Rough Drafts (13 page)

“Oh,
God,” Candace groaned. “
That
, I
remember. I wonder if he has a part
on
The Walking Dead
now,” Candace giggled.
She noticed Pearl’s confused glance and started laughing in earnest. “I mean,
maybe he was a zombie. That would explain why he tried to eat my face.”

Pearl
rolled her eyes. “Those kids are a bad influence on you,” she said. Candace continued
to laugh. “I believe it, though.”

“That
Jeremy is really a zombie?” Candace wondered.

“No,
that he tried to eat your face. That must be why Jeff kicked mop top in the
shins when he was getting in his car,” Pearl told her.

Candace’s
eyes flew open. “He did not! I wondered why he avoided me after that…not
Jeff—Jeremy.”

“Well,
he may not be the biggest, but he can pack a punch…or
kick—at
least, when it comes to you.”

Candace
shook her head. “He has been beating up my dates for forty years,” she snickered.
“Do me a favor and warn me next time he visits.”

“Why
is that?” Pearl wondered.

“I
want to up my insurance policy on Jameson,” Candace quipped.

“What
are you two doing?” Jameson’s voice interrupted the conversation. She lifted
Spencer off of her shoulders and he promptly ran to Candace. “Planning on
poisoning me or something?” she asked Candace.

“Not
today,” Candace deadpanned as she picked Spencer up.

“Oh,
I feel much better now,” Jameson looked at her wife suspiciously.

“Nana?”

“Yes,
Spencer?” Candace beamed at her grandson.

“Jay
Jay said baby,” he told his
Nana
as he
pointed to Jameson. Candace raised an eyebrow at her wife.

“Not
me, Buddy,” Jameson held up her hand. Spencer looked at Candace.

“Sorry,
sunshine
, not me either,” Candace tickled
the toddler.

“Uncle
Jonah,” Jameson explained.

“You!”
Spencer laughed as he pointed to Jameson.

“Fraid
not,” Jameson repeated.

“Yes!”
Spencer laughed harder at his game.

“Something
you neglected to tell me?” Candace asked Jameson.

Jameson
grinned sarcastically. “Jonah, Spencer. Jonah and Laura are having a baby. You
and Maddie will have a cousin.”

Spencer
looked at
Candace,
who nodded at him. He
turned and looked back at Jameson. “No, you!” he laughed so hard that he shook.
Pearl snickered as she stood at the sink.

 
“You find something funny?” Jameson asked
Pearl.

“No.
I just wonder what Marianne is going to say when Spencer tells her you are
having a baby,” Pearl said.

Spencer
wiggled in Candace’s embrace and Candace put him down. “What do you want Spencer?”
she asked him.

Spencer
grabbed Candace’s hand and pulled on it gently. “Nana.”

“Yes,
Spencer?” Candace asked again.

Spencer
pulled her toward Jameson and reached for Jameson’s hand. “Jay Jay.” Spencer
smiled up at the pair as he tugged on both their hands.

“Looks
like your grandson wants you to go outside,” Pearl said.

Candace
looked a
Jameson,
who just shrugged.
“Okay, Spence…You want to go see everyone again?” Jameson asked the toddler.

He
grinned up at her. “Out, Jay Jay!”

Jameson
opened the screen door and stepped through with Spencer pulling both her and
Candace forward urgently. Once they reached the yard and Spencer saw his mother
and father standing with a group of people, he broke away and took off running
wobbly toward them.

“Slow
down, Spence!” Jameson chuckled.

“Momma!”
Spencer yelled. Marianne looked over as Spencer ran toward her. “Nana!
Jay Jay!”

“Yes,
Spencer, I see you found your Nana and your Jay Jay,” Marianne said.

“Baby,
Mama!” he called loudly.

“Yep.
That’s right, there is going to be another baby for you to play with,” Marianne
told her son as he reached her legs.

Jameson
and Candace were strolling casually toward their guests.

