Well, if nothing else, Ginger is a woman of her word. Here's part 9 (I think, I've sort of lost track). For you smut addicts (shame on you!;), I'll apologize in advance. I'm afraid this is another one of those pesky, plot-driven installments, so this one probably rates only PG-13 or so for language. But there's so much filth in the rest of it that I figure I'll just keep slapping the NC-17 rating up.
Disclaimer: Craig & Steve, you are more than welcome to the contents of my piggybank but I ain't making a penny on this!
Billie, Part 9(?)
by Ginger
Billie gazed forlornly at the ceramic baking dish, noting to herself that a casserole had definitely been the right choice; it had hardly been touched. Casseroles improve with refrigeration; it would taste even better next time. The cheese soufflé she had briefly contemplated, on the other hand, would've gone straight to the compost heap. Either that, or the young Stevenson boy, who sometimes ran to the grocery for her, would have had an extra special treat for his pet pig, Pinky. She emitted a soft sigh.
Until today, she'd have thought the lunch the children had shared on the afternoon of her great niece's arrival was the most awkward, tension-filled meal she had ever witnessed. And, until today, it probably was. But, compared with what this party of four had endured over the better part of an hour, that lunch had been downright relaxed in atmosphere.
Parker sat in silence, seething, her anger bubbling just beneath the surface and threatening to boil over at any moment. She hadn't lifted her fork once. Jarod, who was seated next to Billie, alternated between shoveling his food around on his plate, gazing up at Parker and the visitor, who were seated side by side, and staring off into space for minutes at a time, as though he were trying to work out something in his head. The visitor did make a valiant attempt at lunch, managing a few bites and graciously complimenting Billie on her efforts, but she could tell that he had to muster every bit of his strength just to swallow. Finally, she decided to take her life in her own hands and address her great niece,
"You haven't touched a bite, my dear, are you alright?"
"No, Billie," Parker replied in a menacingly controlled voice. "I'm afraid I am not alright. What I am is?" She brought her hand down hard on the tabletop, causing the rest of the party to jump at the clatter and clamor of jolted tableware.
"Sick to death of being lied to!"
"Miss Parker, please, let me."
"What? Explain? I'm sick to death of explanations too! My father's fed me a lifetime of explanations, excuses! Whenever he's backed into a corner, he pulls another one out of his hat! By now, I've come to expect as much from him. But, idiot that I am, I somehow expected MORE from YOU! I can't believe I ever allowed myself to trust you! Never again, Sydney, NEVER AGAIN!"
"Parker, please try to calm down," Sydney entreated. Ignoring him, she continued,
"Let's set aside the previous QUARTER CENTURY, shall we? But what about all that time we've spent together over the last few years, more than with anyone else on the planet! Shit, the crises, the NEAR DEATH experiences, all those GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES for you to SPILL YOUR GUTS! Apparently, it all meant NOTHING to you!"
"Please, Parker," Jarod interjected worriedly, looking about ready to bolt from his seat and go to her.
"He did it to you too, Jarod, because this involves YOUR mother too! Just another Centre lie at our expense, only this time it was dear-old Sydney who turned out to be the BIG FAT LIAR!"
"That will be ENOUGH, young lady!" Billie broke in. "I will not have a guest at my table who, I might add, is here by MY invitation, treated with such disrespect."
"Which reminds me, I haven't even gotten to YOU yet, old lady!"
"And you won't, not now anyway. Whatever else you have to say to the good doctor, or to me for that matter, will wait until he, until we, have had the chance to tell our side of the story."
"But..." Parker began to protest.
"MARGARET CATHERINE PARKER! DID YOU NOT HEAR A WORD I SAID?"
Billie's thunderous outburst just seemed to hang in the air for a time, accompanied by an eerie quiet, as if every living thing for miles were holding its breath. At hearing her full name spoken aloud for the first time in decades, Parker was stunned into silence as she stared, slack-jawed, across the table, first at Billie then into Jarod's eyes, the shock evident in them reflecting her own. She was seized with a completely irrational desire to jump up, grab him by the hand, and just run, as fast and as far away as they could. Absurd as it was, it was a familiar sensation: she had experienced it several times when they were together as children, right after her mother's death. Sydney observed the look exchanged between them then glanced down at his plate, a small, bittersweet smile gracing his lips.
