'Til the End of Time

by Sabra Brown Steinsiek

  “Away from the girls?”

  “They’re grown up now. We have to let them fly.”

  “Annie’s too young. She can’t stay here in this apartment all alone!”

  “She could live in the apartment over Morganna’s. I know Betta has been planning on renting it. With a couple of roommates, she would fit in well there. Meg and Betta will still be here to keep an eye on her.”

  “But what would we do in New Mexico? Don’t you want to go back to the theatre someday?”

  “Not really. I just want to be with you and do some recording, maybe teach again. If I get real ambitious, I can always do another tour. If I want to act I can get involved in local theatre. And you can write anywhere. You’ve told me that often enough. Maybe Henry has a position for you at the Herald. There are possibilities to explore, darling.”

  She was quiet again, then said, “Let me clean up a little, then we’ll go congratulate them.”

  “You know, Laura, I love them all, but all I really need is you.”

  “‘We’ll always have Paris?’” she asked.

  “You got it, Schweetheart,” he answered with his best—and truly bad—Humphrey Bogart, which made her laugh. As long as she had Taylor, the rest of it would work out.

  Chapter 53

  Laura had calmed down enough to properly congratulate her parents and hear their plans in more detail. Beth and Jason heard the news when they returned and the rest of the family would be told at dinner that evening.

  Laura didn’t believe that the early afternoon call she got from Henry Alaniz was a coincidence. After the usual pleasantries, he said, “I’ve got a job for you if you want it, Laura. We’re starting a new magazine section and I want you as editor.”

  “Dad put you up to this, didn’t he, Henry?”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “You know very well why. Let’s not play this game.”

  “You win, Laura. Your father mentioned that he and your mother were moving and giving you the house, but he didn’t put me up to it. The editor position is real. I did the math myself and decided to offer you the position.”

  “Henry, it’s a great opportunity, but I don’t know. There’s so much going on right now. Betta announced last night that she’s pregnant.” She paused for his congratulations. “Then Mom and Dad dropped their bombshell this morning and Rosina told us she’s going to live with Betta and Chris. I honestly don’t know which way is up right now.”

  “I don’t need an answer right now. Get back to me by the first of May. Talk it over with Taylor. The position won’t be available until September first anyway.”

  “Thanks, Henry. I promise we’ll talk about it and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”

  Laura hung up the phone and walked to the window. So many changes all at once! She felt off balance with it all. Looking out on their view of the New York skyline, she only saw the view of the Rio Grande, and the bosque below her childhood home. New Mexico was calling her.

  * * *

  Taylor got a phone call that afternoon, too. It was Kris Straub, head of the Theatre Department at the University of New Mexico. Taylor had taught there for four years when Annie was a baby and the two of them had stayed in touch.

  “Kris, it’s good to hear from you. How are things at the university?”

  “We’re getting along. They’re threatening to cut funding again, but I think they’ll come through in the end. There’s some other news, too. Have you heard that there’s a move to start a new reparatory theatre here in Albuquerque? We have so many fine theatre groups here that some of us think there’s enough talent to draw on to set up our own reparatory group and gain some national standing.”

  “You’re right. Albuquerque could prove to be a real arts center, if you get the right people involved.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way, because those of us on the steering committee want you to come in as director.”

  “What?”

  “We need someone with real theatrical ties; someone who also has a New Mexico connection. You fit the bill and were the unanimous choice. This is no name on a letterhead job, Taylor. This is going to mean a lot of hard work at fund raising and sweet-talking the right people.”

  “Kris, I’m flattered. And I’m intrigued. When do you need to know?”

  “We hope to formally get started in September and would like you on board by then.”

  “Send me the information. Let me talk to Laura. Say, did my father-in-law have anything to do with this?”

  “Sean? No. Why do you ask?”

  “Just some news he and Maria gave us last night. Did you know they’re retiring this spring?”

  “No! That’s going to be a real loss to the university.”

  “Don’t spread it around just yet, then, Kris. I’m not sure if they want it to be general knowledge.”

  “So, what does that have to do with you and this job?”

  “They’re moving to Ireland and have given us the house in Albuquerque.”

  “Perfect timing!”

  “A little too perfect with their announcement and your offer.”

  “Timing is everything, Taylor. I swear that I didn’t know. Your name has been coming up for a couple of months now. We really do want you on board.”

  “I’ll give it some serious thought, Kris, and get back to you after I read over the info you send.”

  Timing is everything…it certainly had been true for him and Laura. If another reporter hadn’t been sick, she’d never have been the one assigned to interview him and they would never have met. If Betta had not been in Bosnia to bring Rhen home, Laura might have died there. If Sean and Maria had not made their announcement this morning, he’d probably have turned down Kris on the spot. Certainly, when it came to their lives, timing had played a big role.

  * * *

  There had been people around all day and Taylor and Laura hadn’t had time to tell each other about the phone calls they received. The big news at the family dinner that night had, of course, been Sean and Maria’s. When asked what they would do with the house, Taylor and Laura said it was all too new an idea and they hadn’t decided.

