Late Arrivals (Special Delivery Book 4)

by J. A. Armstrong

  “Nope, that was all true.”

  Rebecca laughed. “Why am I marrying you again?”

  “My charm?” he suggested.

  Rebecca laughed. “And here I thought it was your humility.” She kissed him softly. Her eyes drifted to a clock that hung in Tess and Brooke’s kitchen. “Better get the kids. Dani has dress rehearsal at five-thirty. I need to get her ready and get her there on time. Davey is supposed to meet Kyle for a pitching lesson at the park. That’s your job.”

  “You mean we have to wait to find out about this baby until after this recital?” he asked.

  “Yep,” she stood up and offered him her hand. “Come on, Grandpa. You have Davey duty.”

  “An obstetrician appointment doesn’t last four hours,” he pointed out.

  “No, but they have a meeting with Davey’s counselor after that,” Rebecca reminded him. “So, go take Davey and meet me back at our house to get ready.”

  “They never let me throw the ball,” he mumbled.

  Rebecca laughed loudly. He’s worse than the kids.

  ***

  “You okay?” Tess squeezed Brooke’s hand. Brooke nodded. Tess smiled and looked over at the doctor with a nod to proceed.

  “Well,” Dr. Jane Kowalski began. She studied the image on the screen that Brooke refused to look at. Brooke had been afraid she would recognize the gender before Tess, and she wanted them to hear the news together. “Sometimes, it’s a little hard to tell,” the doctor told the couple. “As I’m sure Brooke knows,” she added. Brooke took a deep breath. “In this case? That is not the case,” Dr. Kowalski told them. “Some things you just can’t deny,” she laughed.

  Brooke let her eyes fall to Tess’s, and Tess bit her lip to keep from smiling too broadly. Brooke laughed. “So, where are we going first?” she asked her wife good-naturedly, conceding her defeat in their bet.

  “Oh, I am sure we can think of something,” Tess leaned in and kissed Brooke tenderly. “Disappointed?” she asked.

  Brooke shook her head. “Not even a little bit,” she replied. Dr. Kowalski handed Brooke a picture. “Sure hope it grows,” Brooke joked, letting her finger trace the small figure of her unborn son. Tess smacked Brooke as Dr. Kowalski fell into her own fit of laughter. “What?” Brooke feigned innocence.

  “Thinking about our grandchildren already?” Tess teased.

  “No, but I am mourning all the lasagna I’ll be missing,” Brooke deadpanned.

  Tess smiled at Brooke and kissed her on the cheek. “I will make your lasagna every Friday for the rest of our lives, love,” she whispered as a promise.

  The emotion that colored Tess’s voice took Brooke by surprise. It mirrored the emotion Brooke had felt when Rachel had told her everything looked good in the pregnancy. She nodded a bit dumbly, unsure of what the right words were. Tess winked and placed one last kiss on Brooke’s cheek.

  “Everything looks good, Brooke,” Dr. Kowalski offered her assessment. “We’ll keep watching. By all accounts, November 4th seems spot on to me. Maybe even a little before that.”

  “Well, if he is anything like us, he should be right on time,” Brooke said happily.

  Tess coughed. It was true, both Brooke and Tess were incredibly punctual people. Tess, however, did not come by that predilection naturally. Being on time had become a necessity as a single mom. It had taken years for Tess to condition herself to it.

  “Something wrong?” Brooke asked Tess. Tess shook her head.

  “I’ll let you get dressed,” Dr. Kowalski said. “I’ll see you in a month,” she said with a wave.

  “Tess?” Brooke looked at her wife as she made her way off the examining table.

  “Hum?”

  “Oh, no. I know that look. What are you up to?”

  “I’m not up to anything,” Tess grinned.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “See, the thing is…”

  “Yes?” Brooke prodded.

  “The whole punctual thing…”

  “What about it?” Brooke said. She had always marveled at Tess’s ability to be on time even with the twins. The first few months that she and Tess had lived together, Brooke had been late to work, dropped the kids off late to events, and found herself frazzled more often than she had ever admitted to Tess.

  “It’s not exactly my nature—I don’t think—being punctual, that is.”

