TITLE:
Picking Up The Pieces-Chapter Eight
AUTHOR:
CTL (AugieSwan2@AOL.com)
SETTING:
Sept. 30 - Nov. 1, 2001
SUMMARY:
Not much going on in this chapter except for still more decisions and Michelle
receives an unexpected telephone call from her past.
AUTHOR'S
NOTE: I was given a specific time line for this chapter of the story. Cindy
evidently has plans for the month of November.
New York
City-Sunday, Sept. 30, 2001
Pete Granado
was waiting in the baggage claim area at Kennedy Airport for Mary Kathryn
to arrive and claim her bags. Since the unfortunate events of September
11, only ticketed passengers were allowed past security check points. Pete
checked his watch for what had to have been the tenth time in the last
hour. He was expecting her at any time. He couldn't wait to see her again.
It had seemed an eternity since she'd left to go visit with her family.
At long last he spotted her coming toward him with a huge smile on her
face. She threw her arms around his neck as he kissed her hungrily.
"I missed
you, too," she smiled when they finally broke apart as she breathed in
the scent of him.
"How was
your flight?" He asked as he took her hand and held onto it tightly as
they walked toward the baggage carousel.
"Long,"
she remarked. "I've got so much to tell you."
"I've
got a lot to tell you, too. I was finally able to get to your apartment
and get some of your things. They're at my apartment," he told her.
"Pete,
I thought we were going to talk more before I decided to move in with you,"
she reminded him with a grimace as she spotted her bags.
"Well,
I figured since you're always at my place, anyway..." he started to say
as he pulled her suitcases off the carousel and strapped them together.
"By the way, you'd better call Patrick before he calls the FBI on you."
"I told
him I was coming back today. I think he was afraid I was going to stay
in L.A.," she admitted as they exited the terminal and walked through the
parking lot to Pete's Jeep.
"You weren't
tempted?" Pete asked as they reached the Jeep and he threw her bags in
the back.
"Maybe
a little. I love L.A., but I'm a concert pianist and L.A. isn't the place
for that kind of a career. Besides, I'd miss a certain fireman just a little,"
she grinned at him as he unlocked her door and helped her in.
"How's
your niece?" He asked as he got in from the other side, sat down behind
the wheel and started the car.
"Doing
great! She doesn't even look like the same little girl. My mom can't even
keep up with her anymore," Mary Kathryn smiled as she thought about Shelby.
"So, she's
home from the hospital?" He asked.
"Oh, yeah.
They released her four days ago. She didn't want to stay in bed, so they
told my mom that she could finish recuperating at home," Mary Kathryn told
him as he nodded. "My sister's getting married over Thanksgiving so you
need to try to schedule some time off."
"They
finally set a date. I thought you told me that she had Arctic feet," he
reminded her.
"Well,
she still does," she laughed, "but my future brother-in-law enlisted in
the Marines and he leaves the week before Christmas, so he wanted to get
married before he leaves."
Mary Kathryn
sat there and looked out the window as she thought of the past several
days. Michelle had come out to the lake house and they'd talked for the
first time in ages.
Mary
Kathryn had been sitting on the dock when Michelle came out to find her.
She sat down and dangled her feet into the water as her sister was doing.
She thought of the first time she'd ever come out to this house with Mary
Kathryn and Savannah. She wasn't quite ten years old at the time and neither
her nor Savannah could swim. By the end of their first afternoon at the
house they weren't only swimming, but learning to dive, as well, thanks
to Mike and Mary Kathryn.
"When
are you going back to New York?" Michelle asked her sister.
"I
leave on the first. I'd stay, but mom's got everything under control with
Shelby so she really doesn't need my help," Mary Kathryn told her sister.
"You
are going to come back for my wedding, aren't you?" Michelle asked.
"Of
course. I wouldn't miss it," Mary Kathryn promised. "I'd thought you'd
be more excited about it, though. You've been in love with Thomas since
you were ten years old."
