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- As Things Change
- Part XXXIV
Next morning…
Bo is sitting in the kitchen at the lodge, drinking coffee, when
Matt walks in. He pulls open the fridge, grabbing a bottle of
juice. Bo turns to him. “Are you ready to talk to me now?”
-
- “Are you ready to take
me back home?” Bo shakes his head. “Then we don’t
have anything to talk about.”
-
- “You’re so much
like your mother,” Bo mutters.
-
- “I heard that.”
-
- Bo takes a sip of his coffee,
motioning for Matt to sit. “We can stay here as long as
you want. We’re not leaving until I find out why you reacted
that way to Asa’s gift.”
-
- Matt shrugs. “Maybe
I just don’t like it.”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “I
saw how excited you were about the boat until you read the note.
What did it say that upset you so much? I read it and I didn’t
have that reaction.”
-
- “I don’t want to
talk about it, Dad.” Bo’s cell phone rings. “You
better get that. You know it’s Mom checking up on us.”
-
- Matt walks out of the room
as Bo reaches for his cell. “Hi, honey.”
-
- “Bo! How are things
going with Matt?”
-
- He glances at the doorway.
“Not so good.”
-
- “What happened?”
-
- “I showed Matt the envelope
Nigel gave me and he freaked out.”
-
- “Why? What was in the
envelope?”
-
- “It’s a gift from
Asa.”
-
- “Matt didn’t like
the gift?”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “That’s
the strange thing. He loved it until he read the note.”
-
- Nora is confused. “You
read it. Any idea why the letter would upset Matt?”
-
- “No. But I’m going
to figure it out. He wants to come home but we’re staying
here until he tells me what’s going on.”
-
- “If you think that’s
best.”
-
- “I do. What’s on
your agenda for the weekend?”
-
- Nora smiles on her end. “You
won’t believe this but I’m watching Miki today for
Marcie.”
-
- “You’re kidding,
right?”
-
- “No. I’m perfectly
capable of keeping her for a few hours. Marcie and Lauren are
shopping for a wedding dress. Lauren and Rex have picked a date.”
-
- “Really? When?”
-
- “July 10th.”
-
- “That soon? Balsom must
want to hurry before she changes her mind.”
-
- “Bo! Actually, Lauren
wants to be married when the baby is born. I think it’s
sweet.”
-
- “Of course you do, honey.”
-
- Nora is about to respond
when the doorbell rings. “They’re here. I gotta go.
Good luck with Matt. Call me.”
-
- “I will. Love you.”
-
- “Love you too.”
Nora hangs up and pulls open the door. “Hello there.”
-
- Miki holds out her arms.
“Cake!”
-
- Nora laughs as she takes
her. “This kid has a serious sweet tooth.”
-
- Marcie walks in with a large
diaper bag. “Are you sure about this, Nora?”
-
- “Of course. I can handle
her for a few hours. How hard can it be?”
-
- Marcie chuckles as she unpacks
toys from the bag. “I brought some things for her to play
with. And her blankie for nap time.”
-
- “Ah, nap time! I remember
that was my favorite time of day when Matt was little.”
-
- “Hopefully she’ll
go down. I’m not sure how good she is at sleeping in unfamiliar
surroundings.”
-
- Nora kisses Miki’s cheek.
“We’ll be fine, Marcie. I hope you and Lauren have
good luck with the dress search.”
-
- Marcie pulls out her notepad.
“I have it all mapped out which dress shops to explore.
We should only be a couple hours. Of course we’ll need to
stop for lunch. Lauren is always starving these days. Which make
sense, I guess…”
-
- Nora laughs. “It’s
okay. Take your time. Miki and I will manage.”
-
- Miki starts to squirm. “Down!”
-
- Nora sets her on her feet
and turns to Marcie. “Anything else I need to know?”
-
- Marcie digs back in the diaper
bag. “Not really. Here's her doll. She likes to take all
the clothes off.”
