Family Dynamics (Pam of Babylon Book Five) (26 page)

“Ed’s here,” she whispered.

“For dinner?” Ryan asked innocently.

“No! Not for dinner,” she said quietly. It was clear to Ryan he wasn’t going to get any questions answered; his mother was suddenly flustered, her face red, eyes glassy. Something was going on! She turned her back on the couple without explanation and retreated to the kitchen. Ryan shrugged his shoulders.

“Let me get my suitcase,” he said. Lisa followed him out to the car, confused. Was he seriously going to send her away?

“I’m coming, too. Correct? You’re not suggesting I drive another four hours back to my mother’s,” she said. Lisa was learning quickly how fast human nature could change; back at her mother’s she felt differently about Ryan, and now he was definitely behaving differently toward her.

“You saw the reception I got. Something’s going on in there, and I don’t think it’s wise for a stranger to be in the house while it unfolds,” he said as he tugged at his suitcase. Lisa was about to slap his face for calling her a stranger when their names were called. In unison, they turned heads back to the house, and Lisa saw a gorgeous man standing on the porch in shorts and a T-shirt.

“You’re not leaving without saying goodbye, are you?” Ed, the former priest asked. He was sincere, too. Lisa thought
Over my dead body am I leaving now
. She turned and walked back to the house as Ed walked down the path to meet her. Sticking her hand out to him, she smiled her most beatific smile.

“I’m Lisa,” she said. “We were just getting our suitcases.” Ed grasped her hand. He seemed unable to remember what he was going to say, but he was smiling.

“Um, hello! I’m Ed, Ryan’s brother,” he said. Ryan got his suitcase out of the trunk and dragged it up to the house, ignoring his brother and girlfriend. It was obvious they were enjoying the encounter. Ed put his hand on her back and walked back to the car with her. “I’ll help you get your suitcase.” They began talking as if old friends.

“Where are you from?” he asked. She told him about Babylon, about her and Ryan surprising her mother and then finding that she had a guest, and that Ryan didn’t want to stay there after all, so she left with him.

“Now it looks like he might not want me to stay here,” Lisa confessed. “It’s a long way back to Babylon.”

“No, you’ll stay here,” Ed said. “Don’t worry about a thing.” Lisa looked up at the house, and Mrs. Ford was standing in the door, not happy.

“Ed, I’ve already explained to Ryan’s friend that she and Ryan can’t stay.”

Ed paused. “Mother, that’s ridiculous. Lisa drove four hours to bring Ryan home. We’re not making her turn around and drive another four,” he said, with that hand on her back again, leading her up the steps into the house. After he took his hand down, she could feel the heat of his hand linger on her back. She smiled again, deciding the safest thing was to keep smiling and keep her mouth shut. It appeared that Ed was going to take care of everything. Ryan had disappeared up the narrow staircase leading to the second floor. “She can have my room, and I’ll bunk with Ryan.” Mrs. Ford was pissed, but she’d never contradicted Ed before and wasn’t about to start now.

“Follow me,” he said. Lisa went up the stairs behind him, reaching the second floor, and then up another, narrower staircase to the third floor. It was stifling. He went to the window and switched on a small air-conditioning unit. Lisa looked around the room, at its Spartan furniture and lack of clutter. His bed was made with white sheets pulled tight. She sat on the edge of the bed, not sure what to do next. Her stomach growled, and Ed heard it. She put her hand over her midsection.

“Oops!” she said, embarrassed.

“I’ll get you a snack,” he said. “Do you want to stay up here? Or should we take a walk?” She said she’d wait for him and maybe later, after she rested a while, she’d walk. “Put your feet up.” He came over to her and slipped off her shoes, and then gently helped her put her legs up on the bed. She could feel the electricity of his touch travel up the backs of her legs. She wished she’d shaved that morning. But he didn’t seem to mind.

She must have fallen asleep because when he came back with a plate of cheese and crackers and a glass of lemonade, she was unsure where she was for just a second.

