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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Joe Wyman poured himself a morning coffee and went to pick up the morning paper from the front steps of the Alamo. Sitting down at the kitchen table and unfolding the paper, the headline read:
BODY FOUND IN COURT HOUSE PARK
He skimmed the article, but it didn't say much except that sometime around 3:00 a.m. two Janesville Police Officers noticed a suspicious person on a park bench at the Court House Park on the Wisconsin Street side. Deciding to investigate, they found a body.
The article went on to say that the body had not been identified as of the time The Janesville Gazette went to press, and that the identity would be made public once the Police notified the next-of-kin and released the name to the press.
Joe took another sip of his coffee and turned to the Sports Page to check the box score for last night's Milwaukee Brewers game which he hadn't been able to watch, instead spending the evening immersed in the GM plant's production figures and costs for the last month.
At the Hospital in Stevens Point, Sean, Andy and Mrs. Cheadle were briefed by one of the NICU Nurses who was just coming off her shift and had attended to the twins overnight.
"They had a very good night," she told them. "They mostly slept pretty much, but they did want to be fed which is a good sign."
"What about their breathing?" Sean asked.
"No problems. They're monitored, and there's no indication that their breathing is anything but normal. We'll have them here for another day, but if by this time tomorrow there's no change, we can go ahead and discharge them."
"OK, I guess that's good..." Sean said.
"Every hour that goes by uneventfully is a good thing. Honestly, they're doing fine so far."
"Thank you, Nurse, we'd like to go in and see them now if that's OK..."
"Certainly. You will have to stay in the observation area, though... Them's the rules, guys... Mrs. Cheadle, why don't you come with me..."
Arriving in the NICU observation area where they could see the twins, no sooner did Andy and Sean turn their eyes to the twins than two pairs of little eyes snapped open and two little bodies wiggled in apparent approval.
"I think they know who we are," Andy said.
"Kinda looks that way, dunnit... Well, we're gonna have our hands full ya know. I mean, we have Mrs. Cheadle, but we're still the parents, and we won't have her forever you know... Maybe, what, a year, or two. I mean, I would think by the time they're potty trained, that would be about it."
"I suppose. I mean, who knows what Ginny has in mind... Well, we have a lot of time before that happens. How are we gonna tell them apart? I mean, if they didn't have wrist bands with their names I wouldn't know which one was which, would you?"
"I don't think so, either. I guess we'll get ankle bracelets for em. One with a J and one with an L. And we won't dress them the same, either... Hopefully they'll be able to tell each other apart, I mean I wonder just how identical identical' twins really are..."
"We're gonna find out...And, yeah, it's kinda cheesey when people dress twins alike."
Just then, the shift Nurse and Mrs. Cheadle entered the room where the twins were to feed the little ones. They suckled at their bottles enthusiastically all the while never taking their little eyes off Sean and Andy. Both of them ingested their formula so fast that each had to be burped, Sean and Andy laughing as they could see, but not hear, their sons' faces contorting hideously, their mouths opening to what appeared to be an impossible diameter and issuing forth a hefty belch a piece.
"Well, at least they didn't puke all over the Nurse..." Sean laughed.
"Or Mrs. Cheadle!" Andy guffawed. "We should call and have the plane standing by to come pick us up tomorrow."
"Yeah, I suppose we should..."
Mrs. Cheadle came out and told the boys they could run along, that she was going to stay behind and go over a few things with the Nurse. She also assured them that the appointment for a post-travel checkup for the twins had already been arranged for once they got back to Janesville.
"The Doctor will come to the house, Sir" she told them. "At first he said that's not how things are done in the States. `Absolute nonsense!' I told him. Right rubbish! At any rate, I was able to make the old git see it my way... Turns out he spent some time in England years ago and fancied himself a plate of bangers and mash, so for the price of a plate full of sausages and mashed potatoes he'll come to the house. The little buggers will have had quite enough of traveling, thank you very much!"
Andy and Sean chuckled at Mrs. Cheadle's plain, common sense Englishness.
At the Hayes Block in downtown Janesville, George Dickson arrived for another Monday at the office. Grabbing himself a cup of coffee, his Secretary handed him a stack of messages, noting out loud that a call came in from Ed Steele about fifteen minutes earlier and that Steele said it was urgent.
"Jesus Christ, what the hell does fucking Kennedy want NOW..." George muttered under his breath. Stepping into his office, George picked up the phone and returned the call.
"Ed, George... Just got to the office..."
"Thanks for returning the call, George. Look, just wondering if you saw the story on the front page of The Gazette this morning."
"Haven't read it yet today, Ed. Why?"
