Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
“ H ello? Anybody home?” Beth called out as she entered Lauren and Jeff’s house.
“Auntie Beth!” Olivia yelled.
“Hey, Pumpkin!” Beth answered. “Where is everybody?”
“Mommy and Daniel are upstairs. Lily is getting ready because Daddy is taking us to the Christmas show at the high school. It’s really for little kids, but I’m going because Lily wants me there.”
Beth smiled. “I see, well you’re a nice sister to go along.”
“Grandpa Paolo is going too.”
Sarah came downstairs. “Hey little sister.”
“Hi, Sarah. Is Mom with you?”
“She’s helping Lauren. She’ll be down in a minute. So, how are you these days? We haven’t had much time to talk in weeks. How long are you staying?”
Beth shrugged. “I don’t have to be anywhere at a specific time. I thought I’d hang with my sisters and Mom for a few hours. Looks like I came at the right time.”
Sarah laughed. “Yup, it’s a bit crazy around here. Not to mention that Michael, Quinn and Cora are going too. I think it’s a Daddy-Daughter, and in this case, granddaughters, kind of thing.”
“Hey, Bethy,” Lauren said. “Would you like to hold your nephew?”
“Do you even have to ask? Hand that little angel to me.”
Daniel’s eyes were wide open.
“He’s looking right at me,” Beth said. “Oh, my gosh, he is the cutest.”
“Grandma says he looks like her,” Sarah said.
Beth rolled her eyes. “Of course she did. Although I do see a resemblance.”
Maggie ran down the stairs with Paolo following behind.
“Hi, honey, is Gabriel with you?”
“Nope, just me.”
“How fun, this is turning out to be a girls’ get-together. Why don’t you stay for dinner?”
Beth nodded. “Awesome. Who’s cooking?”
Sarah raised her hand. “That would be me.”
Rocking back and forth, Beth teased, “On second thought…”
Sarah’s cellphone rang. After looking at the phone, she looked at Maggie. “It’s the doctor.”
“Hello, yes, this is Sarah Hutchins. Oh, I see. Yes, thank you for calling.”
When she ended the call, Sarah’s face dropped.
“I’m not a match.”
The room was quiet for a minute until Maggie’s cellphone buzzed with a call from Michael.
“Hi, honey. The guys are just about to head out…what? Oh, yes…Sarah got a call, too. No?…”
Maggie shook her head. “Okay, I’ll tell them. I’m sorry too.”
Maggie looked at Paolo. “Brea isn’t a match either. This is terrible.”
Beth looked at her mother. “Who’s left?”
“You, Paolo, Christopher and Be..cca,” Maggie answered.
“Why did you hesitate when you said Becca?” Lauren asked.
“Did I? I didn’t mean to. I guess I wasn’t thinking.”
“I feel horrible that I couldn’t test,” Jeff said. “I didn’t need another reason to hate being diabetic, but this stinks.”
Lauren rubbed his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. Everyone knows you would have donated your kidney if they’d accepted you.”
“Oh, Jeff, Michael said that he and the girls will meet you at the ticket counter. He said they were leaving now.”
Jeff nodded. “Okay, girls. Let’s get going.”
Paolo got his coat and kissed Maggie on the cheek. He was almost to the door when Maggie yelled out, “Don’t eat too much junk food you guys.”
Lauren, Sarah, and Maggie sat on the sofa while Beth cradled Daniel in the chair.
“He’s falling asleep,” Beth whispered.
“He’s relaxed in your arms, Bethy,” Lauren said.
The somber mood in the room was palpable and the weight of the news about Brea and Sarah seemed to linger.
Beth broke the silence first.
“So, Linda and I are going to be farmers,” she said.
Everyone looked at Beth like she had two heads.
“You’re going to do what?” Sarah asked.
“Well, technically, we’re going to get the apple orchard back to where it was when Gabriel’s parents started it back in the eighties.”
“So you’re not going to practice law anymore?” Lauren asked for clarification.
“Only insofar as it helps our business.”
Confused, Lauren asked, “Business? You’re not seriously going to run the place as a business, are you? What do you know about farming…or running an apple orchard for that matter?”
“I’m not sure I like your tone, Lauren.”
“Girls let’s not fight. Don’t we have enough on our plates to deal with?” Maggie insisted.
“Well, I want to know why Lauren is such an expert on this subject. She’s in real estate not agriculture.”
“I don’t have to be a farmer to know this is a dumb idea.”
“Thanks a lot, Lauren,” Beth said. “Besides, I’m not going to run the thing by myself. Linda and I are going to use Victoria’s recipes to make pies, jams, and jellies. We’re even going to sell pumpkins and Christmas trees. Gabriel’s father is thinking about coming back east to live with us. He knows all about the place since it was his baby years ago.”
Maggie’s eyes lit up. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Beth. Victoria would be so proud.”
Lauren nodded. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to squash your idea. It’s just such a lot of work. You might want to think about hiring more people in time.”
