Thorne Ch. 11

At five-fifty five; everyone was waiting for the doorbell to ring. At six on the dot; it rang. Celeste happened to be the one closest to the door opened it. She looked up into the face of her aunt who looked back at her with an unreadable expression. Juliette stepped behind Celeste and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Come on in, everyone is here," she invited.

Juliette stepped back taking Celeste with her. Barb walked by the little girl without speaking to her or sparing her a glance. Thorne however stopped, bent down and opened his arms to her. Celeste stepped into his arms and hugged him back.

"How are you?" Thorne asked as he kissed her cheek.

"Fine-how is Aiden?"

"Aiden?" Thorne asked. "Who is Aiden?"

Celeste stepped back so that she could look into Thorne's face.

"The baby- that's his name," Celeste said and giggled at the expression on Thorne's face.

"He chose his name?" Thorne asked flabbergasted. "When did he do this?"

"He just told me," Celeste replied.

Thorne was speechless. The more he was around the Yancy family, the more he wondered about their background. All of them with the exception of Barb seemed to have some kind of strong psychic ability. Gene he didn't know about as he had never met him. He was beginning to understand that he was an ally to not one strong family; but two. He made a mental note to ask Ethan what he knew about the Yancy's when he met with him.

"So his name is Aidan," Thorne said. "Is there a middle name?"

"No," Celeste replied. "He just wants to be called Aiden."

"Why Aidan?" Thorne asked himself.

He looked up to see Barb watching them and kissed Celeste on her cheek.

"Do you remember what I told you?" he asked holding her by her arms. "I told you that your power is yours to share only if you choose to share it. I also told you that if you ever need anything from me, it's yours. I and my son are in your debt. We'd better go in; I think that they are waiting for us."

Thorne took a seat next to Barb after he helped her into her chair. He seemed oblivious as the other males catered to their mates. He caught Barb looking at him from the corner of her eye and ignored her. Apparently she hadn't believed him when he told her that he wasn't going to pretend that they were the happy couple.

When she thought no one was looking, she stared at Celeste who caught her, stared back and smiled at her. Instead of returning the smile; Barb looked away. After the dinner dishes were cleared, the planning for Gene's arrival began. Thorne watched as the Yancy siblings with the exception of Barb good naturedly teased each other. It brought back memories of his brothers.

"So Barb," Kevyn said, "what would you like to do? I'm sure that Louise wouldn't mind an extra pair of hands in the kitchen."

Louise looked at Kevyn and then at Barb and waited for a response. Several seconds passed before Barb said anything. It was obvious to everyone watching that she was trying to make a decision. If she said no, she would be proving Juliette right. Saying yes would prove that she had no real ill will toward her youngest sister.

"Sure, why not?"

"Great," Louise said. "We'll talk before you leave and exchange ideas...Do you still remember grand mom's rice pudding recipes? She had two or three. I meant to copy them, but I never did. I looked for the notebook that mom kept, but I couldn't find it."

"I-I have them," Barb confessed. "I took mom's notebook when we packed up the house."

All of the Yancy's looked at her. They knew that she had taken items that she considered valuable, but the notebook didn't fit into that category. She had never shown any real interest in the old family recipes. No one had asked where it had gone assuming that either Louise or Kevyn had it.

"Is it where you can easily get to it?" Louise asked seeing Barb's embarrassment.

"I... yes..."

"I'm glad that one of us has it," Kevyn said. "I had kind of forgotten about it until now."

Barb was actually surprised when no one jumped on her about having the notebook. In truth, she had taken it because she thought that one of the others- namely Louise would want it. Looking back on it, it was a mean and childish thing to do.

"So why did you do it?" The voice asked.

The evening ended with the men insisting that the women weren't going anywhere without them.

"We've only got two weeks!" Kevyn exclaimed. "We'll get more done..."

"Either we accompany you or the condo stays pink," Patrick said. "And besides, it isn't that big. We can have it ready within a week. So I guess you ladies need to decide when we're going shopping."

"This is Tuesday," Louise said. "We have an appointment with Gretchen tomorrow at nine- Barb when is your next appointment?"

"Ten on Wednesday, but I don't know if Thorne is free..."

"I'm free," Thorne replied. "But may I make a suggestion?"

"Go for it," Leon said.

