was the first to fill his plate, pouring syrup on
it with a smile on his face. “Who’s in Taylor’s room?” Avery asked, causing
everyone to look up.
“Um,” Diana started,
passing the syrup to Jessica. She then took a plate and began to cut up a
pancake for Zoë. “Just a friend of Taylor’s.” She said.
“Oh.” Avery replied.
Diana poured syrup on
the little wedges and handed them to her three year old daughter, “Did you meet
her? I thought she’d still be asleep.” She said, looking at her.
Avery was giving her a
knowing look, “No, I didn’t meet anyone. I just…heard something. I was just
wondering who it was, that’s all.”
“So, one of Taylor’s
friends is upstairs in his room?” Jessica asked, shoving a forkful of food into
her mouth.
Diana stood up from
the table and got a large jug of orange juice out of the refrigerator. “Yeah.”
She said. She then came back to the table and looked at Walker. “She’s going
to be staying here with us for a little while, I think.”
“How come Kirk’s car
is out front?” Avery asked.
Diana glared at her,
“Do you do some sort of …house inspection every morning before you come down to
breakfast?”
Jessica snorted, “She
doesn’t have to. She just knows.”
Avery wrinkled her
face up at her sister, “I looked out the window, Miss Priss.” She said to her.
“Whatever.” Jessica
said, drinking her juice.
“While we were gone to
the movies last night,” Walker said, throwing a look toward Diana, “Kirk showed
up and he had Taylor’s friend Michelle with him. She needs a place to stay, so
she’s going to stay with us.”
“Why doesn’t she just
stay with Taylor?” Avery asked, picking at her food.
“Where’s Taylor?” Zoë asked, her eyes wide. “Mommy said Taylor wasn’t never coming back.”
“He’s not, baby.”
Diana said softly. She then gave Avery a warning glance. “It’s a long story,
Ave—we’ll talk later, alright?” She said.
Avery didn’t say
anything, but the look in her eye let Diana know she wasn’t going to let it go
‘til she got the full scoop. Whatever that was.
~~~~~
Jill Bassett lay in
her bed, looking up at the ceiling, a smile on her face. She’d always had a
rule against going out with her customers, but now she was questioning that.
Taylor had met her at eleven on the dot, and they’d walked to the movie theatre
together. He’d even paid. Not that it was a lot of money, but still, it was a
nice gesture, she thought. When he’d told her he’d never seen the Rocky Horror
Picture Show, she wasn’t sure she believed him, but it was obvious by his
reactions to the crowd and the film itself, he’d been telling the truth. They’d
made a date to meet there again the next time it showed. She looked over at the
calendar on her wall; two weeks. Turning over, she hugged the pillow close,
wondering if she might manage to get him to come up to her apartment the next
time. There was just something about him…
~~~~~
Mr. Jones looked at
the clothes hanging in his closet. “No need to dress up to baby sit a gaggle of
Hansons.” He grumbled. He went to the large wooden chest and opened the
drawers, pulling out the few t-shirts he owned, smiling as he looked at the face
of Celine Dion looking back at him. “I’m going to miss Carnegie Hall.” He said
sadly.
“Sir, I picked up the
dry cleaning.” He turned, looking at the woman. In her hand she held hangers
containing various silk shirts belonging to him and Taylor and some overly
expensive items belonging to Beatriz.
With a sigh, he took
them from her, “Thank you, Elizabeth.” He said.
“Where are you going,
if you don’t mind my asking?” She said.
He smiled and leaned
in toward her, “Top secret.” He whispered.
