Winter's Role, page 4
Waking up Saturday morning, Jessie rolled over to find that Stephanie was already up. Swinging her legs out of bed, she stood up and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and splash some water on her face. Making her way downstairs, she went looking for her. When Stephanie didn’t turn up in the kitchen, she grabbed a glass and filled it from the gallon of orange juice in the fridge. Noticing that the back door was slightly ajar, she headed for the deck.
Sitting in one of the padded wooden deck chairs and reading a book she had propped on the matching table, Stephanie looked up when Jessie opened the sliding screen door. “Hey, you finally wake up?”
“Yeah,” Jessie said, pulling up a chair and sitting down across from her. “Sorry I fell asleep on you last night. I guess this week took more out of me than I expected.”
“That’s all right. It’s incredibly wonderful of you to come all this way just for a nine year olds’ birthday party,” Stephanie said, reaching over and rubbing her arm.
Jessie got up and moved to stand behind her, reaching out and rubbing her shoulders. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
“But it’s such a long way…” She felt terrible, knowing that Jessie had so much going on but still had felt obligated to fly out to LA for her.
Jessie shook her head. “No place is too far away if you’re at the end of the journey. You’re like my own personal pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes at the analogy. “God, Jess. Sometimes you just worry me.”
Jessie laughed. “I’m trying to keep you from getting too nervous. Is it working?”
Stephanie tilted her head back and smiled up at her. “Kiss me and I’ll let you know.”
Jessie leaned down and kissed her. When she straightened up, she asked, “Still nervous?”
Stephanie nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll be feeling better until after this whole thing’s over with.” She grabbed Jessie’s hand and pulled her around to face her. “What if he doesn’t remember me? What if…”
“Shh,” Jessie reached over and put a finger to her lips. “You raised him for the first four years of his life. He called you Momma. He’ll remember you.” She gasped, when Stephanie leaned forward and kissed the palm of her hand. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “I can’t imagine anyone forgetting you once they’ve met you.”
* * * *
They pulled into the driveway leading up to Linda and Kate’s house at exactly ten minutes to two. Jessie had driven, and when she parked, Stephanie didn’t make a move to get out right away. When she looked over at her, about to ask if something was wrong, Stephanie smiled nervously at her.
“Just psyching myself up for this,” she said reassuringly, squeezing Jessie’s hand.
“You sure you want to do this?”
Stephanie nodded. “I’m sure. I’ve missed him so much. If I back out now, Tommy will think I don’t want to see him.” She sighed. “He might already think that, for all I know.”
“Sweetheart, I’m sure he doesn’t think that. If he asks why you haven’t been around, tell him the truth,” Jessie said. She didn’t believe for a minute that Tommy was going to be mad at Stephanie. “Just tell him that you were hurt and confused. It’s the truth, and it’s something that he can understand. Apologize and make sure he knows that you love him. It’ll be okay.”
Stephanie leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Okay, let’s do this.” She opened the car door and got out. Jessie followed, walking to her right with a hand on the small of her back. Through the material of Steph’s blouse, she could feel her shaking slightly.
When they got to the door, Stephanie didn’t even get a chance to ring the bell. The door flew open and a small blond hurricane came flying out, leaping into her arms.
“Momma Stephie! Momma Stephie!” Tommy yelled, wrapping both arms around Stephanie’s neck and hugging her. “You came! They said you would and you did!”
Stephanie hugged him tightly to her, sniffing back tears. “Look how big you are, Tommy. I can’t believe it!”
“I’m nine now, Momma Stephie. I’m a big boy,” he declared, looking at her seriously.
“I know you are, Sweetheart. Happy Birthday,” Stephanie said, kissing him on the cheek and handing him a box wrapped in brightly colored paper. She let him go and looked up to see Linda and Kate standing in the doorway smiling at her.
“Look Mom, look Momma Kate…Momma Stephie’s here! You told me she would come and she did!” he said again, overjoyed that Stephanie had shown up, and still clinging to her hand.
