Episode 74
Episode 74
Family First
SUMMER
TJ splashed and squealed happily during his bath. I picked up a yellow ducky, dunked it under the water until it filled up, and then squirted the tile wall with it.
“Oooohhhh!” TJ squealed and then spoke a bunch of words in Norwegian I didn’t understand but I got the gist. He clapped excitedly, so I repeated the process, this time aiming the water from the duck’s mouth onto TJ’s little hand. I was rewarded with a screech-laugh.
“How’s he doing?” Jack asked, his own hair wet and dripping onto a black, long-sleeved t-shirt. He had gray lounge pants on, his feet bare. Obviously, he’d taken a quick shower while I bathed TJ.
“Great. Having a blast. He loves the water,” I smiled. “Was that the door I heard?”
He nodded. “Yeah, Erik and Savannah arrived. I put them in Ellen’s room. They’re getting showered and cleaned up now.”
I nodded and poured the water over TJ’s head. He squealed in glee again.
“He really does love the water.” Jack smiled for the first time in days.
“Yep,” I answered and finished cleaning him up.
“ Hvor er mamma ?” TJ asked Jack.
Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then moved into the bathroom and sat on the toilet near the bathtub. I shifted back and handed him the washcloth. He immediately ran the soft cloth along TJ’s back.
“ Mama er i himmelen med pappa ,” he croaked.
“Heaven with Dad?” I asked, wanting to be sure he was telling TJ his mother was gone, so I could prepare mentally and emotionally. It would also confirm what faith TJ and Ellen had practiced, so I didn’t step on any toes with my own beliefs. I made a mental note to discuss these things with my family so they didn’t say anything that might confuse TJ. There was plenty of time for TJ to learn the beauty of all faiths and one day choose his own spiritual path.
Jack nodded curtly.
“ Mamma med pappa ?” TJ frowned.
“ Ja ,” Jack whispered, pressing a hand to the boys back.
“ Jeg vil ha mamma !” TJ suddenly screeched, standing up, tears in his eyes, his cheeks turning ruddy as big fat teardrops fell down them.
“What did he say?” I asked and handed Jack a towel.
He wrapped it around TJ and scooped him up and out of the bath. He held him close as I watched, my heart breaking for the young boy.
“He wants his mother,” Jack shared, his tone gutted.
I leaned over and kissed TJ on the top of the head. “I’m going to give you some time alone with him. I’ve laid out an outfit and a pull-up diaper. Both are on his bed. It seems he’s not fully potty-trained.”
Jack nodded, tears running down his face as he whispered to TJ and kissed him over and over.
I gently left the bathroom, but the second I was out of sight, a broken sob tore from my lungs as I braced myself with one hand to the wall. I’d almost made it to the guest room when a curvy redhead exited Ellen’s bedroom. The woman’s big blue eyes widened, and she dashed over to me with her arms wide open. She pulled me against her ample chest, and I sobbed like a baby into this stranger’s arms, fully convulsing against her as my grief and sorrow took over.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” she said with a hint of a slight midwestern American accent. “Cry it out. Lord knows you and Jack have had a horrible few days. I’m so sorry we couldn’t get here faster. Jack had the jet in California, and we were in Australia.”
I nodded and sniffed, clinging to her warmth. She smelled of wild berries and sunshine, a beautiful calming concoction that should be bottled up and sold everywhere. I bet Autumn clocks her scent right away and will want to know what she uses to smell so good.
“You must be Savannah,” I rasped, my voice obliterated by the emotions taking over.
She nodded and held me tight for a few minutes as I let it all out. Slowly, the crying subsided, and I lifted my head and wiped at my tears. I was still standing in Jack’s t-shirt and my panties, the shirt dampened from TJ’s shenanigans in the bath and now my tears, when the man I assumed was Erik exited.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asked gently, his Norwegian accent a bit thicker than Jack’s.
I shook my head and pulled at the hem of my shirt, trying to cover the important bits. “Hi, I’m Summer, but you probably already knew that.”
His lips pressed together, and he hooked his arm around Savannah’s waist. “My wife, Savannah. And I’m Erik, but you probably already knew that,” he repeated my words in a sweet tone and winked.
I lifted my hand and waved, then shuffled on my bare feet and pointed to the guest room. “I’m just gonna go get cleaned up, and then yeah, I’d be happy to make you some lunch. We just ate, but I can…”
He shook his head. “We’ll manage, solskinn ,” he said, using the same nickname Jack called me.
I opened my mouth and closed it. “You called me solskinn ,” I whispered in surprise.
“Sorry. You just look like the sun to me. Though perhaps right now it’s a bit of a rainy day.” He reached out slowly, as though I were a frightened animal that might scamper away. I didn’t, and he cupped my cheek lightly and wiped away a stray tear.