"I know this must be a terrible shock, Miss Parker," he began softly. "But I made a solemn promise to your mother and, as it was the last thing she ever asked of me, I felt honor-bound to follow her wishes."
Parker took a deep breath then turned to look into Sydney's eyes and in an even, slightly quivering voice, said, "Okay, Syd, spill it."
He gave her a small smile and shrugged, "She paid a visit, late one evening, to my home. She had already confided to me that she feared for her life and I was very worried about her, particularly because she had missed our session that day. Nobody seemed to have any idea where she was."
"That's because she was here," Billie piped in. "That's the last time I saw her," she tacked on sadly.
"Catherine handed me a small wooden box, which she told me was locked. She said that, obviously, a lock wouldn't stop me should I become curious about what it contained. But it was her hope that I wouldn't do so because it was up to the children; it was theirs to open. By the children, she meant of course."
"The two of us," Jarod intoned.
"Yes, Jarod, the two of you. Catherine asked that I trust her even though she couldn't say more. It had to be that way for my own protection; she needed me to be safe for your sake, Jarod." He turned his attention back to Parker. "For both your sakes. She said it was vital that I do everything in my power to ensure that I remained assigned to Jarod and, as much as possible, to look after you, Parker. She rather cryptically noted that she was confident I'd play a more substantial role in your life later on. Of course, I had no idea what she meant at the time."
"So, she asked you to take the box and keep your mouth shut. That's it?" Parker asked brusquely.
"She said that when the time was right, I'd hear from someone, a woman, and that I could trust this person. This woman, who had been entrusted with the key to the box, would tell me something else that, based on everything I KNEW to be true, would seem preposterous at first but, upon reflection, would actually make complete sense to me."
"And you bought all this?" Parker huffed, folding her arms. "And let her go off into the night to face whatever fate awaited her, even though what she had told you sounded completely ludicrous, at best, delusional, at worst."
"I didn't know what to believe, frankly. All I know is that I was faced with a frightened but determined woman. And I didn't know how to protect her. I didn't even know how to protect myself, not to mention you and Jarod. I told her as much. You must understand, Parker, these were extremely dangerous, uncertain times at the Centre."
"When AREN'T the times dangerous and uncertain? We're hardly working at Disney these days!" she interrupted.
"She's got a point," Jarod added.
Sydney cast his eyes down and smiled, recalling Catherine's touch as she gently caressed his cheeks, the softness of her lips as she pressed them, so sweetly, to his forehead. He could hear her voice, as clearly as he could that night, just as he had heard it echo in his head all those times over the years when he was beginning to lose faith.
"My dear friend. I'm counting on you," he whispered.
"What?" Parker asked, her tone softening a bit.
Gazing deeply into her eyes, he saw the eyes of his beloved, long-departed friend and sighed, gently placing his hand over Parker's where it rested on the table. "She placed her faith in me, Parker. SHE gave me the strength to carry out her wishes. There was simply no alternative. I'm afraid that is all there is."
"Not all," Parker said, glancing at her and Sydney's joined hands. "You loved her, didn't you?"
"She was a devoted friend, a respected colleague, and an incredibly strong, capable woman. I am a better man for having known her. And..." He hesitated a moment then continued, "I consider myself fortunate to have had another in my life, and so much like her."
Shaking her head, Parker asked wearily, "Couldn't you have said something, Syd, once we were working together, day in, day out? Maybe it could have saved us all some... I don't know."
"Early on, you didn't trust me; your judgment was clouded by all their lies. You'd never have believed a word I said. Later on, as we became closer, I was, indeed, tempted. But Catherine was unequivocal on one point; not a word until I heard from."
"Me," Billie cut in. "And, I wasn't to contact him until I had Catherine and Margaret's babies under my roof." She glanced first at Jarod then at Parker and with supreme satisfaction added, "Together."
Then, with a heavy sigh, she continued, "I hated how distant your mother became after she married Mr. Parker. I barely heard from her and, worse yet, never had the chance to meet her baby girl. So, you can well imagine my surprise, and joy, when I glanced out the window to see her walking up to the house. I remember it was sunny and the first really warm day of spring that year. And there she was; it seemed a miracle. But as soon as I looked into her eyes, I knew something was wrong. Oh, she did her best to reassure me but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was saying goodbye... and for good."
