"Isn't that song a little morbid?" Lisa frowned, "it literally mentions watching you die,"
"She will someday," Greg whispered, "just being realistic and hopeful. I'm 45, Lisa, she's not yet three, I hope that she's the one watching me die, because damn if she's not then I wouldn't be far behind. You'll understand someday if you have kids," as Greg gently rocked her to sleep, "God, I love this place,"
"So, you keep saying," Lisa mumbled.
"You know what Lisa? I'm kind of getting tired of this. You know that I wasn't much older than Charlie when I started being abused, and this was the only place I could be where I wasn't being abused or hurt. So yeah, this home means an awful lot to me. It's the only place in the world where I have happy childhood memories. The only things that mean more to me are James and these kids, they're the only reasons I'd consider moving or living anywhere else," Greg leant over and kissed the top of Charlie's head ever so softly. "I'm happy in a way that you can't understand what that feels like, but it's the truth,"
"Greg, I'm sorry, but you have to see that you in fact don't have a better quality of life here than you did in Princeton. You were a department head and one of the most respected doctors in the world, and you're throwing that all away to be a stay-at-home dad? While James was also a department head, but now works underneath another oncologist, and only works part time from the sounds of it anyway!" Lisa said, "you're living in the basement of a rickety box house, smoking pot in the evenings, and caring for a couple of kids,"
"And I wouldn't have it any other way, Lisa. I'm no longer addicted to the Vicodin, and in fact am on a reduced dose with less pain, I have more mobility in my leg that I can actually get around the house without my cane with just a limp unless I'm walking up or down stairs, I have friends here aside from James, I'm not depressed and suicidal anymore, my nightmares have decreased unless something very specific sets them off… Everything is better for James and I here. James is actually eating a normal amount now and is recovering to a healthy weight when before he'd lost so much condition that he nearly had a heart attack after his relapse into anorexia- that you set off into relapse, when you were meant to be his friend! We have a great life in Detroit and I wouldn't trade it for the world; maybe it's not what you would want for your life but luckily for you- you don't have children and probably never will, and luckily for both of us; I'm marrying James and not you," Greg hissed back, and when Charlie stirred he went straight back to singing her the song as a lullaby.
"Greg, I'm trying to help," Lisa whispered.
"Well don't, we don't need or want your help," Greg snapped back, "so save your energy,"
"Rowwy, I love you," Charlie whispered from in his arms.
"I love you too, princess, I love you more than the moon and the stars and all the riches of the world. Charlie, my angel, I'll do anything for you. Daddy will never let anyone hurt you so long as I draw breath. Just tell me where and daddy will always be there for you," Greg bent down again and kissed her gently on the cheek, and she looked up at him with big, soft brown eyes, "do you want your bottle?" Greg cooed, and little Charlie nodded in his arms, "okay, baby girl," as he grabbed a sippy cup she'd left out earlier that evening on the table and passed it to her, which she took and hungrily drank from, "it's Tyson's sixth birthday tomorrow, Lisa, so you might want to take a taxi to the mall and buy him a gift,"
"Why don't I just take one of the five vehicles in the driveway? Why do I have to pay for expensive taxis?" Lisa argued.
"Look Lisa, it's not our fault that you didn't have the foresight to hire a car in another city. The challenger and the taurus aren't running, the Chevy is only covered for myself, James and Rob to drive, Rob won't let you drive his red Raptor because frankly he doesn't like you whatsoever because you've only been awful to him, and that black Sequoia was Josie's car; so good luck talking Rob into letting you borrow that!" Greg snapped. Lisa wasn't quite sure if she believed the insurance story about the Chevy, but didn't want to push it; "and if you're too cheap to order a Taxi or an Uber, then just Amazon in a package for same day delivery!"
"Come on, Greg. After all I've done for you," Lisa rolled her eyes.
"No, Lisa, you're not pulling the guilt trip card on me here or borrowing one of our expensive trucks to go on a shopping spree because you were too cheap on your huge salary to just hire a car or get an Uber. The same goes for that conference, don't think that we're driving you there. But Ty is going to be expecting a present and a card because he's six and you're an adult staying in his home on his birthday, don't think I'm going to cover your ass for that one," Greg hissed back, "and keep your voice down! My Charlie angel is trying to sleep,"
"Greg-" Lisa started, and Charlie began to stir in his arms.
Greg glared over at Lisa, clearly annoyed, "I'm going inside and taking Charlie back to bed, even with James' snoring in the next room she'll have a better chance to get to sleep there than she will out here with you. All I wanted was a bit of peace and quiet and not to be bothered," he muttered as he pulled himself up, ignoring his cane as he was holding the still sleeping Charlie in both arms, "you're acting irrational, Lisa, don't be jealous of my children. It's not a good look to be jealous of the affection and love I'm giving to my toddler daughter," Greg grumbled.
"Rory, make me a new bottle of milk?" Charlie murmured.
"Of course, darling. I'll warm it up for you and give you your bottle; but you have to drink it before going to sleep, okay?" and Charlie nodded sleepily in his arms.
