Treeny’s heart tripped as the footsteps echoed up the walk. The stride of boots against the stone sidewalk beat in time with her heart. She knew that sound. She’d heard it before.
Heart thumping, she waited for those boots to reach the front door. They seemed to take an eternity before she heard the scrape of a boot heel on the first step. Then the next step, and the next, and the next until they reached the porch.
The pounding of a fist against the door raised bile in her throat. She smelled fear, because Treeny knew what that pounding meant. Cold, clammy sweat broke out on her body, and she tried to swallow.
Fear. She hated the sound, feel, and smell of this emotion she couldn’t shake. She heard her mother answer the door. It was late, too late for social calls. Their visitors came because they had to. They drove all the way out to the Deveau house to impart this news.
Bad news. She knew they came with news she didn’t want to hear.
She slid silently out of her bed and crept to the doorway of her bedroom. The men standing on the front step were uniformed. They looked so official. They stood differentially, with respect and consolation, and plenty of sympathy mixed into their speech. One man wore a large silver cross around his neck. The jewelry didn’t fit against the uniform.
She saw the first man’s Adam’s apple bob before he cleared his throat. “Ms. Deveau?”
Fear clenched her insides again, turned her guts to liquid. The man looked like he wanted to turn and run in the opposite direction. Just as any man who brought information that couldn’t be changed, couldn’t be altered would desire.
A scream rose in her throat and dislodged the bile. She knew. She knew exactly what those men in uniform brought. People who died in the line of duty were given this type of service.
“May I help you?” The question, asked in a woman’s voice was so innocuous. So innocent. Had she asked that question, or her mother?
She heard a garbled response from the men, and realized fear had shut off her listening skills. When she shoved the fear away, Treeny heard the words form into a coherent sentence.
“We’re here to tell you that Ben Morrison died last night.”
She screamed and finally woke up. Treeny sat up in her bed, sweat coating her body, her heart racing. Exactly as they had that terrible night in her teens when her world fell apart.
Saturday dawned bright and chaotic. At least that’s what Treeny surmised when she finally opened her eyes to a bright room. When she glanced at the clock, she saw she had overslept. Because of the nightmare. Again. She hadn’t had that dream in a few years, but there had been a different twist last night. Instead of the men coming to inform her and her family of her father’s death, they’d come to inform her of Ben’s.
She battled the same fear and despair that rose up in a choking hold again. This battle had been fought already. Years ago, when she struggled to heal from the unexpected blow of her father’s death and ran to Pennsylvania and the love of the Morrison family.
Pete tried licking her to death. Remembering the dog’s determination to awaken her, Treeny gathered Pete’s wriggling body close for a moment. She was supremely grateful for the puppy.
Treeny glanced at the clock again.
“Oh, no!” She groaned and rolled out of bed to find her phone.
Finally, in desperation, she hunted until she found the device under a seat cushion on the sofa. She stared Pete down, but the puppy didn’t show signs of guilt, so Treeny decided not to make accusations. Instead she found Emma’s number and called her.
“Aunt Emma, I overslept. I’ll be over as soon as I get dressed,” she said hastily when Emma answered.
“No rush, dear. In fact, you may go back to bed if you wish. We’re in excellent shape. There’s really nothing left to do until an hour or so before the party. We’re rather organized around here.”
Treeny smothered a yawn and opened the door for Pete. The puppy scampered down the stairs, tail waving like a flag in a steady breeze. “You are organized, General Emma.”
“Yes, dear. I’ll see you around noon, then?”
“That sounds perfect.” She entertained visions of returning to her bed. The busy week must have caught up with her. It was only 7:30 a.m., so she decided once she let Pete back in, they’d return to bed.
Wearily, she opened the door for Pete when she yapped at the door. Even through her fatigue, she smiled at the puppy bark. Someday Pete would likely have a menacing growl-bark, more fitting for her adult size but for now her voice elicited laughter.
Yawning, Treeny trailed across the room to her bed. Pete bounced onto the mattress and clambered in the way of the covers, but eventually they settled back onto the softness. She thought briefly about Ben. Where was he? Was he okay? Did he need anything?
She rolled over and wished he was with her. She wanted to see him today, now. Still, General Emma would keep her busy. Perhaps his aunt did so on purpose. But then, she wasn’t married. Wondering idly if Emma Morrison had ever been in love, she drifted into sleep.
“Is this right, General Emma?” Treeny wove the last of the ribbon through the stair rail.
“The decorations are gorgeous, love. Perfect.” Their busy leader took a moment to inspect Treeny’s work on her way past.
Still, through the stress of preparing for the surge of relatives who would soon be befalling them, Emma appeared serene. Knowing herself, Treeny figured she’d be far less peaceful. This was a plausible explanation why General Emma tended to be so successful at organizing events.
And this shower was a fairly large undertaking. Not on the same proportions as the Bent Rock Foundation, but still large. At last count, she, Rachel, KC, and Lainy expected around a hundred people.