“Oh! I must be more tired than I thought. That looks good,” she said.

“My mother’s contrite for being so inhospitable. I’m to tell you dinner is in half an hour. Ryan is sleeping like a baby. Life is back to normal,” he said. “Except I’m here, and I’m not supposed to be.” She took a bite of cracker and cheese.

“Why can’t you be here?” she asked.

“Did Ryan tell you about me?” Ed asked, and when Lisa shook her head, he continued lightheartedly. “I used to be my parents’ pride and joy—Ed, the priest. It’s the highest calling an Irish Catholic couple can have, to give birth to a boy who will become a priest. I can say that I was raised to go to seminary. Don’t get me wrong, I love God with all my heart. I loved seminary. But two years cloistered in that lifestyle—no way.

“So I left in May. My father won’t speak to me,” he said more seriously. “My mother only just started acknowledging me last week. So! It’s been very peaceful! I have to find a job so I can move out; they need their house back instead of having their adult son home ‘lazing around’ as my mother likes to say. That’s the story of my life.” He smiled at her, clearly at peace with his decision. She was aware of an exchange of energy between them. The hair on her arms rose up and pointed toward his body. He took her hand. At first, he held it lightly, but then he began to circle the palm of her right hand with his fingers, very absentmindedly, as he spoke to her. He asked her what she wanted from life, if she would ever want to marry and have a family. Everything she formerly thought about her future was abandoned at that moment. She said she wanted a passionate relationship with a man who was in love with her. Loyalty was foremost; she explained to this complete stranger about her father and the effect it had on her. Without meaning to, and because she’d never engaged in passionate kissing before, she stretched her head up to him and kissed him on the lips. He put his hand on the back of her head and kissed her back. After a bit, Lisa put her arms around him and held him. She could feel his body shaking slightly next to her, and she realized he was crying. It was so unexpected and so sad. He was as disappointed in himself as everyone else was. She was the only person who was glad he was free.

Julie stood at the window, waiting for Brent’s car to pull up. She saw his car, watched him get out, his lanky frame thinner than she remembered from the last visit, and then ran to greet him. He put his bag down, and they embraced in the hallway.

“I’m so glad to see you!” she said, near tears. He kissed her.

“Let’s get inside,” he said. “We have a lot to do in two days.” He’d have to get back to Pasadena to work on Monday morning. Not wanting to waste any time, he immediately got down on his knee and proposed. Julie burst into tears, happy about the ring, not thinking it was too small at all. Of course, she said yes.

“Let’s do it in the fall,” he said. “I don’t want to wait until next year, and three months should be enough time for us to figure out how to get all your stuff out to California. We can drive my car out. Your lease is up in October, correct?” She nodded her head, thinking,
Whatever you want, my love
.

“So all you’ll need to do is give your notice at work.” She was more than happy to let him handle it; he seemed to have all the logistics worked out.

“I can’t wait to tell my mother!” she said. He smiled at her, telling her how excited Pam was, happy her son found a woman to love. He sat on her couch, suddenly tired. The trip across the country and the mad rush up to White Plains were exhausting. “Oh, you poor thing.” She slipped his shoes off for him and helped him put his feet up on her couch, mirroring what Ed had done for Lisa minutes before. Brent closed his eyes.

“Just let me rest for a second,” he mumbled, and as soon as Julie shut the drapes in her living room against the failing light, Brent fell asleep. He woke up at eleven, starving; he got up from the couch and stretched, then went into the kitchen to find something to eat. She’d gotten a pizza, leaving it out for him. It was still warm. He got a couple of slices and grabbed a soda out of the fridge. The news would’ve just started, so he flipped the TV on and sat back on the couch to watch while he ate. Julie came out of her room, yawning.

“Did I wake you?” he asked, apologetic.

“Don’t worry about it. I can sleep after you leave.” She cuddled up next to him while he ate, happy as could be. She’d gotten her way and planned to show him later how grateful she was.

