Authors Note: Hey all it has been a ridiculously long time since I have edited this story, I must apologize for my negligence. I was studying abroad last semester when I started it and once I was home for the summer work consumed my life. Once back at school for the fall semester the 18 hour course load consumed my life. But I am back, I am relaxed and I hope to keep updating. Thanks to those who reviewed last time. As always I appreciate the input. And thanks to those of you loyal enough to keep reading even though it has been months. But enough weak apologies. And on with the show...
It was a sunny Sunday in late May and Luis was in an exceptionally good mood as he walked into the Eden Hall dinning hall. It was 12:30 and yet there were only a smattering of students in the cafeteria enjoying brunch. He noticed Dwayne, Russ, and Ken sitting at a table all still wearing their pajamas. He was glad he had at least a few ducks around on campus, but they were all looking forward to sophomore year when the in state ducks would be joining them in the dorms. They had all decided, mostly with encouragement from Charlie, that life (aka hockey) would be easier if they lived on campus rather than at home. The only draw back was that Elena would be loosing Julie as a roommate. The lady ducks would be living together the following year. Luis spotted Elena sitting at a table with Lisa, Linda and Kim on his way to get food and ventured over to see her. "Elena, are you okay? You blew me off for mass this morning." He said curious as to why she had missed church, it was unlike her to miss church.
Elena looked up from her cereal and he noticed a definite sadness in her eyes. Picking up her spoon, she watched as milk ran off it and back into the bowl before speaking, "I wasn't in the mood, and I'm not in the mood to talk about it now. So just go get your food and forget it."
Luis shot a questioning look at Lisa who simply shrugged her shoulders and offered him an apologetic look. He left without another word and headed off in search of food. Moments latter Julie appeared at the table with a tray of food and plopped down next to Elena.
"Jules we didn't expect you this morning." Linda said as she welcomed Julie. The five girls had started a ritual of eating Sunday brunch among themselves, as an opportunity to catch up and have girl talk. It was the one time that there were no boys allowed. However this Sunday they had not expected Julie to turn up, due to the fact that prom was the previous evening.
"How was prom?" Lisa asked as she buttered her toast.
"Grrr. I don't want to talk about it, Elena how did dinner with Adam's family go last night." Julie said as she took a sip of her orange juice.
"So that is why you are in a foul mood. How bad was it Elena?" Kim asked as she gave Elena a glare for not having told them about the evening when she sat down.
"Oh, not that bad. Helen thought I was great, she's a sweet lady, I can see where Adam gets his charm. But things took a distinct downturn when Phil called and said he wouldn't be coming. The man decided staying at work was more important than meeting his son's girlfriend. And Drew, Adam's brother, and his wife Libby called and said they weren't coming either because their toddler was sick and in a terrible mood. It wasn't bad it was just disappointing you know?" Elena said taking a sip of her coffee, she was so upset and it wasn't even that big of deal. She had just really wanted Phillip to like her and he wouldn't even come meet her.
"Aww. That sucks. That man is such an inconsiderate bastard." Linda muttered as she pushed food around her plate.
"I know. But tell me how did things go meeting the Conway parents last night?"
"It's the Fosters, as I was reminded when I made the mistake of addressing Casey as Mrs. Conway in front of Mike. That man just makes my blood boil. He treats Casey like she is his servant, not his wife. And Charlie can't stand him. I thought he was going to take a swing at him last night when he said that we women should do the dishes and not complain, it was what we were good at. Mike is a good man, but set in the 50's mentality, its like the women's lib movement never happened. But Casey is great, she is such a sweet woman, I actually didn't mind helping with the dishes because we had a chance to talk. But enough about the drama of the Conways, why was prom so bad Julie?"
"Yeah, how bad could it have been. You looked great last night in that midnight blue dress, and Scooter was looking very James Bond in his tux, what could have been so bad about that?" Kim asked with a smirk to her friends, before stirring her oatmeal, but not actually eating it.
