The Inn

by D. R. Mather

  “CINDY HAD THE BABIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

  Within a few seconds he could hear running from the floors above. April and Beth were the first legs he saw coming down the stairs. They didn’t get half way down before he saw Alex’s and Judy’s coming into view. All three girls were screaming.

  Kevin was hammered with questions that he didn’t have the answers to. All three girls were doing the ‘Judy hop’ now and, well, they were, as Alex put it, ‘squeaking’.

  He finally had to calm them all down.

  “Okay, listen, we didn’t get advance notice because it all happened within only a half hour, so don’t go getting mad at Roland or Cindy for not letting you know ahead of time. The fact is, I just got off the phone with Roland, and there was no ‘ahead of time’. She was fine, starting to eat her dinner, and half an hour later out came a boy and a girl.”

  “Everyone’s okay?” asked Beth.

  “Roland says everyone is perfect.”

  The girls start to hop and squeal some more. Kevin moved over to the side where Alex was standing.

  “You know something Alex? I’ll never understand why they do that.”

  “Maybe not Kevin, but it sure is funny to watch.”

  They watched for five more minutes before Kevin jumped in and suggested that they could all be hopping and squealing next to Cindy if they’d just get ready to go.

  In a flash of sudden silence, Kevin and Alex were standing there alone.

  “Shit, grab your coat Alex; they’re already getting dressed. In about ten seconds their going to start screaming for their chauffeur and you don’t want to be around for that.”

  Kevin bolted past the girls, grabbed his coat as he went and ran to get the truck; Alex followed closely behind.

  Half an hour later, everyone was piling into the hospital. Those women just couldn’t seem to run fast enough to get to Cindy. Kevin and Alex were bringing up the rear, the far rear. Kevin was pretty sure that as he and Alex were getting to the reception desk, everyone else was already talking to Cindy.

  “Hi, Kevin Chase and Alex Jenson; we’re here to see Cindy Cole.”

  The receptionist looked at them, “Oh, are you with that screaming bunch of banshees that just came through here?”

  “Yeah, that would be them; I can’t be held responsible for their actions though.”

  “I don’t think they can be, either,” she said, and pointed the way.

  When Kevin and Alex entered the room it was like a clothing party in there. Cindy was covered with pieces of baby clothing that April apparently had stocked and ready to go at a second’s notice. Kevin now knew what that flowery bag was that sat under the coats. ‘Women, they gotta plan,’ he figured.

  Cindy looked up from the clothes, “KEVIN!!!”

  “Hi, kiddo, having fun?” He walked over to give her a light peck on the cheek. He never got the chance. As soon as he was in arms reach, Cindy had wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. As Cindy began to release her death grip on him, Kevin started to straighten out; as her mouth passed his ear she whispered, “Thank you.”

  He stood straight, patted her hand and smiled. He then looked around.

  “Where are your babies?”

  “They’re going to be bringing them in to me in about an hour for feeding, but the viewing area is open now if anyone wants to go… see… th…” The room was empty before she could finish. Only she and Roland were left.

  “Well, I see who’s more important here!”

  Roland only chuckled as he helped Cindy decide what to put on them when they went home.

  Judy, Beth and April were in front of the glass; Alex and Kevin stood behind them, mostly trying to get a glance at the babies. No such luck so far.

  Alex turned to Kevin, “Do you think they’re ever going to wear out enough to let us through?”

  “Not in our lifetime, we’re just going to have to push our way through.” With that, Kevin started pulling Judy back from the glass that she was tapping.

  “You know, they aren’t animals, they aren’t going to respond to that.”

  Judy looked at Kevin, “That’s not true, I tapped the glass and Anne moved her head to me!”

  “Aha, okay ladies, might the men here get a quick peak before they hit the first grade?”

  Beth and April reluctantly stepped back and looked rather insulted for it. Kevin could see about a hundred fingerprints on the glass.

  “It’s like they were trying to call over the monkeys or something,” Kevin said.