Lauren looked at her mother. “Speaking of work, I’ve been thinking about extending my maternity leave. I want to spend more time with Daniel and the girls and not rush back to the real estate business. Jeff and I have talked about it, and we’re trying to find a way where I might be able to work at home more and give him some time to find something part-time that he might like to do.”
Sarah looked up, a spark of interest in her eyes. “You should do it, Lauren. These moments with Daniel are precious, and work can wait. I know when I decided to stay at home full time, it was the best decision Trevor and I could have made. It’s not lost on me that I’m in a position to make that choice. I know many women can barely make ends meet working two jobs and caring for their children. I feel lucky that I can do this.”
Lauren looked at Maggie. “How did you do it, Mom?”
“Do what, stay home with you kids? In those days there wasn’t much choice. There weren’t daycares all over the place or nannies like they have now.”
“Didn’t you ever want to work outside the home?” Lauren asked.
Maggie nodded and smiled. “I sure did. I wanted to run a flower shop and eventually extend it to a large garden nursery. I think it’s funny that I eventually married a man who runs that very kind of business.”
“So, you wanted to run a business but gave up that dream?” Beth asked.
“Pretty much. You kids came first and, anyway, I would have worked just to pay for someone to watch you all. I didn’t want to miss a minute of your development or any of your games or recitals.”
“I bet Dad missed a few,” Sarah added.
Maggie nodded. “He did. More than once I had to go to school events without him. That’s because he worked to provide for us. He kept you fed, clothed and with a roof over our heads.”
For the next hour, the women talked about everything under the sun. The room grew warmer with talk of their shared hopes and plans.
Maggie took a deep breath and stood up. “Well, since it’s a girls’ night and Sarah’s cooking, how about we make it a real celebration? We’ll support each other and figure out the next steps together.”
Beth gently handed Daniel to Lauren. “I’m sorry I was so short with you. I didn’t mean to fight with you. I’m not afraid to admit I have no clue what we’re doing, but I’m excited and feel like I’ve got something to look forward to.”
“It’s okay. I do hope the orchard thrives. The kids and I will be one of the first to pick your apples when they’re ready.”
As they moved to the kitchen, the conversation shifted to lighter topics, and for a moment, the heaviness lifted.
The front door opened, and Becca entered the room.
“Becca!” Maggie yelled. “What a surprise. Come join us. We’re having a girls’ day. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Becca smiled at Maggie. “No, thanks, Chris and I just ate. We heard you all were over here and I asked Chris if he minded if I stopped over for a bit.”
“This is great. Too bad Brea isn’t here but maybe next time,” Sarah said.
“Becca, have you heard anything about your test results for Emily’s transplant?” Lauren asked.
Becca looked at Maggie and then at Lauren and shook her head, “No…not yet.”
“Brea and Sarah aren’t a match…the doctor called,” Maggie added.
“The doctor called us too. Chris isn’t a match either.”
Maggie gasped. “Oh no. This isn’t going well at all. I thought by now, one of you would be a match. I can’t believe this. Poor Emily.”
“And poor Eve. Emily’s mother must be frantic,” Beth said.
The women ate snacks, watched a movie and made plans for the holidays.
When Jeff, Paolo and the girls returned, they talked a mile a minute telling everyone about the Christmas show.
Maggie smiled remembering the many Christmas pageants and school field trips that her children participated in during the holidays.
She pulled a photo from her pocket and captured the image on her cellphone.
Putting the photo back in her pocket, she messaged Kat.
Maggie: Do you remember this?
Kat:Oh my goodness. How old were we?
Maggie:You were four and I was eight months.
Kat:Look at how Mom is squeezing you.
Maggie:She wanted to keep me safe.
Kat:From Santa?
Maggie:From the world.
Their mother’s constant hovering was more than a desire to keep Maggie safe from the world around her. Losing a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome the year before traumatized her so deeply, she couldn’t bear the thought that it would happen again.
Maggie found out about the tragedy by accident several years earlier. When she confronted her mother, she was told to never speak of it again, and more importantly, to never mention it to either of her siblings.
To this day, Kat and their brother Michael, were unaware of the death of their other brother. Maggie kept her promise, and never said a word to anyone.
She often thought it was time they were told, but it wasn’t her story to tell. Out of respect, Maggie did what her mother asked of her, but now, with Kat insisting that Maggie was the favorite child, it was time to set the record straight.
Maggie:When are you going home to San Diego?
Kat:I’m staying here for a bit. Waiting for you to come home. Spending time with Mom.
Maggie:Good. I’ll let you know when we’ll return. The three of us can spend some time together.
Kat:Give my love to everyone there.
Maggie:Will do.
Maggie joined the others, and listened to her grandchildren talk about the Christmas show.
“How about some dessert? I bought ice cream,” Maggie announced.
The girls jumped up and down and ran into the kitchen.
Sarah put her arms around Beth.
“Remember when we used to do that? Some things never change.”