EYES ON YOU

by Lily Robins

  The family all met up at Jerry’s, with Jess insisting on treating everyone to whatever they wanted to eat and drink. Malcolm Lundry, grinning from ear to ear, was working like mad behind the counter, with a couple of high school girls helping him fill orders. The place was rockin’ with other baseball families and fans, most everyone knowing everyone else, producing an after-game celebration that rivaled the atmosphere of a big happy family blowout. Even Coach Lemming and his wife, Carol, along with their kids, showed up, and Jack was receiving all sorts of congratulatory comments about putting together an exciting team.

  At some point, Jack pulled Roman and Jess aside from all of the hoopla and declared, “Aden’s got a real gift. That boy’s a natural—just like in the movie. I’ve never coached a boy before who has such an innate sense of timing and the ability to perform. He’s a real winner, and I don’t say that lightly.” Jack shook his head and outright laughed. “Mark my words. Aden Leitner’s gonna go as far as he wants to in baseball.”

  Roman deferred to Jess for an initial response to all of the praise coming from Aden’s coach. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s our job to make sure that he stays grounded.”

  “I couldn’t have said it better,” Roman added, looking at Jess. “We’re going to try hard to make sure that he has all of the family support and love that he needs to go wherever his talents take him.”

  Jack Lemming was nodding as he said, “We’ve got ourselves a star in the making, folks. I’m gonna play him on the light side this year, different positions, and occasionally sit him on the bench to make sure he gets plenty of rest. I don’t want to use him up. I don’t want him peaking too soon, or his candle flaming out from over-use. He’s still a young kid, and we want to make sure we do not wear him out in the short term when his future is so bright.”

  Roman and Jess were both delighted to hear Jack’s comments. Roman asked, “How’s Danny doing?”

  Without hesitating, Jack said, “That boy’s another of my gifts. He’s shaping up to be a really fine player, but I think Danny’s already slotted for basketball fame. I watch that kid play, and just like you, Roman, he’s got that burnin’ desire to rise above the rest of the team, and I’m not just talkin’ about his height. You think I don’t remember how well you played, but I do! I remember the dedication you had for the game, and how hard you practiced to make the team, your parents, and everybody in this town proud of you. You got that scholarship, so it all paid off.”

  “It did,” Roman conceded, holding out his hand to shake Jack’s, with gratitude for his compliments.

  *****

  The next morning, all four of the Randall family showed up to help with the moving. Julia’s obsessive interest in all things related to the weather induced the movers to get Roman’s furniture relocated that morning, in case showers later in the day panned out. They brought Eli’s full-size pick-up truck for hauling, and wasted little time getting started.

  Roman and his helpers unloaded a truckload of flattened boxes that had to be taped back into cartons for all his books. Aden and Danny began reassembling them, still trying to get the fog of sleep from their brains. In his bedroom, Roman unloaded loose items in the drawers of the dresser and bedside table, while Eli and Patrick began disassembling Roman’s bed from its massive headboard. Roman knew exactly what he was doing when he caught Patrick’s eye before tossing him the unopened box of condoms.

  The boy blushed when he caught the package and realized what he held in his hand. Eli grinned and said, “Now you’ve got more.”

  Patrick looked from one man to the other. “But Katelyn and me—we’re not…”

  “Just in case you do,” Eli said.

  His uncle added, “Never be without one—or two in your wallet.”

  “It’ll actually work if you put one on,” Eli clarified to his older son, and Patrick burned with embarrassment.

  The young man, rarely at a loss for words, sputtered out, “But, we haven’t…”

  “But always be prepared,” Roman insistently drilled.

  “Always,” Eli echoed. “Don’t get all caught up in the moment and forget.” Eli delivered a stern look to his son.

  At that moment, Danny and Aden walked into the bedroom, and Danny grabbed the box of condoms from his unsuspecting brother’s hand. The two younger boys began snickering as Danny lobbed the box toward Aden, and Patrick reached out and managed to snatch it away in mid-air.

