Chapter 13
October 4, 2006 - late evening
As birthday celebrations went, it was not a rousing success. Tim and Tracy and their boys were only part of the family, and the part that was missing was painfully obvious. Jerry had been as good as his word. He had not spoken to Kevin since the day of the memorial service. When Tim had called him to say that Kevin was coming in from LA to take care of some business and that he and Tracy were celebrating his birthday with him, Jerry had quietly refused the invitation to join them. Tim hadn’t pressed the issue at the time, but he did think about calling Jerry again after his showdown with Kevin that morning. The only thing that held him back was that he wasn’t sure that any real change had occurred.
Kevin had spent the rest of the day with the family, but he hadn’t really interacted with anyone. And he was definitely avoiding Rachel. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say that he was sulking.’ Tim thought.
Rachel, for her part, was fairly calm. She knew that Kevin was angry with her for not swallowing his excuses, but she felt certain that she had done the right thing. At least he wasn’t hiding in the den or his room. And he wasn’t getting plastered. She looked at Jemma and Aaron. They didn’t seem to be aware of the undercurrent of tension surrounding Kevin. Jemma was whispering to Aaron and gesturing toward the pile of gifts sitting on the coffee table. She looked excited and happy. Rachel sighed. Why couldn’t Kevin see how little effort it would take to bring his children back into his arms? They were only waiting for a signal from him.
Finally she was bundling them off to bed. Kevin had received his birthday presents from his daughter and son quietly. He had thanked them and tried to show some enthusiasm for their efforts, but he was so unaccustomed to any display of interest or affection that the other three adults in the room had cringed. Jemma and Aaron, however, were thrilled. They had managed to claim their father’s attention for an entire evening, and he hadn’t gotten angry or pushed them away. That was a giant step forward as far as they were concerned. They went protesting up to bed. The evening was ending too soon.
Tim and Tracy gathered their brood and left shortly after Jemma and Aaron went to bed. Rachel walked out to their car with them and lingered in the yard after they pulled out of the drive. The moon was nearly full and the night was warm. She was enjoying the fresh air and, if the truth were told, she was a little apprehensive about having to go back inside. This would be the first time that she would be alone with Kevin that he wasn’t falling down drunk. She wondered how he would behave. ‘Well,’ she thought. ‘I’m certainly not going to find out by standing out here.’ As she turned to enter the house, she saw him standing in the shadows on the front porch watching her.
"Nice night", he said quietly. "The party was nice too. Thank you." He didn’t wait for a response. He turned and went into the house. When Rachel walked in the door, he was already heading upstairs to his room.
Chapter 14
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