Crash-n-Burn Ch. 06

"That's too bad, Cole. But, you do have some consolation."

I glanced back at Estelle, who was playing with Terri and Liz. I smiled, "Yes, I certainly do. I wouldn't trade her for any number of gold medals."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. The difference for me is that I've been close to Rob all my life. I thought I had lost her once, and that was nearly impossible for me to handle."

"But, you worked through it."

"She did. I had to give her the space to do so. And, now we have each other and five wonderful kids." He looked at me. "Just a word of advice. Don't have kids before you're done school. And always check that your birth control is good. Janice and I didn't plan on Angie, but there was a mix-up with her pills that we would have seen if we'd looked for it. I don't regret having her, but we had lots of support back then. It's tough trying to get through school while raising an infant."

"I can imagine. What about the boys? I know they're not yours. What happened?"

"Well, that's a question you'd have to ask Robin about. And, as far as I'm concerned, they are mine. The genetics may not match, but I'm their father in every way that counts."

"Do they know their biological father?"

"Nope. And they never will, if I have anything to say about it. They know of him, but that's it. They don't have any desire to look him up, and I'd actually be worried if they did. I don't want to need a lawyer for them."

"Oh, it's like that."

"Yeah, it's like that. Come on, let's get back to the others. It smells like the burgers are ready."

***

COUSINS

Siobhan and Warbles did stop in for some food, but they didn't stay long. Siobhan made sure to thank Maisie for the opportunity to put on the concert and was thanked in return for getting the other bands together. As we were eating, Estelle's brother and sister showed up. My first warning they had arrived was a woman calling out, sounding like Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire.

"Stella! Stella!"

Estelle's eyes lit up and she looked around. "Maggie! You came."

Her sister was a couple inches taller, with a much more solid build and light brown hair, but there was no denying the family resemblance. She wrapped Estelle in her arms and lifted her in the air, spinning her around.

"Of course, I came. Aunt Maisie invited us, and there's no way I was going to miss this for the world." She let Estelle down to her feet and kissed her soundly. "Sorry we're late. Tommy's girlfriend wasn't ready."

"That's fine," she replied. "So, Tommy has a girlfriend, eh? Where are they?"

"Oh, he was parking the car. She'll probably stay there until she's sure it won't rain again. She wouldn't want to mess up her hair."

"What's the matter? Don't you like her?"

Maggie laughed. "Oh, she's fine. But she's also really girly. Sorta like you when you were younger."

"I still am really girly, Maggie." She pulled me closer. "By the way, I'm not running solo any more either. You remember Cole?"

She stepped close enough for our noses to touch. "Oh, yeah. He wasn't this cute last time we met."

"Actually, I think I was. But I had a girlfriend with me, and you were annoyed that I wasn't climbing trees with you."

"Really?" she asked, gazing into my eyes. "So, do the old rules still apply, Stella?"

"Old rules?" I asked.

"When we were young, we promised that we'd always share everything. Except for a couple times, we've followed that rule." Estelle paused, "I don't know, Maggie. We haven't talked about that kind of thing. I don't want to make it weird, you know?"

Maggie had not broken eye contact with me, and now she grabbed hold of my head and gave me a long kiss. She turned to her sister with a wide smile, "I know. Why don't I bunk at your place tonight? We can catch up. And, if something happens, it happens. If not, no harm, no foul."

"Are you okay with that, Cole?" she asked nervously.

I wasn't quite sure what to say. "Uh, whatever you're comfortable with, Stelle."

"Okay. But, what about Tommy?"

"Don't worry about him," Maggie snorted. "He and Alecia will rent a room for the night. They don't like us to hear them having sex. At least, she doesn't. We know that Tommy doesn't mind being overheard. Oh, speaking of the lovebirds, here they are."

Looking at Tommy was like looking in a faded mirror. He was the same height as me, with an almost identical build. Our eyes were both blue, but slightly different shade and shape. The biggest difference was his sandy hair. I extended a hand as they approached.

"Hey, Thomas. Long time, no see. How are you doing these days?"

He smiled, taking my hand. "Can't complain, Cole. You're looking good. I see my little sister was a good nurse for you."

"You could say that," I laughed. "She definitely managed to help me back on my feet."

"Glad to hear it." He let go of my hand -- and Alecia's, I noted -- and pulled Estelle into an embrace. "Damn, it's good to see you, Estelle. We were scared shitless when you took off."

Alecia harrumphed at the language, but no one paid attention.