  In a gruff voice, Eli said, “All three of you knuckleheads—listen up! If you’re goin’ to do the deed, you’d better be prepared for what follows.”

  “But don’t do it until you’re at least twenty,” Roman said in an equally stern tone, waiting for a reaction. Three sets of eyes opened wide. “And when you hear the word ‘no…’”

  “No means no way, no how,” Patrick infused into the conversation, repeating his father’s advice verbatim. “But girls are sometimes the ones who put the pressure on us to do it.”

  “We know,” Roman and Eli said nearly together. Eli again warned, “Allow the head on your neck to rule the one on your dick.”

  This timely discussion went downhill when Patrick blurted, “What you’re sayin’ is—if a girl puts so much pressure on you, that you can’t say ‘no’…”

  “And wouldn’t want to tell her no anyway,” Danny piped up with a huge grin.

  “I’m definitely not saying ‘no,’” Patrick added with his own grin.

  Using a baseball analogy to finish the conversation, Aden said, “Make sure you’re all geared up before sliding to home. Got it!”

  *****

  Cheryl stopped with Jess in the upstairs hallway after the two of them had tidied the third- floor rooms. Cheryl said, “Are you sure about this?”

  “Absolutely,” Jess answered with a glowing smile.

  Cheryl looked again at the three enlarged, framed photographs that Jess had taken. Each of the three was mesmerizing to her, and this was a hard choice, but she really liked the one of a sunset hovering through pinkish clouds over the Pacific Ocean, with all kinds of shore birds scattered about, and those in the foreground beginning to take flight. The simplicity of it made it all the more special for her. Jess eased the framed photo from the wall without Cheryl having to say a word and gave it to her.

  “You have a good eye,” Jess told her. “A copy of that particular photograph went on the cover of a book about the northwest that’s written by Avis McCauley.

  Cheryl’s eyes went brighter still. “I was wondering if you would consider taking some pictures of Patrick and Danny next season while they’re playing basketball. Maybe some close-ups. We have several that we’ve taken of them, but yours would be so much nicer…”

  “I’d love to,” Jess replied as they walked downstairs.

  “Time’s marching on, and at a fast clip,” Cheryl nostalgically said. “Seems like it was only yesterday when they were holding up their arms to me, or Eli, wanting to be picked up.”

  Jess was nodding in total agreement. “We have them for a little while,” she said.

  “And now, my lanky, goofy, charming older son has a girlfriend who looks at him with such adoring eyes.”

  “She’s very pretty,” Jess remarked as she began making fresh coffee.

  “She is,” Cheryl agreed. “And seems to be very sweet too.” She sat the framed picture aside, in a place where it wouldn’t get knocked over, and asked Mona to watch out for it. The hound was lying in a fading patch of sun that had warmed a spot on the floor of Jess’s kitchen. She opened her eyes once, and then returned to napping.

  “You make my brother so happy,” she said as Jess was getting out mugs.

  Without reservation, Jess said, “I love him. He’s everything in a man—a human being, I wish I’d had the first time as a partner.” She smiled. “Funny how we learn.”

  “And there’s no doubt in my mind that he loves you. It’s like a big body sign he wears for the whole world to see! Roman has always been cautious to a fault. But when
he commits…”

  “I don’t take that attribute lightly,” Jess responded. She turned her head as a way to expand on her feelings. “He’s a very special man who knows the depth of human suffering because he’s gone through it too.”

  When Cheryl asked if she was referring to Erin, Jess nodded. Cheryl said, “All of us loved Erin, and we were overjoyed about their baby coming. After she was accidently killed, we thought he was going to die too, from a broken heart. He spent years not mentioning her at all and that, I think, is because—if he had mentioned her, he would have been reliving the loss all over again. So, no one said anything, the losses got buried inside him, and yet, I think we should have talked about her to share his grief with him.”

