“Stuff.”
“I see—stuff,” Tess said.
Brooke kept silent. Davey wiggled in his seat a bit. Tess remained steady. Brooke could feel Tess’s temper simmering in the distance. She had to give Tess credit; Tess was visibly unhappy, but markedly calm. Brooke was not certain that she would be able to maintain the same composure.
“So, how is it that you think you will be getting home?” Tess challenged Davey.
“You or Brooke can pick me up,” he told her defiantly.
Tess nodded. Brooke was surprised when she saw a tiny smile edge its way onto Tess’s lips. That was until she realized the sarcasm that laced the contrived momentary grin that Tess sported.
“Well, that’s an interesting theory,” Tess said. “So, your sister can take the bus and you will—what?”
“Stay with the guys,” Davey said. “Til you get me. Like now.”
“I see,” Tess said. “Well,” she continued. She stole a glance at Brooke and then turned her attention directly back to Davey. “You win, Davey.”
Brooke’s eyes flew open. No way is she giving in to him. Tess?
Davey gloated.
“Um-hum. You are right,” Tess told Davey. “I’m sure that given your behavior at school, I will be picking you up later than normal quite often,” she agreed. Davey jostled nervously. “And, since I can’t seem to trust you right now, I think you are right,” Tess said. Davey looked at his mother fearfully. “Brooke or I will pick you up from school until we can trust you.”
“No way!” Davey yelled.
“Yes, I think so,” Tess repeated calmly.
“I hate you!” Davey screamed at Tess.
“David!” Brooke snapped to attention.
“I hate you both!” he yelled and hopped to his feet.
Brooke was shocked when Tess stood, grabbed Davey’s arm and physically placed him back in his seat.
“You can hate me all you like,” Tess told Davey. “I’m sure it won’t be the last time you feel that way. You will, however, sit there and listen to what Brooke and I are saying. I am not one of the guys,” Tess said. “Not one of the kids you seem to be having so much fun taunting at school either,” Tess said.
“This is so gay.”
“Shut up!” Dani exploded. “You are such a jerk. If you hate Mom, why don’t you just go someplace else?”
“Dani,” Brooke reached over. “No one is going anywhere,” she said softly. Dani began to cry, and Brooke moved closer to her to comfort her.
Davey rolled his eyes. “Such a baby, Dani.”
“Enough!” Tess’s voice bellowed. “I have had quite enough,” she said, lowering her voice. “Brooke and I are very aware of what happened the other day at your assembly,” she told her children. “I mean it, David; I have had enough. I don’t care what has you angry or upset. You do not have the right to call anyone names.”
“It’s just goofing around,” he argued.
“Really?” Tess asked in challenge.
“Yeah,” he replied defiantly.
Tess licked her lips, bit the inside of her cheek, and mentally reminded herself that she could not literally throttle her son. She looked across the room at Dani. “Dani, please go upstairs for a few minutes so that Brooke and I can speak with your brother.”
Brooke offered Dani an encouraging nod. Dani got up from her seat and started to leave. She stopped abruptly and turned back to her family. She looked directly at her brother, tears shining in her eyes.
“You’re supposed to be my best friend,” Dani said sadly. “When you were scared that Brooke would leave, I went to Mom and asked. I never tell Mom what happens at school so you don’t get in trouble,” Dani told Davey. Davey kept his eyes on his lap while she addressed him.
Tess’s focus had momentarily shifted to her daughter. Dani was angry, but she was also hurting. Tess felt her heart sink, momentarily stilling her anger and replacing it with concern for her daughter. She smiled compassionately at Dani. “Go on, sweetheart,” she instructed Dani. “I promise; I will be up there in a minute.”
Dani shook her head and followed her mother’s direction. Tess turned back to Davey.
“These guys must really be something special,” she said dryly. Davey remained silent. “Mmm,” Tess groaned. “So special that you are willing to hurt everyone who cares about you.”
Davey looked up and frowned.
“You disagree?” Tess asked her son.