Estelle melted into his hug, pulling him close. "I missed you too, Tom. I wanted to see you guys, but I couldn't go back up there."

He stroked her blonde hair. "Why not?"

Estelle shook her head. "Not a good time. We can talk later." She pushed back, and he let her go. "So, who's your friend?"

"Estelle, Cole, please meet my fiancé, Alecia Porter."

She was tall, probably about five-nine without her six-inch heels, and had alabaster skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. She had the look of a model, and her hair was perfect.

"Well, congratulations, Thomas." I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Alecia. Welcome to Hamilton."

"Thank you, Cole." She turned to Estelle and gave a sincere smile. "I've heard a lot about you, Estelle. I'm glad to see that at least some of it was true. Thomas said you looked just like Tinkerbell, but I didn't believe him. Not with Margaret as your twin sister."

"Well, we're fraternal twins. Identical twins are really quite rare, you know." I saw Estelle give her sister a subtle wink. "But you should be aware that twins seem to run in the family. Our cousin Pat Chandler has twins, and Rickard Downs has two pairs of twins. A cousin in L.A. has a pair, and Nana's eldest are twins. They should be here soon; Anne called last night to say James was working this morning."

"That's -- a lot of twins," she said nervously.

"Don't worry about that, Alecia. Not all of those are blood relatives. We'll make sure that we've talked to the doctors and that there are no concerns before we think about starting a family. I'm not in a rush, as long as we're together."

Alecia calmed and wrapped her arms around Thomas. "Thank you, darling. You always know just what to say."

He kissed her gently, making sure not to smudge her lipstick. "I do try."

"I find him very trying, actually," Maggie said in a stage whisper.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Is there any food left?"

"There should be hot dogs and burgers on the grill, and there are a couple salads. Lots of drinks, but all non-alcoholic. City park, you know."

"A water and salad would be fantastic," Alecia said. "And, if we can find a dry bench, I'd like to sit down."

Thomas led her away while Maggie pantomimed sticking her finger down her throat.

"Maggie, they're not that bad."

"No? They're toning it down cause they're in public; the ride down was sickening. God, they're like that all the fucking time now. I can't stand to be in the house when they're together."

"You're still up in Angus? I thought you were going to leave for school."

"Well, I'm in school, but I didn't exactly leave. It's too bad Tom and I were out of town when you came up at Christmas, I really would have liked to spend some time with you. Anyway, when Mom and Dad went out east, they kept the house and let us stay there. I'm in Environmental Technology at Georgian, and I commute to Barrie when school's in session. Right now, I've got a summer job at Borden."

"Ugh. I could never go back to the base."

Maggie stopped, looking at her twin. "I'm sorry, Stella," she said softly. "I shouldn't have mentioned it. Are you okay?"

She shook her head. 'That's the past; I'm good now. And, I've got Cole, so I don't have anything to worry about."

Maggie looked around, making sure no one was in earshot. "I overheard Dad talking to the lawyers. He said you were charged with prostitution and possession of drugs. Is that true?"

"They never charged me with prostitution, and they had no evidence that I was ever involved in that. But, I did have a couple joints when they rounded up a bunch of us who were crashing in an empty warehouse."

"No evidence -- does that mean that you were?"

I was feeling pretty uncomfortable at this point, but the girls seemed to be ignoring the fact that I was there.

"Maggie, I did what I had to do to survive, but I never turned tricks on the street. Some guys tried to recruit me, and I balled them if they didn't take no for an answer. Not a single cop in Niagara could say they'd seen me involved in the trade, all right?"

"You didn't really answer me, sis."

"Well, that's the only damned answer you're getting," she shot back.

"Okay, okay. Hey, change of topic. There are Nana's kids."

Estelle looked where she was pointing. "When did Anne have a kid?"

"Early April. Her name's Aileen, and she is cute as a button. She's got her father's brown eyes, but the rest is all Anne." Maggie grabbed her hand. "Come on, you're the one she's here to see."

Estelle took my hand as she was pulled away, and I followed. I knew Mary Mooney's children, of course. I had suggested that they could watch over Estelle when Brian asked us to take her in. The group we were approaching included more than just Mary's kids. Anne's husband was there, of course, as well as Jonathan's very pregnant wife and their son. In addition, a few of Jonathon's in-laws were present.

"Who are all these people?" Estelle asked as she was dragged along.

"The Dickensons," I replied. "Jonathan's wife is Madeline, my second cousin, and his."