“Yes, she did,” Linda said, smiling at all three of them. “Why don’t you bring Momma Stephie and her friend Jessie inside? You can show them your room.” As Tommy led Stephanie away, Linda stuck out a hand and introduced herself to Jessie as they followed them.
Stephanie let him lead her into the house, still clinging to her hand. She looked at Jessie to make sure she was following them. She was, and Steph relaxed a bit, knowing that she was right there. Linda closed the door behind them and she and Kate followed as Tommy took them to his room. When they got there, he busied himself showing Stephanie his toys and karate trophies.
Jessie stopped in the doorway and watched the boy lead Stephanie around the room, pointing out various favorites. As Stephanie stood gazing at some photographs on a shelf, Jessie noticed Tommy suddenly standing in front of her, looking up.
“You do Karate too, don’t you?” the boy asked her. “I saw you at the tournament last week.”
“I do,” Jessie answered, kneeling down to talk to him. “I saw you, too. You’re pretty good.”
Tommy beamed at the praise. “Thanks! Maybe we could do some Karate later? I can kick real high, now.”
“I bet you do,” Jessie said, smiling at him. “You’ll have to show me.”
“Why don’t you take Jessie out back and you two can talk about Karate while Momma Stephie and I talk?” Linda suggested, smiling at how excited Tommy was.
“Okay,” Tommy agreed, catching Jessie’s hand, ready to lead her through the house to the backyard.
Stephanie, overhearing the conversation, glanced at Jessie and saw the look on her face. At the unasked question in blue eyes, she nodded, letting Jessie know that she’d be okay if she went outside with Tommy. There was still unfinished business between Linda and herself.
After the two of them left, Stephanie looked at Linda. She couldn’t think of a thing to say, and just stood there, arms crossed, feeling lost. She had really been hoping she wouldn’t have to spend any time alone with either Linda or Kate. Unsure of what to say, she finally settled on, “So…”
Linda, understanding that Stephanie was still uncomfortable with this, simply said, “Come on out to the living room, Steph. Let’s sit down and talk.”
Stephanie followed without saying anything, and Linda left her in the living room long enough to go grab some drinks out of the kitchen. While she waited, Stephanie wandered around the living room. She was surprised to see that things really hadn’t changed much since she’d lived there. The couch and chairs were new, but other than that, things looked about the same, even the pictures. Everywhere she looked, there were pictures of her with Tommy. From the pictures of him as a newborn, just home from the hospital, to his first soccer game and his first day of pre-school. Her thoughts were interrupted by Linda, stepping back into the room, and she wiped at her eyes.
“We kept all the pictures of you with Tommy,” Linda said as she stepped back into the living room and noticed Stephanie looking at them. “He loves you so much, we couldn’t bear to take them away from him,” she said softly, coming in and setting the Diet Coke on a coaster for her.
“It’s been a long time,” Stephanie whispered, surprised by the old pictures of her and Tommy together. She had long ago hidden her copies of those pictures, trying to hide from her feelings.
“Five years,” Linda agreed.
“I’m so sorry,” Stephanie said, falling onto the couch.
“Stephanie, we don’t blame you. We hurt you terribly, and we’re both so sorry for what happened.” She sat down in the chair next to the couch and said, “We really meant it when we told you we wanted you to continue to be in Tommy’s life. He’s missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed him, too,” Stephanie admitted, sniffing.
Kate walked in and sat on the arm of Linda’s chair, leaning into her. “We’ve all missed you, Stephanie. It was quite a surprise to run into you last weekend.” Stephanie nodded in agreement but said nothing.
“So, how long have you and Jessie been dating?” Linda asked, curious.
Stephanie smiled a little, at the change of topic. “Almost four months.”
“Kate tells me she’s an attorney? And, she’s JD Drake’s daughter?”
“Yeah, she is,” she answered, smiling in earnest now. It almost felt like old times, sitting here in the living room, talking to the two of them. The only difference today was that she was now the guest instead of Kate. Linda asked how they met, bringing her out of the past and she launched into the story. By the time she was finished, she felt much more relaxed and comfortable.
