After helping out Brad at the grill, Marty was able to sit down again and join Peter and his Aunt Hana at one of the picnic tables. Every time he saw her she still captivated him.
Besides being Peter's aunt in the constellation of the family, she was also, of course, the egg donor for his conception. It fascinated Marty how he could see Hana's features in his face. The mouth, maybe forehead and cheeks. It was kind of hard for him to say exactly what, but the parts were there. He even seemed to have inherited certain personality traits from her, like how he would sometimes lean his chin on his hand.
He could also see some of Brad's features in him too, especially with darker hair than the typical Kovar. But to Marty he sure looked like his mother's son.
"Do you all have to decide on your majors this year?" she asked them both, awakening Marty from his drifting thoughts.
"Yes, and pretty much right now, since we only have two years left."
"And..." she quizzed, letting the word hang in the air for a moment as she looked at Peter.
"I suppose you want to know that that major might be?" he replied, smiling and then taking a bite of a burger that he had split with Marty.
"That's right, boys," she replied, alternating her look between the two of them.
He conspicuously swallowed what was in his mouth, and then took a deep gulp from his glass of water. "I'll think I'll let Marty start off first, since I need time to make up an answer," he finally replied.
Marty just laughed. "He's thought it out; it's just not a typical answer. But I don't mind, I'll go first."
He put both arms on the table before he spoke, crossing his hand over to hold the opposite elbow. It was his `serious pose,' as Peter had joked with him.
"I have to say, this summer has been really interesting in regard to that question. I've spent the past two years looking at a lot of different options. The college makes us spread out our classes into diverse areas, so that we're exposed to a lot of alternatives, but I've tried to hang around in the history department as much as possible," he answered, his voice relaxed and calm.
"You're interested in law school, or politics," she asked, jumping ahead a few years.
"We'll, not necessarily. I like History, but not just the political part of it. I like literary and art history too, they just fascinate me, I guess," he responded, trying to compress what could be a very long and complicated answer. "But this summer Pop gave me this really interesting construction project to work on.
"Oh, yeah, I saw that in the garage before they shipped it off. I'm no pro, but I thought it looked great. And I know that my brother was really happy with it." She hadn't heard Marty call her brother `Pop' before, but she wasn't surprised.
"Oh...um... thanks, he said," sidetracked for a moment by the compliment. He then got back to answering the question, excitement clear in his voice as he talked about the different aspects of the task. "I really get jazzed by doing it this kind of project. I like working with my hands, figuring out how to build things three-dimensionally, putting together a schedule, even budgeting and all the other stuff that goes with it. This might mean business school more than law school in the future, if I can even be that specific."
"So any thoughts on what it means for selecting a major now?" she asked before accepting one of the slices of pie that was being passed along the table from her brother.
"I'm still not sure, but in the end I don't think it makes a big difference what I pick. I've talked to Pete about this, and he agrees with me," he said as he sat back on the bench, his hands now supporting him from either side. "So I'll probably look for the major that gives me the most flexibility to take what I still want to take. That might mean some kind of customized major, which they let us do. I'd like to take maybe a sculpture class or anything else that will get me back into a studio or woodshop. But also something with accounting or finance that will help me to track things and understand what I'm doing from that angle."
Peter was listening intensely the entire time, turning his good ear toward whoever was speaking to make sure he understood. "He's really thought this through a lot. He just needs to see how flexible he can be and push the definition of major' as hard as he can," he added, using his fingers to for quotation marks when he said major.' "With the courses he's taken so far, I guess it might be some hybrid of business and art."
"Mirek and I were both pretty focused," his aunt started. "The difference was that he stuck with architecture, but I didn't stick with pre-med, like most of my friends. Your Aunt Julie stuck with it and really likes medicine, as your Pop likes architecture and your Uncle Kurt likes science. But I'm more like your Dad. I've had this career in advertising, but it's just a means to an end for me. I mean, I enjoy it and all, it has its challenges and rewards. But the best thing about it is that I can help support the family in a decent lifestyle and not worry too much about money."
