Blame it on the Stars (The Blame Game)

by Hill, Jamie

  “I know. Someone is testing his limits.” He pushed a lock of hair back from her face.

  Chris went back to his game, and they watched him in silence for a while.

  Steve finally asked her quietly, “Do you want to stay here tonight? He wouldn’t have to sleep on the sofa.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Would you mind staying at my place? It might be easier.”

  “I don’t mind. As long as I’m with you.”

  Chris shut the game off. “I’m bored. What else can we do?”

  She sat up. “What would you like to do, sweetie?”

  He shrugged.

  “I have an idea.” Steve stood and pulled Catlin with him. “Come on, kids.” He motioned them down the stairs and out to his car. He drove them to the video rental store, where they rented movies, Chris’s favorite video game system and games. They went back to Catlin’s place, and Steve hooked up the Nintendo. Chris was happy with the games he liked, and he played contentedly.

  Steve watched him for a while, then dozed off on the couch.

  Catlin ordered pizza for dinner, and they ate and watched movies until it was late. Chris finally fell asleep, and she tucked him in on the couch. “Walk this way.” She took Steve by the hand, and they tiptoed into her bedroom. She doused all the lights, and they quietly got into bed.

  “He is something else.” Steve stretched out. “Smart. Almost too smart, for his age.”

  “Isn’t he funny, though? I love his sense of humor.”

  “Uh, yeah.” Steve rolled his eyes. “I went through the nine-year-old sense of humor a few years ago. It may take me a while to rediscover the humor in it.”

  “Big ol’ baby.” She rolled on top of him and kissed his neck. “Think you can make love to me real quiet-like?”

  “I’ve done it before. A couple times you didn’t even know it was happening.”

  She laughed out loud, and he covered her mouth with his hand.

  “Now that’s not being very quiet, is it?”

  She was still laughing as he covered her mouth with his own.

  Catlin woke up to Steve’s kisses in the morning. “Mmm.” She yawned and looked at him. “What time is it?”

  “Early,” he murmured into her neck.

  “Any signs of life from the other room?”

  “Not yet.” He worked his mouth lower. “There are some distinct signs of life in this room, though.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah.” His lips found hers, and their kiss quickly deepened.

  She positioned herself so he could slip inside her.

  He worked into a series of slow and gentle thrusts, gradually getting faster, when they heard a noise from the doorway.

  “Hi Mom.”

  Catlin and Steve froze, their eyes locked. She cleared her throat. “Chris, honey, wait for me in the front room, please. I’ll be right out.”

  “Okay.” He turned around and walked out.

  Steve closed his eyes and let his head fall forward.

  Catlin smiled. “Oh, the questions we’re in for. Sorry, babe.”

  He rolled off her and stood. “I’m going to shower and get ready for church. I need to ask forgiveness for what I’m thinking right now.”

  Catlin heard the shower door slam. She adjusted her pajamas, and put her robe on as she went into the front room. “Good morning!” She ruffled her son’s hair.

  “Hi.” He grinned at her, and they hugged.

  “Did you sleep well?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  Catlin decided to wait and see if Chris brought the incident up, rather than mentioning it herself. She looked at the clock. “Just enough time to eat something before church.”

  Chris groaned. “I don’t want to go.”

  Something else he inherited from her. “Do you ever go in Kansas City?”

  “When I’m with my grandma and grandpa they make me.”

  “Church is a good thing. It makes you feel good inside. The school I teach at is a Catholic school, and we attend church every Friday.”

  Chris made a face.

  Catlin fixed waffles, and they ate.

  Steve joined them, dressed for church in his suit. “Good morning.” He kissed Catlin’s temple.

  “Wow, you’re dressed up.” Chris looked him over.

  “Just my regular church clothes.” He picked up a waffle. “What do you have to wear?”

  Chris looked down at what he had on, jeans and a sweatshirt.

  “Hopefully we can do better than that. Maybe something that hasn’t been slept in?”