"Well, last night the Police found a dead body in Court House Park. The story in the paper said they hadn't ID'd the body yet, but that was just smoke. It was Bill Kennedy. Shot himself through the head..."
"What the fuck!" George exclaimed. "You don't say! Well... I mean, why?"
"There was no suicide note, so we'll never know... Look, I know you were busy over the weekend with the wedding and all. By the way, tell Tim I said congratulations. He's a fine young man, George...a chip off the old block. Anyway, Colleen gave birth over the weekend. As you know it was twins. Well, it turns out that she delivered the first one just fine but during the delivery of the second her uterus ruptured, they had to perform a C-section and couldn't save her. She died. Kennedy arrived at the hospital in Stevens Point just as she died in the operating room is how I understand it..."
"What about the second twin?" George asked.
"They gave me what information they could as her Attorney, so what I'm telling you is all I know... Both of the twins are alive is what they told me. It looks like Kennedy simply left the hospital once he was informed of Colleen's death, probably drove straight back to Janesville, I don't know what all might have happened after that, and well that's about the size of it. I'm the one that identified his body. I don't even know if his wife knows yet..."
"I see... That's tragic. I'm sorry, Ed..."
"Well, yeah it is tragic, but I called to let you know because obviously since Colleen is deceased there won't be a trial. I assume Sean Wyman is aware of her death, but he may not have made the connection between that and the trial. I'll cut to the chase, George. What I'm looking for is some kind assurance, if and when you can give it of course, that there won't be any lawsuits by your client against either one of the Kennedy's estates."
"Well, Ed, Sean would have no standing to sue Bill's estate. I mean, Bill was an asshole to him, that's for sure, but if people could sue other people for being assholes, that's all you and I would ever do. Colleen is a different matter, though, and of course I'd have to discuss it with him first before I could tell you anything, but since she probably had no significant assets it wouldn't be worth it anyway. Off the record, my belief would be that Sean would probably rather put it all behind him, but as I say, he's the client, not me. If you could give me some assurance that Colleen Kennedy died without any significant assets that would be helpful for your case..."
"George, as far as I know all she had was a small bank account with a debit card... She didn't even own a car. Now, there may be a life insurance policy somewhere out there, but as we both know a life insurance policy is not part of an estate. If I come across anything different, I'll let you know, but as I said, that's all I am aware of right now."
"Very good. I'll speak with Sean as soon as I see him and get back to you. And let me know when and where the funeral will be. Peg and I should go if only for the sake of appearances."
"Appreciate it, George."
"You bet. Bye." George laid down the phone and sighed. He thought to himself that while he was glad this whole thing looked like it was over, two deaths were a high price to pay. But being the good, old `Country Lawyer' that he was, he never mentioned to Ed Steele the Ace in his pocket, and that was if Steele was asking for Sean's co-operation, then Sean would extract a fair exchange in return from the Widow Kennedy. And that would be to once and for all have the Kennedys leave him – and his sons – alone.
Tuesday morning, Sean, Andy and Mrs. Cheadle showed up bright and early at the hospital. Checking in with the shift nurse, they were told that there was a scare overnight. Lennie had a coughing fit while feeding, but it was determined that he had simply been hungry, suckled his bottle too fast and a little bit of formula went down the wrong pipe. The Nurse went on to say that rest of the night passed without incident, both baby's vital signs were good, their breathing was normal, and they were preparing for discharge.
Sean and Andy high-fived as they really wanted to get back home and get the two little guys settled in. Mrs. Cheadle reminded them that she had everything prepared for their arrival before she left, and all that remained was to get them home. She called Doctor Schroeder's office to let him know he should expect to come by the nest morning as planned.
Just then, Sean's phone signaled that he had a text. Opening it, it was a video sent from Tim's phone showing the four of them with Buckingham Palace as their backdrop. They all lit up Churchill-size cigars, congratulating Sean on the birth of the twins and telling Andy to make sure Sean didn't screw up being a dad, and to remind him that they were babies, not footballs. Once the friendly needling was done, they said they were having a ball and had never seen anything like the old English capital, Brett adding that you stumbled over the history and that riding the Tube was a trip. "It's like New York," he said. "You dawdle and you'll get mowed down. These people don't fuck around! And they swear like Sailors!"
Jim Nolan added, "You guys GOTTA come here at least once. It's the balls, man... And the beer is awesome!"
Andy and Sean laughed. "Those guys!" Andy said. "I can't wait `til they get back..."
"Yeah, I know whatcha mean," Sean said. "Well, let's get ready to go. Let's go pack our shit and come back and pick up the kids. The plane will be waiting for us."
