As Lynne rolled out a pie crust, Eric cuddled. This wasn’t Lynne first full day on her feet, nor her first pie made as a mother, but it was another realization of what life now entailed. Since Stanford had called with the news that Seth had started shock therapy, Lynne’s world had vacillated between the simplicity of her baby and the complications of reality. Also of a jovial-voiced Lutheran pastor, with whom she had spoken over the phone. Pastor Jagucki assured both Snyders that it would be no problem baptizing their daughter, and that he would be pleased to perform that task whenever Eric and Lynne were ready. And, he added, it wasn’t required that Jane’s godparents be Lutherans.
A new mother mulled over those points as she placed the crust into the tin. Eric talked to the baby, who had eaten her fill, leaving her mother somewhat depleted. Lynne decided to make the pie then, needing a job that was useful, but didn’t require much concentration. Her mind was teeming, for there were still the Aherns to consider. Neither Eric nor Lynne had talked much to Sam since Tuesday, and while Renee was chatty, either over the phone or in person, the Snyders hadn’t told her of their decision to forgo the Catholic faith. Lynne had told Eric that perhaps all of Renee’s goodwill toward Stanford and Laurie would dissipate once she learned all three Snyders were probably going to join St. Matthew’s. Eric had agreed it was possible, but he wasn’t as wary as Lynne when it came to Renee.
Eric had wondered when Sam’s carefree nature toward the New Yorkers would return. Maybe Sam hadn’t been bothered by the salacious rumors during Eric’s long absence, but it was one thing to hear your wife was a lesbian, when you knew it wasn’t at all factual. It was entirely another to learn two men who had been assumed as friends were actually in love with each other. Eric had admitted that in a perfect world, there should be no difference, but then the world they inhabited wasn’t at all flawless. Eric had been holding Jane when pondering these ideas, and while parents could raise their daughter in an idyllic setting, eventually Jane would go to school, encountering other points of view, and the random cruelties of life. Yes, it was unfair that Sam seemed bothered by Stan and Laurie, but then, was his reaction totally unexpected?
After Lynne spooned apples into the crust, she gazed at her husband. Eric’s wide grin and soft voice poured over Jane, then he looked up, smiling at his wife. “What?” he asked, setting the baby over his shoulder.
“I love you, both of you. You’re so good with her.”
“Finish that pie Mama, and come join us.”
Lynne chuckled, quickly setting the top crust in place. She crimped the edges, cut a few holes to vent the fruit, then placed the pie in the oven. She set the timer, then walked to where Eric sat at the table. Lynne looked at her daughter, eyes wide open. “I wonder what she sees,” Lynne said, stroking the baby’s head.
“The best things in the world; you making pie in this kitchen. What more is there?”
“She won’t always have this view.”
“No, but by the time she’s old enough to know differently, she’ll be fortified with all the love necessary.”
Lynne sat down, nestling against Eric’s other shoulder. “We need to tell the Aherns. I wanna plan the baptism, and we can’t do that until we know if they’ll be there.”
Eric laughed quietly. “They’ll be there, I bet you ten dollars.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because regardless of differing faiths or any other disagreements, Sam’s my brother and Renee’s your sister. There’s no way in the world they’d miss it.”
Lynne pulled away, gripping Eric’s hand. “Are you sure about that?”
Eric nodded, then placed Jane in her mother’s arms. “Sam and I shared things, that week he took care of me. He did most of the talking, I guess my contributions were more on a metaphysical level.” Eric grinned, caressing his wife’s face. “Honey, Sam knows I’m not gonna become Catholic, and I’d bet another ten bucks that he suspects the same about you. He might be cool toward the New Yorkers for a while, but eventually he’ll come around. Laurie’s too personable, and Stan’s too, well, too hard to ignore.” Eric wiped away his wife’s few tears. “Plus, Sam’s connected to them through Seth, whether he wants to be or not. As for Renee….”
Lynne sighed, then kissed her daughter’s face. “Renee really wants us to be a part of St. Anne’s.”
“But more important to Renee is being a part of this.” Eric twirled one of Jane’s short curls around his finger. “She loves this little girl as much as she loves you. And Lynne, Renee does love you. Not anymore than as her closest sister,” he teased, “but the bond of Jane’s birth will never be broken. I watched her that night, when I wasn’t talking to you. She changed, although I’m not so sure she realizes it yet.”