  Alex snickered and felt Beth’s smack on his ass.

  Kevin was standing there, flashbacks of babies circling in his head. He saw the future before him as well. Timothy and Anne, the hope of the future. He felt Judy’s arm slip under his as she joined him at the window.

  “This is our hope, you told me yourself. I guess I wasn’t meant to understand, but I trust you and if you say it’s so, then it is.”

  Kevin only smiled at the babies. After a few minutes he and Alex stepped back and once again, the glass was encompassed with window-tapping females, giggling and talking at one hundred miles an hour. He made his way back to Cindy’s room with Alex in tow. When he walked in, all the clothes except a few things were gone.

  “Hi Kevin, where are the girls?”

  “Oh, they should get back here well before your babies graduate high school. When I left them I think they were trying to peck their way through the glass.” He found a chair and sat. Alex decided he wanted to get one more look at them and left the room, leaving Kevin alone with Cindy and Roland.

  “Listen both of you, I have a proposition for the two of you that concerns maybe the rest of your lives…”

  The trip back to the Inn was a lot like spending time in a large hen house according to both Kevin and Alex. Kevin was of course, driving. Alex was in the back with Beth and April, and Judy was twisted backwards in the front seat so she could face them, yet somehow still managed to be in her seatbelt.

  Kevin looked in the rearview mirror at Alex. ’The poor soul never had a chance,’ Kevin thought to himself.

  “Alex, would you do me a favor and check back there for eggs?”

  Alex started laughing; the girls all stopped in mid-sentence and looked at Kevin. Judy even still had one finger pointed out.

  “Why would there be eggs in the back seat?” asked Judy.

  Beth retorted with, “Yeah, I’m the one who took the groceries out; all the eggs went in the house.”

  Kevin smiled and just said, “Well I just figured that with all that cackling going on, there just had to be a few eggs back there somewhere!”

  Now Alex was laughing up a storm. That line and Alex’s display got both of them an arm beating.

  ***

  The next few days were hectic; all three women spent a good portion of the days setting up the room for Tim and Anne. Kevin was sent on several errands for some things that were still missing. To suggest that Kevin did this unwillingly could create a topic of debate. Did he complain when they sent him out? Yes.

  Did Kevin come back with the bed of the truck half full with baby things when what the girls requested should have filled only two shopping bags at the most? Again, yes. It’s simple really; men enjoy it as well, only they keep it a secret.

  By the evening, the babies’ room looked as if someone were seeing double.

  Two cribs, two bassinettes, a swing built for twins, mobiles over each crib, two matching dressers, a score of packages of disposable diapers in one corner, and the list went on.

  And all of this, while workers were resurrecting the dining room, third floor, attic and basement, (Kevin had decided to let them get the basement over with).

  At 9 a.m. local time, April, Judy, Alex and Beth were all standing out at the drop-off area to the Inn. Everyone was bouncing around, not in anticipation, but because the air was frigid. Kevin had said no to all requests to go with him that day, so they were just going to have to wait, pure and simple. So they did, they
waited. Kevin called five minutes before they headed outside. He said he was about twenty minutes away. Apparently no one believed this time scale and so they went outside as soon as he called. They all heard the truck at the same time; he was in the driveway and coming to them. Now the bouncing changed its meaning, except for Alex, who seriously questioned the sanity of these women. However, there he was with the rest of them, just not bouncing. When Kevin stopped at the drop-off area it looked more like a paparazzi invasion. Kevin and Alex didn’t even see Cindy again until they were actually inside the Inn. By the time he returned from putting the truck away, he saw another car had taken his place at the drop-off. It was Bill’s newly acquired car.

  ‘Oh, this should help,’ he thought as he made the walk up to the entrance. As Kevin opened the door, he could already hear them in the living room. He didn’t think party per se—no, his mind came up with; ‘chicken coop’.