"Since the ladies are concerned about the time element, I suggest that we go to one of our warehouses. Surely between all of us there will be suitable furniture that Gene will be happy with. I'm sure that we also have dishes and other things needed for the kitchen too."

"Ummm Thorne," Patrick said, "Great idea, but you're kind of missing the point. They want to go shopping."

Thorne understood. The women wanted things to be as normal as they could be for as long as it lasted.

"Soooo how about eleven pm on Wednesday?" Kevyn asked. "We can call the stores and make the appointments."

The discussion went on for several more minutes with Barb not participating. She was feeling very uncomfortable. She had half hoped that one of them would have jumped her for taking the notebook. That way she would have a valid reason for not being involved with them.

"Okay," Kevyn said, "we'll meet at the kitchen and appliance store at eleven- does that work for everyone?"

After the meeting broke up, Louise went to Barb.

"I'm really glad that you came."

"But?"

"But what?" Louise asked. "I'm glad that you came. All of us are. It'll be good to have all of us together again."

Barb walked away without responding. She was ready to leave. If she stayed any longer, she would say something that she would regret.

"Finally," the voice said. "You are learning."

Thorne was waiting for her by the front door. "Wait here," he said and slipped out.

He pulled the car up to the front, got out and went back into the house for her. He was going to tell her that the baby had picked out his name, but changed his mind when he saw the expression on her face. The other thing was she would accuse him of unilaterally naming the baby after telling her that she would have a say. Hell, he didn't even have a say, but he had no problems with believing Celeste. He had no problems with Celeste period.

"What were you two talking about?" Barb asked as soon as she was in the car.

"Who?" Thorne asked. He had talked with several people that night.

"You and my niece," Barb snapped. "What did she say about me?"

Thorne rolled his eyes and sighed before answering her.

"Not that you'll believe me, but she didn't mention you. Should she have?"

"Then what did she say?" Barb insisted.

"We talked about the baby," Thorne replied. "I also promised her protection and that if she ever needed anything, it was hers."

Thorne reconsidered his decision to tell Barb about the baby's name. Her reaction was going to be the same no matter when he did it.

"There's something else," he said glancing over at her. "We don't get to choose the baby's name- he's already chosen it."

"He did what?" Barb asked obviously not believing him. "Who told you that? Celeste? Do you believe everything that comes out of her mouth?"

"Tell me Barb," Thorne said coolly, "tell me of one instance where she's lied. She knew about you didn't she? She knew when you were thinking about harming our son didn't she? Give me one good reason as to why I should doubt her."

Barb sat back in the seat. She couldn't come up with one single time when Celeste had lied even before Thorne. The girl couldn't even utter the slang for behind without blushing.

"What's the name?" Barb asked.

"Aidan- it's Gaelic for fire."

There was no conversation between them for the rest of the ride home. When they arrived, they were met at the car by Adrianna and Cheung. Barb didn't acknowledge them when they spoke to her. She went straight to her room, shut the door and lay on the bed fully dressed. Realization was dawning. Nothing in her life had turned out the way that she had envisioned it.

*****

Thorne sat in his office waiting for Eustace to show up. His appointment was as eight and the appointment with Gretchen was at ten. He could have changed his appointment to better suit Eustace's schedule, but to his way of thinking; he was paying Eustace a shit load of money so he would just have to deal with it.

Eustace appeared just before eight, sat down and made himself comfortable.

"Tell me what happened," Eustace said skipping the formalities. "Wow," Eustace murmured when Thorne was finished. "And no apology?"

"Not unless you consider saying I'm sorry that you saw that an apology," Thorne replied. The bottom line is the only thing that she's sorry about is that I saw her. That knowledge forces her to take a look at the part that she played in our lives. Poor Noel got fucked all the way around and part of that is my fault. I knew that he was catching hell from our father and I left him there. I was so anxious to get away that I closed my eyes to what was happening to him. That's something that I can't lay at my mother's feet."

"If you could go back, would you have done anything differently?" Eustace asked.

"I would have stayed in my bed." Thorne said quietly. "Maybe if I had done that, things might have turned out differently. I might have taken Noel with me when I left. If I had, maybe he wouldn't be so fucked up."

"So it all comes down to a little boy who needed his mother and got much more in the bargain," Eustace said.