"He
wants to have a baby," Michelle blurted out.
"So?"
Mary Kathryn didn't see what the problem was.
"I'm
scared to have a baby, Mary Kate. What if I turn out to be the kind of
mother that I used to have?" Michelle pondered the problem in her head.
"Are
you kidding? Mom and daddy adopted you when you were ten. You're almost
26 years old. You've been with them longer than you were with those other
people. They never beat you, did they?" Mary Kathryn asked as Michelle
shook her head. "Okay, then I'd think you'd learn from their example, not
those other people."
"What
if I have a baby who's sick all the time like Shelby is?" Michelle worried.
"Shelby
isn't going to be sick, anymore," Mary Kate sighed. "And, besides, if you
do have a baby that has problems, you have to deal with it. I don't think
you get too many choices about that when you're a parent," Mary Kathryn
stated with finality.
"But
what if. . . .?" Michelle started to ask another question.
"If
you keep 'what iff-ing' everything you're going to make yourself crazy,"
Mary Kathryn interrupted her. "If you agree with Thomas about starting
a family, then stop taking your birth control pills and do it. If you don't,
then tell him that you want to wait. I'm sure mom and daddy had doubts
and questions before mom got pregnant with me. Why don't you ask her? I'm
the wrong person you should be talking to about starting a family," Mary
Kathryn reminded her.
It still
made Mary Kathryn ache inside sometimes when she thought of the fact that
she could never have a child. And, it was hard to listen to her sister's
somewhat ambivalent feelings about the subject. Mary Kathryn had resigned
herself to the fact that maybe it was better this way to not have to worry
about nannies and everything else that came along with being a concert
pianist.
"You're
awfully quiet all of a sudden," Pete commented as he glanced over at Mary
Kathryn as they crossed the FDR into Manhattan.
"I was
just thinking about babies and stuff," she sighed.
"I thought
you were relieved about not having to worry about that," he reminded her.
"I am,
but sometimes. . . ." Her voice dropped off.
"Well,
we can still go home and practice," he grinned as he reached over to take
her hand and squeezed it gently.
Los Angeles-Monday,
October 1, 2001
Jill was
in the process of packing up the remainder of hers' and Shelby's things
for the trip back to Terry's. Eddie and Mike had been trying for days to
talk her out of it by telling her that they'd have much more room at the
lake house than they'd have in Terry's small apartment.
Michelle
walked in while Jill was looking for the rest of Shelby's toys. "Mom, can
I talk to you for a minute?" Michelle asked.
"Does
any mother ever say 'no' to that question?" Jill commented as she fished
some dolls and doll clothes from underneath the sofa, put them in a box
and closed the lid. "I'm sorry. What's on your mind? "Please don't tell
me you're having second thoughts about the wedding."
"No, it's
not that. We're putting the announcement in the paper this weekend. Mom,
Thomas wants us to start a family. I mean, he wants to start a family now,
as in he'd be happy if I was throwing up during the ceremony," Michelle
stated.
"I think
I get the picture," Jill assured her daughter laughingly. "You're not ready?"
"I don't
know if I'll ever be ready," Michelle complained.
"Yeah,
you will, because once upon a time, I was you. When I first married your
dad, I wanted to wait and he was willing to wait, too. Then one day he
asked me to be the mother of his kids and at that moment, I knew I was
ready. Sit down and I'll tell you something that I've never even told Mary
Kathryn or Jennifer, although it's possible that Willie might've told her.
When your dad asked me that day we began trying to have a baby. I don't
remember how long it took, but I got pregnant," Jill began.
"With
Mary Kate? I already know this story," Michelle interrupted.
"Not with
Mary Kathryn," Jill interrupted. "This was three years before then. I found
out that I was pregnant shortly before our wedding anniversary but I saved
the news to tell to your dad that night. He took me to this very nice restaurant
and we were sitting there when this man walked in with a gun. To make a
long story short, I got shot in the back and I ended up losing our baby.