  The two women were quiet as Jess poured coffee and they took sips. Molly groggily padded into the kitchen, still half asleep. Cheryl was the first to hug her, remembering that she, too, had been slow to wake up as a child. Molly returned the hug, appreciating Cheryl’s caresses. Returning her attention to Jess, Cheryl concluded their conversation by observing, “Fate sometimes finds a way of giving back part of what it once took away.”

  CHAPTER 37

  The morning involved three strapping young men, and two who were not so young, hauling cartons and furniture up one and two flights of stairs. Most everything was moved by the time a drizzling spring rain began falling on Whittler Island. Jess and Cheryl fixed hearty roast beef sandwiches for the crew of movers. The comradery among the younger set was boisterous, bantering, and full of laughter.

  Partaking of one of Roman’s lite lagers, Eli said, “Whew! I’m feelin’ old, Sugar-Babe.”

  Cheryl quipped, “Old, but still dear,” bestowing a kiss on her husband’s cheek.

  Roman suggested, “Let’s all go for a nice dinner this evening—my treat.”

  To which Patrick responded, “I’d like to, Uncle Roman, but I’ve gotta date lined up this evenin’ with Katelyn.”

  “WOOOOOO…” Danny and Aden loudly taunted the older Randall boy.

  “We’re game,” said Cheryl, accepting her brother’s invitation. “Don’t forget Mom.”

  Eating his sandwich with gusto, Roman said, “I’ve already asked her and she’s onboard. Tomorrow, we’re going to sort out all our camping gear and get ready to head out early on Monday.” He looked at Jess, Aden and Molly.

  “We’re all packed and ready,” Danny announced. “Mom’s in charge of victuals.”

  “Better plan on some snowpack up at Baxter,” Eli warned.

  “I’m loading two large coolers full of stuff,” Cheryl said. “We’re taking two vehicles?”

  Roman nodded. “Are we all ready for an adventure?”

  “Baxter’s a neat place,” said Patrick. “Lots of wildlife, and some of the crittahs are comin’ out of hibernation.”

  “Bears?” Molly innocently asked him.

  “BIG HUNGRY BEARS!” Aden said to his sister with a menacing look.

  She blew him off, waving one of her hands at him, dismissing his terrorizing effort.

  Jess said, “I’ll be bringing a couple of cameras along,”

  Aden looked at Roman before saying, “What’d I tell you?”

  Roman laughed. Like any good mom, Jess was unperturbed by her son’s comment, using his kidding to redefine her actions. “I’ll be documenting our trip,” she said, making light of her professional skills.

  *****

  That evening, the family met up and had a lovely dinner at Justin’s.

  “To new beginnings,” Eli said while briefly standing and raising his glass of wine.

  Everyone toasted to that, with the kids raising their glasses of sparkling soda.

  Julia sipped her wine and said, “We’re so happy to have the three of you—Jess, Aden and Molly, as a part of the family. And we’re very grateful that you’ve accepted us too, warts and all.”

  Roman could always count on his mother to come up with an appropriate, and meaningful way to say something of real importance. Jess, Aden and Molly smiled at everyone and Aden, nodding at Roman, said, “Thanks for caring about us.”

  Looking intently at Aden, feeling the beginning of tears come to his eyes, Roman said, “Thank you, Aden, and,” looking at Molly, “thank you, Molly, for caring about me, and for accepting me into your lives.” He raised his glass to salute the children.

  “Here-Here!” said Eli, as everyone toasted once more.

  *****

  That night, Roman and Jess got into Roman’s big bed, and he admitted, “I nearly lost my balance there,” referring to Aden’s part of the toast. “I wasn’t expecting him to say that.”

  “He loves you,” Jess said. “I know that he does, and I know that Molly does too.”

  “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” Roman replied with deeply-felt sentiment for his family.

  Jess smiled at Roman, in her inimitable way. “You kissed me in that special way…”

  “What else was I supposed to do? You had me locked in a dark room,” he teasingly said.

  “It wasn’t locked,” she softly countered. “There was something in your eyes too—how you looked at me.”

  “You couldn’t see my eyes,” he reminded her, “but I could sure see yours, even if it was dark as pitch in there.”