  “I don’t even want to go.” Chris faced Steve.

  “Well, in our family, we go to church on Sundays. That’s something you’re going to have to get used to.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to be in your family!” Chris yelled at him.

  “Chris!” Catlin began, but Steve interrupted.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way. But as long as you’re here, you’re going to abide by our rules.”

  “No!” He yelled again, then ran in the bathroom and slammed the door.

  Catlin put her hands on her cheeks, shaken by the scene. Steve continued eating his waffle. “Is there coffee?”

  She looked at him incredulously. “How can you be so calm? I’m totally blown away by what just happened!”

  Steve shrugged. “He’s a kid, Catlin. Kids test their limits all the time. You have to be firm, and let him know who’s boss.”

  Catlin dumped some coffee in the pot, and poured in the water. “There you go with that ‘boss’ business, again. Isn’t it enough that you’re the boss of ten newspapers? Do you have to be the boss here, too?”

  “What I meant to say is, you have to take the upper hand with him right from the beginning. He needs to know you’re the one calling the shots, not him. Or else he’s going to run you ragged.”

  “It seems like you’re the one calling the shots.”

  “Catlin.” Steve looked at her.

  She scowled. “I don’t think we’ll go to church this morning. We’ll ease into that.”

  His face turned an angry shade of red. “I think you’re making a mistake.”

  “Maybe so. But there is one other thing to consider. We haven’t actually ‘gone public’ with him yet. If we take him to church, we will be. Don’t you think we should talk to Dana and David first, so they don’t hear about this from someone else?”

  Steve poured a cup of coffee, and sipped at it. He took a while to think about what she said, and finally replied, “Okay. Have it your way. I’ll see you after church.”

  She glanced out the front window. “Take the Jag if you want. It looks like the Beemer’s frosted over.”

  “See you in an hour,” he said a little more softly, and went out through the garage.

  Catlin got Chris out of the bathroom, and they both changed and cleaned up. When Steve returned they were playing slapjack with a deck of cards. He didn’t say much, just changed into some jeans and a sweater and joined them.

  They ate lunch and spent a relaxing afternoon at Catlin’s place. Chris seemed content with movies and video games, since it was too cold to spend much time outdoors.

  Catlin and Steve each had some work to attend to, then they passed the rest of the day with board games and lots of laughter.

  When it was time to pack Chris’s things, he got sad again. He didn’t cry as much as he had the first time, but he still tugged at Catlin’s heartstrings.

  “I wish I could stay with you,” he told her.

  “I know, I wish that too. But your dad would miss you. I’m going to talk with him and figure out when I can see you again. It’ll be soon, I promise. I’d miss you too much otherwise.”

  Chris hugged her, and they got ready to go.

  In the car on the way to Kansas City, Chris was quiet. Once he piped up and asked, “Can we rent the Nintendo again the next time I come up... please?”

  Steve looked at him in his rearview mirror. “Mayb
e, if you behave yourself.”

  Catlin added, “And remember, Christmas is coming!”

  “Christmas.” The boy grinned and nodded his head. “A new family means a whole bunch more presents.”

  Steve looked at Chris in his mirror again. “I thought you didn’t want to be part of our family?”

  “Steve!” Catlin slapped his arm lightly.

  He shrugged. “Well, he can’t have it both ways.”

  Christian leaned forward. “I may have been hasty in saying that.”

  Catlin and Steve looked at each other and burst into laughter.

  She directed him to Nick and Craig’s house in the canyon. When they pulled up, Craig was standing out front smoking a cigarette.

  They all got out of the car, and Catlin said to Steve, “I’ll be right back.”

  He nodded. “I’m just going to stretch my legs a minute.”

  She turned to Craig. “You look like Ozzy Osbourne with your hair pulled back like that.”

  “Shar-on!” Craig called in his best Ozzy voice, and ran his hand through Chris’s hair. “Hey, kid.”