Returning to the hospital, the babies discharge papers had been put through, they were dressed in clothing Mrs. Cheadle had packed before she left Janesville, and bottles of formula were furnished for the trip as well as fresh Pampers, which is what the hospital used much to Mrs. Cheadle's chagrin. "Well, they say they're disposable. Crikey! I suppose they think I'm gonna chuck em out the airplane window... Well, one of these things won't kill em, that's for sure... Those two little ones, they're fighters is what they are!"
Sean and Andy had been getting the biggest kick out of Mrs. Cheadle. She was down-to-Earth and knew what was what. She told them that, as expected, both of the babies had lost three ounces of weight but that was entirely normal. "Not to worry, Sirs, a week from now they'll weigh a little more than they did when they were born, and we're gonna try to have the little buggers within normal weight for their age by the time they're three months. We can do that. They're long for their weight, so they'll grow like weeds!"
"What do you want us to do to help with the babies?" Sean asked.
"Yeah, I mean, we can do anything you want," Andy added.
"You just leave it to me, but for now the best thing you can do is spend some time every day talking to them. You'll want to hold them when you do that. And you can read to them if you like. Of course, they won't understand a word you say, mind you, but they'll get used to hearing your voice. And babies need interaction just like anyone else. That's the best thing you could do. I can show you the proper way to feed them and burp them and change nappies, too."
"That's awesome!" Sean said.
"Right, then!" Mrs. Cheadle said in her clipped, English way. "Sir, like you said, you should go check out of the hotel, and get back here so we can get our two little men home!"
The flight from Stevens Point to Janesville was uneventful. At the airport to meet them was Joe. All the passengers were able to fit well within the confines of Joe's big XTS, and they headed straight for the Alamo. Once home, Sean and Andy each carried one of the babies upstairs to the nursery, and being observant, Mrs. Cheadle although originally having prepared the room with a separate bassinet for each baby had one large one delivered that would accommodate both of them together. Still asleep, as they had been the whole trip, their two dads laid them down and gave each little one a kiss on the forehead.
Joe disappeared, coming back in a minute with an old scrapbook. Opening it, he showed a photo to the rest of them. "Sean, this is your mother's baby picture, son. They look just like her..."
Sean gasped. Andy did a double take. Even Mrs. Cheadle nodded. They were, in fact, dead ringers for Val Wyman when she was little baby Valerie Branson.
"Right, well, let's let them sleep," Mrs. Cheadle said. "I expect they'll be up soon wanting to be changed and fed, and all hell will break loose!"
"You heard the lady," Joe said. "Let's go downstairs and get something to eat."
"Sean-o, I'll fix the sandwiches. You go online and order those bracelets for the twins," Andy said.
"Bracelets?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, dad," Sean said. "I'm getting them ankle bracelets, one with a J and one with an L so we can be sure of which one is which."
"Good idea, son. Just wait a few years when they start pulling that switching identities crap on you and everybody else. Guaranteed they'll do it... When I was in High School there was a set of twins in my class. They used to take each other's tests sometimes, and..."
The sound of the doorbell cut Joe off. On the monitor, they could see it was George Dickson.
"Jeez, wonder what brings George by... I'll get the door, guys," Joe said.
Opening the door, Joe invited George in. "Well, look what the cat dragged in," Joe teased.
"Yeah," George laughed. "Sorry to barge in Joe, but you got a minute? It's nothing Earth shattering, I mean nothing you need to be concerned about, but I just have some information here..."
"Sure thing! Care for a beer?"
"Don't mind if I do have a cold one if you're buying!" George teased.
"OK, well, go to my study, I'll grab us a couple and I'll be right in."
Returning to his study, closing the door and sitting down, Joe handed George his beer and asked, "So, what's up?"
"You see the article on the front page of the Gazette this morning?"
"I'm not following," Joe answered. Even though he had seen the article, he had not committed it to memory and it just didn't register.
"Well, there was an article about a dead body found at Court House Park last night..."
"Oh, yeah... I did see that now that you mention it. I didn't pay any particular attention to it, why?"
"Well, it was Bill Kennedy. Shot himself in the head."
"Jesus Christ!" Joe exclaimed. "I mean, I guess that's too bad and all... I can't say the guy was my best friend, but I dunno, I guess he must have just snapped, or something."
"Well, I got a call at the office this morning from Ed Steele, and from what he told me there was no suicide note, so the fact is we'll never know why he did it. I'm aware that Colleen died in childbirth, so that may have had something to do with it, but as I said, we'll never know. Do your boys know?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure Sean and Andy don't. They haven't said anything... I haven't seen John all day, but I'd expect he probably does since he's dating Kathleen unless for some reason she doesn't know yet. What about his wife?"