  Kevin still had a lot to do at the Inn. Things were progressing nicely but one thing loomed on his mind – could it be finished on time? It couldn’t and Kevin knew that but the part that had to wait until the snow went away was always just a part of what was on hold. It was 5:14 a.m. by Kevin’s watch; everyone wore themselves out last night because of Cindy and the babies. It gave Kevin a smile that came from deep within him, sadness and happiness all bundled in one giant mess of emotions.

  A storm was on the way. Kevin was going to let the crew go early today so that they could all go home and prepare as each saw fit.

  The new desk area was finished as well as all of the walls around the entrance to the Inn. Kevin only had one more thing to do in order to make it complete. As he was thinking about that very thing, he heard, “Morning honey pie.”

  A smile instantly crossed his face as he looked up and saw Judy walking over to the new coffee pot.

  “Good morning baby, did you sleep well?”

  “Nope, we didn’t get to sleep until around one this morning. Alex, Roland and yourself had long vanished.”

  “So, are you up for a ride? I have something I have to pick up before the storm hits.”

  “Oh yeah, I’ve had less sleep than this before and managed to get through the day.” Judy walked over to Kevin with her coffee, kissed him, sat down, and dropped her head onto the table with a thud.

  “Oh sure hun, you’ve made it through on less sleep; sure, when you were younger maybe.”

  She only snorted a little laugh.

  Kevin and Judy came back to the Inn around mid-morning and Kevin sent her ahead to do some ‘scout’ work and make sure the coast was clear. He was waiting at the truck when Judy opened the door and gave him a thumbs up. Kevin took the cloth covered item out of the truck and carried it inside. He’d had Steve put up all the needed hardware, so all Kevin had to do was place it.

  Twenty minutes later and everyone was standing around the new desk area. In front of them on the wall was something huge, covered with a cloth. Kevin smiled, put out a hand to Judy, and she did the honors. Everyone was dumbstruck for a few seconds as they stared at the wall, then a big cheer went up and the talking began. Hanging on the wall behind the new desk was a beautifully framed picture of all of them standing, filthy, at the doors to the Inn, with a lot of wooden crates behind them. Judy was leaning her head against Kevin, one foot slightly off the ground and giving a thumbs up to the camera. Everyone had a huge smile on their face.

  ***

  The storm hit that evening and everyone kept looking to see how much more it had snowed. Kevin was next to Judy on a sofa, who was once again nestled in very comfortably on his lap. Cindy, the last Kevin was aware, was over on another sofa with Roland and Beth, messing with the babies. Kevin was watching the weather reports when Cindy’s shadow overtook him. She reached forward with both of the twins and deposited them in Kevin’s arms. Judy slipped out of the way as if they had already had this planned. Kevin took them both. He held them and looked at them. Judy noticed it first; a tear ran down Kevin’s cheek and disappeared into his shirt. Cindy saw it next, she turned and went back to sit with Beth. Kevin held the babies for more than an hour before Cindy took them back for a feeding. Kevin left the room, as he needed some ‘alone’ time.

  The wind really howled through the night. Kevin woke several times thinking what any good builder would – was everything outside lashed down and protected enough. At around 2:45 a.m. the power went out. He counted to five and then it came back on. As he drifted off to sleep, he knew he would be expecting Bill, Michelle and the kids for breakfast.

  At around seven in the morning an air horn blasted the quiet of the Inn. Kevin and the guys looked up to see Bill’s plow coming around the corner. The guys had already shoveled a path from the drop-off area to the Inn, but not a lot more. The snow was deep, Kevin estimated somewhere around thirty inches, and the snow was still falling.

  As Bill got to the drop-off area, he unrolled his window and yelled to the guys, “Hey, get out of the way.”

  Kevin, Roland and Alex went off to the left of the Inn and waited. Billy proceeded to maneuver the plow so that it set at an angle. In ten seconds, the larger part of the entire front entrance was plowed to ground level and the width of half a lane of highway was cleared. Kevin turned to the guys, as he knew they had just spent an hour working on the part they had already done.