  Chris hugged Craig hello, then turned and looked at Steve. He ran back and gave Steve a quick hug. “Bye.”

  “Bye, kiddo. See you next time.”

  Catlin smiled before walking her son into the house. They said their goodbyes, and she left wiping her eyes.

  Craig and Steve were standing in the driveway. She paused long enough to hear what they were saying.

  Craig ran a hand over the hood of the Beemer. “How does she handle?”

  Steve replied, “Are you referring to the car or your sister?”

  Craig laughed at that. “The car. There is no handling my sister.”

  “The car drives like a dream. But you might be surprised about Catlin. She’s grown up.”

  “She’s a wildcat. Don’t try to tame her, man. It won’t work.”

  Steve leaned back against the car. “I don’t see her that way. I see her as someone who is easily manipulated and taken advantage of.”

  “You think?” Craig squinted at Steve into the fading daylight. He took a long drag on his cigarette.

  Steve leveled his gaze at Craig. “I wasn’t around when she was fourteen to look out for her. But I’m around now. And I plan to be around.”

  Craig looked at Steve as he squashed out his smoke on a brick next to the house. “Well, good luck to ya, then.” He gave Steve a mock salute, and turned to see Catlin in the doorway. “There she is. Goodbye, little sister.”

  Unsure what to say, she chose to remain silent. Catlin pressed a kiss on Craig’s cheek, then she and Steve got in the car.

  “Everything okay?” He steered out of the driveway.

  “Yeah.” She shoved wadded up tissues into her purse. “It’s hard to leave him.”

  Steve reached over and squeezed her hand. “Did you make any future plans?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “They have a lot going on next weekend. I’ll have to call later in the week and see what’s happening.”

  “It’ll work out.” Steve jiggled her hand.

  She put her head on his shoulder, and fell asleep before they reached the outskirts of Kansas City.

  When they were almost to Marshall, Catlin stirred. Her stomach felt queasy again. She yawned.

  “Hello.” Steve kissed the top of her head.

  “Hi,” she murmured. “Almost home?”

  “Yeah. Since the kids are gone, I thought I’d just stay over again if that’s okay.”

  “Sure.”

  “You know, we’re going to have to talk to them as soon as they get home. This is going to be a shock.”

  Catlin rubbed her face. “Oh Steve. Can we give it one more day before we talk to them? I have in-service meetings all day tomorrow, and I need to get my head together.”

  “I really don’t think we should wait.” He raised his voice. “Christmas is in two and a half weeks, and if the boy is going to be around, the kids need time to prepare for it.”

  Catlin’s voice went up an octave, too. “The boy has a name. And we’ve already established the fact that he is going to be around. I just asked for one fucking day to wrap my head around this. After that you can tell whoever you want. Print it in the god-damned newspaper if you want to.”

  “Oh, that’s just what we need,” he said sarcastically. “You think the school is going to appreciate the fact that their twenty-six-year-old English teacher has an almost ten-year-old son?”

  “Oh shit.” Catlin put her hands over her face. She hadn’t thought of that. A whole new set of complications.

  “And that’s another thing.” Steve continued hacking away at her. “I really think you ought to try and clean up your language. It’s bad enough to hear a grown woman talk that way. I would hate to hear the kid repeating you.”

  She stared at him, anger bubbling inside her. “Shall I count for you the number of ways you went wrong in that sentence?” She looked around. “Are we almost home?” Her stomach was heaving, she felt sick.

  “Yes.” He chuckled, and pulled up to her house.

  Catlin got out and ran inside.

  Steve followed her into the bathroom.

  “Go away.” She waved him off as she threw up in the toilet.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He grabbed a washcloth and dampened it, then pressed it to her forehead. “You really need to learn how to deal with stress.”

  “Leave me alone,” she moaned.

  “Not going to happen.”

  She knelt in front of the toilet.

  He sat on the edge of the tub so he could hold her hair. “This is true love.”

  “You’re a pain in the ass.” She retched again.

