Under Construction (5 page)

***

Jameson was stretched out on a
lawn chair, relaxing as the sun began to set when she sensed a presence above
her. She felt Candace’s lips on her forehead and smiled. “Napping?” Candace
asked.

“Relaxing.
You’re home early,” Jameson said happily.

“Yes, I
am,” Candace replied. “Seems I have a date tomorrow with my daughter.” Jameson
bit her lip gently. “Something about moving closer to home?” Candace
posed
her statement as a question. “You
wouldn’t happen to know anything about that; would you?”

Jameson
was unsure if Candace was upset or simply being playful. “Well….I didn’t want
to say anything…I mean it’s…well, you know…it was….”

Before
Jameson could continue her rambling explanation, Candace silenced her with a
kiss. “I love you,” Candace said.

“Huh?”

Candace
laughed. “Have I not told you that lately or something?”

“No…I
just…I didn’t think it was my place to tell you…it was…”

“Jameson,”
Candace took the opportunity to sit on Jameson’s lap. “I know why you didn’t
tell me. I appreciate it. Michelle is a grown woman, but to me…”

“She’s
your baby. I know.”

“Mm. You
don’t know how much it means to me that she felt she could confide in you….or
what it means to her that she could.”

“I love
Shell,” Jameson said as a point of fact. “She’s like mini-Candace.”

“Mini-Candace?”
Candace raised a brow.

“Yeah,”
Jameson said wistfully. She adored Candace and Michelle was the most like her
mother of all three children. She resembled Candace more in mannerisms than in
her physical appearance, but she also had a similar personality and sense of
humor. Jameson had been immediately comfortable with Candace’s middle child. Jameson’s
friendship with Michelle in some odd way made her feel even closer to Candace. Seeing
the earnest affection in Jameson’s eyes, Candace ceased the opportunity to
tease her.

“You
don’t have a crush on my daughter; do you?” Candace asked.

Jameson
jumped. “What?” Jameson asked nervously. Candace fought to remain stoic. It was
sometimes far too easy to playfully rattle her lover. “Oh God, that would be like
crushing on my sister…if I had one,” Jameson said.

“Oh?”
Candace was finding great humor in the unintentional ditch that Jameson was
digging for herself. “I see. So, that would make me a mother figure.”

“You’re
a great mom,” Jameson praised and then realized how it might have sounded.
Candace raised her brow a little higher. “I mean….that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh?
I’m not a great mom?”

“Of
course, you’re a great mom…just not my great mom…I mean not my mom…You know
what I mean!” Jameson sighed.

“Mm.
Maybe I should send you to bed without dinner, let you think about this a
little,” Candace said
thoughtfully
.

Jameson
narrowed her gaze at her lover, finally realizing her game. “Oh? No, I think
you might need some rest, though.” She grabbed hold of Candace and stood up
carrying her.

“Jameson!
What the hell are you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Nah, I’m
young. I need to take care of my old lady and put her to bed,” Jameson chided.

Candace
smacked Jameson. “Put me down, you lunatic!” she laughed. Jameson ignored her
and headed for the house. “Jameson!”

Pearl
was walking through the kitchen when Jameson kicked open the
back door
with Candace in her arms. “I’ve heard
of sweeping them off their feet, or is this a threshold thing? Something I
should know?” she called out to the pair.

“No!”
Candace yelled.

“Just
putting Nana here to bed,” Jameson laughed.

Pearl
shook her head. “Well, don’t drop her down the stairs whatever you do. I’ve
seen enough emergency rooms this year; thank you very much!”

“One
time! I fell one time!” Jameson called back.

“They
never grow up,” Pearl chuckled. “Heaven help me with a house full next week.”

Wednesday was upon them faster
than either Candace or Jameson could have imagined. Candace rolled over and
snuggled closer to Jameson. “I’d better get up and help Pearl with breakfast,”
she yawned.

Jameson
kissed Candace’s head. “You stay,” she said. “I’ll go help Pearl. Sleep a
little while longer.”

“Mm.
Aren’t you tired?” Candace asked. “You were up late with Toby last night.
Everything okay?”

“Yeah.
Just talking,” Jameson said. She had enjoyed her one on one time with her older
brother and was relieved to see that Candace hit it off immediately with her
sister-in-law.

Candace
propped herself up to look at Jameson. “I know you are nervous.”

“You
are better at these things than I am,” Jameson reminded her lover.

“What
things?” Family things?”

“People
things,” Jameson said.

“Not
true. I am just more accustomed to dealing with different personalities all at
once. You are every bit as personable as I am. I’ve just learned to hide my
apprehension.”

Jameson
chuckled. “If you say so.”

“I do,”
Candace yawned again.

“Seriously,
go back to sleep for a bit,” Jameson said. “I’ll go help Pearl. It’ll give me
some more time to catch up with Toby before everyone else arrives anyway.”

