Best Friends Forever

"Well, Claire we're pregnant, Jim and I," she said. The look on Claire face was actually comical; well, I thought that it was.

"Oh my God!" screamed Claire. "Congratulations!"

"Well thank you for that," I said.

"Indeed," said Ann.

"How? When? Talk!" ordered Claire.

"Well, two days before the wedding I realized that I'd missed my period, I was maybe four weeks overdue. I'm not that regular anymore, but I was feeling kinda funny," said Ann. "So, I took one of those pregnancy tests you can buy at the pharmacy. It was positive. Then, to be sure and all, I went to the doctor yesterday and he confirmed it; I'm two months along: I'm pregnant as hell."

"I am just flabbergasted," said Claire. "But this is wonderful news. Can the two of you stay for dinner? I know that Rodney's going to want to hear from you guys first hand." I looked over at Ann. She nodded.

"Okay, sure," I said.

******

The next months were so busy it was almost too much for me, and I know for a fact it was too much for my wife. But, we did get through it, and here we were in the waiting room.

I was sitting on a stool near the door glancing at that door a dozen times a minute or so it seemed. Rodney and Claire were across from me. They were watching me. The McCreadys were still on their delayed honeymoon, and wouldn't be back for a few more days. It had evolved that Gerald really wouldn't accept any big money from the Pollards, and had had to delay their honeymoon to Cabo because they didn't have the money quite at the time, but they'd saved and now they were in Baja. He did accept one expensive wedding gift, Rebecca had forced him to, but that was it. Oh the gift? It was a new Chevy Silverado. Oh, and he did smile broadly when he saw it.

We'd been informed, three months earlier that Ann would be having twins. That worried me on several fronts. Would her delivery be too difficult for her, would the children—the both of them—be healthy? I was aware that twins were often born underweight. At any rate, I was worried.

Rodney'd been reassuring me, mostly unsuccessfully, the whole three hours we'd been in the room that everything was going to be fine. Claire for her part seemed as nervous as I was; I wondered at that.

The double doors swung open and the doctor, Doctor Wentworth, Ann's gynecologist, emerged and he was smiling. I relaxed. The Pollards stared.

"One of each," he said. I didn't faint, but almost. "The boy was first; she'll have a big brother."

I started laughing, uncontrollably. "My God!" I said.

"Oh my!" said Claire, her hand went to her mouth in surprise though in point of fact it wasn't actually a surprise.

Rodney was hugging me. I don't even know for sure if I realized he was hugging me; I guess I did, but I really wasn't sure. He pushed himself back a little, his hands firmly gripping my upper arms. Claire stood back, eyes big and looking—something.

"Congratulations, my man, fucking congratulations," said Rodney Pollard. I started bawling.

"Mister Clausen, you'll be able to go in shortly. The nurses have to do their thing first. One of them will come and fetch you," said the doctor. I nodded wiping the torrent from my eyes.

******

We'd been home two days before the Pollards came calling. I was grateful for the brief delay in their appearance. Both Ann and I needed to make plans for their arrival that was both our gift to them and, well, a little revenge for me; and no that isn't an oxymoron, not in this particular instance.

"Come in, come in," I said, "Ann's in the den with the babies." I led the parade to the den.

"Oh how beautiful they are," said Claire. Rodney was smiling and standing over her shoulder as I walked around to the other side of the lounge chair she was situated in.

"Becca and Gerald will be home tomorrow, and I'm sure they'll be by then," said Claire.

"Good, good," I said. "I would like to formally introduce you to our babies." I got a look from Rodney. He'd already met the twins three days before.

"Okay sure," he said.

"Mister and Missus Pollard I would like to introduce you to our new family members Rodney and Claire Clausen," I said.

"Huh?" said Rodney.

"Huh?" said Claire.

It was clear that for the moment my words were not tracking well in their conscious minds.

"Oh my God," said Rodney. The man began to choke up. It was obvious that I had actually stopped him cold in his disbelieving tracks.

He came at me, not to me, but at me and hugged me so hard it actually hurt. Ann got similar treatment from Claire. Then, the two of them switched victims. I even got a kiss on the lips from Claire that did embarrass me a little, not much but a little.

"Jim Clausen, I love you, we love you," said Claire. "And Ann, you are wonderful and we love you too." Then everybody was tearing up and then I got the bottle of wine I'd thought to purchase for the occasion, and we toasted each other and the future and the weather and everything else we could think of to toast.

