Ch 120 How long has it been

       

When we were young

   “How long has it been since you’ve been back home?” Donny asked.

          May Lyn sighed. “Too long. Since Chad and I got married and we went to Texas…almost ten years ago.”

          “So…glad to be back?” Donny asked, as he pulled in front of Wendy’s house.

          “Oh, yes!” May Lyn said, gazing up at the house, noting any differences, but it was too dark to see much. “I’ve forgotten how much I love it here.”

          “Go on inside,” Donny said, smiling at the eager look on her face. “I’m sure they’re waiting on pins and needles for you. I’ll get Tristan and put him straight to bed.”

          “Are you sure?” she asked, getting out of the car and turning to see him tenderly scoop up her son, not even awakening him.

          “I’ve done this before…just this week, in fact, several times,” he said, motion her to lead the way to the front door. The door opened before they even set foot on the first step.

“Gees, we thought you’d never get here!” Jasmine shouted, giving her aunt a warm embrace out on the porch.

“Last time I get a flight with a stop in Chicago. What a nightmare!” May Lyn said, smiling at the others as they surrounded her.

“You’re not going anywhere anymore. You’re finally home to stay!” Wendy shouted hugging her big sister, and dragging her into the house. She smiled at Donny. “I can’t thank you enough, Donny. Tristan must have driven you batty at the airport.”

He shook his head. “I’ll put him to bed, if it’s okay.”

“You know the way,” Wendy said.

May Lyn hugged and kissed all around and finally came to Wes and Cindy and she hugged them, too, even though she had no clue who they were.

Cindy giggled. “Welcome home, Mrs…uh… Aunt May,” she said, giggling some more.

May Lyn stared at her. “I don’t know you, do I?”

Cindy giggled again and shook her head. “I’m Cindy Sebastian, Stevie’s … uh... friend and Wes’ sister and Wes is…”

“Janet’s boyfriend,” May Lyn said, staring appraisingly at him. “Well, aren’t you a cutie!”

He laughed as Janet took his hand and squeezed it. Then she introduced them.

“You’re Donny’s boy,” May said, shaking his hand.

“Yes, ma’am,” Wes said. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks, but I’ll only truly be home when I have my own place and we’re out of my dear sister’s hair,” May said, pulling away from Wes and going to her sister. “Miss me?”

Wendy shook her head. “Not even a little bit,” she joked and they both laughed.

“You’re practically twins,” Donny said, coming down the stairs.

“As if!” Jasmine huffed and she stomped up the stairs.

Donny looked around in confusion. “Was it something I said?”

“She’s always been touchy about the twin thing…like she owns it or something,” Janet said, shrugging helplessly. “Don’t listen to her, Mr. Sebastian. She’s nuts anyway.”

“Well, I think it’s time we go home,” he said, putting his arm around Cindy and kissing her cheek.

“Did you bring me anything from the airport, Daddy? You always do,” she said hopefully.

“Uh….I forgot. Too busy keeping Tristan from bouncing off the walls or hijacking a plane.” Donny grinned apologetically at May Lyn, but she wasn’t looking at him. She was in fact rummaging in the shopping bag.

“Your dad is a complete liar, Cindy,” May Lyn said, bringing her the crystal unicorn. “Or he forgot all about this.”

“Oh, Daddy… I love it!” Cindy gushed, staring at the tiny figurine, turning it this way and that to catch the light.

“Wow, that’s really pretty,” Wes said, then he joked, “See? I always told you Dad loved you better than me.”

“He got something for you too, Wes,” May Lyn said, handing him the book. “I’ve been wanting to read it, too. Perhaps you can let me borrow it sometime?”

Wes looked from her to his father and smiled. “Um…I’m kinda busy right now, so… would you like to read it first then give it back to me?”

“Are you sure?” she said.

“He has a major project he has to get done before Saturday, so he has zero time to read right now,” Janet said, snatching the book out of Wes’ hands. “You take it Aunt May. If I know you, you’ll be done with it in two days anyway.”

“See that?” Wes said putting his arm around Janet. “She’s already acting like a wife.”

“I am not!” she indignantly shouted.

“Are too,” he smirked.

“Am not!”

“Enough, you crazy love birds,” Donny said. “These sisters have much catching up to do and we’re just in the way. Good night, Ladies.”

“Donny, I can’t thank you enough,” Wendy said.

“You just did,” he replied.

“Shall I see you tomorrow then?” May Lyn asked.

“Name the time,” he said.