Julie sighed before stirring sugar into her coffee. "Scooter was great, the perfect gentleman, and all that jazz. We had a great time, until we got to the restaurant I spent the rest of the evening with all the varsity goons. All through dinner and the dance, it was Riley sneaking over to make rude comments about me, insulting my friends and belittling the ducks. And to top it all off, Allison Tyson, kept shooting me dirty looks because she was supposed to be Riley's date. The culmination of the evening was when she accused me of trying to steal her boyfriend and shoved me in the parking lot when I went to get fresh air. Which Riley and Cole thought was hilarious, when they heard about it latter."
"Did you shove her back?" Lisa asked with a snicker.
"I play hockey, woman, what do you think? I knocked her over, and told her I would make out with her before I would make out with Riley. She seems to be harboring the illusion that I am a lesbian now." Julie said smiling for the first time all morning. The rest of the girls just laughed. They were content in the knowledge that in two weeks school would be over and all of the problems that plagued them seemed to be resolving themselves.
Linda William wiped sweat off her brow for what seemed like the twentieth time and used the loose neck of her t-shirt to fan herself; it was stifling hot in the dorm. She and Elena were living on the second floor of Lafollette East. The Lafollette complex was home to four dorms that sat in a square around a grassy quad. Lafollette East the women's hall and Lafollette West, the men's hall, were the home to most of the members of the athletic teams. Linda could hardly believe they were moving back into the dorms, once again this time as juniors. It seemed to her like just yesterday they had all gone home for the summer. Although her summer had been spent mostly with Charlie and the other ducks laying around Bombay's pool, skating, playing street hockey and occasionally doing real work. Portman had been the first of the Ducks to turn 16 and had done so in Minnesota with his Bash Brother whose birthday was only three days after his in late June. Connie and Guy had both made the milestone in late July. Charlie, as the youngest had just turned 15, a fact that much to Linda's chagrin he had spent much of the summer whining about.
"Where do you girls want this?" Gordon asked carrying a particularly heavy box into the room.
"You can just set it on the bed, Mr. Bombay." Linda said as she sat in her desk chair. She, Gordon, and Elena had been moving in for about two hours, and this box, containing all of Elena's books was the last one to bring in, it had needed to wait until the girls had constructed the wooden bookshelf that had been a birthday present for Elena from the Bash Brothers. Elena had just run to the bathroom, before Gordon came in.
Gordon complied with her suggestion, then staggered over to Elena's desk chair and sat in it, rubbing his knee, which was acting up from his old hockey injury. He wiped the sweat off his face and then spoke, "Linda, between you living with Elena and dating Charlie, you are practically family. You might as well call me Gordon, no more of this Mr. Bombay crap."
"Well put dad, well put. But honestly you consider Charlie family don't you know he smells, do you really want to claim him as like family?" Elena asked as she walked back through the door and began unpacking her boxes. She didn't notice the figures approaching from down the hall as she came in.
"Hey I am insulted by that, I shower on a regular basis, thank you very much. And here I drug my roommate over here to see if you or the fair Linda needed any assistance." Charlie said as he came into the room followed by Adam. He went to Linda, placed a quick kiss to her lips and then sat on her bed. Adam walked in and, after shaking hands with Gordon, sat next to the box on Elena's bed, handing her the books out of the box.
"That's it El, I am getting you that extra lock we talked about. If these two are here already, God only knows what the semester has in store for you." Gordon said playing the roll of the over protective father.
"Yep, just think coach our dorms are only separated by that small grassy quad. And since Banks and I are roommates, I can be here with Linda, while he is in our room with Elena." Charlie said with a smirk as Adam threw one of Elena's stuffed animals at his teammate.
"Dude you are ruining the plan, if you tell them about it they won't be so easily swept off their feet." Adam said providing Elena with a cocky grin as she looked up from placing the last of her books on the top shelf.
"In your dreams cake-eater, what makes you two think that we are going to fall for that?" Elena asked, as she moved back to her bed and began collapsing the box that had held her books.