It took me three long years to get up the courage to think about trying
again. But once I did, it was all worth the wait. I know you think that
you're going to be the kind of mother that your birth mother was, but I
don't see that and I'll tell you why. You work in a profession where you
probably save hundreds of lives every week. If you didn't care you wouldn't
be doing it. Also, you love that houseful of animals. Thomas told me that
sometimes you pay more attention to them than you do to him. And sometimes
that's what a mother has to do. You have to put their needs and their wants
ahead of your own. Besides, I don't know about Mike, but I think I'd like
another grandchild to add to the mix," Jill smiled.
Michelle
hugged her tightly and relaxed. "I heard a rumor," she told her mother,
her brown eyes gleaming.
"What
rumor?" Jill asked.
"I heard
a rumor that a certain private investigator had been seen around town with
his former wife. Any comments?" Michelle asked.
"Did your
source also tell you that the P.I. and his former wife also had their son
and granddaughter with them?" Jill wanted to know.
"No, he
neglected to mention that. So, are you trying to work things out?" Michelle
asked anxiously.
"We're
talking, Michelle, and that's all. I have to be returning to Texas pretty
soon or I'm going to lose my job and my house," Jill commented.
"I can
ask around and see if there are any openings in the trauma unit at the
hospital or were you going to talk to Mrs. Moran at Memorial?" Michelle
insisted.
"Michelle,
I'm not going to talk to anybody. I brought Shelby here for her surgery
because I was getting unsatisfactory results from her doctor in San Antonio.
I'm glad that everybody's talking again, but I have a life in Texas," Jill
stated with quiet finality.
"Are you
seeing anybody in Texas?" Michelle asked.
"No, not
anymore," Jill commented mysteriously with a sharp glare.
Michael
was sitting at the dining room table doing his homework about an hour later
when Michelle walked in and sat in the chair beside him. "Was mom dating
anybody in San Antonio?" She asked point blank.
"Yeah,
but the guy was a total loser. They didn't go out very long," he told his
sister as he put his pencil down.
"Did you
like him?" She questioned curiously.
"No. Like
I told you, he was a loser," he repeated as he rolled his eyes.
"What
did he do?"
"He was
a doctor at the hospital where mom works. He thought he was all that,"
he said as he went back to his homework. "I don't want to go back to San
Antonio. It's too hot and I miss dad too much."
"Maybe
she'll decide to come back here," Michelle told him.
"She says
we're going to come back for your's and Thomas' wedding, but that's too
far away," he groaned.
Mike was
working on paperwork on the computer later when his son walked in and stood
there watching him. "Michael, I've really got to get these reports finished.
What's on your mind?" Mike asked him as he continued typing.
"I was
wondering if you could talk mom into staying here in L.A.," Michael began.
Mike stopped
typing and turned to face his son. "Michael, believe me when I say that
I'd love nothing better than for you and your mom to stay here, but she
has a job in San Antonio and she's decided that it's time to get back to
that job and that life. Don't you miss your friends?"
"Not really.
Well, if she won't stay, can't you ask her if I can stay here and go to
school?" He begged.
"Michael,
as much as I'd love to have you live with me, it isn't a good idea," Mike
admitted in an unhappy voice. "I travel a lot and I don't have a place
of my own for you to stay. You need to be with your mother."
"Maybe
I could stay with Michelle," he continued as he stared at the floor and
started to make patterns with his shoe. "She'll be lonely with Thomas leaving
soon," the little boy suggested, his eyes brightening at the thought.
"No, Michael.
Now, I want you to stop this talk of living with me or with your sister.
You might not like it, but you're going back to Texas and back to your
friends. I don't want to hear another word about it," Mike stated with
finality.
Michael
turned and stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him.
