It was a challenge to get five kids ready for school. Clothes shopping nearly did Millie in with two teenagers and one preteen. Leo was easy – he’d wear anything – and Annie was picky but not to the teenager picky status. School supplies were bought in bulk, a shoe store was turned upside down, and Millie found the cutest dress for Little Sofie to wear on her 5th birthday, which would be celebrated at the cabin. All six kids had their annual physicals along with Matty and Danny. Melanie had her pregnancy confirmed and Millie had her first OB/GYN visit. Although they had different doctors, they went to the same women’s practice on the same day and given the same due date – April 10. When they told Matty and Danny this, they thought the men might pass out but they eventually got over the shock and became overprotective. The kids still did not know about the pregnancies or Millie’s engagement but the adults planned a special dinner up at the cabin to spill their good news.
Before the trip, Danny, Matty and Sasha went up to the cabin to give it a cleaning and work on getting the place ready for the family. The cabin itself was not too bad – it just needed a good dusting and the bathrooms cleaned – but the yard around the cabin was overgrown and they spent most of their ‘man time’ working on that. Matty sent Millie several cell phone pictures of the overgrowth and she was disappointed some of the perennials Penny planted lost the war with the weeds but there were still a few left and they tidied those up. The few days the men were gone were difficult with Leo who wanted to go along but he was just ten and Millie thought he was a little too young, especially not knowing how bad the property needed help. To put it bluntly but lovingly, Leo turned into a defiant little shit who ended up spending most of his time grounded and doing menial tasks for Millie as punishment.
When the men returned, Danny and Millie spent a full day planning the meals and activities for the vacation, a second day buying what was needed to take along, and a third day packing for it. Once again, she was amazed at how easy Penny made things seem. Millie was a wreck the morning of departure, making sure they had everything. There would be four adults, six kids, two vehicles, food for ten for twenty-seven meals plus snacks, bathing suits, iPods, a dozen bottles of sunscreen and bug spray and so many odds and ends Millie thought she was going to go crazy keeping track of everything. On top of all the craziness, both she and Melanie were dealing with morning sickness.
It was a beautiful Friday morning when the adults roused the kids at the ungodly hour of five in the morning. There really wasn’t a good reason to leave that early since it was just a two-ish hour drive to the cabin once they made their way through Philly but by the time they fed the kids, cleaned up breakfast, everyone got dressed and the last minute items packed and vehicle assignments made, they didn’t hit the road until nine. Matty and Millie were in Danny’s Jeep with the food and Little Sofie while Danny and Melanie were in Jack’s new Suburban with the other five kids, the luggage and everything else.
Millie was worried about the trip up with Little Sofie. It would be the first time she would be confined to her booster seat for that long of a ride and although Millie sat next to her, she wondered if she would throw a fit. She shouldn’t have worried, however, Little Sofie was a trooper. With five kids and two pregnant women with morning sickness needing bathroom facilities, the two-hour trip took four thanks to five different stops on the way up including a foray into a Wal-Mart when Millie remembered they forgot to buy new swimming goggles for the kids. All four adults were way happier than any of the kids to be finally parked under the weeping willow tree next to the cabin.
“Longest trip ever,” Danny said as the adults met between the two vehicles as five of the six kids exploded like a party popper and ran around screaming, laughing and playing an impromptu game of tag.
“Even worse than when all five of us were on tour and had the stomach flu and were caught at that tiny truck stop in Montana during that blizzard,” Matty said, looking beat.
“I would agree but at least you didn’t have five kids and endless rounds of songs about bus wheels, bottles of beer, and John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt,” Danny said. “I’m the one that needs a beer now.”
“Sorry, honey, but we only brought root beer,” said Melanie. Leo ran up to the group.
“Can we have lunch now?” he signed.
“Not until we get the cars unpacked,” Danny signed back as Matty handed the boy one of the coolers that held the cold groceries. “So if you want food, start helping.” It took about a half an hour to get all the different bags, coolers, boxes and backpacks into the right rooms of the cabin. Unpacking those could come later while the kids were busy at the lake. Millie used one of Penny’s tricks and had packed simple sack lunches for everyone. She remembered nearly every time they came to the cabin when she was younger that Penny doled out lunches in sacks so she didn’t have to get an involved meal ready. Matty had helped her and together they packed ten bags early, early that morning. In each one – adorned with the individual’s name and a goofy face drawn by Matty – was a peanut and butter and jelly sandwich, bag of chips, an apple, three chocolate chip cookies and a juice box.
Melanie and Danny set up several old blankets on the lawn in the backyard and Matty and Millie handed out the lunches as everyone trooped by them. Millie wasn’t surprised the kids sped through their lunches and asked nearly in unison if they could hit the lake.
“You must wait one hour,” Danny insisted to a chorus of boos and hisses.
“You’re wrong, Uncle Danny,” Sasha said, his nose in his cell phone. “According to the internet, that is a myth and as long as we haven’t eaten a super huge meal, we can go swimming without waiting after eating.”