"I wouldn't know if she knows, or not... You know, she was a sweet girl. They were a few years older than me, but they knew my sister in High School. Her name's Rosemary. They got married a few years out of school, after Bill finished college. Everything was fine with them until Kathleen was born and then Bill just kinda didn't seem to take any kind of interest in his family any more. He treated Rosemary like she wasn't there. He was never around. Let her do what she wanted to do as long as she basically let him do what he wanted to do. They shared a roof, that was it. She was always a real nice person, but after a few years of that the word around town was she started drinking and then just kinda fell off the face of the Earth. Kennedy, well he was always an ass, pardon me for speaking ill of the dead."
"Well, from what little I knew of him he was an ass, alright. Look, George do you mind telling Sean and Andy? I mean, if they have any questions I wouldn't be able to answer them anyway... Better to just keep it simple and have you tell `em."
"I don't mind at all, Joe. Where are they?"
"I'll get them," Joe said picking up his phone and calling up the intercom app. "Sean, Andy, please come to my study... Please come to my study."
Knocking at the door, the boys entered.
"Is John home?" Joe asked.
"Don't think so," Andy said. "Haven't seen him, anyway. Why?"
"Well, never mind, just sit down and pay attention to George for a minute."
"Guys," George began. "Sorry to interrupt your evening. Nothing to worry about, but I just want to make you aware that last night sometime after midnight the Police found a body in Court House Park. It was Bill Kennedy."
"Holy shit!" Sean gasped.
"Yes, well, I'm just telling you to make you aware, that's all. The Police initially told me they may wish to question you, Sean. I made them aware that you have an airtight alibi. You were in Stevens Point for the last few days, so I don't think they'll end up bothering you. It's easy enough for them to verify that you were out of town at the time. Anyway, he died of a gunshot wound to the head and it appeared to be self-inflicted."
"Well, he was pretty quiet, like weirdly quiet, right before he left the hospital," Andy said. "and he knew Colleen was dead, too."
"Anyway, like I told your dad, there was no suicide note, so we'll never know why he did what he did... I need to tell you also, Sean, that Ed Steele called my office today. He asked me to find out if you had any intention of suing Colleen's estate given that since she's dead and threfore there won't be a trial, but the fact of the crime remains and you certainly could file a civil action for money against her estate if you wished."
"Huh?" Sean said, surprised at the question. "Well, I mean, it's too bad they're dead and all, but at least they won't be bothering me any more so just tell him I'm not gonna do that. There's no point in it and I've got better things to spend my time on. Besides, and I never mentioned this to anyone before, but I took out a life insurance policy on Colleen. Anyway, do you know when the wake will be?" Sean asked.
"You did WHAT?" Joe asked, dumbfounded.
"Yeah. I took out a one-million-dollar life insurance policy on her. Now that she's dead I'll collect. The sole beneficiary is me. Could you handle that for me, George, I mean dealing with the insurance company?"
"Well, of course. How in the world did you ever think to do that..."
"I did it because of her drug use. I mean, I knew she wouldn't be able to use while she was in the Convent, or at least I thought it would be pretty impossible for her to use, but I took it out just in case she died, or there might be problems with the birth, or whatever. So, the bottom line is that the babies are OK, but she's still dead, so there you go... Besides, it cost next to nothing for me to take out that policy."
"Son," Joe said. "That was a stroke of genius."
"Like I said, I'm sorry she's dead, but it wasn't the insurance policy that killed her... Anyway, George, do you know when the wake will be?"
"No, but I can find out. Why?"
"Well, J.R.'s gonna hafta go because he's dating Kathleen, and I think Andy and I should show up to support him. Besides, Kathleen is a friend of ours, and no matter whatever else it might be, she did just lose her dad... And her sister..."
"Sean's right," Andy said.
"Yes, I think we should show up at the wake," Sean continued. "I don't think it's necessary we go to the funeral, or the burial, but we should be at the wake."
"Guys, that's very adult of you. You're both right," Joe said.
Just then, Joe heard John come in.
"In the study, Jonathan!" which was the name Joe took to calling John.
"Yeah, dad? Am I like in trouble?" John said, walking in.
"Have a seat son," Joe said. "I assume you're already aware that Bill Kennedy won't be down for breakfast?"
"Yeah, that's why I'm a little late. Sorry. I was with Kathleen. She's OK."
"Well, that's good and please give her my condolences. Your brothers wish to accompany you to the wake if you'll be attending."
"Yeah, I mean I told Kathleen I'd be there for her. I'd really feel a lot better if Sean and Andy were there, too, I mean at least for a little while..."
"Very well, you guys co-ordinate it and let me know when it is you'll be going. By the way, I never asked yet, but would you like to see your nephews?"
"Oh boy would I! Can I see them now?"