  “Damn show off; let’s go get the part he couldn’t get guys.”

  They headed off to near the doors and marble seats. As they got there, Katie and the kids were walking past them.

  “Hi guys!”

  They all mumbled in return and went back to shoveling.

  Billy, Katie and the kids ended up staying four days before the power was finally restored.

  Kevin decided after over three foot of snow had fallen, that he wasn’t going to break his back anymore. He, Roland and Alex went and picked out a top of the line driving lawnmower with both a lawn cutting attachment and a snow blower. This would cut the shoveling down to only the close areas at doors.

  On February 19th, Judy’s parents came and stole her away from Kevin for four days. Judy didn’t hesitate in the least and Kevin was more than glad that they had decided to do it. She needed some ‘alone time’ with them. Beth and April kept busy cleaning all the rooms on the third floor but made sure Cindy was never alone to take care of the twins by herself.

  The day that Judy was supposed to return was a busy one for the crews. They had already finished in the basement and the concrete floor was now stained and sealed so that it could be walked on. The base of the stairs saw a new addition, a room roughly fifteen feet wide and thirty feet deep. It was lined inside with cedar tongue and grove boards running horizontal from floor to ceiling as well as the entire ceiling. A ventilation system sat in one corner of the ceiling. It would measure heat and humidity and adjust the room accordingly. All of the work crews volunteered to help without pay, clearing everything out of the storage rooms as well as cleaning each item itself, then loading it neatly onto built-in shelves or floor locations in the cedar room. The dining room table was in a cradle hanging from the ceiling, safely tucked away. By the time Judy got home that evening, the room was filled and the third floor rooms which once housed it all were being cleaned and polished by Kevin, Roland, Alex and Beth. April was helping Cindy.

  “Yoo hoo!”

  Kevin heard it.

  “Sounds like my baby is back.” He exited a room and saw Judy looking up and down the halls.

  “Hi sexy legs.”

  That was all she needed to hear. She was at him and on him in a heartbeat, “HI HONEY!”

  “Hi baby, how was your visit with mom and dad?”

  “It was amazing…”

  She spent the next hour burning the flesh off of Kevin’s ear.

  “Kevin, I have to tell you something. Mom and dad are going to move to Florida sometime in the fall, they’re giving me the mansion.”

  Kevin looked at her, but he didn’t seem surprised like Judy thought he would.

&
nbsp; “That’s all I get; a smile?”

  “I’m sorry honey, I know you’re happy, I really do, it’s just that I had a feeling they might do something like this eventually, that’s all.”

  “Oh, I see.” She gave him that look she used when she thought he knew more than he was saying, but she decided to let it go – for now anyway.

  “Do you think you could handle living in a mansion for the rest of your life?”

  Kevin suddenly realized that when she accepted the house, it was for both of them, “I don’t know; it’s a lot of upkeep. I’m not getting any younger you know.”

  That got him an arm slap.

  “You’ll live where I say you’ll live Kevin Chase.”

  He snickered at her and she realized he was messing around. She hugged him and they spent a while kissing in the hall.

  “OH, more porn!” said April as she came out of a room.

  Judy laughed and turned to her, “You, young lady, need a man!”

  April walked over to them, “You know, I couldn’t help but notice that very shortly after Kevin came here, the doorbell stopped ringing. You wouldn’t happened to be the cause of it, would you Kevin?”

  “If you mean did I disconnect the door bell, then no; we’ve all heard it ring. I think you’re just losing your touch, maybe getting too old and ragged around the edges.”

  “HAAARRR…”

  The double team attack was on. Kevin protected himself as best he could, but it was all in fun and everyone was laughing as they tried to beat Kevin to a pulp.

  After the frenzy had died down, Kevin said, “There is something I need to discuss with you, Alex and Beth.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yip, something important. Now might actually be a good time… follow me.” Kevin went into the room everyone else was working in and got their attention. “Everyone, I need to talk to you about something…”