"Partly," Thorne replied. "I could have gone back for him. I could have sought counsel sooner, but like many things; it takes a major event in one's life to initiate change. My major event is my son. I won't sit here and tell you that my goal is to have a mother-son relationship with my mother. That isn't going to happen. I won't tell you that I have or am going to change my views on women like her, but-I will say that I understand that they deserve respect as anyone who is living does."

"Where does that put your mate?" Eustace asked. "Isn't that part of the reason that you're together?"

"Yes and I take my share of the responsibility for that," Thorne replied. My mate and I have reached an understanding. After the baby is born she is free to go wherever she wishes. She will be financially taken care of and she will be protected. I am not shutting her out of the baby's life- how active she is in it is up to her."

"Thorne," Eustace said, "Do you not feel anything for this woman? After all the fates put you together."

"Yes they did," Thorne agreed, "but only after we made stupid and irrational decisions. You and I both know that had either of us made different decisions, we wouldn't be together. The only good thing that came out of this mess is my son."

"What does your mother have to say about this?"

"She had the gall to say that a child needs its mother," Thorne replied angrily. "After what she did to us she had the nerve to say something like that."

"You're still angry."

"Damn right I am!" Thorne yelled.

"Have you considered that maybe she only now understands the ramifications of her actions?"

"You're defending her?" Thorne asked.

"Not at all," Eustace assured him. "I'm just pointing something out. You said that she didn't know that you knew about her infidelities. In her mind, she was doing you no harm."

"What about Noel? Can she say that about him? She let an emotionally unstable vampire roam the streets! And do you know why? She wanted to be rid of him! She had people to care for him- she didn't have to see him unless she chose to, but yet she put him and others in danger! She could have called me..."

"Would you have gone?" Eustace interrupted. "By your own admission you said that you knew something was happening but you did nothing. Why would a call from your mother have mattered? Wouldn't you have accused her of pawning Noel off on you?"

Thorne started to deny it, but didn't. Eustace was right.

"What I see going on is a whole lot of guilt about something that can't be changed. I'm sure that you and Noel have talked about your leaving and he's made his peace with it- you haven't. Your mother's guilt or lack of it is her issue-not yours. Your focus needs to be on preparing for the arrival of your child and the fact that you in effect are without a mate except in name only. As far as the relationship with your mother- you're right in saying that it will never be what it should have been and it's unrealistic to think otherwise. Now that the cards are on the table- you have to decide how to proceed. As far as your mate-the same goes. All of you have to remember that the most important thing here is the child. If you can agree on that, then everything else will fall into place."

"So now what?" Thorne asked.

"You start working on those relationships," Eustace said. "Your mother and your mate do need to meet at some point. It's better that they do it under controlled circumstances than by accident. I would also suggest that this meeting occur sooner rather than later. The other thing is this- I'm sure that you're realizing how difficult it is to change old behaviors. It's going to take continued conscious effort on your part to change them. You will fuck up- the important thing is that you don't dwell on it- acknowledge it, apologize and move on. When do you think your mother and Barb will meet?"

"It will have to wait," Thorne said. "Ethan and I are meeting in a few days to discuss renewing our alliance. Once that's done, I'll arrange a meeting between Barb and my mother. I have a question that doesn't pertain to me; why would someone remember events differently than what happened?"

"That would depend on what the event is and the person. My first guess without knowing the details is that whatever the real memory was- it's too painful. The mind has stepped in to protect the person. He or she may or may not ever recover the original memory. Now, I must go. Gretchen has a nine o'clock appointment. Given what's happened, I don't let her go anywhere alone. If I'm not mistaken, we'll be back here at ten."

"That's correct," Thorne said standing. "When is our next appointment?"

"Call me when you have the meeting between your mate and mother set up. We'll meet before then and again afterwards. In the meantime, we can have our next appointment by phone unless you want to meet face to face. But this is what I want you to work on- your own guilt about your brother. I know that he's leaving soon- talk to him again."

"Phone works for me," Thorne replied. "How about Saturday night after my meeting with Ethan?"

"That's fine; call me when your meeting is over."

