Revealing Destiny

by C. J. Corbin

  He had left oatmeal on the stove for me, and after eating it, I was still hungry so I scrambled a few eggs and made decaffeinated coffee. Tammy must have smelled breakfast cooking because she joined me a few minutes later.

  "Hey, do you want some eggs?"

  She rubbed her eyes sleepily, "No. I'm not hungry. Dad made a big sandwich for me before I went to bed last night."

  "Coffee?" I said, wagging the pot at her.

  "Are you supposed to be drinking coffee? Dad will split a gut."

  "It's decaf. I know he is a little overbearing in the food department," I laughed.

  Tammy dug around in the refrigerator and pulled out one of Debi's coffee cakes. "This is what I feel like this morning." She didn't bother with slicing off a piece; instead she began to break it into pieces while she sat at the kitchen table. She popped a piece into her mouth and took a sip of coffee. "Do you really think I should keep the baby?"

  I sat down next to her with my plate of eggs. "It's not for me to decide. That's your decision."

  "No, I know that. I'm asking you what you think. What would you do if you were in my shoes? I mean you kind of are, aren't you?"

  "Not really," I said. "My career is established. I can support myself even if I didn't have your dad. I'm not just starting my life."

  She rubbed her hands over her face. "Elizabeth, you're giving me all the reasons why I should give the baby up! I thought you were on my side."

  "It sounds like you have already made up your mind. So why are you asking me?"

  "I guess I want assurances I'm doing the right thing."

  "What does your heart tell you? Have you spoken with Jason? What does he say?"

  She took a deep breath. "I don't think he's very happy about it. Dad is wrong, you know. I didn't do this on purpose and I didn't do it because Mom told me. The pill was making me feel bad, so I figured if I stopped it while we were in school, everything would be okay. I guess I was wrong. Do you think Aunt Christina was serious when she said she'd let me live with her?"

  "I'm sure she was, but, I don't think your dad is going to throw you out of the house. He just wants the best for you," I said, almost crossing my fingers that I was correct in my assumption. I actually wasn't sure what Michael was thinking. He didn't want to discuss it with me while we were in New Orleans. Now I didn't know what to think, especially after yesterday.

  "Debi and Don are really mad at me."

  I put a smile on my face. "I don't think they are mad at you. They didn't expect this news and it took them by surprise. Don't worry, they and your dad will come around. You have to give everyone a chance to get used to the idea."

  "Do you think so?"

  I nodded my head while patting her hand. "I'm sure of it."

  She nibbled on some more coffee cake. "I'm feeling great you know. I know you have that whole nausea thing going, but not me!"

  I laughed again. "I hope then you don't get it. It is really awful! Blech! Although, I usually feel better afterward. So you've definitely decided then. Are you going to keep the baby and stay in school?"

  "Yeah. I'm not sure where this will take Jason and me. Or if he's even willing to go on this journey with me, but if he's not, then it will be just me."

  I put my arm around her shoulder and hugged her. "It will never be just you. You have family, and we're here to support you. We'll get it all figured out. Now, we have to get your dad ready to be a grandfather."

  She giggled, "And you a grandmother."

  I looked at her, "I guess I never thought about that, but, yes and me a grandmother."

  A knock on the back door startled us. "Who could that be this early?" I asked.

  We heard Christina's voice calling, "Hello? Is anybody up?" She came through the door and into the kitchen. "Good morning! I'm so glad that I didn't wake anyone. I'm dying here. You know you are out of coffee!" She held up an empty coffee cup.

  I laughed and got up to pour her a cup. "Sorry. I forgot to replenish the stock over at the cabin. I usually carry my huge mug over there when I'm working."

  "Oh! I hope I'm not keeping you from your writing by staying there," she said as she sat down at the table.

  "No, don't worry. I haven't even unpacked yet. I'll get back to writing today, but I can do it here as well as the cabin, especially with Michael gone today."

  "How's the nausea?" Christina asked.