"That's my little girl. Remember, just say no, El." Gordon said laughing as she gave him a glare. "But enough of this, since I have you four here together, I wanted to invite you all to dinner, next Friday night at my house, just a little get together." Gordon had already formulated his plan. He would just happen to invite Adam's parents and Casey and Mike. He was tired of listening to his daughter whine all summer that she had yet to meet the Banks, and it would give him an excuse to check up on Casey. He was happy with himself for killing two birds with one stone. The four teens quickly agreed, but were curious about the spontaneous invitation. Before anyone could ask however, Linda and Kim appeared in their doorway.
"Hey, do you ladies know what the guys rooming arrangements are. When I ask Averman he didn't know who his roommate was or where they were living."
Charlie scratched his head thoughtfully for a moment, trying to recall what the final room arrangements had been, before speaking, "Well he is 3rd floor Lafollette West like the rest of us. As for the room number, I am not sure. Banks and I are 310. The Bash's are 311, and Guy and Ken are 309. I think Dwayne and Luis are across the hall from us."
"Averman and Goldberg and Russ are in the only triple on the floor, its 305 I think. They are next door to the guys from the basketball team." Adam said providing the knowledge that he had.
"Thanks, guys. See you ladies latter, we have to go welcome our men properly." Lisa said as they scurried off to find their significant others.
"Well, with that, I think I am going to head home, back to my nice air conditioned home." Gordon said as he rose form his chair tentatively putting weight on his aching knee.
"Funny, do you want me to walk you down dad?" Elena asked watching him closely.
"Nah, I'll be fine. Listen, I'll be out of town most of the week, I've got some business in Chicago and Detroit, but I'll be back late Thursday. If you need anything urgent, call Casey, she said she would keep an eye out for you. Okay?" Gordon said as the two stepped into the hall and she pulled him into a tight hug.
"Okay. I'll miss you. And go home and sit in the tub and soak your knee, its killing you I can tell. Next time tell me it is hurting you to carry so much junk around."
"I'm fine Elena, don't worry about me. I'll see you latter."
"Bye daddy." Elena stood in the hallway and watched as her father retreated towards the stairs, she was mildly concerned about him, but then she always was. She was also giddy with excitement for a year that would be perfect, or at least much better than the previous year.
Gordon smiled to himself as he stirred roasting potatoes on the stove. He could hear the sounds of the small child playing in his living room, and it was a sound that brought joy to his heart. The little girl belonged to Adam's older brother. Gordon's plan had not turned out quite like it was supposed to, the Banks parents would not be joining them, and Mike had refused to come. But Drew, Adam's older brother and his family were there and Casey was on her way. And he had invited Julie and Scooter, unbeknownst to the other teens. Gordon had spent a good deal the summer listening to the ducks express concern over Julie's relationship with the senior varsity player and he wanted a chance to meet this guy in person.
"Need any help Gordon?" Libby, asked as she carried her young daughter into the kitchen. The little girl waved at Gordon from the comfort of her mothers arms.
"No, I'm good. Thanks. Just enjoy the quite, the kids should be here soon, and then it will end." Gordon said and then laughed as he heard the front door open and four teenagers come bounding through the front door. As Elena called out, "daddy we're here."
"I see what you mean." Libby said as she left the room, leaving Gordon to making sure dinner was progressing on schedule.
Elena, Adam, Linda, and Charlie had come loudly into the house, the boys arguing over something trivial and shoving each other, but the noise came to a stop when they saw the new faces in the living room. Until Adam, finally made his way into the living room and spoke first.
"Hey, Drew. What are you doing here?" Adam asked his brother as the two shook hands before pulling each other into a quick, manly, hug.
"Gordon called and invited us, and since we missed the chance to meet Elena because the baby was sick last time we wanted to come, even if mom and dad couldn't make it." Drew replied while the brothers made their way to the couch, and Linda and Charlie squeezed into the armchair.
"Of course they couldn't it's Friday night dinner at the club, unless dad is in the hospital they don't miss dinner at the club." Adam said rolling his eyes a little. He smiled when Elena sat down beside him and he put his arm around her before speaking again, "El, this is my brother, Philip Andrew Banks the third. Drew, this is my girlfriend, Elena Martinez-Bombay. And these are our friends, Charlie Conway and Linda Williams."