“I see. Well, let me
or one of the other girls know if you need anything, sir.” She said, and she
backed out of the room and went down the hall to go about the task of polishing
the glass top on the coffee table. Ever since the addition of Taylor and the
girls, she thought, the place was a bit harder to keep in order. Clothes were
thrown about and books, half read, lay here and there draped over the back of
the sofa or spilling out of the boy’s backpack. And papers. Bits and pieces of
song lyrics with notes scribbled in the margins could be found all over the
apartment. She was careful to place them all in a neat stack and place them in
his room, but once they were there, that was the end of her involvement. She
picked up the last one and placed it on top of the stack, walking down the hall
and quietly opening the closed door. She didn’t know why she tried to be quiet,
it wasn’t like any of them would awaken. As the light from the hallway fell
across the bed, she gasped; Taylor lay on top of the sheets, naked as a jaybird,
as her grandmother would have said. This one always wore his clothes to
bed. Thank heavens, he was face down, she thought. Shaking her head, she
rushed passed him and lay the papers on his desk, where they joined the last
bunch she’d placed there. She looked around, noticing he’d actually placed all
his dirty clothes in the hamper, a rare occurrence. Stepping over his shoes,
she went to the door, closing it behind her, but not before taking one last
quick glance. With a sparkle in her eye, she pulled the door shut behind her.
~~~~~
Zac laid on the couch,
watching television, taking an occasional bite of the strawberry Poptart that
was sitting on his chest. When Isaac walked in, he shook his head at the tiny
little space he was left. “Dude, move your big feet.” He said, his voice still
scratchy from sleep. Without a word, Zac pulled his legs up, still watching TV.
Isaac sat and his eyes landed on the screen, “Why are you watching the weather
channel?” He asked.
Shrugging, Zac brushed
the crumbs from his shirt, and stuffed the rest of the pastry in his mouth, “I
don’ kno…” he grunted, “it was just on.” He said, swallowing.
Isaac looked at the
windows and the light pouring in through the curtains, “Zac, the sun is
shining. It’s clear as a bell. Now, give me the remote.”
Zac raised an
eyebrow. Definitely those were fighting words. “Um, I was here first.” He
said, his eyes going back to the television.
Before Isaac could
make a move to take it from him, Avery appeared in the doorway. “Do y’all know
where Mom and Dad went?” She asked, her hand on her hip.
Zac looked up but
didn’t say anything. Isaac looked at her as well, but when she didn’t say
anything more, he spoke, “Um, no. Should we?”
The little girl walked
into the room, and insinuated herself on the couch between them, shoving Zac’s
legs off, “Well, her and Dad took Taylor’s friend, who’s staying in his room, by
the way, to the doctor.”
Zac now sat up, “What
the hell are you talking about?”
Isaac just looked at
her. “Am I the only one in this house that notices anything?” She
huffed. “There’s a dead guy in the basement, and Mom and Dad just took Taylor’s
friend to the doctor. You know, Mom’s doctor?” She said, her
eyebrows raised. Isaac and Zac shot each other looks. She continued, “And, she
was very very humongous.” She said with a smirk.
Isaac reached over and
placed his hand on her forehead, “Are you feeling alright?” He asked her,
teasing.
She shrugged, “Hey,
don’t believe me. But all ya gotta do is look out front. Kirk’s car is sitting
right there. Or go down and check out the stiff on the couch.”
Isaac watched as Zac
pulled himself up. He went to the window and pulled back the curtains a
little. He then turned back to his brother and nodded.
“So, what’s going
on?” Isaac asked. “You’re telling us that Kirk brought some pregnant girl
here? Was he gonna drink from her or something? I’m sure Mom wouldn’t stand
for that.” He mused.
Avery looked over at
Zac and rolled her eyes. She then turned back to Isaac and peered into his
face. “You aren’t listening.” She said. “Why would Kirk come all the way to
Tulsa to feed? He’s got all of New York City. And God, how many times did Mom
and Dad call her Taylor’s friend? That’s just slang for sexual
conquest.”
“Avery!!” Isaac
gasped.
Zac walked over closer
to them, his arms crossed over his chest, “They’re not supposed to be able to do
that, Avie.” He said, his voice serious.
She just looked at
him. “Um, would somebody fill me in, please?” Isaac growled.
She shook her head,
“Ike. I’d say Mom and Dad are about to become grandparents.” Isaac’s mouth
fell open, and as she looked at Zac, he didn’t disagree.
