Two Player Games: (Corrupted 5-8)

by Klaire, Jamie

  I heard somewhere behind me a female voice say, "I don't know, I don't see one."

  Another voice answered, "Maybe he'll use Grandma's? He is the oldest."

  I turned to see who was speaking, but Roger came out right then. Or rolled out, I guess would be a better description. The patio door into the house was open, and Roger rolled out of it, holding what looked to be a Nerf ball tight to his chest as a handful of kids tackled him and climbed over him, trying to get the ball out of his grasp.

  His mom yelled, "You are not playing like that in the house, are you Roger? 'Cause I know I raised you better than that. Tackle in the house?"

  "Yes ma'am." He replied, getting up from the patio, covered in hanging rug-rats. He led them out to the yard and carried on with the game. I watched him as I fielded my trial by fire questions. He seemed to be enjoying himself very much, yelling and laughing, faking left and letting the little kids bring him to his knees in the grass.

  "Roger will be such a great dad, someday." His dad said, seemingly to himself.

  I felt eyes flick to me, and then away, as the dice game got around to me. I quietly rolled my turn, determined not to comment, since the announcement planned for tonight was that 'someday' had arrived. About ten years ago. Only no one had known.

  I rolled one too many rolls, and lost all my points. As the table groaned in sympathy, three young girls about 6 to 8 showed up at my elbow, loudly whispering "You ask her," and "No, you do it."

  "Ask me what?" I smiled at them, all ears but nervous. Out of the mouths of babes and all.

  I was relieved when the question that finally came out was, "Can we give you a makeover?"

  "Sure, that sounds fun."

  They led me inside and into a back bathroom, and proceeded to put my hair in ponytails and braids, and color my face with a lot of different products. I was enjoying the pampering when Crissy opened the door asking me, "Cook or clean?"

  "I'm sorry?" I swung my face toward her when I spoke, causing her to giggle. She clamped her lips together to control her laughter, keeping her thoughts on my new look from the busy girls. "That's a nice look for you. Um, cook or clean? Everyone helps but our group is so big that everyone in the kitchen at once is more harmful than helpful. Would you rather help cook, chop, stir, table set? Or help clean after by washing and stuff?"

  "Cook definitely."

  "Me too," she said. "Come on then, that is if you can pull yourself away from the primp squad."

  I said my goodbyes, thanked the girls, and didn't insult them by changing a single thing they had done to me. I headed into the kitchen with Crissy as is, and met a friendly hoot of approval.

  Dinner help was fun and went quickly. Roger helped prep as well, and we elbowed each other a few times, pretending to get all up in each other's way. Soon we were all seated around the very large table out on the back patio we had been playing dice on earlier.

  Once prayers were said and food was scooped onto plates from large, passing serving bowls, the table got quiet as everyone began to eat. Light chitchat flew around the table as bellies got full. Soon the little ones were excused and began to play nearby in the yard as everyone kept an eye out.

  As lightning bugs started to flicker in the bushes, making the kids squeal, Roger made motions to address the adults at the table.

  "Look, this is going to come as quite a shock to you all, God knows it was a shock to me, but I need you to hear me out before everybody reacts."

  "It's about time," someone muttered. "We were beginning to wonder."

  Roger shot a look his direction and then said, "Wonder what?"

  "When you were going to get married. We already know what the announcement is, and why you brought company. I agree it is kind of soon, you haven't dated very long, but you're a grown man."

  "That's not..."

  "Are you waiting to ask for Grandma's ring? Is that why she isn't wearing one?"

  My heart stopped and I felt myself lose several shades of color. Oh shit. They thought Roger had proposed. Oh shit, I thought again as I realized why Ellen had been holding my hands and jumping up and down. They thought I was the new addition to the family.

  I met Roger's panicked look. I couldn't even help him, I was speechless myself.

  Voices started to roll over each other as his family started yelling their congratulations, Roger had to overpower them with a forceful, "Wait, stop! I am not engaged."

  "You're not? Then what the hell is the big announcement? She's not knocked up is she?"