“Nine too early?”

“Just fine.”

“Okay if I bring Tristan?”

“Of course!”

“Um…where are you going?” Wes asked curiously.

“Storefront and apartment shopping,” May Lyn said gleefully.

“I’ll pick you up at nine,” Donny said.

“Thanks, Donny!” the sisters shouted in unison.

He laughed, and winked at Janet saying, “I love twins.”

*****

          “So, what do you think?” Donny asked as he tossed Tristan up into the air just to make him giggle.

          “I think if you keep doing that you’re going to get blueberry pancakes up-chucked all over your nice shirt, but what do I know? I’m just his mom,” May Lyn absently replied, as she looked at the empty storefront from the road imagining it as a health and wellness center.

          “Is this true, Buddy? Would you do that?” Donny asked, tossing the boy one more time into the air.

          “Um…I dunno,” Tristan answered, and then he burped. “Scuse me.”

          “Starting to think Mommy’s right, but that’s our secret,” Donny whispered.

          “No, it’s not. Mommy has supersonic hearing, didn’t you know that?” May Lyn said.

          Donny gaped at her, genuinely amazed that she heard him. “Mommy is scary. That’s what she is,” he said to the boy who nodded.

          May Lyn laughed and bounded across the street. “Be right back!” she shouted.

          “Scary and unpredictable,” Donny muttered, as he watched her do a funny little sidestep on the sidewalk across the street. She went from the deli to the candy shop, she stopped and stared at her empty storefront—hers if she decided to take it, that is—then she went back the other way down passed the deli to the gift shop and a little bit further passed the florist and did the same there. “What in the world is she doing?”

          “I dunno. I gotta go potty,” Tristan said.

          “Oh, well, we can do that while Mommy does…whatever it is she’s doing,” he said. He took Tristan in the book store next door assuming May Lyn wouldn’t freak out when she couldn’t immediately see them.

          “I like it!” May Lyn said out loud, her hands on her hips as she stared at her storefront.  Oh, yes, she was definitely going to take it. She wasn’t thrilled with the tiny apartment upstairs, but for now, it would have to do.

          “Lynnie?”

           She spun on her heels and grinned. She tossed her arms around Jeff and hugged him fiercely. “I wondered when I’d see you,” she said, pulling back. Gazing intently at his face, she could instantly see what Donny meant. He looked rather haggard.

          “Lynnie, when did you get home? I waited as long as I could at the house last night, but…”

          “Plane got in super late and then I was starved and we stopped to eat and… oh, Jeffy, it’s so good to see you again. It’s great to be home.”

          “And they say you can’t go home again,” he scoffed. “Shows how much they know! You look great, Lynnie…good enough to eat.”

          She laughed at their old joke and shifted her hair away from her neck. “Here, take a nibble,” she said.

          He laughed. “So…what are you doing here? I mean in Port Orianco,” he asked.

          She pointed across the street. “I’m taking the storefront across the way for my wellness center. What do you think?”

          He looked at it and smiled. “You always had the Midus touch, Lynnie. You’ll do great. You can do no wrong. As far as I can see anyway.”

          “Then you’re nearsighted…or is that farsighted? Always get those two mixed up,” she said.

          He laughed then shook his head. “Listen, I’d love to chat, but I gotta get back to the shop. Stop by and I’ll make you something pretty. Hey! You’re going to the gala, right? Janet will have a fit if you’re not there.”

          “Well…I…I suppose…if I can get a babysitter,” May said.

          “Wendy grounded Jasmine for about a century so… there’s a built-in babysitter for you. Great seeing ya, Lynnie. Catcha later!” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and running down the block, his sandwich clutched in one hand.

          She stared after him idly wondering what her life might have been like if Jeff had fallen for her instead of Wendy, if she had married him instead of Chad. Just as she shook her head of the fanciful notion, a large black SUV pulled up in front of her. She looked at the driver as he stepped out of the car and her eyes popped open.

          “Oh, my goodness,” she mumbled.

          “I thought it was you, May Lyn…you or a ghost.”

          The next moment she was being hugged to near crushing. She just realized she had gotten more hugs in the past ten hours than she’d had all year, which was a thoroughly depressing thought.

          “Steven,” she mumbled, once she was finally released from those strong arms she hadn’t quite forgotten.

          “You’re the only one who ever calls me that, you know,” he said, grinning sheepishly, which was rather unlike him.

What happened to the cocky grin, the haughty, God’s gift to the world expression, she wondered? “How are you, Steven?” she asked.