"Nice to meet you all, especially you Elena, and please call me Drew. My brother knows better than to call me by the full name, father insisted on passing the family name, and mom agreed only if I never went by it." Drew told her as he shoved his brother playfully for using the name he hated so much. That was the same moment that Libby entered the room sitting the little girl down.
"Drew, are you attacking Adam already? What kind of example is that to set for Emma?" Libby asked chiding her husband as she settled in on the arm of the couch near Drew.
The little girl had toddled her way over to the couch, but had passed up her father, to come to a halt in front of Adam. Reaching her hands up towards him saying, "ukle Adm." Elena felt her heart light up when she saw the pretty blond, blue eyed toddler, and the adoration Adam had on his face as he picked her up and muttered baby talk to her, rubbing his nose against hers before settling her on his lap.
"Guys, this is my niece, Emma Rose…" Adam said but was cut off by his brother.
"And my wife, Liberty Tuesday Banks." Drew said with enough of a grin that Elena, Charlie, and Linda weren't sure if he was serious or not.
"I am going to kill you, Andrew, just you wait and see, that little girl will be the only one you sire when I am through with you." Libby said as she smacked her husband hard in the back of the head. "I prefer Libby for obvious reasons."
"You have an unusual name, how did your parents come by it?"
"Well, Phil senior would say its because they are a bunch of dirty hippies who were high at the time, but in reality my mom thought Liberty was a pretty name and dad thought since I was born on a Tuesday it would be a great middle name. It never occurred to them that you put them together and I would spend my life praying no one ever said my legal name. But I am thrilled to finally meet you all, especially you Elena, my little brother-in-law here has told me quite a bit about you." Libby said while ruffling Adam's hair and chuckling with Elena when she noticed him blush at her words.
"You should have seen him the night he came to ask me for permission to ask Elena out on a date. It was quite possibly one of the most amusing things I have ever watched." Gordon said coming into the room, with a tray of soft drinks and cheese and crackers.
"Banksie, really, I had no idea you were such a sissy." Charlie said as he grabbed a soda from the tray for himself and then a second, which he passed to Linda.
"Really, cuz I've always thought he was a bit of a cream puff myself." Drew said teasing his younger brother.
His laughter was cut short when his wife smacked him the in back of the head before speaking, "I think its sweet Adam. Besides, don't listen to these chuckle heads. Your brother though Chinese food in a Laundromat while I did his laundry was a date in college. He could use a lesson or two when it comes to romance."
"Man, you kids have no clue when it comes to wooing a woman." Gordon said, shaking his head and recalling a college memory of his own.
"What would you know about it coach? You're the only single one in the room." Charlie said as he heckled Gordon.
"Yeah, when was the last time you had a date old man?" Elena asked winking at her father. She knew all to well why he was a bachelor these days. He was pinning for a woman he couldn't have.
Gordon was trying to think of a creative answer when the doorbell rang, he smirked seeing his out, saying, "Saved by the bell." Gordon answered the door and was pleased to see Julie and Scooter standing there, even if the two were arguing.
Julie interrupted Scooter long enough to say hi to Gordon and be ushered in the house. Scooter was undeterred and spoke again as soon as she had finished, "Julie you are blowing this whole thing out of proportion. It is no big deal, its one stupid evening and a favor for my mother. I don't see what your problem is."
"Scooter, don't try to play me. I come from the same social circle as you do. We both know that it is not just some meaningless passing evening. It has significance, damn it, so stop acting like it doesn't" Julie responded, finally loosing her patients, and forgetting their audience. That was until Charlie cleared his throat, and Elena stood up from the couch.
"Fighters, to your respective corners. Scott, have you forgotten your manors, not to mention what are you doing here?"
"Coach invited us. Sorry, for the commotion." Julie said, her guilt at loosing her cool coming through in her voice.
"No worries. Daddy, this is Scott Vanderbilt, Scooter for short. Scott, this is my father, Gordon Bombay."
"Nice to meet you son." Gordon said eyeing the two teenagers suspiciously, his nosy side dying to know what they were arguing about.
"You too, sir. Sorry for the commotion."