  I grimaced. "Still have it. Hoping I don't have it during the entire pregnancy. It's driving me crazy. I wanted to thank you for helping Michael with the necklace. It's beautiful and I love wearing it."

  "You're welcome. I enjoy doing stuff like that. You know me, the internet queen. By the way, where's Michael?" Christina grinned, "He wasn't a happy camper last night. You disagreeing with him and me not telling him about my new house, I think he felt a definite loss of control, which he hates." She took a sip of coffee and almost spit it out. "Oh my god! What is this?" She said peering into the coffee cup. "Oh man, this stuff is nasty."

  "Oh sorry, that's decaf. Two preggos here," I apologized pointing to Tammy and me. "Michael is up with the eagles today, he likes to check in on them every couple of days. Personally I think he wanted to get away from hormone city."

  "Big sissy," Christina chuckled. "So kiddo," She rubbed Tammy's back, "Have you made up your mind?"

  Tammy nodded slowly, "Yeah. Guess I'm going to be a mom."

  "Good. We'll bring your dad around. Don't worry about that. And if he gets to be too big of an old fart, you always have an option of staying with me," she said, hugging her.

  I laughed, "I think you enjoy torturing him."

  Christina grinned widely and leaned back in her chair, "Oh yes, it's what I live for."

  "Feel free to use the cabin as long as you like," I winked at her, "to continue to torture him."

  After breakfast, I tried to reach Debi on the phone but it went straight to her voice mail. I left her a message suggesting we have lunch. It was unusual for her not to return my call right away, but I knew Jason had come down for the weekend to see Tammy and I figured she was busy.

  Michael arrived home around noon. I was writing in our bedroom at the little desk he had set up for me. I hadn't used it in ages, but since Christina was staying in my cabin, working there was not practical. He tapped me on the shoulder and I looked up from the computer removing my headset.

  "Have you had lunch yet?"

  I shook my head. "How are the eagles?"

  "Fine. I'll make you lunch after I shower," he said abruptly.

  "You don't have to make lunch for me. I'm not really hungry."

  He frowned, "You need to eat Elizabeth. You can't go around not eating." He turned, went into the bathroom, and shut the door.

  Fine, I thought, scrubbing my face with my hands. Looks like we're still arguing. He came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and my breath hitched. It wasn't fair.

  "We have to talk, Michael."

  "About what?" The look he gave me made the flush I had quickly evaporate.

  "About Tammy."

  He pressed his lips together in a frown. "Why do we need to talk? It's all settled, isn't it?

  I stood up from the desk. "I need to know how you can so callously give away a grandchild. For all your professions of being a great humanitarian, and a saver of wildlife, how can you turn your back on your own grandchild? It makes me think that you may feel very differently about our baby."

  "Elizabeth," he paused, "this has nothing to do with you and me, or our baby. I am Tammy's father and I believe I know the best course for her."

  "Then tell me why. It's not like you're financially limited either. Why?"

  He stepped closer to me. "Do you really want to know why? Are you so sure you want to know?"

  Michael loomed over me, anger and frustration on his face. If I knew him to be anything else than a man of nonviolence, it would have been frightening. Slowly nodding my head, I whispered, "Yes."

  Typically, he ran his hand
through his hair and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Before we arrived home, I spoke at length with Debi and Don."

  This was a new revelation. "I had no idea."

  "They said that while they really like Tammy, they felt she would be limiting Jason and his aspirations," Michael paused and then spit out, "basically they said she wasn't good enough for him."

  I was incredulous. "What? I can't believe they said that. I can't believe you listened to that."

  "It was their idea that Tammy and Jason put some space between themselves. I don't want to see Tammy hurt."

  "I'm sure you misunderstood them."

  "No Elizabeth, I didn't. They were quite clear. Now," he rose from the bed, "I hope you understand the way I feel."

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. There was no way Debi and Don felt that way. Our friendship went back over twenty years, and knowing them as I did, Michael had to be wrong.

