Rough Drafts (14 page)

Candace
held up her hand. “Don’t think about that for one second,” she said. “You are
not your father any more than my kids are me.”

“You
would never say those…”

“No,
I wouldn’t. That’s not the point,” Candace said. “None of us can replace your
family, Laura. And, I, for one, would never try. But, this is your family now
too…with all its insanity.”

“Thanks…”

Candace
grinned. It had not escaped her notice that Laura still had not figured about
what to call her. Laura had avoided addressing Candace directly since their
first meeting when she had held out her hand and said, “Nice to meet
you,
Senator Reid.”

“You
know, Rick started calling me Mom on his second date with Marianne,” she
laughed. Laura looked at Candace with tears in her eyes. “If that’s too strange
for you, Candace is fine. I’m sure in a few months you will be calling me Nana
anyway.”

“Pretty
soon, we’ll all be calling you
Governor,
”
Laura said.

“Time
will tell.”

“By
then, you will be a Nana again,” Laura said. “Unless Spencer gets his way,” she
joked.

Candace
rolled her eyes. She was relieved to see Laura begin to relax. “He certainly is
determined,” she agreed.

“Runs
in the family,” Laura observed.

“Yes,
it does,” Candace said. “God, help us
all.
”

***

Jameson’s
favorite part of the annual Fourth of July barbecue was the evening. That’s
when the dust settled, and the chaos quieted. Jonah and Jameson’s brother Toby
had gotten a fire started. Everyone was winding down by the fireside. Jameson’s
nephews were toasting marshmallows along with a few of the adults. Laura was
seated between Jonah’s legs. Jameson’s mother and father had said their
goodbyes, as had Pearl and the vast number of friends that always made an
appearance. Marianne had just returned from putting Maddie in the crib that
Candace kept. Jameson had somehow been appointed the keeper of the marshmallows
while Candace sat beside her with Spencer sleeping in her lap.

“Spencer
is wiped,” Michelle laughed at her nephew who was drooling on her mother.
Candace smiled down at the toddler and stroked his back.

“Can’t
imagine why,” Jameson said. “He managed to get half the people here pregnant in
less than a day.”

“Nice
try, J.D.” Jonah chimed. “He is determined that you are having a baby.”

“Well,
he will get an early lesson in disappointment then,” Jameson replied. “Not
looking for a participation trophy in that sport,” she said. Candace snickered.

“Aw,
come on Jay Jay,” Michelle teased. “You would disappoint that cute little
grandson of yours?”

“Yes,”
Jameson said.

Laura
laughed at the banter. “Is it always like this here?” she asked innocently.

“Pretty
much,” Jonah answered as he placed a
kiss
on her temple. “S’mores, beer, sleeping kids, and Shell’s big mouth. Sounds
about right,” he joked. Everyone laughed as Michelle glared at her brother.

“Welcome
to the family,” Shell said. “This is the entertainment portion of the evening.
Jonah is the host.”

Laura
laughed. “Beats the Bible study that end our barbecues,” she said.

“Oh,
don’t worry,” Michelle told her. “You’ve only been living here a few days. J.D.
studies the Bible with Mom regularly,” she said. Jameson threw a marshmallow at
Michelle while Candace chuckled softly beside her.

“Why
don’t you just rent the damn billboard, Shell?” Jameson challenged.

“Is
that in the campaign budget, Mom?” Shell asked. Candace just shook her head and
rolled her eyes. “See all the fun you miss, Marianne,” Michelle looked at her
older sister.

Marianne
looked at
Rick,
who smiled and nodded.
“Actually, we do sort of miss it,” she said.

Candace
looked across the fire at her daughter. Marianne had been surprisingly quiet
all day. At first, Candace chalked it up to fatigue. Traveling with an infant
and a toddler was exhausting. Candace remembered those days all too well. As
the day wore on, Candace watched Marianne curiously. Motherhood had softened
her eldest child. That was clear. There was something more going on. Candace
was sure of it.

Marianne
took a deep breath and looked at her mother and Jameson. “We were kind of
hoping you wouldn’t mind if I stayed with the kids for a few extra days,” she
said.

“You
can stay as long as you want,” Jameson said. “Any particular reason?” she
asked.

Marianne
nodded. “Rick accepted a job in Albany,” she said. “We need to find a house
before September
first
if we can.”

Silence
immediately surrounded them all.

“You’re
moving home?” Michelle asked.

“In
a manner of speaking—yes,” Marianne answered.

“Holy
shit!” Jonah piped up.

Marianne’s
gaze
locked
with
her
mother
. Candace smiled
and kissed Spencer’s head again.

“You
can stay as long as you need to,” Jameson said again. Candace reached over and
took hold of Jameson’s hand.
 

“You
just want free babysitting,” Michelle chuckled.

“You
offering?” Marianne asked.

“Me?
Hell no! Ask Granny
Jay Jay
over there.
She’s the kid magnet!” Michelle said.

“I
just figured you wouldn’t want to be left out,” Marianne said. “When are you
planning to make your contribution to this brood?” she challenged her younger
sister.
 
Melanie choked on her beer
slightly.

Jameson
smirked. “You okay there, Mel? Something you’d like to share with the rest of
us, Shell?” Jameson asked. “All that worshipping at the altar and all.”