"Not a problem, and call me Gordon. This is Adam's brother Drew, his wife Libby, and their daughter Emma."
"So come sit down and tell us what you two were arguing about." Elena said as she moved to the floor, to sit with Adam as he played with Emma on the floor, freeing up two seats on the couch for the new arrivals. Libby took one seat, and Julie sat next to her. Leaving Scooter to the armchair opposite where Charlie and Linda.
"My mother called and asked me to escort the daughter of a friend of her's to the DAR deb ball and Julie is coming unglued." Scott said as he brushed hair out of his face.
"Is that all, its no big deal Julie, every guy has done it. I myself escorted more than one lady to her coming out." Drew said, smirking. "My loser little brother only managed to do one."
"Was only forced to do one and it was one too many. Unlike you I am not crazy about these things." Adam said cursing his luck that the subject had come up. He had managed to hide from all of the ducks that he was forced to take part in the antiquated mating ritual, and now it was all being drug up again.
"What are you guys talking about?" Charlie asked feeling entirely out of the loop.
"Ah, they are discussing Debutant Balls, or the presentation of a young woman to society, to officially announce that she is of age to court. Judging from the time of year, I am guessing that Scooter is being drafted to service for the Daughters of the American Revolution's annual patriot's presentation. I myself served as an escort to many a DAR deb." Gordon said explaining the ritual to Charlie and Linda who had no idea what they entailed as he approached the large bookcase in the living room of the house.
"So a guy just goes and stands around as a girl get presented? It sounds simple enough, so Jules why are you flipping out?" Linda asked, wanting to take her friends side, but not really understanding the reason for her anger.
"What they have neglected to tell you is that the customary tradition is for a young woman's boyfriend to escort her. Absent a boyfriend, an eligible man is to be found. Tradition says that the girls escort will be the man she marries." Julie explained as if all was said and done. She was annoyed that Scooter was doing this; she thought he was happy with their relationship. She was mostly annoyed by the fact that Mrs. Vanderbilt had twisted his arm into it. It was the matriarch's subtle way of pointing out that she did not approve of Julie.
"Julie, I understand where you are coming from. I think you have a different reason for being so upset, but regardless, you know that the thing about marrying your escort is ridiculous. Adam didn't marry his, daddy certainly didn't marry any of the, what fifteen?" Elena said as she paused momentarily for her father to confirm her statement, but was surprised to hear the doorbell ring, she ignored it and continued, when Gordon, said "sounds about right," as he headed to the door with a photo album in hand.
Gordon smiled when he opened the door to see Casey standing on the other side a casserole dish in her hands. "Casey come on in. I told you not to bring anything."
"Just a peach cobbler for desert, I hope you don't mind." She said offering him a warm smile. She felt her insides melt, when he returned her smile and then placed his hand in the small of her back to leading her into the living room.
"Casey, I wasn't expecting to see you. Wait that sounded bad. Let's try hi." Linda said when she noticed Charlie's mom walk into the room, interrupting Elena's statement.
"Hey, what do you say we let Julie and Scooter fight this one out on their own, but if anyone wants to see pictures of my little girl doing the fan dance at her deb ball, here they are. Dinner will be served in a few minutes, so mock quickly." Gordon said as he placed the book on the table and motioned for Casey to follow him into the kitchen.
"Wait, wait, there is a fan dance?" Charlie asked as he launched himself out of his chair to see the pictures. Julie, Charlie, Linda, and Libby all crowded around the picture album, while Scooter made small talk with Drew, waiting for someone to mention what he had hoped to avoid.
Elena cringed when she saw her friends dive for the album. The last thing she had wanted was to debut, but her Gordon had insisted, saying it was what her mother would have wanted. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Adam speaking to her, "I didn't know you had been presented. When did that happen?"
"My freshman year at Eden. You didn't know because I was not at the damn Daughters of the American Revolution, my mother was a Jaycee and would have rolled over in her grave before I was presented to the women of the DAR."
The two were interrupted when Libby pointed to one of the pictures and asked, "hey is that Scooter?"
