Part 59
As the guys worked on fixing dinner, the ladies sat in the living room talking. Annie filled Michelle, Dianne, and Chelsea in on her day and then talk turned to other things as Annie played in the floor with ‘Bo’.
“Chelsea, how’s your ankle doing?” asked Dianne.
“It’s getting better. The doctor said I could get the cast off in a couple of weeks and have a brace but I’ll still need the crutches.”
“Is that when you start physical therapy?”
Nodding her head ‘yes, “Hopefully, I’ll be walking without a cane or crutches by July.”
“I’m going to do my best to have you there,” said Michelle.
“Mrs. Whitlock, are you going to stay much longer?”
“As a matter of fact, I’m moving out here….to be closer to Annie and Chelsea. Lord knows, Chelsea is going to need help if she is going to keep up with Annie AND Alex and finish her law degree. I don’t know why you’re even bothering to finish your degree,” said Hillary turning to Chelsea. “Alex has said countless times that he can take care of you and Kevin is helping with Annie.”
“I want my degree, Mama. I don’t want Alex supporting me.”
“Have you been looking for a place?” asked Michelle cutting her eyes to Chelsea in time to see her mood was rapidly changing.
“Actually, Alex has said I can stay here while they are on the road. It’s spacious enough and Nana and Paps are thrilled that they’ll be able to see their great-granddaughter.”
“What about the farm in Virginia?”
“Paps is putting it on the market and they are getting ready to move out here.”
Chelsea fell silent, this unexpected bit of news tumbling over and over in her head, as her mother continued talking to Michelle and Dianne about the move from Virginia to California.
Dianne had caught on to Chelsea’s change of moods as well and she decided that she and Michelle needed to let Alex know. “Mrs. Whitlock, I think those boys need us to keep an eye on them. You never know what they will get into or what we’ll end up having for dinner if they aren’t closely supervised. Why don’t we go out and check on them?”
“You girls stay put. I’ll go by myself. It’ll give me a chance to get to know my other three ‘sons’.”
Annie scuttled up to follow her grandmother and Michelle made an excuse to follow too leaving Dianne and Chelsea alone. Chelsea was so distracted by her mother’s announcement, she didn’t even realize that the others had left.
Dianne moved over to sit by Chelsea and asked softly, “Are you okay?”
“Huh? Oh…yeah…I guess.” Looking around, Chelsea asked, “Where did they go?”
“I managed to get them out of here so I could talk to you. I take it you aren’t really thrilled with the idea of your mother moving out here….and your grandparents.”
“Honestly, I don’t know, Dianne. I really do not know how I feel.”
“I know I’m the last person you want to get advice from….”
Chelsea laughed softly as she said, “You can’t be but so bad….Kevin did fall in love with you.”
“I expect in a lot of ways, you and I are alike….given that Kevin fell in love with you too.”
“So, what kind of advice do you have?
“Give your mom a chance.” Dianne stopped for a minute knowing she really shouldn’t use what she knew but decided to continue, taking advantage of the friendship that seemed to be starting. “Kevin told me that you were angry because your mother didn’t stop your father from kicking you out.”
“Yeah, I was and to a certain degree, I still am. I guess that’s why I’m not overly excited about her moving out here.”
“Chelsea, you realized that Annie needed her father. Well, she needs the rest of her family too….and so do you. You clearly have a mother and grandparents who care a great deal about you….even if their past actions don’t show it. Let them be here for you. You’ve worked hard to make something of yourself. You’ve proven to yourself that you can make it on your own. You don’t have to live the rest of your life with that wall around your heart to protect you from them any more. You and Alex are starting a beautiful life together. Let the part of your family who WANTS to be there, be a part of it.”
As a strong, tattooed pair of arms slipped around her to hug her, Chelsea said, “Thank you, Di….Dee.”
Smiling, “You’re welcome. Now, I’m going to go check on my husband and leave you two alone.”
“Kevin’s got a glass of wine waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Alex.”
Placing a kiss on her cheek, Alex said, “Michelle said you were upset. What’s wrong?”
“Not really upset…..shocked is more like it,” answered Chelsea as she put her hands on his arms and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Mama just dropped a bomb on me.”
“You mean about moving out here?”
“You knew?”
Alex moved around to sit in front of her as he said, “Yeah. You aren’t mad, are you…that I didn’t tell you?”
“No, it really wasn’t your place to tell me.”
“I really didn’t mean to keep it from you….just didn’t cross my mind to tell you.”
“You’ve been busy with the new single and the new CD, Alex. Don’t worry about it. Besides, even if it had been you telling me, I’d have still been shocked.”
Leaning in, Alex placed a kiss on her lips lingering long enough to steal a taste. “Wanna join us? I’ve got a place for you to sit and prop your ankle up.”
“Sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to be able to walk without crutches and a cast. I want to take a LOOONG walk along the beach at sunset with just you,” smiled Chelsea.
“One of your fantasies?”
“Uh huh….and then come home to sit in the hot tub sipping sparkling apple cider with candle light and soft music before going to a bed of rose petals and more candle light and soft music and making love all night long.”
AJ caressed her cheek. “You will have it all, ‘Beautiful’….you’ll have every, last fantasy come true.”
Taking her hand, AJ helped Chelsea up, handed her her crutches, and followed her out to join the rest of the gang for a wonderful dinner.