In a flash Eustace was gone. Given how the week had filled up, Noel postponed his departure for another week. As of yet, they hadn't decided on when they were going to spend an evening together. Thorne left his office and went to Noel's rooms where he was working on the portrait of the eyes. As far as Thorne could tell he hadn't added features, but was adding more depth to the eyes.

"Which Yancy do you think it is?" Thorne asked from behind him.

"I have no idea," Noel replied. "I only know that she's beautiful, but then all of the Yancy women that I've met are. I also know that she's the one that keeps me grounded. So how are things?"

"As good as can be expected," Thorne replied. "Thanks for waiting to leave."

"No problem," Noel replied. "We need to talk anyway and things are still kind of crazy. So when are you free?"

They sat aside Sunday evening for their visit and to talk about the new club whose plans had been tabled. After Thorne left Noel's rooms, he went to his own. It occurred to him that he hadn't been with a woman since the last time he and Barb had been together. He was surprised to find that he was alright with it. To him it was another confirmation that either the fates had indeed fucked up, they had been playing games or a combination of the two. He stretched out on his bed, closed his eyes and rested until it was time for the appointment with Gretchen.

****

Ten o'clock had arrived and Gretchen was examining Barb.

"Things look good- are you still taking the prenatal vitamins and the folic acid?"

"Yes," Barb replied without looking at Thorne.

"Are you exercising or taking walks?"

"Yes-I'm doing some Tai Chi stuff."

"Good, how are you sleeping?"

"No problems there," Barb replied.

Gretchen went down her list of questions and was satisfied that mother and baby were at least doing physically well.

"We need to discuss the preparations for the birth," Gretchen said. "I know that we have some time, but I want to get started on the Lamaze training. I have an assistant- her name is Monica that teaches the class. You have two options, you can take the class privately in which case Monica can come here or you can join a class. Either way you Thorne will need to be present. Which would you prefer?"

"Which one did Louise choose?" Barb asked expecting to hear that she had chosen the private class.

"She and Nathan are taking the classes that will be held at my office," Gretchen replied. She only gave Barb the information because Louise had given her permission to do so. "There are four other couples in the class and there's room for three more."

Thorne leaned back against the wall and listened. He already knew which option Barb would choose- the most expensive one. He wasn't disappointed to find that he had assumed right. He also knew that it was more than a money thing. Whether she knew it or not, Barb was jealous of Louise. He knew that she harbored feelings of resentment and Jealousy toward the others- but it was toward Louise that she felt it more keenly. Like Juliette and the others, he wondered why.

After the exam was over and the night for the classes selected, Thorne called for the car so they could meet the others. While he waited for Barb to change clothes, he wondered at what point he should bring up the subject of her turning. He already knew what she would say. She still hadn't completely embraced the idea of her immortality. She sure as hell wasn't going to go for the idea of becoming vampire. But still- he would be remiss if he didn't at least broach the idea with her. If she said no then that would be the end of it. Whatever happened as a result of her decision was on her.

"I'm ready," she said a few minutes later.

"Are you sure that you're up for this?" Thorne asked thinking that she looked tired.

"I'm good, let's go."

Thorne made her wait by the door and then came back for her. As he helped her into the car, he bent down and kissed her cheek. Barb looked at him in surprise. In all of their time together he had never given her the kiss of protection.

"Anyone who is watching -whether they be friend or foe is now aware that you are under my protection," he explained. "Anyone who seeks to harm you will be found and punished. I do this because you are the mother of my child."

"I got it," Barb snipped when she got over her surprise, "we wouldn't want people to think that we're together would we?"

Thorne helped her in and shut the door without responding. She understood.

****

Gene reread his letter to resignation for the fourth time before he finally hit submit. It was done. In two weeks his life in Pittsburgh would be over. His sponsor had already given him the number to the local AA organization closest to where he would be living. He would call them in a day or so to see if he could be set up with a sponsor before he left. If that were the case, he'd call him and introduce himself and arrange for a meeting. Next he reread the email to Dana. Satisfied that it conveyed everything that he wanted it to, he sent it. What happened or didn't happen between them was now up to her. He logged onto the company's travel website to look for a ticket. Even with the discounts the price was steep. He thought about taking Kevyn up on her offer of sending the jet and changed his mind. He found the cheapest flight and bought a one way ticket. The last thing that he did was to check his accounts. He would roll over his 401k when he got to California. That way he would be fully vested.