Elena fought the urge to cringe and glanced at Julie who looked surprised, yet not shocked, she responded by explaining, "yes. He was the only person I knew to ask. Scott and I were lab partners and pretty good friends. He did me a favor and I really appreciated it, thanks again Scooter."
"No problem, El. It scored me points with my mom. See Jules, its no big deal, and I don't have much of a choice she's my mom's best friend's little girl. If I don't do it I will get killed. So can we just agree to disagree about this and just enjoy the evening?"
"Fine." Julie begrudgingly agreed, but shot Elena a look, letting her know that she was anything but happy about it.
Gordon chuckled as he heard Charlie's comment about the fan dance as he and Casey walked into the kitchen. He sat the cobbler dish on the counter and laughed as he saw Casey lifting lids on the pans on the stove. She turned and smiled at him when she heard him laughing.
"So what was that all about?" Casey asked as she opened her arms to Gordon for a quick hug.
Gordon smiled into her shoulder as he embraced her. He didn't realize how much he missed her, or that he still remembered the unique scent that was only her. He responded to her question as they pulled apart and began placing food into serving dishes. "Julie is blowing a gasket because Scooter, why is a grown man going by Scooter anyway?, is going to a deb ball with a girl who is not her. And not that she has said it, but I think that she thinks its his mothers way of expressing her displeasure with their relationship."
"Ahhh, and you don't like him?"
"I don't know what I think. That's why I wanted them all to come for dinner. I just wish Phil and Helen could have made it. Elena is still convinced that Phil hates her."
"Gordon, he probably does. You know how that man is. You and I both know that Elena is a wonderful woman, but Phil isn't going to see any of that. He is going to see her ethnicity and who her parents are and that she is a distraction to Adam. He is going to disprove."
Gordon sighed he knew she was right, but he still wanted to protect his daughter from that kind of rejection and pain. "You're right. But forget about it for now. How are you and Mike doing?" Gordon asked.
"We are fine. Well I am fine at least. Honestly, Mike hasn't been around much. He goes to work and then he goes out with his buddies and I'm asleep before he gets home. Just the old married life." Casey said as she pushed her shirtsleeve up and grabbed a potholder to take a tray of rolls out of the oven. She didn't want Gordon to see the pain in her eyes. The truth was that she would lay awake at night in her lonely bed and wonder what life would have been like if she had waited longer for him, what their life could have been like.
What Gordon did notice when she turned around to set the tray on the top of the stove and placed rolls on a plate was that there was a modest bruise on her arm just above her wrist. He was about to ask her about it when Elena came into the kitchen to ask, "Dad is dinner ready, need any help?"
"Nah, we're fine. Call in the pack, dinner is served." Gordon said as he sat the last plate, the one Casey had filled with rolls, onto the table. Casey pulled her sleeve back down as she sat at the table, and he decided to ask her about it latter, but the questions and his concerns made dinner taste sour in his mouth.
"How did I get roped into this again?" Adam asked as he handed Elena a plate to rinse and dry. The two were alone in the kitchen washing the dinner dishes, Julie and Scooter, had returned to school shortly after dinner, still arguing. Linda and Charlie had stayed a little longer, but left to study for an English exam they both had the following day. Libby and Drew had left after dinner to put the baby to bed. Elena noticing that her father looked tired and distracted as he served dessert, had volunteered herself and Adam to do dishes, in the guise of allowing the adults to talk.
"Because you love me and…" Elena said trailing off as she stared out the kitchen window to look at Gordon and Casey walking around the back yard, avoiding the pool.
"El, I do love you, but I love you more when you finish you sentences." Adam said handing her the last dish before letting water out of the sink. He followed her line of vision, and then rolled his eyes before speaking again. "Stop staring at them. If he wanted to you to know what they are talking about he would have told you."
Elena sighed, put away the last dish and turned to face Adam. He slipped his arms around her, while she spoke "I know. I just don't like it when he doesn't tell me things. I feel like there is something big going on, but I can't do anything about it."
"Are you sure, that part of the problem isn't the fact that you think that coach still has feelings for Casey?"