~~~~~
Walker drove,
listening to his wife talk to the young girl in the backseat. “This is just…my
gosh, it’s just unbelievable.” She said.
He looked in the rear
view mirror as the girl responded. “I know. I don’t know if I believe it
either.” She said, her dark eyes reflecting a rich brown as the sunlight came
in the window through the trees. Her long hair was the same chestnut color.
“Well, I guess we may
as well start believing it, because we all saw it, right there with our own
eyes. Ultrasounds don’t lie.” Diana said, “I mean, I just can’t believe that
you didn’t know sooner.”
Michelle looked out
the window and sighed, “I wasn’t that big ‘til recently. I just sort of…blew up
the last couple weeks.” She said softly.
Diana reached back and
touched her knee, “It’s gonna be fine. You can stay with us for as long as you
want. Nobody uses that room anymore anyway.” She said, looking over at her
husband.
He looked back at
her. He could see it in her eyes; she believed the girl’s story and now, she
was ready to allow her to move into their home. “Di…” he started. But then, he
actually saw a light in her eye that he hadn’t seen for months and months. He
changed his approach at the last moment, “Maybe Michelle doesn’t want to live
with us. Don’t get too excited about this yet.” He said softly, not wanting
the girl to hear.
She looked back at the
girl. She was just gazing out the window, a lost look on her face, fingering
the small wooden cross around her neck. Like Sonya and Kirk, something was
telling her that Michelle was telling the truth. Looking back at her husband,
she nodded, knowing that he’d need time to adjust to the idea, as well as the
rest of the family. But, she also knew the girl couldn’t possibly make it the
next few months alone. She knew Michelle would stay there with them. She just
had to.
~~~~~
Mr. Jones sat in first
class, enjoying the last bit of peace and quiet he figured he’d have for a
while. Though now and again, things got crazy at Beatriz’ apartment, for the
most part, it was uneventful. During the day, he was alone other than a few
servants, and they generally let him go about his business without
interruption. In the evening, he was free to come and go as he pleased, unless
some crisis came up, and that was a rarity. Taylor had brought his share of
excitement to the place at first, and still did sometimes; like now. He took
his eyes away from the book he was reading and looked out the window. The sun
above the clouds was bright and he had to squint. He wasn’t exactly looking
forward to going back to Tulsa, yet, he genuinely liked the Hansons, and even
their children. In fact, he thought, without Taylor there, it would even
possibly be quite pleasant. He smiled, remembering Avery’s strange quirks, and
Jessica’s sweetness. His smile faded though, as he thought about Michelle. As
far as he knew, this was a first for vampires. He’d been instructed by Beatriz
that they were not to go to a hospital no matter what happened. If the girl
didn’t survive childbirth, so be it. His medical knowledge didn’t go into the
realm of midwifery or infants. Fortunately, he knew Diana had been through the
process at least seven times; experience that would more than likely come in
very handy. He shook his head, then went back to his reading; “The Midwifes’
Guide to Home Birthing.”
~~~~~
Isaac, Zac, Jessica,
and Avery all sat on the couch, waiting for their parents to show up. On the
floor, Zoë colored in a book and Mackenzie looked intently at the screen of his
Gameboy, cursing under his breath now and then as he took a blow from some
villain. Jessica sighed. She couldn’t wait to see this mysterious girl that
Avery said would be coming back with their parents; a girl who would make her an
aunt. “Gee whiz, how long have they been gone, Avie?” She asked her little
sister.
“Since right after
breakfast.” She answered.
“When are they coming
back? And how did they get out without us seeing them?” Jessica quizzed her.
“I
did see them
leave. And how do I know when they’re coming back?” The little girl
spat.
“You know
everything.” Jessica accused.
“I
do not!”
Avery retorted. “Stop acting like I’m some sort of freak or something.” She
said.
“You’re not a freak
anymore than Isaac is. You’re just nosier than anybody in the whole world.” Zac
said, leaning back and closing his eyes.
