FicWad

The drive to my Mom’s house from the farm is only about three hours. Not that long at all. We left the farm after breakfast, and got to Mom’s right at lunch time. Mom and Ryan greeted us excitedly when we arrived. They had come out and greeted us at the front door.

“Grace, Sweetheart! I’m so happy you’re here.” Mom said as she hugged me.

“Hi Mom, it’s good to see you too.” I told her as I hugged her back. “Mom, I want you to meet Pete and the kids.” I said as I stepped back.

Pete and the kids speed forward, “Mom, this is Pete. Pete, this is my Mom, Rebecca. And my step-father Ryan.”

“Pete, I’m so glad to finally meet you.” Mom said as she greeted him.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Pete said as he shook her hand.

Ryan greeted him with a handshake.

“Mom, this is Marvel, Bronx, and Saint. Guys, this is my Mom.”

“Hello! I’m so glad y’all are here. Please call me Rebecca. Come in, come in. Let’s get y’all settled in. Have you had lunch yet?” Mom asked as she ushered us into the house.

Mom told me where she wanted everyone to sleep. They had a four bedroom house. Pete and I were in the room I had lived in before leaving in Luna. The boys were in the guest room and Marvel was in the room Abby usually stays in. I got everyone’s stuff in their rooms.

Mom was in the kitchen making lunch for us. I ushered the kids into the kitchen and to the table. Mom served us a wonderful spaghetti lunch.

Mom and Ryan were both excited to meet the kids. However, I don’t think Mom was interested in being called Grandma by them. I didn’t push it. I just wanted everyone to be comfortable. Dad has always been the parent that was more outgoing and friendly. Mom has always been more standoffish and proper. Her standing in society was always important to her. She wasn’t happy with me when I told her I would rather spend the summer with Dad than do the debutant bull shit. She had only married her second husband because of his money and social status. At least her third husband, Ryan, was a good person. He also had the money and social standing, but he was kind and welcoming to Scott and I. He was the one that encouraged me to move in with them when I left Dan. I liked Ryan.

Mom asked the kids about their visit to the farm. She asked the boys about camping and playing outside. They enthusiastically told her all about their visit. But when Marvel told her how much fun she had doing all the same things her brothers did, Mom wasn’t pleased. She shot me a look and I knew I would get an earful about not raising a proper young lady. It was something I heard all my life. Sighing internally I shot Pete a look and resolved to have a private talk with Mom later.

After lunch I got the kids set up with a game they could play and let us adults have time to talk and visit.

“So, Pete, what did you think of the farm?” Mom asked him as we sat around the living room after lunch.

“I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It’s very peaceful there. And it was really nice to let the kids run and play outside. They don’t get to do that much in L.A.. Our backyard isn’t that big and most of it’s taken up with the pool.” Pete told her.

“Being back in a city must be nice though.” She said in a way that showed her distaste for anything outside of city life.

“No, not really. We had a good time there. And I really like John. He and Amy were great with the kids too. We get enough of city life at home. We all enjoy being outside. That’s how we met Grace. We were camping in the same campground.” Pete told her.

“But you have a real home to live in. Camping is just for fun, I guess, if you like that sort of thing. I’m very happy to know Grace is in one place now. Even if it’s on the other side of the country.” She gave me a look I was familiar with. She had expected me to come home not to settle down anywhere else.

“Mom, I was never coming back to Georgia. If I had come back to the East coast, I would’ve gone to the farm. You know this. Why are you trying to guilt me about it?” I asked her.

Mom had enough manners to look guilty when I called her out. “I’m not trying to guilt you. I just miss you and I wish you were closer.”

“You can always come and visit us.” I told her.

“I’ve never been to the West coast. I’d love to visit y’all sometime.” Ryan said. “Pete, I know what you do for a living, but how did you get started? Were you always interested in music?” Ryan asked. This started a conversation between the two of them.

Marvel came up to me looking for something to drink. “Mommy, I’m thirsty. Can I have a drink of water?” She asked.

“Of course Miss. Marvelous.” I said and got up to get her a drink. Mom followed us to the kitchen.

I got her a glass of water and handed it to her. “Here ya go Sweetie.”

“Thanks Mommy.” She said and headed back to play with her brothers.

“The kids are calling you Mom? When did that start?” She asked me.

“Marvel and Saint sometimes call me Mom. But not always. They’ve been calling me that since Christmas. But they started calling me Mom more during this trip.” I told her.

“Do you think it’s a good idea for them to call you that?”