“Jay
Jay, baby!” Spencer turned and pointed to Jameson. Everyone stared at Jameson
immediately.

“Not
me!” Jameson called out.

Spencer
grinned and yelled again. “Nana!” he called.

“Yes,
Spencer?”

“Jay
Jay, baby!” he yelled excitedly. Candace burst out laughing.

“Not
me!” Jameson tried to explain again.

“You!”
Spencer laughed harder.

Candace
patted Jameson’s stomach. “Just tell them, honey,” she said with a mischievous
grin.

“You
are not helping,” Jameson whispered through closed lips to her wife as all eyes
focused on them.

“Not
me, Spence. Jonah. Jonah and Laura’s baby. Not me. Nana and me…”

“Nana,
baby!” Spencer laughed and pointed at Candace.

“It’s
going to be a long day,” Jameson whispered to Candace who was still laughing.

***

Candace
was coming down the stairs with Spencer wrapped around her waist. She was whispering
something in his ear and he was giggling as his head leaned against her
shoulder. Candace had welcomed the chance to step away from the activity
outside for a few minutes. She loved entertaining and she enjoyed being
surrounded by people. One thing that weighed on her continually remained the
distance that separated her from her oldest child and her two grandchildren.
She suspected that Jameson knew that, even if Candace seldom verbalized it.
Marianne had a unique way of testing Candace’s patience from time to time. But,
if Jonah was her miracle, and Shell was her kindred spirit, Marianne was
nothing less than Candace’s
treasure
.
Marianne was the first and in some ways, the child that taught Candace the most
about patience and pride. Candace remembered every first with her children.
She recalled the scraped knees, the myriad of animals
that came home in boxes, the wrestling matches that nicked and scratched more
than a few antiques over the years, the teenage broken hearts, the birthday
parties, and the graduations.
All of those memories represented more
than passing moments. They were the fabric that formed bonds and relationships.
Candace understood that. Time alone with her children had always served as the
happiest moments in her life. She hoped to find that time to spend with her
grandchildren now. Her career had always made that endeavor an uphill battle.
Now, the
distance
created another layer
of resistance. She would grasp any moment she could to devote to Spencer.

“Sorry,
I didn’t mean to intrude,” Laura’s soft voice chimed.

Candace
smiled at the young woman as she entered the kitchen. “You live here,” she
reminded the girl. Laura smiled. “Spencer and I were just getting his jammies
on, isn’t that right, Spence?”

“Train!”
he pointed to his pajamas excitedly.

“You
like trains, Spencer?” Laura asked him.

Spencer
nodded and smiled at her. “Nana likes trains!” he exclaimed.

Candace
chuckled. “I do like trains,” she agreed as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Jay
Jay likes trains,” he told the young woman before him.

“She
does?” Laura asked.

“Yep!
Jay Jay!”
he called out for Jameson.

Candace
rolled her eyes. “Jay Jay is outside,” she told him. He looked at his nana and
frowned. “Do you want to go find Jay Jay?” Candace asked.

Spencer
nodded. “Nana?
Jay Jay
hide?” he asked
Candace, referring to a game he often played with the pair.

“I
don’t know. I’ll bet we can find her,” Candace said. He squirmed to get down
and she laughed. Spencer started for the door and stopped in front of Laura. He
held out his hand and touched her belly. “Baby?” he asked her.

“Yes,”
Laura brightened. “Your cousin is waiting to meet you,” she met his excited
gaze.

Spencer
smiled and turned to Candace as she started to open the door for him. He put
his hand on Candace’s belly. “Nana? Baby?”

Candace
bit back her laughter. “No, sweetie. Your mommy is Nana’s baby,” she said.

Spencer
seemed to consider the information
thoughtfully
before looking out the door and finding Jameson in the distance. “Jay Jay!” he
yelled excitedly. Jameson turned around and held out her arms to him. Spencer
took off as fast as his legs would carry him. “Got you, Jay Jay!” he screamed.
“Jay Jay, baby!” he yelled again.

