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- As Things Change
- Part XXXIII
The following Friday…
Things are settling back into a normal routine. Rachel has returned
to Chicago. Bo has gone back to work at the PI office and Nora
is spending more time at the Center. Matthew is trying to get
back into his duties with the teen program. Stevie continues
to drop by the house every day to bug him about camp. Any time
Bo or Nora broach the topic, it leads to an argument. Matthew
is less than thrilled to be going to the lodge, but Bo tells
him it’s not an optional trip.
-
- Nora wanders into the kitchen
as Bo is packing the last of the food supplies for the trip.
She inspects the contents of the bags, making sure he is prepared.
“Got everything?”
-
- “Yup. And if I forgot
anything, we’ll just do without. It’s only for the
weekend.”
-
- “And you don’t
want to tell me what was in that envelope that prompted this
little ‘boys only’ trip?” He shakes his head.
She pretends to pout. “Fine. I guess I’ll have to keep
myself busy this weekend.”
-
- He pulls her into his arms,
kissing her. “I’m sure you’ll manage okay. I know
you have plans with Marcie and Lauren.”
-
- “But I’ll miss
my boys.”
-
- He kisses her again. “You
can come next time.”
-
- Nora pulls away, chuckling.
“Only if next time means a trip somewhere other than the
lodge.”
-
- “If I can talk Matt
into going to camp, we’ll have a whole week to go wherever
you want.”
-
- Matt walks in, hearing Bo’s
last sentence. “I already told you I’m not going to
camp, so you’ll have to plan your little getaway another
time.”
-
- Nora frowns at him. “I’m
not going to have that argument with you right now, Matthew.”
-
- He pulls open the fridge,
taking out a soda and popping it open. “Good. I feel the
same way I did last week, so there’s no point in arguing.”
-
- Bo points to the bags on
the table. “Help me load the rest of the gear and we’ll
get out of here.”
-
- Matt grabs a bag in his free
hand, heading out to the garage. Bo grabs the remaining bags
and follows him, dumping all the gear in the back of the Jeep.
Nora walks out behind them. “All set?”
-
- Bo digs in his pocket and
pulls out the keys, tossing them to Matt. “I’ll ride
shotgun on this trip.”
-
- “For real? I can drive
your Jeep?”
-
- Bo nods. “If you’re
going to take your test with it, you better be comfortable behind
the wheel.”
-
- “Sweet!” Matt walks
over and kisses Nora on the cheek. “Bye, Mom.”
-
- She pulls him into a hug.
“Have fun, sweetie.” Matt hops into the driver’s
seat as Nora puts her arms around Bo’s waist. “You
too.”
-
- He leans down and kisses
her. “We will.”
-
- “Are you sure this is
a good idea?”
-
- “Yeah, I am. This will
give me a chance to talk to him and hopefully bring him out of
his funk.”
-
- “I meant letting him
drive your Jeep.”
-
- Bo smiles. “Sure. He
can’t tune out with his iPod if he’s behind the wheel.”
-
- She kisses him. “You’re
a genius. That’s why I remarried you.”
-
- “Let’s hope I’m
smart enough to figure out what’s going on with him.”
-
- She nods. “Good luck
with that. Call me and let me know how he’s doing…”
-
- Matt rolls down the window,
sticking his head out. “Come on, Dad. Let’s get on
the road.”
-
- Bo kisses Nora quickly. “See
you Sunday. Love you.”
-
- “Love you, too.”
He makes his way to the other side of the Jeep and hops in as
she walks up to the driver’s side window. “Drive carefully,
sweetie.”
-
- Matt rolls his eyes. “I
will, Mom.”
-
- She steps back. “Love
you!” She waves as Matt backs out of the garage. When the
Jeep disappears down the street, she puts the garage door down
and heads back into the house.
-
- Matt takes the familiar route
out to the highway that leads to Llantano Mountain. When he gets
on the highway, he cranks up the radio. Bo frowns as he turns
it down. “You need to concentrate, Matthew.”
-
- “Geez, Dad. I know how
to get to the lodge.”
-
- “I just want you to
pay attention.”
-
- Matt grins at him. “You’re
worried about your new ride.”
-
- “Not just the Jeep.
I’d like to get to the lodge in one piece.”
-
- “So what are we going
to do up there?”
-
- Bo shrugs. “I thought
we could fish. You can swim. Just hang out.”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “I
know you’re up to something. What is it?”