  The voice was shushed, and Roger said no, I wasn't pregnant, and could everyone please just listen for one minute. I heard Ellen say, "She said we get to welcome someone to the family."

  Roger looked to me, confused. I could only say, "She guessed... I thought..."

  Roger addressed the table once again, "We are not engaged. You're right, it is too early for that. We haven't been dating long, and no she is not pregnant, but you are also right, there has been an addition to the family..."

  Roger went on to tell them the same things he told me. The table got very quiet as the real announcement sunk in. Roger ended by saying, "I know it's a shock, and there is more. She is bringing Jimmy here tomorrow. I invited the two of them to spend the day, so we could get to know him a little. It's going to be a lot for everyone to take in, I get that, but she hasn't told him yet. He is ten and still thinks his dad died of cancer. He did, the man he knew as his father did."

  Looks flicked to Roger's dad, and I remembered Roger telling me on the drive here that he also had cancer. Boy did I pick an interesting weekend to come.

  "As far as Jimmy knows, he and his mom are coming to spend the day lakeside, with an old friend of his mothers. That's all. So no one speaks of any of this once they get here.

  Obviously, you can ask me anything you want, tonight, and again tomorrow, after they have gone. But let's all keep in mind what this little boy has been through. None of this is his fault."

  The rest of the evening I sat back and watched as everyone came at Roger in their own way, asking things, showing support, and sometimes letting their disappointment in him surface. By the time we went to our separate beds, we were exhausted. I climbed into mine as quietly as I could, trying not to wake Crissy and Ellen. They had gone to bed an hour or two before us, as Roger and I sat out on the dock, with me listening and Roger talking things over quietly with his parents, his siblings and Bob, his mom's boyfriend.

  Chapter 31

  Meeting Jimmy

  Breakfast the next morning was full of questions, since everyone had slept on the new information. Most of the questions were things like- is Roger going to demand a DNA test, what does Jimmy's mom want out of all of this, and when is Jimmy's mom planning on telling him about Roger?

  Roger's answer to most was "I don't know."

  I felt bad for him, but I had to admit I was proud of his family. Everyone was naturally curious, and no one had drawn any lines in the sand about anything.

  When Jimmy and his mom arrived, introductions were made all around. When I shook hands with her, I learned her name was Amy. Amy seemed nervous, but handled herself well for someone whose husband had recently died, and who had learned that her child belonged not to him, but to a guy she'd had a one night stand with years ago, when things weren't great in her marriage.

  Jimmy was a handsome kid, and as an outsider who just met the whole family myself, I could see the family resemblance immediately. He smiled like Roger did, and his nose was a smaller version of the one on Roger's dad's face. His eyes though, were his mom's, a deep ocean blue.

  Jimmy threw in with all the other kids easily, and they dragged him off to show him all of the cool kid stuff around the lake. I heard someone mention a fish skeleton that had washed up this morning, and Jimmy's "Cool, can I see it?" was all it took to send them all running for the lake.

  Roger's mom directed Amy to the back patio table, and a couple of his sisters rounded up some food and drink. I offered to help them, and Roger
went with his mom and dad around back.

  His sisters included me in their speculative whispers, commenting on how much Jimmy looked like the family. One of them asked me, "How are you handling all of this?"

  I answered honestly. "I'm not sure. So far it doesn't have anything to do with me, really. I mean, it's not like Roger and I are married, or have been together for very long, so it isn't a betrayal. It would be different if we were married for years and then this new baby or pregnant mom showed up. That would mean he had been cheating, but that isn't the case. It was ten years ago, you know? He had just split with his high school girlfriend, who he kind of thought he would marry. He was looking at the military and basic training. He had a one night stand. It isn't great, but it isn't exactly uncommon either.

  I just feel bad for Amy. You make one mistake, granted one hell of a big mistake, and there is a reminder of it, in the flesh, every single day, forever. You get your life back together, pull your marriage back from the brink and soldier on, only to lose him to cancer? Then you find out what you had shoved to the back of your mind all these years was true, that your son wasn't from that marriage? Honestly, I can't even imagine what she is going through. And Roger? To find out ten years later that a young, stupid, one night stand has your smile? Just wow."