“Why not? They’re the ones that want to call me it.” I asked my Mom.

“Well, you’re not their mother for one thing. They have a Mom. You shouldn’t be confusing them.” She tried to scold me. “Weren’t you always saying you had a Dad and would never call Albert Dad?”

“That’s different. I do have a Dad and that ex-husband of yours never wanted me or Scott. You were the one that wanted to replace Dad. Not only in your life, but ours too. Their mother left them and doesn’t want them. But I do. And they are the ones that decided to call me that. I never told them to. And Pete has never insisted on it.”

“They should call you Grace. That’s your name.”

Mom didn’t like that I had given myself a new name even if it was only on YouTube. I had explained why I went by Moon online. I thought she had understood. But I guess people calling me that online was different than being called that in real life.

“They can call me Grace if they want to, although none of them ever have. And I like it when they call me Moony or Moon. I love it when they call me Mom or Mommy.”

We were still in the kitchen trying to keep our conversation private.

“While we’re on the subject of the children, is it too much to expect you two to raise a proper young lady? Why are you allowing that precious little girl to run and play with the boys? She’s beautiful and she should know what it is to be a girl. She should have dolls and tea sets to play with. And dresses! Doesn’t Pete care that his daughter is a tomboy? Or her real mother? Why isn’t she stepping in?”

“What the Hell are you talking about? She’s a little kid. She just wants to play. You know, this is the same attitude you had when I was a kid. You never understood why I had so much fun at Dads. It was because he never tried to change me. He never tried to make me be something I wasn’t. He just let me be me. I have never been a proper lady, and I’m sure as Hell not gonna raise one. Besides, she’s Pete’s daughter, he gets to make those decisions. How those kids are raised is none of your concern.” I said and then left the kitchen.

Pete shot me a questioning look as I came back to the living room. I met his eye and gave a little head shake. I wasn’t going to get into it right now. I’d tell him later. I sat back down next to him and rejoined the conversation.

We had dinner together with my Mother and Ryan. The kids were on the quiet side that evening. I don’t think they liked it as much at Mom’s as they had at Dad’s. I didn’t blame them, it wasn’t as much fun here as it had been on the farm. I promised the kids we would go out the next day and I would show them around Savannah.

The next day I took them out and showed them around. Then I took them roller skating. They needed to burn off some energy and they didn’t have a farm to run around on anymore. We had a great day and lots of fun.

We headed back to Mom’s house for dinner. I offered to order something so Mom didn’t have to cook. She took me up on the offer and I had something nice delivered from DoorDash.

The day after that we were out and about in town when the kids wanted to go into a store that sold souvenirs and toys and other stuff like that. Marvel was looking at the stuffed animals with Pete. Bronx was looking for something to get his sister and brother and something for his Mom. Saint and I were looking at the magnets. He and I had started collecting them from each place we went to while we were on tour with Pete and the band.

As we stood there looking at the magnets I heard a voice behind me that I had hoped to never hear again.

“Grace? Grace Edwards, is that you? It is you!”

I know I involuntarily twitched and gripped Saint’s hand harder. He turned to look up at me.

I turned around and faced my ex-sister-in-law. “Hello Cora.” I said. “And it’s not Edwards anymore.”

She still had her bright bottle red hair and her overly done makeup, and her annoying squeaky voice. “Oh my God! It really is you! I thought you left Georgia for good. I heard you had gone traveling or something. But here you are.”

I took a deep breath and said, “I did leave Georgia. I live in California now. But Mom still lives here. We’re in town visiting.” Saint reached for my hand and was holding it. I hated this woman. She had been nothing but evil to me. She seemed to think she was better than me because she had a child. Her daughter was 17 and had a baby a few months ago. I know this woman well enough to know being a 40 year old Grandma is not something she’s happy about.

“We? Who do you have to come with you?” She asked in the snottiest tone.

“Me and my Dad and my brother and sister.” Saint said in a very angry little voice.

Cora gave him a very patronizing look. “And who are you?” She asked Saint.

“Saint Wentz, her son.”

“Son? Oh there’s no way you’re her son.” Cora laughed at him.

Just then Marvel came running up to me with a stuffed tiger almost as big as her. “Mommy! Mommy, I want this one but Daddy says it’s too big. Can I have it please?” She ignored Cora completely as she asked that.

The look on Cora’s face was priceless. Marvel was young enough to be my child from after my divorce.

“I’m sorry Miss. Marvelous, but your Daddy’s right. That’s way too big to fit in your suitcase. Find a smaller one.” I told her with a smile.