  “What are you talking about?” Brooke asked as she wiped the last of the gel from her belly and buttoned her jeans. She shook her head. “These are not going to fit much longer?” she observed, losing track of the conversation with Tess. Tess smirked. Brooke frowned at the button on her jeans. She turned back to Tess. “What do you mean it isn’t your nature? I don’t think you have ever been more than ten minutes late to something since I’ve known you.”

  “That’s probably true,” Tess agreed. “But, that’s something I had to learn. My job was all about being on time and efficient. And, I had to figure out how to manage the kids. When my gram died… And, then when Jackie left… For a long time, it was me—solo. I couldn’t have them suffer because I tended to procrastinate or sleep late. That wouldn’t be fair to them. And, what would I be teaching them? I just had to make myself focus on what needed to happen, and who needed to be where when. That included me. As a kid?” Tess sighed and chuckled ruefully. “I was late for my own birth.”

  “Funny.”

  “I’m not being funny. I was over two weeks late. They were about to admit my mother and deliver me cesarean the next day. She went into labor Tuesday night. It kind of runs in the family—tardiness, I mean.”

  “Um-hum.”

  Tess cringed. “I’m just saying that…”

  “Don’t even think it,” Brooke warned. “Bentley will be early or on time,” Brooke put Tess’s thought to rest. Tess’s expression of sheer horror made Brooke laugh. “Well, at least I know where D. gets his need to catch up from now,” she told Tess. Tess grimaced, and Brooke laughed harder. “And, on that note, we have another appointment to keep.”

  “Bentley?” Tess shook her head. “You want to name our son after a car?”

  “No, if I wanted to name him after a car I would have suggested Chevy.”

  Tess groaned. This is going to be a long four months at this rate. “Uh-huh. Keep it up and you’ll be changing all of Drew’s diapers,” Tess bantered.

  “No Ds,” Brooke said calmly. “It’s too… Stepford children.

  Tess stopped walking and folded her arms across her chest. “Do you have a problem with Davey and Dani’s names?”

  “Nope. It’s cute. They are twins. I get it. Any more D names and we’ll be out of Stepford territory and into Children of the Corn, and that could get dicey.”

  Tess grabbed Brooke’s hand. “No more horror movies for you.”

  “You started it!” Brooke reminded Tess. Tess had a massive collection and a strange fascination with horror films.

  “And, I just ended it,” Tess stated flatly. “Now, let’s go before we are late. I’d hate to fall back into bad habits.

  Brooke kept pace with Tess, unable to hide her smirk. The only redeeming thing Brooke could ever find in the Scream Queen movie nights she and Tess shared was Tess. Secretly, Brooke preferred a good classic or romantic comedy. Tess had left her an opening and Brooke took it, fully expecting Tess to put her foot down.

  Tess opened the car door and slid into the passenger’s seat. “And, wipe that silly grin off your face. I already knew you only watched those movies for the popcorn.”

  Brooke started the engine and looked across at Tess before pulling out of the parking space. “Not true,” she said.

  Tess waited for Brooke to explain.

  “I like the couch too,” Brooke said with a wink. “And, the kisses,” she told Tess. “And, when you forget that the movie is on and…”

  “Okay,” Tess held up her hand. “I get it,” she laughed. “I won’t try to name our son Damien if you agree to stop searching Pet Finder for names.”r />
  “I do not search Pet Finder!” Brooke replied. Tess snickered. “I just like to look at the dogs.”

  I knew it. “Just drive,” Tess laughed.

  Brooke obeyed Tess’s direction. “Hey, Tess?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What about Ford?”

  Tess covered her face. I give up.

  ***

  “What if she’s late?” Dani asked her grandmother.

  Rebecca smiled at Dani. Dani had been fidgeting with her shirt the entire way to the high school auditorium. Rebecca recalled many similar drives with Brooke over the years. Dani had played in school assemblies, but tonight was the first time she would play on the big stage—at least, that’s what Dani called it.

  “She won’t be late,” Rebecca promised Dani.

  Dani looked at her grandmother skeptically. “Davey has his…”

  “Grandpa is getting Davey, so you can stop worrying about Brooke,” Rebecca assured Dani.

