Chapter Twenty Two: A Ray of Sunshine - Margaret Regina

“Why do we have to name her what you want to? Why can’t she have the first name I want?” Rosamund argued. It was the ongoing argument about what we should name our daughter. I wanted to stick with my family tradition of all Hobble children having a British name. It was something that Mom and Dad had started with us kids and all of the grandkids so far had British names. I didn’t want to have the first grandkid that didn’t have one.

“It’s a tradition, Rosamund.”

“But what about my family’s tradition? That all girls have a name starting with an “R”? Why do we have to do yours but not mine?! Afterall, she’ll have your last name.”

We had been having this argument for months. I was hoping that once we arrived in Appaloosa that she might give in but it had only made her dig her heals in even more. I was about at my wits end. We had been staying at her parents’ house for about a month and a half and I’d had about all I could take. I had only seen my family a handful of times since Rosamund’s family monopolized our time. I suppose I could have gone to my parents’ house alone but I wondered what her parents would think. Would they think I was a bad husband for leaving my very pregnant wife while I went out? The last thing I needed was to have Robert or Regina think bad of me. I knew they already thought less of me. Rosamund and I had tried to hide the fact that we didn’t get along much but every once in a while we would argue when they were home.

I was thankful that they had both gone shopping and weren’t there to hear the reoccurring name argument.

“Really? Not this argument again. . .”

“What?! It’s the truth! She’ll have your last name so why can’t she have the first name I want?”

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes. I actually understood her argument and I might have been more receptive to her suggestion if she wasn’t so aggressive about it. It didn’t help that I didn’t feel like she was giving my argument any merit.

“We have to decide something, Jefferson. She could come any day now.”

“It’s still one week before her due date.”

“Anytime means anytime.” She warned. “So why don’t we stop arguing and just go with the name I like. It would make things so much simpler.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. It felt like the walls were starting to close in on me. I walked over to the foyer table and grabbed my keys. “Where are you going?!”

“To my parents’ house. I haven’t seen them since my birthday and I think they might appreciate it if I visited them a little more often, since I am in town, afterall.”

“What if I go into labor?!”

“I have my cell. Plus, you’re not alone; the butlers here.”

“Jefferson! You can’t just leave me! What if something happens to me, or the baby?!”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Rosamund. It’s not like I’m going to a different town. It’s less than three blocks from here.”

“Jefferson! Don’t go we can talk about this. . .” I closed the front door before she could waddle towards it to stop me. 

I got in my car and drove down the hill to my parents’ street. I felt absolutely horrible that I had seen them so rarely while we had been here. I had almost not seen them on my, Charlie, and Bridge’s birthday since Rosamund had tried to keep us from going. She claimed she didn’t feel well and wanted us to stay at her parents instead of celebrating with my family. When I made it clear that I was going to my parents’ house with or without her, she miraculously felt well enough to go. She acted miserable the whole time we were there and I had been completely embarrassed. Even Mom looked unhappy and that was saying a lot. I pulled up to the gate and entered in the code for it to open.

I pulled into the drive and saw that Bridge’s SUV was there. I pulled in behind her and closed the car door. Before I could make it up the stairs the front door was opening. 

“Uncle Jeff!” Charles came running out of the house and hugged me.

“Hey kiddo!” I said as I hugged him back.

“Where’s Aunt Rosamund?” 

“She didn’t feel good today so she didn’t come with.” He nodded and ran back into the house. I followed him in and was immediately bombarded by family.

“Jeff! What are you doing here?” Mom exclaimed as she came out of the kitchen into the hallway.

“I wanted to spend some time with you all before the baby got here. Plus I felt kind of bad about my birthday.”

She nodded and made an unhappy face. “Well, it was definitely. . .something. I’m glad you were able to get away for a bit and visit us. Kate and I are finishing making lunch. Can you stay and eat?”

“You think I’m going to pass up some of your cooking? I’d have to be insane to do that.” She smiled and hugged me before going back into the kitchen.

I noticed someone walking out of the family room and I turned to see who it was. I was Scarlett walking while studying a music book.  She continued to walk with her head in the book until she walked right into me. “Oh! I’m sorry. . .Jeff?”

I laughed. “You wouldn’t have even noticed I was here if you hadn’t run into me.”

She blushed. “Sorry. I was reading. . .”

“. . .About music. What a shock.” I teased her. “Can I at least have a hug?” She smiled and hugged me.

“Do Charlie and Bridge know you’re here?”

“I doubt it since I just got here.”

She smiled “Are you eating lunch with us?”

“I sure am.”

