Chapter 12
Before long the bus rolled in to Jody’s small town and she exited the bus. Taking out her cell phone, she debated as to who to call first. She knew her parents needed to pick her up, but at the same time, she really wanted to call Taylor without any questions. Maybe it was time for Eve to pick her up instead...
Jody’s cell phone rang, disrupting her from her thoughts.
“Hey, you home yet?” Eve questioned.
“Yeah,” Jody said with a sigh of relief. “I just got off the bus.”
“Need a ride home? I’m gonna drive by the bus stop anyway.”
Jody smiled. “That would be wonderful. I was just thinking about you.”
“Any particular reason? Or is this just one of those weird coincidence things?”
“Uh, yeah. Come pick me up.”
“It’s that boy.”
“Eve, can you just pick me up please?”
“Yeah yeah yeah. Be right over.”
“Thanks babe.”
Jody hung up with Eve and then dialed Taylor.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Oh hey Jode.” Taylor poured himself a cup of coffee. “You make it home OK?”
“Yeah. Eve’s on her way to pick me up.”
“What happened to your parents picking you up?”
Jody shrugged out of habit. “She just insisted on picking me up. Nothing big.”
He sensed she was hiding the fact that they were going to talk about him. “OK, well, I mean, as long as you made it back in one piece.”
“Yup, I’m all here.”
“Good.” He took a sip. “I’ll let you two get to talking.”
Jody smiled. “Thanks.” She saw Eve pull up to the curb. “I gotta run.”
“OK. Thanks for calling.”
Jody opened the door to the car and hopped in. “I’ll call you later.” She paused. “Merry Christmas.”
“Yeah, same to you.”
Both hung up their phones as Jody buckled her seatbelt and Eve pulled away.
“Welcome home, Jode.”
“Thanks,” Jody replied slightly sarcastically.
“Oh don’t look so happy to see the smallest town in New Jersey.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Jody said with a smile.
It wasn’t too much longer before they pulled into Jody’s parent’s driveway.
Both got out as Jody dug out her keys and fiddled with the door.
“Mom, Dad, I’m home,” Jody called as she saw the Christmas tree all set up. She smiled at the sight. “I stole Eve too. She’s here.”
Both girls trampled up the stairs and into the arms of Jody’s parents. They were both hugged relentlessly, then switched and got hugged by the other parent. It was been forever since her parents had seen either their biological daughter or the one they seemingly adopted sometime when Jody was in middle school.
“Eve, you’re going to stay for dinner, right?” Jody’s mother asked.
“I can’t, Mom. My mother’s making dinner and I promised her I’d be home.”
It wasn’t too long before Eve hugged everybody goodbye and promised to call the next day. As she hugged Jody, Eve managed to whisper, “I can’t wait to hear about your boy.” She looked at Jody with a twinkle in her eye and then left.
Dinner was traditional. Nothing had really changed back home. Mom and Dad were still Mom and Dad. They had the same lives they had before. In fact, the only thing that was different in the house was Jody.
She went downstairs and picked up her phone. She dialed a familiar number and waited for a familiar voice to pick up.
In the meantime, she began to walk up the stairs to the middle level of her split level home. Her mother was upstairs asleep and her father was downstairs watching TV. The only safe place was on the couch in the living room- and that’s exactly where Jody landed.
Much to Jody’s surprise, Taylor did not pick up.
“Hey, it’s Taylor. Leave a message and I’ll try to call you back.” BEEP
“Hey. It’s me, it’s Jody. Just wanted to say Merry...”
“Hello?” Taylor answered. “Jody, you still there?”
Jody smiled. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“You don’t sound happy.”
“Eh... It’s home, but it’s...not home.”
“Feel like a misfit?” Taylor said as he plunked down on his couch.
Jody curled her legs to her chest and rested against the arm of her couch. “Just a lot.”
“Not as much fun as you thought?”
She shrugged. “It’s not the same.”
“How so?”
Jody paused. “Let’s rephrase that. It’s exactly the same. It’s exactly what I remember.” Taylor was silent. “Does that help?”
“Not at all.”
“OK,” Jody said, obviously struggling to express herself. “Everything’s exactly how I remember it.”
“We’ve established this.”
“Taylor, everything’s the same but me.”
Jody drew a deep breath and hoped he wouldn’t freak out too much. She hated feeling like this, like some part of her was missing. She just hoped he understood.
“So I take it you’ve changed a little bit since this time last year?”