“How on earth are we going to fit a hundred people in here?” Rachel whispered on her way past to do General Emma’s latest bidding. To this day Treeny wished she could have inherited the same genes that gave Rachel her tall, blonde good looks. Supposedly they shared the same genes. Not that Ben seemed to mind that Treeny wasn’t all that tall and her hair tended toward red and gold than blonde.
She opened her eyes wide and shrugged. “I have no idea. Don’t ask me.” Leaning down, she picked up the remainder of her sandwich and took a bite. Rachel watched her suspiciously. “What?” she asked her sister, suspicion growing.
“You were supposed to be on the planning committee for logistics.” She noticed her sister’s mouth twitch with humor. Since there was no logistics planning committee, she could understand the reason behind Rachel’s amusement.
“I wasn’t on that committee. Lainy was,” Treeny defended and took another bite of her sandwich.
“I was what?” Lainy asked as she came abreast of them. She stole a couple chips from Treeny’s plate.
“You were part of the logistics planning committee. How on earth are we going to fit a hundred people in here?” Rachel also helped herself to the chips on Treeny’s plate.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’ve squeezed at least a hundred and seventy five people in General Emma’s house. Besides, a bunch of those people will be little,” Lainy indicated the space near her thigh, “so they’ll play outside. No problems,” she assured them, snagging another chip.
“Hey, I’m following orders here, doing this and that for the world’s most organized general, and you three are standing around eating chips and gossiping.” KC mock huffed as she came upon them and added a glare. She helped herself to the last of the chips on Treeny’s plate. “Mmmm, I needed that. I was getting hungry.”
“You’re breast feeding,” Lainy said easily.
“True. Maybe I should search out some fruit. I’m starving again.”
“Where’s Ryan?” Treeny asked.
“With Max. He has all the kids in the backyard.”
“Which kids?”
“Mine,” Lainy said.
“Mine, too.” Rachel waved a hand. The one not clutching Treeny’s chips.
“Oh.” Treeny laughed. “Since your kids are my nieces and nephews, I should have known that, hmm?”
“You’d think.”
“What are you girls doing? We’ve still got work to do,” Emma announced and clapped her hands. Treeny and her fellow slaves exchanged guilty looks before bursting back into their duties.
“Dictator,” Lainy muttered under her breath.
“Yes, I am.” Emma hustled them again. “Faster!”
“Ben, please come home,” Treeny prayed.
When Heather Morrison entered the room and saw the pink ribbons and balloons, she frowned. “Did I stumble into a breast cancer fundraiser?” she asked. Janine almost knocked her mom over when that good lady stopped abruptly.
“No, but that’s a good idea.” Janine watched Emma lean over her list and jot something down.
“Thanks, Heather,” Treeny hissed, “now we’ll have to work on that too.”
Her mom looked worried, but hugged Treeny anyway. “Well, breast cancer fundraising is a good cause. And we’re tough,” she said cheerfully and the two laughed together. They sounded slightly guilty.
Janine agreed; breast cancer research was invaluable. She stepped through the doorway and caught her first sight of the room. “Wow, this is a lot of pink.” She watched Treeny and KC’s lips curl up.
“We wanted pastels, but this is what General Emma wanted.” Treeny indicated Ben’s aunt with an airy hand.
“General Emma?” she questioned and they all surreptitiously indicated Emma. She nodded. “Ah, yes, I think I’ve been warned about her.” Someone had informed her that Aunt Emma was a force to be reckoned with. Observing the petite, silver haired lady now, she couldn’t imagine such a woman being commanding.
“Right.” KC steered her toward a seat festooned with balloons and ribbons. Janine sat, since that’s what her friend wanted.
“What?” Ben’s mother frowned when they directed her into another.
“This is your chair. Where’s Stephanie, Julie, and Melanie?” Lainy called over the crowd. Ben’s three other sisters plowed through the crowd. They were all tempered by the relatives who stopped one or the other for hugs.
Each of Ben’s other sisters were seated in specific chairs. Janine noticed their chairs flanked hers. What was happening? She must still be tired from her side-trip to Washington, D.C. No I have to say Atlanta, since no one knows I was at Walter Reed, she corrected in her mind. Still, whatever the reason for her befuddlement, she hoped it passed soon.
Emma cleared her throat, and almost instantly received silence from the rest of the room’s occupants. “As you all know, Ben, my nephew, discovered he has a biological sister – Dr. Janine Morris.” She smiled as everyone started to cheer. Janine smiled, but worried at the terror that slid down her spine. She inched her way down the chair, trying to remain unobtrusive.
Treeny smiled in compassion, but Janine still felt embarrassed. She couldn’t remember ever having so many eyes focused on her before. The sensation was disconcerting.