"That's fine, but you had better check with Mrs. Cheadle first, OK? She's running the show up there..." Joe said.
"OK, dad! You guys comin'?" John said to Sean and Andy.
"We're right behind you, Bambino..." Sean teased.
Finding Mrs. Cheadle in the nursery folding diapers, or nappies as she called them, they knocked ever so quietly, John walking in first.
"Master John!" Mrs. Cheadle said. "Here to see Joseph and Leonard, are we?"
"Can I?" John asked earnestly.
"Of course you can, dear. Now, best not to wake them up. I've just fed them and put them down. They're such little dears... They don't fuss much... Well, that is if they aren't too far apart. If I take them too far apart, they both start to fuss..."
John approached the bassinet warily, as if it had a snake in it. Slowly, slowly he padded up on tip-toes, leaning forward and craning his neck until he could just barely see in. He smiled just like everyone did with the I'm-looking-at-a-baby smile. He reached in and stroked both of them on the cheek with the back of his index finger. The twins opened their eyes and gurgled at John, making involuntary smiles as real ones were still at least a month, or so away. He thought it best not to stimulate them anymore, backing away and in a few seconds the twins resumed their slumber.
"God, I can't wait to have my own kids someday..." John beamed.
"Well," Sean teased, "If you marry Kathleen it'll be a Mexican and Irish marriage. Ten kids, minimum..."
The entire room dissolved in laughter, waking the twins and prompting Mrs. Cheadle to chase the boys out once she'd stopped laughing herself. "I won't get a moment's rest tonight with this messing about! Out with the lot of you!"
"Well, that went well...." Andy said, winking at Mrs. Cheadle.
"OUT!" Mrs. Cheadle giggled.
"Hey!" Tim hollered to Brett. "You notice yesterday all those people taking pics of the house next door? Now there's more people doing it. Maybe somebody famous lives there..."
"Could be... Wanna find out?"
"Sure, why not?"
Out the door they went, Danny and Jim having left about a half hour before. Ambling up to the end of the stone walkway and opening the front gate they stepped out to the street.
"Excuse me..." Tim said to a passerby. "We noticed people taking a lot of pics of that house yesterday, and same thing today so we wanted to know if, you know, maybe someone famous lives there?"
"Do I `ear an American accent?" a woman appearing to be about seventy-five years old asked.
"Yeah," Brett said. "We're on our honeymoon..."
"Blimy! You see something new every day I guess ya do..."
"So, anyway, does anyone famous live there?"
"Oh, I wouldn't know `oo lives there, young man..."
"So then how come all these people take pics of it. I mean, it's not like there's anything different about it than the rest of the street..."
"Well, like I says, I don't know naught about oo lives there NOW, but years ago the ouse was owned by Margaret Thatcher..."
"Um, who's that..." Tim asked.
"You funny old Yanks! She was our bloody Prime Minister! Dead now she is... Was in office forever she was. Stared down the Russians and won the Falklands War, yeah... The Iron Lady's what they called `er. She was a good'n!"
"Wow!" Tim said. "We better get some pics, too! Is it a museum? Can you go in and see it?"
"Oh, no! Are ya daft? It's a private ome! Well, I suppose you could ask since you're neighbors and all, but someone like me? eavens no!"
"Tim," Brett said with rolling eyes, "Don't be a moron! Did you forget everything we learned in European History? The Prime Minister doesn't live THERE! The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street. That house is 19 Flood Street... She must have owned it before that..."
"Aye, she did now er and er `usband they did," the Englishwoman said. "She moved out in 1979 when she became PM. Well, good day you two!"
"Hey, thanks!" Tim called out. "Wow, can you believe it, we're next door to a Prime Minister's house!"
"Calm down, there Timmy! This is a huge city and we have lots to see. Let's just leave a note for the neighbors. We'll invite them over for cocktails..."
And so they left a note tacked to the front door of 19 Flood Street on their way to the Tube Station and another day of taking in the sights and sounds of the old British city. Today they were off to retrace the footsteps of the Jack the Ripper murders. Brett wanted to do this not so much because he was interested in unsolved Victorian murder cases, but because these were real neighborhoods and one never knew where one might find an interesting little pub, restaurant or out-of-the-way store, or market to duck into for a true slice of life.
He also wanted to get an idea of real estate prices as both he and Tim were rapidly falling in love with London and both knew that once they were in their early-to-mid thirties they could probably afford a little piece of it. Not a grand Townhouse like Ginny's in Chelsea, one of the most exclusive of London neighborhoods, but something...
Brett texted Danny and Jim to be back by 7:00 as they'd invited the neighbors for cocktails. They'd gone off by train to the town of Windsor to see Windsor Castle, the ancestral home of Queen Elizabeth's family. They fell in love with the little English town expressing sentiments similar to Tim and Brett about someday wanting to have a little piece of it for themselves.