“Ha!”
Michelle responded. “I’m not even married yet!”

“Neither
is Jonah,” Melanie said innocently.

Michelle
turned to her girlfriend in shock. “Not helping, Mel!” Melanie shrugged and
sipped her beer again. “I am not having any babies before I am married,”
Michelle declared. “No offense, Jonah.”

Jonah
held up his hand. “None taken.”

Marianne
laughed. “So, when can we expect the invitation?” she asked Michelle.

“To
what?” Michelle asked.

“Your
wedding,” Marianne deadpanned.

Jameson
leaned
into
Candace’s ear. “Uh-oh. This
could get ugly.”

“Get
used to it,” Candace said. “It’s going to get a lot crazier around here soon,”
she whispered back.

“I’ll
send you my invitation when J.D. and Mom send their birth announcement,”
Michelle quipped.

“Hope
you have a warm jacket,” Jonah said.

“What?”
Michelle and Marianne both turned to their brother.

Jonah
shrugged. “I think it’s gonna be a cold day in hell when you get that one in
the mail.”

Melanie
shifted uncomfortably. Candace thought it best to end the banter before someone
got hurt, someone not in the direct line of fire, but at risk from the
fallout
. She looked at Jameson’s nephews who
were fighting their sleepiness. “It’s getting late,” she said gently. Jameson
squeezed her hand.

Rick
saw Melanie’s unease and took the cue. “Yeah, it is,” he said. He helped
Marianne to her feet and made his way to Candace to retrieve Spencer. “I’ll
take him,” he said.

Candace
went to release Spencer and he grabbed onto her tightly, babbling. “Nana…”

“Let
him stay,” Candace said.

“Are
you sure?” Rick asked.

Jameson
nodded at the same time Candace did. “We’ll take him for the night. You two get
some rest,” Jameson said. “Try not to marry anyone off before morning,” she
said to Marianne.

Marianne
laughed. She leaned down and kissed her son’s head, then her mother’s cheek. “I
hope you are okay with this.”

 
Candace smiled. “Just try not to torture
your sister
too much.”

“Not
until after the election,” Marianne said. “I promise.”

Michelle
stood up with Melanie. “We’re going to head out,” she said. “We have a party at
Mel’s folks’ tomorrow,” she explained with a wave goodbye.

One
by one, and two by two, everyone said their goodnight to Candace and Jameson.
“You want to head in?” Jameson asked Candace.

“Not
yet,
” Candace said.

“Are
you okay?” Jameson asked.

Candace
snuggled closer to Spencer. “Surprised.”

Jameson
nodded. “Me too, but in a way I am glad.”

“You
are?”

“Yeah.
I loved growing up with Craig and Scott, you know? Your kids had each other and
they had their cousins too. It will be good for Spencer and Maddie—and anyone else
that comes along,” Jameson said.

“It
will,” Candace agreed. “It might get a little hairy for us, though,” she said
knowingly. “I know they look like grownups, and I love my kids, but when they
get
together,
they can become the
annoying teenagers I thought would kill me at times.”

Jameson
laughed. She leaned over and kissed Candace gently. There was a great deal of
truth in Candace’s words. Jameson had heard her mother say the same thing about
Jameson and her brothers more than once. “That’s the way it should be,” Jameson
said.

“I
guess it is.”

“And,
with all these kids, Spencer will eventually leave me alone about babies,”
Jameson said. Candace snickered. “What? He will.”

“Eventually,”
Candace agreed.

“Well,
I’m not opposed to you trying,” Jameson said.

“Trying
what?” Candace asked.

“To
get me pregnant,” Jameson grinned.

“That
is the lamest come on you have ever used,” Candace rolled her eyes.

“Hey!
You know what my fortune cookie said yesterday?” Jameson asked.

“No.”

“
Now is the time to try something new
—in
bed,” Jameson said. “That’s what my fortune said.”

“Oh?
Good. You can get to try sleeping with Spencer on your side of the bed then,”
Candace said as she stood up.

Jameson
took Spencer from her arms and frowned. “Fine. Spencer loves me.”

“Uh-hum.
And, he wants you
pregnant too
. Looks
like your fortune was right after all,” Candace beamed.

“Cute,”
Jameson responded. “By the way, you lied,” Jameson said.

“About
what?” Candace asked as she followed Jameson into the house.

“You
said the only living thing that would ever share our bed was Jinx,” Jameson
reminded her. Candace shook her head as Jameson pointed to Spencer. “And, I saw
your fortune cookie yesterday,” Jameson said. Candace waited. “It said,
Sometimes you just need to lay on the floor.
Guess your fortune came true too, huh?” Jameson winked.

Candace
stopped abruptly on the stairs. She watched Jameson climb the stairs. “You
forgot the in bed part!” Candace called after her.

“No,
I didn’t. I’ll throw you a blanket!”

Candace
started up the stairs, laughing as she went. She wondered when the quiet would
envelop their lives again, even for a moment. The next few months were destined
to be anything but quiet even before Jonah had moved home and Marianne made her
announcement. She couldn’t imagine how crazy things were about to get now. The
most insane
part of it all was how much she was
suddenly looking forward to finding out. “This entire family is made up of
lunatics. God, help us. And, God,
help
the State of New York if I get elected,” she laughed harder.

THE END

To Be Continued in New Additions