Billie paused a moment and roughly swiped a tear from her cheek. She didn't like crying and prided herself on having shed few tears in her 93 years. She took a deep, fortifying breath then recounted, "We talked for hours. Catherine begged my forgiveness for having kept her distance all those years, which was of course completely unnecessary and I made quick work of telling her so. She explained that she had done it because a voice inside her had always advised to keep me separate from the life she had made with Mr. Parker. Then she told me all about you, my dear." She looked into Parker's eyes and smiled. "She said you were beautiful, smart as a whip, and quite a handful. And she believed, above all else, that you were the very best part of her, that you were special, and destined to do great things. My goodness, when I think of how her eyes lit up, how the sadness in them completely disappeared... for a time. She showed me pictures of you and said she wished she could leave them with me but that it wasn't possible."
"She knew they'd come," Parker remarked in a low voice.
"Yes, and she said it was very important there be no evidence of her visit. She said I couldn't tell another living soul of it because THEY, whoever in God's creation THEY were, couldn't know that she'd been to see me because if they did then I wouldn't be safe. I remember thinking at the time, good lord, what has the child gotten herself into. I wanted to ask but I knew there was no point. Then, she glanced at her wristwatch and said she'd soon have to be on her way. She went out to her car and came back with the wooden box, which she said would be delivered that very evening into the hands of someone she could trust to keep it safe. She handed me a small slip of paper bearing the name of that person then the key and told me to guard both as though they were the most precious items on earth. Then she smiled and asked me what I thought was the strangest question under the circumstances. She asked if I remembered Margaret. Of course I remembered her. I'd rightly assumed that Catherine had named her baby for her."
"That's when she told you about me?" Jarod asked softly.
"Yes, my dear boy. And she had many wonderful things to say about you, but she seemed so sad when she spoke of you and your mother. She did not go into the matter and, again, I didn't ask. Truth be told, I don't think I wanted to know; what her eyes told me was enough to send a chill down my spine. And that's when she gave me my instructions. I was to hold onto the key until such time as Margaret's son and her daughter were together under my roof. I'll never forget how single-minded she was on that point. Remember, Auntie, she repeated and more than once, they must be TOGETHER. Then, and only then, was I to contact this fine gentleman." She nodded in the direction of Sydney. "And, when I did, I was to tell him I had the key, that the children were here, and that we were all waiting for him. Imagine, an old woman like me, delivering cryptic messages like something out of one of those spy stories they play at the pictures."
Billie emitted a small chuckle then added, "The years went by... and by... and I began to lose hope of ever seeing the day then, suddenly, here you both were. So, I fished the doctor's address out of my recipe book... hide in plain sight, you know." Jarod quirked an eyebrow and Parker allowed a small smile to form on her lips. "And," Billie continued, "On our way to bridge the other day, I had Cora run me over to the mailboxes place the Wilson boy runs in town to send a Western Union. Jamie, that's the Wilson boy, said nobody sends telegrams anymore what with all those new-fangled devices they've come out with, the Internet and those fax thingies. It was a regular leap of faith. Who knew if it would reach its intended destination, or if this person was even alive anymore?"
"Fortunately," Sydney tacked on, "it did and I am. And here we are, although I'm afraid I will have to cut my visit short. As it is, Lyle has been sniffing around, asking if we had any idea when to expect you back. I certainly wouldn't want to provoke further suspicion by being away for too long."
"Lyle," Parker whispered, a sick feeling gnawing at the pit of her stomach. She glanced up to find Jarod gazing knowingly at her. How on earth, she thought, would she ever begin to explain Lyle's existence, let alone his character and track record, to her great aunt, to THEIR great aunt?
"Well then," Billie announced, "I'd better get the dessert and coffee."
"I'm sorry I tossed the rest of the brownies the other day," Parker muttered as she stood and began to clear the table. "I could really use one about now."
* * * *
"I wish you didn't have to leave so soon," Jarod said as he walked Sydney to his car. "I'd really like to talk with you. So much has happened over the past couple days and... I don't know. I just don't know."