  Everyone agreed that Rosina’s decision to become nanny to Betta’s children was the perfect one for her. She teasingly promised Laura that she would still fix meals and leave them in the freezer so that she and Taylor wouldn’t starve.

  When the apartment finally settled down, Taylor and Laura had time to talk.

  “I got a phone call today.” Each of them looked at the other in surprise as they uttered the words at the same time.

  “You first,” Taylor said.

  “Henry called. He offered me a position at the Herald beginning in September—as editor of a new magazine supplement.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I got him to admit that he knew about Mom and Dad, but he swore the job offer was legitimate. Their news had just given him hope I might take it.”

  “Are you interested?”

  “I am. How could I not be? But it’s not something I couldn’t live without, if we stay here. We’d be giving up so much.”

  “True, but we’d be gaining a lot, too. A different lifestyle, an incredible home. You know I love Albuquerque as much as you do.”

  “I told him I’d think about it. He wants to know by the first of May. So, who called you?”

  “Kris Straub. Seems there’s a move to start a professional reparatory company in Albuquerque and they want me to be the director.”

  “Taylor! That’s so exciting. It would be a great move for you. Wait a minute—she’s still at the university, so is this another set-up?”

  “She swears it’s not. She hadn’t heard about your parent’s retirement and said my name has been in discussion for the last couple of months.”

  “It’s a
n incredible opportunity, Taylor.”

  “So is yours, Laura. What are we going to do about them?”

  “It’s scary, Taylor. We’d be leaving so much here. Can we give up being with the girls and the grandchildren?”

  “It will be a hard choice, but it might be time we put our needs ahead of theirs. They’ll always be our children, but maybe now is our time?”

  “Our time. We’ve tried for that before and something’s always happened.”

  “Maybe the timing is right now. Kris said that timing is everything.”

  She smiled, “I’ve heard that somewhere.”

  “Me, too. We don’t have to decide this minute. Let’s sleep on it and see how we feel in the morning. If we’ve made a decision by the end of the week, we can let everyone know before they go home.”

  “We’ll have to talk with Annie before we decide. She’s only seventeen.”

  “Eighteen in May, Laura. The same age that I went out on my own.”

  “I hate life changing decisions, Taylor.”

  “Then let’s not make them now. Maybe I can come up with something to distract you,” he said coming to take her in his arms. The decisions could wait.

  Chapter 54

  The last night of the family reunion was Friday. Tomorrow they would be scattering again and Annie would begin rehearsals on Monday. Maria and Rosina had outdone themselves on the meal. By the time it was done, everyone was stuffed. When the table was cleared, glasses refilled, everyone sat together talking, reluctant to leave each other.

  Knowing he would be setting off another storm in their lives, Taylor waited for a lull to announce their news. Annie knew what he was going to say. She and her parents had talked it out a few nights ago and, even though it was scary to think of being on her own, she knew it was the right decision for them all.

  “This has been a wonderful week,” Taylor began. “So many surprises and much good news. Laura and I have made some decisions, too. With Annie’s blessing, we have decided to return to New Mexico to live.”

  In the stunned silence that followed, Laura continued, “It’s not just because Mom and Dad have given us the house, although we’re very excited by the gift. It was only the first in a series of things this week that led to our decision. I’ve been offered a job at the Herald—the paper where I began my career. My old editor called and he’s offered me the chance to come on board as editor of a new monthly magazine feature. It’s a great opportunity and we’ve decided I should accept it.”

  “And I’ve been offered the opportunity of a lifetime as well,” Taylor continued before anyone could speak. “There’s a group that is establishing a professional reparatory company in Albuquerque and they’ve asked me to take over as director. It’s a chance to build something special from the ground up and I want to be part of it. I’ve accepted the position.”

  Betta was the first to speak. “When would you go?” She couldn’t believe they wouldn’t be here for the birth of her baby.

  “We’ll be here until after the baby comes, Betta. We’ve both negotiated to begin in September and we won’t move there until October first. Laura may have to fly out there a couple of times in August to get the first issue together, but I can do most of my work from here.”

  “What about Annie?” Meg asked.

  “I’ll have graduated by then and will be busy with the show, reviewers willing,” she said as she knocked on the wooden table. “The only question is where I’m going to live. Betta, I’m hoping you’ll rent the loft at Morganna’s to me and a couple of friends. Daddy said he’d pay for the renovations to add separate bedrooms for us.”

  “And we’re counting on Meg and Betta to keep an eye on her for us,” Taylor said. “This is the path Annie’s chosen and we are supporting her decision.”

  “Of course you can have the loft, Annie,” Betta said.

  “I’ll expect to pay for it, Betta. I’ll be making my own way and I want to do it right.”

  “Madre de Dios,” Maria said. “Look what we have done, Sean.”

  “No, Mom, it wasn’t you or Dad or Annie or anyone. It’s just the timing is right finally and, after all, timing is everything,” she said as she raised her glass in a toast and the words were echoed as each raised their glass to new beginnings.