Hearing back that they would return in time, Tim and Brett continued on their way to the Whitechapel neighborhood of Jack the Ripper's crimes.
At the same time, but by the clock being six hours earlier in Janesville making it 3:30 in the morning, Sean was awakened by his sons' loud cries demanding to be fed. He knew Mrs. Cheadle had it covered, but he got up anyway, donning a bath robe and his flip-flops and making his way to the nursery.
Entering the nursery at the same time as Mrs. Cheadle, wiping the sleepy bugs from his eyes, he eyed the two little things wailing away and flapping their arms. He smiled.
"Sir, there's no need for you to be up. It's my job, you know..."
"I know, but they woke me up and I couldn't just stay in bed. They won't bother Andy, he'd sleep through a nuclear bomb. Can I feed one of them while you do the other one?"
"Certainly, Sir, and their bottles are ready. I pop them into the warmer before I turn in so that I'm ready when they are. Now, you just watch what I do, and you do the same. I'll move the chairs close so that you'll be sitting next to me. That way it will be simple."
Each one picked up one of the tykes, sat in the chair and grabbed a bottle out of the warmer that was on the table next to the chairs.
"Right! First thing, Sir, is squirt a bit of the formula on the back of your wrist. Like this..."
Sean did as Mrs. Cheadle demonstrated.
"Good. Now is it just warm, but not hot?"
"Um, yeah, it's like just warm but not hot at all."
"Very good, Sir! That means it's the right temperature. Now stick the bottle in his mouth like this," Mrs. Cheadle said as she proceeded to demonstrate on Lennie. "And just watch him suckle. That's instinct, you know. Pretty much everything they're doing right now is just instinct."
And sure enough, as soon as Sean touched the nipple to Joey's lips he began suckling with abandon.
"Like this?" Sean asked.
"That's jolly good, Sir! But we want to make sure he doesn't drink it all down too fast or you'll have a little puker on your hands... His eyes are bigger than his stomach right now. They're all like that when they're this new."
Sean moved the bottle away from Joey's lips eliciting a not terribly noisy, yet unmistakable-all- the-same, objection.
"That's right, Sir. Now wait about ten seconds and you can give it back to him... He might fuss a bit, but just ignore it..."
Sean looked at his little son in his arms, then over at his other son. He smiled. Inside, he was comprehensively frightened at having to raise two babies, but through all of that he smiled. And he figured that must be how all new parents feel.
"By the way," Sean said. "I ordered two ankle bracelets, one with a J and one with an L so we can tell them apart. How do you tell them apart?"
"Well, Sir, Joseph goes in the blue jumper, and Leonard in the yellow. And they still have their hospital bracelets on as well. Besides, I can tell them apart, Sir, even without that."
"How?" Sean asked.
"Well, Sir, remember now that Joseph was born vaginally, and Leonard by C-section. Joseph has a little dent on the top of his head right there," she pointed, "which Leonard doesn't. Not to worry, Sir, the dent will go away in a little while, but right now that's how you can tell."
"I can't believe I didn't notice that!" Sean exclaimed.
"You're a man, Sir..." Mrs. Cheadle teased.
"OK, well, I think he's going to be finished soon, so, um, what do I do..."
"You'll want to take the bottle away before it's completely empty, Sir. We don't want them getting air, or they'll burp certainly and puke probably. Once he's done, he'll be fine, and then we'll burp them just to make sure they didn't get any air."
"I never thought there would be so many steps just to feed a baby!" Sean said, surprisedly.
"Oh, it's nothing, Sir. It's just common sense. You're doing fine..."
"Are they eating well?"
"They eat like little piggies, Sir. The Doctor will be here tomorrow at 11:00 in the morning to check them over. He won't find a thing wrong. Their breathing seems just fine to me, they shit and they piss like clockwork, and like I said, they eat like little piggies. They're playing catch-up to where a full-term baby would be, and they're giving it a good go! Right, well, I think they've had enough now, so I'll show you how to burp them!"
With that, Mrs. Cheadle turned Lennie upright, placed his front across her shoulder and patted his little back.
"Just like this, Sir, and remember, just a really light pat on the back. You're not spanking the little urchin, just lightly patting him."
Sean did as he saw Mrs. Cheadle do.
"If he doesn't burp in about..." And just then Mrs. Cheadle was interrupted by two simultaneous, hideously loud burps.
"Jesus Christ!" Sean exclaimed. "How can something that loud come out of something that small? I don't burp that loud if I just chugged a whole beer!"
"Well, bugger me, Sir, neither do I now!