Maggie giggled. "Isn't that naughty, marrying a cousin?"

"They're only second cousins," I said. "Even first cousins are legal in Canada."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, because Maddy's brother married his first cousin about a decade ago. I'm surprised you never heard."

"What can I say? I was only ten. Hey, Anne! She's right here!"

Anne was average. She had the Sinclair family resemblance but was a bit plainer than most of the girls. She was average height, and maybe a little under average weight. Medium brown hair, and medium blue eyes. Her twin, James, was pretty much the male version of her, but a touch over average height. They were in their late twenties, and Anne's husband was about ten years older.

Jonathan was a little shorter than his brother, with blonde hair. His wife was about the same size as Anne, other than being about seven or eight months pregnant. Unlike her cousins and siblings, she had light olive skin, black hair and dark brown eyes. There was a bit of an exotic look to her, which I am sure was part of what had attracted Jonathan in the first place. Even pregnant as she was, she exuded confidence and sexuality. Her somewhat revealing attire didn't exactly downplay that part of her personality.

Anne handed her daughter to her husband so she could embrace both Estelle and Maggie at once.

"Oh, look at you two. You are both looking fantastic. I'm so glad we could make it."

"It's good to see you too, Anne," Estelle said. "Cole's been taking good care of me, even keeping me out of trouble."

She reached over to pull me in for a kiss on the cheek. "I bet he has. Not taking unfair advantage of her, are you?"

I had to laugh at that. I could recall a few games of poker with her siblings that had gotten a bit out of hand. She had no issues with using an unfair distraction in order to win.

"No, I have not. I can honestly say that I am not making Estelle do anything that she does not want to do."

"Good for you. You haven't seen my daughter yet, have you? Dave?"

Her husband passed Aileen back. "Here you go, love."

"Thanks, dear. Isn't she a gorgeous baby?"

As infants go, I had to admit that she didn't look bad. Not that I was much of a judge of that kind of thing. Estelle and Maggie had no qualms about answering.

"Anne, she is gorgeous," Maggie gushed. "Her hair looks like chocolate, and she's got her daddy's gorgeous brown eyes."

Estelle leaned down to kiss her forehead. She whispered, "Hey, little girl. I'm your aunty Estelle. And I'm going to spoil you rotten."

"Oh, you'll need to stand in line for that," James said, stepping around his sister to hug Maggie. "It's too bad you don't like men, Mags. You could make someone a great catch."

She stepped sideways, away from Anne and Estelle, and pulled him down into a headlock. "Who says I don't like men? Maybe it's just I don't want to make out with my cousin."

"Hey," he mumbled past her arm as his hands pushed up along her sides. "We're only half-cousins."

"Keep moving your hands up and you won't be happy."

"I don't know, it might be worth the pain."

She pushed him away with a laugh. "Jimmy, you can be such a jerk. If you were a wee bit polite, you might actually have a chance with me."

He fell to the ground and looked up at her. "I don't know -- we're cousins, after all. That would be really weird, Maggie."

"Like that would stop you. Hey, Jon, why didn't we get the invite to your wedding?"

He gave her a quick hug. "Sorry, we decided on a small wedding, just immediate family. You remember Maddy and little Mark. He's almost two now."

Maggie knelt down. "Hello, Mark. You probably don't remember me. I'm your aunt Maggie."

The young boy smiled. "An' Mag."

"That's right. And the little Tinkerbell here is my twin sister, Estelle."

"'Stelle?"

"Hi, Mark," Estelle said with a smile.

"Hi, Stelle."

I snatched him up quickly, making him squeal. "Hey, Marky."

"Unca Co'!" he laughed.

"Want a shoulder ride, Mark?"

"Uh, huh."

I settled him on my shoulders as his mother reached me, giving me a kiss on the cheek and patting her son's leg.

"Thanks, Cole."

"My pleasure, Maddy. You don't look like you want to chase him around right now." I looked up. "Mark, want a hot dog?"

"Ho' dog!"

Maddy's siblings were all red-heads. At least, the ones who were present. Richard and his wife -- the first cousin I'd told Estelle about -- were currently living way the other side of Thunder Bay and had not made the long drive down. The oldest two came with me as I headed toward the grill.

"You're looking good, Cole," Maddy's brother said.

"Thanks, Rob. How are you and Margaret doing?"

"Pretty good. We're both still at Hydro, but there's a bit of a question how long that will last."

"How so? I though that was a guaranteed job for life."

