The Challenge(59)

“You have to put your foot down,” he begged her, “and be strong with them.”

“And if Justin dies, or Noel commits suicide, how will you feel then? We can’t take the risk just so we can make love all day long. I don’t want to see you for a few months, until our life gets sane again. Please understand. The boys are crazy right now, and they’re making me crazy.”

“They don’t have the right to rob us of loving each other,” he said.

“They can’t stop me from loving you, but I can’t see you right now for a while. I don’t want to upset them.”

“So you’d rather upset us, and deprive us?” She was sobbing as he said it, but he knew it wouldn’t convince her. He bent down and kissed her gently.

“I love you. I’ll be waiting when you think they’re ready. Whenever that is.” She looked at him longingly as he left her house. She spent the night crying and checking on Noel, who was sleeping peacefully with his insulin pump in place. Justin came home the next day as if nothing had happened. He was sober.



* * *



—

Juliet was worried about her father. She hadn’t seen him look that rough since he and her mother had decided to separate.

“Are you okay, Dad?”

“Yeah. Sometimes life is complicated.” But he didn’t try to explain it to her. He kept thinking of Justin, who was an accident waiting to happen and was going to break his mother’s heart, maybe sooner than later. Tom hoped not, but he couldn’t see the situation with Justin turning out well. He tried not to think about Marlene, but it was impossible. He loved her.



* * *



—

Marlene told Anne what was happening, and Anne felt desperately sorry for her. She’d been having such a hard time with her boys ever since Bob’s death. Anne talked to Pitt about it, and he said that Tom was the best thing that could happen to her, and he hoped she didn’t blow it. The boys needed a firm hand to control them, particularly Justin, who was heading for disaster. He hoped that Marlene and Tom wouldn’t give up.

Anne commented to Pitt that the stars must have been out of alignment, because she spoke to Pattie, and they had decided to tell Matt and Benjie about the baby they were having in April. Pattie wanted to tell them before Thanksgiving because it was starting to show, and she and Bill were so happy about it that they wanted to share it with the boys.

They had taken them out for a special lunch at their favorite restaurant and told them. Benjie burst into tears and told them he hated them, that they didn’t need a baby and why were they having one, and even worse, it was going to be a girl. He had a jealous tantrum in the restaurant. Matt told them it was embarrassing, and his friends were going to think they were weird.

“Shit, Anne. We were so happy about it, and the boys are going crazy,” Pattie said, disappointed and discouraged.

“They’ll get over it when they see her,” she reassured her friend. “And you had to tell them. You can see it. I noticed it the last time I saw you.”

“I know. That’s why we told them. What do I do now? Benjie said to send her back.” She laughed. She hadn’t lost her sense of humor. But her kids were giving them a tough time. And so were Marlene’s. Pattie said that Bill was furious about the way they were behaving.



* * *



—

Peter and Juliet were doing fine, and were more in love than ever. They saw each other every day at school, and their other friends too, and balanced their time well. He had made the transition to a new school easier for her and came to dinner at her mother’s house regularly. He liked her father too. Peter and Juliet were still behaving and trying to be good. They wanted to stay chaste for a little longer, before complicating things with adult responsibilities.



* * *



—

Anne talked to June a few days later. She was excited for Tim. Ted had called him from somewhere in South America, and he was coming home to see him for Thanksgiving. He’d been promising to come and see him ever since the mountain rescue. “Tim is so excited about it, he can’t sleep. It’s the first holiday his father will actually be here. So Tim won’t be coming to Thanksgiving with me this year. I’ll come alone if you don’t mind.” They always invited the friends who had no family and nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, June and Tim among them. She was still dating the pediatrician from St. Vincent’s, and said it was going well. But he was going home to his relatives in Chicago, and their relationship was still new.

“I’m happy for Tim,” Anne said quietly, hoping that Ted wouldn’t break his promise this time. He had eventually stopped promising since he never came. But this time Tim had nearly lost his life on the mountain, and they really had something to be grateful for and celebrate. They all did. They had invited Harvey Mack too.

“Ted’s arriving the night before Thanksgiving, and staying at a hotel with Tim in Billings,” June told her. “It will be a big treat for Tim.” She was happy for her son that his father was finally coming through for him. Tim had had enough disappointments from him to last a lifetime and had waited so long. Ted was finally proving himself to be a decent human being after all.

Anne was guardedly happy for them when she hung up. She still didn’t trust Ted completely. His track record as a father was terrible.