Amy - Coming Together

"She's almost fifty. A pregnancy would be very dangerous. And are you prepared to raise a child into your late sixties?"

"What are you getting at Sophie," I asked with more than a hint of irritation.

"As your doctor, and presumably Aunt Amy's as well, I think you should consider a vasectomy."

I could tell that Sophie was bracing for my response and she wasn't expecting it to be favorable.

"That's reasonable," I said.

"Wait," she said, "let me tell you what...did you say that it was reasonable?"

"Yeah, it's a good idea. Can you set it up?"

"You bet, Daddy," she smiled at me in relief, "I'll see what the urologists at the hospital have available."

She jumped up and gave me a big hug. I decided to cut my losses and call it a night.

Part VI

Monday started mundanely but it ended with what I considered a stellar parental moment. Either that or I fucked up in a colossal way but only time would tell.

When I finished work, I found Rose, Steve, and Clare in the house. Rose and Steve were attempting to relax and Clare was making dinner. I decided to see what Clare was making.

"Hey Duncle," Clare said, looking back at me from the stove.

"Duncle?"

"Yeah," she said, "it's a mix of dad and uncle."

I shook my head and grinned. I suspected she was playing a game.

"Is that okay," she asked me.

"I'd prefer it if you picked one or the other," I admitted.

"I want it to be 'dad,' you know," Clare said, "are you going to be? You know...my stepfather?"

Before I could answer she kept going. I think she'd been saving this up. "I know legally you can't but you're still planning on trying, right?"

"There are ways around the system, so I am told," I conceded.

I watched as Clare jumped from stove to oven and then to what looked like a pressure cooker. She'd later tell me it is called an "insta pot." She was in her element and making it all look very easy.

"Can I help," I asked her.

"I've been warned to say 'no' to that," she said and kept working without so much as a glance.

"I'm not that bad," I groused.

"You can keep me company," she offered, "seeing as you and Rose talk to me like a grown-up. I know I have a couple of years left but I think in a lot of ways I'm already there."

I realized I was just given a tremendous compliment. In the conversations I've had with Clare so far, I had learned that she was smart and observant. In a few years, if she kept on this path, she would be a match for me, if she wasn't already.

"How is living with Rose and Steve," I asked her.

"It's okay. It can be awkward, though. I can tell they want alone time but I'm just here. I'd go out to the store or something but I only have my learner's permit."

"Are you ready to take the test, Clare?"

"I think so! Rose thinks so, too. But you're not the ones I have to convince."

"Give your mom some credit. One day, you'll be just as uptight with your own daughters."

"I never said that she was uptight," Clare protested quickly.

"Am I wrong?"

Clare grinned at me. "No, you're not wrong."

"Every mom and daughter go through it," I assured her.

"Rose said that she and Aunt Grace used to really get into it."

I nodded, remembering some of the rows they'd gotten into. The worst arguments Grace and I ever had was because I thought she needed to back off the girls. Grace had some *really* conservative views on how teenagers should behave and Rose was exceptional at challenging them.

"Rose also says that Sophie has your mouth but she has your attitude problem."

Yeah, that was a mostly accurate assessment. Rose may not want to admit it but she had both my mouth and my attitude problem. Really, both girls did. Bully someone in front of either girl and you were in for a rough time. Though with Sophie being only 5'2" it often came off as funny. She taught a few kids in her grade that it may look funny but they had better be ready to find out.

"I was surprised you were so eager to move here," I said, "aren't you going to miss your friends?"

Clare scoffed. "Jess is really my only friend," she admitted, "and she has a car so she can come out any time she wants. And changing schools is no big deal, I never really fit in."

"Why is that?"

"You know why. I know you know why," she said. She looked me right in the eyes.

I knew what she was getting at. I apologize to anyone reading this. You're going to say, "wow, Dave Drake is an arrogant prick," but what I am going to say is still fundamentally the truth.

"Yeah," I said to Clare, "sometimes it sucks being the smartest person in the room."

"Exactly," she said as she dropped more ingredients into one of the bubbling pots.

"It might not be any better here, you know," I said and Clare shrugged in answer.

"But at least there's someone here that gets it."

"Say, do you know what room you want when you move in?" Time to change the subject.

"Rose told me that before Sophie left for college, she had a room downstairs."

"Yeah. Grace and I turned it into storage. Let me talk it over with your mom but as far as I'm concerned it is yours if you want it. You have to clean it, though."

Clare looked quite pleased with my answer. It meant she'd have a little privacy.

Privacy.

Shit. It had its own entrance.

"Uhm..." I stuttered.

"Oh, hey look," Clare said, "the frowny face!"

"So, what's going on with you and Steve's brother?" I just promised Amy's sixteen year old daughter a very private room with a separate entrance. Oh, I was a dead man.