Marty knew that was an understatement. She made gobs of money at it, and like Peter's dad, made the big money so that the spouse, in this case Peter's Uncle Kurt, could do the scientific work that he enjoyed.
"Now, to return to where we started, Peter, what about you? Have you figured it out in the last few minutes?' she asked with a smile as she finally put a fork into the dessert.
"We're not so different, although I don't think I've got as many diverse interests as Marty," he answered. "You know, doing this modeling stuff gives me some sense of what your world is like, at least the behind-the-scenes aspects," he said, leaning back on the bench and stretching.
"I"d be surprised if you wanted to get back into it professioally, especially after seeing all the goings-on that happen," she replied with a slight chuckle.
"We'll, I know what you mean, and I know that I don't want this as a career. But it has kind of introduced me to travelling around, and lots of different kinds of people. I'd almost like to teach it more than do it, it that makes any sense. I mean, not necessarily teach this, but teach something. I like introducing people to things, showing them around, explaining stuff," he answered, and then stared out at the kids playing in the backyard.
"There are other times I think..." He continued staring as they all went after an errant ball.
"Yes?" she quizzed, eyebrows raised.
Peter looked at Marty before speaking. He just smiled back.
"Sometimes, I think I kind of just want to take care of people, take care of our family. Marty, Dad and Pop, kids we have. Maybe be a sort of househusband," he said, not sure what she would think.
"You mean like your Dad?"
"Well... yeah.. And to be honest I'm not sure how realistic it is, to plan on not working. But I think that teaching would be good, as long as it was the right level and environment. I could really enjoy that. Plus it would be nice to have summers off, or sort of off, at least according to Uncle Nik."
Marty put down his fork beside his own slice for a moment. "I think he'd be a great dad and a great teacher. When we were in Chicago, he picked up everything really quickly, even taught me how to change a diaper fast. And the kids seemed to like him right away and he liked taking care of them," he said, his eyes looking back at Peter after first addressing Hana. "And he took care of a lot of the household stuff, too, while Bik was working and Laura was asleep. In the last week, he was doing all the shopping and most of the cooking."
"Either way is a good choice, Peter," his aunt answered. "You should do what feels right and what works for you as a couple. You're Dad had it both ways, but I know which one he enjoyed more. He often said that if it didn't pay so damn much he wouldn't have done any legal work at all. And even then, he could have made boatloads more if he had worked full time or was ambitious in the firm. But he had other priorities and chose to go with those."
Looking at the Peter as he explained himself and struggled with his future, she couldn't help remembering him from so many years ago. He was so tiny, the smallest baby she had ever seen. As she watched him fight for breath, she couldn't help but feel that she could have done more. She had thought at the time that perhaps she should have carried him.
She knew factually, or course that she had no obligations, and if things had turned out differently it would probably have never even been an issue. She was really happy and honored to be asked to do something so special for her brother and Brad. But to watch the little boy there battling for life itself she thought that she could have, and should have, done more.
It put her into a funk, almost a depression, until her brother intervened.
He didn't dwell at all on the young baby's problems, but on his possibilities, his strengths, his potential, things that would have never even existed if it wasn't for her.
She knew that none of this was easy for him to say. He was a realist, and couldn't help but know, or realize, or suspect, that the worst could happen. And even if it wasn't the worst, there could be other consequences that were nearly as bad. And he ached for his son and the torture he was going through. But, for him and for Brad, Peter was a gift in any form and they were grateful for whatever time that they would have with him. She was startled out of her thoughts by a ball for Reese that had been kicked between her feet. "Hey, what are you doing down there?" she asked as she peered under the table. She saw the dog there of course. But she also noticed how Marty had kicked off his sandals and was resting his feet on Peters'. They weren't' moving or scratching or massaging him. Just resting there. "He thought you weren't paying enough attention to him, Aunt Hana. He's number one, and demands some respect and quality time," she heard Peter tease from above the table, refocusing her on Reese's mission. "Well, let's see what we can do for you here," she said as she grabbed the ball and raised her head above the table. "Fetch!' she ordered after tossing the ball back out.
