Chapter 232 – Closing Out a Nice Family Night
It was just a bit after five when Gran, Trish and Abigail started setting out the food. While they were getting all the food set out, Jack and Nathan started playing the guitar a bit. Slowly everyone came out and gathered around. Frank had set up the portable fire pit that he found in the garage. It was set to light, but it was still too warm and too early to light it. It was set in the middle of the group, so it would almost be like a bonfire. The food was set up off to the side so people could grab what they wanted when they wanted.
The guys took turns playing so everyone could have a chance to grab a bite to eat. Various combinations of Jack, Nathan, Doug, Bill, Frank, Peter and Father Mark played keyboards and guitar. They mostly stuck to songs that everyone or most everyone could sing-along to. After the first half hour, they started taking requests from those that were gathered. Jack got Elizabeth to come up and sing-along with a couple of songs. With so many people, Jack and Father Mark played dueling dulcimers at couple points with Nathan on electric guitar and Doug on keyboard. He had even added the drum tracks that Jack had laid down at some point. It was almost like being at a concert because the guys' voices blended so well. Not only did the guys play Creed on the dulcimers but they also played Amazing Grace, At The Name of Jesus, and Go Light Your World.
Various combinations of players entertained the group for almost two hours. Cody had fallen asleep by the time that they were done. Even the girls had grown tired. They played keyboards and sang a few times. Trish sent them downstairs to get ready for bed. Bill and Abigail gathered their children and headed home as well. Bill promised to be back the next day to work on things with John again. Since he was coming on the Fourth, he left their guitars as well as the kids swim clothes that were hung up downstairs. Caitlin left as well, promising to be back for the Fourth.
After the food had gotten put away, Frank lit the fire and the group sat around with the acoustic guitars and had a much more relaxed time around the fire. After about thirty more minutes of music, the instruments were put away. Gran got everyone to sit down and they went over what was going to happen over the next few days. Gran promised that they would sit down each night and review the plan moving forward for the week.
The group sat around and talked about a few things that they didn't want to discuss with the younger children present. It was almost an hour later that Gran and James headed to bed. John looked at the people still sitting around the fire.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening." John said. "I am sorry about the turmoil that we had to go through earlier this weekend, but I hope that we can put that behind us and move forward. It is going to be a long week with the holiday and the show on Saturday. I am hoping that me being here will not be too disruptive."
"I am glad you are here." Jack said. "I don't think I could have handled yesterday without you. Thank you for trusting me and standing behind me. In case you haven't heard. Elizabeth and I set a wedding date and the ladies got a lot of planning done for the wedding. As of right now, the only people outside of this house that know about the wedding are the Averys and Caitlin. We would like to keep it that way. I know that we are going to have to sit down with security, but for now the date is not to be shared."
"So when are you talking?" John said.
"The plan is for a late afternoon or early evening wedding on August seventeenth." Jack said. "The reception will be back here at the ranch. We are trying to keep the wedding small. I don't know who will be standing up with us. Elizabeth and I have to sit down and talk about things tomorrow."
"I look forward to it." John said. "If there is anything that you need, please let me know. I can have Connor set up an account for the wedding if you want."
"That might be helpful." Elizabeth said. "I have ordered my dress and we have other things that we will need to order later this week after Jack and I talk."
"I will take care of the account in the morning." John said. "Let me know if there is anything else that you need. I know that this might not be the way that you dreamed of your wedding when you were little, but I really hope that you can still have much of what you want for your wedding."
"We have picked out things that I liked." Elizabeth said. "You are right it won't look like what I dreamed of when I was a little girl, but it will be what is right for Jack and I. But, I think that is more important. I know that I could have picked everything out, but I really want Jack to be involved."
"Thank you." Jack said.
He leaned over and gave Elizabeth a quick kiss.
"Don't stay up too late." John said.
"We won't." Frank said.
"Have a good night." John said. "I will see you all in the morning. Also, JP, I spoke with Manny. You will not ride Midnight's Run until the vet has checked him over."
"Yes, Sir." Jack said.
"Good." John said. "Just so we are clear."
Jack nodded.
"Have a good night." Trish said.
The group expressed their goodnights, then John and Trish left. After Trish and the grandparents had left, the group rearranged their chairs so they were closer together and closer to the dying fire. Even though morning came early, they wanted to enjoy as much time as they could together. They knew that things would change once Jack and Elizabeth were married, but that didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy what they had now.
"Do you want to pray here or go downstairs?" Father Mark asked.