          “Same old, same old,” he said, drinking her in like a man finally reaching the river after a dozen mile’s hike through the desert. “God, you look good, better than ever. Am I allowed to say that?”

           She laughed and shrugged. “Heck if I know,” she said, her eyes clouding slightly. “Last time you saw me…I wasn’t at my best, so…”

          Steven nodded remembering that most painful day. “Chad and I might have been bitter rivals, but he was still my brother and I did love him. Don’t think he believed that, did he? When he died.”

“I think he did,” she replied. “I know he wished things were different between you. He… wasn’t one to live in the past, though.”

“No. I’m the one who held grudges. He did steal my girl, after all, so I had the right.”

          “Let’s not revise history, Steven, please,” she said, looking down at her hands. “He just happened to be there at the right time and it helped that he was the right one for me.”

          “I know, I know, I’m sorry. God, I was such a jerk! I let a girl come between us…granted the best girl I’ve ever known…That’s when I started calling him half-brother, just to tick him off. Did you know that?”

She nodded. “Things would never have…but no matter. You eventually found Bonnie and…”

          He shook his head. “No, that didn’t work out,” he said. “We never married.”

           She gaped at him, stunned. “But…we got the wedding invitation. I thought…”

          “Yeah, but I was every bit the jerk to her that I was to you so… She was smart…not as smart as you, but enough to call it off before walking down the aisle. She’s living in Kentucky now, I think, married to some horse breeder guy and I’m alone with my lumber mill,” he said, laughing at himself. “I’m surprised Mom didn’t tell you.”

          So was May Lyn. Her mother-in-law spent all her time bragging about her eldest son’s success, so this didn’t make sense, not at all.

          “So, where is your little guy? I’d love to finally see him in person. How old is he now? Two, three?”

          “Four, coming on five in December.”

          He shook his head sadly. “Five already? So many wasted years when I could’ve been a real uncle to him. I regret that, especially since… Poor kid, he doesn’t have a father.”

He stared intently at her. “May Lyn, w-would you give me a chance now? Could I meet your boy and…I’d love to tell him stories of his dad when we were little troublemakers ourselves, when we used to be each other’s best friends, good things about Chad. I’d like to have a nephew, if you’ll let me.”

She stared at him incredulous beyond belief. This was not the same conceited, arrogant guy she called her boyfriend in high school. Surely some alien had come down to earth and given Steven London a much needed personality transplant.

“Tell you what,” Steven went on. “How about I take you to the Adams Charity Gala this Saturday? All business owners go and… spend an evening with me and then decide if I’m the kinda guy you want around your son. Please say yes.”

“Okay,” she said, before she could stop herself.

He seemed genuinely surprised with her answer, but after a moment he grinned. “Great. I’ll pick you up at…where do you live?”

“My sister’s for now until my stuff arrives and then…” she turned and pointed across the street. “The apartment over the empty storefront. I’m opening up a health and wellness center.”

“No kidding,” he said, looking utterly delighted. “So, you’re home to stay?”

“Looks like, huh?”

“That’s great, May Lyn, really great!” he said.

“Well, thanks. Um…I don’t want to keep you. Loads to do myself. I need to sign my life away for the new shop and planning to do and I hope to buy a car today. I’m on foot until I do.”

“So, how did you get here? You didn’t walk all the way from West Castillo!” he shouted.

“No,” she laughed. “I came with the real estate agent. He’s somewhere around here with Tristan. Maybe they went into the book store.”

“Well, you can have my car,” Steven said.

“What?” she gasped.

“Not this one. Only just got this one and I love it. I have another one at home, that I just never liked, smaller than this one. Only has a few thousand miles on it. I’ll give you a good price on it.”

“So, now you’re a used car dealer?”

He laughed. “For today and only for you. Tell you what. I’ll pick you up tonight after work and you can try the car and see for yourself. If you like it, you give me what you think it’s worth.”

“Would it be okay if I bring Tristan?”

“Sure! I’d love to meet him.”

She smiled and searched a pocket for a pen. She grabbed his hand and wrote her number on it. “Okay, Steven. Call me.”

He grinned at the numbers on his hand. “You do remember, this is how it started the first time, don’t you?”

“With a slight difference, Steven. We’re both older and wiser now…at least I hope I am.”

 He laughed. “I’ll see you tonight, May Lyn. Seven okay?”

She nodded and sprinted across the street, her heart feeling lighter than it had in a very long time.