Jody nodded. “Yeah, you could say that.”
Taylor bit his lip slightly. “I don’t know if this is a touchy subject or anything, but does this have anything to do with your cousin?”
“My cousin?” Jody thought back. “No no no. Not her. I mean, yes it has something to do with her, but no it doesn’t.”
“You’re a little mixed up tonight aren’t you?”
Jody wanted to slam her head against the wall repeatedly. “Christmas is a tough holiday for me,” she said wearily.
Taylor ran a hand through his hair and wished she was there so he could help her. “Sounds like it.”
“I’m sorry. You don’t need to hear about all my whining. It’s,” Jody checked her watch, “35 minutes until Christmas. This is supposed to be a happy time.”
“I’m just as miserable as you are. Don’t worry about it.”
Jody sighed. “I guess we both miss people we can’t have.”
“Yeah, but you’ll be back here soon enough. I won’t have to miss you anymore.”
She smiled. “That was sweet. You didn’t have to say that.”
There was a silence. Neither spoke.
“Is it OK to still miss her?” Jody asked as a tear slowly made its way down her cheek.
“Of course it’s OK.”
She ran a hand through her hair out of frustration. “I shouldn’t be acting like this. It’s foolish and immature and...”
“Human?”
The way he said it made her breath catch in her throat. Jody paused. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Jode, you’re human. It’s fine to miss someone who you obviously loved very much.”
“I just thought that after nearly 15 years it wouldn’t hurt so badly.”
Taylor let out the breath he had been subconsciously holding. “Has it really been that long?”
Jody nodded and then sniffed. “Hard to believe it, but yeah. It’s been that long.” Taylor gave her time to sort out her thoughts. “It’s been that... long.”
“Hey, why don’t you go to bed?” Taylor offered. “You sound really tired.”
“You do too,” Jody said shifting her position. “I think it’s time for you to take your own advice.”
“OK little lady. I think it’s time for bed.”
“I think you’re right.” She paused again. “Thank you for listening to all my... drama.”
It was Taylor’s turn to shrug. “That’s why I’m here. You helped me through some things you don’t even know about and...”
“What do you mean I’ve helped you through things I don’t even know about?”
“Hey... Only one psychobabbler per night.”
Jody smiled. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Taylor sighed. “So you’ve helped me and now it’s my turn to help you. That’s the way relationships work.”
Jody heard footsteps on the stairs and knew her father was on his way to bed.
“Bed time Jode,” he called as he stuck his head into the room before heading up the rest of the stairs. “Santa needs to make an appearance and can’t do that until you’re sleep.”
“Be right there, Dad,” Jody called back. She turned her attention back to Taylor on the phone. “I think it’s my mandatory bed time.”
“Was that your Dad?”
“Yeah it was. It’s time for me to go to bed.”
“Alright you. Go to sleep. Sleep well.”
“You too.” Jody smiled. “And watch out for those bed bugs. They’re pesky.”
Her last statement caused him to smile as well. “I will. Just make sure you have a Merry Christmas tomorrow.”
“As long as you do the same.” She waited a moment before speaking again. “Merry Christmas Taylor.”
“Merry Christmas yourself, Jody.”
“Talk to you tomorrow?”
“Sure. Night Taylor.”
They both hung up and Jody made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she figured that maybe it was time to believe in some Christmas magic afterall.
Taylor woke up Christmas morning to a soft blanket of snow outside. Clad in green, flannel pants and a long-sleeved grey, thermal shirt, Taylor turned the heat up a fraction in the apartment. He was in bare feet despite the fact that it had snowed the night before. His disheveled hair was flung in every direction and his neck was stiff. Rubbing his neck slightly, he decided to put out the presents he had purchased for Ezra. He arranged them so that they looked like they could be from a postcard. Jody had helped him put up the Christmas tree a week ago, and he flipped the switch to see the multicolored lights twinkle and the ornaments catch the light perfectly. It looked perfect.
He went back downstairs, checked to see that he still had some time- it was only 10:30, and opted to shower. Once his teeth were brushed and he had shaved, Taylor undressed and let the warm water gently pelt his body. He turned his back to the water and let it caress his aching neck. The water gently soaked his hair and he ran a hand through it before shampooing. Once he rinsed, he picked up the soap and lathered up. Free of soap, Taylor lingered a moment longer in the humidity of the shower before shutting off the water. He toweled off, wrapped the towel around his waist, gathered up his pajamas, and went into his room to change. Deciding on a pair of black dress pants and a burgundy, collared, button down dress shirt, Taylor slipped on his dress shoes and grabbed his soggy towel. He quickly towel dried off his shaggy mop of hair, put his towel back on the rack, ruffled his hair, checked himself out in the mirror, and headed back up the stairs.