“Well,” Kate said, getting up, “I’m going to go finish getting dinner ready. Why don’t you go on out and play with Tommy? Jessie probably needs rescuing by now.” She laughed, as she headed for the kitchen.
Linda stood up and looked at her. “I’m gonna go help Kate. Go on out there and get to know him again. He’s never stopped asking about you.”
Stephanie nodded, grateful for the opportunity she was being given. After the way she had avoided all of them, she had no right to be treated so well. Taking a deep breath to center herself, she went out back to join Tommy and Jessie. When she arrived, Jessie was in the middle of giving Tommy some pointers on his kicking technique. As the little boy noticed her standing there watching, he stopped what he was doing and ran over to her.
“Momma Stephie, will you help us? Jessie says you can do Karate, too,” he asked, his blond hair falling in his face.
“I’d love to, Tommy,” she answered, holding his hand and allowing him to drag her over to where Jessie was standing, watching them.
“Come to join us?” Jessie asked, smiling at her, when she got close enough.
She nodded. “Yep. It’s been a long time since Tommy and I hung out together, hasn’t it, Tommy?” she asked, ruffling his hair.
“It sure has,” he agreed, striking up a fighting stance and watching as Stephanie did the same. Suddenly, his expression changed and he looked at her with serious brown eyes. “Momma Stephie, why have you been gone so long?”
Stephanie glanced at Jessie, who gave her a look of sympathy and understanding, before making a strategic retreat to the deck, where she joined Linda, who had just stepped outside and sat down. Looking down at Tommy, Stephanie sighed and sat down in the grass, patting the area next to her. “Sit down here with me, Tommy. I’ll try to explain it to you, okay?”
The boy nodded silently, and flopped down facing her, crossing his legs. He waited expectantly, while she cleared her throat and tried to figure out where to begin. As she thought about it, Jessie’s words came back to her. ‘Just tell him the truth.’
Reaching over and catching both his hands in hers, she looked at him. He’d grown so much over the last five years, she could hardly believe it. It seemed like only yesterday, she’d watched him being born. She and Linda had been so excited that day. Funny, how things had changed so much. Shaking her head to clear it, she explained it to him as best she could. As Jessie suggested, she told him the truth, admitting that she’d been afraid to see him again…that she thought he might have forgotten her.
Tommy sat and listened to what she had to say, interrupting her once in a while to ask a question. She answered every one as best she could, making sure that he understood that her absence wasn’t his fault. When she finally finished, he crawled into her lap and hugged her tight.
“You’re gonna stay now?” he asked. “You’re not going away again?”
“I’m not going anywhere, Tommy. I promise,” she whispered, clinging to him.
“Good, ‘cuz I miss you. I’m glad you’re back,” he said. After a few minutes, he wiggled loose and looked at her. “Is Jessie your wife?”
“Umm, no. She is my girlfriend, though,” she answered, surprised by the quick change in topic. “Why?”
He shrugged and stood up. “I like Jessie. She’s nice and she knows lots of Karate. And she really likes you. You should marry her.”
“I really like her too, Tommy. We’ll have to wait and see about the marrying thing, though. In the meantime, I’ll make sure she comes with me to see you whenever she can. She lives in another state and can’t be here all the time,” she said, standing up and stretching her legs. They wandered back to the deck, to sit down with Linda and Jessie. Just then, Kate’s voice came through the open screen door, telling them to come inside and get their plates.
The menu for dinner was chosen by Tommy, and consisted of hamburgers, tater tots and applesauce. For dessert, he’d requested a chocolate cake, decorated with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and vanilla ice cream. Once they’d eaten, the rest of the afternoon passed by quickly. Stephanie and Tommy went back out to play in the yard, and Jessie hung out on the deck with Linda and Kate.
Taking a drink of her Diet Coke, Jessie smiled as she watched Stephanie playing with Tommy. Turning her attention back to Linda and Kate, she said, “I’d really like to thank you both, for this. It’s really nice of you to include Stephanie in his life this way. Seeing Tommy again has made her really happy.”