  He stayed with her until she could get up, then helped her brush her teeth and crawl into bed.

  “You don’t want to stay here,” she mumbled. “I just need to sleep.”

  “Me too.” He crawled in next to her, and rubbed the hair away from her face. “Sleep is good.”

  Catlin felt sick the next day, but she went to school. They had meetings all morning, so all she really had to do was sit and listen. She wasn’t hungry at lunch time, and drove Jetta around for thirty minutes so she could tell her the story. Jetta was amazed and in complete shock.

  “Geez, girl, your life is starting to sound like a plot line for Days of our Lives.”

  Catlin chuckled, recalling Chris, Nick and Craig running for the TV to watch that show. She missed Chris already, and it hadn’t even been one day. “It’s just all so complicated. Steve is quite frazzled about the whole thing.”

  “Can you blame him? You’ve had time to get used to the idea of being a mother. This is a real shock to the rest of us, honey.”

  “Well, people better get used to it. I intend to be a mother to my son.”

  Jetta looked at Catlin. “I suggest you tread lightly, girlfriend. Give Steve some time to adjust.”

  Catlin stared straight ahead. “No, he just needs to adjust quickly.”

  Jetta bit her lip, and didn’t reply.

  In the teacher’s lounge after school, when everyone else had gone, Jetta was going over some papers for the next day. Catlin lay down on the couch to keep her company. They were both surprised to see Steve walk in.

  “Hi.” Catlin smiled up at him.

  “Feeling better?”

  “No,” Jetta answered for her. “She’s been sick all day. I think she needs some TLC, doc.”

  Steve glanced at Jetta. “Your professional opinion?”

  She nodded and winked.

  Steve sat down on the edge of the couch by Catlin. “Been thinking about you. How are you doing, really?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve felt better, but I’ll be okay.”

  Jetta spoke up. “That was a shocker she laid on us, wasn’t it?”

  Steve frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “About Christian.” Jetta chuckled nervously and added, “Oops! Sore subject?”

  Steve looked
at Catlin. “You’re not ready to tell your future stepchildren, but you told the mouth from the south? Where is your head Catlin? I think you’ve got your priorities screwed up!”

  Jetta frowned. “Hey, I resent that.”

  Catlin shot her a look, and Jetta got quiet again.

  Sitting up, Catlin realized she was going to be sick. She mumbled, “Please don’t raise your voice at me. I’ll talk to your kids whenever you want.”

  “My kids,” he repeated. “So now we’ve got yours and mine. That’s just great.”

  Catlin shook her head and ran to the restroom. She couldn’t believe there was anything left in her stomach to throw up.

  “Are you okay?” Jetta called through the door.

  She didn’t answer. She just wanted to be left alone.

  “Catlin!” Jetta hollered.

  Catlin pushed the door open and returned to the lounge. She was sweating and clammy.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Steve muttered, irritation oozing from every pore.

  Jetta put her arms around Catlin. “It’s just nerves, Steve. She’s got a lot going on.”

  He looked back and forth between them but finally focused on Catlin. “Well, I hope you snap out of it. It’s pretty hard to talk to you when you’re running out to throw up all the time.”

  She glared at him. “Fuck you.” She brushed past, grabbing her purse on the way out.

  “Language?” he called after her.

  She paused to retort, but was too furious to come up with anything snappy. She inhaled and blew out the breath, attempting to regain some semblance of composure.

  From the other room, she heard Steve tell Jetta, “Gee. That went well.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Catlin made it home and dragged herself to bed. Her gut churned, she was nothing but a bundle of nerves. Try as she might to shake it off, it just wasn’t happening. She tossed and turned and when she rolled over at ten p.m., she spotted someone sitting on the edge of her bed.

  “Jesus!” She scrambled out of bed.

  “Nope, just me.” Steve smiled.

  She held her chest as her breathing returned to normal. “I’m going to take your key away if you ever do that again. You scared the hell out of me.”