Compromise Me: Chapter 44

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Chapter 44

Justin and Hannah had their house to themselves for the first time in weeks. They stood on the porch as Josie drove Hannah's minivan full of the kids out to the Kirkland farm for the night. The boys wanted to camp out, and the girls were eager to help Grandma go through the stuff in the attic and basement.

"How did she get so grown?" Justin asked his wife when the van and Travis' truck disappeared from view.

"She couldn't stay a child forever, Jack," Hannah said.

"I know," he sighed. "But she's getting married."

"He hasn't officially asked her yet," she reminded him. "She'll still be your baby girl for a little while longer. And just think...soon she could have a baby girl of her own."

"Do you think they'll wait too long?" Justin asked as they went back inside.

Hannah smiled at him. "Are you so eager for her to be a mother already?"

He paused to gaze at a family photo in the hallway. One that had been taken not long after the twins were born. "She'll be a great mother, and...and I kind of miss having babies around."

Hannah laid her head on his shoulder. "Me, too. That Tristan is adorable, isn't he?"

Justin chuckled. "It was a stroke of genius bringing him with them. Josie was always too smart for her own good."

"She got that from her father," Hannah said. She grabbed his hands. "Tell you what...you help me clean up the dinner mess, and even though we aren't able to make babies anymore, we can spend the rest of the night pretending we can."

"Songbird," he growled deliciously, "Do you think about anything other than sex when we're alone?"

She gave him that mischievous smile that always erased the years from her face. "No."

He grinned back. "Yeah...me either."

They skipped the dishes and got straight to pretending.

*****

"This is a great spread of land," Travis said to Mary Alice Kirkland that night while sitting on the front porch of Josie's grandparent's farmhouse. "I didn't get a chance to appreciate it the last time I was here."

He'd been trying to make small-talk with Josie's grandmother for the last half hour, but he got the feeling that he was failing horribly. Mary Alice rocked in her rocker, commenting on occasion, but mostly she continued to hum the same tune. Travis thought the melody was beautiful, too, but after the fifth time, he began to wonder if the older woman still had all her marbles.

The creak of the rocking chairs echoed along with the chirping of tree crickets, and Travis glanced behind him into the house. Josie and her siblings were digging around in the basement, searching for camping supplies, of all things. After leaving Hannah and Justin's house that afternoon, they all came over to the farm so that the boys--Jak and the uncle/cousin Max (Travis didn't grasp that weird relation description)--could go camping out in the backyard, and so that the girls--Rose and Violet--could help grandma clean out closets before she started packing up to move. Travis was there with Josie because Tristan heard about the camping venture and begged to go, too. What was a father to do when his son batted those big brown eyes?

The rocker next to him stopped moving. "I gave it to Josie, you know," Mary Alice said, and Travis looked at her. Her eyes seemed coherent and steady. Maybe she wasn't as blank as she seemed at times. "After Ronald passed," she went on, "I didn't have a reason or the capacity to live out here alone." Mary Alice leaned over the arm of her chair with a smile. "I'm old, you know. Sixty-five on my last birthday."

Travis returned her smile. "Every woman should be so lucky to be this beautiful at sixty-five."

She patted his arm and hummed a few more seconds. "You're just as charming as my Ronald was... He loved my blackberry cobbler. Josie doesn't want it."

"I'm sorry?" Travis frowned slightly. "Josie doesn't want blackberry cobbler?"

"Oh, no, dear," she said. "The house and farm. Josie loves my blackberry cobbler. Everyone does."

"Oh...okay." Travis went back to rocking and staring into the night...and waiting for Josie. The humming started up again. He heard Josie and Hannah talking earlier about Grandma Kirkland's health...about how she hadn't been herself since the funeral. Travis now understood their concern.

No...Mary Alice should not live out here by herself.

"I'm not crazy," she said between humming. "Just lonely. Ronald was my heart."

The melody started over, and Travis listened...really listened. "That's a beautiful song. I've never heard it before."