Reese didn't move out and stood next to her legs, just looking up and panting.
"You didn't think he'd fall for that one, did you? He's an Australian Shepherd, He wants real attention, which in his case always means food," Marty said as he observed the standoff.
She stared back at him.
"OK. You get one small treat. Follow me," she commanded as she got up from their table and marched off to the grill area. Reese was glued to her heels, and even bumped them a couple times.
"Remember, he can't have anything until you say "Take it!" Peter called out after her.
"Don't worry, I'll make him work for it," she answered.
Peter was about to get up to fetch some drinks when he suddenly felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.
"Hey big guy, we've got some crying kids in the kitchen, care to give us a hand?"
"Hey, of course, sure," he said recognizing the voice.
He turned and saw Bik standing behind him, as Marty and just about everyone else at the table stood up for a big welcome.
"Hey everyone, don't out of your seats yet," he said, raising his hands in the air, "I promise, I'll be back to say `Hi'!' in a few minutes, but right now I really need to borrow this guy," Bik said as he pulled his brother by the shoulder. "And the other uncle, too. This is a two-man job."
After he had recovered from his earlier stumble he had gotten used to the heat outside, especially after Marty had made him shower and get refreshed.' But he had to admit that being back in the air conditioning felt pretty good, too. He was convinced that his dizzy spell from earlier was caused by something with his ear and his earlier activities' and not necessarily the weather, but it sure seemed to help to just be inside.
When they got to the kitchen, the two grandpas were holding the kids, who were seemingly in some kind of competition to see who could scream the loudest. Not only was there noise, but it was now getting pretty crowded in there, too, with the newly arrived diaper bags, strollers and other infant accessories.
"It's been a long drive for Laura, and she needs to get a bit of rest before she comes down. I'd like to go and look after her for a few minutes, and Dad and Pop need to run the show down here. So I thought you guys would be good candidates for babysitting and trying to get them settled."
"We'd be glad to Bik," Peter said as took his nephew from his Pop, "But how is Laura? Is she OK? He already had already thrown a towel over his shoulder for the inevitable baby drool.
"Oh yeah, she'll be fine. She really wanted to come to see you all off, but for right now she's just needs to chill. EJ is upstairs with her now, but I'd like to be there, too. Besides, I thought that their uncles might want the chance to show off the kids.
Marty didn't seem to have lost his magic touch with the niece. Only a few minutes after he had taken her from her grandfather, the screaming was reduced to a somewhat constant squirming.
"I don't know what you do there, Marty, but it seems to work pretty well, I'd heard from Bik and Laura that you have some special connection with her, but I had no idea it was so strong," Mike said.
"I wouldn't say that. She's probably just gotten too tired, like the last time," he responded. Then he looked out the window at all the people milling around outside. "I'm not sure we should take her out to meet people right now, though. She might need to just sleep, or..." he sniffed the air.
"Hmmm...I'm not sure this is the cause, but I think she need might need changing. Let me take care of that first then maybe I'll take her out to meet the rest of the crew," he said before reaching into the diaper bag with his free hand and heading over to the dining room table.
"This one is calming down a bit, too," Peter added. "But he still seems irritated or something, he's fussing around a lot. I hope it's nothing else," he added, gently swinging his nephew back and forth in his arms.
Laura sat on the edge of the upstairs bed, with Bik sitting next to her, with his cousin EJ standing next to their luggage.. They were all looking down on the backyard festivities.
"How are you doing now?" EJ asked as she started to unpack the their bags, hanging up some of Laura's summer dresses in the nearby closet.
"Day by day, it's getting better. I just wish I wasn't so tired all the time. I want to do more with the kids, but I just get exhausted real fast."
"Yea, it's been really tough, but there's definitely been improvement," Bik added. "We're both glad we could do this, though. It probably couldn't have happened two weeks ago, so it just shows how much progress there has been."
Laura got up to look out of the multi-paned glass window. She paused for a moment and put her hands on the window frame.
"You OK?" Bik asked.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just looking at everyone outside and at Peter and Marty."
EJ came over to join her at the window. "Are they doing something?"