“Thanks, jerk.” Isaac
said.
“Did I
say you
were a freak, Ike?” Zac grumbled. He answered his own question, “No, I
didn’t. All I’m sayin’ is you two have some little something going on that the
rest of us don’t. At least where Taylor is concerned. You may as well not deny
it, cuz you know it’s true.” He said, still not opening his eyes.
“Whatever.” Isaac
said.
Before another word
was spoken, they heard their parents’ van pull into the driveway. At once, the
four oldest jumped up from the couch, leaving the other two watching in
curiosity.
They watched as it
stopped and the passenger side door opened as Diana stepped out, pulling her
purse up onto her shoulder. Their father got out as well, and pulled the
sliding door open reaching his hand in to help whoever was in the back get out.
It seemed like an eternity before the girl stepped out into the bright sunshine,
her hair glistening in the sun and blowing around her face. She was so
obviously pregnant that it would have been humorous if it weren’t so nerve
wracking for them. “My lord…” Isaac said, watching them slowly walk up the
steps. “I don’t think I ever remember Mom being that big.” He whispered.
Zac’s eyes were wide,
“Me neither.” He said.
Jessica pushed the
rest of them out of the way, and opened the door as they reached the top step.
“Hi, Mom.” She said brightly.
“Hey, baby.” Diana
said, coming in and dropping her bag. “Back up, guys, my goodness.” She said.
Behind her, Walker
held the door open and Michelle stepped in, pushing her hair behind her ears.
“Hey, you’re one of
the Trump Twats.” Zac said, his voice accusing, as he crossed his arms over his
chest.
“Zac! Watch your
mouth!!” Diana warned as she reached over and slapped his arm.
He looked over at
Isaac, “Well, she is.” He said to his brother.
“Mom, what’s going
on?” Isaac asked, looking from the girl to his parents.
Diana smiled, though
it wasn’t exactly easy. She wasn’t sure how any of them would take what they
were about to hear. “Well, Michelle is a friend of your brother’s.” She said.
“Was she the one in
Taylor’s room?” Zoë asked from the floor, a red crayon clutched in her hand.
“Yes, baby.
Everybody, this is Michelle and she’s going to be staying with us.” She said,
looking over at the girl and smiling at her. This time it was genuine.
“How come she’s
staying with us?” Avery asked, eyeing the girl.
A look from her father
caused the little girl to back up behind Jessica. “Sit down.” Walker said,
closing the door behind him. He then guided Michelle to sit in the big soft
chair beside the front door. Before him, his six children all sat, expectant
looks on their faces, mixed in with various other emotions; anger, suspicion and
wonder among others. Michelle felt as if her heart would burst in her chest she
was so nervous.
“This is Taylor’s
friend, and she is going to stay with us here for as long as she wants to—“he
started.
Zac had continued to
throw harsh looks her way and he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer, “What’d
you do, break into his room? Or did you just accost him on one of his coffee
runs?” He asked her.
“Zachary Walker!”
Diana spat.
He stood now, “I don’t
care, Mom—they all hang out there waiting for us like spiders—“
Walker stepped over to
him, “You go up to your room, and I’ll be up to talk to you in a little while.”
His voice was firm and left Zac no choice but to comply.
Michelle felt tears
come to her eyes. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d known they wouldn’t
believe her. “He said he wanted to meet me.” She said softly, but Zac was
already on his way out of the room.
Isaac looked at her
with the same cold eyes, but he didn’t say anything, waiting to see what they
were going to tell them.
With a sigh, Walker
sat down in the seat vacated by Zac, “Here’s the thing. Obviously, Michelle is
pregnant. We all know what that means. And we owe it to Taylor and to Michelle
to help her out however we can, alright?” He said, looking from one face to the
next. “He’d want us to treat her the way we would if he was here, wouldn’t
he?” He said to the smaller ones. Mackenzie nodded and Zoë looked over at her
and waved, and even though tears ran down her cheeks, she smiled at the little
girl. “Now,” he said, turning to Isaac, “you, me, Avie and Jess are going
upstairs to talk to Zac, and Mom is gonna help Michelle get settled in here.”