"Let's do it here." Jack said. "We can't wrap our arms around each other like we have been, but that is okay. It is a nice night out."
"So I will end it." Father Mark said. "Just like we have been doing, anyone can add something out loud. Frank, will you start?"
Frank nodded.
"In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Frank prayed. "Thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for friends new and old. We ask that You be with us this week as we work with the horses. Help the guys feel confident about the show next weekend. Please keep everyone safe this week with the holiday. Amen."
"Heavenly Father." Nathan prayed. "Thank you for the people that You have brought into my life. Please keep them safe and close to You. Thank you for Jack and Elizabeth. Be with them as they plan their wedding for August. Help things to come together and not let others interfere. Please be with Peter as he struggles to find himself and who he is right now. Put other people in his life that are going to be good for him. Amen."
It was quiet for a few moments and when no one else spoke up, Father Mark took it as his cue to finish out the prayers.
"Lord God." Father Mark prayed. "You know the cries of our hearts. Hear those prayers that we can't find words to voice. Thank you for Caitlin and her new friendship with Elizabeth. Please continue to work in Rosemary's heart and if she can truly see her way to be a true friend, please bring her back to Elizabeth with a humble heart. Please be with Connie and Grayson as they heal from their injuries from yesterday. Help those around Jack to help him make the right decisions about the horses. We ask that You keep everyone safe this week as they get ready for the show. We also ask that You will keep those traveling for the upcoming holiday safe.
Thank you for my family and friends. Help us to have the conversations that we need this week. Help us to lift one another up and encourage those around us. Please be with Father Tom as he steps into my role this month. Help him to feel welcome. I ask a special prayer for Jack and Elizabeth as they work through things and toward their life together. Help us all to get everything done for the wedding in August. Help them to have those hard conversations that You know they need to have. Watch over this house and the people in it tonight. Together we pray as You taught us Our Father … …. Hail Mary …. In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Together they prayed the Our Father and Hail Mary. Elizabeth didn't know the second one, but she listened. When they were done, they all sat back and they just quietly watched the fire.
"We really should turn in." Doug said. "Tomorrow will come fast. Besides, we have a lot of work to do in the next couple of days. The new horses are going to take some work and if you are also going to ride Midnight's Run. Well, you know."
"I agree." Jack said. "I figured that Bubbles and Squeak would need some work. I think the girls can compete on Rocky and Rainbow for our show, but if we do the shows in Cooperstown and Schenectady, I think the girls should be on the new horses."
"I was thinking the same thing." Doug said.
"So you are considering two more shows before the wedding?" Elizabeth asked.
"Three actually." Doug said. "Schenectady, Cooperstown and Albany. Schenectady is the twenty-eighth. Cooperstown is the week after and Albany is the week after that. So three shows the three weekends before the wedding."
"Are you okay with that?" Jack asked.
"If you want to jump." Elizabeth said. "I am not going to stop you. I just don't want you to take on too much."
"It won't be." Jack said. "Even if I jump in two more shows, that will be it. Even if I win I don't think I would have enough points to qualify for the fall finale. Even if I did, I doubt that I would be coming up here for it. I think that is the weekend before the Breeder's Cup in Louisville, Kentucky. Not knowing how school is going to go, I don't think I can be jetting off several weekends in a row."
"You are going to the Breeder's Cup?" Elizabeth asked.
"I had kind of planned on it." Jack said. "I was hoping to have one or two horses racing down there. Right now Midnight's future is up in the air, but I am pretty sure one of my fillies will qualify for either the sprint or the turf. I have two in the running for each one right now. I was hoping Midnight would run in the juvenile. Grandpa John already talked about taking me down. I wanted to go last year, but Ma wouldn't let me miss school because we didn't have any horses racing. This year, I had planned to go. I was hoping to bring you with as well. It is a Thursday through Saturday thing. We would fly down Thursday morning and fly back on Sunday."
"I will have to see." Elizabeth said. "But if you already had plans to go, I won't stop you. I know that it is business."
"We can talk more about it later." Jack said. "Actually, I should have Peter copy you when he sends me things to add to the calendar for work. There is an auction that Grandpa wanted me to go to as well, I think that is the week after the Breeder's Cup. Normally, Grandpa would just stay down there, but he wasn't sure I would be able to take ten days off of school. He was willing to fly me back and forth. I doubt that I would buy any of the horses at the auction, but you never know. I want to keep my options open."
