Relative-ly Speaking

by Karen D. Badger

  ***

  Billie entered the kitchen from the porch just as Cat entered from the living room. Both stopped dead in their tracks and locked eyes. Raw emotions flew across the room on the bridge created between them. Within seconds, they were in each other's arms, clinging desperately. For long moments, they stood there, wrapped around each other, savoring in the non-verbal love that flowed so easily between them. Finally, they parted.

  Cat looked up into Billie's eyes. "Sweetheart, I will be so glad when this wedding is over and life can return to normal. If I have to solve one more person's problems, or play peacemaker one more time, I'm going to lose it," she exclaimed.

  "I couldn't have said it better, myself," Billie agreed. "I just brought Joe back to your parents' after a long talk about his relationship with Amy. He is really down in the dumps, and just doesn't know how to deal with it," Billie explained.

  "Well Amy has no clue as to why Joe should suspect her of having an affair. Can you believe it? How dense can the woman be? And here I thought Drew was the blond one," Cat joked, making Billie chuckle.

  Billie took Cat into her arms once more. "One more day and it will all be over. Hopefully things will go smoothly tomorrow, then everyone can concentrate on returning to normal, whatever that means," Billie remarked.

  "One more day," Cat said wistfully.

  ***

  Alexandra Spirakis rested against the door frame of the kitchen, a glass of ice tea in her hand, watching Josephine writing furiously from her curled up position in the living room easy chair. "What is that crazy old fool doing?" Alex asked.

  "I don't know. Why don't you ask her yourself," Billie suggested to her grandmother as she peeled potatoes at the kitchen sink.

  Just then, Tara went running through the kitchen, heading for the back door.

  "Whoa, hold on here. Dinner will be ready in about a half hour. Don't be wandering off too far," Billie warned her daughter.

  Tara stopped short. "I won't. I'm just lending this CD to Karissa. I'll be back in a few minutes," the teenager replied.

  "Okay. While you're over there, tell your brother he'll need to be home shortly as well," Billie shouted to Tara's disappearing back.

  "I thought I made it clear that I wasn't talking to her," Alex replied.

  "What's that, Grams?" Billie said, momentarily distracted by Tara.

  "I said, I'm still not talking to her," Alex repeated, a little impatiently.

  Billie put the potato peeler down and turned to her grandmother. "You know, I'm not sure who's more stubborn, you, or Grandma Jo," she observed.

  "My word!" Alex replied, insulted. "I am not stubborn. I'm determined," she explained.

  "Determined," Billie said dryly. "Well the end result is still the same," she pointed out.

  "What result is still the same?" Cat asked, entering the kitchen from the basement door, carrying a basket of laundry.

  Before Billie could answer, Alex broke in. "Caitlain, dear, would you mind findin' out what your crazy old grandmother is doing writin' away like that in the living room?" she asked.

  Cat looked back and forth between Alex and Billie, a questioning frown on her face. Billie just shrugged, so Cat did as Alex asked. Putting the laundry basket on the kitchen table, she entered the living room and approached Jo. Sitting on the arm of the easy chair, she threw her own arm across the back of the chair behind the elderly woman. "What 'cha writing?" she asked.

  Jo looked into Cat's face and grinned, then held the tablet of paper up for her to see. After several moments of trying to read Jo's handwriting, a wide smile covered Cat's face. Bending down, she planted a big kiss on Jo's cheek then left her to her writing. Returning to the kitchen, she went directly to the laundry basket, throwing a covert look and smile toward Billie along the way.

  "Well?" Alex asked impatiently. "What is she writin?"

  Cat looked at Alex and feigned innocence. "I'm afraid she'll have to tell you herself, Grams," Cat replied.

  "For the love of God. Whatever happened to respectin' yer elders?" Alex complained as she stomped off to her room.

  Cat looked at Billie and smiled. "One more day," she said.

  Billie just nodded and returned to peeling potatoes.

  CHAPTER 27

  "Seth, come on! You've been in there long enough," whined Tara as she banged on the bathroom door.

  "Tara, please stop banging on the door," Billie said from her room at the end of the hallway.

