Chapter 43
Kim was lying in bed. She'd gone to bed only moments before the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered quickly, not wanting her parents to be awakened. The sound she heard on the other end of the line brought a smile to her lips. "I only know one guy that can kiss like that." She said. "Want me to pick you up?"
~~~~
Isaac was sitting on the top step when Lee came out of Taylor's room, his head in his hands. She put her hands on his shoulders and kissed the back of his neck. "Well?" She said.
"I don't want to talk about it." He said quietly.
"Mmm, that good, huh?"
"Yep." She sat down next to him. "What's up with Tay?" He asked her.
"He's got the holiday blues. Any shrink worth his shit would've probably seen that one coming from a mile away."
"Yeah, well, he's had the blues for two months now... I think he'll have 'em til 2010."
"Yeah? Then what happens?" She leaned in close.
Isaac looked into her eyes, "Well, then technology catches up and they take the ten gazillion hours of videotape Dad has of Tay, they record every word, note, sound, whatever, they put it in a tiny microchip, stick it wherever it goes and VOILA! Instant Taylor! As good as new!"
She looked at him sideways, "You're joking, but you never know, it might happen. And, it might happen before 2010. What a perfect poster boy for that fundraiser! There would be those great big ol' eyes of his looking all sad, and it could say, 'Give, so that he can sing again'."
Now Isaac gave her the same sideways glance, "Yeah, and there'd be all the haters on the other side. 'Don't give so that he never sings again.' I wonder what their take is on this whole thing? I guess they can't wait to find out the dirt on Hanson." He dropped his eyes. "I don't want to do this whole trial thing Lee." He put his hands over his face and lay back on the carpet.
"Oh Isaac, people have survived worse scandal than this."
"Oh yeah, PeeWee Herman's career just bounced right back, didn't it?"
"Is that the worst scandal you can think of?" She laughed. "Anyway, who cares if people find out a sex symbol actually had sex?"
He looked at her. "First of all Lee, he's not a sex symbol, he's a musician and second of all, there's a lot more than just sex involved."
She stood up and put her hands on her hips, "Isaac, don't even act like sex has nothing to do with record sales, 'cause if you think N'Sync or those other quote unquote BOYS are selling just music, then you are dumber than you look."
He sat up. "So you think we would have sold more records if we'd dressed sexy and danced and stuff?!"
"Yep, that's what I'm saying."
Now he stood and looked down menacingly at her. "So we should put Tay in spandex and maybe Zac could wear one of those little cut off shirts, huh?"
"Oh God, do not ever put Taylor in spandex, he'd look like a pencil. You've got it all backwards. Taylor in the cut off thing, Zac in the spandex. Hmmm, we'll put you in one of those black leather cat suits..." She reached around and grabbed his butt.
He put his hands on either side of her face. "It's a good thing I like you."
She grinned up at him, "Yes, it is, 'cause this would be very awkward if you didn't. Besides, I never said I thought you should have done those things. I'm just saying you all were sexy up there. Like it or not."
"No, you said Taylor was sexy..." Lee rolled her eyes, and thanked God her boyfriend was such a dork as they headed downstairs to see what Santa was up to.
~~~~
Taylor was cold and his knee hurt where he'd hit it on the root of the tree by his window. But, he hadn't squashed Sparky and that was all that mattered. That and the fact that his parents had nearly seen him as he'd dropped down to the ground. He'd forgotten they weren't all "snuggled down for a long winter's nap..." They knew St. Nick and were well acquainted with his schedule. As he walked up to the gatehouse, he waved to Justin, the guy who was always there on second shift. He smiled and waved back, "Hey man, what's up?" He asked. Taylor shook his head. "Nothin'?!" He asked, "then what are you doing out here in the cold on Christmas Eve all by yourself?" Taylor pointed to Sparky and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I see. He's taking a walk in your pocket." He smiled knowingly.
Just then a car familiar to the both of them pulled up. Before Taylor got into the little black Honda, he turned to Justin, smiled, and handed him an envelope. "What's this?" He asked.
"Merry Christmas." He mouthed, then he got in the car.