Over the next little while, the two visitors held the babies taking turns with the each of them. Then, Ann put the babies to bed in their cribs. Then we adults finished the bottle of wine while talking incessantly and mindlessly about the day's happenings and the future.

"Jim, can you and I talk a little?" he said. "I mean man talk." I nodded. We headed outside to the patio. At least the weather was half way decent; it had been so damnably cold earlier in the year. But, this was April, and it had warmed up since the babies arrivals.

******

"We've come a long way, man," he said.

"Yeah, that's so," I said.

"Jim, I was king of the assholes doing all that I did. That you've been willing, I might even say able, to forgive me. I, well, I have no words. I just want to thank you so damn much and guarantee you that I will always have your back and Ann's forevermore," he said. He was being so earnest I almost wanted to laugh, but I didn't.

"Well thank you for that, all of that," I said. "But it's all good now. The past is behind us. Tell Claire that when you get home. I want her to know that it's all good. Okay? And you've done enough for us already."

"I will tell her; I promise you that," he said. "And Jim, We want to be the babies' godparents. Okay?" he said. I nodded. I hadn't even thought of that. But it seemed the right thing to do given everything.

We headed back inside. The two women were in deep conversation.

"We have a babysitter whenever the need might arise," said Ann as we came in.

"Good," I said, "that's good."

"And there's something else," said Claire.

"Oh," I said.

"Yes," she said. "And, I've already cleared it with Ann."

I looked over at my wife askance; no suspicion, definitely suspicion painting my features I was sure. "Ann?" I said.

"Yes, dear," she said.

"You and I have a date," said Claire, "at the Crossroads tomorrow evening."

"Huh?" I said.

"Yes. You just got done having your 'man' talk with Rodney. Tomorrow night we are going to have an ex-spouses talk, oh and a lot of fun," she said. My look caused a typhoon of purposeful laughter to erupt in the Clausen household.

******

"So you're going to have it out with him tomorrow night," said Rodney.

"I wouldn't put it exactly like that. More a case of him finally coming to grips with several truths," said Claire.

"Truths?" he said.

"Yes, one, that you and I still love him and that we have since day one and still do. Two, he has to let us help him when it comes to his family's medical stuff. We, you and I, know for a fact that he has no clue how much those legs of his cost and are going to cost: he could never afford them, not those particular ones. Three, both he and Ann need to realize that we are going to be true and real godparents to our namesakes. And four, that I, and I mean 'I', still love him in every way and that he should have let me prove that to him back in the day.

And, yes Rodney, I love you even more than I ever did him; but that said, he was never able to understand my need to have the both of you both in my heart and in my bed. And yes, all of that is by the boards now; but it was true at the time. That he has found true love in Ann, well, that had to be an act of divine intervention. So yes, several truths," she said. He nodded.

"And you figure to get him to accept all of that?" said Rodney.

"I do. I know it's going to be hard for him, some of it, eve now. But, I'm going to give him the skinny, the truth, of all of it tomorrow. He's going to finally understand our commitment to him and his family; and, that we are not brooking any demur on his part," she said.

"Whew, you've brokered yourself and big ass challenge there woman mine," he said. "But, I'm with you. And, yes, I do know that I can't be with you for this one. It has to be you, and you have to be convincing as hell!"

"That is a fact," she said, "oh, yeah, that is a fact."

******

We'd just finished eating lunch when I heard the knock on the door.

"Well hello McCreadys," I said. "Come in, come in."

"Good to see you again, dad," said Gerald. He'd stopped me for the briefest of moments.

"Well, hi to you too, Gerald," I said.

"Hi dad," said Rebecca. "We just got in three hours ago. It was great by the way. We loved Cabo."

"Well, good," I said. "We want to hear all about it. But first your siblings await you." I ushered them into the den, Ann's favorite hangout when she wasn't doing stuff.

The lounge chair had become her territory. "Well hi," said Ann. "You guys look—something."

"Yes, anxious to see my brother and sister," said Rebecca.

She went to Ann and peered into the eyes of the little boy.

"And this is?" said Becca.

"Your dad didn't tell you?" I said.

"Haven't been to dad and mom's place yet. Wanted to come here first. We'll be going over there tomorrow," said Rebecca.