  "But Mom, Seth has been in there for an hour. I gotta get ready too, you know," she reasoned.

  Billie stuck her head into the hallway. "Seth, let's get a move on," she called.

  "All right, all right. I'm done," Seth announced as he pulled the door open to let his sister in.

  Billie's jaw dropped as her son stepped into the hallway from the bathroom dressed in a black tailored tuxedo. "Oh, my. Seth, you look so old. Where did my baby go?" Billie exclaimed, suddenly realizing her fourteen-year-old son was more man than child.

  "What's all the commotion about?" Cat said as she led a daintily dressed Skylar out of her bedroom. She too stopped short when she saw her son. Tears of pride filled her eyes as she took in his handsome blond looks. She was so dumb struck she simply could not speak.

  Seth pointed to Cat. "Now don't you start crying. It's only a monkey suit," he said.

  "Oh, it's so much more than that," Cat said, finally finding her shaky voice. "It's a very handsome young man in a monkey suit."

  Seth's chest puffed out with pride as he strutted toward the stairway. "I'll be downstairs watching TV while you women get ready," he said boldly.

  "Am I handsome too?" Skylar asked as she watched her brother descend the stairs.

  "No way," Billie said, coming into the hall to scoop her daughter into her arms. "You, my little rugrat, are beautiful."

  Squirming out of Billie's arms, Skylar went to great lengths to imitate her brother's strut as she too headed for the stairs. "I think I'll go watch TV too while you women get ready," she said.

  Billie and Cat exchanged surprised expressions. "Looks like we've got some pretty sassy kids," Cat said.

  "Josephine Wycliffe, get yourself out of that bed and get dressed," came a loud demand from downstairs.

  Within seconds, Seth had re-ascended the stairs two at a time. "Ah, I think you might want to break it up before it gets out of hand," he said. "Grams is really mad at Grandma Jo."

  Cat scowled and dropped her chin to her chest. "What next?" she complained as she ran her hands through her hair.

  "I'll go see what's up, Cat. You go ahead and get dressed," Billie offered as she headed toward the stairs.

  By the time Billie reached the living room, the volume of the exchange had increased ten-fold. As she approached their bedroom door, the cause of the problem became clear.

  "Of all the days you could choose to be stubborn and pig-headed, why pick this one?" Alex demanded loudly.

  "No better time than the present," Jo answered flippantly.

  "Exactly why aren't you going, may I ask?" Alex continued.

  "No, you may not ask," Jo replied sharply as Billie winced on the other side of the bedroom door. "I thought you weren't talking to me. At least that's been the case for the past couple of days."

  Alex's approach suddenly softened. "Josie, please. Your granddaughter is expecting us. Please don't ruin this for her."

  "She won't even notice I'm missing, Alex," Jo reasoned.

  "Well, I'll notice, and so will the rest of the family," Alex explained.

  "I refuse to pretend that everything is perfectly fine just for the sake of your image, Alex. I'm not going," Jo stated firmly.

  Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open from the inside, startling both Billie and Alex.

  "Ah, Grams, I was just about to knock," Billie stammered. "Are you two nearly ready?" she asked, trying to cover up her eavesdropping.

  Regaining her composure quickly, Alex composed herself like a proper southern belle. "I am ready, Billie
, but I'm afraid Josephine has declined to attend the wedding. We will just have to go and enjoy ourselves without her," she said, brushing past Billie, heading to the bathroom to repair her face.

  Billie looked into the room at Jo, who was reclining comfortably on the bed. "Grandma Jo?" she asked.

  "Billie, Come in," Jo exclaimed. "Take a load off," she added, patting the bed beside her.

  Billie went to sit on the edge of the bed and looked Jo squarely in the face. "Why aren't you going?" she asked.

  Jo grinned. "Trust me, Billie. I know what I'm doing," she replied.

  "I sure hope so. You know you're not mending any fences with this kind of behavior," Billie pointed out.

  "Mommy, Mama says we're gonna be late if you don't get dressed right away," Skylar said, suddenly appearing in the doorway, obviously on a mission for Cat.