As he watched them drive away, he opened the envelope, inside was a Christmas card and a $50 bill. Thanks for not telling Ike, have a cool yule! It said. Smiling, Justin leaned back and picked up the novel he'd been reading and thought to himself, Hmmm, I wonder if I should tell Taylor his little brother had me put her on the list?
~~~~
Sparky was in heaven. Not only was he warm, tucked in Taylor's jacket so snugly he could feel his master's heartbeat, but the one thing that could have made his night even better had just happened. When Taylor stepped into her car, the little dog immediately picked up the scent of the only other human he cared for. When Kim's grandmother had died leaving him without the old lady he adored, Kim had taken him in. Though she didn't make him treats of peanut butter on Ritz crackers like her grandmother, she knew just where to scratch his ears and she spoke softly to him just as the old woman had. Kim parked in the parking lot of the Super America and turned off the engine. When Taylor pulled Sparky out of his jacket, her eyes lit up.
"Sparky! Oh, Taylor, thanks for bringing him, I haven't seen him for so long!" She took the little dog and he nuzzled his head under her chin and licked her. "I've missed him almost as much as Granny." She smiled at Taylor and he could see tears in her eyes. "I was so afraid your folks weren't going to let you keep him." Taylor shrugged his shoulders. She looked over at him. "He hasn't been bad or anything has he?"
He shook his head, "No."
She sat Sparky in her lap and he curled up as she stroked his fur. "How have you been?" she asked, "I heard about what happened last night, you ok?"
He sighed, shrugged again, then nodded.
"Well, let's see, you don't know if you're ok, or you are ok? One or the other. Which is it?" He just looked at her. "You know," she looked at him with a glint in her eye, "Sparky's not the only one I've missed, but, I'll bet my Dad wouldn't let me keep you either." She pouted. "Well, if things don't work out between you and the ice princess, let me know." He furrowed his brow and shook his finger at her. "Yeah, yeah. She's probably smart and funny and oh so pretty, blah blah blah, just like Greg."
Now, he rolled his eyes. He looked back at her noticing she had on pink flannel pajamas with penguins on them under her coat. He reached over and tugged on the satin collar. "Were you in bed?" He asked.
She looked at him for a moment. "Well, yeah Taylor. It's like 2 a.m. or something."
He got out a pad of paper, she laughed as she noticed the Power Puff Girls pictured on the cover. "What?!"
"Nothing Bubbles." She replied grinning.
I stole it from Avery. He wrote. She leaned over so she could read what he was writing. I'm sorry I woke you. I thought you would be out partying.
"Taylor, it's Christmas Eve. I don't get crazy with my family."
He held his hands up and she swatted him on the knee. "Ouch!" He grimaced.
She looked down at the rip in his jeans, then back up to his face. "Got a boo-boo?" She asked sweetly. He stuck out his lip and nodded. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?" She asked as she scooted over closer to him.
He smiled, shook his head, then wrote. Don't tempt me. I am trying to stay on the straight and narrow. I just wanted to see you and give you something. Merry Christmas Kim. And he handed her the tiny box.
She looked at him. The moonlight shone through the windows giving everything a bluish cast. He didn't look real to her, but she knew otherwise. Sparky stretched and stood up in her lap, sniffing the little package as Taylor handed it to her. As she tore the paper he stepped over to Taylor's lap and looked out the window. Inside the box lay a small gold ring with a smooth green stone the color of Kim's eyes. She turned towards the light from the store and looked to an inscription on the inside. Thanks for being there. She looked over at him. "You know I'll love you forever."
He smiled, nodded and pulled her into a hug. When he pulled back, she wiped her eyes and put the ring on her finger. He picked up Sparky and gently tucked him into his jacket and opened the door.
"Want me to take you back?" She asked.
"No, I feel like walking." He signed.
She shook her head, "Sorry..." He smiled and used his fingers to walk across the door. "You'd rather walk?" She asked. He nodded, then made his way around the car to her window. She reached out and patted Sparky's head. "Bye Sparks, take care of Taylor for me." She said. She looked up at Taylor, "and you take care of Sparky, I know Granny's happy he's got someone who loves him." Taylor leaned down and kissed her lips, then waved at her and turned back towards his house. Kim watched him for awhile, then headed back to her own house where she would spend Christmas with her family, just like everyone else.