“I didn’t do anything to Dani.”
“No?” Tess challenged him.
“She yelled at me when I wasn’t even talking to her,” he defended himself. “I was just hanging out with the guys.”
“I see. So, calling people gay and calling the boys in band girls, and from what I understand some other colorful names is not hurtful?” Tess asked pointedly.
“I wasn’t talking to her.”
“No, but you were talking about her friends—putting down something that matters to her. And, you were putting down Brooke and I at the same time.”
“I didn’t say anything about you!” Davey bit back sharply.
Brooke watched as the veins in Tess’s neck popped out visibly. Tess’s eyebrow twitched on its own accord, and Brooke braced herself.
Tess nodded and then shook her head. “I would have expected more from you, Davey,” Tess told him sadly. “Calling anyone names of any kind is hurtful. You have apparently been on a tear at school making statements about people being gay in a hurtful way. I guess it’s a little hard for me to understand how you think that would not hurt me,” she told her son honestly.
“I didn’t say anything about you!”
“Yes, you did,” Tess said. “When you make the word ‘gay’ something to be ashamed of, something worthy of teasing someone about, you most certainly are saying something about me—about Brooke and me. Maybe not directly, but you are saying it. And, that hurts your sister too. You’ve put down our family. Somehow made us less.”
“It’s just a word,” Davey argued.
“No, David—it isn’t. Not when you use it that way, it isn’t. And, you don’t know anything about those kids or their families. What you are doing is both mean and it is harmful, and I will not stand for it any longer,” Tess told him.
“It’s just a joke.”
Brooke sighed. “No, D., It’s not a joke unless everyone is laughing, and the only people laughing are you and these guys you are hanging around. That’s not joking. That’s bullying.”
“What do you care?” he snapped.
“That’s it,” Tess put her foot down. “I want you to listen to me right now. Until I can trust you again, someone will be picking you up at school starting Monday.”
“You said the end of the month!” Davey yelled.
“Yes, I did. And, your attitude just changed my mind,” Tess replied.
“You have to work,” Davey pointed out.
Tess nodded. “Well, you let me worry about that.”
“Mom!”
“You want to spend time with your friends after school? Start proving you can make your own decisions,” Tess said. “If these guys are your friends, they will be your friends whether or not you join in their bullying,” Tess said. “If you don’t think that is the case, I would suggest to you that they are not very good friends at all.”
“You don’t know,” Davey mumbled.
Brooke exchanged a glance with Tess. Davey’s voice sounded despondent.
“No, I guess we don’t,” Brooke said. “We do know you,” Brooke continued. “And, some of your behavior lately doesn’t seem much like you, D.”
Davey looked up at Brooke sheepishly and then back at his feet. “Am I done?” he mumbled.
Tess sighed heavily. “We’re done—for now,” she told him. She watched as Davey sauntered out of the room without making eye contact. She released an exhausted breath and looked at Brooke. “What now?” she asked Brooke helplessly.
Brooke smiled. “I have some ideas. It�
�s a start,” she said.
“A start to what?” Tess laughed nervously.
“The fight sort of went out of him,” Brooke observed. Tess shook her head doubtfully. “I don’t think he’s as upset about coming home as he wants us to think,” she told Tess.
“The question is, how do I make that happen,” Tess commented. “Brooke… I haven’t even given my notice.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Brooke said. “It’ll be fine.”
“Glad you are so confident,” Tess replied. “I have no idea what I am doing.”
Brooke smiled. “Me neither, so we have good company,” she joked.
Tess finally chuckled. “Well, maybe the next one will be easier,” she said. Brooke’s expression made Tess laugh. “Oh, okay… Maybe we will just be better prepared.”
“See? There’s always a bright side. Think of this as preteen 101.”
Tess rolled her eyes. “God, I don’t even want to imagine the advanced courses,” she said seriously.
Brooke laughed. “You were a great student. You’ll be fine. I’m the one who will probably need a tutor.”
