Chapter 9
"Hey Sam." Ephram greets once he finds Sam at the Denver airport.
"Hey Ephram." Sam greets, "how was your flight?"
"Long." Ephram responds, "but thanks for picking me up, I know it's a long drive."
"It's not really a problem, anything to get out of Mom and Delia's way. Rose's too the all seem to be about a million places at once, and I think they're all crazy."
Ephram laughs, "they probably are at this point. So I'm the last person to get in then? I tried to get away from the office earlier but it just wasn't possible."
"Yeah, we understand. Um Ephram there is something I should probably tell you..." Sam seems uncomfortable as they make their way through the parking lot.
"Regarding?" Ephram inquires.
"Amy."
"Then I don't want to hear it." Ephram states firmly, "Amy isn't my business anymore. Whatever she has been up to in the last five months has nothing to do with me. I will see her at the wedding, we will exchange pleasantries and that will be that, we will continue to carry on our own lives."
"But..."
"Sam can we change the topic, please?" Ephram requests.
Sam sighs, "fine."
"The house looks empty," Ephram states once Sam opens the door to the Brown household.
"Good," Sam states, "let's hope it stays that way for a little bit longer, I don't think I can handle anymore of Delia right now."
"I heard that, and the house isn't empty." Delia appears from the kitchen in a bathrobe. "Ephram how was your flight? Good I hope. It's good to see you. Anyway I have to get ready. The rehearsal dinner is in 45 minutes. You need to get ready too." Before Delia's words can even process she is all ready upstairs without another word.
"That is how she has been for the last month." Sam laughs. "Come on, we are sharing a room you can unpack and then use my bathroom to get cleaned up."
"Where's the rehearsal dinner?" Ephram asks.
Sam rolls his eyes, "remember what family this is."
"Mama Joy's?"
Sam nods, "Mama Joy's...well actually Mama Joy's and formal wear." Sam shrugs, "she's your sister."
Ephram laughs, relieved that he didn't have to spend the last month with his sister. He spoken to her on a weekly basis but every time he talked she seemed fluster and had a million things to do so he really didn't hear much about the entire wedding process.
"Hey Ephram," Andy suddenly appears sticking his head in Sam's bedroom.
"Hey Dad." Ephram greets dropping his duffle bag on a chair.
"How was your flight?" Andy asks.
"It was fine." Ephram responds shifting through his duffle bag in search of the appropriate outfit for the evening.
"So can we talk?" Andy asks.
Ephram turns to face his father and finds that Sam has disappeared, "if this is about Amy I all ready told Sam that I don't want to talk about her."
"Ephram it's kind of important." Andy states.
"And I am still as uninterested as I was when Sam told me he wanted to tell me something about Amy." This was a 100% lie coming out of Ephram's mouth, his father and step-brother's insistence that they needed to tell Ephram something about Amy had sparked his interest.
"Ephram..."
"Is she alive?" Ephram asks.
"Yes."
"Is she healthy?"
"Yes, but..."
"Then that's all that matters to me. And that only matters to me because she is still someone who I...I don't want dead. Now if you will excuse me I have to take a shower so I can be on time for Delia's rehearsal dinner."
30 minutes later Ephram is changed into a pair of khaki cargo pants and a loose gray t-shirt and is ready and waiting for the rest of his family to leave. "How do I look?" Delia asks appear at the foot of the stairs wearing a beautiful off the shoulder knee length black dress that flares at the skirt.
"Beautiful." Ephram announces kissing his sister gently on the cheek. "So is everyone ready then?"
"Actually they all went on ahead, to give us some time to talk." Delia states.
"I've heard those words before." Ephram laughs, "last time you told me you and Bright Abbot were getting married, the next thing I know your going to be telling me that you're pregnant."
"It's actually not about me. Did Dad talk to you about Amy?" Delia asks.
Ephram lies, "yeah he did. So don't worry about it, and I'm fine."
Delia looks relieved, "good. I didn't want this to ruin your visit."