“We wanted to, Jessie,” Kate said. “We’ve always thought of her as Tommy’s mother, too. We know he certainly does.”
“And she’s always welcome here,” Linda added, watching the two playing. “We understand though, that we put her through a lot. It was hard for her, the way things happened.” She turned her attention to Jessie. “Maybe we should be thanking you. Somehow, I think if you hadn’t been in that tournament this might never have happened.”
Jessie couldn’t argue with that. If they hadn’t seen Kate and Tommy at that tournament, Stephanie might never have told her about the boy she considered her son. For just a brief moment, she was hurt by that. After all, she had told Steph about her past with Bobby, and the mess she’d been in after he left. Why didn’t Steph feel like she could do the same? Then again, she’d never lost her whole family at once.
It was nearing eight, when Stephanie and Tommy rejoined them on the deck. Jessie watched as Stephanie flopped into the nearest chair and blew out a breath. “You all worn out?”
“Yeah, Tommy was teaching me how to punch properly. Unfortunately, he’s just too good for me,” Stephanie teased, reaching over and ruffling his hair.
“You’ll get it,” he said encouragingly, patting her arm.
Linda and Kate laughed at the way he acted like the parent, encouraging her. “Come on, Tommy,” Kate said, standing up. “It’s getting late and your mom and I still need to talk to Stephanie and Jessie about something important. Why don’t you go and turn on a video game? You can play one of the new ones that Momma Stephie and Jessie got for you.”
They all moved into the living room, and Kate returned shortly, after making sure that Tommy was safely ensconced in his bedroom, playing on his Xbox. Sliding into the empty chair on the other side of the couch, she blew out a breath. “So…before it gets too late Stephanie, Linda and I had something we wanted to talk to you about.”
Stephanie waited patiently until Linda spoke up. “Steph…when Tom and I found out we were having a baby, we had our wills drawn up. We had already decided that if anything happened to us, we wanted you to be Tommy’s legal guardian.”
Stephanie, hearing that, looked surprised. “What? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
The other woman shrugged. “You moved in with me right after Tom died. You were already his Godmother…it seemed like a no-brainer at the time. But then, after everything changed, I wasn’t sure what to do. You were the only one that Tom and I trusted. You know how my parents are…I wouldn’t trust them with Tommy. They’ve never even seen him.”
“Never?” she asked, incredulously. “Linda, he’s eight…I mean, nine years old!”
“I know,” she sighed. “But you know they never liked Tom because he was Jewish. I sent them pictures, but they were always returned unopened.”
“That’s terrible,” Stephanie said, unable to believe that Tommy’s grandparents would reject him like that. Her own parents had always treated Tommy as if he were their own grandchild.
“Yeah well…that’s just them,” Linda said, blowing off her parents’ lack of consideration. “Anyway, Kate and I are in the process of updating everything now that we’re married. Kate’s parents are too old to take care of a small boy, and her mom isn’t in the best of health. So…we were wondering…if you would still be willing to be Tommy’s guardian?”
Stephanie blinked slowly, not quite sure she’d heard Linda correctly. When she recovered her wits, she said slowly, “So…you want me to…take Tommy if something happens to both of you?”
“Yes,” Kate answered. “Stephanie,” she leaned forward in her chair to be sure Stephanie was listening. “Linda and I both want you to do this. Tommy loves you. You’re still his mother, too, and we can’t think of anyone we’d trust more with him than his Momma Stephie.”
“Oh, God,” Stephanie said, taken quite by surprise. “I…I don’t know what to say…”
“Say yes, Steph. It’s what Tom and I wanted from the very beginning. Nothing’s changed in that regard.” Linda slid forward in her chair and reached out to touch her knee. “Tommy loves you. You’ve been here since before he was born, and I know that despite what Kate and I put you through, you love him. We’ve always thought of you as his other mother. Please say yes?”