She hugged me again and went back to walking and reading her book. I sometimes felt bad for Scarlett. She was so much younger than Charlie, Bridge and me that in some ways, she seemed more of a niece to Bridge and me than a sister. She was only two years older than Charles. From what I had heard from Bridge, Charlie was almost like another father figure to her, rather than a brother.  She seemed to not really mind, though.

“I must be hearing things! I could have sworn I heard. . .” I looked towards the stairs and Charlie was coming down them with Bridge and Carson behind him.  “Someone pinch me, I’m seeing things! It must be a mirage or something! That can’t possibly be my little brother standing in the hallway!”

I shook my head. “Nope. Not a mirage. I’m actually here.”

“What did you have to do to get here?” He asked as we hugged. 

“Let’s just say that it wasn’t all peaceful when I left.” I admitted. I looked at Bridge and she was bitting her lip. “Still having to bite that lip, I see.” I joked with her.

She nodded and we hugged. “Is it wrong of me to say that I’m happy that you’re here by yourself?”

I attempted a smile. Truth was, I was happy that I was there by myself too.

“It’s good to see you, Jeff! Haven’t had much of a chance to talk to you since you’ve been home. How’s the campus house?” Carson asked after we hugged.

“It’s good. I’m a little stressed though about the nursery. I hadn’t gotten much done before we left. Part of that was our indecisiveness about which room to use.”

“What room did you decide on?” Bridge asked.

“I think it used to be Julia’s room? The one to the right of the second floor bathroom.”

“Yeah, that used to be her room. Mine was to the left.” Bridge admitted.

“Speaking of babies. . .where are all the twins?” I wondered.

The three of them started laughing. “They’re all asleep in the nursery. Bridge and Carson brought their portable sleepers over and we somehow managed to get them all to take a nap. It’s like a miracle!” Charlie explained.

I chuckled. “That does sound like a miracle. Three sets of twins all taking a nap at the same time.”

I heard the front door open behind me. “Surely I’m seeing things! I could have sworn I saw Jeff’s car in the drive!” Dad joked as he entered the house. I turned around and we hugged.

“Hey, Dad! I know, it’s pretty rare to see it in the drive these days.”

“How’s Rosamund doing?”

“Very pregnant, and very moody.”

He nodded. “Well, that happens in the last couple months sometimes.”

“Yeah, we’ll blame it on the pregnancy.” I heard Bridge say under her breath and Carson tried to shush her.

“I’m going to go see if your mom needs help. You staying for lunch?” I nodded. “Good! Gonna be a housefull!” I watched as he walked into the kitchen.

“So, any news on the name front?” Charlie asked as we walked into the living room.

“No.” I said bluntly.

“I guess Charlie and I have been fortunate. Kate or Carson either haven’t cared or their family names work with our family naming traditions.”

“Yeah, well, that isn’t so with the Carter family. Either our family tradition is about to be broken or theirs is.”

“Can’t you come up with a British name that starts with an R?” Carson asked.

“Not one that we can agree upon. I swear she’s going to be ‘Girl Hobble’ for a good while after she’s born.”

We were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. 
“Hello?” I jumped up the second I heard her voice. I walked into the hallway and peaked around the corner.

“Star?”

Chapter Twenty One: How to Solve a Problem Like Star - Part Two

“Star, would you be a dear and help me zip the back of my dress?” I requested of her .

“Umm. . .sure. Be there in a sec.”

I closed the bedroom door and smiled at myself. In the last several months I had been mostly able to keep Peter, Star, and Jefferson away from each other. It hadn’t been very hard. Whenever I saw Star and Jefferson together, I would make a comment to Peter how nice it was that Jefferson and her were such good friends. That was enough to get the jealousy that was burning under the surface to show. Then there were the times that it seemed that Star and Peter were getting along better and that’s when I would try to corner Star.  This was one of those instances.  Star and Peter were watching tv in the living area and had been having a civil conversation. I immediately got up and went to the bedroom to change clothes knowing that I’d need help with my zipper gave me the perfect excuse to get Star away from Peter; and to frazzle her.

I heard the door open and turned around. “Thank you so much! I wanted to change clothes before Jefferson got home and it’s just too hard for me to reach the zipper now.”

I watched as Star smiled politely and walked over to help me. I turned around and she finished sipping my dress up.

“Thank you.” I said after she was done.

“Sure.” 

“I just like looking nice when Jefferson gets home and a couple nights ago, while we were lying in bed, he told me this was one of his favorites. ‘Never hurts to look good for your husband.’ That’s what my momma always told me.”