“But what does the internet say about unpacking your bags?” countered Danny.
“Ah, well, the internet doesn’t exactly say anything about that.”
“Perfect. So, by the time you all unpack your bags and get your swim gear on and all suncreened up, that hour will have flown by so go on!” Danny mock ordered. “Scram! And you must put your things away neatly or I’ll make you do it again!” he called after them as they ran into the cabin. “Finally, a little peace and quiet.” Danny flopped back onto the blanket and the other three adults laughed at him.
“You have about forty-five minutes of peace and quiet before you have to go check on them,” Melanie said. “And you have to get your own swim trunks on so you can watch them.”
“That’s a quick nap,” he replied.
“No napping,” she said and pulled him up into a sitting position. They all laughed again. Millie looked down at Little Sofie who was sitting in her lap. She was still feeding her niece who was eating slower than normal. Her eyes were wide and she kept looking around.
“She probably doesn’t remember the cabin,” Millie said. “We haven’t been back since the accident. She was just twenty-two months old when it happened.” Danny crawled over to Little Sofie and lightly touched his crumbled napkin to her cheek, wiping off a small glob of grape jelly.
“I’ll show you around the property, Little Sofie, and all of Papa’s favorite places and some of the pretty flowers Penny planted,” he said and gave her cheek a kiss. Millie looked around. The place looked a little sad even though the men had tidied the landscaping up.
“There used to be so many more flowers,” she said.
“I know but there’s still a few left,” Danny replied. A sadness fell over the adults. “And Penny will be back to work her green thumb magic. Let’s not lose hope.”
Chapter 28
The vacation at the cabin was going smoothly. Agents McLey and Reynolds checked in with Danny and Millie every day to make sure everything was okay. Jack’s property was not fenced like the house in Voorhees but they felt safe in the seclusion of the cabin. Still, Danny decided to get a quote on putting in som
e security measures and he called Tom Cooper to come up and give an estimate on a security gate and fence.
“I just feel once those bastards release Jack and Penny, the media attention is going to be ridiculous,” he said the night before as the adults and a sleeping Little Sofie sat on the front porch after sending the other kids up to sleep. The air was heavy with humidity and bugs but the screens on the front porch thankfully kept the flying critters away. “If Jack needs to get away from it all and come up here, we need to make sure the paparazzi are kept at bay.” Millie could not disagree with her brother.
The next day, four days into the vacation, it was raining so the kids were scattered about the front porch playing board games. Karie was playing Hi Ho Cherry-O with Annie while Sasha and Leo were playing Battleship. Natalya, Matty, Melanie and Danny were duking it out over a game of Chinese checkers. Millie and Little Sofie were sitting on the porch swing watching everyone. Millie made sure to document as much as possible with her digital camera. The amount of pictures she and everyone else took over the last nine months was staggering. They just wanted to make sure to document everything to show Jack when he was returned to them.
As the rain slowly fell outside, Millie’s thoughts naturally went to Jack. She’d given him hell during her troubles but he never stopped loving her. Only once during that time did he ever become honestly angry with her and that was when she was kicked out of school. It was January 2007 and the Ivy Brothers were on their fourth tour but had January off for the birth of Carlos and Tracy’s first child. Millie was out of control, Little Sofie was colicky, and all seven kids were hit with strep throat. It was nice to have Jack around but Millie wouldn’t admit it. She just got news Kayleen, her best friend, had overdosed in California. This sent her deeper into drugs and alcohol with the remnants of her no-good friends.
It was a boring January weather-wise. The temperatures weren’t too warm or too cold and although it might spit a little snow every once in a while, there were no major snowstorms. Millie hadn’t bothered to go back to school after the holiday break and she’d already skipped half of the first part of the school year. It was January 17th when the call came from the principal and Millie was sleeping off a bad hangover when Jack barged into her room. He was always respectful of her space so she knew he was truly pissed. She didn’t care, however.
“You got kicked out! Kakogo cherta!”
“Fuck off,” she mumbled and pulled her comforter over her head.
“Do not tell me to fuck off!” Jack screamed and whipped the comforter off of her. “What in the hell are you wearing?! And you have so much makeup on you look like a clown.” Millie looked down at her outfit. One of her friends said a bouncer would let Millie into a nightclub in Cherry Hill as long as she looked older than the eighteen she was as the club was a twenty-one and older club. Millie had put on a pair of short shorts (despite being January) and a barely-there camisole and a pair of stiletto heels. It took her almost an hour to do her hair and makeup, making sure the face paint was on thick enough to hide her young looks. Her costume had worked and the rest of the night was a little blurry for her. She remembered a lot of vodka, a few pills, and several joints, however.