"What horses are sold there?" Elizabeth asked.
"Everything, pretty much except the yearlings which are a different sale in September." Jack said. "So basically they are grouped into different categories. There are broodmares, broodmare prospects, weanlings, horses of racing age – so two and three year olds, stallions and stallion prospects. I was looking at a couple of broodmares and prospects that are going to be listed. I was also looking at a potential stallion. I know that we need to expand our bloodlines and that is a great auction to do it. There are horses from all over the world. The thing is I don't have to be there. I can look at the horses online. As long as there is one person from our group down there to bid, we are fine. Grandpa John was thinking that it would be nice for me to be down there and actually see the horses.
I went to the auction when I was twelve. Ma and Dad were out of the country and I had been left with the nanny. So Grandpa John took me down there with Devin. We bought seven horses that year, all on my recommendation. I just saw the way that the horses moved and knew that they would be good. We did pretty well with those horses and they have produced some good offspring for us."
"Well." Elizabeth said. "We will just have to see. It might be fun to go down there. We will just have to talk to our professors and see what they say. I am sure that we can take our schoolwork with us. You can explain that it is business and that you need to go. We have time to plan that. I made a note to look it up and add it to my calendar. We are going to have to be more aware about adding each other to our calendars so we know when and where the other is going to be."
"If you are using Google calendars on your phone." Frank said. "There is a way to share your calendar with each other."
"I know." Jack said. "I just forgot. I am not used to having to share with anyone. Peter and Devin send me stuff to add, so I never really have to share."
"It is okay." Elizabeth said. "It is something new. But it is going to be important this fall while we are in school that we have each other's schedule. That way we know where the other is, especially with the security concerns."
"She is right." Doug said. "I think it would be helpful if we all had each other's schedules."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "I think there is a way to assign each of us a color so it will be easy to see."
"Alright." Doug said. "We can talk about schedules later. I am going to bed."
"Me too." Lee said.
"I want to check something." Nathan said. "So I will see you in the morning."
"Do you want me to stay and put the fire out?" Frank asked.
"No." Father Mark said. "I need to talk to Jack and Elizabeth about something."
"Ok." Frank said.
The group said their goodnights, then Father Mark moved over closer to Jack and Elizabeth. He waited until the others had gone in and he gathered his thoughts.
"Is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes. Sort of." Father Mark said. "Just give me a moment."
Jack took Elizabeth's hand, she looked at him and Jack nodded to wait. He knew that Father Mark was trying to gather his thoughts and he needed a moment. Father Mark took a deep breath and looked at the two young people before him.
"So Jack and I were talking this afternoon." Father Mark said. "I don't want you to get mad at him, but he revealed something about you, Elizabeth, to me that I think we need to talk about. I hope he wasn't revealing a confidence when he told me, but it just came organically from what we were talking about."
Elizabeth looked at Jack with questioning eyes.
"Sweetheart." Jack said. "I was talking to Father Mark about how difficult it is to be around you sometimes because of the way that my body reacts. I was talking to him, because he would understand and also because I talk to him about most everything. He was asking how I was doing and one thing led to another. I have never shied away from talking about the hard things with Father Mark because sometimes I just have needed someone to listen.
When I was explaining how difficult it is to be around you sometimes, especially when we have pushed the boundaries and how much trouble I am having remaining a gentleman. Anyway, Father Mark suggested that we talk about a few things and probably before the wedding night. That was when it just popped out of my mouth that I would have to be extra sensitive to you and when he asked why, I shared what you told Nathan and I."
"I am not mad." Elizabeth said. "But he is right. It is something that we will need to talk about and probably before the wedding night. However, I am not ready to have that conversation with you or anyone else right now. What I will say, from listening to Rosie and her girlfriends, is that we are going to have to find our own way and what works for us. I am sure we both understand the biology of things, but that doesn't explain everything."
"Very good advice." Father Mark said. "I just wanted you to be aware that I knew. I also understand that you are not ready to speak about those things as they are deeply personal. The one piece of advice that I will give you, is that you will need to listen to each other and to also speak up about things – good and bad. Seeing the color in Jack's face at this point, I am going to drop the subject. I will check in later before the wedding to make sure you have talked about things."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "We will talk about it at some point later this summer. I am thinking closer to the wedding."
"That is all I am asking." Father Mark said.
"Thank you." Jack croaked out.
"Now." Father Mark said. "I will step into the house and grab some water. I will give you a couple minutes alone and then we all should head to bed."