Tess chuckled. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“I think you know,” Tess said.
Brooke smiled. “Come on, Diana. You go check on Dani, and I will drop in on D.”
“You are brave, love.”
Brooke chuckled. “Or insane.”
“Or that,” Tess agreed.
Tess followed Brooke up the stairs, her mind wandering through a million questions and contemplating endless scenarios all at once. How on earth am I going to follow through on this one?
As if reading her mind, Brooke replied. “We always find a way.”
***
TWO DAYS LATER
“I thought you were heading back to Connecticut,” Brooke commented to her mother.
Rebecca Campbell smiled at her daughter. “Actually, Bee I am heading out to California on Thursday morning.”
Brooke spun on her heels. “To see Dad? Is he okay?”
Rebecca smiled. “Yes, Bee he is okay.”
“Okay?”
“Why is that so surprising?” Rebecca wanted to know.
Brooke folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the kitchen counter. Her mother was sporting a mischievous grin, and Brooke wanted to know why. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Rebecca smirked. “Well, I suppose the cat is bound to get out of the bag sooner or later.”
“Uh-huh, what cat and which bag?” Brooke asked.
“Your father put the house in Malibu up for sale,” Rebecca said.
“Why?” Brooke asked.
“Because he wants to move east,” Rebecca explained.
Brooke tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips. “As in, he is moving to Connecticut to be closer to you?” Brooke wagered a guess.
“Not exactly, no.”
“Okay, explain to me exactly then.”
Rebecca smiled. “He wouldn’t be closer to me if he moved to Connecticut.”
“You lost me,” Brooke said flatly. “Either this pregnancy has made me stupid or I missed geography altogether. You do live in Connecticut, Mom.”
“At the moment, yes I do.”
“At the moment?” Brooke asked.
Rebecca sighed lightly. “I’ve accepted a position at Tufts—a part-time position on their faculty.”
Brooke stood completely still, shell-shocked by her mother’s response.
Rebecca continued her explanation. “I will be putting my condo on the market as well.”
“You are moving to Boston?” Brooke finally found her voice.
“No, I hope to be moving closer to you, Bee,” Rebecca replied.
Brooke was at a loss.
“Unless, of course, you object to that idea,” Rebecca interjected cautiously.
“What? No,” Brooke said assuredly. “What prompted this?”
Rebecca smiled at her daughter. She had been giving lots of thought to making a move for more than a year. Rebecca had grown close to Brooke’s new family. She considered Tess more than a daughter-in-law, and she adored both of the twins. She had balked, not certain if her desire to be closer might somehow appear smothering to Brooke and Tess. After Brooke’s miscarriage, Brooke’s father had expressed an interest in moving to the east coast. It had surprised Rebecca a bit, but the more she discussed it with her ex-husband, the more it seemed logical. Their discussions had become more frequent, and they had visited one another several times in the last year. There was a great deal that Rebecca was not ready to share with her daughter, mostly because she was not certain where her relationship with Brooke’s father was heading.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time,” Rebecca told Brooke.
Brooke nodded. “And, Dad?”
“I can’t speak for him. You know that. He’s in love with those kids; you know that,” Rebecca said.
“He’s got a crush on my wife,” Brooke chuckled.
Rebecca laughed. “That he certainly does,” she agreed.
Brad Campbell had immediately connected with Tess. Just like Rebecca, he had been impressed by Tess’s intellect and sense of humor. What drew both of Brooke’s parents to Tess was Tess’s obvious affection and devotion where Brooke was concerned. Brooke had not changed as much as she had blossomed. And, both of Brooke’s parents understood who had been the catalyst to the evolution in Brooke.
“So, Dad wants to move closer to spend more time with Tess?” Brooke asked her mother suspiciously.
“I’m sure he does,” Rebecca returned evenly.
“Uh-huh,” Brooke drawled. She shook her head. Brooke was certain that there was far more to the move than her mother wanted or was ready to share. “So, should I talk to Tess about an in-law apartment,” Brooke teased.