Jameson
looked across the yard toward Candace. Candace threw her hands up in the air
and laughed. “She might as well just get used to it,” Candace observed. “I’ll
bet before the night is over Pearl will be pregnant too,” Candace laughed as
she turned to face Laura. Laura was smiling, but Candace could detect her
nervousness. “A little overwhelming?” Candace guessed.

“No,”
Laura said softly.

“Uh-huh.
Sometimes, it overwhelms me,” Candace told her. “My remedy is
normally
a
nice
glass of wine.
Present
company
considered, how do you feel about lemonade?” she asked the younger woman. Laura
nodded. Candace directed her to take a seat at the kitchen table.

“I
don’t want to keep you from…”

“You’re
not,” Candace assured her. She placed a glass of lemonade in front of Laura and
then sat across from her.

“I
just wanted to
thank
you,” Laura said.

“For?”
Candace asked.

“For
letting Jonah and I stay here. You and J.D. have been so terrific to me. I know
it can’t be what you planned…I mean, having your son back home with his
pregnant girlfriend in tow.”

Candace
smiled. “No, it wasn’t in any plans that J.D. drafted that I have seen,” she
chuckled.

“I
know. I’m sorry that we…”

“Laura,”
Candace stopped her. “I don’t think marrying me and becoming an instant parent
and grandparent was in any immediate plans Jameson had when she first came here
either,” she said. Laura looked at Candace hopefully. “Sometimes, the best
things happen when you don’t plan them.”

“That’s
funny. Jonah said Maureen told him that too,” Laura said.

“My
mother-in-law is a wise woman,” Candace said fondly. “I certainly never thought
my mother-in-law would be five years older than me,” she chuckled.

“That
must be strange,” Laura commented.

“Strangely,
no,” Candace said.

“I
just…I know that having a baby around is not the easiest
thing
or the quietest,” Laura said.

Candace
nodded. “True. They do tend to make their presence known,” she agreed. “I don’t
want you to worry about that,” Candace said. “I’m glad that you and Jonah are
here.”

“We
really will try to stay out of your hair,” she said.

“No,
you won’t,” Candace laughed. She saw Laura’s fear and reached across to take
the younger woman’s hand. “That’s not what Jameson wants and it’s not what I
want either,” she said honestly. “It’s been a long time since I had any of my
children at home. With Marianne and her family so far away…”

Laura
smiled. There was no avoiding the obvious fact that Candace adored her
grandchildren. Spencer had been attached to either Jameson or Candace since he
arrived. Laura instinctively touched her belly. “I can’t imagine what that must
be like. This one isn’t even here, and I don’t want to think about being away
from him…or her.”

“Fortunately,
you won’t have to for a long time. Believe me, there will be moments that
little one will test the limits of that sentiment,” she said with a grin. “But,
at the end of the day, that
sentiment
never really changes,” Candace confessed. “Jonah always went his own way,” she
said. “More so than either of the girls.”

“He
missed you,” Laura said. Candace was a bit surprised, and a bit surprised at
the emotion that rose within her instantly. “He talked about you all the time,”
she told Candace. “All of you,” she giggled. “But, you and J.D. the most. He
wouldn’t want to admit it, but I think he was happy when you suggested we move
here.”

“I
know it’s not easy for you,” Candace said.

Laura
sighed. “No, but that is mostly because I am happier here. I want this baby to
have that family. The one that will love him no matter what. The one I never
had,” she said honestly. “Jonah already talks to
her
. He’s convinced it’s a girl,” Laura giggled. “Ever since we got
here, I just…I know that this is the best place for all of us. Crazy that it
makes me sad. Maybe it’s the hormones,” Laura tried to joke.

Candace
took a deep breath. “Maybe
it's just
human,” she said.

“I’m
sorry for how my father has treated you. I can’t even…”