  Billie turned her attention to the doorway. "Okay, honey. I'll be right there," she said, rising to her feet. Before leaving the room, she paused for one last comment. "Before you do something that will change your life forever, make sure you know what you're doing, because you won't get a chance to take it back."

  Jo smiled. "I have no intention of taking it back, Billie. And yes, I do know I'm about to change my life forever, and between you and me, it's long overdue."

  Resigned to her grandmother's stubbornness, Billie just nodded and left the room.

  ***

  The wedding ceremony went off without a hitch despite Jo's conspicuous absence, and the fact that Amy and Joe were very cold to each other. Ida and Laurel beamed with pride as they watched each member of their combined family walk down the aisle, each one just as handsome or beautiful as the last.

  Ida and Laurel weren't the only mothers beaming with pride. Cat and Billie had all they could do to hold the tears of pride back at the flawless performance given by their brood. Seth stood tall and confident at the altar beside his uncle, displaying no traces of the child within. Tara's attendance of Drew's train was timely and orderly, having saved her aunt from stepping on it several times throughout her walk to and from the altar. And Skylar drew smiles and comments from all present as the dainty little princess expertly dropped rose petals in a path down the aisle during the wedding procession.

  And Cat was right…even though Billie had objected to the purple gown, she was stunningly beautiful in it. Drew did make one concession on Billie's part, allowing her to wear low heels rather than the three-inch ones worn by the other bridesmaids, making Billie and Bob much more comfortable.

  Even though Amy and Joe were less than friendly, their manner was polite, albeit a bit distant. Kevin, normally the Neanderthal, was actually attentive and respectful of Bridget, the nostalgia surrounding the ceremony softening his chauvinistic style. Even Bob behaved, having enough consideration for the bride and groom not to flirt openly with Amy at the ceremony. All in all, it was a beautiful wedding. Teary eyes abounded throughout the church at the beauty of the ceremony, including those of Doc, who sentimentally gave away his youngest child into the arms of her new husband.

  The only real sadness was held within the bosom of one aging southern belle, who sorely missed the presence of her life partner at such a happy occasion. More than once, she reached for the hand of her beloved as something especially beautiful about the ceremony touched her heart, only to find empty space. Her tears were not only those of joy, but of sadness at what could have been, but would never be... especially now.

  As the wedding party assembled on the altar to make their way back down the aisle after the ceremony, Billie noticed the door at the back of the church swing shut, its trespasser unseen. In the receiving line outside the church, she looked around, hoping to spot a familiar face in the crowd...a face that was conspicuously missing during the ceremony...but found none.

  ***

  The wedding reception was held at a rented hall. As with the weddings of his other three daughters, Doc spared no expense to make it a joyous and carefree occasion for all involved. A meal of prime rib, baked potato and summer vegetables was catered to perfection, although neither Drew nor Dylan ate much of it with the constant interruptions by party goers tapping on their glasses with knives, a signal that prompted the new bride and groom to stand and kiss with each occurrence.

  Not long after the meal was served and cleared away, the music began. Many of the party goers had started drinking as soon as they arrived at the hall, so the floor was quickly filled with dancers whose inhibitions had been chased away by the alcohol.

  During the meal, members of the wedding party sat at a long table at the front of the hall, but once the dancing began, formal place settings fell by the wayside as people mingled and formed groups. In one such group, sat the immediate family of the bride and groom, along with Jen and her family, all except Tara and Crystal, who spent the entire reception casting hateful looks at each other from across the room.

  "Look at them," Doc exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to Drew and Dylan on the dance floor. "Don't they make a handsome couple?" he asked.

  "They are cute indeed," Ida agreed, covering Doc's hand with her own.

  "I can't wait for them to give us grandchildren," Laurel said excitedly. "Can you imagine how beautiful they'll be?"

  "Grandchildren?" remarked Jim. "I'm too young to be a grandfather!" he exclaimed.

  "Get used to it Jim," Doc advised. "Look at the brood we have. Why Seth is nearly a man already. Talk about feeling old!" he joked, chuckling heartily before turning his attention back to the dance floor.

  Cat watched her father's eyes follow her baby sister as her new husband led her around the dance floor. "Is that a tear I see in the corner of your eye, Daddy?" Cat teased her father. "You always were a soft touch where Drew was concerned."

