by Sarah Markel
Stepping down from her perch, Andrea went to Alex and Kelly. “I am so sorry for what your brother said, Alexis. You know the rest of us love and support you both. We think what you did for Karen was honorable and kind, and we are all proud of you for that.” she said, pulling her daughter and future daughter-in-law into a tight hug. “We know that Mama. He’s always had a problem with me and Ryan, I’m just surprised it took him so long to finally admit it.” Alex said with a shrug. “Come on, let’s not let that jackass ruin our Christmas dinner.” she said when her mother released her. Agreeing happily, the other adults straightened the chairs and took their seats while Hank went to fetch the kids. Once everyone was seated, Ashlynn asked “Does anyone else think there is less tension in here now that they’re gone?” Laughing out loud, Hank nodded and offered a toast. “Alex, Kelly, Ryan, and Raul, other people may not like your lifestyle but in this family we celebrate it. To our happy homos!” he said, lifting his wine glass. Laughing and cheering, the family finished their holiday meal in cheerful spirits.
Later that evening, as the family continued their tradition of watching home movies in the den, Kelly excused herself and went outside onto the back porch. Pulling out her cell phone, Kelly punched in the numbers to her mother’s hospital room. “Merry Christmas, Kelly Shane.” the woman said when Kelly greeted her. “How are my daughters and grandchildren doing?” she asked. “We’re fine, mother. How was your day?” Kelly replied. While the two women chatted amicably, Alex joined Kelly on the porch. Wrapping her arms around Kelly’s waist, she pulled the woman back against her and waited wordlessly while her fiancée talked with her future mother-in-law. “Mother, I want to talk with you before Dr. Peck releases you. There’s a few things we need to discuss, that way everyone is on the same page.” Kelly said a few moments later. “Of course, sweetheart. Why don’t you join me for lunch on Tuesday, after you all get home from visiting Alex’s family?” Karen offered. Accepting the date, Kelly said goodbye and hung up her phone. “Are you alright, Babe?” Alex asked as the woman sighed and snuggled back against her. Placing her hands over Alex’s, Kelly nodded and laid her head back against the other woman’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m alright. After what James and J.J. said, I just felt like I needed to talk to my mother.” she said softly. Nuzzling the woman’s neck, Alex smiled and sighed. “I love you, Kelly.” she whispered into her fiancée’s ear, making the woman shiver. “I love you too, Alex.” Kelly replied, turning in her lover’s arms. “Let’s go back inside and snuggle with our kids. It’s freezing out here.” she added with a smile. Chuckling, Alex led the way back inside.
*****
The next morning, Alex and Kelly were both startled awake when Dej ran into their room and jumped into the middle of the bed. “Wake up!” the girl demanded, “Zane’s going to kill Jaxon, and Nana needs you guys!” she added before hopping off the bed and sprinting for the door. “Fuck.” Alex muttered under her breath as the pair bolted after the child. When they reached the top of the stairs, Kelly looked over the balustrade and saw the two boys wrestling on the floor. “Stop it you two!” Alex demanded as she hurried down the stairs. Kelly followed, hoping that the boys wouldn’t hurt each other, and praying that Jaxon hadn’t said something vulgar to Zane. When the two women reached the bottom of the stairs, both boys hopped up and pointed at the pair. “Gotcha!” they chanted in unison, before running off to the kitchen for breakfast. Looking to her mother and step-father in confusion, Alex asked “What the hell was that all about?” Smiling, neither offered any explanation. Instead, a woman’s voice spoke up from behind them “I gotta tell you, Kelly. That boy of yours is a natural when it comes to acting.” With eyes gone wide, Kelly looked from Hank to Andrea before slowly turning to greet the woman.