The older man patted his protégé on the shoulder then turned to glance up at the porch where Parker paced back and forth, her arms folded tightly at her chest. She stopped momentarily and met his eyes then continued pacing. Sydney remarked with a wry smile, "I'm sorry, Jarod, but I think this is one you'll have to handle without my help."
He opened his car door and climbed in. Resting one arm on the top of the car, Jarod leaned in and, in a hushed tone, confessed, "But I think I love her, Sydney, that I'm IN LOVE with her."
"Have you told her that?" Sydney asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
"No," Jarod replied with a look of horror. "I realize I take more risks than your average human being but I do not believe I possess a death wish."
Sydney chuckled and advised warmly, "Well, perhaps it's time you took one more. This one has the power to transform your life, Jarod. And, since I have a feeling life is about to change regardless, and in ways I wouldn't even attempt to predict..." He glanced up at the porch again and smiled. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. She's worth it; you're both worth it. Catherine certainly thought so and Miss Babcock clearly thinks so. In this case, however, the only opinions that count are yours... and hers. Be well, Jarod."
"Thanks, Sydney," Jarod replied with a wide smile. "I'll be in touch," he added then pushed the door closed, waving as his mentor drove off.
He turned to see Parker leaning against the porch railing, her arms still folded, and shrugged. There was still the small matter of a thirty-year secret to contend with. Everything had been one way for so long but now it was all changing and, Sydney was right, in ways that were impossible for any of them to anticipate.
"I guess it's time to open that box," he stated as he climbed the porch steps.
"Couldn't we not and say we did?" she asked, only half-joking.
"Come on, Parker. It's from your mother."
"Sure, why not," she said with a heavy sigh, dropping her arms to her sides as she turned away from him. "We'll probably find out, after all this time and about 48 hours too late, that we're really brother and sister."
"That's not funny, Parker," he rebuked.
"Do you see me laughing?" she shot over her shoulder as she pulled the screen door open and stepped inside.
"There you are," Billie observed as she met them in the foyer. "I was just coming out to let you know that I'm retiring to my room for a while. It's been quite a day. I've left the." She motioned. "I've left it on the coffee table. If you need anything, just holler." She gave them an encouraging smile and squeezed her great niece's hand before ambling toward the back of the house.
Jarod and Parker walked slowly into the parlor stopping, side by side, in the archway leading into the room, to stare a the pretty, elegantly carved wooden box.
"Cedar?" Parker asked, rather absurdly she thought a couple seconds later.
"Cherry, I think," Jarod replied quietly and took her hand.
They walked into the room together, moving gingerly around the coffee table to sit, side by side, on the loveseat. Again, they stared.
"Oh, for Christ's sake, this is ridiculous!" Parker exclaimed. "It's a freakin' box, Jarod. Why are we behaving like idiots?"
"Well, I can only speak for myself, but I'm terrified," he confessed then turned to look at her. "How about you?"
"Me?" She looked away from the box and at him. "Oh, the usual: a pounding headache, faint nausea, that terrible foreboding that the shit's about to hit the fan." She reached into her pocket and produced the key. "Now or never," she said with a shrug.
"Now or never," he repeated with the faintest of smiles. Parker slipped the key into the lock.
"Wait!" Jarod declared, placing his hand over hers on the key.
"What?" She jerked her head sideways to look at him again.
"I... I just wanted... I..." He emitted a small groan then pulled her to him for a brief, but forceful, kiss.
"For luck," he said, coloring slightly and glancing down as he released her.
"For luck?" She cast him an incredulous look and gave her head a slight shake before redirecting her attention to the task at hand. When she heard a faint click and felt the lock pop open, she felt as though she were barely breathing.
"You open it," Parker said as her hand came to rest on Jarod's thigh, right above his knee.
"Okay." As he leaned forward to flip open the lid, her grip on his leg tightened.
# # # #
Author's Note: Nasty place to leave it, I know but I PROMISE there will be more this week. Honestly, my vision was beginning to blur so I just couldn't get any farther with the copy editing tonight and this was the point at which I was at least fairly certain it made some sense. (Could be wrong though!) Stay tuned! ;-)