“Of course, we’ve all been excited to meet Janine, but I think perhaps Heather was the most excited and impatient of the lot.” Laughter rippled through the room, and Janine breathed in a gulp of relief as the attention switched to Heather. “Followed rather closely by her other three daughters. Now we can enjoy a new member of the family. So, of course, since Heather has a new daughter, one she had to wait for,” Emma smiled at Ben’s mom, “longer than nine months, longer even than twelve, but she was still an expectant mother, nonetheless.”
All restlessness in the room ceased. Every pair of eyes now remained on Emma. Each seeming to anticipate what she was about to say. Treeny appeared to be holding her breath, and Janine thought maybe KC was, too. What did they know that she didn’t?
“We thought, therefore, the most fitting celebration to welcome Janine into the family would be via a baby shower. Even though she’s not a baby, she’s a new daughter to Heather and a sister to the girls...” Emma couldn’t go any further, because the room erupted into applause, laughter, and tears.
Astounded, Janine turned to her new official mother, who simply opened her arms. Janine flew into that embrace, her heart in her throat. Already this woman had done so much for her. Had welcomed her as though she did consider Janine her daughter. Her life on the island where she’d grown up had been rife with loneliness and the uncomfortable feeling of not belonging.
Her “sisters”, Stephanie, Julie, and Melanie all left their seats to share in the hugs. They had been as welcoming and excited as Ben’s mother and cousins. She detected no jealousy, no resentment, no anger from any of them.
Instead, they all eagerly welcomed her into their family fold. As though she was truly a lost sister.
Emma began talking again. The room quieted for her. “This is a celebration to make Janine’s addition to the family official.”
Swallowing, she noticed she held the hands of her new “mother” and “sister” Stephanie. Janine had never been showered with gifts before, but now she and her new mother were piled with packages decorated with fuzzy yellow ducks and pastel bears. She found pictures inside. Pictures of Ben and her new sisters and cousins, all in various stages of their lives. Now she would have memories of their growing up years.
Lots of photo albums and frames soon littered the area around her feet. Precious gifts. From a precious family who now considered her theirs.
She could barely remember her birth mother; their time together had been cut short early. But she could call the Morrison family of Hershey, Pennsylvania, hers now. She had a true family for the first time in her life. Blinking back tears, she opened more pictures and frames. Some of the frames were empty. The notes on them said they were for future memories.
She opened one that would make a perfect wedding picture frame. For some reason her eyes slid to Treeny. Smiling, she leaned over to her new mother, who had just opened one similar to the one she held. “For Treeny and Ben’s wedding picture, do you think?”
Her mom smiled. “I was thinking the same thing. Although, I believe I’ll save this one for your wedding, love,” she said matter-of-factly, and Janine’s heart tumbled.
Never before had she thought of marriage. Then she met a wounded operative who touched her soul. She was confident he would recover. Still, for a doctor to be thinking of her patient in such a way was disgraceful.
Yet she couldn’t stop her eyes from flowing to his sister. KC stood near the back of the room, her daughter in her arms, tears in her eyes. She looked so happy, and Janine knew part of that happiness was for her.
She had never felt so close to another individual as she did to KC Gilmore Morrison, and the Morrisons, just as KC had predicted, had tugged her, willing or not, into their lives. Now she not only had a best friend in KC, but she also cherished a new, huge, loving family.
Would this family welcome KC’s brother into their ranks so willingly? How could a man who had been thought to be an outcast find redemption?
She herself had only just been introduced and welcomed by them. What if they couldn’t accept the man who was the very first to touch her heart?
By the time they cut the cake, Janine had met more relatives than she ever thought possible. And the hundred or so she met today were females. She didn’t have their men’s faces to add to the extended list of cousins and aunts she had been introduced to.
“So, what do you think?” Treeny asked, plopping down beside her, a huge slice of cake in her hand.
“How on earth can you eat a piece of cake that large and not gain weight?”
Treeny waved a negligent hand. “I’ve earned this cake. We’ve been worked to the bone this week.”
“I see.” Treeny’s bones looked fine to her.
She laughed. “I promise. We’ve been quite busy. I’ve barely had time to miss Ben. Which, speaking of him, it’s sad he’s not here.”
Janine smiled. “Do you really think he’d have come even if he was home?”
Treeny cocked her head. “Well, when you put it like that, I doubt it. But we’ll have to take excellent pictures. He’ll want to see your official welcome into the Morrison family.”
“Pictures will probably suffice,” Janine said dryly, as she forked up another bite of cake. A much smaller slice than the one Treeny worked on with greedy deliberation. KC sat down beside her, and Janine saw her slice was large.
Treeny must have caught her look of disgust, because she hooted with laughter. “I’m telling you, we’ve been working hard this week.”
KC snorted. “Hard? We’ve been lackeys to a supreme dictator.”
“Don’t willingly offer to help General Emma,” Treeny cautioned.
“Doesn’t matter whether you’re willing or not, you’ll still become a volunteer,” Lainy said, by now, Janine wasn’t surprised by the size of her cake as the weary looking woman flopped into a vacant chair.
“I need another slice of cake,” Janine decided.