  "He does, doesn't he? Have Roger's smile, I mean?"

  The other sister nodded. "Oh yes, I think the DNA test is only going to be a formality. I mean, look at him."

  We all looked out the window, and watched Jimmy play with the other kids, already one of them.

  "How will the family take this? After the strangers in the midst are gone, and I'm talking not only about Amy and Jimmy, but me too. Once we go, what is Roger going to have to handle?"

  "I think it will be fine. It is definitely a shock, but we see a lot of family shocks here, doing counseling. Shoot, our mom is remarried to our dad, who doesn't mind that his wife's boyfriend and his kids hang out here. The kids have already taken Jimmy as one of their own, who does that leave? Us siblings? I've learned not to judge. It doesn't change anything."

  The other sister spoke up, "We really were expecting an engagement announcement though. I do think Roger should settle down, now that he is out of the military. We were sure that was what he was going to tell us, considering he has never brought a girl here before."

  "He hasn't?" It was my turn to be shocked.

  They shook their heads no, smiling at me. "Nope, never."

  With that we rounded up everything we could think of, and headed out to the patio, hands full of food and drink. We settled into chairs as Amy talked about losing her husband. It was hard to listen to her talk about losing him to cancer, knowing Roger's dad faced the same battle.

  Amy brought up, before anyone else could, what people had already asked.

  "I don't want anything from you, Roger, really I don't. We are well provided for, I am not looking for money. I just thought you should know. I wanted to see how he was received though, before telling Jimmy. If Roger, and you all as well, shunned us, I planned never to tell him. At least not until he was an adult. Maybe, if things go well, I'll let him know sooner, but not yet. He still has a lot of grieving to do, so do I. I just, well...I honestly hadn't thought it through, past today, past this."

  Roger's family nodded their understanding. Everyone realized time and careful treading was required right now, until everyone could adjust to, well...everything.

  They stayed a few hours, had lunch, and answered and asked many questions. Once they got in the car to leave, Jimmy didn't want to go. He had so much fun playing in and around the lake, and had made so many new friends, Amy practically had to drag him home.

  Amy and Roger said they would stay in touch, and feel this out in baby steps.

  Dinner that night was loud and boisterous as everyone commented on the day, the new addition to the family, and what they had all thought was going to be the announcement this weekend, that wasn't even close. Overall they made me feel very welcomed, and even special, mentioning again that Roger had never brought anyone here before.

  "Well look what happened the first time I did! You all had grandma's ring on her within an hour of meeting her, and have you met this family? Who could blame me for keeping you all in hiding?"

  I laughed and enjoyed my time, as much as was possible for being a stranger here, and soaked them all in. Such a large family was still so foreign to me.

  Later that night everyone sat on the dock, a fire going in the pit, bellies full of S'mores, and kids running around in the trees, voices heard but bodies unseen as they played hide and seek.

  I watched them all, and realized I was jealous. This was what I had been missing my whole life, and I hadn't even known it. A big family, kids everywhere, all they were missing was a dog almost big enough for the kids to ride like a horse.

  I was happy here, and I looked forward to having Roger to myself on the drive home tomorrow. We hadn't had any real alone time this weekend at all, so I wanted to pin down where we were now. I was willing to stick around with him, and see how this whole Amy and Jimmy thing played out.

  I was secretly thrilled I was the only girl he'd ever brought home to meet his family, and I was glad they were so welcoming and seemed to like me.

  Every now and then a stray thought of Caleb would flutter through my mind, and I'd get a flash of embarrassed guilt when I remembered being with him at the S&M club last week. I looked around and wondered if they would all be as welcoming and open if they knew where I had been and what I had been doing just a week ago tonight.

  I brushed the thought from my mind, telling myself it would never happen again. Caleb and I had no future, despite our insane attraction. I knew that from the last time we dated. No, a life like this is what I wanted, with a family like Roger's surrounding me.