Turning on the stove, Taylor opted for eggs. He cracked two eggs and put them in the frying pan. He found bacon in the fridge and put it in the microwave. He also grabbed the orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured himself a tall glass. Once breakfast was cooked and finished, Taylor washed everything in the sink and decided it was time to put up dinner.
With Natalie moved out and now that he had to fend for himself, Taylor discovered he was more domestic than he had originally thought. He had found a recipe for a ham and decided that it would make a nice Christmas dinner. Zac and Kate had offered to make mashed potatoes and Natalie had decided to bring a green bean casserole. Ike, if he showed, would just bring himself.
It was 11:50 by the time Taylor had finished preparing everything. The ham was already in the oven and would be done around 5 if all went according to plan. Being that Natalie and Ezra would be arriving any minute, Taylor straightened up the apartment a little bit more.
The doorbell rang and he straightened his shirt and dusted off his pants. Running a nervous hand through his hair, Taylor opened the door.
“Merry Christmas,” Natalie greeted, her dark hair worn down. Her hair still had some stray snowflakes in it, as did Ezra’s snow hat and jacket.
“Merry Christmas Daddy!” Ezra greeted as he leapt from one parent to the next, letting Natalie readjust her grip on the green bean cassarole.
“Merry Christmas kiddo,” Taylor greeted back as he hugged his son. “Merry Christmas to you too,” he said to Natalie as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He didn’t need to look at her to know that there was hurt in her eyes.
The kiss on the cheek nearly killed Natalie on the spot. Despite the festive mood Christmas brought, she felt as if her heart was being manually being torn apart.
“So who wants to see if Santa was here?” Taylor questioned as he tickled the little boy.
Ezra raised his hands and his eyes sparkled with excitement.
Taylor set Ezra down and helped him out of his jacket and hat. The little boy was dressed in miniature khaki pants and little brown shoes. He had on a dark blue sweater and his whispy blonde hair was a little messy from the hat. He smoothed down Ezra’s hair and the two went into the living room.
“You all set, Nat?” Taylor asked as he took her jacket.
“Yeah, all set,” she said half-heartedly. She was hoping he’d pay her a little bit more attention. After all, she was wearing a conveniently short skirt and form fitting sweater. Her plan hadn’t necessarily been to entice him with her body, but at least it would get a proverbial foot in the door.
Taylor came back a few moments later. “Looks like Santa was here.”
“Yes he was,” Natalie responded. “Where do you want to start?”
“Let Ezra go and attack his presents. Any more waiting and it looks like he’ll explode.”
Natalie laughed as Ezra nearly flew over to his gifts.
Taylor and Natalie sat on either side of him and helped him when necessary. Ezra, as usual, made out rather well. He got all sorts of toys and some useful things too, like new snow boots and a few sweaters.
“Looks like Santa had a field day in Toys R Us,” Natalie said as Ezra played with his new toys.
“Eh,” Taylor said, “I couldn’t help it.”
“G.I. Joe goes boom,” Ezra said enthuthiastically as he pounced into Taylor’s lap. Ezra settled down shortly after.
“I figure you only have one Christmas a year, right?”
Natalie nodded and she watched the two interact. She missed his presence around her apartment more than anything else in the world.
Then why did she decide to divorce him in the first place?
Natalie shook her head to clear her thoughts.
“You OK?” Taylor asked her.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she fibbed. “Just a little tired.”
“You want a drink or something?” Taylor asked as he removed Ezra from his lap. “I’ve got some wine around here... I mean unless it’s too early for that.”
“Wine would be nice.”
Taylor left the room and Natalie got up and followed him.
“So when are Kate and Zac getting here?” she questioned.
“About 20 minutes or so,” he replied after glancing at the clock. He went to check on the ham in the oven. Everything seemed OK.
“So, um... Who’s Jody?” she questioned.
The question stopped Taylor dead in his tracks. Christmas was not the time nor the place he planned on telling Natalie about Jody. He really hadn’t planned out when exactly he’d tell her about the new relationship. In fact, he wasn’t planning on telling Natalie about Jody at all.
