A contingent of family gathered in California for Eric’s graduation. The day was bright, not a cloud in the sky.
Dana sat between Eric’s parents, David and Travis right behind her. Travis knew what had happened, so did Sam and Jenny. Dana wasn’t aware Eric’s mother and father realized any more than an estranged sibling had gotten in touch with her, but she was mindful that Travis knew the whole story. That was all right; Travis wasn’t judgmental. Not that Sam or Jenny would look down on her, but maybe they wouldn’t allow her to stay with their son.
After the celebrations at Eric’s apartment, Travis and Dana would fly north, and Dana would stay with Tommie and Rae. That was acceptable; it was near the farm, and Dana liked Tommie, who seemed like Eric’s parents, unaware but benevolent. While Rae was a little firmer, Dana astutely recognized that Rae would ask no questions, leaving Dana to believe none of that generation could dare comprehend what existed in her world. They were kindly old people with few worries.
Eric hadn’t tried to expand her mind, was glad she would let him move their belongings, Tanner staying to lend a hand. David would have, but was saving vacation days for when Chelsea had the babies. Tanner also knew why Dana was leaving early, hadn’t questioned it. But if David learned, someone would have paid.
Maybe it would take the outwardly hippie-looking middle son to rectify the situation. David still wore a mangy beard, as Debbie had noted, smiling at his father. “Not that you ever looked that scruffy Sam.”
It was a joke during that weekend; a father and son so much alike, but not the twosome truly twinned. But about that, Debbie and Jacob were in the dark.
Yet, that couple harbored a secret, one all would discover as soon as Tanner and Eric arrived in Oregon, Tanner behind the wheel of Eric’s truck, Eric driving a U-Haul. After those vehicles crossed into town, Tanner wouldn’t be bound by the promise he made to his grandfather, keeping his mouth shut about his inheritance. Not that Jacob had slipped him any money. Tanner’s mother had done so, thirteen years after her death.
Dana kissed her boyfriend with some restraint, then squeezed his hand. “How many days?” she asked again, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Just long enough to empty this place out. Screw the deposit.”
“Don’t tell your dad that,” she smiled.
“Are you kidding? He’s the one who told me.”
She frowned. “Eric, what does he know?”
If he lied, she might read it. “Everything baby. I told him everything.”
Had they been alone, she would have fallen to the ground. Instead she cleared her throat. “Really? That’s…”
“All he wants is for us to come home.” Eric gazed at his dad, who calmly stood at the sink, getting a glass of water. It was only Sam and Jenny, Tanner, and one of the men Eric trusted with his life. Will and David were two, Travis was the third.
Eric wouldn’t trust Tanner as far as he could throw him, but he needed him. When had that happened?
“Oh God Eric, I, I…”
“Honey, my parents really want us up there, they love you too.” Eric stared at Jenny, sitting at the table. She had been feeling good for the last few days, but maybe now it was wearing on her, and not simply the physical pain.
“Listen, maybe I’ll stay here with you and Tanner. It’ll be okay…”
“Travis will be with you, it’ll be fine. I’ll only be a few days.”
He wiped her tears, then kissed her cheek. His parents were taking Dana and Travis to the airport. Then they would fly home after the packing was finished.
Dana kissed him again, another chaste exchange. Eric led her to Travis, setting her hand in his. Eric hugged that man, his other brother. For the first time, Eric had three brothers, not four. He stared at Tanner, who gaped at Eric’s living room. His computer remained on a desk, a laptop nearby. Eric preferred two machines, one at home, the other he could take anywhere. Soon he would only need the desktop, giving the notebook to his girlfriend.
Eric ignored Tanner’s resentment, then kissed his mother. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Oh, I’m staying here,” Jenny said. “Hips are hurting too much to go anywhere.”
“You gonna be all right Aunt Jenny?” Travis asked.
Travis sounded like his brother. They didn’t look much alike; Mitch was burly, while Travis stood tall and slender. Yet their tones; for the first time it hit Eric, as if Mitch was in the room.