Sean looked at Mrs. Cheadle with a smirk and began to snicker. "Well, when we have a kegger this fall after one of the games, I'll challenge you!"
"You'll lose..." Mrs. Cheadle smiled back. "Sir."
To himself, Sean thought maybe he just might lose that bet.
"Fine, if I lose I have to make you an English dinner which means all I have to do is take perfectly good food and ruin it, and if you lose you have to call me Sean, and not Sir."
"You'll lose..." She then paused again for effect. "Sir. And you can make me dinner, but you have to make what I want. And you have to make it how I like it. I have all the recipes and I will give them to you."
"Fine."
"Shall we put them down again, Sir? They're not like us, they don't stay up after they eat. They go to sleep so they can process the nutrition."
"Sure."
"Right, then! Do as I do!"
Mrs. Cheadle walked over to the bassinet, turned Lennie on his back, supporting his head all the while, and laid him down on his back. "Go on, Sir! Lay Joseph down next to his brother."
Sean did so, noticing that a few seconds after he did the twins looked at each other and gurgled, appearing to do so with a focus in the other one's eyes that Sean thought was a cute coincidence. They then moved their arms in unison a little bit before falling fast asleep.
"Very well, then, good night, Sir. Why don't you go back to bed now..."
"OK, and thanks," Sean said, grateful for the lesson.
Sean returned to bed, rolled over and fell asleep as quickly as his little sons did.
The next morning at 11:00 sharp, Dr. Schroeder rang the Alamo's front doorbell. Mrs. Cheadle answered the door as she was expecting him.
"Right, then, Doctor! I see you're bang on time. Jolly good! I have the bangers and mash all ready and you'll eat when we're done checking on the boys! I'll get their father. He wants to be present for the examination. If you go to the top of the stairs, the nursery is the second room on your right. We won't be but a minute."
"Thank you, Mrs. Cheadle. I'll get my things ready and wait until you're both there."
Mrs. Cheadle found Sean and Andy on the patio and bade them come in for the Doctor's appointment. "He's here now, Sir. I sent him to the nursery straight away."
Sean and Andy fairly ran up the back stairs to the sound of Mrs. Cheadle admonishing them, "It's a bloody good thing the Doctor's here, Sir, in case one of you fools breaks your bloody neck!"
Running into the nursery, both boys greeted the Doctor.
"So, what are we looking at, Doc?" Andy asked.
"Well, I'll wait until Mrs. Cheadle gets here..."
"I'm here, let's get on with it!" Mrs. Cheadle chivvied the Doctor.
"Alrighty, then," Doctor Schroeder said. "I'm going to weigh them, take their temperatures, and listen to their breathing. That's really about it. By the looks of them, they are presenting as normal babies."
Their weights indicated that both little boys had almost made back their birth weights, he recorded Joey's temperature at 99.4? and Lennie's at 99.6?. Both of them gasped at the touch of the Doctor's cold stethoscope which Doctor Schroeder applied to their chests and backs.
"Good!" The Doctor exclaimed as he finished up. "They're perfectly fine. Now, I know Mrs. Cheadle knows this, but Sean and Andy maybe you don't. Babies as young as they are run body temperatures anywhere from one to two degrees higher than an adult. Their temps are perfectly within the normal range. I didn't hear any difficulty with their breathing, and I know there was some initial weight loss of a few ounces, but they've almost made it all back. How are their appetites?"
"They're gluttons," Sean said. "I helped with last night's feeding and they suck it down like it was gold."
"Good, that's what we want to see. Now, if it gets to be where you can't get enough formula into them we'll..."
"Start them on banana flakes," Mrs. Cheadle cut him off. "Done this a time, or two before you know, Governor! Already have some in the pantry. The way they attack their bottles it might be only a few days before we have to do that. Now, let's go get you your bangers and mash! And I got a pint, or two of good, British Ale for ya to wash it all down with!"
"Sounds good! And Sean, Andy, you have two perfectly healthy little boys here. I'll see them in another month unless something comes up, but right now I wouldn't expect that."
"Thanks, Doc," Sean said.
"Yes, and you'll need to decide if you want them circumcised."
"Um, I hadn't thought about that... How many boys are circumcised these days?"
"It's still almost all of them."
"Well, then, go ahead and schedule it. They'll have enough ups and downs in life without having to think about why their wieners are different from everybody else's... What do you think, And?"
"I think that fine..." Andy said. "I don't have a problem with it..."
"And, Andrew, I'll be seeing you next week for your regular follow-up."
"Gee, can't wait!" Andy teased, winking at the old Doctor.
"Well, at least we know they're healthy... That's a load off," Sean said.
"Yeah, well I figured they would be, I mean they're not acting weird."