  "Your dad is a soft touch with all four of you girls—correction, make that all five of you girls," Ida corrected, including a beaming Billie in the daughter head-count while Doc blushed profusely at the teasing.

  "Nona, are you having a good time?" Laurel asked Alex.

  Having been caught staring off into space, Alex became flustered and nearly tipped over her ice tea glass. "Oh, my. I am so clumsy some times," she exclaimed as she righted her glass before any of the contents spilled onto the tablecloth. Embarrassment reddened her face to the tips of her ears. "I'm sorry dear. What was it you asked?"

  "I asked if you were having a good time," Laurel repeated, already knowing the answer.

  "As good as can be expected, dear," she replied distractedly.

  Ida decided to join forces with her sister to pull their mother out of a funk. "Nona, don't let Mama get you down. You know how stubborn she can be. Just because she has chosen to miss out on the fun, doesn't mean you have to. Why don't you get out on the dance floor and kick up your heels?" Ida urged.

  "I agree wholeheartedly with your lovely daughter, Alex," Chet said as he approached the table, accompanied by a very exhausted Jen. "It appears my daughter can't keep up with this old man on the dance floor. Would you do me the honor of granting me your company for the next dance?" he asked smoothly, bowing at the waist and extending his open palm toward Alex.

  Alexandra stammered, looking for an excuse not to allow herself to enjoy the party. "Er...I...," she began.

  "I have already requested a formal waltz, to be played in your honor, dear lady. Surely you can not deny me this one dance?" he teased, a dashing smile crossing his handsome age-worn features.

  Unable to resist Chet's charm, and sorely in need of pampering, Alex relented and allowed Chet to lead her to the dance floor.

  As soon as the music began, dozens of couples joined Chet and Alex on the dance floor. It wasn't long before the entire O'Grady/Stafford clan was dancing, with the exception of Joe and Amy, who were still keeping their distance from each other on opposite sides of the room. After the hangover he'd suffered a day earlier, Joe had consumed relatively little alcohol. Surprisingly, Amy was alcohol-free herself, preferring coffee and cola instead—a fact th
at did not go unnoticed by Cat and Billie.

  "Do you see how Joe and Amy are acting?" Cat asked Billie as they glided together in tune with the music.

  Billie smiled. "Yeah, like a couple of teenage lovers who have just had their first fight. Do you see how they keep looking at each other when they think the other one isn't looking?" she asked.

  "Maybe our talks did some good," Cat suggested hopefully.

  "I'd like to think so, but until they actually warm up to each other, this is as good as its going to get, I'm afraid," Billie replied.

  "Something needs to happen to break the ice," Cat said.

  "Speaking of something happening, I'm feeling really uncomfortable about what's going on between the grandmothers. I just hope Jo doesn't do something she'll regret later," Billie told Cat. "I'm pretty disappointed with her not coming today, and I know Grams has been deeply hurt by it."

  "Yeah, I'm a little disappointed in her myself. But at least Grams is starting to enjoy herself now. I'm glad Jen brought Chet along. He'll keep her mind off Jo for the afternoon," Cat mused.

  As the waltz ended, the couples clapped and returned to their tables, all but Chet and Alex that is. Had Alex had her way, she too would have returned to the table to sulk, however Chet wouldn't hear of it as he held fast to her hand and coaxed her into joining him for another dance. As that dance ended, he begged for a third. As the music began for the third dance, Alex again reluctantly gave in and halfheartedly engaged in the dancing. Moments into the dance a loud voice boomed over the PA system.

  "Stop the music!"

  All eyes turned to the source of the announcement as total silence descended over the room. There stood Josephine, microphone in hand, dressed to the tee in the outfit she and Billie had picked out for her in the mall. Dark gray high wasted pinstriped trousers, light gray long sleeved dress shirt, black vest that came to twin vees in front, maroon ascot, black patent leather shoes, maroon waistcoat with tails, and a black top hat and cane. Despite the fact that she was obviously a woman, Jo could have easily passed as a southern gentleman. Cat and Billie smiled at each other at the dramatic entrance that was so typically Josephine Wycliffe.