-
- Nora smiles as she takes
the doll. “I remember that.”
-
- “Right. I’m sure
you’ve seen her do that at the Center. Okay, I guess that’s
it. Thank you so much for volunteering to keep her.” She
looks over at Miki, who is reaching for the flowers on the side
table. “Miki, no no. Just look, sweetie.”
-
- Nora walks over and scoops
Miki up as she is about to topple the vase. “Let’s
walk Mommy to the door.” She walks over and pulls open the
front door.
-
- Marcie kisses Miki on the
cheek. “Be good, sweetie. I’ll be back soon. Bye, Nora.”
-
- “Bye. Good luck!”
Nora closes the door behind Marcie and glances at Miki. “What
shall we do first?”
-
- Miki smiles. “Can you
play baby with me?”
-
- Nora nods. “All right.
Baby it is.”
-
- Bo walks out of the kitchen
and sits opposite Matthew, who is listening to his iPod, ignoring
his father. Bo motions for him to pull the earbuds out of his
ears. Matthew complies and stares at Bo. “That was Mom,
wasn’t it?” Bo nods. “Are we going home?”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “I
told her we're staying until I get some answers.”
-
- “Dad! That’s so
unfair.”
-
- Bo shrugs. “I don’t
have to be fair. It’s the privilege of being your dad.”
-
- Matt rolls his eyes. “You
sound like Rachel. She pulls that ‘you’re low man on
the totem pole’ crap too so she can get her way.”
-
- Bo grins. “I’ve
always loved that about Rachel.”
-
- “You would.” Matt
stares at his father. “I can be just as stubborn as you
are. You wanna stay here? That’s fine by me.”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “Pigheaded.
Just like your grandfather.”
-
- Matt gives him a small grin.
“You always say I’m like Mom.”
-
- “Well, her too, but
right now your behavior is pure Asa.”
-
- “I don’t want to
talk about Grandpa.”
-
- “Why is that? You never
had trouble talking about him before. What’s different now
that he’s gone?”
-
- “Duh! That’s what’s
different. He’s gone.”
-
- “But that doesn’t
mean you can’t talk about him. I’m sure you have lots
of memories of him…” Bo waits and when Matthew doesn’t
respond, he tries a different tack. “Let me take a stab
at this. You hate the boat and wish Asa hadn’t given it
to you?”
-
- Matt shakes his head with
a frown. “No. The boat is way cool. Grandpa always got me
the best gifts.”
-
- “Is that why you’re
sad? The gravy train is over?”
-
- “Of course not. I liked
spending time with Grandpa, not just because he gave me stuff.”
-
- Bo nods. “That’s
how I remember it too. Which is why I don’t get your reaction
to his death. I thought you would be thrilled about the boat.
Now you know Asa was thinking of you…”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “You
just don’t get it.”
-
- Bo leans forward. “Then
explain it to me, son. I can’t help you until I know what's
going on. What did the letter say that upset you?”
-
- Matt looks at Bo with tears
in his eyes. “Do you remember the last family dinner we
had with Grandpa?”
-
- Bo thinks back, nodding slowly.
“Yes, it was at the Palace a couple weeks before we went
to the ranch…”
-
- “Right. And Grandpa
asked me to come up here with him.”
-
- “Yes, he did.”
-
- “Renee said Grandpa
had a surprise for me. The date on the letter means he was going
to give me the boat that weekend. I wouldn’t come up here
with him. I was too busy…”
-
- “You had plans with
Stevie. Asa understood that.”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “He
wanted to spend time with me and I said no. I ended up getting
in trouble with Stevie and grounded all weekend…”
-
- “And you think Asa resented
that?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I don’t
know…”
-
- “He didn’t, Matt.
Asa knew you’re a teenager. It’s only natural you’d
want to spend time with your friends. And I told you that getting
into trouble over a girl is normal too. Asa even took your side
on that one.”
-
- “It’s not about
getting into trouble.”