Ephram shakes his head, "I'm here to see you. Not Amy, so of course this won't ruin my visit, or your wedding."
"Good, let's go then."
"I'm sorry to run of and leave you." Delia states once they have arrived at Mama Joy's after the actual rehearsal has been finished, "but as the bride and all I have to socialize."
Ephram nods, "go one, I'll be fine."
Delia kisses Ephram's cheek, "I love you Ephram."
"I love you too Delia, have fun tonight."
Surveying the crowd Ephram spots various people he remembers from when he lived in Everwood.
"Hey Ephram it's good to see you again." Someone Ephram can't remember the name of but Ephram is sure he graduated with stops him.
"Yeah, same here." Ephram makes small talk with the man that he suddenly remembers as being friends with Bright.
"So have you seen Amy?" There she was again, it seemed like Amy was the only person anyone wanted to talk to Ephram about.
Ephram shakes his head, "no I haven't. Listen it was nice catching up with you again but I should really find Nina see if she needs me to help her with anything." Ephram sighs, what was everyone obsession with Amy lately anyway?
There she was Ephram catches sight of her through the window looking into the kitchen. She looks as beautiful as she always does and Ephram can't help but think back to the last time he had seen her, peacefully asleep in his arms. How many times in the last five months had he thought back to that moment? Pushing the thought out of his mind Ephram decides that he is going to have to face her some time so he heads back toward the kitchen. But fate, or God, decides that it isn't time for Ephram and Amy to see each other again and Nina stops Ephram on his way back handing him a tray of food to carry to a table.
After setting the food down on the table though someone must have decided that it was time for Ephram to see Amy because she is standing right behind him. "Ephram..." Amy seems startled to see Ephram, as if she wasn't expecting him to be right there.
Ephram takes a step back to give them room and takes in her appearance, and her appearance startles him. Her black and white floral printed dress doesn't do much to hide her slightly swelled stomach and Amy's gaze immediately follows Ephram's.
"Ephram we should probably talk." Amy states biting her lip and looking around.
Ephram quickly looks around them and finds that most of the people in the restaurant have their gazes on the ex-couple. "Somewhere privately." Ephram gently takes Amy's arm and guides her to the kitchen where Nina and Andy scoot out of their way.
"I thought you talk to him?" Delia questions her father.
Andy shakes his head, "I thought you talk to him."
Sam sighs, "oh boy."
"Amy what's going on?" Ephram asks, keeping his voice low to avoid anyone who might be eavesdropping.
"Ephram I didn't know how to tell you about this. I just kept rereading your note and thinking that everything you said was right, and that we were over years ago and how this wasn't what either one of us needed."
"So the baby is mine then?" Ephram asks.
"Of course it is!" Amy's voice rises and then she lowers it, "there has never been anyone else Ephram. Not for me not ever, but we don't work, we figured that out a long time ago. There is always something there to stand in the way of there being a you and me. Always."
"Amy we have a second chance here. Something we never gave ourselves before." Ephram gently places both of his hands on Amy's small.
Amy takes a deep breath and closes her eyes against tears brimming there and she turns away from Ephram so that he can't see her face. "We can't, it just doesn't work."
"We can make it work." Ephram insists moving around and in front of Amy.
"You don't know that." Amy responds.
"Someone up there does," Ephram states, "or they never would have given us this chance."
"Why do you think this baby changes anything?" Amy questions.
"Because I think this is a sign, a sign telling us that we have to try again. Even if not for us for the sake of a baby."
Amy is crying by now, "Ephram if this is just because you think I'm going to keep you away from the baby I won't keep you from it..."
Ephram places his hands on Amy's shoulders, "that's not why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I think we would have been better off if we hadn't given up, but after Hailey died it was so much easier to give up then work at something so I let it go. And I've let it go for the last three years, but I'm not doing that now. We can make this work, with a little work I think we can do it, you just have to be willing."
Amy wraps her arms around Ephram neck and she buries her face in Ephram's neck murmuring the words, "I'm willing."