He then stood, expecting them to follow, and they did.
~~~~~
Zac sat alone in his
room. He didn’t know why he’d attacked her, what did it matter how it
happened? If Avie said it was Taylor’s, it was Taylor’s. And that meant it was
precious, not only to his family, but to him. Still, he just couldn’t help
feeling anger towards her. The fans had always barged into their lives. Since
he was ten years old strangers had come up to him, expecting to be treated like
old friends or family members. They’d stolen things from him and his family.
Things like, rocks from their driveway, or little pieces of wood from their tree
house, but most importantly, his brother. If Camille hadn’t been a fan, Taylor
would have been just another victim. Instead, she’d stalked him from city to
city, drinking from him every chance she got until finally, he’d become one of
them. He sighed and lay back on his bed. Well, he thought, maybe it’s time for
one of them to give something back to this family. A knock on his door
pushed his thoughts aside, “Come on—it’s open.” He said.
The door opened, and
not only his father, but some of his siblings came in as well. Avery launched
herself on the bed, moving in close to him and Jessica did the same, pulling him
up to a sitting position. Isaac stood by the door, his face stern. “Now, I
know what you all must have been talking about while we were gone.” Walker
said, “Avery, I’d appreciate it if you let your mother and I tell everyone in
this family things when we think they need to know.”
“Dad, it’s not like
you could have hidden a big, huge pregnant girl from us.” Isaac said, crossing
his arms over his chest.
Walker turned to him,
“We weren’t going to hide anything, Isaac.” He said. “We just would’ve
liked for her to come into a room that wasn’t full of seething pit bulls, that’s
all.” He said with an angry edge to his voice. Isaac looked at the floor as a
tiny bit of guilt hit him. He turned back to the others, “God took Taylor away
from us, guys. We don’t know why, but he did—“
“It wasn’t
God.”
Avery said.
Walker stopped, and
ran his hands through his hair. Again, he sighed, thinking this was not going
to be easy. He turned back to Isaac, “Ike, sit over there beside the rest of
them.” He watched as Isaac picked Avery up and placed her on his lap. “Now, I
don’t want anyone to interrupt me for any reason, understand? If you do, I’ll
have to kill you, got it?” Everyone nodded. “Here’s the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth. As far as we know it, anyway. According to Kirk, he
brought Michelle to Taylor—she didn’t stalk him,” he said, glaring at Zac,
“she didn’t take advantage of him,” he said moving his eyes to Isaac,
“and she didn’t trick him in any way.” He said, looking at Avery. “He
was supposed to feed from her.” He said softly, hardly believing the words that
were coming out of his mouth. “And Taylor, being the stubborn, twisted boy that
he was…or is…or whatever—well, instead of drinking from her, he…” he paused,
wanting to put it delicately, but opting for the naked truth, “he had sex with
her.” He closed his eyes for a moment, hating to have said those words with his
young daughters sitting there. “And to make a long story short, you are going
to be aunts and uncles and we aren’t going to be rude or angry with Michelle,
because she was just as much a victim in this as Taylor. Probably more so, we
all know how girls get around him, and it’s worse now.” He paused then he
continued, “She believes he is dead, just like Zoë and Mackenzie, and it needs
to stay that way. Plus, Kirk says we aren’t to take her to the hospital when
it’s time, so we’ve got that to look forward to. The good news is, Mr. Jones is
coming here to help us out with that.”
“She’s gonna have it
here?!” Jessica said, aghast.
Walker looked almost
like he was in pain, as he nodded, “Yes, she’s going to have it here.” For a
moment, the room was silent as he prepared to tell them his last bit of news,
“And it’s not an “it”, it’s a “them”.” He said, “She’s going to have twins.”
He then backed up and sat down in the chair and shook his head. “I can’t
believe this is happening…” He uttered, placing his hand on his forehead.