  Chapter 55

  The months passed more quickly than anyone was ready for. After Annie’s May graduation, the family had been together again for Annie’s triumphant June debut on Broadway. The reviewers agreed that Morgan Collins was expected to go on to great things. The word that she was Taylor Morgan’s daughter did not leak until after the reviews were in, so no one could claim she was riding on her father’s coattails.

  Laura had been back to Albuquerque once a week since July to oversee the premier issue of her new magazine section, living in the house while she was there. Taylor often went with her and began his work early with the board of the new theatre group.

  Annie was settled into the apartment at Morganna’s by the beginning of August. She’d taken some of the furniture from the apartment with her. Since Sean and Maria had left much of their furniture behind when they’d left for Ireland the end of June, Taylor and Laura had offered other pieces to Meg and Betta. Anything that no one claimed was sold with the apartment, which would be taken over by new owners on October first.

  Betta enjoyed a stress-free pregnancy. Meg and Laura both envied her the lack of morning sickness and teased her about being so serene. They helped to paint and decorate the new nursery in the soft yellow Betta and Chris had chosen, and the family filled it with gifts for the child to come.

  Rhen took it all in stride. She was confident of her position in the family and never worried about her new sibling. She was loved and she knew it. And she knew that it was possible to love more than one child at a time—her time in the orphanage had taught her that. She and Kat were excited about the baby and never doubted it would be a girl.

  * * *

  The phone rang just before midnight on August twenty-seventh. When Laura answered, Chris said, “It’s time. I’m taking Betta to the hospital.”

  “We’ll be there right away. Betta’s okay?”

  “She’s absolutely calm. I’m a blithering idiot! See you in a few.”

  Taylor was already up and pulling clothes from the closet. Laura got dressed, ran a brush through her hair and they were out the door ten minutes later. Rosina had already moved to Chris and Betta’s and would be staying with Rhen.

  They got to the hospital just as Chris and Betta arrived and they had time for a quick hug and kiss before the two were whisked off to the delivery suite. Meg arrived moments later. Jamie was at home with Kat. They began the wait.

  Just before noon, Chris let the family know that it was nearly time, then hurried to be by her side. Rosina and Rhen had arrived earlier with Jamie and Kat. The girls had insisted on being there. Annie came when they called her mid-morning. Only Sean and Maria were not present but had been called and were waiting anxiously by the phone in Ireland for news of their great-grandchild’ birth.

  * * *

  “Okay, Betta, it’s time to push. Take a deep breath and push, now!”

  She gripped her husband’s hand and pushed. It was almost over and the baby would be worth it, she told herself, but at the moment she didn’t really believe it. After twelve hours of labor, she was beginning to think it would never end.

  Chris whispered in her ear, “You can do it, Betta. Baby’s almost here. That’s when the hard work will begin.”

  The contraction ended and Betta leaned back against him. “You’re not exactly a comfort right now, Christopher Flynn. Don’t be telling me that the hard work hasn’t begun.” Before he could respond, another contraction gripped her and the doctor said, “That’s it, Betta. I can see the head. Another good push and I think we’ll have a baby.”

  Gathering wha
t little strength she had left, she pushed until she felt something give and the doctor cried out, “It’s a girl! You have a daughter.”

  A sharp cry filled the room. Chris was laughing and crying as he and Betta looked at the angry, red, creature they had brought into the world. “She’s a beauty, Betta,” Dr. Quillin said as she gently placed the newborn girl on her mother’s chest.

  Betta reached out to touch her new daughter, then looked up at her husband with wonder in her eyes. His own filled with tears as he felt his daughter’s hand curl around his tentatively extended finger. “Welcome home, Laura Rosina,” he said.

  “Let us get her cleaned up now while you finish up the job, Betta. One more push and we should be done.”

  Chris supported Betta, but they both kept an eye on the activity in the corner where tiny Laura Rosina was being weighed, measured and assessed. Soon, she was returned to them and the new family was left alone for a few minutes.

  “She’s beautiful, Betta. Almost as beautiful as her mother.”

  “No use in complimenting me now, Chris,” she said softly, her eyes on the pink wrapped bundle in her arms.

  The doctor interrupted them. “Chris, there’s a whole bunch of people out in that waiting room wondering what’s happening. Go and tell them that your seven pound, fourteen-ounce daughter is twenty-one inches long and was born on the stroke of noon. We’ll take Betta to recovery and you can join us there.”

  The nurse came to take the baby to the nursery. “She’s a beautiful baby, Mr. and Mrs. Flynn. You’ll want to run and tell your daughter she has a new sister and, if your family wants to be waiting around the nursery in, say, five minutes, I think I’ll be walking really slowly.”

  With a final kiss for Betta, Chris left the birthing suite. He had had no sleep but he felt as if he might never need to sleep again. Through the doorway, he saw the family waiting.

  “We have a daughter!” he cried as he came through the door. “Mother and daughter are doing well.” He picked up Rhen and kissed her, “You have a sister, sweetheart.” Rhen clapped her hands as Kat jumped up and down with excitement.