I was surprised. Maybe I shouldn't have been but I was. I think it was the first time that Ann and I had been first on Rebecca's list in anything. At any rate I couldn't think of an exception to such.

Rebecca had been eyeing her brother, half-brother, but now she turned to the rocking sleeper next to Ann's chair. She reached in and stroked the baby's cheek. "They're beautiful," she said.

"This is Rodney and that's Claire Clausen," said Ann with a straight face.

"Huh?" said Rebecca.

"Rodney and Claire," I said, also deadpanning.

"Dad?" said Rebecca.

"Huh?" said Gerald, also not knowing exactly what to say.

"Yes, they are named after them," I said, "for all of the kindnesses they've shown us."

"Oh my," said Rebecca. "Mom and dad must've gone nuts hearing that."

"Hmm, a bit of an overstatement, but I do think that they were happy about it, yes," I said.

The party was underway. And it was a party; three bottles of wine consumed makes it a party. They had to hear about how the two senior Pollards reacted to having the babies named after them and why. And we had to hear about their honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas.

I had to allow that Ann and I were hoping to vacation down Baja way one of these days. We couldn't afford it at the moment and of course the babies would need a sitter who was family even if we could. And yes, Claire had previously volunteered, but it was too soon for any of that now even if we could afford a vacation like the one the kids just got back from which, again, we couldn't.

"Well one of these days," I said, finally talking about us going down to Cabo.

Ann smiled. "Yes, honey, we'll be going but not quite yet. The babies are going to need to get settled in first," she said, laughing.

"For darn sure," I said.

CHAPTER 26:

Ann drove me to my "date" with Claire. I could have done it: driven with my hand controls, but it was still a challenge, and so I didn't do it often. The babies were in the care of Becca while Ann and I drove to the Crossroads. Becca had volunteered at our little party earlier in the day before once she'd heard about the proposed meet up of Claire and me.

We pulled into the parking lot. She gave me a kiss and told me to behave myself. I allowed that I would likely not be given the opportunity to do aught else, and she laughed.

"You never know, stud. We women are more than unpredictable," she said.

"Yeah, right," I said. And then I was walking into I knew not what.

I'd no more than gotten in the door than Jackie Dela Torre intercepted me and led me to a table at the far end of the room. The two of us would not be exactly cloistered, but we were kind of out of the way of foot traffic. I counted that as a good thing.

The drinks were already on the table and Claire's was half gone.

"Well hello, stud," she said. She and Ann would have to get their act together at some point. Their scripts were beginning to be tritely repetitive.

"Hmm, yes, stud: that's me," I said. "It was in the newspapers." She snickered.

"Well, have a seat," she said, and she moved over a bit clearly indicating that I should sit beside her not across from her—weird. I did as she asked; this was her show, a show I'd like to have read the synopsis of ahead of time.

She took a sip of her drink. That kinda woke me up. I picked up my drink and took a sip too.

"So—okay—what am I supposed to do?" I said.

"Well, this is our date. It's been a long time in coming. But, I think we need to go slow. We'll have our drinks. We'll talk a little. And, I mean if you want, you could ask me to dance. You know when the DJ gets his act together," she said.

"Okay, but I'm gonna need at least one more of these before we do much else. Would that be all right?" I said.

"Of course it would be all right kind sir," she said. "So, did the kids show up today? I assumed they did because I know you needed a babysitter for a little while. Ann and I talked."

"Uh, yes, well Becca did. She said they'd been to your place earlier today," I said.

"I need to say, and I know I've already said it; but I'm honored that you did what you did with the names," said Claire. I nodded.

The DJ was starting. The first song was a slow one. I went for it. "Would you honor me with a dance pretty lady," I said.

"Well of course kind sir," she said.

We made it to the dance floor; I don't think I looked too crippled. We flowed slowly around. She melded herself to me and it felt oh so good. h, and she wasn't wearing a bra. It brought back memories I'd pushed to the uttermost back of my mind afraid to even think about them. Now, I was thinking about them and I didn't feel bad thinking about them. I had to believe that she knew what she was doing. What was absolutely true was that I didn't know what I was doing.

The song ended and I led her back to our booth.

Our second round of drinks was delivered. We sipped them slowly and with feeling. She was sitting close to me. The smell of her was oh so female. Oddly, I was thinking of Ann. Yes, she smelled just like Ann. It had to be by design, but would she? Could she have? Weird!

