My Sweet Canadian Girl Ch. 12

"Mom," I said in the same voice I used when she embarrassed me as a teenager.

"I shouldn't have said that. We'll worry about getting you two married first," she said.

"I brought a whole binder full of plans for us to go over this week if we have time," Cassie said excitedly.

"We want to show Susan too," I explained.

"Your sister and I will be happy help in anyway we can," mom said with a smile. "A new granddaughter and soon a new daughter in law," she added in a voice that sounded like she wanted to pinch herself to make sure it was real.

I sat in the back seat of mom's car on the ride to her place. It let Cassie listen intently to mom's vivid retelling of stories from her first week as a grandmother. Sitting in the back didn't bother me at all; it came naturally after years of letting my mother and sister have the front seats. We got stuck in traffic on the freeway so eventually my mother ran out of things to tell us about baby Rebecca. The bag with Cassie's wedding folder was in the back seat with me. Before she could even ask I passed it up to her and leaned over her seat so I could be involved as Cassie filled mom in on the planning thus far. She constantly reminded my mother that these were just the initial plans and nothing would be decided until she got input from Susan and her.

When we arrived at mom's house I noticed the lawn was freshly mowed right away because I was expecting to find it needing a trim. One of the neighbors probably did it for her when he mowed his own. Some day during our visit I wanted to inspect the house looking for anything I could fix before it became a problem for her. Helping my mom out made me feel good and it would be good practice for maintaining our dream home. By the time we got back to Vancouver it would be under construction. The blue prints for our house had gotten final approval from both us just a few days before we left. With a little luck it would be ready to move into before our wedding day.

"What are all these boxes?" I asked finding them stacked three and four high on one end of the living room. It looked like mom was planning to move but she hadn't mentioned anything.

"Alright sit down," she said.

"What is it?" I asked with a touch of fear in my voice that made Cassie reach for my hand.

"It's nothing bad but I didn't want to say anything over the phone that gave you the wrong idea," she said. "These are some of your father's things. They arrived the day Susan went into labor so we put them here for now until he gets a chance to go through them," she explained further.

"Hold on," I said trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Dad moved back in with you?"

"No... well not really," she sighed. "See this is why I couldn't tell you over the phone because I knew you'd get the wrong idea. Just let me explain. Okay?"

"Go ahead," I said sitting back with Cassie holding my hand even tighter.

Leading up to the birth of their first grandchild my parents came to an agreement that they had to put their differences aside. They knew how hard their arguing was on Susan and I growing up and didn't want to put their granddaughter through the same thing. Once dad's divorce was finalized he immediately began looking for a job in LA again and with his impressive credentials he found a good position almost immediately. It didn't leave him much time to get settled before Susan's baby arrived and staying with Brian and Susan would have meant a long commute twice daily through notoriously bad traffic. Mom was thrilled to see him putting the family ahead of his career for a change and offered to let him stay with her for a while.

The way she told the story, she regretted it even as she was making the offer but he graciously accepted and she couldn't back out. At first she felt very uncomfortable having him around all the time after twenty years apart but it got easier every day. Susan was happy too because she didn't have to make two stops to see our parents in the weeks leading up to the birth of her child. They agreed that it was best they wait until I came to visit before telling me. It wouldn't be much longer until dad started looking for his own place again but there were far more important things to worry about with the birth of their first grandchild keeping them occupied.

"Where's dad now?" I asked.

"He went to Susan's right after work. I thought it would be better if I could explain it alone," she said.

"I don't know what to think," I said honestly. Finding out that my parents were living together after spending practically my whole life apart was surreal.

"It makes sense," Cassie said. "They're doing this for their granddaughter."

"How does it work?" I asked.

"He sleeps in Susan's old room and we mostly keep to ourselves when your sister's not here," mom said. "He set up a TV in the bedroom so I have the house to myself really. The bathroom at the end of the hall is his too because I have my own off the master bedroom."

"Does the rest of the family know?" I asked.