Friday-October
5, 2001
Jill had
a follow-up appointment with Shelby that afternoon. She was anxious to
have the little girl released from Dr. Sajay's care so she could take the
children and return to San Antonio. Watching her play with some toys in
a corner, Jill found it hard to believe that this was the same child from
three weeks earlier. Where before she'd had to be carried almost everywhere,
now she tore around Terry's apartment complex on a tricycle Terry had purchased
for her while Jill struggled to keep up. The receptionist came out and
summoned them to the doctor's office.
Dr. Sajay
placed Shelby on his examining table and smiled as he listened to her heart
and lungs. "She's doing very well. Usually, I hesitate to perform that
surgery on such a young child, but I really feel that she wouldn't have
survived much longer if I hadn't gone with my instincts."
"When
can I take her back to Texas?" Jill asked as Shelby struggled to get down
from the table.
"I will
fax her records back to Dr. Dominguez in San Antonio and I think he can
take over from now on. So, you can leave tonight if you're so inclined,"
the doctor told her as he placed Shelby on the floor.
Driving
back to Terry's, Jill thought about her feelings regarding her return to
San Antonio. She loved her job and she loved her house, but it was lonely
there compared to here in L.A. Now that all of the guys were once again
talking, it was almost like old times. And, as Michelle had noted, she'd
gone out to dinner with Mike a few times. Of course, the children had been
with them each time, but it was nice to go out and talk without the yelling
and screaming that had always happened before. He'd told her on the phone
a few nights before that Michael was being difficult about having to return
to Texas with his mother.
When they
arrived back at Terry's Jill unbuckled Shelby from her car seat and led
her upstairs by her hand, still thinking about what Mike had said regarding
their son. When they walked into the apartment, Jill fixed the little girl
a snack while she sat down and turned on the television. A few minutes
later Shelby stopped in front of Jill and tugged on her arm.
"What
is it, sweetie?" Jill asked with infinite patience.
"Can they
fix my ears now?" Shelby signed.
"Can who
fix your ears?" Jill wanted to know.
"Dr. Sajay.
He fixed my heart, now can he fix my ears?" Shelby signed.
Jill smiled
and pulled Shelby onto her lap. "Dr. Sajay is a heart doctor, but when
we get back home we'll talk to somebody about fixing your ears," Jill promised
Shelby as she smiled.
The audiologists
had told Jill when Shelby was smaller that her hearing could be helped
with hearing aids, but Shelby would either flat out refuse to wear them
or in extreme cases she'd destroy them. Jill figured it was because she
was too young to realize they were supposed to be helping her. She figured
maybe it was time to try again.
The next
day, Jill took Shelby and they drove out to the lake house. She needed
to tell Michael to get his things packed so that they could leave on Monday
morning. Michael was watching cartoons when Jill and Shelby walked in.
He knew what was coming and he didn't want to hear it.
"We're
leaving, aren't we?" He asked unhappily as he looked up from the TV.
"Yeah,
Monday morning. You need to make sure all of your things are together.
We'll be going as soon as I can check you out of school. Where's your dad?"
She asked.
"Outside,"
he grumbled.
Jill told
Shelby to sit down and she left the house to go find Mike. He was up at
Trap's house talking to Trap while he was feeding the horses. Both men
looked up when Jill walked over.
"Good
morning," Mike greeted when he saw her.
"Your
son doesn't think it is," she groaned as she leaned against the fence wearily.
"Right now he thinks I'm the wicked witch of the north."
"I take
it you're leaving," Mike guessed.
"Monday
morning," she admitted with a nod. "I have to get back, Mike. I have obligations
there, too," she explained.
"I know.
I tried explaining that to Michael, but life's rough when you're nine years
old," he smiled.
"But,
I was thinking," she began as the two men looked at her. "I'm going to
see Meggy this afternoon. If the meeting goes well, when I return to Texas,
I'll give my notice and put my house on the market."
"You're
going to come back here?" Mike asked in a hopeful voice, almost afraid
to believe it.