“Are you paying?” Rebecca replied without missing a beat. Brooke rolled her eyes. “I love you, Bee,” Rebecca continued. “And, I look forward to being able to play Grandma more. I think I’d like a few blocks, maybe a couple of towns between us.”
Brooke snickered. “Three’s a crowd, huh?”
“Don’t you mean four?” Rebecca asked.
“What?”
“You, the twins, and this baby.”
“What about Tess?” Brooke asked.
“Exactly. What about Tess?”
“Care to clarify?” Brooke asked.
Rebecca dropped her teasing. “Bee, I would like to be closer to all of you. So would your father. And…”
“And?” Brooke urged.
“Well, maybe if I were a bit closer, maybe Tess might consider doing some more things for herself.”
Brooke sighed. “Mom…”
“I don’t mean school. I mean whatever it is she wants to do. Three kids all day… Brooke, that would be a challenge for Mother Teresa.”
“And me,” Brooke interjected playfully.
Rebecca smiled. “And that.”
“Have you said anything to her?” Brooke wondered.
“To Tess?”
“Yes, to Tess!” Brooke laughed.
“About moving?” Rebecca asked earnestly.
Brooke kept laughing. “Yes.”
“No, to tell you the truth I hadn’t planned to say anything to you until I got back from seeing your father.”
Brooke nodded. “Mom, are you sure that Dad is okay? You would tell me, wouldn’t you? If anything was wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong with your father that hasn’t been wrong for over thirty years,” Rebecca deadpanned affectionately.
Brooke’s eyes twinkled. Over the last year, she had begun to see the genuine affection that lingered between her parents. They had been divorced for over two decades. Brooke wondered at times if she had just forgotten the connection that Rebecca and Brad Campbell shared, or if the connection she saw now was something new.
“So,” Brooke began. “Nothing to do with his heart then?”
“His heart is fine, B
ee,” Rebecca assured.
Brooke pushed back a smirk. Her father had suffered a heart attack a few years earlier. She had not actually been referring the physical state of the muscle in his chest. She nodded and decided to let it go for the time being.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Brooke said.
“Bee, are you worried that us moving closer might be stressful for Tess?”
“Tess loves you, Mom.”
“I know that, but sometimes it’s easier to love someone when they are miles away most of the time.”
Brooke nodded. “Are you sure we are still talking about Tess here?”
“What does that mean?” Rebecca challenged her daughter.
Brooke sighed. “Mom, you don’t have to tell me anything. As far as Tess is concerned, I think she would be thrilled to have you closer—you and Dad.”
“I hope so,” Rebecca said.
“I know so,” Brooke told her mother. “And, as for Dad?” Brooke continued. Rebecca’s head snapped up. Brooke smiled. “I’m sure he will love Tess even more when he moves closer,” Brooke let her mother off the hook.
Rebecca laughed. “I’m sure. To tell you the truth, I’m a little surprised Mary and Chris haven’t made a move back this way.”
Brooke sighed heavily. Mary and Chris Sinclair had traveled miles in their acceptance of Tess’s life, particularly Tess’s father. Tess’s mother had softened, but she remained a puzzle at times to Brooke. And, there were moments when Brooke fought the urge to throttle her mother-in-law. Mary Sinclair had a unique ability to push Tess’s buttons, often resulting in Tess breaking down into tears.
“Brooke?” Rebecca looked to Brooke for an answer.
“I don’t see that happening, Mom.”
“Did something happen that I don’t know about?” Rebecca wondered.
Brooke sighed again. “Specifically, no. I mean, I don’t know that Mary has said anything to Tess that upset her. It’s just…”
“Bee…”
“It’s what she doesn’t say sometimes,” Brooke explained.
“You mean about the baby,” Rebecca guessed.
“Among other things,” Brooke said.
“Give her time,” Rebecca offered gently.
“Mom…”
“Bee, just trust me. Look how far she has come.”
Late Arrivals (Special Delivery Book 4) Page 9