Lynne stared at her husband. “What do you mean?”
Eric lifted the drowsy baby from Lynne’s grasp. He stood, then motioned for Lynne to follow. Eric led her into the living room, where he placed Jane in her cot. Then he sat on the sofa, where Lynne joined him. Eric put his arm around her, setting his hand on her slightly plump belly. “Honey, if there had been any way Renee could have made that journey with you, she’d have killed to do so. But that doesn’t mean she’s left behind.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” Lynne asked.
“Only that yeah, you stepped on the Mommy Train, and right now she doesn’t have a ticket. But maybe someday, maybe.”
“Oh Eric, did Sam say something to you that week, do you think they’ll adopt one day?”
“All I can tell you is what I feel here, in my gut.” He moved his hand away from her, placing hers on his abdomen. “And it’s not painful, only a notion, but it’s strong Lynne, it’s, oh my God, something I’ve been tempted to paint just because I can’t get it out of my head.”
Yet Eric refrained from speaking his mind. Lynne didn’t press, relieved that Eric didn’t feel an imminent departure was near. She only prayed that Seth would respond to therapy, and that both Aherns would still be willing to stand as Jane’s godparents.
To the Snyders’ surprise, Sam stopped to visit after lunch. Lynne teased that he realized she had baked, and Sam smiled, noting that he had wondered when that ritual would be resumed. But instead of taking a slice, he held Jane, as Lynne had just finished feeding her. Lynne gave Eric a knowing glance, then announced she was going to take a shower. The men had baby duty, but she asked them to please save her one slice of pie.
Eric poured coffee, and cut two generous pieces, as Sam spoke softly to Jane, who was again awake. “She’s got the bluest eyes,” Sam said absently. Then he looked at Eric, who set a plate in front of him. “What, you want your baby back already?”
“A piece of pie for twenty minutes of rocking my daughter seems like a fair trade.” Eric brought mugs to the table, then his pie, sitting across from Sam. “I think she gets her eyes from you.”
Sam flinched, then chuckled. “Well, they probably won’t be blue for long, not with all this dark hair. Betcha they’ll be brown in a year’s time.”
“Maybe.” Eric blew on his coffee, then ate a bite of pie. “Listen, I’ve got something to tell you.”
Sam met Eric’s gaze. “No, I need to tell you something first.”
“Okay,” Eric smiled. “Shoot.”
Sam sighed, then kissed Jane’s face. Then he set her over his shoulder, as if to shield her. “It’s about those New Yorkers.”
Eric sipped from his cup. “Sam, I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before.”
Sam shook his head. “No, Eric, I’m sorry I was so, so….” Sam stood, then handed Jane to her father. Then he stalked about the kitchen, finally stepping to the open space along the far wall. He stared out of the window, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I had no idea, I mean, I really didn’t get it until last Saturday. God, how blind was I?”
“They don’t make it obvious.”
“No, they don’t.” Sam looked back at Eric. “How long’ve they been together?”
“Sinc
e before Stanford took me on. I think not long after the war.”
Eric didn’t mean Korea; from what he had gathered, Stanford and Laurie met in 1946. Both had managed to steer clear of the fighting; Stanford’s father used his considerable clout to keep his only son from serving. Laurie hadn’t turned eighteen until late 1944, and while he’d been conscripted, by the time he was ready to be sent overseas, Germany had surrendered, only Japan left to battle. The men had been introduced at a party for one of Michael Taylor’s clients. Laurie had arrived with a young woman, but by the end of the evening, Stanford had made his intentions known. Within weeks, they had fallen deeply in love, and while Michael and Constance weren’t enthused about Stanford’s choice of partner, it had nothing to do with Laurie’s personality. Now Michael treated Laurie like another son, and Eric expected Constance had too, until she had lost the cognitive power to do so.
Sam returned to the table, taking a chair next to Eric. “A few guys in Korea, well, they were….” Sam shook his head. “We called them fruits, not to their faces of course, but….” He sighed. “I never understood it, I mean, it just seemed so….” Then Sam smiled. “Didn’t affect how they were in combat, that had nothing to do with it. But Eric, I just don’t understand what they see in each other. I sure don’t know what Laurie sees in Stanford.”
