Part 58

In the waiting room, Gunter seemed to be reading a magazine but Rosita noticed that he was really watching Eddie. Eddie was too busy talking to Johnny and Ryan to notice.

She went over to her best friend and sat across from him. "Hey. You seem a little preoccupied."

Gunter shook his head. "W… w… why would you be saying that, Rosita?" He scratched his ear and looked away.

"Gunter, I know you. You're like a brother to me," Rosita pointed out. "Have you told Eddie that you like him?"

His pink face became rosy red in embarrassment. "Like Eddie? I mean, yeah, I like Eddie. We all like Eddie. He's our friend." He noticed her eyes were skeptical. "I mean… Yes, I like him… There's nothing not to like. He's creative, smart, and very loyal."

"But?" Rosita asked leadingly.

Gunter shook his head. "What if… what if it's too soon? And what about Buster?" He looked down sadly.

The sow hugged him. "Oh honey, I know. There is no greater test than the one the pair of you are facing right now. You both loved someone very special. But the good news is, neither of you have to face it alone. You have us, but, more to the point, you have each other." She rubbed his shoulders. "And Buster would want you to be happy. No matter what that means." She held his hand.

He nodded and sighed. "And he'd want me to take care of Eddie for him." His breath hitched a little bit.

She squeezed his hand. "I can't think of anyone Buster would trust more to love Eddie as much as he did." She hugged him again. "There's certainly no one I trust more."

He hugged her back. "Thanks, Rosita." He glanced over at Eddie. The sheep smiled shyly back at him. He inwardly promised to talk to him about it. Maybe another bottle would help and there was a state store on the way home.

"So, Johnny," Meena began. "You're a big brother. How do you feel?"

The gorilla laughed. "Well, I've been a big brother for about nine months now, but it feels good." He smiled at Ryan.

"Nine months. Has it really been that long?" Gunter asked. It took them a moment to process the question.

Ash nodded. "It's February now, Valentine's Day is a week from now. March, April, May…" The melancholy infected the waiting room.

Eddie closed his eyes against the ever-present pain and went over to Gunter. "There are still times when I think I see him out of the corner of my eye or hear him," he admitted. "But… he wouldn't want us to go on being sad when we think about him. Buster was the most positive person I knew."

Rosita smiled at him. "That's right, Eddie. You're right."

Clay looked at Sitara who took his big hand in her own. "It can… it can help to… to think of all the things you loved about him. The good memories."

Johnny smiled. "We have a lot of those." He wiped his eyes. "Like when he told us that Nana had bought the theater and was having it rebuilt for us."

Eddie smiled, remembering the conversation.

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Buster would never know it but the day after the show, Eddie had gone and pleaded with Nana. "Nana, I know his shows have all flopped and I know he destroyed the theater with his squid tank but Nana, he loves that theater."

"And what exactly are you asking of me, Edmond?" She demanded that he get to the point.

He sighed. "Nana, I don't want to see him wash cars for the rest of his life. He was miserable. But you can help him."

She nodded and looked him in the eye. "And why exactly should I do this, Eddie?"

"Because he's my best friend. He loves that theater and putting on his shows makes him happy. Because I love it when he's happy and watching him wash cars was heartbreaking!" He shouted. "And maybe if you help…"

Nana put a hand on his shoulder and studied her grandson. For the briefest of moments, she favored him with a rare smile. "Ahhh, I see…."

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Eddie smiled as he shared his contribution to saving the theater. "I just couldn't stand to see Buster washing cars when the theater was his dream." He became aware of Gunter patting his back.

Rosita held his hand, squeezing. "And the next day, we got an excited party call telling us that Nana was going to take care of us. I didn't know you had anything to do with that."

He blushed. "I just wanted to make Buster happy." He leaned into Gunter's shoulder.

Gunter nodded. "Well you did. He was so happy that we were getting the theater back. So was I. I love our theater."

"Hey, Rosita," Porsha said as she and Nooshy rejoined the gang. "Suki asked if you and Eddie could go back next. She has something to talk to you about."

"Sure, Porsha," Rosita got up with Gunter and Eddie and went back to the recovery room.

Nooshy had carefully composed herself so that no one else would know she had been crying. She sat beside Johnny. "We have a little brother and sister. They are so cute." She hugged him. "Thank you for asking me to be your dance coach." She whispered.

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In the recovery room, Rosita had to restrain herself from squealing. "Awww, they are so cute! They look just like you Suki but they have your hair, Marcus."

Suki smiled down at her pups and held up a tiny hand. "They also have five fingers instead of four."

She pointed out the other minor difference. "They're so precious. And they're mine. Ours." She corrected with a glance at her husband.

Eddie came closer and peered down. "Wow!"

"Would you like to hold one?" Suki asked gently. He nodded nervously. He carefully took one of the babies. "And that little pumpkin is Rosamund."

The sheep held the pup with care. "Rosamund, that's a pretty name."

Rosita watched as Gunter and Eddie began doting on the new baby girl. Quietly, she turned back to Suki. "Porsha said you wanted to talk to me."

The dog nodded. "Yeah… Linda will need to take my place again at least for a few days. And… she recently quit her job at Hot News. Would you like to hold Luke?"

The sow nodded and eagerly took the baby. "Yeah, she told me. If she can fill in for you until you're up to it, we would really appreciate it. Are you sure you won't take maternity leave? It's no problem."

Suki shook her head. "Oh no. Even if I can't go on stage, I'll still be at the theater as much as possible. But I was thinking. The New Moon Theater really could use a publicist. And Linda really is a great reporter."

The pig listened while she bounced Luke gently. "Hmm… it's worth talking about with the team. It'll ultimately be up to Eddie though."

Suki nodded with understanding. He and Gunter's attention were firmly on the baby they were playing with and she smiled. "Those two are cute together."

Rosita smiled. "I think they both have a real chance together if they'd just let it happen." She tickled the little, black chin. "So, Luke and Rosamund. Congratulations." She passed Luke back to the proud father.

Marcus held his son. "Of course now we have another problem. We only have two bedrooms. It might be time to add onto the garage."

"Can you do that?" Suki asked curiously.

He shrugged. "Well, yeah. The boys and I built what we have now. Adding on isn't hard. But we'll need a place to live during construction."

Eddie looked up. "I bet Johnny and Ryan would give you one of the family apartments above the studio." He suggested.

"I don't doubt it, Mr. Moon. Thank you for reminding me," the former crime boss replied.

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While waiting her turn with Clay and Sitara, Ash found herself thinking about their advice. The courts would be more likely to give the children to the most stable home. And she loved Lance, she could see being his wife. He just hadn't asked her yet. She would just have to do it herself. Maybe on Valentine's Day.

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Upcoming: Nana is easily over 100 years old. She cannot live forever.