“Tabitha!” Kelly shrieked as she flung herself at the woman. Wrapping their arms around each other, the two hugged for several minutes. Pulling back and holding her friend at arms-length, Kelly asked “What are you doing here? I thought you married some rich tycoon and moved to Italy.” Laughing, Tabitha shook her head “Where did you hear that crazy story?” Waving off the question, Kelly pulled her back into a hug. “Never mind that, what are you doing here? How did you even know where to find me?” she asked excitedly. “Kelly, why don’t we all go into the kitchen and have some coffee? The kids should be finished by now.” Hank suggested. Nodding with a big smile, Kelly threaded her arm through Tabitha’s and led the woman toward the kitchen. Glaring at her parents, Alex folded her arms over her chest. “What is going on? My fiancée just walked right past me, arm in arm with another woman, and you two want to go have coffee?” When neither of them spoke, Alex huffed and threw her arms in the air as she stomped off. Walking into the kitchen, Alex stood next to the wall and waited for an invitation to join. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t like it. Alex thought to herself, overcome with unexpected jealousy.
Once Hank and Andrea had entered the kitchen, Kelly seemed to realize that Alex had not sat down. “Honey, come over here and sit with us.” She said, motioning Alex over. Sitting down next to her fiancée, Alex took a moment to appraise this new guest. The woman appeared to be around the same age as she and Kelly, and she stood about even with Kelly in height. Her long blonde hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and Alex had yet to see her without a smile. Returning the woman’s warm grin, Alex placed her arm possessively around Kelly’s shoulders. “Honey, this is Tabitha London. She and I used to share an apartment together during our residency. If it weren’t for her, I would never have made it through my first year.” Kelly said excitedly. Offering her hand to the woman, Alex let Kelly finish the introductions. “Okay Tabitha, now tell me, how in the world did you end up here?” Kelly asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
“Well, my husband owns a construction company and last year he won a bid to build some apartment complexes for Hank.” Tabitha explained. “A few months ago we came out here to go over the blueprints and the budget proposal, and I noticed a picture on the wall of his office. It was a shot of the whole clan and when I asked about it, he explained that you all were his kids. He was naming everyone and pointing them out, and when he got to you, I got all excited.” Chuckling, Hank interrupted her. “I thought she was gonna wet herself, she was so excited. She told me that you two went to school together, but that you had lost contact over the years. I asked her if she was willing to be your Christmas present, and she agreed before I even finished the sentence!” he explained. Happily, Kelly stood and embraced the man, “Thank you, Hank. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift.” she whispered. Wiping away a tear, Kelly sat back down. She had a million questions for her friend, and she didn’t want to waste any time. “Where are you staying, Tabs? Here in Portland?” she asked.
Thanking Andrea as the woman refilled her coffee, Tabitha shook her head. “Actually no, my husband and I don’t really like staying in big cities if we can avoid it. Hank suggested that we try Marilyn, since it’s quite a bit smaller and he said that there is a private school there that is top notch.” This time, it was Alex who spoke up. “Well, Hank’s right. Willowbrook Academy is the highest rated school in the state. Both of our kids, as well as our niece and nephews, go there. How many children do you have?” A little surprised that Alex had spoken up so soon, Kelly took her fiancée’s hand and smiled to herself. “We have two. Brian is eleven and Shanna is twelve.” Tabitha answered, pulling her phone out of her pocket when it signaled a text. Apologizing, Tabitha stood. “I’m so sorry, but I have to run. Robby, my husband, is waiting and I promised him I wouldn’t be gone long. It was so wonderful to see you again Kelly. We will be around for a while, so I do hope that we can get together and do some catching up.” The woman said, embracing her friend. Offering her hand to the woman, Alex said “If you would like, I will put in a good word for you with the Academy. That will help a lot with getting your kids accepted.” Beaming, Tabitha exclaimed “Oh Alex that would be wonderful! Now all we have to do is find a house, and we are se
t.”
Once Tabitha had on her coat and scarf, Alex and Kelly walked the woman to her car. “Tabitha, I can help with the house. I have a four bedroom house that you can use. It’s nice and it’ll be move-in-ready by Saturday.” Kelly offered as her friend climbed into the driver’s seat of a brand new cherry red Corvette. Whipping her head around in surprise, Alex stared at Kelly. I thought she was donating that house! Alex thought to herself. Intentionally ignoring the look on her fiancée’s face, Kelly handed Tabitha a slip of paper with her phone number on it. “I will talk to Robby and see what he thinks. I’ll give you a call this evening and let you know.” Tabitha said as she started the car. Waving goodbye as her friend drove down the driveway, Kelly noticed that Alex had headed back to the house without her.
