Chapter 385 – Supper and Settling in

Once the Averys arrived, Bill and Frank went to get the steaks grilling as Frank had already turned on the grill. Abigail went to the kitchen to help Gran finish things up. Cody insisted on sitting on Jack's lap, so Elizabeth and Becky went about setting the table. Father Mark went down to grab some wine and cider after checking the wine fridge. Peter had gone out with his father and Frank to learn more about grilling. It wasn't long and James was home and they were almost ready to sit down to supper. They had grilled steaks, corn on the cob, a tossed veggie salad with extra raw veggies and dinner rolls. Gran had made bacon jam for the steaks and had also pulled out chips and salsa. When they all sat down, Jack smiled.

"This looks wonderful, Gran." Jack said.

"Thank you." Gran said. "But it was a team effort."

James looked at his grandson, who nodded.

"Let us pray." Father Mark said. "In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing Jack, Elizabeth and Frank back here safely. Be with Nathan as she tends to his sister and niece. Thank you for the friends and family around this table and be with those not here tonight. Bless this food to our bodies and the hands that prepared it. Amen."

"Amen." James said.

Everyone echoed the amen and then started passing the food around. They also started really talking.

"Did you have a nice trip?" Bill asked.

"The resort was great." Jack said. "We would love to go back in a few years. It is really pretty, has great views and plenty to do. We also did a couple day trips and there was plenty to choose from."

"Where did you go?" Abigail asked.

"The first trip was to the International Wolf Center and then to the North American Bear Center." Elizabeth said. "The other was to the Soudan Underground Mine State Park."

"Sounds like fun." Peter said. "I would love to see a wolf close up."

"Maybe we can take you one day." Jack said.

"That can be arranged." Bill said.

"There was so much other stuff that I would love to visit." Jack said. "It seems like most places have a historical society or museum of sorts. A quick internet search and I found over a dozen places within an hour to an hour and half of the resort. It would be awesome to turn it into some kind of educational trip for kids. We learned so much ourselves."

"I am glad you guys had a good time." James said. "We were a little concerned when the video surfaced."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Frank said. "Nathan and I should have been paying a little bit more attention, but we felt that the resort was safe and we could lay back a little. I barely remember seeing the girls and if I would have seen them recording, I would have said something."

"It is not your fault." Jack said. "I should have been a bit more aware of things myself."

"No harm, no foul." Bill said. "So just put it behind you."

The group continued to eat and talk more about the past week. Frank and Elizabeth both talked about some of the different foods they had while they had been out. Abigail and Gran both agreed that the pineapple mango salsa also sounded good. Overall it was a nice supper and a great time to visit and catch up. Jack needed it more then he realized and with Cody beside him, loving the attention, Jack realized that while he wouldn't push Elizabeth, he wanted to be a father more than he had thought. He knew that he was always meant to be a father, but he didn't realize how much he would really want it. He knew that they were young and had plenty of time, but there was a part of Jack that really didn't want to wait long.

… … … …

Before Nathan knew it, it had been an hour and Lee was knocking on Nathan's door.

"Hey." Lee said. "We were thinking of ordering from Giovanni's. I see they have a BBQ chicken pizza. Do you want that or something else?"

"What were you going to get?" Nathan asked.

"We were thinking of a meat lovers and garlic knots." Lee said. "We have soda here."

"Yeah, get me a BBQ chicken pizza and get a large order of garlic knots." Nathan said. "Let me know how much I owe you."

"Don't worry about it tonight." Lee said. "So I will order that and then let you know when it gets here."

"Sounds good." Nathan said. "I need to make some sense of this room."

"Understood." Lee said. "Also, I think that your laundry is done."

"Thank you." Nathan said.

Lee left Nathan to continue unpacking and go order supper. Nathan went to change his laundry and then headed back to his room to make some headway. Over the next hour, Nathan was able to make a dent in unpacking and was feeling better about things. He had made a dent in things and had one load of laundry in the dryer and one in the washer. And was feeling better when Lee came and knocked on the door to let him know that food was there.

"Feeling better?" Doug asked.

"A little." Nathan said. "At least I have made some kind of dent in unpacking and organizing."

"That is good." Doug said. "What do you want to drink? We have Mountain Dew, Pepsi and root beer."

"I picked up a six pack of beer." Nathan said. "I think I might have one of those. It has been a week. I will tell you about it."

"No problem." Doug said. "It isn't like you are driving or have to worry about working tonight. I hope that you will be able to relax and not think that you are always on duty."

"I hope that as well." Nathan said. "Other than this summer, I really am not used to living with someone else, so if I am doing something, please let me know."

Doug nodded.

"At least we each have our own space." Doug said.

"Good point." Nathan said. "I suppose that if we could all survive living in the same room this summer, this should be fairly easy. We all have our own rooms."

"And TVs and a desk in them." Doug said.

Once Lee joined them, Doug nodded.

"Heavenly Father." Doug prayed. "Thank you for bringing Nathan back here safely. Please be with his sister and heal her. Bless our time together and help us to be ready for school next week. Bless this food and those who prepared it. Amen."

"Amen." Both Lee and Nathan said.

"Thank you guys for this." Nathan said. "I am just overwhelmed at the moment with everything going on."

"Talk to us." Lee said. "How can we help you?"

"Colleen's injuries are a lot more serious than I had been led to believe." Nathan said.

"How bad?" Lee asked. "Really, how bad is it?"

"She is still listed as day to day." Nathan said. "There is internal bleeding, they are having a hard time controlling and she is needing blood daily. She has memory issues from the head injuries and they are monitoring the pressure in her brain and giving meds to keep it down, to make sure nothing happens. And that doesn't even include the broken bones, bruises and cuts that she received. He carved her with a knife. The nurse was very honest with me that Colleen may never recover."