He would trust that man to get Dana home; if Mitch was close, Eric would have no fear. Instead Travis would suffice, and Eric walked his dad, girlfriend, and a man like a brother to Eric’s truck. Sam opened the driver’s door as Travis escorted Dana around the other side, their belongings in the back cab.
Eric watched as Sam mulled words, but wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t, say them. Instead he nodded, then drove away, Dana sitting in the middle. Eric looked along the street, no car behind them. He waited a few more minutes, then went back inside.
When Eric returned to Oregon, another celebration occurred for all the graduates. David came down, staying at Will’s, allowing his little brother that queen bed. Now that Louise was so good, David joked, Will’s place was a great place to crash.
The mood was light, family awaiting another reason to celebrate; Chelsea was enormous and exhausted, also thrilled. A baby shower was planned for the next weekend, and David left his gift, only sneaking away for the graduation bash. The rest of his summer break would commence when those twins made their debut.
An announcement waited on Tanner’s face, what Sam and Jenny noted, Tommie and Rae too. Sam asked his brother about it, but Jacob said little. Sam let it be, a call from Mitch pulling everyone from their conversations.
He was put on speakerphone, all hearing his warm voice, which again Eric thought sounded just like Travis. Staring at his dad’s nod, Sam seemed to agree.
“Just wanted to tell you some more good news, although I doubt I can beat Chelse’s. I’ll be done here in about six weeks. Coming straight home, can’t wait to see everybody!”
Liz burst into tears and Max cradled her, his back to the group, hiding his own damp eyes, as Mitch continued. “I’ll be flying home around the middle-end of August, so Chelse, just hold those babies till I get there.”
“She will,” David hollered, his sister unable to speak.
“Okay, good. Hey, is Tanner around?”
All gazed to that young man. “Uh yeah Mitch. Right here.”
“I got plans for us, so whatever you do, don’t head out of town, okay?”
“Yeah, of course. You’ve got it Mitch!”
Tanner was on a cloud, along with Max’s entire family. Only Rae seemed pensive, but Tommie was like his son, thrilled to pieces.
After that call, Tanner took his paternal grandfather to the side, then they moved to the middle of the group. “If I can have everyone’s attention,” Jacob began. “Tanner’s got something to say.”
Tanner looked at Eric and Travis, then to his dad, but only for a second did Tanner and Scott’s eyes meet. Then Tanner glanced at each six of his siblings, lasting longest on Janessa. Tanner didn’t catch Alana’s gaze, although she tried to reach him.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything about it, but seeing as I’ll be moving out…”
Murmurs filled Tommie’s front yard as twilight fell, sparkling twinkles overhead. Janessa looked to the trees, then walked toward her brother. “Tanner, you’re not going away again are you? Mitch just said you need to stay here.”
“Oh honey, I’m just getting my own place, an apartment, in town.” He looked at skeptical faces. “I, uh, got some money from my…”
He nearly said mom. “From Jan, from her estate. Nanny, you’ll get yours when you turn twenty-two.”
No one but Jacob and Debbie knew, not even Scott and Alana. “Jan left you money?” Scott croaked. “How much?”
The question was odd, the family never speaking openly about finances.
“A little more than thi
rty thousand dollars.” Tanner’s voice was subdued.
Those aware of the details held their breaths. Jan’s divorce payout hadn’t been squandered in the short weeks between that decree’s issue and her suicide.
“Seems Jan set this up. Tanner got the check a few days after his birthday.” Jacob’s voice was wary. “And like Tanner said, Nanny will be coming into her share when she’s that age.”
Before Eric’s graduation, Scott had let Tanner go from his job, but if he actively looked for work, the family would keep him afloat. Then a registered letter appeared at Jacob and Debbie’s address. Unsure where her son might be, Jan had directed the inheritance to the senior Cassels, correctly assuming they would still be living. No one knew as Jan hadn’t left a will; all this had been arranged before her death. Was it an odd circumstance, or maybe one more way for Jan to injure her ex-husband and their children? Nanny shook her head, said she didn’t want the money. She didn’t want anything to do with that woman.