"Oh," she joked, total dad question!"

"Seriously, Clare. Do I need to have a chat with him?"

"We've been on a couple of dates," Clare admitted, "but he is disappointingly hands-off."

"Oh," I said, taken aback. She was complaining that he was hands-off?

"He's scared to death of you and Rose."

"I take it you'd rather he be a little more hands-on?"

Clare paused, deciding what to say next. "This is between us, right," she asked.

"I'm not your dad or uncle right now. I'm the guy talking to you like you're an adult."

"Yeah, I'd like him to be...you know."

"I can't tell you not to...you know," I said, "but I can't say I'd be okay with it, either. You're still sixteen. I get it, teenagers have sed. Adults have to come to grips with that. We can't lock you away like a nun; it doesn't work. Trust me, I know. Just respect yourself and respect him. And respect your mom. Talk to her. Be safe."

Clare scoffed.

"No, I'm serious. Talk to her just like you're talking to me. Be honest and be up front. Be straight with her. Talk to Sophie, too. She's a doctor. I can't stress this enough: Be Safe."

Clare looked at me, thoughtfully. "Do you think Rose will talk to Mom with me?"

"I can all but guarantee it."

"I think I'm going with, Dad," she said.

"What?"

"You. I'm going to stick with calling you, Dad."

"I'd like that," I said.

I sat with Clare and we made small talk while she finished dinner. I occasionally handed her something from the kitchen if she didn't know where in the kitchen it was. We plated the food: Teriyaki chicken breast, rice and a few veggie side dishes. It all looked wonderful and we sat down to eat. And you know what? It was damn good.

Part VII

The rest of the week passed quickly, which I was surprised for, as well as grateful. Amy arrived Friday with a load of personal items and other small sundries. Chris stayed with me while she picked up Clare and headed over to the funeral home. I was left to prep the bedrooms for the kids. My new family elected to keep the beds that I had in my home, they were newer and more comfortable. I prepared one of the rooms for Clare's temporary occupancy knowing that she wanted to take over the basement bedroom.

Amy and I talked about Clare taking the basement throughout the week. She initially wasn't crazy about the idea but Lys and Rose worked her over. At the moment Amy had left it on a "we'll see but probably" basis. Clare told me that she planned on having "the Tyler Talk" with her sometime after settlement. Rose had indeed offered to sit with her and I opted to take Chris to the movies and hide like I did with Rose and Sophie.

I was alerted by Amy to the arrival of the movers at the home, then I got a huge surprise. Amy texted me that Dean and Cal arrived to help situate Amy's extra belongings. I asked her if I needed to come over but she assured me that she was okay and the brothers weren't causing shit. Dean was being outright helpful and Cal was behaving himself, though he was tense.

The moving party eventually arrived at my house and the last furniture, mostly dressers, were stowed in their new homes. Cal didn't join us at the house but Dean did. Just like Amy had told me, Dean was being helpful.

I made sure to provide the required pizza and beverages to the family moving crew and finally, in the early evening, we were able to sit down and relax on the deck.

As we recovered from the lifting, pushing, and pulling, Dean indicated that he wanted to speak with me, so we went inside and sat down in the living room.

"You were right," he said to me, "we've treated you like shit your whole life."

"And?"

"I can't apologize. I mean I can and I am sorry but I know it will sound hollow. I have to find a way to show it. I have to show you that I know Cal and I were wrong."

"What does Cal think?"

"He's still going to be Cal. He's angry at you right now, angrier than I've ever seen him. But I want to make it right between us," Dean said.

"I'm willing to try," I replied.

"For Amy?"

"And for me," I confessed. "Are you accepting of Amy and me, now?"

"Accepting? Yeah," Dean conceded, "but I don't understand it. May with time, I will."

"I hate to sound like a broken record, but what about Cal? Is he going to be a problem?"

"Whatever you said to him last Saturday scared him. I talked to him, he's going to stay away for now, at least until he isn't angry and you've calmed down."

I chuckled, "I've already calmed down, Dean. Shit, I was calm that night."

Dean and I regarded each other for a moment. I could see that he wanted to ask or say something but didn't know where to begin. I prompted him to continue.

"You really love her," he finally asked, "don't you?"

"I really do, Dean," I replied.

"Can you tell me why? Or how?"

"I can't put it into words. I wish I could. Here: Let me show you something."

I went over to the mantle and took my fathers' day gift from Amy down. I handed the frame to Dean and told him that Amy had given it to me.

"She's very talented," Dean said.

"Dean, she drew them on the days the girls were born."

It took him a second to process what I had just said. "How is that possible?"

"She's dreamt of me all of her life," I told him, "I can't explain it but she has."

"Did you ever dream about her?"

"No, but I always knew she was missing, or at least that something was missing. I just couldn't put a name on the feeling."