"What about Allie?" Doug said.

"I don't know." Nathan said. "I can't leave her with your parents indefinitely. The apartment that Jack has for Colleen and Allie is going to take a couple of weeks to be ready. Then I question if it is even worth furnishing an apartment she may never see. I have been back and forth all afternoon about moving forward with things or waiting to see how Colleen does."

"You can absolutely leave Allie with Mom." Doug said. "She is loving having a little one around again. She wanted more kids after Dani was born, but it never happened. Then she got pregnant with the twins and was able to carry them to term only to have things go horribly wrong in the delivery. She is totally enjoying having Allie around. I know that it is not a long term solution, but Mom does really love having her there and will take her any time she can."

"Okay, thanks." Nathan said. "That helps some."

"I wouldn't be opposed to you having her here." Lee said. "At least until things are a bit more clear."

"That would be fine with me as well." Doug said.

"What would I do with her while we are in class?" Nathan asked. "What about the various plans we have this fall?"

"Slow down." Doug said. "I am sure that between Jack and his grandfather, they can find a daycare spot. We can take things one day at a time and I am sure that Mom would help out any time we need as long as she can."

"Katie, too." Lee said.

"Where would she sleep?" Nathan asked.

"A toddler bed would easily fit in your room without an issue." Lee said.

"And if something happens to Colleen?" Nathan asked. "If she …."

Nathan couldn't even say it as just the thought was so bad that it overwhelmed him.

"You cross that bridge if and when you need to." Lee said. No need to stress about what ifs at this point. You need a short term solution and pray for the best."

"One day at a time." Doug said. "We will help you. So will Jack and Elizabeth. Push comes to shove, you and Allie take the apartment that was meant for Colleen. We shift, we deal, we adapt."

"Okay." Nathan said. "One day at a time."

"One day at a time." Doug said.

"And if we have to remind you." Lee said. "We will."

"Thanks." Nathan said.

"Now tell us about Minnesota." Doug said.

As they ate, Nathan shared about the trip to Minnesota. He talked about the resort and the lake. He told them about the wolf and bear centers. He told them about the underground mine and how he almost wasn't allowed to go down there because of his height. And when he did he had to duck or crouch for most of the time. Nathan talked about how relaxing the cabins were and how Jack would love to take everyone out there for a few weeks in a few years. The only thing Nathan didn't talk about was Kayla. While he knew that he would have to at some point, he was still trying to figure everything out, especially with what he learned about Colleen. Besides that, he wanted a little more time to himself. While Jack, Elizabeth and Frank knew, they were there to say anything.

… … … …

After they had eaten and cleared the table of food and dishes, Jack and Elizabeth brought out the gifts for everyone.

"We picked up souvenirs for people." Jack said. "Just a few things to let you know that we were thinking about you while in Minnesota."

"Please enjoy." Elizabeth said as she handed out the bags.

"Thank you so much." Bill said. "Completely unnecessary, but thank you."

"Yes, thank you." Abigail said. "I am sure that we will all appreciate what you got us."

The bookmarks were the biggest hit and the temporary tattoos were also a hit with the kids. Cody especially loved his plush wolf.

"I promise the magnets will go on the new fridge." Abigail said. "Which you didn't have to do either."

Jack just smiled.

"I can't wait to show my friends at school." Becky said.

"Remind me to send you pictures that you can also share." Elizabeth said. "I have some great ones from our day trips as well as from when we went on a hike in the woods yesterday."

"I can't wait." Becky said.

"Thank you very much." Abigail said. "Both of you. You have both done more than you needed to and we appreciate it."

"You are welcome." Jack said.

Jack got up and went to give Bill and Abigail each a hug.

"And yes it was needed." Jack said. "You supported us when our own parents didn't and we just wanted to show that we appreciated the support."

"I will always support you." Bill said. "I have told you that."

"Thank you." Jack said.

The Averys didn't stay long after the gifts because it was already pushing seven and the kids were on their school schedule so they would be easier to deal with that first week or so. Caitlin stayed to talk to Elizabeth, so the two of them headed to the library after the Averys left.

"So are you enjoying married life?" Caitlin asked. "Was it worth waiting?"

"It was totally worth waiting." Elizabeth said. "And married life is wonderful."

"Are you excited for school?" Caitlin asked.

"Excited and a little worried." Elizabeth said. "We kind of lived in a bubble here at the ranch this summer and now I am heading back to reality. But it is a new reality, I never thought I would be starting college as a married woman. I am worried about making friends and how Rosie will react. She has a way of spinning things to always make herself never look bad, so God knows what she has said about me and spread it around to people."

"Don't worry about it." Caitlin said. "Find some people in your same classes and form a study group. It is the best and quickest way to find people with similar interests and to make friends."

"Is that what you did?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Caitlin said. "There were two other girls who shared all of my classes, so we agreed that it was just easier to get together to study. I am looking forward to them coming back this weekend. I don't know if we will have all the same classes again, but we agreed to still get together to study. Usually our study sessions were at one person's place and we would all bring snacks to share. We usually did as much talking as we did studying, but it was great."

"That sounds like a good idea." Elizabeth said.

The two sat there and continued to talk about things until it started getting late and they realized the time. Elizabeth was glad that Abigail had introduced her to Caitlin. She had never had a friend like her before that she could share things with and was genuinely interested in what Elizabeth had to say. While Elizabeth knew that she was going to miss sitting and visiting with Caitlin, they promised to talk on the phone. And Elizabeth knew that Caitlin would be around when they came back up here.

… … … …