Candace
sighed. She was not used to being given this kind of opportunity. “I don’t want
you to feel like you need to…”

Jameson
kissed Candace gently. “I’ll set the alarm for 7:00. Okay? I’ll see you in a
bit,” she said as she made her way from the bed. Candace grabbed Jameson’s
pillow and almost immediately fell back to sleep. Jameson shook her head. She
was tired, but she could tell that Candace was exhausted, and the planned chaos
was only beginning. She stretched and headed for the shower hoping it would
somehow bring her to life. “I’m ready for vacation already,” Jameson laughed.

***

By
noon,
Candace’s house was full. Dana and Steve had decided to make
their way to the area a day early. Jameson was grateful. She spent the majority
of the afternoon playing with her nephews and Dana and Steve’s two children.
She found herself enjoying the day far more than she had expected and looking
forward to her parents’ arrival the next day. Everyone seemed to be enjoying
themselves. Rick and Toby had seemed to cultivate a fast friendship. Jameson
liked Marianne’s husband a great deal. He was mild mannered and it was clear
that he not only loved Marianne; Rick’s affection for Candace was also evident.
Jameson did not know Rick’s whole story. She did know that he had lost his
mother when he was quite young and she suspected that Candace filled that role
for him in many ways. As the sun began to set, and the kids began to tire, the
party moved indoors. Jameson found herself sitting with Marianne and Dana.

“So,
what do you think?” Dana asked Jameson.

“Think?
Think about what?” Jameson laughed.

“Oh
come on, J.D.! What do you think about Candy running for governor?”

“Mom’s
running for governor?” Marianne piped up.

Jameson
shook her head. “She doesn’t know yet,” she said to Marianne. “As far as what I
think; I think she should do whatever she wants to do.”

“Uh-huh.
You know, J.D. if she does, she will be in a prime position to run for higher
office,” Dana said. Jameson just smiled.

“You
mean you think my mother might run for president; don’t you?” Marianne asked.
Dana just smiled. Jameson’s gaze had drifted across the room to where Candace
was cuddling Spencer happily. “That’s crazy,” Marianne said.

Dana
shrugged. “Why? She could do it if she wanted to.”

“She
could do anything,” Jameson said proudly.
 
She was enjoying watching Candace’s expression as she held her grandson.

“She
could. She won’t,” Marianne said emphatically. “She never wanted any of that.”

“Things
change sometimes,” Jameson said softly. “Sometimes, you think you are heading
one way and all of a sudden you are forced to take a detour. You find out you
like the scenery on the new road better.”

Marianne
frowned slightly. She followed Jameson’s eyes to where they were focused on her
mother. She looked back at
Jameson,
who
seemed oblivious to anything at the moment except Candace. Marianne looked at
Dana. “My mother is about as likely to run for The White House as she is to
have more children,” she said. “I wouldn’t bet on her coming home to New York.
She’s been pretty clear that she likes her life the way it is,” she said
bluntly.

Dana
forced a smile. Marianne often challenged her patience. She wasn’t certain what
it was that Marianne struggled with about Candace’s life. Part of it, she
suspected, was the difficulty that Marianne had with her parents’ divorce. She
was seventeen when her parents split. Dana would have thought that would have
made it easier. Marianne was off to college before Candace had even become
involved with Jessica. Michelle was only fourteen, and Jonah twelve. Both of
Candace’s younger children seemed to accept, if not always support their
mother’s decisions both personally and professionally. It was always Marianne
who seemed to need to stir the pot.

“You
never know,” Jameson said softly as Candace looked up and caught her attention,
offering a soft smile.

“You
never know what?” Marianne asked pointedly.

Jameson
turned to Candace’s eldest child. “You never know what the future might have in
store,” Jameson winked. She smiled at Dana and made her way across the room to
Candace.

Dana
looked over and saw Jameson place a kiss on Candace’s cheek and whisper
something in her ear. “Truer words,” Dana chuckled.

“Excuse
me?” Marianne asked.

Dana
motioned across the room. Jameson’s nephew Eli was trying to climb up her leg.
Candace was laughing while Spencer slept in her arms. “Looks good on them. You
never know, Marianne. Your mother might surprise us all.”

Marianne’s
posture grew rigid. She watched her mother pass Spencer to Rick before she and
Jameson led two overtired little boys toward the kitchen. “Oh, I do know,” she
thought silently.

***

“I hear there’s a little buzz
about the senator,” Maureen Reid goaded her daughter.

“Buzz?”
Jameson played dumb.

“J.D.?”
Maureen smacked her daughter lightly. “Lots of talk about the future,” she
lifted an eyebrow.

Jameson
laughed at her mother. Maureen Reid had spent her entire career teaching
history. She relished anything political or historical in nature. Jameson was
confident that it delighted her mother to no end to have a senator in the
family. “Whose future?” Jameson winked.

“She
could do it, J.D. I mean it. If not her own candidacy, she could easily end up
in a cabinet position; Attorney
General
,
Secretary of State, even Vice President,” Maureen said.

“Yes, I
know,” Jameson agreed.

“Do you
not want her to do that?” Maureen asked.

Jameson
caught a wayward beach ball from the pool and tossed it back to her brother.
“No.”