-
- Bo stares at him. “Then
tell me what it’s about.”
-
- The tears escape down Matt’s
cheeks. “It was the last time I would have gotten to hang
out with him. He was supposed to come see me ride on the ranch
but he never got the chance…”
-
- Bo sighs. “And that’s
why you’ve been so upset. You think you missed out on your
last chance to spend time with him.” Matt nods. “It
turned out that way but there’s no way you could have known
that, son. You and Asa had a special relationship and I know
for a fact that he enjoyed all the time he spent with you. You
being the youngest grandchild gave him extra time he didn’t
have when your cousins were your age.”
-
- “I just never thought
I wouldn’t just do it another time. And now I can’t…”
-
- “I know. And I know
that hurts. But Asa wouldn’t want you to live with regrets.
That wasn’t his style. He had a full life and it was just
his time to go. I know that’s hard for you to deal with
right now. You just have to give it time, but you can’t
dwell on ‘what ifs’ with this.”
-
- Matt nods slowly, ignoring
the tears running down his face. “I just miss him,”
he says softly.
-
- “Me too, son. There’s
nothing wrong with that. I’m sure wherever he is, he misses
us too.”
-
- “I could feel him at
the ranch. Even if he wasn’t there with me, just being around
the horses and all that space… I just loved it there.”
-
- Bo nods. “Well, then
we’ll have to go back soon.”
-
- “I’d like that.”
-
- Bo decides to change the
subject. “So, about the ski camp? I think you should go.”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “I
don’t want to…”
-
- “Don’t you think
you’re being unfair to Stevie?” Matt shrugs. “You
planned to go with him and now you’re going back on your
word. That’s not right, son.”
-
- “It’s just a stupid
ski camp. What’s the big deal?”
-
- “It’s not so much
about the ski camp, it’s about moving forward. Stevie has
been a good friend to you the past couple weeks.”
-
- “And I’ve been
a jerk.”
-
- “I didn’t say that…”
-
- “But it’s true.
Everyone else has said so.”
-
- “You can’t hide
in your room all summer, Matt. The ski camp is as good a place
as any to get back out there. It will be a new experience that
won’t remind you of Asa…”
-
- “I guess…”
-
- "Promise me you'll think
about it."
-
- Matt nods slowly. "I
will."
-
- Bo stands, deciding they’ve
had enough of the serious talk for the time being. “What
do you say we try out that boat?”
-
- “Wait until Mom hears
about it!”
-
- Bo grins. “I can wait…”
-
- Nora is sitting on the floor
in front of the sofa. “Miki, are you sure you don’t
want to take a nap now?”
-
- Miki smiles, shaking her
head. “No nap!”
-
- Nora leans her head back,
closing her eyes. “I need a nap.”
-
- Miki climbs in her lap, putting
her hands on Nora’s cheeks. “No nap, Nana.”
-
- Nora grabs her, tickling
her. “It’s Nora. Nora. Can you say that?”
-
- Miki dissolves in giggles.
“Nana! No.”
-
- Nora gets to her feet. “How
about a snack? Maybe your mommy will be here soon.”
-
- Miki follows her into the
kitchen. “Can I have juice?”
-
- Nora shakes her head. “The
last thing you need is sugar. You have plenty of energy, little
one.”
-
- Miki sticks out her lower
lip, about to burst into tears. “But I want juice.”
-
- Nora leans down and picks
her up. “Okay, juice it is.”
-
- Bo stands on the dock, watching
Matt buzz around the lake in the mini speedboat. Even he cringes
at how fast it goes. He can’t imagine Nora’s reaction
when she sees it. Matt guides the boat back to the shore. He
hops up on the dock, pulling off his helmet. “This baby
is awesome, Dad! You wanna try it?”
-
- Bo chuckles. “If I were
20 years younger, I could get in that thing.”
-
- Matt laughs. “You said
it, I didn’t.”
-
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