Eric chuckled. “Stan’s a tough egg to crack, and I’m sure that plays a big part of it. He’s gotta hide who he really is, which is easier to do when you wear a shell few can tolerate.”
Sam nodded. “Renee made it pretty clear her views. And that it didn’t seem to bother me any when her co-workers were accusing her and Lynne of, well, the same damn thing.”
Sam said that softly, but Jane’s eyes were closed. He leaned back in his chair, then gazed at his pie. “Coffee’s probably cold by now.”
“Maybe,” Eric said. “Pie’s still good though.”
Sam nodded, then stood, returning to his place at the table. He tried the coffee, then made a face. “It’s not even regular. Eric, I do love you, and I mean that in a strictly brotherly sense, but I’ll tell you this; no use drinking luke-warm decaf. Might as well drink luke-warm water for all the good it’ll do me.”
Sam pushed the cup into the center of the table, then forked himself a large bite of pie. He ate it slowly, then smiled. Then he reached for his mug. “My goodness, even luke-warm coffee’s passable with Lynne’s pie.”
Eric nodded, then set Jane over his shoulder. Then he took another bite of pie, followed by a drink of coffee, while Sam hummed a familiar tune.
When Lynne returned, Jane was in her cot, and a cup of hot tea waited alongside a slice of apple pie. Lynne sat between the men, the conversation having turned to Jane’s baptism. Sam seemed unbothered that it would most likely be held at St. Matthew’s, and he told Lynne not to worry about Renee’s reaction. “I’ll break the news, don’t worry about it.”
Lynne cleared her throat. “I don’t wanna hurt her Sam, or you either. I just want to worship with Eric.”
Sam smiled, then grasped her hand, giving it a friendly squeeze. “Lynne, all that matters is that Jane Renee will be a child of God, and we’ll be holding her as it happens.”
“Are you sure?” Lynne asked.
“Yup. When’s it gonna be?”
“Don’t know yet,” Eric said. “Pastor Jagucki is coming over sometime next week, I should call him and set a date. But the baptism will be on a Sunday, I’m sure.”
Sam smiled, then released Lynne’s hand. “Well, that I expected. So I guess we’ve seen the last of you at mass. Well, it was nice while it lasted.”
Lynne noted Sam’s tone, which wasn’t quite annoyed, but a small dig was implied. She inhaled, then exhaled slowly. “Sam, I hope it’ll be all right if I invite Stanford and Laurie. I doubt they’d come all the way for a baptism but….”
Sam stared at Lynne, then he had a small cough. “Well, uh, whoever you want to be there, I have no arguments.”
“It’s just that we have so few, well, so few that I’d want to share that day with.”
Sam stood, taking his empty plate and mug to the sink. He retrieved Eric’s plate, but his cup was half-full. Sam loitered near the sink, then slowly retook his chair. “Lynne, I’m sorry for how I reacted last weekend. It was kind of them to visit, and I hope I didn’t aggravate the situation too badly. You and Eric have every right to invite anyone you want to be at Jane’s baptism. I just hope they’ll overlook my boorishness.”
“Does that mean we can ask your sister and her family to come?” Eric smiled.
Sam stared at Eric. “Frannie you mean?”
“That’s the one. That little stuffed bear she sent Jane is adorable. I’d love to share that day with them, if you think it’d be okay.”
Sam’s smile was slow, then lit his face. “She’d be pleased to attend. You invite Frannie, and you’ll have a pew and a half filled.”
“Well, that’d be splendid.” Eric scooted close to Lynne, putting his arm around her. “In fact, tell you what. I’ll call Pastor Jagucki right now, set up a date for him to visit next week. Then we’ll make a date for the baptism, say in another month. Jane’ll be six weeks old by then, that should be fine. Lynne, whatdya say?”
She nodded, then sipped her tea. “But we still need to tell Renee.”
Sam patted Lynne’s free hand. “Leave that to me. She gave me an earful about those New Yorkers. My turn to give her one right back.”
“Oh Sam don’t, I mean, I don’t want her feelings to be hurt.”
Sam leaned toward Lynne, squeezing her hand. “You leave Renee to me. Don’t you worry about anything other than feeding Jane, and maybe making another pie.” Sam chuckled. “Eric said that pastor’s got a sweet tooth. You square a date with him, and I’ll take care of Mrs. Ahern.”
Chapter 59