"If the
meeting goes well, yes," she told him.
"If it
goes well, I can start house hunting right away and . . ." he began excitedly
"Hold
it! Let's take a walk," she suggested, effectively cutting him off. They
started walking toward the dock area. "Mike, I love the fact that we're
talking, but I've never said I'd move back in with you. It's too soon.
We still have a lot to talk about."
Mike's
face fell.
"But I
would appreciate it if you'd look for something for me and the kids," she
continued. "It doesn't have to be fancy."
"I want
us to be together as a family again," he whispered.
Jill closed
her eyes and took a deep breath. "So do I, but there was a lot said in
the last two years...things that can't just be wiped clean by saying 'I
love you.' It wasn't just you, it was me, too," she insisted to him.
"Would
counseling help? I'm willing to go if you are," he told her.
"Right
now I just want us to keep talking. Anyway, you have a wedding to plan,"
she grinned.
"Aren't
you going to help me with that?" He pleaded.
"I'll
do what I can," she promised, her smile getting wider. She glanced at her
watch. "I have to go or I'm going to miss my date with Meggy," she said
as she walked toward the house.
"Do you
want me to keep an eye on Shelby?" He asked.
"I'm taking
her with me. My friends at Memorial want to see her."
<><><><><>
Meggy
Moran looked a little older but her eyes still shone a vivid blue as she
embraced her friend and former colleague. "You look wonderful!" Meggy enthused
as she looked Jill over and then Shelby. "Is this Miss Shelby? Oh, Jill,
she looks exactly like Savannah!"
"I know.
I needed to talk to you about the possibility of coming back here to work,"
Jill just blurted it out as the two women sat down.
"Well,
your administrative post no longer exists, thanks to downsizing," Meggy
told Jill reluctantly as she got them both coffee.
" I'm
not looking for an administrative post. And, I need something with straight
hours. In San Antonio, I have a housekeeper who looks after the children
when I work nights or evenings, but the cost of living is less there. I
doubt I'll be able to afford that luxury if I return here," Jill admitted
as she added sugar to her coffee.
"Well,
we do have a trauma center here at Memorial now. It started a little over
a year ago. It's hard to keep nurses who are willing or able to keep up
the pace that a trauma unit requires. Would you be interested?"
"I'd be
very interested. I don't know when I'll be coming back to L.A. I'm going
to put my house on the market when I get back to San Antonio, but I don't
know how long it'll take to sell. Can I call you as soon as I know more?"
Jill asked.
"Can't
you just turn your house over to a real estate agent and come back here?
That's what we did when we moved from the valley back to town," Meggy stated.
"I suppose
I could," Jill commented slowly as she'd never thought of that possibility.
"We were coming back here next month for Michelle's wedding, so I figured
I'd give it that long, anyway.".
"So, Michelle's
finally getting married? That's wonderful," Meggy congratulated her.
Monday-Oct.
8, 2001
Michelle
had just walked in the front door after a long day of surgical duty. She
was changing clothes when the phone started ringing. She frowned as she
looked at the caller id, not recognizing the number. "Hello?" She answered
the phone.
"Michelle,
I saw your wedding announcement in the paper. I'm so happy for you," came
a woman's voice that Michelle thought she'd never again have to hear.
"How did
you get this number?" Michelle demanded.
"I called
the hospital and told the girl that answered that I was your mother and
I needed to talk to you. She was very sweet about it," Irene Raeford continued.
"I have
a mother and she has my phone number!" Michelle exploded into the phone.
"Michelle,
please don't be like that. What happened is in the past. You should keep
it there. I'd like to see you and your sister. I'd like to see how you've
grown up. Your brother Ben lives in Seattle. He found me when he turned
18. How's Savannah?" The woman chirped.
"How's
Savannah?" Michelle asked in disbelief as she fought back tears of rage.
"She's dead! Don't call me anymore! You're not my mother!" Michelle shrieked
once again as she slammed the phone down.