Jimmy put your arm around me. I need you to cheat a little," she said.

"Cheat!" I said. Suddenly I was confused.

"Just do as you're told," she said. I did as she told me, but tentatively. She snuggled up against me.

"Jimmy, I arranged for us to have this evening together because I have some things I need to talk to you about, and to kind of demonstrate how it is that you and I and yes Rodney too need to deal with each other from here on out. Would that be all right?" she said. "Please say it's all right, Mister, please?"

"Okay, I guess so," I said. The music continued to be slower R&B stuff: my kind of music. Claire's too if it came to that, well, it used to be.

"Jimmy tonight is a real date and a real watershed for our future relationships: yours, mine, Rod's, and Ann's," she said.

"Huh? Okay. But huh?" I said.

"Just go with the flow. I'm leading tonight. Okay?" she said.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay, well, Jimmy that day so long ago when you caught me and Rod doing it, it wasn't the bad thing you thought that it was. I had every intention of remaining your wife. I loved you then and I love you now, and yes I mean that way. Of course you're married now to a wonderful woman, and I'm married to a wonderful guy. And before I go any farther I need to get a couple of things straight with you about this little date. Both Ann and Rodney know what I'm going to be doing and talking about tonight. And, I need you to let me do and talk. Of course at appropriate moments you can ask questions or comment what all. Okay?" she said.

"I guess so, yes," I said.

"Okay then. Jimmy, one: I need you to realize that I am not shitting you when I say that I love you. The physical stuff is almost by the boards now; well, it will be after tonight. I'm with Rod and you're with Ann. I see those as good things. I see those things at base as putting an end to the bitterness and heartache that has characterized our relationship, yours and mine, for so long. Are you with me Mister?"

"Yes, ma'am, I am," I said. And, I was.

"Okay then and two: Jimmy, you are a proud and strong man. Yes, you've lost your legs and that is something that weighs on me and Rodney too, every day, heck every waking hour of every day. Rodney, without even talking to me about it got those specially made artificial legs for you and arranged for you to have them adjusted, as you will need to do periodically forever, at no cost to you. Jim, you have to accept that from us as our gift to you for all you have done for us. No argument, Jim. You owe it to yourself to let us pick up the tab for it. We're rich, super rich actually, and the cost is no big deal for us in that respect as it definitely would be for you—way beyond you actually. Also, you owe it to your wife to be able to be able to walk and dance with her and all of it. The legs will allow you to do more for her than you otherwise might," she said. "Oh, and she'll be getting a leg like yours in the near future as well."

"Claire, I knew that these legs were going to be expensive; that's pretty damn obvious. And, I got a call a week ago from Grayson for an appointment next month to adjust the calibrations on them as the woman said. She wouldn't tell me, or maybe didn't know what the cost would be for the adjustment, when I asked her; but Claire I'm asking you," I said.

She looked at me kind of sheepishly. "Do you really need to know, Jim? There really is no purpose to you knowing," she said. "There is no upside to you knowing, really, I'm afraid it'll just weigh on you."

"Claire, I need to know. I know they're expensive like I said. They're computers for goodness sake. But Claire, I need to know, please. And, let me ease you mind. I will not let knowing weigh on me, not at all. Okay?"

"Okay, then Jim. Rodney told me that if you had to know that I had to tell you. So this is it James Clausen. The legs were $70,000 dollars. The estimated cost for servicing them over the lifetime of the user, you, is upwards of two million. The payments are automatically made when due without stint or delay. Jimmy, Rodney has arranged for that against all possible eventualities. Do not over think this. Jimmy we, Rod and I, are worth upwards of four billion. I'm telling you this, not as a matter of personal conceit believe me. No it's because I want it out in the open because I do not want to be fighting this battle with your proud self every which time in the future. Yes, we're rich, and we're alive to be rich because of you! O-fucking-kay!" she said. I nodded. The numbers she was dumping on me were overwhelming; nodding was the best I could do.

"Sweet Jesus!" I said. "I knew that these things cost money. A friend of mine who was in the Army, a guy I met here at the Crossroads, told me they were likely around twenty grand. But that much . . ."

"Maybe the military can get them cheaper or the VA or something, but I can tell you I do know what I'm talking about," she said. "Jimmy, are we okay on this one?"