"Hey Sam." Ephram greets once he finds Sam at the Denver airport.
"Hey Ephram." Sam greets, "how was your flight?"
"Long." Ephram responds, "but thanks for picking me up, I know it's a long drive."
"It's not really a problem, anything to get out of Mom and Delia's way. Rose's too the all seem to be about a million places at once, and I think they're all crazy."
Ephram laughs, "they probably are at this point. So I'm the last person to get in then? I tried to get away from the office earlier but it just wasn't possible."
"Yeah, we understand. Um Ephram there is something I should probably tell you..." Sam seems uncomfortable as they make their way through the parking lot.
"Regarding?" Ephram inquires.
"Amy."
"Then I don't want to hear it." Ephram states firmly, "Amy isn't my business anymore. Whatever she has been up to in the last five months has nothing to do with me. I will see her at the wedding, we will exchange pleasantries and that will be that, we will continue to carry on our own lives."
"But..."
"Sam can we change the topic, please?" Ephram requests.
Sam sighs, "fine."
"The house looks empty," Ephram states once Sam opens the door to the Brown household.
"Good," Sam states, "let's hope it stays that way for a little bit longer, I don't think I can handle anymore of Delia right now."
"I heard that, and the house isn't empty." Delia appears from the kitchen in a bathrobe. "Ephram how was your flight? Good I hope. It's good to see you. Anyway I have to get ready. The rehearsal dinner is in 45 minutes. You need to get ready too." Before Delia's words can even process she is all ready upstairs without another word.
"That is how she has been for the last month." Sam laughs. "Come on, we are sharing a room you can unpack and then use my bathroom to get cleaned up."
"Where's the rehearsal dinner?" Ephram asks.
Sam rolls his eyes, "remember what family this is."
"Mama Joy's?"
Sam nods, "Mama Joy's...well actually Mama Joy's and formal wear." Sam shrugs, "she's your sister."
Ephram laughs, relieved that he didn't have to spend the last month with his sister. He spoken to her on a weekly basis but every time he talked she seemed fluster and had a million things to do so he really didn't hear much about the entire wedding process.
"Hey Ephram," Andy suddenly appears sticking his head in Sam's bedroom.
"Hey Dad." Ephram greets dropping his duffle bag on a chair.
"How was your flight?" Andy asks.
"It was fine." Ephram responds shifting through his duffle bag in search of the appropriate outfit for the evening.
"So can we talk?" Andy asks.
Ephram turns to face his father and finds that Sam has disappeared, "if this is about Amy I all ready told Sam that I don't want to talk about her."
"Ephram it's kind of important." Andy states.
"And I am still as uninterested as I was when Sam told me he wanted to tell me something about Amy." This was a 100% lie coming out of Ephram's mouth, his father and step-brother's insistence that they needed to tell Ephram something about Amy had sparked his interest.
"Ephram..."
"Is she alive?" Ephram asks.
"Yes."
"Is she healthy?"
"Yes, but..."
"Then that's all that matters to me. And that only matters to me because she is still someone who I...I don't want dead. Now if you will excuse me I have to take a shower so I can be on time for Delia's rehearsal dinner."
30 minutes later Ephram is changed into a pair of khaki cargo pants and a loose gray t-shirt and is ready and waiting for the rest of his family to leave. "How do I look?" Delia asks appear at the foot of the stairs wearing a beautiful off the shoulder knee length black dress that flares at the skirt.
"Beautiful." Ephram announces kissing his sister gently on the cheek. "So is everyone ready then?"
"Actually they all went on ahead, to give us some time to talk." Delia states.
"I've heard those words before." Ephram laughs, "last time you told me you and Bright Abbot were getting married, the next thing I know your going to be telling me that you're pregnant."
"It's actually not about me. Did Dad talk to you about Amy?" Delia asks.
Ephram lies, "yeah he did. So don't worry about it, and I'm fine."
Delia looks relieved, "good. I didn't want this to ruin your visit."