“No!
You don’t want her to?” Maureen was shocked.

“No,”
Jameson laughed. “I want her to do what she wants to do.”

“What
about you? Do you think you could handle that? I mean, even governor. Geez…J.D.,
you would be really in the spotlight. A lesbian couple in the governor’s mansion?”
Maureen said with a grin. Jameson wiggled
a bit in
her chair. “That isn’t what you want; is it?” Maureen asked quietly.

Jameson
gave an uncomfortable grin. “I just want her to be happy.”

“What
about you?” Maureen asked.

“You
won’t believe me.”

“Try me?”
Maureen replied.

“I’m
just happy to be along for the ride. I really don’t know what to expect, Mom. I
have no idea where she might be headed. I just hope she wants me to be a part
of it. It scares me sometimes.”

“Why?”

“Because
I don’t want to let her down. And, because I really don’t want to be without
her. As weird as it sounds, I don’t want to be without Shell or Pearl or God,
or any of this.”

“It’s
not weird J.D.”

Jameson
grinned. “You thought it might be weird having a daughter-in-law a few years younger
than you. Imagine having your daughter-in-law in The White House someday!”
Jameson laughed.

“J.D.?
Are you and Candace getting married?” Maureen asked.

“Huh?”

“You
said daughter-in-law.”

“Oh…Hmmm.
Don’t know,” Jameson laughed. “Think she’d want to?” Jameson asked.

Maureen
rolled her eyes. “You’d have to ask
her
,”
she winked.

“Guess
that makes sense.”

“Are
you going to?” Maureen grew
wide-eyed
.

Jameson
shook her head. “Not today,” she laughed as a splash of water doused her.

***

“Spencer seems to love the water,”
Candace commented to Marianne as they watched Rick swing the baby through the
water.

“Yeah.
I guess he takes after his father,” her daughter answered.

“What
do you mean? When you were a kid, we couldn’t get you out of the water,”
Candace chuckled at the memory. She watched in the distance as Jameson’s nephew
Eli splashed his aunt who was sitting near the edge of the pool. “Having the
kids here reminds me of those days,” she said wistfully. Candace listened to
Eli daring Jameson to jump in. Candace laughed when Jameson stopped her
conversation with her mother abruptly and obliged her nephew’s request by
splashing into the pool with her shorts and T-Shirt on. “Lunatic,” she mumbled
affectionately.

Marianne
looked at her mother
seriously
. “You
might want to be careful taking that trip down memory lane,” Marianne said.

“What
does that mean?” Candace asked.

Marianne
sighed. “Mom…What happens when J.D. wants to fill that pool back up with
screaming toddlers?”

“What
are you talking about?”

“I’m
talking about you and J.D. What are you going to say when J.D. wants to have a
family?” Marianne asked.

Candace
was completely taken off guard. “Marianne, where is this coming from? Jameson
hasn’t given me any indication that she wants children….at all.”

“Have
you two talked about it?”

Candace’s
face was beginning to flush. She was both irritated and embarrassed by her
daughter’s line of questioning. “Not directly, no. In general, yes.”

“What
does that mean?” Marianne challenged her mother.

“It
means it’s none of your business,” Candace answered abruptly.

“I’m
just raising a point.”

“Marianne,
Jameson and I are not planning on having a family. In all the things we have
discussed, Jameson’s desire for children has not once come up…and before you
say another word; I am
certain
that if it
were
something she wanted, she would have
raised the issue numerous times by now.”

“Uh-huh.
Mom,” Marianne said. “J.D. is thirty-five. Look at her! How can you be so sure
that she won’t change her mind in two years? People change what they want
sometimes. You of all people know that. I saw her looking at you last night
when you were rocking Spencer,” Marianne said.

Candace
sighed. The conversation was making her extremely uncomfortable. She and
Jameson had never discussed family in this manner. They had
considered
Candace’s children, Jameson’s
family, and how they would navigate everyone’s questions, concerns, and
personalities. They had not once delved into the subject of whether or not
Jameson wanted children. Candace had just assumed that they were on the same
page. “Jameson loves kids,” she admitted. “That doesn’t mean she wants her
own.”

Marianne
nodded. “Now,” she remarked. “What about you? You really want to open up that
can of worms, Mom? I mean….seriously? Can you see yourself with babies again?”

Candace
swallowed hard. She felt herself becoming unsteady and was grateful when she
heard Pearl call out to her from the kitchen. “I have to go help Pearl,” she
said.

Candace
made her way across the yard at a brisk pace, holding back mounting tears.
Michelle caught sight of her mother’s expression as she moved away from
Marianne
and headed directly for her sister’s
location. “What the hell did you say to her?” she asked her older sister.

“What?”
Marianne snapped.

“What
did you say to Mom to upset her this time?” Michelle asked.

“Why do
you assume it’s my fault? I just raised a question. If it upset her, that’s not
my fault.”

***

Candace was cutting up vegetables
silently when Pearl removed the knife from her hand and set it down. “What is
going on with you?”