They stood there for a moment, both women looking out at the back yard, then Laura nodded toward Peter and Marty. "Gosh, look at them show off the kids. It looks like they go by each person and make sure they've been properly introduced,"
"Your right," Bik said as he came up behind them and peered over his wife's shoulder. "It's pretty remarkable how natural they are at it, especially Marty. He was able to get Kathy to sleep when we weren't even able to do it."
"Besides their rapport with the kids, you know what else was interesting about when they visited?" Laura asked as she returned from the window to sit on the edge of the bed. "When I first met Bik and visited here, Peter was such a night owl. He was up late almost all the time. I originally thought that it was just part of his personality, then Bik told me that he wanted to sleep, but had a really hard time actually doing it.
"Oh yeah, he's been like that for pretty much his whole life. I think a lot of it was the ear problems that kept him up, but I think there was other stuff, too. Maybe just general anxiety, I don't know. But it definitely wasn't to watch late night television."
"Well, knowing that, I expected him to be up late every night when they stayed with us. But I can't tell you how many times I went into the kitchen before going to bed and he'd be conked out on Marty's shoulder on the living room couch."
"I thought about it some at Christmas when I went downstairs at night and didn't see Peter there watching TV or reading a book. But it really hit me when they were in our house because I had kind of factored it into the schedule."
"Pop told me the same thing. He went downstairs one night at Christmas and saw what we saw."
"Is Marty usually asleep at those times, too?" EJ asked.
"Sometimes, but not usually. I don't think he sleeps very well like that, to be honest. But it's much more important for him to keep Peter sleeping than himself."
After they had put the kids down for a nap, the guys headed back outside to rejoin the rest of the guests. The boy still seemed restless, but they both hoped that it was only a nap that he needed.
"Mart, are you hungry again?"
"Yeah, that would be great. I guess the choice is still hot dog or hamburger so...get me a hot dog."
OK, with the usual stuff?"
Marty thought for moment. "Um, hold the mustard for this first one. Changing Kathy is a bit too recent in my mind to want anything viscous on my food."
Peter laughed and then made his way toward the grill area, while Marty headed for the ice chest. "Hey Pete, you want a drink, maybe some water? It's still pretty hot out here."
"What's that?" Peter turned and asked.
There was so much noise around, Marty caught himself and realized that Peter was probably struggling to understand him again, even with his hearing aid in. "Drink? He said, looking straight at Peter and making drinking motion with his hand."
"Mmm...maybe a beer, if there's a cold one left."
Marty shook his head in the affirmative and headed over to the coolers. The outside air still felt heavy and moist, especially compared to the air conditioned coolness inside. But it was getting toward evening when that kind of air actually started to feel pretty good.
"Hey Pop, Can you look here a second?" Bik asked.
"Sure, what's going on," he asked as Bik was holding his crying son.
"I don't think this one is doing so well. He's been restless and crying all day. I think it was maybe because of the driving, but it hasn't improved since we got here."
"Hmm...Do you want to take him to the Doctor?"
"Well, I have to admit I'm kind of a paranoid dad, but Laura thinks we should to, too. But it's Saturday, we may need to go to the emergency room.
"Let me call Dr. Chiang, first. She's probably not working today, either, but could probably recommend someone.
"OK, if you'd to that, it would be great."
"Mike whipped out is phone and looked at it for a second. "At one time I had her on speed dial, but now I've got to look it up," he said as he scrolled through his contacts. "Ahh, here it is."
Bik tried to listen, but was more concerned with his son's restlessness, so didn't really know what was happening until his Pop asked him a question.
"Fortunately for us, but not for her patients, she has a couple in intensive care so she's over there as we speak. Can we bring him over now?"
"Yeah, for sure, I'll get him ready. Let's go."
Bik went to tell Laura, while Mike informed Brad and the others, Since Bik's SUV was equipped with the car seats, they choose to use that car and drove off to meet Dr. Chiang.
Bik and Mike pulled back into the driveway after dark. Laura had been on the phone with Bik during their visit, so was relieved to hear that it was only an ear infection. She passed the news on to the rest of the guests who were still around, as the party had mostly broken up a few hours before.