“Jack calls me solskinn ,” I muttered, and he pressed his lips together and smiled.
“It suits you. We’ll take care of lunch. Go on and get ready for the day. We all have a lot to talk about.”
I nodded and then bolted to the guest room.
* * * *
After I fully showered, I felt more human, more ready to take on the day. I even blow-dried my hair and put on a touch of makeup. Then I pulled on some jeans, fluffy socks, and a tank. I pilfered one of Jack’s fancy cable-knit sweaters and pulled it on. It was huge and exactly what I needed to feel comfy cozy.
What I was not prepared for were the angry male voices speaking rapid-fire Norwegian inside the kitchen.
Slipping and sliding along the wood floors, I made my way to the kitchen, where Jack’s face was red as a tomato, the veins in his neck bulging with his overt fury as he pointed at Erik. He said something angrily, and Erik threw his arms up into the air and then slapped them down at his sides, clearly agitated.
“What in the world is happening here?” I blurted, entering the kitchen and putting my arms out in a t-shape between the two men. Savannah was nowhere to be found. “And where is TJ?”
“He’s with Savannah, taking a walk outside while I talk some sense into my brother,” Erik barked.
I had to admit, an angry, super tall, lumberjack-sized man with long hair, a beard and mustache, and very large biceps and tree trunk thighs was something to see. But it was also pretty scary, so I backed up until Jack looped an arm around my waist and pulled me until my back was against his front.
“No, he’s out of his mind!” Jack roared in return. “If you think you’re going to steal TJ away from me, you’ve got it all wrong, brother ,” he seethed, putting special enunciation on the word brother.
“Steal TJ away? Someone catch me up?” I asked, trying to deescalate a heightened situation.
“Go ahead, Erik, tell Summer exactly what you and Savannah are attempting to do,” Jack sneered.
“Jack, stop talking to me like I’m your enemy. We’re family.”
“Oh really? Now, we’re family. Where the hell were you when Troy died?” Jack fired off.
“That isn’t fair. I was in the hospital.”
“And after? Where were you then? Were you consoling a grieving, pregnant widow? Oh no, you were traveling the world, trying to find yourself. While I was here.” Jack pointed at the ground. “With Ellen, our sister by choice, who had lost her husband, our best friend, and was about to have a child! Do you have any idea what that was like?”
“ Jack ,” Erik said his name, and I could hear the apology in the single word, but I didn’t think Jack could.
“No!” Jack shook his head. “Don’t you dare start. I was the one who went to the birthing classes with a grieving widow. I was the one that held her hand through every contraction. I was the one that cut the umbilical cord and saw TJ enter the world. For the past two and a half years, I have been here. You haven’t!”
“I know, I know. But that’s all changed. I have Savannah now, and I’m a new man,” Erik responded.
“You have Savannah now. Woo hoo! Great for you. But who had Ellen for the last two years? Who had TJ? Hmmm? He doesn’t even know you. You’ve met him what…twice in his entire life? While I have a room here and have had weekly dinner night as a family.”
“I told you, all that’s changing. I’m more present now than I ever have been. And Savannah and I talked about it. We want kids soon anyway. We can raise TJ as our own and you can—”
“I can what? Be free? Be a single man? Have nothing in my life besides work? Don’t you see, Erik? I’ve wanted a family for so long, you’ve just been too wrapped up in yourself to see it! I want people in my daily life that I can love with my whole heart. Ones who care the same for me. While you were off soul searching, I was here, in the trenches with Ellen and TJ. Grieving. Dealing with daily life. Taking care of them.”
“And I did find myself,” Erik barked. “I did, and I’m here. Right here, ready to give back. Ready to do the work!”
“Fucking great man, I’m happy for you. But you’re too late. You can’t come in here and all of a sudden play Daddy to a child that doesn’t even know your name!”
“So, what? Jack, the great playboy is ready to be a father?” Erik laughed dryly.
I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw ached from trying to stay out of it and just be silent support.
“I’m going to follow Ellen’s wishes for TJ to the letter.” Jack let me go and walked over to the counter where a large envelope sat. “In here is Ellen’s last will and testament. She listed me as Troy Jack’s guardian in the event of her death. You will note, Ellen and I already had this conversation not long after TJ was born. My signature is on the document and was signed by a witness. TJ’s mine, and I’m not letting him go.”
“Jack…” Erik lowered his voice to one of concern and not anger. “Savannah and I aren’t trying to steal the boy from you. We just wanted to offer another option. A good one. You know we’d be excellent parents. We have a lot of love to give, and we’re married. We have our life plan in place. You’re just starting out with Summer,” Erik gestured to me. “You need more time.”
I held up my hands. “Hey, don’t look at me, dude. I want the whole enchilada: TJ and Jack.”