-
- “I guess you’ll
find out when we get there.”
-
- Nora walks into the dining
room at the Palace. She scans the tables, looking for familiar
faces. Renee walks up behind her. “Nora, I didn’t know
you were going to be here today.”
-
- Nora turns and gives her
a hug. “Hello, Renee. How are you?”
-
- “I’m doing okay.
You’re on your own with Bo and Matthew up at the lodge?”
Nora nods. “Do you need a table?”
-
- “No, I’m actually
meeting Marcie and Lauren. I hope we’re going to discuss
wedding plans.”
-
- Renee smiles. “I saw
the notice in the paper about Rex and Lauren’s engagement.”
-
- “Bo and I are so happy
for them. I’ve offered to throw the wedding for them.”
-
- “That’s very sweet
of you. If you need a banquet room, the Palace is at your disposal.”
-
- “Thank you, Renee. But
they haven’t even chosen a date yet.”
-
- Renee waves her off. “If
they’d like to have the reception here, I’ll make it
happen.” She hugs Nora. “I have to speak to the chef.
I’ll get you a table. Lunch is on me, so enjoy.”
-
- Nora smiles as she pulls
away. “Thank you. See you soon.”
-
- Bo and Matt arrive at the
lodge and unpack their gear. Bo puts the food away in the kitchen
as Matt wanders into the living room and takes a seat at the
poker table, stacking the chips in front of him. Bo finds him
there when he finishes in the kitchen. “Wanna play?”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “It’ll
never be the same without Grandpa. I can almost smell his cigars
and hear him saying ‘make up your mind, boy’ if I took
too long to decide.”
-
- Bo smiles. “I remember
that. He was never very patient when he was playing poker.”
-
- “Sully’s the same
way.”
-
- “Did you play down on
the ranch?”
-
- Matt nods. “I lost $50
when we were out on roundup.”
-
- Bo chuckles. “That’s
Sully. Thinks nothing of fleecing a kid.”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I didn’t
mind. Grandpa would have taken my money too.”
-
- Bo nods with a small smile.
“Yeah, he would have. He took my allowance more times than
I could count when I was a teenager.”
-
- “So did Mom. When we
were up here hiding out, she won my allowance for a month. I
was just a little kid.”
-
- “Your mom is very competitive.”
-
- “You can say that again.
But she taught me a lot so I didn’t totally suck when Grandpa
let me play.”
-
- Bo is relieved to hear Matt
discussing Asa but doesn’t want to push his luck. He motions
toward the door. “Should we hit the fishing hole and try
our luck?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “Sure,
I guess…”
-
- Nora waves when she sees
Marcie and Lauren walk into the dining room. They take a seat
and the waiter hurries over to take their drink order. When he
leaves them alone, Nora turns to Lauren. “So, did you call
this luncheon for a reason? Like maybe a wedding date?”
-
- Lauren nods. “We’ve
chosen a date.”
-
- Marcie leans forward. “When?”
-
- “July 10th.”
-
- “WHAT? You can’t
be serious. That’s only a few weeks away.”
-
- Nora pats Marcie’s hand.
“We can handle it.” She turns Lauren. “You’re
sure?”
-
- “Yes. I know it’s
old-fashioned but I want to be married before the baby comes.”
-
- Nora shakes her head. “It’s
not old-fashioned at all. If it’s what you want, that’s
how you should do it. What can we do to help?”
-
- “My parents can make
it that weekend. It’s going to be a really small wedding.
Nothing fancy.”
-
- “Don’t you worry
about fancy. Whatever you would like is what I want you to do.”
-
- “You’re so kind,
Nora. I don’t know how to thank you for everything you’ve
done for me and Rex. Paying for our wedding is above and beyond.”
-
- “You know I adore Rex
and I would do anything for him. I feel like you’re joining
our family when the two of you get married.”
-
- “Does that mean the
baby can call you Grandma?”
-
- Nora laughs. “Not exactly.
But I’m so excited we’re going to have a little one
around.” She turns to Marcie. “And Miki too. She’s
such an angel.”
-
- “Yes, she is. I still
can’t believe you were able to move up our hearing. I’ve
got Michael painting her room and I’ve been picking out
furniture and trying to get it all ready.”
-
- Lauren laughs. “I haven’t
even thought about nursery stuff yet. When you finish Miki’s
room, you can help me.”