“But I love him! Please?” She asked again.

“I’m sure you do. But no, he’s too big. Go find something smaller.” I told her.

“And who is this?” Cora asked me.

“Core, this is my daughter Marvel. Marvel, this is someone I used to know. Her name is Cora.”

Marvel took one look at Cora and just said “Hi.”

“Marvel? What kind of name is that?” Cora asked.

Both Saint and Marvel gave her the most dirty look they could muster. “The best kind. It fits her better than any other name we could’ve given her. She is a marvel.” I said.

“Honey? Is Marvel with you?” I heard Pete ask from the other side of the aisle.

“Yes she is.” I called out. Pete appeared at the end of the aisle we were in.

He took one look at us, saw the faces the kids were making, took in Cora standing there and asked, “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Pete, this is my ex-sister-in-law, Cora. Cora, this is my partner, Pete.”

Cora didn’t recognize him. She gave him a look over and asked, “These are your children? With her?”

Pete just gave her the same dirty look the kids had been giving her. “Yes, these are our children. Why?”

“She can’t have kids. They can’t be hers. And he’s too old to be hers.” She said pointing at Saint.

“She can have babies. She has one in her tummy right now. And I’m adopted.” Saint said. He was so mad at Cora. But I didn’t appreciate him lying.

“Saint.” I said and gave him a Mom look. “Pete, please take the kids and help Marvel pick something else.”

Pete gave me a questioning look, but nodded his head and took both kids by the hand and said, “Come on you two,” and led them away.

I turned back to Cora. “So, how is Dan? Did he end up married to Veronica?” I asked Cora. Veronica was his girlfriend about two weeks after I left him. I don’t know if they had been sleeping together before that. But, really, I didn’t care. I wasn’t sleeping with him by that time.

“Yes, and she’s as worthless as you. Seems he keeps picking infertile ones.” She gave me a disgusted look.

I just laughed at her. “I’m not infertile. And I’m sure she isn’t either. Dan really needs to get his sperm checked. Seems to me that he’s the common denominator. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get my kids and my hunny, and go take them out for dinner.” I turned on my heel and started to walk away. But I stopped, turned back to Cora and said, “By the way, I heard you’re a Grandma now. Congratulations.” I smirked at her and then walked away.

I found my family at the stuffed animals helping Marvel pick out a toy. Bronx had joined them. Pete looked at me and raised his eyebrows in question.

“I’ll tell you all about her later.” I told him. Looking down at Marvel, I asked, “Did you find something else you want?”

She grinned at me and held up a smaller stuffed unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail.

“What about you Saint? I still have the magnets we picked out. But is there anything else you want?”

He just turned his big eyes on me. “No.”

“You sure?” Pete asked him.

Saint just nodded.

“Ok.” Pete said. “Everyone else have what they want?” When we all nodded we went to get checked out.

As we walked down the sidewalk with our bags, Saint came up and reached for my hand.

“Sir Saint, are you alright?” I asked him quietly.

“Are you mad at me?” He finally asked me.

“No, I’m not mad at you. But you shouldn’t have lied to her. I’m not happy about that.” I told him.

Pete had heard this and turned to us. Marvel was holding one of his hands, he reached out his other hand and took Saint’s free hand.

“Moon’s right. You shouldn’t have told the lie. But I know why you did it and I’m not mad either. You were just trying to stand up for her.”

“Why was that lady so mean to you?”

“Because she’s a mean person. She’s never liked me and I’ve never liked her. Don’t worry about her.” I told him.

I did take my family out to dinner that night. I asked Mom and Ryan to meet us at the restaurant too. That night Marvel wanted Daddy to tuck her in. Saint wanted me. He wanted to talk to me without Pete hearing.

He was in bed with the covers pulled up when he said, “I didn’t really lie to the mean lady today.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“I want you to adopt me.” He told me very seriously. “I want you to be my Mom.”

“Would you like me to talk to your Dad about that?” I asked him.

He just nodded his head.

“Ok. I’ll talk to him.” I assured him.

Saint held out his arms asking for a hug. I leaned over and hugged him hard.

I kissed him on the cheek and said, “I love you so much my sweet Sir Saint. Goodnight, sleep well, and dream of big adventures.”

That night as Pete and I got settled down in bed, he asked about Cora. “So that was Dan’s sister? Is his whole family like that?”