The evening ended on a bittersweet note, with only Tanner at peace. Or, as the oldsters saw, a modicum of control. All he had ever wanted was his slice of the pie. Now he had some, from an outside source. The biggest question on all minds was simple; how long would it last?
The betting pool for the twins had started to eliminate the few who had guessed Chelsea would give birth early. By the middle end of June, she was at thirty-one weeks, her only complaints those of small troubles, like not being able to laugh or she would wet her pants, that sleeping for more than two hours straight was impossible, and that heartburn should receive federal funding directed to its cure. Otherwise, she felt just great.
Sarcasm saw her through those long days past the shower and graduations, getting closer to her projected due date, also to Mitch’s return. During those days, which ticked by with speed for some, relative slowness for Chelsea, Tanner found a place to live, not far from a drug dealer he was beginning to frequent with some regularity. Eric and Dana made plans to move from the farm to their own house, a recent foreclosure Sam bought, a few of those springing up around town.
Emily found a place in Palo Alto not far from Eric’s old apartment. She wouldn’t move until her brother returned, maybe waiting as late as the August barbecue. She couldn’t miss Mitch’s arrival, nor the birth of Chelsea’s twins, neither would any of the other cousins, so many in town that summer when people began coming home.
Mostly the offspring of Sam Cassel, what with Eric and Dana, Will, Chelsea, and Rachel too. Kim had found a job just north in Salem, much to Lexi’s dismay. Yet it was what happened, as with David; some came back to Arkendale for good, some for a reason or just a season.
Travis spent that summer living at home, helping Eric and Tanner move, trying to keep Tanner’s head above water. Rumors drifted that Jackson Hooper’s midnight blue Mustang had been spotted around the county. Tanner said nothing about it, keeping his nose clean, Rae noted. Others weren’t so sure.
On the Fourth of July, the families attended celebrations at the fairgrounds, Chelsea walking so slowly that Janessa’s halted steps ran rings around her. Chelsea sat in a chair like her mother’s, high and easy to move from, or at least easy for Jenny. Mother and daughter laughed over their debilitated states, but Jenny had been feeling better as of late, having started a physical therapy regimen through Arkendale General Hospital.
“He’s really good you know,” she said, squeezing Chelsea’s swollen hand. “Makes me feel somewhat human again.”
“What’s his name?” Chelsea asked.
“Cory Sanchez. Nice kid, about David’s age.”
“Man, they’re getting so young,” Chelsea sighed.
Jenny laughed. Her daughter fully felt what Jenny had known five times over. But none of them had ever had twins. “Well, he’s young but sure knows his stuff. Dr. Atkins recommended him and…”
“Mom, look over there.”
Jenny stared, then squinted. She wasn’t wearing her specs, but even if so, the prescription needed to be updated. With so much going on, she hadn’t done it. “What honey?”
“Mom, where are your glasses?”
Jenny smiled. “At home. Wouldn’t do me any good even if I had them on.”
“You’re not gonna be able to see my babies without them!” They laughed, then Chelsea pointed. “See that car, over to the right?”
“No honey. What is it?”
If she could have stood, Chelsea would have headed that way. “Mom, oh Jesus! That’s Jackson’s Mustang, I know it is! ANDY!”
Her husband came running. “What, your water break?”
“No, no, I’m fine. Honey, Jackson Hooper’s car is right over there!”
Andy saw it as soon as she pointed. “Well, I guess he’s back.”
“My God, like he could read Tanner’s mind,” Jenny sighed.
Chelsea grasped her mother’s fingers. “What’ll be is what’ll be. You’ve been harping on me with that for seven months now.”
A small giggle crept into Chelsea’s weary tone, one her mother caught. “Well thank God you’ve been listening.”
The women laughed to themselves as Andy left them. By the time he reached where Jackson had parked, only Tanner and his newest cronies remained.
Andy didn’t have to say a thing. Tanner offered Chelsea’s husband a telling smile, a high already achieved, one more dangerous than Jackson Hooper had offered.
Chapter 17