Chapter 31

P
am didn’t sleep well. Worries about baby Miranda overshadowed the fun she’d had with Dan at the bowling alley. Several people recognized them from around town, and the couple ended up being quite a novelty. Both ultra-competitive, they battled out game after game until the place closed at two in the morning. Then the mistake—going to the local diner and getting burgers. Pam wolfed hers down, and then suffered for it, eating antacid tablets every hour. Finally falling asleep at four, she had vivid dreams about her children, angry with her for unspoken deeds, and then Jack, coming in to make love after being gone all week. She decided the dreams were more about her need for sex than missing Jack; because he was the only man she had known, of course he’d be the one in her dreams. Hopefully, that problem would be resolved soon if she and Dan could have a moment of undisturbed time together.

She woke up to the smell of coffee brewing. Rushing through her morning routine, she needed to get to The Eagle’s Nest to confer with her mother regarding the baby and then to Sandra’s to approach her about raising the baby. Pam had fleeting moments of sadness about resolving to give up the rights to what was her flesh and blood. But she knew Sandra already loved Miranda from the few times she’d helped out with her care, and when they spoke briefly yesterday, she could hear the near hysteria in Sandra’s voice when the question of Miranda’s destiny came up after Pam revealed Steve’s accident.

“Oh, my God! It never occurred to me that he’d be dead!” she yelled. Pam could hear Tom in the background, comforting her and trying to find out what had happened. Pam promised her that as soon as she spoke with her mother, she’d get back to her. And then she asked a final question before hanging up.

“Would you be willing to raise Miranda as your own?”

Sandra broke down crying, repeating yes over and over. Pam was moved—and relieved. They said goodbye, but before hanging up, Pam spoke the words to Sandra that she’d never thought possible.

“I love you,” she said. Sandra said she loved Pam, too. In spite of the terrible conception of their relationship, they would be bound together for life in friendship and now even more so because of the baby.

The next morning, they went to see Nelda, Dan going both as a supportive friend and as Pam’s attorney. When they walked into Nelda’s room, she burst into tears at the sight of her daughter. All the tears and emotion were wearing Pam down.

“Pam! Oh Pam, I’m so sorry! I’ve been lying here all night thinking of you, of all that you’ve done for me. I am so grateful, truly I am,” Nelda said, crying. “Please forgive me for everything. Please.” Pam held her and comforted her, whispering that she forgave her, that she loved her. What was the point of holding a grudge against her old mother? The poor woman had been through hell the past year and now was doing some much-needed self-examination. It was either face up to it now or be in despair for the rest of her life. Nelda had made restitution to Marie; now it was Pam’s turn.

“So Mother dear, what are we going to do about baby Miranda? I know we agreed that allowing Sandra to take over was for the best, but do you think you can really relinquish control of her life?” Nelda nodded her head.

“She needs a mother and father,” Nelda said. “Who else is there? I can’t do it anymore. Could you?” Pam shook her head.

“Not only can’t—I don’t want to,” she admitted. “It would be awful for her. Sandra loves her, you said so yourself. She and Tom want her. Tom’s mother is involved in her care and has offered to babysit while Sandra works. I just feel like it is all working out for the best. So are we in agreement? Sandra and Tom will raise Miranda. We have to be present in her life, I’m sure they’ll agree.”

Dan nodded his head. “That can all be worked out,” he said to Nelda.

“Let’s not say anything to Bernice yet, by the way,” Pam asked. “Where is she?”

“Still sleeping. That old battle-ax was up pestering me half the night,” Nelda said.

“Mother!” Pam exclaimed. But she understood and laughed, admitting that it was a perfect word for her. Once Pam was assured that Nelda was OK both physically and with the decision that Marie’s daughter would be safe with Sandra, she left. Dan held her hand as they walked to the parking garage. “I guess we should go back to Brooklyn,” Dan said, looking at her.

“Yes, I imagine they are nervous, waiting for an answer. I know that feeling—you want your life to begin the moment you commit to something big.”