"My grandmother taught it to me," she said. "It is a family tradition...from the old country, I was told. The song begins when the heart leaves...and ends when I find it again."

He turned his head and looked at her. Find it again? Did she mean...? He cleared his throat. "Mrs. Kirkland--"

"Call me Mary Alice, dear."

He smiled at her. "Mary Alice, does the song have words?"

"None that I know," she answered. Her head turned so that she faced him. "I pray that my girls find their hearts. The pain of losing it will haunt them, but the pain only lasts for a little while. The song soothes the soul and measures the minutes." She eased back in her rocker, smiled softly, and searched for her heart.

Travis swallowed the lump in his throat and was happy to hear Josie and the kids coming up from the basement. He eased out of his chair to go help. "Is your grandmother going to be okay?" he whispered to Josie when they were alone next.

Josie peeked out one of the front windows. Mary Alice remained in her chair, humming. "Mom said she's been like that for a while now," Josie said. "Most of the time, she's Grandma, but sometimes, I think...I think she really misses Grandpa. It's a good thing she's going to live with her sister. They need each other."

"What's going to happen to the farm?" he asked, helping her and the kids lug camping gear out into the yard. They traipsed past Mary Alice, still humming, and down the porch stairs toward the large oak tree.

Josie said, "It'll stay in the family for the time being. We're going to lease it to some friends until Daddy and Uncle Luke figure out what to do with it. They grew up here and don't want to let it go anymore than I do."

He turned to look at her as the boys--Jak, Max, and their friend Zac--showed Tristan how to put up a simple tent. "Mary Alice said she gave it to you, and you didn't want it."

Josie smiled as Tristan fumbled with the adjustable rods. "I could not live here and be with you," she said to Travis. "My life is in Memphis now...with you and Tristan. I could have accepted the farm, but I could not have loved it as much as I love the two of you."

Travis took hold of her hand and pulled her around the giant tree trunk. He hugged her close, out of sight of the kids. "Will you ever stop sacrificing for me? I'm over my head in debt with you."

She laughed into his shoulder. "Is it wrong that I like you in my debt? I'll be rolling in the payments for the next fifty years."

"And I'll enjoy paying every installment," he replied, shifting to kiss her, but only getting a quick peck before Tristan barrelled into his leg.

"Daddy! I camp now!"

Travis glanced around to see a good-sized tent already completed, and the older boys already setting up a campfire ring. "Uh...a fire?" he asked Josie.

She patted him gently. "It's okay. Tristan will be safe. Jak, Zac and Max have been camping out for years, and we'll stay here until the fire goes out anyway. Jak? Got the extinguisher?"

"Right here, sis," he said, holding up a red canister. Max lit the tinder, set a domed screen over the crackling flames, and sat back with a wide grin. Tristan whooped and danced around the pit, making his daddy very nervous, but when the boys drew out the marshmallows and patiently showed the little guy how to roast his and that "they cook quicker when you hold it still," Tristan calmed down and focused on his very first self-roasted marshmallow.

Travis held Josie close while sitting on the ground, watching the night sky and the illuminated faces of her--their family around them. It truly was a beautiful place to grow up and live. In Josie's ear, he murmured, "When I was their age, moments like this were only in the movies."

She laughed softly. "I have a little country in my heart...we'll have more moments like this together."

He said, "Princess, if there is anything I can do to make this happen again, you let me know."

She snuggled back against his shoulder and sighed. "Then build me a house...like this one. And let's fill it with lots more little people and roasted marshmallows."

"How many little people?"

"How many do you want?"

He nipped at her ear. "I'll let you decide that. I could have a dozen, if it were up to me."

"Mmm, that would make thirteen total. Unlucky number, Travis."

"Then let's aim for two more and see what happens afterward."

"And when Ari and Sam start adding to the mix?"

Travis kissed her temple. "One big, happy, crazy family."

Josie giggled. "Sounds perfect. But you know...it would be nice to get married first."