“Only the women. His dad and brother are very nice people. But his mom and sisters were evil. Cora was always jealous of me. I’m six years older than her, but I always got the attention of men when the two of us were together. I was the pretty one. And everyone thought I was younger.” I chuckled a little. “She always tried to outdo me. I didn’t care so that only made her hate me more. She rushed to get married before we did. And then she rushed to be the first to get pregnant.” Then I really laughed. “And now she’s the first to be a Grandma. Oh, that has to be eating her up.”

Pete chuckled a little at that. “You’re definitely the pretty one. She was a bitch.”

“She always has been.” I answered. “Um, I have something I want to talk to you about.” I turned to him in bed so I could see his face. “Saint told me he wants me to adopt him. He said he didn’t feel like he lied about that part to Cora because he wants it to be true.”

Pete rolled over so we could be face to face. “Hmmm, I’ve been thinking about that too. I know it’s a lot to ask. I’ve only been thinking about it, but I haven't looked into it yet. I know we’d have to go through a lot of legal steps to get there. And I’ll have to deal with their mother. How do you feel about it? Would you be willing to?”

“Yes. In my heart they’re already mine. I’d be willing to go through the legal parts to make it official.”

“I think when we get back home we should go talk to my attorney. Just see what he says.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” I agreed. I leaned in and kissed him.

Rolling over to my back I tried to fall asleep. But my mind was running a mile a minute and I was awake for a long time.

Laying there listening to Pete’s gentle snoring I thought over what had happened that day. Running into Cora brought up a lot of old and painful memories. A lot of my old insecurities about not having children came flooding back to me. After tossing and turning for a few hours I decided to just get out of bed. I grabbed my phone and headed downstairs.

I made myself some hot cocoa and sat at the kitchen table. I was trying to distract myself by looking through instagram. But something was nagging at me. I finally opened my calendar and counted back the days since my last period. It still hadn’t started and now I was two weeks late.

I figured I couldn’t do anything right then so I decided to get a test the next day and take it. Maybe Saint wasn’t lying after all.

I did go back to bed and got a little bit of sleep. But not much. I got up early and decided to go out and get a test. I also picked up donuts, sandwiches, coffee, and juice for everyone. We were going to be at the beach all day so I wanted to get the kids more than just sugar for breakfast.

When I got back to Mom’s house everybody was up and ready to eat. I put all the food out and told them to dig in.

After breakfast I told the kids they needed to get ready for the beach, and that we would be leaving no later than 10:00 AM. This gave everyone plenty of time to get ready. And it gave me time to take the test. This time I decided to let Pete know so he could be with me.

As we all headed upstairs I told him I needed to talk to him in our room without the kids.

“What’s up?” He asked me as soon as our door was closed.

I just pulled the box out of the bag. “I’m late. Very late.”

He smiled at me. “Really? You want to take it right now?”

“Yes, and I want you with me whatever the results.”

“Ok.” He said with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen him smile. “Come on, let’s find out.”

I headed across the hall to the bathroom. Pete waited as I peed on the stick. I let him in once I had rested it on the counter and set a timer.

Before I could say anything, he pulled me into a hug. “No matter what this says, I want you to know how much I love you.” He told me.

“I know you love me. And I love you.” I answered.

“Marry me.” He said without pulling back from the hug.

“Yes.” I said without needing to think about it. I was going to be with this man for the rest of my life, married or not.

He pulled back only enough to be able to look at me. “I don’t have a ring, but I can get down on one knee.” He grinned at me.

I laughed and said, “You don’t have to get on one knee.” I leaned back into him and just hugged him. I always felt better with his arms around me.

Then the timer went off and startled us. I looked over at the test laying on the counter but didn’t move. Pete reached over and picked it up.

He read the results and flicked his eyes up to mine, grinned and said, “It’s positive.”

“Really?” I asked as I snatched it out of his hand. It was positive. I was so happy I just hugged him. “I can’t believe it, after all this time.” And then I broke down and cried. Pete cried a little with me as we held each other. But there were kisses too.

“Don’t tell anyone yet. I don’t wanna tell Mom until after I’ve seen my doctor. And I want to tell the kids together. Maybe tomorrow night after we stop and make camp.”

“Sure, I won’t tell your Mom. Besides, I’m not sure how happy she’ll be. I don’t think she really likes me. I think she likes the kids though.”

“Don’t let her fool you. She does like you. But she isn’t as warm or as welcoming as Dad. But I’m not gonna tell her about the baby or us getting married until we’re back home. If we tell her today, we’ll hear nothing except what we need to do for the baby and what the wedding should be as far as she’s concerned.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a thing to her.” He smiled gently at me and placed his palm on my abdomen. “I can’t wait to meet you little one.”