"Well, the government is looking to break up the company. We're still not quite sure what that will mean for us. We'll keep our jobs, I think, but Marg in particular may be moved when it happens."

"There's nothing saying my job will move, Rob."

"And nothing saying it won't." Rob laughed, "Sorry, Cole. We shouldn't be going on about our problems at your birthday party."

"Don't worry about it. Catching up means learning about the bad as well as the good, right?"

I made up a hot dog for Mark when we reached the barbeque, while Rob put together a couple burgers.

"You're not afraid of getting ketchup in your hair?" Marg asked as I handed Mark his hot dog.

I shrugged. "I probably will. I'll just take a shower when we get home."

"Ugh. I could never do that."

"What's wrong, Marg," Rob gently elbowed her. "You've got red hair. The ketchup wouldn't even show. Some guys would even consider it attractive. I, for example, like to put ketchup on everything."

"Ha, ha. Very funny. If either of us get ketchup in our hair, you can sleep alone tonight."

"I'll, uh, pretend I didn't hear that," I said softly.

"Oh, shit!'

"Really, Marg?" Rob laughed, "You're going to make our cousin think something inappropriate is going on."

"Cole..."

"Marg, I'm not going to say anything. All I really heard was you two teasing each other about ketchup and red hair. But you probably don't want your little sister to catch you swearing in front of her son."

She seemed to relax and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Cole. Oh, sorry -- I got ketchup on your cheek."

Rob shook his head. "And you were worried that Mark would make a mess."

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Wipe your chin, Robbie. You made more of a mess than I did."

"Did you leave anything for the rest of us?" Rob and Marg's younger brother asked.

"Help yourself, David. Where's Jade?"

"Jimmy was getting fussy, so she's with him at the car. She'll bring him over when he settles a bit. I'll take him a hot dog and see if it helps."

I looked up. "How are the hot dogs, Marky?"

"Ho' dog yummy."

"Well, David, I'd say that's a vote in favour of your plan." I glanced at his hand. "So, she still doesn't want to get married?"

He chuckled. "Not in the slightest. She's got no problem shacking up, but seems to think that marriage is an overrated, anachronistic and misogynistic construct that she wants no part of."

"Well, as long as she's sure."

Mark's father arrived. "Ready to come to daddy, Mark?"

"Not done ho' dog."

"All right, you finish up then you can ride on my shoulders. Okay?"

"Mm, hmm," Mark said with a full mouth.

He turned to Rob and Marg's brother. "David."

David smiled. "David."

"They do that every time they meet," Rob said, "even if they've only been apart five minutes. If they were kids, it would be cute."

"Don't try to make fun of your elders," Anne's husband said.

"Oh, I don't need to try, Dave," Rob laughed. "You do a good job all by yourself."

"Be a good boy and get me a couple burgers, would you, young fellow?"

"Sure thing, old man. At your age, I understand that working around a hot grill can be dangerous."

Dave turned to me. "Can you believe him? He treats me like I'm ancient, but he's only two years younger than me."

"Two and a half, old man," Rob said.

I couldn't help but laugh at their good-natured bickering. It was obvious that they got along quite well. "You guys should take your show on the road."

"Oh, you think we'd be popular?" Rob asked.

"I don't know about that, but at least you wouldn't be here, bickering like a pair of old women."

Marg was just taking a drink of pop and snorted, ginger ale coming out of her nose as she coughed.

"Cole, what did you say?" Estelle asked, coming up behind me. "You okay Marg?"

She coughed again. "Yeah. He just gave Robbie a good jab as I was taking a drink."

Estelle looked at me, and I tried to put on an innocent face. "You should be more careful. You don't want her aspirating her drink."

"Oh, I'm sure that Rob would give her mouth-to-mouth if it came down to it," Anne's husband offered.

"Really, Dave? You men can be so gross at times. Cole, your mom was looking for you. She's talking with Anne right now."

I handed Mark to his father. "All right. Catch up with you later. Dave, Dave."

They both laughed and nodded as I followed Estelle to where Anne had found a seat. Mom was talking with her, leaning close. She saw me and gave Anne a hug before standing and coming over.

"Cole, do you mind if I spend some time tonight with Mary's kids? Talking with Anne, I just realized that we haven't really talked about their mother."

"Sure, Mom. Did you need the van?"

"No need. One of them will bring me back later. I, uh, don't know how late we'll be."

"No problem, Mom. Maggie wanted to catch up with Estelle anyway."