-
- “I’d love that!”
Marcie fishes in her purse for a pen and notepad. “But first
things first. Let’s talk about this wedding that’s
coming up so fast!”
-
- Bo and Matt are sitting in
the boat with their lines in the water, waiting for a bite, not
having much luck. Bo decides to try to talk to him about Asa
while there is a lull in the action. He looks over at his son.
“You know your mom is worried about you.”
-
- Matt shrugs. “She’s
worried about you too.”
-
- “What do you mean?”
-
- “I heard her talking
to Aunt Viki. She thinks you’re going to walk out on us.”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “That’s
old news. We’ve moved past that. I’m talking about
her worrying about you.”
-
- Matt laughs. “Mom ALWAYS
worries about me. That’s old news too, Dad.”
-
- Bo smiles. “I guess
you’re right but I think she has reason this time.”
- “I’m fine.”
-
- “No, you’re not.
You’re not talking to your mom and me or your friends. That’s
not fine, Matt.”
-
- “Is Mom serious about
sending me to a shrink?”
-
- Bo nods. “She’ll
do anything to help you and if she thinks it would be easier
for you to talk to someone outside the family, that’s what
she’ll do. And I will back her up. You can’t keep this
all bottled up inside. I know better than anyone how much damage
that can do.”
-
- “You mean Drew…”
-
- “Yeah,” Bo says
softly.
-
- “You and Mom never talk
about that. I’m not sure I understand how that all went
down with Drew and Sam and Lindsay…”
-
- “It’s not something
I’m proud of. Your mom will tell you it was all her fault,
but I started the chain of events that cascaded out of control.
We both made bad decisions but the worst of all was that we stopped
communicating with each other. Every other thing that happened
resulted from my refusing to talk to your mom after Drew died.
I won’t let you make that same mistake.”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I’ve
been doing better this week.”
-
- “True. But you won’t
discuss Asa…”
-
- “What is there to say?
Grandpa died. End of story.”
-
- “Come on, Matt. There’s
more to it than that and you know it. You and Asa were very close.
It’s normal for you to miss him but it’s not normal
to close yourself off from life. Asa wouldn’t want that.”
-
- “Who says I’m closing
myself off?”
-
- Bo frowns at him. “The
ski camp?”
-
- “Oh, that. I’m
not allowed to change my mind?”
-
- “Sure. But you haven’t
given us any reason why.”
-
- “Why is it such a big
deal? I know Mom didn’t want me to go in the first place.”
-
- “That’s not true,
son. Nora was the one who told me you should go, not the other
way around.”
-
- “Seriously?”
-
- Bo nods with a small smile.
“I didn’t twist her arm on this one.”
-
- “I thought maybe Grandpa
gave her his lecture about babying me.”
-
- “Nope. I have no idea
what sold her on the camp. I didn’t want to argue with her
if she thought it was a good idea. But I’m sure Asa would
have been happy to give her the babying lecture if she had said
no.”
-
- Matt nods with a grin. “He
was always good for taking my side over Mom’s.”
-
- “Yeah, he was. He loved
you a lot, Matt.”
-
- He looks out at the water.
“I know…”
-
- Bo reels in his line. “We’re
not having any luck. Let’s head back. I want to show you
something.” Matt reels in his line and pulls up the anchor
as Bo starts the boat and turns them back toward shore.
-
- Nora, Lauren and Marcie are
enjoying coffee after their lunch. Marcie has a list of things
that need to be done to pull off the wedding on such short notice.
“We’ll need to get a dress soon or we can forget it.
Do you have ideas of what you’re looking for?”
-
- Lauren pats her tummy with
a wry smile. “My options are rather limited, don’t
you think?”
-
- Nora shakes her head. “Not
necessarily. But I’m sure there are maternity dresses if
that’s the route you want to go. Honestly, since you’re
barely showing, you could probably get by with a normal dress.”
-
- “I have something in
mind.” She turns to Marcie. “Are you free tomorrow
to go look?”
-
- “Sure! We have Miki
but maybe I can get Michael to watch her.”
-
- Nora smiles. “She can
stay with me if Michael has to work.”
-
- “Are you sure, Nora?
We can take her with us…”
-
- Nora laughs. “You’ve
obviously never been shopping with a 3-year old. She’ll
be fine with me. My boys are gone anyway. I could use the company.”
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