  Caleb knew where I was, so he knew there was a huge possibility of my getting back with Roger this weekend. I'd just go back to being friends and nothing else with Caleb, and hopefully this whole Jessica thing would be over soon so it would be easy to not be alone with Caleb again.

  I was at peace with letting that night with Caleb fade away, and I was grateful Roger and I were, and still I guess technically are, broken up. That way I don't have to tell him everything. Tomorrow, on our long drive home, my plan was to let Roger know I was all his.

  Chapter 32

  Reconnection

  Roger beat me to it. Once we settled in for the drive he said he had two questions for me. The first one was, "Are you willing to stick around for a while? Be my girlfriend again? See how this whole thing plays out? I know we didn't have much time to talk this weekend, or any time at all for anything else, but what do you think? Am I a keeper?"

  I laughed and told him he already asked more than two questions in that little speech. I said yes, I'd love to be his again, and to see where all of this takes us. He reached over, holding my hand as he asked the second question, "Good, I hoped you would say that. Now, is there any way you could get away for a few days? I remember you saying back on our first date that if you knew me better and I said, 'bring a passport, a bikini and a picture of an elephant' you would only ask 'a phone picture or a printed picture,' or something. Does that still stand? Minus the elephant? Can I steal you, your passport and your bikini away for a few days?"

  "Where to?"

  "Depends on what tropical paradise we can get seats on standby the fastest."

  So Cozumel, Mexico it was.

  We drove home, packed, got our passports, and boarded a flight to Cozumel. By the time we got to a hotel the pilots frequented often, it was dark, late and we were exhausted.

  Come the next morning, we woke to an ocean view just outside our second floor balcony. He called room service and we had breakfast brought up. Coffee, bacon, English muffins, eggs, pancakes and little doughnuts arrived shortly and we ate overlooking the busy boardwalk and the beautiful blue of the Caribbean.

  He told me to flip through a book of activities near
the hotel and pick some out. I'd never been parasailing or snorkeling, so I voiced those.

  "Perfect, let's add the four-wheeler tour through the jungle for tomorrow, and spend the rest of the time exploring. We should really stick to hotel approved things, though. Venturing off by one's self in Mexico can have disastrous results."

  I agreed, and we dressed for our first event- parasailing. We could see the parasailing boat from our balcony, so we didn't have far to wander.

  I threw cut-off shorts and a tank top over my suit, pulled back my hair and was ready to go before he was.

  "I'm impressed. No muss, no fuss?"

  "Damn straight. What's takin' ya?"

  The boat held ten people or so, and we took turns strapping in and acting like kites. The view from up high was amazing, and the wind carried us as the boat pulled fast. We giggled and reconnected as others went, and when they dropped us off back at the dock, we felt like a couple again. Except we had yet to have sex, not since the night he left me alone in my bed, after I'd told him about looking for Jessica.

  Our hotel had its own private beach area, so the snorkeling was available whenever we wanted. Roger suggested walking the boardwalk and buying our own gear. He said you could rent masks and snorkels from the hotel by the hour, but he had a feeling I would love it, and an hour or two wouldn't do it justice.

  We walked and teased, dipping into stores that caught our eye. I saw some kind of inlaid turtle gracing the top of the lighted cases in a jewelry shop, and pulled Roger in to look. I love turtles and the little multi-colored guys were just too cute. The shop-keepers assumed from our teasing and playing that maybe we'd be easy marks, and pulled a bottle of tequila out from behind the counter.

  They handed us little plastic shot glasses and kept filling them as we looked and drank. Roger bought me the turtle as a thank you to them for the liquor. I guess like buying a candy bar if you use the store's bathroom?

  Now we knew a Cozumel secret, and as we wandered, picking up our snorkel gear and the occasional sun-glasses, flip-flops and t-shirts, we ducked into all of the jewelry stores, hinting at hidden tequila. I'll be damned if every one we asked didn't pull out a bottle and offer us a shot. So that's how they put up with all of us tourists.