  The sound of the shower accompanied the close of the bathroom door. I sat back down at the desk and looked at my laptop. Grabbing my purse and a jacket, deciding to postpone my writing, I headed toward my car. I couldn't think clearly any longer and needed fresh air.

  As my old Range Rover headed up to Mt. Mintock and I could smell the crisp mountain air, my thoughts began to settle. Michael had to be wrong. I could not imagine either Don or Debi telling him that Tammy wasn't good enough for Jason. It didn't make any sense. They were not wired that way.

  I turned onto the small utility road that would lead to the eagle's nest. Even with all the tree cover there was still a light mist and the windshield wipers were slogging back and forth hypnotically. At the end of the road, I parked the car and threw on my jacket, lifting the hood over my head. It had been threatening to rain all morning and everything up on the mountain was wet from the fog. The walk to the clearing was only fifteen minutes in the summer, but with the wet leaves and thick pine needles on the ground, it was a slow pace to avoid slipping.

  Usually from the clearing vantage point, the whole valley was visible but this afternoon the murky fog made the lake impossible to see. Fortunately, the eagle's nest was above the fog level and there was no problem seeing them from the tree stand. The wet rope ladder was slippery and I realized I should have worn different shoes. My sneakers had no traction as I struggled up the rungs. Everything was wet on top of the stand and I wished I had something to sit on besides my jeans. It wasn't too cold though, and only an occasional breeze rustled through the trees.

  The view through the binoculars was clear. It wouldn't be much longer before the chicks hatched. Michael had estimated that it would be happen during the next week. Watching the eagles taking turns, briefly leaving the nest gave me time to think. It always calmed me because even though they knew I was watching them, they still carried on with the normalcy of their day. Their movements put all of our problems into perspective. The world didn't stop revolving because we were having a family crisis. I had to make Michael, and now Debi and Don, see we needed to rally together. I hadn't figured out how yet, but there had to be a solution.

  The time up on the tree stand slipped by quickly and stiffness was in my joints when I stood up. I always hated climbing down, the rope ladder would swing from side-to-side, and it didn't help now since it was very slippery. Halfway down my foot slipped through the rung and out through the other side of the ladder. All of a sudden, I was hanging upside down precariously by one leg. Screaming loudly in surprise did nothing to help the situation as I floundered, swinging back and forth, and waving my arms.

  I grabbed the ladder and laboriously dragged myself upright. Pulling my leg out took some maneuvering. The rough rope bit into my hands and scraped across my knuckles. By the time I extricated myself and was back on the ground, I was shaking from the exertion and fright.

  Not coming better prepared had been a mistake on my part. My hands and leg hurt as I carefully made my way back to my car. The blood from my injured hands had begun to drip from my fingers and all I found was an old scarf in the glove compartment. After tearing it in half, I wrapped it around my hands.

  When I hit the main road, the cell phone beeped which meant it had a signal again and there was a voice mail. Before getting onto the highway, I hit the speaker button to listen to the message. It was Michael. He was not happy.

  "Elizabeth, where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone? You leave and don't tell anyone where you're going," his voice rang out clearly.

  I'll admit not telling anyone where I was going was stupid, especially after the mishap I had.

  His message continued, "Tammy, Margaret, and I are going out to lunch. We'll be at Viva Madrid if you get this message and want to join us."

  No. That definitely did not sound like fun. It sounded like the Spanish Inquisition.

  "I can't believe you just disappeared. One minute you were here and the next minute..." His voice trailed off. "Anyway, call me when you get this message."

  The clock on the dashboard said three-thirty and he had called at twelve-thirty. Three hours. I was probably in big trouble. There were three other hang-up calls from Michael. Yes, I was in big trouble.

  I dialed his cell phone and he immediately picked up. "Elizabeth. Where are you?"

  "I took a walk," I said simply.

  "Why didn't you call sooner? I've been worried and about to call Frank."

  "I'm sorry," I said, "but I didn't get your message until now. I didn't have a phone signal."

  "Where are you?"

