots away. "No, no, I need to get dressed. Pops is cooking a frittata for me."
"What about me?" He whines.
"Get dressed and come and see." She pulls on a pair of shorts and scoots out of the BR.
He is way behind.
8888888888888888888888
CONDO F & H
Frank and Danny are sipping coffee.
"Dad, why didn't us kids know about grandma Betty's abstinence the last 5 years?"
"Her instructions. She didn't want it to affect your lives."
"Pops joined her in it!"
"The power of love, son."
"Jamie's love for Caitlin?"
"Another example. And a good one!"
"Pops is over at their condo. Apologizing, I think." Danny mutters.
"And you?"
"That would feel like surrender, dad."
"And that's a bad thing?" Frank raises an eyebrow.
"Humiliating!"
"The Lord has shown us what He wants of us: Justice, Kindness, Humility. Micah 6:8; the bishop used that text last Sunday. Just in time, son."
Groan.
888888888888888888888
After breakfast Jamie and Caitlin walk on the beach.
"Pops told me something this morning. I could hardly believe it!" Caitlin voices.
"About grandma Betty?"
"You knew?" She is surprised.
"Yeah . . . I overheard mom and dad." He admits.
"But, Pops actions now . . . don't fit, Jamie!"
"The power of love, babe."
"So, he doesn't love me-
"It's not a straight-line correlation."
"What?"
"He loves you and me. But grandma Betty had his heart. Just like you and me." Jamie kisses her cheek.
"He apologized; you know. This morning. Surprised the heck out of me!"
"I thought he would."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I could see it in his eyes. You remind him of his Betty."
"NO!"
"Yup. I didn't see it at first; now I do." He smiles at his wife.
"Picture?" She stops and holds out her hand.
"I don't think I have one on this pone." He scrolls, then stops. "This isn't a great one, but there she is," he holds out the phone and points.
She takes the phone, looks, then gasps. She plops down on the sand and weeps.
"What is it, babe?" He is concerned. He plops down beside her.
"That's my maternal grandmother's BFF. They were inseparable as young girls. They lost track of one another after high school. I remember grandma had a picture, by her bed. She told me that she would pray for Elizabeth every night before she went to bed."
"Wow. I never heard of anyone, or anything like that. I'm sorry." He holds her tight for a long time. Finally, her tears subside. He gets up and helps her to her feet.
They slowly walk back to their condo. When they enter, he steers her to their bedroom. He helps her undress to underwear and a t-shirt. She lies down and he covers her with a light blanket.
He kisses her on the temple and leaves her to rest. "I love you, sweetheart. I'll check on you after a while." He slips out, closing the door softly behind him.
888888888888888888
"How long are you staying, son?" Frank asks Danny.
"I'm not sure, dad."
"Have you accomplished what you came here for?"
"I don't know, frankly."
"Did you have a spelled-out plan?" Frank is worried.
"No, I kind of reacted to Linda's letter."
"Letter?"
Danny got up, went to his bedroom and came back. He handed his dad the letter.
Frank read it, put it down and looked sternly at his eldest. "I see. Have you settled things with her?"
"We haven't had a chance to talk, her and I."
"She's 10 blocks away. You can use the golf cart, you know."
"May I?"
"Yes, you may. Are you asking permission? Is this mother, may I? That's childish, Daniel."
Danny looks at his dad. "Where are the keys?"
"Under the driver's seat. You wreck it, you buy it!"
Danny smirks.
8888888888888888888888
KNOCK KNOCK
"I'll get it," Jack shouts. He opens the door, there is his dad. Head hanging down. "Come in, dad."
As he enters, Danny asks "Is your mom here?"
"Yes, on the back balcony, I believe. Do you know the way?"
"Yes." He enters, goes through the condo and out onto the back balcony. "Jamie, Caitlin, Lin. Can we talk, Lin?"
"Sure, where would you like to do that?"
"Private, please."
Caitlin and Jamie get up, and go inside.
The husband and wife take a beach chair.
Linda looks at Danny, he looks at the floor.
Silence.
Linda breaks first, "Why are you here, Danny?"
He looks up, hurt in his face. "You know why! To get you!"
"And grab me by the hair and drag me back to NYC? This is the 21st century, Daniel Reagan!"
Jamie pokes his head out. "Need any help?"
Danny glares at his kid brother. "NO!"
"Call if you do," Jamie says, looking at Linda.
She nods, almost imperceptibly.
He slowly retreats.
"You read my letter?" Linda softly asks.
"Yes. I read it."
"And?"
"And, what?"
"Your response, that's what." She is getting perturbed. 'How stubborn can one man be?' She asks herself.
"I don't recall a question, Lin."
She drops her hands to her lap with a soft thud. "Are you going to reconcile with your brother and sister-in-law?"
"Are they going to let me have a glass of wine with my dinner?"
"You sound like an alcoholic, Daniel Reagan!"
Jamie bursts through the sliding glass door just in time to spare Linda a slap from her husband. He grasps Danny's wrist and twists his arm behind his back. He shoves Danny up against the railing, his upper torso leaning over open space.
"Let me go kid, or I'll-
"You'll what, Danny! You are out of line. Jack, Sean, a little help here, please."
The three of them got a settled down Danny down to the golf cart. Then they drove him to Frank's condo. After getting him inside, Jamie and the boys drove themselves back to Jamie's. They informed Frank that he or Pops will have to walk over in the morning and get the cart. Nobody seems happy.
8888888888888888888888
CONDO J&C
Linda is in the LR; she gathers her boys to herself.
"I'm sorry boys. I don't know what to do for your dad."
"You still love him, don't you, mom?" Sean chokes out.
"Of course. I just don't know what is making him act like this."
"I think, maybe, he is Jealous of uncle Jamie," Jack surmises.
"Why?" A shocked Sean spits out.
"Think about it: Uncle Jamie has a pretty concert pianist wife, he got a big promotion to Lieutenant, he commands his own division in the SDPD. No knock on you, mom."
She reassures Jack that she understands.
"Quite a list," Sean mumbles. "And dad still calls Jamie 'the kid'."
"I feel like I, or we, need to do something more drastic even than my vacation." Linda mutters.
"What if when we get home, the 3 of us throw out all the alcoholic beverages in the house?" Jack proposes.
"Are you coming home, bro?"
"Long enough to help with this."
"We must all 3 be united, boys!"
They stack their hands; Linda prays for the family.
888888888888888888888
TBC
"Staten Island Surprise!"