~~~~
Sun goes
down and says 'goodnight'
Pull your
covers up real tight
By your
bed, we'll leave a light
To guide
you off to Dreamland
Your pillow's
soft, your bed is warm
Your eyes
are tired when day is done
One more
kiss and you'll be gone
On your
way to Dreamland
Every sleepy
boy and girl
In every
bed around the world
Can hear
the stars up in the sky
Whispering
a lullaby
Zac lay in bed listening to the lullaby he'd heard his mother sing countless times to his brothers and sisters. In fact, he'd even heard her sing it to Taylor and Isaac or himself when they were sick or particularly tired or troubled about something. He knew it wasn't old, in fact, it was written by Mary Chapin-Carpenter. They'd met her once, she was really nice. So, it wasn't old, it just felt old. He could hear the creak of the old rocking chair as it slowly rocked back and forth. He was about to drift off to sleep himself when he realized it wasn't his mother's voice he was listening to. It was Taylor's. A smile danced on his lips as he listened, he hadn't heard his brother's voice for a long time now. And he didn't know that he'd ever heard him sing that song. It was positively enchanting. Zac found himself getting out of his warm bed and tiptoeing to Zoe's room. But, when he got out into the hall, he realized it wasn't coming from Zoe's room, it was coming from across the hall. Taylor's room. The door was open a crack and he gently pushed it with his foot. He looked inside and there was his brother sitting in the old rocker, using his foot to keep the rhythm. He gazed down at the bundle in his arms. "Tay?" Zac said.
"Sssshhh." His brother put his finger up to his lips, and looked up at him, his eyes almost luminescent in the moonlight. He looked back down and began to sing again.
Who knows
where you'll fly away
Winging
past the light of day
The man
in the moon and the Milky Way
Welcome
you to Dreamland.
Zac walked towards Taylor, wanting to see the child he rocked. Again, Taylor looked up at him and whispered, "She wasn't feeling well, so I'm taking care of the baby."
Zac looked over at the bed. Sarah lay atop the covers, her body at an odd angle, her eyes open and a trickle of blood running from between her full lips. He looked back to his brother, singing to the lifeless child he cradled in his arms. "Oh God..." He said and he started to back up towards the window.
Taylor's eyes followed him and he stood up from the rocker and reached out to Zac with his free hand. "Ssshhh, it's alright... I forgive you. It's alright..."
Zac awoke with a start to look into the wide eyed stare of his brother.
"Ssshhh," Taylor lay his hand on his chest.
"Oh God. Tay, it was just a dream..." His mind was slowly leaving it's dreamworld and bringing him back to reality. Taylor touched his brother's face to feel a tear that had made it's way into his hair. His eyebrows furrowed and without a word or a gesture, only his eyes, he asked Zac what was wrong. "I'm ok, I just had a bad dream..." Now, he noticed, the clock read 3:11, yet Taylor stood over him fully clothed including his coat. "Where you been?" He asked sleepily.
Taylor shrugged his shoulders and mouthed the word, "Out."
"Oh really? I thought maybe you'd been IN." He said sarcastically.
Taylor rolled his eyes, then signed, "are you S-U-R-E you are OK?"
Zac sighed, "yeah."
Taylor looked at him a moment. "I'm sorry I went off on you tonight." He signed.
Zac closed his eyes. "Please, don't apologize to me for that Tay." He sat up, "if you feel like going off, just do it. I know you're pissed off. Shit, break stuff or something, you know? But, don't apologize. I can't take it." Taylor continued to watch him 'til Zac felt very uncomfortable, "Stop looking at me. Go to bed before I go get Ike and tell him you're up to your old tricks again." He didn't smile when he said it and Taylor knew he meant it.
"I'm not up to anything. I heard you. You cried." He signed.
"I wasn't crying, ok? I'm going back to sleep, you know Mackie will get up in about two hours, so you better take off your coat and go to bed too."
Taylor snorted, then stood
up and, followed by Sparky who'd witnessed the whole thing, went back out
the door and into his own room, shutting the door behind him.
|
|
|
|