Chapter 42: Nathan & Grandkids
Life has an interesting rhythm to it. Often one would find the simplest pleasure later in life in things they did earlier in life. Nathan sat in his chair holding a remote and watched cartoons. He often wondered why when he would bring this up, Haley would say read Shakespeare's As You Like It.
He looked over to the sofa and saw LK was sitting there laughing. Nathan looked down on the floor and three of his grandkids were laying there laughing. They were three of the four from his son Brian.
"Papa, what are they talking about?" Darren, the youngest of the three grandkids, asked.
"About how crazy someone is being," Nathan said.
"Why are they being crazy?" Darren asked.
"Quiet Darren, you're ruining the show," Lacy, Darren's sister, said.
"Well, you're not helping, Lacy," Lennon, the oldest of the three, said.
"Shhh! We're missing the show, every Sunday we watch this show," LK said.
"LK, please," Lennon said.
"Now you're interrupting the show, Lennon," Lacy said.
"Why are you starting?" Lennon asked.
"I'm not starting," Lacy replied.
"You are," Lennon said.
"Are not," Lacy said.
"Are too," Lennon said.
"It takes two to argue based on the definition of the word by Webster's dictionary," LK said.
Nathan sighed, "Enough!" he bellowed.
"Papa?" Darren asked.
"Just watch the show," Nathan said.
"Yes Papa," The Grandkids said.
"Yes Dad," LK said.
Nathan sighed. Eight grandchildren popped into his head. Each of his sons gave him four each. They ranged in age from seventeen to five, three of them alone were six, and two were eleven. There were three girls, Brett, Maeghan, and Lacy, and five boys, Wyatt, Lennon, Landen, Logan, and Darren. He and Haley had custody of three of them, which were three of Brian's four. Wyatt lived with his Mom. The oldest, Brett, was a step-granddaughter, but he never treated her differently, and she split time between her Mom and Dad. Fortunately, James and Ashlyn didn't need Nathan and Haley to watch their other three.
The kids had returned to watching TV. So, a silence settled into the room. This worried Nathan. He looked at his watch and wondered where Haley was. She had run out mid-morning to check on his brother, Lucas, and hadn't been back yet. He started to get worried.
That was when his phone rang. He looked down to see it was Haley.
He answered it, "Hi Hales," Nathan said.
"Sorry, I stopped by the office after I talked with Luke," Haley said.
"Really, what was going on there?" Nathan asked.
"Kayla was sorting out some stuff that happened on the west coast and arranged for Chris to have a music video shoot," Haley said.
"When will you be rid of him?" Nathan asked.
"When he released so many albums, he quits RBR or dies, whichever comes first," Haley said.
"I can arrange one of those, easily," Nathan said.
"Enough of that, it's his contract, Peyton set him up for life as thanks for his production work," Haley said.
"Bad business choice," Nathan said.
"Emotions sometimes get in the way," Haley said.
"So, are we having the meeting this time, when Keith comes back?" Nathan asked.
"Yes, we put it off too long, and Fallon will be down then, so the whole board will be there," Haley said.
"Okay, that sounds like a plan," Nathan said.
"I'm going to bring home some pizzas for dinner, is that okay?" Haley asked.
"Hold on," Nathan said and took the phone away from his face. "Is pizza good for dinner?" he asked the room.
"Pizza on Sunday, it's not pizza day," LK said.
"Well Mom is picking it up," Nathan said.
"It will do," LK said.
"Yay!" Darren said.
"Fine," Lacy said.
"Yes Papa," Lennon said.
Nathan put the phone back to his mouth, "Yes, it should be fine," he said.
"Okay, I'll order it and pick it up on my way home," Haley said.
"Sure, see you home with the pizza," Nathan said.
"Love you," Haley said.
"Love you," Nathan said, and they disconnected the phone.
"So, what else is going on, Papa?" Lennon asked.
"Not much, Nana Haley is bringing home pizza and that's about it," Nathan said.
"Okay," Lennon said, "I need some help on the court tomorrow."
"I can do that, Lennon," Nathan said, "What do you need help with?"
"Some moves in the post," Lennon said.
"Okay, we'll go to the River Court tomorrow," Nathan said.
Lennon nodded. Nathan sat back and relaxed. Lennon was only playing AAU basketball, but at least he was keeping himself out of trouble. At this point that's all Nathan could hope for. With Lennon, Lacy, and Darren's parents, Brian and Gabi, the bar was low. Actually, it was extremely low, Nathan noted and knew that was a sad thing.