Laura needed to be upstairs to put a fussy Chessie to bed when they got back, but Peter went out to meet them at the car when they pulled in.
Bik and everyone else were quite relieved by the diagnosis. They had some eardrops to give him, and it already seemed to be having an effect. The only person who still seemed concerned and anxious was Peter, with Marty standing right behind him as they came in.
"Is he OK?" Peter asked, studying his nephew after Bik had pulled him out of the car seat.
"Yeah, he is. Poor little guy, it must have really hurt a lot. But we think he's better now," he said. "This is yet another reason we'd like to move back here, Dr. Chiang is so good. We like our pediatrician in Chicago, but there's no one like her."
As he was talking, Brady stretched out his small arms and yawned.
"Can I take him for a minute Bik? Unless you want to go upstairs right away," he added cautiously, not wanting to see to seem too possessive with his brother's son. After all, he had just come from the doctors, also and that had to be stressful. "I mean, I can wait until later or tomorrow."
Peter's anxiousness surprised him, but Bik immediately had a suspicion as what was motivating his brother. "Sure, Peter. He'd love to see his Uncle again. You can bring him upstairs in a few minutes. He might be a bit groggy, so don't expect too much," he said as they came through the front door.
"OK, no problem."
"Oh, and by the way, can you put him in his jammies? They're in the diaper bag on the table."
"I'll go get them, if you want to take him into the living room, Pete," Marty said went as he went off to retrieve them.
"OK," he said as he took his nephew and held him close. He was wrapped in a light cotton blanket and still had one some of his decorative `traveling clothes,' including a shirt with his name on it that Peter and Marty had bought for him.
Peter kissed him, then went into the living room and sat down in one of the comfy overstuffed chairs by the fireplace. Even though his Pop loved modern design, he fortunately let comfort be a higher priority for furniture. It was a good place to hold a kid.
"Here, you'll need this," Marty said, handing him a towel for his shoulder while he stood beside him with the sleeping togs.
"Thanks," he said as he used one hand to carefully position it while holding the baby with the other.
Except for Marty, Peter didn't' notice anything around him, he just focused on Brady and spoke very softly to him. "I know how you feel little guy," he said, raising his nephew up to his face as he snuggled and kissed him.
"Ears can really hurt a lot. You're Mommy and Daddy are doing everything they can, but sometimes they can't make it better. But they know that you hurt and that it doesn't feel so good." He then kissed the baby's ear again as he whispered to him.
Marty bent down and knelt next to the two. He could almost feel Peter's empathy for his nephew flowing between them. Sometimes he'd see him rub Brady's ear with his fingers, other times he'd nudge it with his nose as he continually spoke to him about his ear. Like if he just could explain what was happening then the pain would go away.
They had given Brady some mild meds to take the immediate pain away, and some other meds to address the infection directly, which seemed to have made him a bit groggy, So he didn't react much, at least directly. But it didn't matter to Peter. He knew that Brady was listening.
Besides a two month old baby being past its bedtime, it was getting late for Peter, too, at least according to Marty's clock. "Hey Pete, it might be time to hit the hay for all of us, you think? he asked after spending a few more minutes watching him and their nephew.
Peter looked at him, then back at Brady. "hmmm...yeah, I think you're right, it's getting pretty late for both of us, huh, guy?" he asked the almost asleep nephew. "I guess we both have to go to bed, huh?" he said as he got up out of the chair.
"Here's everything you need if you want to change him into his jammies, unless you want me to."
"No I'm fine, I can do it. You ought to hit the sack yourself, you know. We're leaving in a couple days and there's a lot to do to get it all together. We'll be pretty busy until then."
"OK, but I think I need to see you up there in 10 minutes, or I'm coming down after you, OK? Marty said. He was smiling, but Peter got the message.
"You hear that, Brady? We can't stay upl What do you think of that, little guy?" he asked as he laid him on the dining room table to change him into his night clothes. In no time he was done.
But before he took him back upstairs he gave him one last kiss to the ear.