Michelle
sat down in a living room chair and covered her face in her hands before
running both hands through her long hair and pulling it behind her. Getting
up, she grabbed her car keys and got back in the Jeep, roaring out of the
driveway as Thomas was pulling in. He tried to stop her, but she took off
in a cloud of dust.
Everybody
in the Human Resources division of UCLA Hospital were busily performing
their jobs when Michelle walked in. "Excuse me, but who gave a woman named
Irene Raeford my phone number?" Michelle shouted.
Everybody
stopped what they were doing to look at her.
"Your
mother called earlier and said she needed to talk to you, so I gave her
your home phone number. I didn't see anything wrong with it," a mousy brunette
defended herself in a nervous voice.
"Didn't
you find it the least bit strange that my mother didn't know my phone number?
I've only lived at the same place for three years!" Michelle challenged.
"Miss
Danko, come into my office, please?" The head of HR ordered from her doorway.
"Please close the door," she ordered Michelle when she stalked in. "What
seems to be the problem?"
"You would
think that after what happened in New York a couple of weeks ago that people
would be more careful about giving indiscriminate information to people
over the telephone. I was adopted when I was 10 years old. My birth parents
were abusive, so my sister, brother and I were removed from their custody.
I put my wedding announcement in the newspaper over the weekend. My birth
mother called and said she got my number from someone here.Now, either
something is done about the person who gave out my personal information
or I'll take it to a higher authority," Michelle threatened.
"I will
be talking to the person who did this and, believe me, there will be action
taken," the lady assured her.
Thomas
was sitting on the front porch when Michelle pulled up almost an hour later.
She kissed
him before sitting down beside him on the front steps.
"Where'd
you go?" He wanted to know.
"I had
to talk to someone in HR at the hospital. Some idiot gave my birth mother
our home phone number. She called a while ago to congratulate us on our
upcoming marriage," she complained.
"Oh, man,"
he groaned. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah,
I was just pissed. I never expected to hear from her again, Thomas. It
brought back every bad memory I've ever had of my childhood. I told her
not to call here again."
"Were
you able to see your mom before she left this morning?" He asked, grateful
to change the subject.
"No, I
talked to her and Michael last night. She wanted to stay to help with the
wedding but she needed to get back. She did say she'd be back the week
of the wedding," Michelle told Thomas.
San Antonio,
Texas-Monday, Oct. 15, 2001
Jill was
sitting at the dining room table going over Michael's homework. She slowly
shook her head as she handed the papers back to her son. "You need to re-read
this and follow the instructions," she pointed out.
"I did
follow the instructions," he complained with a grimace as he picked his
pencil back up.
"No, you
didn't. If you had, the answers would be right."
"I hate
my teacher. I want to go back to L.A.," he grumbled as he started writing.
Jill hadn't
told Michael that she'd put the house up for sale. She'd asked the agent
to wait before putting the sign in the front yard. As badly as Michael's
grades had been in the few days since their return, she didn't want them
to get worse. She knew the bad grades were his way of telling her he wasn't
happy about coming back. But Jill decided he was going to find out about
the upcoming move sooner or later, so it might as well be now.
"I have
something to tell you. We're going to go back to L.A.," she began carefully.
"I know,"
he grumbled. "Next month for Michelle's wedding. You already told me."
"Please
let me finish. I'm selling the house. I'm going to take you and Shelby
back to L.A. to live," she finished.
"Forever?"
He asked as his face lit up.
She nodded.
"To live
with daddy?"
"No, we're
not going to live with daddy. But you'll get to see him much more than
you do now," she promised.
"Thanks,
mom!" He shouted as he jumped up to hug her.
After
putting the kids to bed, Jill took a hot bubble bath before crawling into
bed with the book she'd been reading, but she found she couldn't focus
on her reading. She found herself wondering if she was doing the right
thing by taking the kids back to L.A. Although things were going okay with
Mike, she was scared that they could once again take the nightmarish turn
they'd taken four years before. She looked at her clock and decided to
take a chance and call Mary Kathryn. They hadn't spoken since she'd returned
to New York two weeks before.