  Dani grumbled something. Rebecca kept walking, contemplating what to say to Dani. Dani had gotten used to having a great deal of Brooke’s attention. Davey’s activities had grown quiet in the winter. That had changed in the last two months. That meant that Brooke’s time had become more divided again. Rebecca wondered how the twins were going to cope when the baby arrived. Strangely, she doubted sharing Brooke and Tess’s attention with an infant would cause as much upheaval as their competition with each other did at times. Dani had heard the glowing praise about Davey’s baseball season and how much he had a lot of potential. He had games every week that allowed him to shine. Dani had this concert. Rebecca understood.

  “Dani, Brooke would not miss a minute of tonight,” she said. “I think she’s as excited as you are,” she laughed.

  “I’m nervous.”

  “You are going to be terrific,” Rebecca encouraged the youngster.

  “What if I mess up?”

  “No one will know but you,” Rebecca said confidently.

  “And Brooke,” Dani mumbled.

  Rebecca stepped inside the auditorium door and looked at the bustling scene a few yards away. She stopped for a moment and placed both her hands on Dani’s shoulders. “When Brooke used to have recitals I always told her just to enjoy it. Go up there and have fun,” Rebecca said. “And, Dani? Brooke is looking forward to tonight. It means a lot to her to be a part of it with you. Don’t worry so much,” she said.

  Dani nodded sheepishly. “Grandma?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you think Davey will laugh at me?”

  “No,” Rebecca answered honestly. “I think he will be surprised.”

  “Do you think Mom will be? Surprised?”

  Rebecca smiled and winked at Dani in response.

  Dani nodded again, took a deep breath and headed off. She turned back. “Tell Brooke I’ll be in the choir room!”

  Rebecca laughed and waved. She swore for an instant she could see a hint of Brooke in Dani’s nervous shifting. Oh, Brooke… if you only knew.

  ***

  Tess shifted nervously in her chair. Brooke laid a comforting hand on Tess’s knee to calm her.

  Davey’s counselor, Martin Dorn smiled reassuringly at Tess. “I think Davey is confronting typical questions for a child his age,” he said. “I think some of his recent behavior can be attributed to that—to the anxiety he has been feeling over those questions,” he explained. “That doesn’t excuse the behavior, and I’m not suggesting you should tolerate it,” he said. Tess nodded.

  “What got him thinking about this?” Tess wondered aloud.

  “Everyday chatter with his friends is a large part of it,” Martin replied. “His family differs from the families his friends have in some ways. That prompts questions.”

  Tess shook her head. “I’m sure that’s true. I just… I realize that Davey tends to follow a train of thought planted in his head. I know that includes his friends. He hears something from someone he deems important, and it becomes instant truth. But, when it comes to the kids, he usually lets those things slip eventually.”

  Martin chuckled. “I’m not laughing at you. It’s a keen observation, Tess. He is a bit of a follower it would seem. Some of that is just him finding his way. I suspect you will see that shift over time. Kids come into themselves in their own time, not in ours,” he offered. He sobered slightly. “But,” he hesitated and took a breath, exchanging a glance with Brooke before returning his attention to Tess. “He also has expressed that his grandmother explained some things to him.”

  Brooke looked over at Tess, whose hand had balled into a fist. Tess’s jaw had set tightly, and her lips were taut. “Go on,” Tess said.

  “Well, the short version seems to be that he told her he was concerned that somehow his new brother would be both yours and Brooke’s. Understandably, he wonders if that makes him different somehow.”

  A small smile swept onto Tess’s lips for a moment. A brother, huh? He’ll be thrilled. Her smiled receded as her thoughts returned to her mother. “I’m not sure I want to know what my mom had to say, but somehow I think I need to.”

  Martin’s face twisted into an apologetic grin. “I think so,” he agreed. “She explained to him that every person had to have a mother and a father.”

  Tess closed her eyes, bit down hard on her bottom lip, and shook her head.

  “Tess,” Brooke called over. Tess simply shook her head again. Brooke looked at Martin. “Davey told you this?” Brooke tried to clarify.