Millie looked up at her brother who was pacing. His face was scowled in anger and he ran his hand through his hair. Her head pounded as she sat up and her stomach wasn’t very happy. She’d slipped into the house a little before five and went straight to the powder room on the first floor which was at that time of the day the most secluded bathroom in the house. Penny knocked lightly on the door a few minutes after Millie became Mt. Vesuvius. She refused to answer Penny when she was asked if she was okay. After an hour of puking, she managed to make it to her room without being questioned again by Penny.
“I cannot believe you got kicked out. Holy Hell, Milena. You got kicked out of school.” Back and forth he paced and muttered in Russian. She recognized all the swear words but the rest she wasn’t sure of and she just wished he’d stop moving. When he did, he was furious. Millie had never seen her brother this upset. A small part of her felt sorry but it was the rest of her – that didn’t give a rat’s ass about anything anymore – that wished he’d just go away.
“Big deal,” that large part of her said.
“Big deal? Big deal!? This is your education, Milena! I have tried my very hardest to be patient and understanding and so has Penny. We know if we come down hard on you that you will just rebel even more but I… I…” Jack stopped talking and ran both his hands through his hair at the same time. That was the first she saw him do that and for some reason, that action said one thing to her – this shit just got real. With a sigh, he looked at his watch which caused her to look at her alarm clock. It was just past one in the afternoon. “Okay. I give you until four o’clock to scrub your face, put on some decent clothes, and then pack four or five days’ worth of appropriate clothing.”
“Why?” she demanded, angry he was ordering her around and a little worried he was going to force her to go to treatment. She’d tried a couple times already but she walked out both times. She didn’t believe she needed treatment; she wasn’t an addict. She only drank or used drugs when she was with her friends. She wasn’t to the point of worrying about scoring her next joint or bottle of vodka. At least, not yet.
“We are going to the cabin to try to figure this all out,” he said evenly and left her room. Millie expected him to slam her door but he closed it quietly which unnerved her.
Millie was still sitting on her bed an hour later, still looking like a streetwalker in her getup. She didn’t want to go. Celie, the new ‘leader’ of the group since Kayleen took off to California, texted Millie and said they had the address to a rave that night and Justin was going to be there. Justin was a guy, much older than Millie, who was smitten with her and although she thought he was basically a douchebag, he pushed the right buttons for her. He called her pretty and would buy her drinks. This, of course, led to some heavy petting. He wanted to go further and in her fuzzy memory of the night before, she remembered appeasing him. Not full sex but he left the club happy after they found a dark corner and she took care of him.
Her cheeks burned at that memory and tears came to her eyes. She didn’t like where she was in her life but she didn’t know how to change. The drugs and alcohol made her life manageable. Millie didn’t think she could cope without her crutches. She let the tears fall but it wasn’t a full-fledged crying fit. It was just a release of tears at how sad her life was; they were the tears of a pity party.
“Go away, Jack,” she said after hearing a knock on her door. She was certain her brother would be checking on her and she didn’t want to hear him bitch about the fact she had done no packing. There would be no packing. She wasn’t going to go and that was that.
“It’s me, Millie.” It was Penny.
“Oh,” Millie responded but then wondered why she was there. “If Jack sent you to check on me, you can go away too!” The door to the room opened despite Millie’s words and Penny walked in. Millie gave her a once over. It was her way to let everyone know she was defiant. Penny’s long hair was braided in a single braid and she wore her usual winter attire of jeans, sweatshirt, and running shoes.
“Jack didn’t send me,” she replied in her normal, quiet voice and shut the door. “I came to check on you myself.” She looked around Millie’s room. It was a disaster. Millie just didn’t care to clean up after herself and Penny told her many months ago she was old enough to attend to her room. She hadn’t yelled it; just calmly told her. Penny wasn’t a yeller and neither was Jack which is why his small explosion an hour earlier had surprised Millie a bit. Penny sat down on the edge of Millie’s bed. “You look frightful.”
“I don’t care,” Millie grumbled.
“Regardless, you need a shower before you go.”
“I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are,” Penny said gently. “You and Jack need some time together.”
“Where is he right now?”
“He ran to the grocery store to buy food for you two.”
“Oh.” Millie frowned. She wanted Penny to say he was busy in the studio or on some conference call. She wanted to be angry he was working during his month off but he wasn’t and for some reason, that made her even angrier. She punched her pillow a couple times. It didn’t make her feel any better.
“You need this time with Jack,” Penny said, taking the pillow away from her.
“Why? So he can spend four days yelling at me, telling me I’m a screw up and a no good high school dropout?”
“Is that what Jack thinks of you or is that what you think about yourself?” Millie frowned. No matter how hard she tried to hide herself from Penny, her mother figure always saw through Millie’s façade. “You are a beautiful young woman, Millie, and it bothers me you are on such a destructive path. Why?” It was the first time Penny ever asked that question and to be honest, Millie wasn’t sure she knew the answer and so she stayed silent. “That’s okay, Millie, you don’t need to tell me. I don’t want to force you but do know if you ever need to talk, I am here for you.”
Aftermath (The Deceptions Trilogy Book 2) Page 31