"Of course not," mom answered at once. My mother's family didn't think much of my father. Before he passed away grandpa Joe was fond of telling people that he didn't like to say anything bad about Gordon Kellogg so all he would say was that my dad had given my mother Susan and I. "You're not mad are you?"

"No but you shocked the shit out me," I said.

"Richard!" mom said because of my swear word. It made me feel like I was ten years old again.

"Really there's no need for that," Cassie said chastising me with a grin on her face.

"Sorry mom but I think I should be allowed to curse at least once when I find out you and dad are living together again," I said.

It didn't upset me but I'd need some time to think about it before I could say more. My parents had divorced when I was just a toddler and I had no memories of what it was like for the four of us to live together like a family should. There were a lot of advantages to being the oldest child but I didn't envy my sister at all for having clear memories of what life was like before our parents divorced. I can only imagine how devastating it must have been for a six year old to watch her father leave the house and never come back. Cassie comforted me in silence as mom prepared us a late night snack. Despite the failings of my father I had no fear of making the same mistakes. My devotion to Cassie and the family we dreamed of raising together was more important than anything else. No job or other interest could ever rival my love for her and steal the time I was meant to spend with her.

I sat in silence that night as my mom and wife continued chatting about our wedding plans. Thinking about marrying my wife again made me smile but anything about my sweet Canadian girl usually did that to me. I excused myself went to lie down in my old bedroom. After claiming to be tired from the flight, I stared at the ceiling trying to make sense of what my mother had told me earlier in the day. I suppose it was possible that their love for their new granddaughter was stronger than anything else but I thought there could be more to it than that. They both seemed to harbor hidden feelings for each other, even after all these years. I wondered how long they could live in the same house without something happening they could regret. I needed to talk to my father at some point this week and learn more.

Hours later Cassie came to bed red faced from laughing half the night with my mother. I could hear them giggling like schoolgirls from my room. Smiling up at her I said seeing her get along so well with my mother never got old. She coaxed me to sit up and started to undress me for bed. Once I was down to my boxers she changed into a pair of summer time pajamas and came to bed. Holding me gently, she listened to all my fears and soothed away my tears before they could fall. There was no one in the world that could make me feel better instantly like she could. In mere moments she was able to undo what a night of fearful thinking had filled me with.

The next morning we were up early to get ready for our drive to see Susan's baby for the first time. We left the house shortly before eight and made good time in the early morning weekend traffic. I was driving this time with Cassie and my mom in the back seat where they could focus on the binder of wedding plans. We'd brought our suitcase so we could stay with Susan for the early part of next week and the baby gifts were inside it too of course. They lived in San Diego, which was just a couple of hours south of Los Angeles depending on the traffic. I'd only been to their house a few of times and was forced to interrupt a riveting discussion on place settings to ask mom for directions once we entered the city.

"Don't bother to ring the bell," mom said a split second before I would have pressed the button. "Susan gave me a key to let us in."

"You're here early," my sister said coming out to greet us with a wide grin after hearing us enter her house.

"We would have been here hours ago if these two had their way," I said.

"Be good you," Cassie said playfully swatting at me as she squeezed by. "Congratulations Susan," she said hugging my sister tightly.

"Thank you Cassie," Susan said staring at me.

"I'm just waiting my turn," I said stepping close when Cassie giggled and moved out of the way. "She's beautiful Susan," I said choking up with tears as I hugged my sister. "We couldn't be happier for you. We love you so much. I wish we could have been here sooner but we didn't want to book an earlier flight in case the baby came later than expected."

"It's okay Rick," she patting me on the back. "She's sleeping right now but we can go take a look at her if you like. Don't worry she won't be asleep for long though."

"Of course we want to see her right away," Cassie said.

"Not so fast," Susan said catching her by the arm. "I believe you have a ring to show me first. Consider it your price of admission to see the baby."

"This one you mean?" Cassie asked with a grin that split her beautiful face.

"Oh wow such a beautiful ring. You've got my little brother perfectly trained," Susan said giggling along with Cassie at my expense. "I'm so happy for both of you. Brian doesn't have any siblings so you'll be the only sister in law I'll ever have."