  “He did—reluctantly. I try to steer clear of sharing specifics unless I feel it is in the child’s best interest. This instance… Well, I think that you should both be aware of it. Davey is emotionally sensitive to both his personal emotions as well as to the emotions of those around him. He feels and thinks deeply,” Martin said. “And, I do believe he is intuitive. He can sense tension, happiness, fear in his environment. Not all people have that ability. Sometimes that can be overwhelming. Questions about who he is and how others perceive him affect him more deeply than they would many children. As he learns to work through those feelings, in time I believe his sensitivity will become an asset. Right now, it is fueling a sense of insecurity rather than revealing the insight that maturity can provide. He needs reassurance—not just about your family or his place in it, but that whatever he feels about those things, it is okay for him to feel that way. Feeling and acting upon those feelings are different though. ”

  “He wants to know his father?” Tess asked cautiously.

  “He did not express that. I think he is wondering who he is, not his father—himself. Who does he really resemble? Does he love baseball because of his grandfather or you…”

  “Or his father,” Tess sighed.

  “Or Brooke,” Martin interjected. “He views you two as his parents.”

  “We are,” Tess said.

  “Yes, but if everyone has a father, what does that mean about him?” Martin tried to explain. “And, Tess? Davey fears rejection more than anything. He’s bright. He understands that his father chose to walk away. That is his father. If his father could do that to…”

  “So could I,” Brooke surmised.

  “So could anyone,” Martin said. “And, they could. He’s not wrong. Many things can separate us.”

  “What do we do?” Tess asked.

  “What you are doing,” he replied with a smile. “You’ve said his behavior has improved?”

  “Last day of school today, and only two detentions in over a month,” Tess said. “I expect his grades to be acceptable, not what he’s capable of.”

  Martin nodded. “The truth is you will have ups and downs. The more that Davey feels secure in his ability to express himself safely, the more he will do so appropriately.”

  “Do you think he’s afraid to tell us things?” Brooke asked, feeling suddenly guilty.

  “Yes,” he answered truthfully. Brooke’s hand covered her eyes. “But not because he is afraid you will be angry,” he continued. Brooke and Tess both l
ooked at him to explain. “Because he doesn’t want to hurt you—either of you. Mind you; he doesn’t enjoy what he calls ‘fluffy’ talk,” Martin snickered at Davey’s term.

  Tess laughed earnestly. That did not surprise her. “Not so much for the ‘I love yous’ anymore.”

  “I’m not sure I’d say that. Not with me,” he said. “He wants to appear strong. To him, that equates to stoicism. That is at complete odd with who he is. You’re doing all the right things. If you want him to keep coming to see me, I would be happy to work with him. I think once every few weeks would suffice,” he told Brooke and Tess.

  “And, my mother?” Tess asked. “What do you suggest on that front?”

  Martin shrugged. “That’s something I think you need to decide. Remember that he is sensitive to other people’s feeling and that means hers as well. But, she needs to understand that her words are being heard by a young boy. While she may be able to understand them in context, he is not able to yet—not fully.”

  Tess licked her lips, nodded sadly, and sighed.

  “By the way,” Martin said. “Activities are a good thing for him. He mentioned being interested in the guitar?”

  Brooke coughed and then rolled her eyes. “Miracles never cease,” she commented.

  Martin nodded. “They do change on a dime.”

  Tess stood and accepted Martin’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “It’s what I do,” he replied happily. “And, I enjoy working with Davey. He’s an interesting young man.”

  “That, he is,” Tess agreed proudly.

  “I’ll speak to you soon,” Martin said. “You two discuss how you want to proceed and let me know.”

  “We will,” Tess said. “Now, we are off to get ready for a concert.”

  “Ahh, Dani’s big night,” he commented. Tess and Brooke looked at each other with genuine surprise. Martin chuckled. “He’s actually quite proud of his sister,” he told them. “But, I doubt he’ll tell her that anytime soon,” he added.

  Tess rolled her eyes. “Safe bet,” she said.

  Brooke walked silently beside Tess to their car. She wanted to ask what Tess was thinking, but Tess’s body language told her to give Tess a little time. She opened Tess’s door, hoping Tess might say something. Tess offered Brooke a grim smile and kissed her on the cheek before climbing in. Brooke closed the door and sighed. How do I get her to talk to me? Brooke slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.