Lisa watched with surprise, as although he had to take one step at a time, he really was walking upstairs without his cane while carrying Charlie in his arms. Lisa followed him back inside a couple of minutes later and could see Greg stirring a pot of milk on the stove, before he told Charlie to hang her arms around on his neck as he turned off the heat, poured the milk from the saucepan directly into a baby bottle before checking the temperature of the milk in the bottle, before he put one arm underneath Charlie, holding her on his hip, picking up the bottle and giving it to her which she immediately started drinking from, as Greg went and sat down at the kitchen table, putting Charlie back to sitting on his lap over his left leg, as she drank from the bottle. "Good girl, Charlie," Greg smiled, "now it's time to go back to bed," when after about ten minutes she'd finished her bottle. Charlie dropped her pacifier out of her mouth, Greg bent over, picked it up, put it in his own mouth to clean off any dust or germs from it, and put it back in Charlie's mouth, before pulling her up onto his left hip again and began heading upstairs, noticing Lisa was in the room watching, "please just do me a favour and clean the pan and bottle for me," Greg asked, as he walked out of the room, and Lisa could hear him limping slowly up the stairs.
The next morning, everyone was crowded around the breakfast table; "okay, birthday boy, what do you want to do for your birthday?" James said and Tyson lit up, "anything you want to do. Somewhere not too far, we can't go to Mackinaw or anything like that. Somewhere within a couple of hours away,"
"I want to go to Bay City!" Tyson grinned.
"Well then, Bay City here we come. Go and grab your swimming trunks in case you want to go for a swim, Ty," James grinned, and Tyson nodded excitedly, and went to get up, "after breakfast, Tyson," James reminded him.
James watched with a smile after breakfast when Tyson came galloping down the stairs in his boardshorts and a t-shirt, dragging a towel behind him. "Tyson, come here," James said, holding out a card, "happy birthday, son," he smiled, and Tyson just about tore the card open, and watched with wide, excited eyes as $20 floated down out of the card as he jumped down and grabbed it, throwing his arms around James, thanking him repeatedly. "That's not all, Tyson, there's something else waiting for you outside from Greg and I," and Tyson ran and stood by the front door, waiting for James to open it.
There, outside the front door, stood a brand-new bike, "oh my God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is the best birthday present ever!" Tyson screamed, nearly winding James as he jumped through him.
"You're welcome, Ty, you need to thank Greg too, it's a present from both of us," James reminded him and Tyson spotted Greg standing a few metres away and just about ploughed through him, causing him to stumble slightly and have to regain his footing as he screamed his thanks repeatedly, "you're welcome Tyson," Greg laughed, "you want to take the new bike with us?" as Ty nodded excitedly, running over to grab it. "We're taking the Toyota, Tyson," Greg reminded him, as he carried the bike over to the driveway, Greg watched with concern at the body of the bike swinging from side to side as Tyson carried it closer to the cars, "let me take that," Greg suggested, grabbing the bike and putting it in the trunk of the car.
Lisa sat cramped in the middle seat of the middle row of the SUV, feeling cramped in between Charlie's car seat and Tyson next to her, talking her ear off about how excited he was, James was sat behind her, Greg in the front seat, and Rob driving. Rob seemed to be making a point of talking with everyone in the car aside from Lisa; and for their part, although Lisa was sure that James and Greg both noticed this, neither of them brought it up or really made any attempt at including Lisa in their conversations. Later that afternoon, Lisa was walking behind the group of them, feeling incredibly awkward, wishing that she'd just simply lied that she had somewhere else to be and caught a taxi to go some place else, feeling like the ultimate third wheel of the family. Rob was carrying a few bags of KFC and chatting with Greg and Charlie, who Greg was leading by the hand, while James chased a loudly laughing Tyson riding his bike around.
Sitting down to eat near the water's edge, Tyson began scarfing down the food as quickly as possible before turning and running out to the water; "watch him, James," Greg warned.
"Come in the water!" Tyson yelled back, "come on! You're both wearing swimming shorts!"
Greg looked over at James and shrugged, as he headed down towards the water, and James followed. "I've never seen either of them swim," Lisa frowned, "I don't even know if they can swim,"
"James can swim really well, Greg can swim well enough to save himself or the kids, but James is a very good swimmer. He goes and does laps at the local pool a few times a week throughout the summer. James takes the kids to the public pool occasionally, Greg goes sometimes; but he usually stays on the side of the pool and watches. He's embarrassed about his leg and strangers seeing the scar, but he's slowly getting more confident about it," Rob muttered, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it, "I'm surprised you didn't know that," Rob frowned, "I thought you guys had been 'friends' for over 20 years?"
"We have, but we've never gone swimming together," Lisa frowned, as she watched, while Greg was staying where he could stand touch the bottom if he would stand up; James was ducking and diving under the water with Tyson. After about half an hour, Greg came back up the beach, claiming he was tired, and that his leg was getting sore.
"My two dolphins," he laughed to Rob who chuckled back, saying that he'd already gotten some photos and videos on his phone. Eventually, James and Tyson waded out of the water and up the beach as James wringed out his hair, claiming he was exhausted, Greg whispered something in his ear and James laughed and said he certainly wasn't that exhausted.
As they were packing up the car, Rob turned to Tyson, "hey kid, how'd you like to ride up the front with granddad on the way home?" and Tyson's eyes lit up and he ran over to the front door of the car, "hey, hey, towel in first!" Rob reminded him, before Tyson climbed in. Lisa watched from the back of the car for the ride home as James slowly dozed off with the side of his face resting on Greg's shoulder in the back seat next to Charlie, and Greg gently resting his head back on top of James' as he watched the world rush by through the window. Lisa realised that despite the fact she was in a car with five other people, that she'd hadn't felt this alone in a very long time; and that although she, Greg, and James had started out on the same path and trajectory; sometime over the past year, they'd unknowingly come to a fork in the road, and while Lisa continued to go down the road they had initially been travelling, Greg and James had deviated down an entirely different road and were now living in an entirely different, and to Lisa entirely alien, planet, and neither could hear what the other was saying.