“Jody?” Taylor questioned.
“Yeah,” Natalie said, “Jody. Ezra can’t seem to stop talking about her.”
Taylor smiled. “Oh, she’s from the coffee shop. Ezra really likes her.”
Natalie thought that over for a moment as Taylor turned around to face her. He rested his back and his hands on the counter.
Natalie had her doubts. “OK then. As long as she’s just from the coffee shop.”
“Nat, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, we’re still married.”
Taylor rolled his neck and tried to get the muscle knot out of it from earlier in the morning.
“Can we not talk about this right now? I’d like to have a nice, relaxing Christmas holiday.”
“Fine,” Natalie said, obviously hurt. “I just hoped that we could still talk.”
Taylor sighed. “You said yourself that we needed some time apart to see other people.”
“And I meant it.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“I just...”
“You just what, Natalie? You wanted time apart, so you got time apart. You wanted a divorce, so here we are.” He was getting aggravated and he could feel the blood pulsing in his temples.
“You think it was that easy?” she said, raising her voice. Taylor tried to calm her down, but to no avail. “You think I just got up one day and went ‘hmm... I feel like getting divorced today.’?! Not that simple Taylor.”
“Well it’s obviously not simple because I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Will you not swear in front of Ezra?” she said angrily.
“Oh give me a break. You’ve done nothing but put me under a microscope since you’ve been here.”
“What? Like having you ignore me has been a lot of fun?”
“Ignore you? I’ve tried everything to make you feel welcome,” he said completely exasperated.
“Well it just wasn’t enough.”
That was the last straw. “Just like being my wife wasn’t enough.”
Natalie looked at him through squinted eyes. “That was low, Taylor.” She was obviously rater upset.
“So was picking a fight on Christmas.”
“That’s not the reason I divorced you in the first place!”
“You know what, Nat, enlighten me,” Taylor said sarcastically. “Tell me why you decided I was too terrible to live with.”
“I didn’t have a life!”
“You didn’t want one! You were perfectly happy being my wife and looking after Ezra!”
“Did you think I could do that for the rest of my life? I didn’t even know who I was when we got married!”
“And you sure as hell have it figured out now,” he bit back.
“Being your wife was not enough!” She knew that stung Taylor. He looked down and rapped his fingertips against the counter.
“You mean that I was not enough,” he countered softly.
“I wanted something more. Something more stable. I wanted someone who wasn’t on the road all the time.”
“Someone who wasn’t me.”
Natalie put a hand in her hair and took a deep breath. “No, you were fine. I just didn’t like not having a permanent address.”
“I don’t get it. I thought you liked being on the road.”
“I did... at first. I just... I didn’t have an identity outside of Taylor Hanson’s wife. Most people my age were going into college. I was going into labor. I didn’t have that transition from high school to being an adult. I missed out on that, on going to college, on frat parties...” She paused. “On being my own person. I just couldn’t live my life through yours.” Another pause. “Does that make any sense?”
Taylor nodded solemnly. “I wasn’t enough for you. I get it now.”
“Taylor... no...”
“Is this a bad time?” Zac asked as he poked his head in the doorway of the kitchen.
“Come on in, Zac,” Taylor greeted half-heartedly.
Kate noticed the tension in the room and cleared her throat. “I think I’ll go play with Ezra. Come on, Zac”
“I didn’t even hear you come in,” Taylor said embarrassed.
“Nobody answered the doorbell, so I used the spare key you gave me. I hope that’s OK.”
“No, it’s fine. We were just finishing up here.”
“Yeah, um,” he placed the mashed potatoes on the table. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Thanks.”
There was an awkward silence that lasted until they heard 3 voices in the living room.
“It’s not that you weren’t enough for me, because you were. It’s just that I need to find my own way.”
“And I can’t be a part of that.”
Natalie looked down. “Not right now.” Taylor sighed. “But I still miss you.”
“You don’t know what you want, do you?” Natalie shook her head.
“Not at all.”
Meanwhile, back at the tree...
“Hey Uncle Zac?” Ezra questioned. “Are Mommy and Daddy ever gonna stop fighting?”
Zac and Kate exchanged nervous glances. “They’re not fighting, they just... can’t decide what’s for dinner.”
“Oh...” Ezra thought that over. “I hope they choose soon. I’m hungry.”
Kate and Zac looked at each other again. This was not good.
Chapter 13
Index
Email: BunchOfFrogs@aol.com