Star immediately started to act uncomfortable. “Plus, I think this dress shows off my growing belly. I think you’d agree with me that Jefferson is going to make a wonderful daddy.” That was just enough to make her face grow red. She nodded and then scurried out of the room. In her hurry to leave, she ran into Jefferson and it only caused her to look even more uncomfortable. It took all of my self-control to not laugh. She apologized to him and then ran up the stairs to her room. It was almost sad how easy it was to rattle her.

“What was that about? And why was she in here?”

“I needed help zipping this dress up and she was nice enough to help. I don’t know what her deal is though. She’s been acting like that since she and Peter broke up. I’m starting to wonder if either of them will live here next school year since they both seem miserable living here together.”

Jefferson looked concerned. “I had never thought about that. I figured that by the end of this school year they’d be talking to each other again. We need to do something to keep them here.”

“Why?” He looked annoyed at me. “Jefferson, they broke up and it was obviously something big that caused it or they’d be over it by now. They’ve made it clear that they don’t want you involved in it. Maybe they need to get away from each other.”

“Maybe only one of them will.” Jefferson countered.

“Really? How’s that going to look to the other one? Let’s say Star stayed here and Peter moved out; how do you think Peter would feel? I’m guessing left out and the same would be true of Star if Peter stayed here and she left.”

“But where would they go?” There was a touch of desperation in his voice.

“I don’t know; but I do now that you might want to prepare yourself for the possibility of them moving out. I can’t imagine how awkward it is to have to live with your ex. I actually feel kind of bad for them.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and walked to the other side of the bedroom. I was sure he was trying to think of ways to keep them from leaving. “Maybe if I talk to them. . .”

“They said they didn’t want you involved, remember?”

“I have to do something, Rosamund!” He sounded so desperate and I was starting to think how pathetic it was that he felt he needed the two of them.  During the last several months I had convinced myself that if I could just get the two of them to move out, it would crush Jefferson enough that he’d start to lean on me. Then it would be just him, me, and the baby and everything would then be perfect. 

“Well, I think you should stay out of it; but, if you really want to do something then maybe you should talk to them together. You might then be able to convince them to talk to each other.” I knew that was probably the worst thing he could do. There would be so much tension in the room that it might push them over the edge. . .it was perfect.

“Hmmm. . .I don’t know. . .They don’t seem to want to talk to each other so maybe talking to them separate would be better. . .”

“But don’t you want them to get to a point where they talk to each other? If you’re there to help them talk then maybe they can get through the awkwardness.”

“Rosamund, I hate to say this but I’ve known them a lot longer than you and I think talking to them together would be a horrible idea.”

I shrugged like I didn’t care. “Do what you want, then.”

“I will.” He said and walked out the door. I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t persuade him to talk to them together. It would have been the final nail in the coffin. But I was still pretty confident that there wasn’t much he could do to get Star and Peter to be comfortable around each other. They we’re well beyond that point. . .

****Jeff****

I walked into the kitchen and thought about the conversation that Rosamund and I just had. Most of the time I was able to figure out what angle she was working. She didn’t think I had a clue, but in the almost three years that we had been married I had learned to read her better than she gave me credit for.  I had to admit that this was one of the times that I wasn’t sure what she trying to do. Part of the time she acted like she didn’t want me to try to convince Star and Peter to talk to each other, and then she was giving me advice about how to do it. She made no sense, which wasn’t anything new. She was a constant contradiction, always flip-flopping her opinion depending on who she was talking to or what she wanted.

I grabbed myself a juice box out of the fridge and sat down to drink it. Maybe it was a bad idea to talk to Star and Peter. In the last several months they had both acted like they were not only uncomfortable around each other but they also acted that way around me. It perplexed me why they acted that way towards me. It made perfect sense that they would act that way towards each other, although I had hoped by now that they would have at least started talking to each other. I just didn’t understand why they were treating me the way they were. I had started to wonder if I had unintentionally done something that caused them to be upset with me. I had spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what it could have been but nothing made sense. It had all started soon after Peter and I had that conversation in the attic, but nothing about that conversation stood out to me. 

I sighed as I threw the juice box away and looked up the stairs toward Star’s bedroom door. I was pretty sure she was probably hiding out in her room like she usually did. Rosamund was right about one thing, they both seemed miserable living here together. They constantly tried to avoid each other and whenever they were together, you could cut the tension with a knife.  