"I hope she'll do then," I said.

"You did a good job picking the ring and an even better job picking the right girl to give it to," my sister said guiding Cassie inside and leaving me behind with my shoes still on.

I caught up to them in the hallway outside my sister's bedroom. For now they had Rebecca's crib set up in their room so they were never far away when she cried for them in the middle of the night. There were no more jokes between us as we gazed down at her silently watching her sleep. She looked so tiny with a snow-white blanket covering her. Her little feet in their pink onesie stuck out at the bottom and her thin brown hair did little to hide her head. Cassie squeezed my hand in a crushing grip no doubt filled with the same feelings of love I felt for our baby niece. Now that I finally got to see her in person for the first time I was overwhelmed with happiness.

As happy as we were, the look on Susan's face was unmatched by anyone else in the room, even my mother. Instantly I knew that having our own child was going to make this awesome feeling seem mundane. I pushed that thought aside though to focus on what was important right now; my older sister who I loved and respected was a new mom. As the minutes ticked by my smile never threatened to waiver. I was prepared to stare at my baby niece all day if that's how long she wanted to sleep. Cassie tugged my hand when Rebecca's little feet started to kick roughly twenty minutes after we entered the room as if I hadn't noticed it right away too. I was focused on her face waiting for my first chance to see her big brown eyes and was soon rewarded as she opened them to look around at the smiling faces of strangers.

"Good morning Rebecca," Susan said in the soft voice all women seem to perfect the moment they give birth. She leaned down to kiss her daughter on the forehead and scoop her up in her arms. "Your uncle Rick and aunt Cassie came a long way to see you."

"Hello Rebecca," I said rubbing her chubby little cheek and making her gurgle with giggles.

"Oh Susan she's so beautiful," Cassie said glassy eyed. Cassie placed a hand on Rebecca's head and gave her a little kiss on the forehead too.

"Be careful with how you say that Cassie, I think it's already going to her head. Let's go find daddy," Susan said to her daughter, leading us out of the room. We found Brian in the kitchen as he stepped in from their back yard patio.

"Hey you guys are already here. Sorry hon, your father and I were sitting out on the deck and I didn't realize," he said. "How's my little girl this morning?" he asked.

"She just woke up so she's probably hungry and I'm sure she needs a fresh diaper but with all the new faces to see she's too excited to cry," Susan said.

"Let me go change her for you," Brian said lifting the baby from his wife's arms with surprising tenderness. "When we get back you can feed her."

"Thank you," my sister said.

"You need to stop thanking me every time I do something to help take care of our daughter," he said.

"How about if I say I love you instead?" she asked smiling at him sweetly.

"That's much better," he said leaning down for a kiss. "And I love you too."

While they were gone Susan gushed about how her husband had adjusted to being a father. Instead of spending hours on his computer he barely turned it on unless it was to order something new for the baby. Together they could sit for hours with Rebecca in their arms smiling at her as she filled their hearts to bursting with love. Brian changed every diaper himself as Susan recovered from giving birth in the first few days out of the hospital and still did most of them. Cassie gave me a little elbow in the ribs that made Susan snicker at me.

"You'd get mad at me if I didn't let you change some yourself," I said.

"He's right," Cassie admitted with a smile.

"We're back," Brain said coming into the kitchen with Rebecca in his arms. "Feeding her is a job for you mommy."

"You even brought me my blanket," Susan said.

"I figured you'd want to cover up with company," Brian said.

"I think I'll go talk to dad for a bit," I said when it became obvious my sister was going to breastfeed her daughter. Even with the blanket to hide everything from me I'd rather not be there. Cassie and mom on the other hand has no problem sitting with my sister, one of them reliving memories of feeding her own children the same way and the other fantasizing about holding her newborn baby to her breast for the first time.

"Rick take one of these before I forget," Brian said handing me a cigar from a wooden case.

"Thanks," I said turning it in my hand.