*****
“Guys! Hurry up and get those bags together so we can go!” Alex shouted into the den. “Are you sure you don’t want any help with that, Mama?” she asked Andrea as the woman carefully portioned out the Christmas dinner leftovers into small clam-shell containers. Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas, Andrea and Hank divided out the leftover food into single serve containers and took it down to an area called End of the Line. Located on the outskirts of the poorest part of Portland, E-O-T-L was a City-sanctioned homeless camp. While the many shelters and churches provided as many meals as they could for the less fortunate during the holidays, they didn’t always have enough food to go around. “Nope. I got it almost done now. You can help Hank finish loading all the clothes and blankets into the van, though.” Andrea answered as she taped a plastic fork to the top of each container. Nodding, Alex slipped into her coat and went out the back door just as Kelly walked into the kitchen.
“Where’s she going? I swear that woman has been ignoring me for the last hour.” Kelly mumbled to herself. Picking up one of the many insulated boxes that Andrea and Hank had gotten custom made for transporting the hot foods to the homeless, Kelly began to stack the finished food containers inside. “She’s just preoccupied, Sweetheart. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Andrea said, tucking piles of napkins into each box. While working in silence for a few moments, Kelly’s mind ran amok with worry. Once the boxes had been filled, Kelly stepped back and looked around the kitchen. “This is a lot of food, Mama. Is this all leftovers from last night?” she asked. Chuckling as she finished the last dregs of her coffee, Andrea shook her head. “No, not all of it. First thing this morning, the neighbors from all around us brought over what was left of their holiday meals as well. This is actually the best turnout yet, to be honest. There was enough food for two hundred and fifteen containers this time. And several of them brought coats and blankets and such too.” Nodding her head in awe of the charity and kindness shown by the wealthy in this area, Kelly went to the den to see how things were progressing in there.
When starting on their endeavor, Angie, Steve, and the kids had all banded together to get the toiletries and other necessities divided up. Watching the crew work for a few moments, Kelly smiled to herself. The group had formed a makeshift assembly line on the floor in the large room. At one end, Angie pulled two gallon sized Ziploc bags from a box and slipped a bottle of shampoo inside each one. Once each bag was started, Angie handed them off to Anya and Dej who were sitting on either side of the woman. After tucking a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste into the bag, the girls passed their bags down to Tommy and Raider. Before passing them along to Zane and Jaxon, Tommy and Raider added deodorant and a comb. Once the bags had made their way through the two eldest boys, who finished the bags by adding a pack of gum and a bar of soap, they were sealed by Steve and tucked into a large box. Seeing the amount of supplies left to bag up, Kelly joined the group to try and help speed things along. “Thanks, even with eight of us, this isn’t going very quickly.” Angie said when the woman started stacking the finished boxes. “No problem. Alex is busy helping Hank and Mama is finished, so I thought I would come in and help.” Kelly replied. Before she could stack anymore boxes, the doorbell rang. Finally! I thought they would never show up! Kelly thought to herself as she went to answer the door.
Joining her at the front door, Andrea let out a gasp of surprise when Kelly stepped out of the way for five very large men to enter. “Just set them down over there.” She instructed, pointing to the wall under the stairs. “Kelly, what is all this?” Andrea asked as the men carried in twenty large cardboard boxes. “I hope you don’t mind, Mama.” Kelly said, a little uncertain of the older woman’s reaction. “Last week, I made arrangements for these gentlemen to deliver five hundred sleeping bags for the EOTL residents. This is Paul Nolan, he’s the president of the He Is Risen motorcycle club. They do a lot of charity work in this area, and they were ecstatic to hear about what you do with the holiday leftovers.” She added, introducing Andrea to a sturdy man in his late fifties. Thanking the man with tears in her eyes, Andrea offered her hand. Inviting the men in for a hot cup of coffee, she led the way into the kitchen.