Ephram shakes his head, "I'm here to see you. Not Amy, so of course this won't ruin my visit, or your wedding."
"Good, let's go then."
"I'm sorry to run of and leave you." Delia states once they have arrived at Mama Joy's after the actual rehearsal has been finished, "but as the bride and all I have to socialize."
Ephram nods, "go one, I'll be fine."
Delia kisses Ephram's cheek, "I love you Ephram."
"I love you too Delia, have fun tonight."
Surveying the crowd Ephram spots various people he remembers from when he lived in Everwood.
"Hey Ephram it's good to see you again." Someone Ephram can't remember the name of but Ephram is sure he graduated with stops him.
"Yeah, same here." Ephram makes small talk with the man that he suddenly remembers as being friends with Bright.
"So have you seen Amy?" There she was again, it seemed like Amy was the only person anyone wanted to talk to Ephram about.
Ephram shakes his head, "no I haven't. Listen it was nice catching up with you again but I should really find Nina see if she needs me to help her with anything." Ephram sighs, what was everyone obsession with Amy lately anyway?
There she was Ephram catches sight of her through the window looking into the kitchen. She looks as beautiful as she always does and Ephram can't help but think back to the last time he had seen her, peacefully asleep in his arms. How many times in the last five months had he thought back to that moment? Pushing the thought out of his mind Ephram decides that he is going to have to face her some time so he heads back toward the kitchen. But fate, or God, decides that it isn't time for Ephram and Amy to see each other again and Nina stops Ephram on his way back handing him a tray of food to carry to a table.
After setting the food down on the table though someone must have decided that it was time for Ephram to see Amy because she is standing right behind him. "Ephram..." Amy seems startled to see Ephram, as if she wasn't expecting him to be right there.
Ephram takes a step back to give them room and takes in her appearance, and her appearance startles him. Her black and white floral printed dress doesn't do much to hide her slightly swelled stomach and Amy's gaze immediately follows Ephram's.
"Ephram we should probably talk." Amy states biting her lip and looking around.
Ephram quickly looks around them and finds that most of the people in the restaurant have their gazes on the ex-couple. "Somewhere privately." Ephram gently takes Amy's arm and guides her to the kitchen where Nina and Andy scoot out of their way.
"I thought you talk to him?" Delia questions her father.
Andy shakes his head, "I thought you talk to him."
Sam sighs, "oh boy."
"Amy what's going on?" Ephram asks, keeping his voice low to avoid anyone who might be eavesdropping.
"Ephram I didn't know how to tell you about this. I just kept rereading your note and thinking that everything you said was right, and that we were over years ago and how this wasn't what either one of us needed."
"So the baby is mine then?" Ephram asks.
"Of course it is!" Amy's voice rises and then she lowers it, "there has never been anyone else Ephram. Not for me not ever, but we don't work, we figured that out a long time ago. There is always something there to stand in the way of there being a you and me. Always."
"Amy we have a second chance here. Something we never gave ourselves before." Ephram gently places both of his hands on Amy's small.
Amy takes a deep breath and closes her eyes against tears brimming there and she turns away from Ephram so that he can't see her face. "We can't, it just doesn't work."
"We can make it work." Ephram insists moving around and in front of Amy.
"You don't know that." Amy responds.
"Someone up there does," Ephram states, "or they never would have given us this chance."
"Why do you think this baby changes anything?" Amy questions.
"Because I think this is a sign, a sign telling us that we have to try again. Even if not for us for the sake of a baby."
Amy is crying by now, "Ephram if this is just because you think I'm going to keep you away from the baby I won't keep you from it..."
Ephram places his hands on Amy's shoulders, "that's not why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I think we would have been better off if we hadn't given up, but after Hailey died it was so much easier to give up then work at something so I let it go. And I've let it go for the last three years, but I'm not doing that now. We can make this work, with a little work I think we can do it, you just have to be willing."
Amy wraps her arms around Ephram neck and she buries her face in Ephram's neck murmuring the words, "I'm willing."