"Um, and just exactly how does a baby act weird?" Sean teased, smirking and slapping Andy upside the head.
"How the fuck would I know? It's one of those things you know it when you see it..." Andy replied, flipping Sean off.
"And they're first word better not be `fuck,' either..." Sean laughed.
"It'll be your fault if it is, not mine. You drop the f-bomb like a hundred times a day!"
"Two hundred," Sean said dryly.
"OK, well, let's get out of here and let them sleep."
Just then, Andy heard his phone beep indicating he had a text. Looking at it, he saw the text was from Garrett Crossman asking Andy to call.
"I gotta call Crossman. I bet it's about mom's estate. Let's go back out to the patio."
Seated at the patio picnic table, Andy dialed the Attorney's office. "Yes, this is Andrew Churchill. Attorney Crossman asked me to call... Yes, I'll hold..."
"Attorney Crossman? This is Andy Churchill. Just calling you back..."
Andy listened, saying at intervals, "It is? You did? Alright, I'll look for the email... Thank you!"
"What was that all about?" Sean asked.
"He says mom's estate is settled. And he reminded me that I'd kinda forgotten about the life insurance policies. Which I did, I mean it just slipped my mind with everything else that went on... Anyway, he's sending me the email with the final accounting of the estate, a copy of the check for the proceeds that I'll get, and a copy of the title to the TSX."
"OK, well, my iPad's right out here, so if you wanna do webmail you can check it I guess..."
"I'll give it a few minutes, I mean it's not like we're paupers, or anything..."
"What are you gonna do with the car?"
"You know, I don't need it... I mean, I have the Cruze and I love that car. OK, it's a diesel and it's not the fastest car in the world, but the mileage is great, it's comfortable, and I dunno, I just really like it. Hey, you know what I thought of?"
"Uh-oh, what..."
"Well, Brad doesn't have a car, and he could use one instead of having to have J.R. pick him up every morning... I know he probably wouldn't want to spend the money to buy it, so why don't I just, you know, like `rent it' to him..."
"Whadya mean..."
"OK, well, I can't explain it to Brad that way because all I'd get is a hundred and forty-seven questions, but here's how it would work: I keep ownership of the car, I add Brad on the insurance as a driver for which he will pay, he puts gas in it, and pays for any maintenance outside of warranty items, you know, like oil changes and shit. There's still the balance of the factory warranty on it, and I'll just buy an extended warranty. It wouldn't end up costing him much, he can afford it, and you've seen how neat and clean he keeps his apartment... I think it's a perfect solution."
"OK, well, whadya gonna tell Brad?"
"Just let me find out how much it'll cost to put him on the insurance... Wait, here we go. Shit, it'll cost me two-hundred, two-fifty a year extra? Fuck it, I'll just forget about that part. I'll have J.R. pay for it out of the Lawn Company and have it be part of Vehicle Expenses.' I'll pay him the difference between how much it saves him on taxes and what the IN-shernts' costs... We're even then. I'll just tell Brad all he has to pay for gas and oil changes. He'll get that."
"Yeah," Sean laughed, "and he'll be suspicious, too... I can just hear it now... Fucking `IN- shernts...' You must want somethin' then..."
"Well, that's just how it will go and if he doesn't want it, I'll sell the fucking car..."
"I'll buy it then... Kelly Blue Book value."
"Why?"
"Dunno, I kinda like it... That car has a stick, which is rare. I'd have it gone over, detailed, maybe drive it myself a little while and then sell it for more," Sean laughed. "If it doesn't sell fast, I'll rice it and sell it down the Fourth Ward..."
"Dick! You would! And you'd prolly make J.R. sit on the hood, too..." Andy teased, "Anyway, I should check that email from the Lawyer..."
Yeah, I guess so, hun.... Jesus, this has been a year...."
Sean and Andy sat for a few moments seemingly contemplating the patio's concrete slab, but all the while both trying to recall all that had happened in the past year and in the end giving up, laughing that if either one of them made up the story nobody would believe it. After a minute, or so Andy excused himself to the library to get Attorney Corssman's email while Sean stayed on the patio to have a smoke.
"Sean-o! C'mere!" Andy yelled out from the Library.
"It better be good, huh..." Sean said as he came running.
"Read this. It's the email from Attorney Crossman. I printed it out. Here, just read it..."
Sean grabbed the paper out of Andy's hand, sitting down in one of the dark leather wing-back chairs, crossing his legs and reading with an increasingly furrowed brow.
"Um, wow... Did you read all of this?"
"Yeah, I did..."
"Well?" Sean asked rhetorically. "This isn't exactly what you were expecting, is it..."
"No, I mean, it's not. Not at all..."
END CHAPTER FORTY-SIX