CHAPTER 20
“Alex, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong instead of taking your anger out on those helpless blankets?” Hank asked. He had spent the last five minutes watching as Alex aggressively attempted to stack the blankets in the back end of the delivery van. When the stack would get too tall and topple over, Alex would growl in frustration and try to manhandle them into place. “I’m fine, Hank.” Alex replied, her tone sharper than she expected. Climbing into the van to stand between Alex and the blankets, the man crossed his arms over his chest and replied in a fatherly manner “Alex, if you were fine, you would have had those blankets stacked up properly without having to use violence.” Taking a deep breath and huffing it out with impatience, Alex stared at the man. “I just can’t believe she did it again! She went and made a major decision without consulting me first!” she replied angrily, kicking the side of the van. Unsure of what his step-daughter was referring to, Hank raised his eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” he asked. Whirling around to face the man, Alex spat “Kelly! She just offered her house to her friend, without saying anything to me first. What is she going to do when the permits come through and her friends have to leave?” Giving up on the blankets, Alex walked to the edge of the space and plopped down to sit on the bumper. Seeing that she was shaking with anger, Hank joined her. “So, you’re mad that she is trying to help her friends by offering the use of an empty house on a temporary basis?” he asked, taking a cigarette from his coat pocket. Pulling out her own pack, Alex stuck one between her lips and lit it. Inhaling deeply, she no longer cared if Kelly saw her. She was stressed out beyond belief and if she wanted to smoke, then by golly she was going to smoke. “I am assuming, by your pleasant demeanor, that you don’t think it was a good idea?” he asked after a moment. Hanging her head, Alex shook her head no. Trying her hardest not to cry, she explained. “I’m not mad that she is trying to help. I’m mad that, once again, Kelly made a huge decision without consulting me. We talked about this after our fight and she promised not to do it again.” She said, avoiding eye contact with her step-father. Nodding his head, Hank said “I see. And because Kelly chose to turn the house into a group home and name it after Callie, you think she should have said something to you first.” Nodding while she glared at the ground, Alex dropped her finished cigarette into the snow. Irritated now with the woman’s behavior, Hank smacked her on the shoulder.
“What was that for?” Alex asked, glaring at the man. Returning the woman’s withering gaze, Hank wagged his finger at her. “Now you listen up, Alex. You need to stop being such a selfish prick and actually read your email. The permits aren’t coming through. The city denied them because the house isn’t big enough. Those “apartments” that Tabitha and her husband are building for me aren’t actually apartments.” Confused, Alex raised her eyebrow in question. Letting out a disgusted sigh, Hank hopped down from the van and grabbed Alex’s coat. “Come with me.” He said, dragging the woman into the house. Curiosity piqued, Alex followed him through the hou
se, up the stairs, and into his office. Once the pair was inside, Hank closed and locked the door before stomping over to his gun safe and removing a set of blueprints. Spreading the prints out over his desk, Hank slapped his hand down and glared at Alex.
“This is what I hired Robby for.” he said. Staring down at the desk, Alex felt herself shrink from embarrassment. Laid out on the desk in front of her were the plans for a large building. The top page of the plans showed a beautiful three story structure finished to look like a Victorian style mansion. The title of the plans, clearly printed across the top of the page, is what hit her the hardest. ‘The Callie Rae Baxter Center’ was printed in yellow with rainbow colored butterflies scattered throughout the words. Speechless, Alex looked up at her step-father and stared. Satisfied that her anger had abated, Hank said “Kelly doesn’t know about this, and I will never forgive you if you tell her. It was supposed to be your wedding gift, but seeing as you are bound and determined not to get married, I figured I would show you.” Unsure of what to say, and feeling like quite the fool, Alex hung her head. “I’m sorry, Hank. I didn’t even know that the permits were denied.” Rolling the blueprints back into their tube, Hank put them back in the safe and headed for the door. Before he left, Hank turned and suggested “Maybe you should apologize to Kelly for being such a dick. You might not have noticed, but not everything revolves around Alexis Renee Walker.” With that, Hank left his office and went downstairs.
