Chapter 50 Noah
fifty
Noah
One good thing comes out of all this: Griff is finally back home. “Happy birthday, dude,” he says as he steps out of his sports car and takes me in a hug.
“You remembered?” I ask as he lets go of me on a back slap.
He beeps his trunk open, grabs a leather duffel bag and a gift bag. “Isn’t that why we’re here?”
In a way, I suppose. “Let me show you to your room.”
His smile is tight when he answers, “I’m sure I can still find it.”
Taken aback, I let him go first.
“If you just tell me which one,” he adds over his shoulder.
I grit my teeth. “Beck set you up in the yellow room.”
“No shit.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, and he doesn’t elaborate, so I just let him be.
Things were always hard with Griff. He was colicky as a baby, crying for what seemed like hours.
As a child, he’d always try to pick a fight with me, and he’d ignore Beck to a point that made Beck insanely mad. But he’d dote on Lane like we all did.
I wonder if he knows she’s pregnant.
“Hey, Griff,” I hear Willow’s voice upstairs.
His low timbre answers. There’s a back-and-forth I can’t make out, then Willow comes downstairs, her facial expression strained.
“Lane just texted,” she explains. “They’re on their way.
” She stays in the foyer, wringing her hands, and suddenly I realize this might be too much for my wife. All this pressure.
Getting the house ready—I should have known she’d feel this was her burden to carry.
But mainly, facing Gail again. Why did she go ahead with this? Why did I not see she was placing us first again, instead of focusing on what was right for her?
Griff’s footsteps sound in the distance, accompanied by some muffled shouting. Soon Beck and Lane will be here, and I wonder if we’ll have a moment, just us, without Gail, before Griff takes off again.
The last time we were together was for Colton and Kiara’s wedding. I was too preoccupied to really care about what was going on with either of them, and Griff left that evening.
Before that, was for Dad’s memorial at Lilyvale. We were all dealing with our emotions in our own way, and connecting wasn’t easy.
“Hey, where d’you go?” Willow asks, bringing me back to the present.
I shrug. “Just thinking how this house was meant for a big family, and how empty it feels most days.”
She wraps her arm around my middle and leans her head against mine. “Lane and her baby will solve that for a while. And maybe we could think of another usage for Lilyvale.”
“Like what?”
She shrugs. “A history center. An animal rescue. An artists’ retreat—”
Before she can continue, the front door opens on Chloe carrying tonight’s food. Moose passes her and rushes to the kitchen, and he and Calla start horsing around. Maple, Muffin, and Myrtle follow them in a flurry of wagging tails and sharp yaps, skidding awkwardly on the hardwood floors.
“I think Lane might need help,” Chloe says as all five dogs rush out the front door.
A high-pitched shriek sounds. I can tell Willow is biting the inside of her cheeks so as not to laugh, but before I can confirm that Gail just met the dogs, Griff comes stomping down the stairs.
“Where the hell is Beck?” he barks. “I’m too fucking old for his fucking pranks.”
“Awww, little sweetheart!” Beck says, coming from the garden through the kitchen to hug his brother. “I missed you too.”
Real barking and more human shrieking come from outside, but my attention stays on my brothers. Are they really going to argue this soon?
Griff’s gaze stops on Willow. He hesitates, then slaps his brother’s back. “You’re still a little shit,” he grumbles affectionately.
“Someone’s got to be.”
“Little help here?” Lane says in a small voice as she hoists a huge suitcase up the front steps, while Gail, smartly dressed in a bright pink skirt suit and heels, follows rolling a tiny golden carry-on.
“Ooops, right this way,” Beck says as he grabs the suitcase from Lane.
“Mama!” he exclaims, momentarily leaving the suitcase aside to take Gail in a bear hug.
He swings her around, and we all hold our laughter at the set of muddy paw prints on her back.
As if that wasn’t enough, Beck ruffles her severe bob before letting her go.
“Long time no see!” He singsongs then picks up the suitcase, turns around, and winks at us before going up the stairs.
Griff and I exchange a look, taking a beat too long to figure out our next steps.
Willow and Gail are face to face.
“Welcome to Lilyvale,” Willow says, extending her hand. “Make yourself at home here.”
Bang! Nailed it. I wrap my arm around my wife’s shoulders. “We’re delighted to have you,” I add, staring at Gail. Pretty sure that long white-ish streak across the front of her skirt is a sling of drool.
Reluctantly, she takes Willow’s hand, then quickly releases it, averts her gaze, and follows Lane up the stairs.
“Well look who made it!” We all whip our heads back to the front door, where Ms. Angela just materialized, closely followed by Marcy who looks extremely uncertain.
What the hell?
“Gail! Didn’t I tell ya it would go easy peasy?” Ms. Angela pulls on Marcy’s long sleeve T-shirt to bring her inside the house. “You didn’t meet Marcy yet, did you? Come here and say hello, darlin’,” she says, still talking to Gail.
Gail is now unsteadily on the third step, holding onto the railing, her skinny legs wobbly on her spiky heels.
“Don’t move!” Marcy says. “I’ll come to you.
You’re quite the little trooper, braving ’em stairs with…
” she frowns and bends slightly… “five-inch heels?” She hoists herself to Gail’s level, places both her hands on Gail’s shoulders, and declares, “We’re family now!
Come and say a proper hello.” Then promptly places a loud kiss on Gail’s cheek, takes a step back, looks at her daughter, and says, “What’s for dinner? ”
Willow seems to be teetering between horror and hilarity. “Stuffed turkey breast with morels and fingerling potatoes,” she recites robotically as her mother comes down the steps.
“Welp, you sound tense. I brought some gummies. It’s for my pain, but it works for lots of things.” She pats the bulge in the pocket of her too-large pants. “Got my stash right here, you just let me know.”
“I might need one,” Griff mutters.
“What did I miss?” Beck says, returning empty-handed from Gail’s bedroom. “What happened to your skirt?” he finds smart to ask Gail.
Ms. Angela claps her hands. “Lane, dear, I think Gail will want to freshen up?”
Lane and Gail seem to unfreeze as they promptly resume the trek that will take them up the stairs, down a hallway, and up another set of stairs.
“Well, I’m gonna leave you to your awkward family reunion,” Chloe says, chuckling once Gail is out of earshot. “Moose, come here, boy. We’ve got lots to tell Daddy.”
Ms. Angela snickers. “ECHoes is gonna be warming up tonight!”