Erik’s head jerked back. “You just met and you’re telling me you are ready to be a mother?”
I shrugged. “Kids are awesome. I want more of them, and soon, if Jack is down with that plan. I was kind of waiting to drop that bomb on him until after the wedding, but now that we’ve got TJ, I don’t really see any reason to wait.”
Jack’s head snapped toward me. “You want kids soon?”
“Hey, I’d get off birth control the minute you said go. I’m not getting any younger, and my parents are dying for some grandchildren. I always dreamed of having a whole houseful one day.”
Jack grinned in that boyish way that made my heart pound and my coochie clench. “A whole houseful?” he repeated.
“Yeah, honey. Lots of little tow-headed kids running around my pink house, speaking bits and pieces of English and Norwegian. Dark eyes and serious expressions.” I could already imagine it.
“This woman really is the sun shining on a cloudy day,” Erik hooked a thumb toward me.
Jack burst out laughing, a much-needed break in the tension. It filled my chest with relief and joy.
“What can I say, I’m aptly named,” I smiled.
Jack padded over to me and cupped both of my cheeks. “Are we getting married, raising TJ, and having a bunch of babies?” he asked, his gaze laser focused on mine, his expression more severe than ever before.
“Yes, yes, and hell yes!” I cried out and looped my arms around his neck, plastered my body to his, and kissed him fast and hard.
“ Jesus Kristus ,” Erik murmured.
Savannah took that moment to enter through the front door, a bundled-up TJ in her arms. When he entered, the boy saw me and screamed, “Sum Sum!” and toddled over to me, his arms out wide.
I scooped him up and blew kisses against his neck until he was squirming and howling with delight. Then he turned around and put his hand out, his fingers grabbing at Jack.
“Dada Yak, Dada Yak,” he said and then spoke something in Norwegian.
“Ah, come here, buddy,” he grabbed TJ and put him on his hip, naturally balancing him like any dad would. Then he spoke quietly to him, and TJ’s eyes went to Erik.
“Unca Rick!” TJ repeated in broken English.
“It’s Air-Rick” Erik sounded out for TJ.
“Unca Rick!” he blurted, pointing at Erik and then said, “Sabby!” his pudgy hand waving at Savannah.
“Uncle Erik and Auntie Savvy is correct, buddy. Good job!” Jack spoke in English, then I think he repeated it in Norwegian. Which reminded me I needed to download Duolingo or Rosetta Stone to start learning Norwegian.
“Sooooo, how did it go while I was gone?” Savannah walked over to Erik and cuddled against his side.
“Jack has declined our offer to raise TJ. He and Summer are still planning to get married, raise TJ, and apparently have more children right away.”
Savannah’s eyes seemed to bulge at how surprised she apparently was. “Well, okay. That settles that. Of course, we’ll be available to support and help raise TJ in any way that’s needed.”
“I was trying to express the fact that we would be best suited to raise the boy,” Erik continued, and Jack glared, his body becoming rigid.
Savannah patted Erik on the chest. “Honey, just because you’ve got a new lease on life doesn’t mean you can push your desires on everyone else. Me, yes. Your parents, probably. Jack…uh no. He’s a grown man who has been present in TJ’s life. He’s likely to be the best source for TJ’s immediate happiness, especially during this transition period. He’s going to miss his mom a lot. Jack is a regular part of his life, as are your parents. We’re new to him. What he needs most right now is stability. Jack can give him that better than we can. And if in two or three weeks, or later down the road, Jack finds he’s not ready to be a father, we can discuss this again.”
“Thank you, Savannah. I appreciate your contribution, but I won’t be giving TJ up in two or three weeks. Not in a month or a year. I know what it’s like to not have a stable parent in your life or any parent for that matter. TJ will never feel alone or unwanted.” Jack’s gaze shot to mine, and I nodded. “Summer and I will raise TJ as though he were our own child.”
“Understood. That doesn’t mean we won’t be here ready to give a helping hand,” Savannah offered. “TJ has family that loves him. I believe that’s the most important thing.”
“Me too. I’m sorry I got so angry,” Jack said, looking at Erik.
“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have come at you like that. It wasn’t right. You have been in TJ’s life the whole time. I guess I just didn’t realize that you were ready for all of this. I’m seeing now, firsthand, that you have changed too.”
Jack smiled as I ran my hand along TJ’s soft hair as he pressed his head to Jack’s neck and started to close sleepy eyes.
“We’ll be okay,” I said to Jack, but meant it for all of us.
“We will. We have each other,” Jack murmured.
“We have family,” I reminded him.
Both Savannah and Erik came over, and we had a long group hug.
“Oh, and don’t forget, my parents and sister will be here soon,” I said.
“Your family is coming here, to Norway?” Erik asked. “Why?”
Jack chuckled. “Family first, brother. Family first.”