He chuckled and squeezed her tight as Tristan crawled on top of both and licked gooey marshmallow off his fingers. "Tonight, I want to hold you both," he said, "and then I'll worry about our future plans tomorrow."

*****

Travis eventually asked Josie to marry him...properly, that was. It took him about three months. And that was only because of three things: One, work swamped them for quite a while. The label business plan had to be modified since many of their manufacturing connections were associated with their previous investors and they had to rewrite the contracts. Two, he wanted to wait until Josie's apartment lease was close to ending. There was no point in having two residences if they were to be married, and if she and he were to live together, then they needed to, at least, be engaged--and of course, he had to find a place to build his bride her dream home. And three, Arielle took it upon herself to help him shop for the ring. She was impossible to please, even though Travis knew that Josie would be happy with several of his selections. However, Arielle insisted she knew what girls liked in engagement rings, so he resigned himself to the long process of scouring every jeweler within two hundred miles.

He was finally allowed to purchase a two-carat green diamond solitaire ring in a princess cut. Josie cried for an hour when he stood her under the moonlight in his backyard and repeated that question from when they were in California. "You want to get married?" Then he showed her the ring, and then she started crying. He tried to soothe her...because he did tell her father that he would never intentionally made her cry.

The wedding happened in April of the following year. It was a simple affair...elegant in its own way, but small and personal enough to make both bride and groom comfortable with the preparations. Again Arielle tried to help. Josie ultimately gave her one job...plan the bachelorette party. That event took place at the bar where Christy worked and it lasted all night.

Josie wore a form-fitting, full-length, white-lace gown...since she knew how much Travis enjoyed that particular fabric on her. He nearly swallowed his tongue when she walked down the aisle with her father. They honeymooned in a mountaintop lodge in eastern Tennessee...because it was private and within driving distance.

And the very next time Josie's father asked her if she was pregnant, she proudly answered, "Yes."

*****

Between them, Josie and Travis had two children. The first one being a girl they named Olivia Annabelle Fischer, and the second was another boy they christened Trevor Ronald Fischer...which tended to make Josie stutter when trying to call all her boys to the dinner table.

Arielle and Sam had three girls, Arianna, Aria and Arlise...confusing all on its own.

*****

As for Tristan, he grew up happy and well-adjusted. He loved doting on his many sisters, and he made sure his one brother knew all about sandboxes, red rocks and volcanoes. As he got older, his interests centered on science. He had some trouble deciding if he wanted to be a chemist, a biologist or an ecologist.

Travis was glad he kept that education fund from his mother. His oldest son changed his college major so many times, he wondered if Tristan would ever graduate. Eventually, he did. With a doctorate in meteorology. That one came out of nowhere. However, by the time Tristan reached his forties, he was one of the leading specialist at NASA, and he discovered a new, distant exoplanet...which he named Shosie. (The textbooks called it Hesiod 9 c.)

*****

Travis and Livie took a DNA test. They were related. As if anyone doubted...

And Livie stayed at Raw Studios for another two years, longer than she or anyone expected. But with her newfound family, she was just stubborn enough to not let her disease get the best of her. She was going to live long enough to see the rest of her great-grandchildren born, or God help her, she'd make Heaven a living hell for the angels up there.

Apparently, God understood. Livie's health and mentality held on for almost another decade. She became the kooky one in the family. All the kids called her Lovie, and Olivia Williams ate it up. When she finally passed, her studio thrived, her grandson and Josie were happier than ever, and the little ones all had stories about Lovie that they could share with their kids, knowing that they would never be believed.

*****

The Bossy Babies became a national sensation...until they subsequently broke up after twelve years together. Sheena married Tractor, settled in Memphis to split her time working at the Studio and Tractor's own custom-made furniture store, and Britney married Brandon Lane...then divorced the pig, and then married him again.

*****

All the children in this story eventually received their own love stories, but ten years after her big sister Josie married, Rose became the next victim to Justin Kirkland's delusions.

*****

The End


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