I explained to Dean what Amy and I had learned from Sully Clive.

"What pisses me off now about grand-pop's interference is that in the end he was fucking right."

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to try and...marry her?"

"If she wants to try, yes. We're relying on her Pennsylvania birth certificate and different last name," I told him, honestly.

"Can I come to it," Dean asked, "you know, the wedding?" Dean almost looked shy.

I waved to get Amy's attention through the window and Amy came inside.

"Dean wants to know if we get married can he come to the wedding," I said.

Dean looked at both of us, nervously. Amy's mouth dropped open for a moment before she got her thoughts together.

"Yes, of course you can. You're my brother," Amy told Dean.

I could see Dean was a little emotional. "Thank you," he said after a long moment.

Amy reached out and gave him a hug. Her eyes were glossy with tears.

"I'm not going to tell Cal any of this," Dean promised.

"Good plan," I agreed. "He'll either come around or he won't. The choice is his."

Dean nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Why the change of heart," Amy asked the question on both of our minds.

"I don't want..." Dean struggled with what he wanted to say, "I don't want to end things thinking you and Dave hate me. I want to be part of your lives."

Yeah. Dean said "your lives." He, for the first time in my memory, included me and it was positive.

"I don't hate you," I said, "but I haven't often liked you."

He and I exchanged glances and we both started laughing. Was this perfect? No, not at all. But it was a start and that is far more than I had ever hoped for.

Part VIII

Everyone finally went on their way for the night. Somewhere along the lines we got a message from Bill that he was sorry he couldn't make it up but he planned on being here tomorrow. It was exciting. Amy would go to settlement tomorrow and tonight was Sophie's last night at the hospital. We were finally all together.

Amy set an alarm for way too fucking early. We climbed into bed, both completely exhausted.

"I'm sorry, I'm just too tired to fool around," Amy said.

"That makes two of us," I agreed with a yawn.

"Are you coming to settlement, with me?"

"Of course," I said.

"I want to run through everything and look at what has to be updated. It shouldn't be much but I have to make sure its all up to code. And I have to order the new signs. I have a lot of work ahead of me," Amy said, making plans in her mind.

"I was thinking," I said, "when we go to Gettysburg next week."

"Yeah," she said, distracted.

"I think we should stop by your parents' place."

"Oh, that'd be nice. They'd love to see you."

"I think we should stop by your parents' place and have the conversation with them." In my mind the word conversation was capitalized by now."

"Speaking of conversations, do you know what Clare wants to talk to me about tomorrow?"

"She's dating Tyler, Steve's brother."

"Are you shitting me? They haven't...done anything, have they?"

"No, but it isn't...hey! You changed the subject!"

"Did I? Sorry. You know what, I don't think they're going to be home," she stated, "I think they're going to see my grand mom."

"But didn't you just say they'd love to see me?"

"I'm tired and I wasn't thinking," Amy countered.

"What's going on," I asked.

"I was moving my home all day and I'm tired, that's all," Amy said quickly. I had no doubt she was dodging something.

"Amy," I said carefully, "we need to tell your parents. We can't lie to them. Especially if you're serious about getting married."

That seemed to get her attention.

"I get that," she said, "but ..."

"You're scared, aren't you? Honestly telling your parents is the least scary of the conversations. I really think they're going to be okay."

"We don't know that. I thought Dean and Cal would be okay and look what happened. You almost got into a fist fight with your brothers. They almost called the police!"

"I can't imagine them calling the police on you, or me," I pled with her. "Amy, I do want to marry you."

"And I want to marry you, too Dave," she said.

"Then we have to tell your parents and Allen."

"I'll think about it," she said. Yeah, I knew what that meant. I should have shut up but I was upset.

"For a woman who never met her you sound like our mother. 'I'll think about it' always meant 'Shut the hell up.'"

She took a deep breath and held it for a second. Yup, I went too far.

"I don't want to fight on my first night living here," she said, "I'm tired. You're tired. Please let's get some sleep. I really will think about it."

Amy reached over and gave me a kiss. She was upset. She was scared.

"I'm sorry," I relented, "I shouldn't have pushed."

"I love you, David. Nothing is ever going to change that."

I decided to talk to Aunt Ellie. She'd become pretty close with Emma and Saul and maybe she could give me some insight. In the meantime, I knew when to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes I ignored that instinct but right now I knew to pick my battles.

"I love you, too, Sis. We'll figure it out; that's what we always say, right?"

A ghost of her smile returned, "That's right. Now shut up and hold the bridesmaid."

"Nah, she's okay. But I'd rather sleep with my sister."

"Perv," Amy teased.

"Right back at you," I yawned.

We fell asleep with Amy in my arms. I had a feeling I wasn't going to sleep well, though.

Thankfully, I was wrong.