  “How’s that?”

  “I see them in my daydreams…and in my night dreams. Your eyes are extraordinary windows into the inner you—what makes you tick,” he softly, lovingly replied.

  “Would you like to recreate that first kiss?” she asked.

  “Turn out the light, and we’ll do more than that,” he said.

  *****

  Roman and Aden went across to the city to buy another tent. They also bought a few other camping supplies, and when Roman spotted Aden looking at walking sticks, he proclaimed that everyone in the family who didn’t have one should be outfitted with his or her own stick. Aden was all for that, choosing first a shorter stick for Molly.

  “Patrick and Danny have theirs, but we’ll need to get one for Cheryl,” Roman said. They went about choosing sturdy sticks, with Aden choosing his last. Roman straightened the bill of Aden’s ball cap as he said, “I like how you think, Kiddo.”

  “The truth is—I, uh…broke the one I had,” Aden shyly muttered. “That man I once thought was my uncle—he had given it to me.”

  After they paid for their purchases and left the store with everything, Roman told him, “I know your uncle has hurt you, and everything he’s done has left some deep wounds.”

  “Yep,” Aden agreed. “I’m done with him.”

  They both got in the Navigator, and moments later, as they pulled out of the parking lot, Roman continued the conversation. “There’s an old saying that some in my profession even use, occasionally. The saying goes: ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.’” It was a fitting time to tell the boy about his former life, so he talked a little about himself as they were making their way back to the ferry landing.

  “You mean—your wife was PG?” Aden asked in a stunned voice.

  “Yes,” Roman acknowledged. “We were going to have a baby girl who would now be about Molly’s age.”

  Aden sat mum, thinking about that. The sun was brightly shining, the gulls were squawking nearby at the shoreline, and sea lions were perched on and below the nearby piles of rocks that girded the cliffs.

  “Bummer,” he finally muttered.

  “The man who hit and killed Erin was never the same again. He was a family man who had two kids and a wife. It was definitely not his fault, but, nevertheless, he blamed himself. He told me that every time he looked at his own family, he thought about mine, and was reminded that he’d taken everything I had away from me.”

  Aden asked, “Did him saying those things make you feel any better?”

  “No,” Roman earnestly admitted. “Nothing made me feel any less helpless, nor did it take away any of the pain, or stop the rage I felt from being robbed of a wife and our unborn baby. Nothing...except ti
me.

  “And another chance to be truly happy again,” Roman said, looking at Aden. “I had to wait a long while—ten years. But the wait was definitely worth it and the future I have with your mom, and you, and Molly makes me very happy.

  “Sometimes, things happen in our lives that aren’t fair, and they never, ever will be fair. Bill Leitner is going to have a lot of time while he’s in prison to think about what he did for money and probably power—and what he tried to do to your mother, and to you, and Molly. My guess is—he’ll wish he could turn back the clock, and have a do-over, but he won’t be able to do that.”

  “So don’t waste my time hating him,” Aden muttered, while still looking at Roman.

  “No. He’s definitely not worth your time or the energy that it takes to hate him. You’ve got better things to do, and a future that looks so bright, I’m having to wear dark glasses and squint my eyes—just to get a glimpse of it.”

  *****

  That afternoon, Roman, Jess, the kids and Mona rode over to Roman’s now former home. They took a picnic lunch and a blanket with them, stretched the blanket out near the bluff, and had a relaxing time of being together as a family. Roman noticed that Aden seemed more carefree, and certainly more like a kid his age should be.

  That morning, they had bought a new soccer ball for Mona, and when Aden showed it to her, the hound went into high gear, her tail wagging ninety miles an hour in anticipation of what was coming. Molly and Aden played with her near the front of the house, far enough away from the bluff to prevent a fall or loss of the ball.

  They could hear the kids’ laughing when Jess asked, “Are you going to miss living here?”

  Roman answered, “It’s just a place that, at the time, I needed. I was lucky enough that it was available for lease.”