  I felt like I was fifteen years old again. This was the Spanish Inquisition. "I'm in Mintock." I didn't mention that it was Mt. Mintock, because he would have freaked.

  "When are you coming home?"

  "I don't know. Later. Is Margaret there?"

  "No, but she'll be here later. Debi and Don are coming over too."

  "Why?" I asked.

  "We all need to talk." He sighed. "I want you here, Elizabeth."

  "I thought everything was settled Michael. Damn it, why can't you all leave Tammy alone?"

  "No, it is not all resolved."

  "What time will they be there?" I asked.

  "Six-thirty," he replied. "I'm making dinner."

  "Does Margaret have to be there?"

  Michael paused and his voice softened, "Babe, she is Tammy's mother."

  "I don't care." Yes, I was being irrational. The woman, however, made it her purpose in life to make my life miserable. "Okay, I'll think about it."

  "It would mean a lot to me if you were here," he said, his voice quiet.

  "You better make Margaret behave. One word from her and I'll leave."

  "I will."

  I let out a big sigh when we disconnected. Going home was the last thing I wanted to do. Instead of making a right turn to head toward home, I made a left toward Annie's house.

  Annie was outside in the front yard when I arrived. She had a look of surprised delight on her face when she saw me and she put her tools down as she walked over to greet me.

  "Mija! It's so good to see you. How was New Orleans?" she asked while giving me a big hug.

  "It was a fun trip. I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

  "No," she answered, "I'm planting my bulbs for the summer flowers."

  "I can help if you'd like."

  "Mija! What did you do to your hands?"

  "Nothing really. I just scraped up my hands a little at the eagle's nest," I explained as I tried to pull my hands back.

  "Were you up there alone? You shouldn't go up there alone," she admonished.

  "Everything was okay. Just a little mishap."

  "Well, come into the house. Let's get them cleaned up."

  I followed her into the house. "Is Frank here?"

  Annie laughed, "Oh, you know Frank. He works on Sundays so the officers with children can have the day with their family."

  She set about giving first aid to my hands, and making tea and sandwiches because I admitted I hadn't eaten lunch. We sat in her cozy kitchen looking out over the l
ake.

  "Why were you up at the eagle's nest alone?" She asked after she sat down.

  "I had to have a place to think."

  She smiled kindly at me, "Yes, I can imagine it is crazy at your house."

  I nodded, "So you already know?"

  "Of course."

  "And? What do you think?"

  She smiled and took a bite out of her sandwich. "No one has asked me for my opinion yet."

  "Why?"

  "Because they already know it differs from their own. Giving the baby up for adoption is nonsense. Honestly, you would think that they lived in the fifties. Ha! I lived in the fifties and wasn't that naive."

  The relief showed on my face. "I'm so glad you understand. I literally said the same thing. Debi hasn't returned my call today, and I'm afraid she's upset with me."

  "Don't you worry about Debi. Both she and my son need to get over themselves," she said as she patted my hand. "Jason should have learned to keep it in his pants. Both of them were stupid and it is not up to us to fix their mistakes. They need to learn the consequences of their own actions. We only need to assist them." She cracked a smile again, "Besides, I for one am looking forward to being a great-grandmother. A bit earlier than planned, but I'm grateful nonetheless. Tammy is a wonderful girl - she will make a good mother. Michael needs to let go. I am not surprised to find she is in this predicament, though. He held the reigns a bit too tight with her. Not that I am placing blame, Jason was thinking with the wrong brain, too."

  Annie had given me a lot more to think about after our conversation. I was not looking forward to dinner tonight because I felt it was going to be a rehash of the night before. When I asked Annie to join us, she laughed and told me I was on my own.

  Returning home, I found the house quiet. The kitchen was immaculate and you would have never known someone was making dinner for a large group. There was a big pre-made lasagna in the refrigerator. I couldn't believe that after having such a late lunch with Annie that I was hungry again. I grabbed a piece of fruit and went into the bedroom.