"Don't you dare smoke that. I won't let you get near the baby if you come back in smelling like an ashtray," Cassie warned me.

"I wasn't going to," I assured her. "Here put in your purse for me." I stepped outside and found my dad sitting in the morning sun with a cup of coffee in his hand. For a long time I stared at his back, trying to put the words I needed to say together in my head. Eventually he noticed me and all my planning was for naught.

"Your sister is feeding the baby," he guessed.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"It's the only time I come out here when the baby is awake," he said with a grin.

"So how does it feel to be a grandfather?" I asked smiling back.

"The only thing I can compare it to is the feeling you get from becoming a father. You'll understand how good that is soon enough now," he said. "I always thought being a grandfather would make me feel old, like my life was over but this is a new beginning for me."

"Is that why you moved back in with mom?" I asked. I think he could hear the apprehension in my voice no matter how hard I tried to hide it.

"I see she already told you," he said. "I made a lot of mistakes when you and your sister were growing up. I'd give anything to be able to go back and do it right but I can't. Rebecca is going to grow up with a grandfather who spends as much time with her as he can."

"Did you need to start living with mom for that to happen?" I asked.

"No but she was gracious enough to offer me a bed for the sake of the family. It's only until I can get settled in LA again. I'm already looking at houses so I'll be ready to move as soon as the one Linda and I owned is sold," he said.

"There's nothing between you two then," I said.

"I told you before, your mother deserves better than me," he said.

"The baby is finished eating if you want to come back in," Cassie said from the doorway. If she overheard anything her face hid it well.

"Hello Cassie," my father said in a warm voice. "My son tells me you agreed to marry him. Is that true?" he asked.

"It is," she said smiling and holding out her engagement ring.

"I wasn't the best father when he was growing up, but I'll try hard to be a good father in law," he said hugging my sweet Canadian girl. "Congratulations," he said in a lower voice. "I know you make my son very happy."

"Thank you Gordon," she said. "I promise to take good care of him."

"I know you will," he said. "We better go see the baby before she gets hungry again," he added leading us back inside.

Our first morning with our new niece was remarkable. I was too nervous to hold her myself but Cassie sat next to me with the baby in her arms playing a game of peek-a-boo that had Rebecca brimming with laughter. She and my mom took turns holding the baby while Susan and Brian prepared food for us. Dad sat right next to my mother when it was her turn to hold Rebecca and the two of them smiled at their granddaughter without another care in the world. It looked right to me. Whatever else I thought of their rediscovered friendship, I knew this was important for the sake of the newest member of our family.

While we ate, Susan told us that Brian's parents would be joining us for dinner that night. I looked at Rebecca and told her she better get a good nap this afternoon with not one but two sets of grandparents vying for her time later. Susan held her in the crook of her arm as she picked at her plate with the other hand. She admitted that she was already worrying about shedding her baby weight, even though her daughter was barely a week old. I thought she looked fine and was happy when Brian reached over to squeeze her hand and told her she was beautiful just the way she was. Cassie and my mother noticed it too and smiled approvingly at my sister's husband.

When our meal was over, Cassie and my mother insisted on tidying the kitchen for Susan. She tried to protest but they wouldn't take no for an answer. Cassie even used the 'I'll be family soon' argument to get her way. They refused my help too though I was allowed to sit in the kitchen sipping at a second cup of coffee. Watching Cassie interact with my family, especially my mom and sister, warmed my heart. She was my dream girl in every imaginable way. Seeing how well she got along with my family made me realize she was what they had dreamed of too when they imagined the kind of woman I should settle down with.

"Rick you haven't held the baby yet," my sister said when we'd all gathered in the family room.

"I'm a little nervous about it," I said honestly.

"Give it a try, you won't hurt her," Cassie said.

"You just want me to practice so I won't drop our own baby when we have one," I said, making a joke where I shouldn't have before I could stop myself.

"Rick!" Cassie said smacking me on the arm. "Susan that's not true at all. If he somehow manages to hurt your baby I'll help you strangle him."