The only time both of them seemed to be able to stand being around the other was when I was talking about baby stuff. It was actually the only subject that everyone was happy talking about. We were two months away from the baby being born and although I was getting excited, I was also stressed. We had yet to decide her name. It was one of several things that Rosamund and I continually argued about so I avoided it at all costs. Then there was the nursery. I had suggested converting one of the upstairs bedrooms into a nursery but Rosamund was completely against that idea. She thought that it wouldn’t be right for us to be separated from the baby and she also wasn’t happy about the nursery being next to Star’s room. She argued that it wouldn’t be fair for Star to have to listen to a crying baby all the time. The compromise for that seemed to be that after the baby was born, we’d have her sleep in a crib in our room. But that was only going to happen after we returned from Appaloosa. 

Rosamund had decided that she wanted to go home after the semester was over so that we could stay with her parents and that way her mom could help out after the baby was born. I was more than happy for the baby to be born where we were and  to completely avoid staying with the in-laws for two months, but Rosamund had dug her heals in. We were in the process of packing since finals were ending at the end of the week and we would be driving to Appaloosa after that. 

That made me think about Star and Peter again. I had no idea what they were planning on doing during the summer. For all I knew, they were staying at the campus house. I looked back up at Star’s door and decided that that would be a good way to start a conversation; trying to find out what she was planning to do for the summer. I walked up the stairs and stood outside her door. The last time I had been in her room was the day that she and Peter had broken up and she had cried. She had told me then that there was no hope for her and Peter being friends and I hadn’t believed her.  It was becoming clear though that she had probably been right, but I still didn’t want to give up hope. I raised my hand and knocked on her door.

Chapter Twenty One: How to Solve a Problem Like Star - Part One

I walked down the stairs from Star’s room and right as my feet met the floor I started to hear her cry. I was at a loss as to what to do. I wanted to rush back up the stairs and comfort her but I was sure she didn’t want that; plus there was what Rosamund would say if she found out I’d done that. Thank goodness Rosamund had decided to take a nap before any of this happened. Her energy levels were being affected by the pregnancy, and today, it had been a Godsend. I found it hard to believe that she had slept through all of the slamming doors, arguing, and now crying. 

I stood at the bottom of the stairs and continued to listen to Star cry. In all the years I’d known Star I had only seen her cry a handful of times and most of them had been when we were little kids. I thought back to one time when we were eight playing in the tree house and she accidentally fell out of it. You could hear the crack of her arm bone breaking when she hit the ground. She immediately began to cry and I had rushed down to try to help her. That was the feeling I had right now; the feeling of wanting to help her, but this was a much more complicated situation. It wasn’t a broken arm, it was a broken heart and it not only involved her, it also involved Peter.

I sighed as I sat down on the steps, contemplating the situation. My best friend, who I’d known my whole life, was upstairs crying because she and my other best friend had broken up. Neither of them wanted to tell me what happened, but from what Star had said moments earlier it was sudden; at least she thought so. I had to admit that from my viewpoint, it was sudden. I had just hours before thought how I was somewhat jealous of their happy relationship and now they weren’t together anymore, and both were claiming that there was no way that they would get back together. It just didn’t add up to me. I thought back over the last several months and there were a couple instances that I remembered Star acting somewhat distant, but it wasn’t towards Peter, it was more towards me; which had been the norm since we had started talking again. We’d go for a period of time when we were talking and everything was fine and then suddenly, she’d be somewhat distant towards me. Maybe that had happened with Peter and I just hadn’t seen it.

“What is that noise?” I heard Rosamund ask as she came out of our bedroom. I had to stop myself from chuckling. Out of all the noises that had occurred in the last half hour the one that she had heard was Star crying.

“It’s Star. She and Peter broke up.” I said as I stood up.

“What? You mean in the last hour since I took a nap? What happened?” I could tell she was asking more out of curiosity then concern.

“I’m not sure. Peter came down a little while ago and didn’t want to say what happened. He left and I’m not sure if he’ll be back today and Star didn’t want to tell me what happened either.”

“Oh yay! Like this day wasn’t bad enough with us not getting to go home, now I get to hear her cry.” she said sarcastically.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” 

She looked surprised. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Two people, who happen to be my best friends just broke up and you’re acting like it’s an inconvenience to you!”

“Oh whatever, Jefferson.  They’ll probably get back together anyway.” She said in a bored tone.

“I’m not so sure about that. They both claim that it’s over and from what Star said, and considering I’ve known her forever, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Whatever happened was serious enough to cause them to break up and it wasn’t some little argument.”

Rosamund went back to looking annoyed. “Well, just as long as it doesn’t interfere with me and you, I don’t care.”

“Are you serious?! What part of that this is my two best friends and they’re hurting didn’t you get?”