We left the bathroom and got ready for the beach. We packed everyone up in Mom and Ryan’s cars and headed to the beach. We spent most of the day there. The kids had a great time. I didn’t get enough sunscreen on and ended with a sunburn on my shoulders. Pete got some sun too, but he just turned more golden. No sunburn for him. I was so jealous.

I know I had a smile on my face all day. Nothing could bring me down. Even Mom noticed and asked me about it.

“Grace, you’re in a good mood today. What’s got you smiling so much?” She asked me as we sat on a blanket in the sand. Ryan, Pete, and the kids were in the water having a blast.

“I'm just happy that we’re here. And it’s been a good week. Do you like them?” I knew Mom thought the kids were good kids. But I wasn’t sure how much she liked them.

“Oh, yes I do! All three of them are so sweet and well mannered. I was a little nervous they would be spoiled. And they are a little. But with love, not things. Pete really is a nice, caring man. It’s so obvious how much he loves his kids and you. The way he looks at you is amazing to see.” Mom paused for a moment and then continued, “You know, I thought you and Dan would be able to work out your problems. I didn’t really believe you when you told me how bad it was. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. It’s good to see you so happy.”

“Thanks Mom. I love him too, ya know?”

Mom just smiled at me and said, “I know. You’re so good together. If you want to know if I approve, I do.”

“I love you, Mom.” I told and then hugged her.

“I love you too, Grace. Do you think the kids would be willing to call me Grandma?”

“Yeah, I think they might.” I said with a smile.

At the end of the day Pete wanted to take everyone out to dinner. He took us to a very nice seafood place that Ryan and Mom knew. The food was delicious and we had a nice meal.

When we got back to the house I instructed the boys to shower and change into clean pajamas and to bring me the dirty clothes they had. I gave Marvel a bath and gathered up her clothes. I wanted to do our laundry that night so we weren’t packing dirty clothes. We were leaving in the morning.

I did two loads of laundry that night. Pete and Bronx helped me fold and sort it. Pete took care of Marvel’s things and packed her bags up. Bronx did his and helped Saint get his bags packed. I took care of mine and Pete’s.

We all had one last evening with my Mom and Ryan. Pete and Mom were having a nice conversation about possibly letting the kids have riding lessons back home since all three of them had enjoyed it at the farm. Even Saint had ended up having fun on the horses.

Mom was encouraging it. She had ridden as a girl and loved it. She had never had any issues with me riding either. She just wanted me to be girly. Riding was fine, making mud pies wasn’t. But she wasn’t pushing that on Pete or Marvel.

We didn’t stay up too late since I wanted to get on the road early. I had our route home all planned out. We were going to stop the first night outside of Chattanooga Tennessee.

Pete decided he wanted a shower before we went to bed. I had already showered so I waited for him in our room. We hadn’t been alone together all day. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to be joyful with the knowledge of the pregnancy.

He came in clean and still damp from his shower. He smiled at me sweetly and said, “Finally, some alone time.”

“I’ve been waiting all day.” I said with a smile.

He crawled into bed with me and pulled me to him. Kissing me softly he said, “I’m so happy. So fucking happy. Happier than I’ve been in, well years. We’re gonna have a baby and get married. What a fucking amazing day.” He sighed contentedly.

“I don’t think I’ve let myself truly believe it. I’ve wanted this for so long. A baby. And with you. It almost feels too good to be true.” I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He said before he kissed me. Then, placing his hand on my abdomen, he said, “I love you too, Little Bitty.”

“Do you think the kids will be ok with this? A sibling?” I asked him.

“Oh yeah, they’ll be fine. Bronx asked me a few weeks ago if we were going to have a baby.” He told me.

“What did you tell him?” I asked.

“Mostly the truth. That we both would love it if it happened.” His smile grew tender as he remembered the interaction between him and his son. “He told me he hoped we did. He’ll be very happy about the baby. Saint, well, he’s a saint, isn’t he? He might be a bit worried about getting lost in the shuffle. But once he realizes that won’t happen he’ll be fine with it. I’m not sure about Marvel, but I think she’ll be super excited about the baby.” He was absently rubbing my stomach right over the baby.

“I don’t want a big wedding. I did that already.” I told him.

“Me too. I don’t need that again. I just want us, the kids and our family and friends. The people that matter most.”

He turned off the bedside lamp and pulled me to his chest. I was tired and fell asleep listening to his heartbeat.