The New Ship
Chapter 27
"Thanks for picking us up, Uncle Mike." Ashley said.
"It's no problem." Mike answered. Sam was pretty quiet, and Mike got the feeling the trip to see his dad was not his idea.
"Dad said his house was done. He did the decorating?" Ashley asked.
"No. Grace did that. Its not totally finished but nearly." Mike replied. Grace had had to take it easy, so progress had been slow.
"So, what's the plan?" Sam asked from the backseat.
"Well; this is a surprise. I arranged for your dad to eat dinner with us. Kind of an ice-breaker. Then you'll stay with him and visit. If it gets to be too much I'm just next door." Mike replied.
"And Sasha is not there?" Sam asked.
"No. She joined an away team. Your dad is readjusting and honestly spends a lot of time at our place. I have to find him something to do or he's going to be changing diapers when the triplets arrive." Mike joked, trying to get a laugh out of Sam. Ashley chuckled but Sam just groaned.
"He's probably never done that. He wasn't home much when we were that little." Sam said.
"Actually; you might be surprised." Mike replied. He'd already gotten to the crux of the problem.
"Yeah, right." Sam said.
"Sam…" Ashley warned.
"No, it's okay. My own kids probably would have said the same thing about me. And there's some truth to it. I can only speak for myself, but I promise–I wish I had been there, and so does he. Hindsight has a way of doing that to a person. But the difference between me and your dad is he can do something about it. I can't." Mike said, not caring to use guilt of Sam.
"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." Sam remarked.
"Not bad, just real. One of the things I regret now is that I didn't spend all the time I could with my kids. Now, all I can do is spend time with Ely, Liv and the triplets when they arrive. And it seems your dad is try to rectify some of his wrongs. He just needs for you both to have a bit of grace. Give him a chance." Mike said.
"Its the least we could do." Ashley replied. Mike made eye contact with Sam in the rearview mirror. He just nodded.
"Good. We're here now. You guys be nice. Your dad is doing better but he's still kind of fragile." Mike replied. He pulled into his driveway and put the truck into park. He helped the kids with their bags and led them inside where Tom was pestering Grace as she fixed dinner.
"Why do you bread the chicken?" Tom asked.
"Because plain chicken is very bland. Remember, coat it in egg, flour…and so forth." Grace explained.
"Tom?" Mike said before pointing back at Sam and Ashley. Tom had a stunned look on his face.
"You'd better go hug them or something." Grace remarked. She and Tom had a weird dynamic. They got along but they also bickered. She gestured at Mike and he followed her into the backyard to give Tom and the kids some privacy.
"Sam is having a hard time." Mike said after giving Grace a kiss.
"Its going to take a while." Grace said.
"Did you hear from the doctor?" Mike asked, worried about the genetic testing they'd had done on the babies.
"All fine…and she told me the genders; if you want to know?" Grace asked, halfway teasing.
"Why wouldn't I?" Mike asked.
"Two girls and a boy. As I said; perfectly healthy so far." Grace replied. Mike pulled her into a hug and spun her around.
"Kind of anti-climatic." Mike said.
"At our ages, I don't think gender reveals are a thing." Grace said, rather dryly.
"Liv will be happy to have two girls to play with." Mike remarked, giving Grace another kiss.
"Mike–are you okay? It occurred to me…two girls and a boy, just like you had before." Grace asked.
"They aren't a replacement. Just more people to love. There will be hard moments but I am thrilled." Mike replied.
"We'll talk a bit more later. I need to work on dinner." Grace said.
"I love you." Mike said simply.
"I love you too." Grace said. She followed him back into the house. Tom was talking to the kids in the living room. "Oh, Thank Heavens. You didn't try to cook." Grace teased Tom.
"No; I figured I'd better leave that to you." Tom replied.
"So it'll be edible?" Sam asked.
"Grace is a much better cook than me." Tom said.
"Anything would be an improvement." Sam remarked. Mike wondered if Sam was using humor to mask how he felt.
"True." Tom replied.
"It'll take a little bit before dinner is ready. Mike; can you peel those potatoes?" Grace asked.
"I can peel them." Tom offered.
"I don't trust you with a knife. I don't want blood all over my kitchen." Grace said. Sam even laughed at that remark.
"She's funny, Uncle Mike." Sam said.
"Only regarding your dad." Mike replied as he grabbed a knife and potato peeler. He hated peeling potatoes but it gave Tom more time with the kids.