Mary Kathryn
answered the phone in a harried voice on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hi, it's
me. It isn't too late to call, is it?" Jill asked, although she'd be rather
surprised if it was. Mary Kathryn often stayed up until two or three in
the morning.
"Mom,
can I . . . uh, can I call you back?" Mary Kathryn wondered in an embarrassed
voice.
"Yeah,
call me tomorrow," Jill answered with a grin. "Say good night to Pete for
me," Jill told her daughter as she hung up the phone.
In New
York, Mary Kathryn hung up her cell phone and turned it off before rolling
onto her back and covering her face in her hands as Pete began laughing
hysterically. "Would you stop laughing so that I could just die in peace?"
She begged.
"May Kathryn,
you're over the age of consent," he laughed as he bent down to kiss her.
"Don't worry about it."
"That's
easy for you to say," she snapped with a glare. "You're a guy. You're expected
to be a stud. In the eyes of my parents, I'm expected to be a good girl
until the day that I die," she groaned.
"Just
think of it as payback for all of the times that you probably interrupted
them in the middle of fooling around."
"My sisters
and I used to laugh when we'd stay out at my godfather's house on the lake
because my parent's had this old brass, four-posted bed and it squeaked
like you wouldn't believe," she laughed. "I think we learned more about
sex from listening to that bed than from anything mom ever told us later
during 'the talk,'" she reminisced.
Los Angeles-Thursday,
Nov. 1, 2001
"I'm glad
you got it, son, and I'm glad you like it. I was really worried that it
wasn't going to get there in time. Let me talk to your mom real quick.
I love you and have a happy birthday," Mike told his son.
Michael
handed the phone to Jill.
"Mike,
I really wish you hadn't spent so much money on him," Jill chided him as
Michael left the room to go tell his friend Ryan about the PlayStation2
that he'd gotten from his father.
"Hey,
you only turn ten once. So, how's it going with the house?" He asked, changing
the subject.
"Pretty
good, actually. We showed it to a couple earlier in the week and Adrian
thinks they might bid on it. I should know by Monday. How are you doing
with the house hunt there?" Jill asked.
"I've
got a few possibilities but I don't care much for any of them. Possibility
number one is way out in the sticks and it needs a ton of work," he groused.
"Hey,
our house in Burbank was a work in progress, remember?" She reminded him
with a chuckle. "Out in the sticks isn't bad unless you're talking like
Baja California."
"Hey,
I said out in the sticks, not the middle of the damned desert," he protested
with a laugh. "I'll keep looking, you just do your part and sell your house.
I miss YOU and the kids."
"I'll
keep you posted. I'd better go so I can get Shelby in the tub. We have
a doctor's appointment tomorrow," she told Mike.
"Is she
okay?" He asked with concern.
"She's fine. It's with an audiologist. We're going to try the hearing aid route again, at her request," she informed Mike.
"Good
luck. Call me when you find out more about the house," he urged her as
they said good night and hung up.
Later
that night, Mike went down to the cellar to locate the box of tapes Michael
had found during his summer visit. He finally found the box and lugged
it upstairs. Putting the box on the sofa, he removed the lid and pulled
out several video tapes, smiling as he read the labels. He walked over
to the VCR and slid the first tape in, smiling at the images of Michael's
first few hours home from the hospital. Counting back, he figured the girl's
must've been 15, 13 and 11 at the time. Tears came to his eyes as the camera
focused on Savannah holding her brother for the first time, smiling and
holding his tiny hand to make him wave for her father, the director.
As much as he missed her, he missed the joy of having the rest of his family around more. He knew he was going to have to do some serious repair work still if he ever hoped to get Jill back into his life. Having her move back to L.A. was just step one.