"No, its not that. Daddy's in pain. And not just because of his leg. I can tell, he is hurting because he thinks she is hurting. Gordon would move heaven and earth for Casey if he could."
"Then why didn't he marry her?" Adam asked. Since he started dating Elena all she had mentioned was that Gordon still loved Casey. It was inconceivable to him how a man could let a love like that go. He knew it confused Elena just as much, he also knew how much it hurt her. Because as much as Charlie had wanted Gordon to be his new father, Elena had wanted Casey as her second mother.
"I don't know baby, I just don't know." Elena responded as she looked out the window again, to hide the tear running down her face.
"Your place is gorgeous Gordon. You have really come along way from when I first meet you." Casey said as she slid her arm through his. He was showing her the landscaping he had added along the fence row in the garden.
"Thanks. I just wish I could have done it all sooner. I wish I had spent more time with Elena when I first had her. I miss Maria every day, but I am also kind of thankful that she passed. I have a beautiful daughter I wouldn't have otherwise. God, that sounds terrible doesn't it?"
"No, Gordon. I understand what you are saying. You adore that young woman and with good reason. So, how is the job going?"
Gordon navigated them to the newest addition to the backyard. He had added a fountain and rose bushes for Elena. She loved the roses, and he had planted them himself in her favorite colors. He had also custom built a wood bench near the large fountain. It had been a labor of love for Elena, but she had really enjoyed sharing the bench with Adam this past summer. He and Casey sat down on the bench when he finally responded to her question, "its going well. I love the job but I wish I didn't have to travel quite so much. I think I am going to miss most of Elena ice skating season."
"I understand that. Its been so hard having Charlie away from home this year, and he is still so close. I can't imagine traveling so much and being so far away. But I have a suspicion that you didn't bring me out here just to see your beautiful backyard. So why don't you cut to the chase Gordon?" Casey spoke with a smile, and Gordon had to chuckle.
"You always did see right through me. I noticed the bruise on your arm Casey, you want to tell me what that is all about?"
Gordon's heart sunk as he saw the smile fade from Casey's face and the light in her eyes dim. He already knew the answer, but he dreaded hearing it. He wanted to deny the reality a little longer.
Casey had wanted to deny the reality longer, as well. But looking into his concerned face she couldn't lie anymore. She gathered her courage, and shook off her shame before she finally spoke. "I had every intention of lying to you and saying I fell into a door or something. I knew you notice it earlier and I knew you would ask. But I am tired of lying to myself, to Charlie, to everyone. It was Mike, he grabbed me hard a few days ago. He came home and dinner wasn't ready yet, he had been drinking and he was so angry. Gordon I wish I could say it was the first time, but its not. I just didn't know what to do. The first time I was so shocked. The second time I thought it was just an accident. The other day was the fourth time. I can't keep doing this. I just didn't know what to do, how could I come to you after I had said everything was fine? How can I tell Charlie? I just feel like such a fool."
Gordon watched as the woman he still loved slumped in despair and shame. He controlled the rage within him, it was difficult but he managed. He pulled Casey into a tight hug and held her against him. They sat like that for several minutes before she pulled away from him, and he finally spoke. "I can help you if you want me too. But the first thing we have to do is get you away from him. You are welcomed to stay with me. We have a guest room Elena redecorated this summer and she is dying to see it used. I will talk to Charlie if you want, or we can tell him together. Then the next step is to get a restraining order and then divorcing the bastard. If that is what you want." Gordon silently prayed that she would agree to all of his suggestions.
"Yes, I can't stand to be married to him anymore. I have to tell Charlie myself, but I would love it if you would be there. Gordon I would love to stay with you but I can't, what would the neighbors say? What would Elena say?"
"Casey, I don't give a damn what the neighbors say. I am hardly ever here, it would be great to have someone watching the house for me. And Elena would be over the moon. And since I suspect she has been watching from the kitchen window this whole time, she would be relieved to know what is going on. Please, stay and let me help you. You and Charlie helped me so much once upon a time, let me return the favor."
"Alright. Just until I get the divorce settled and back on my feet. Thank you Gordon." Casey said with a smile. She noticed that she was only truly happy around Gordon lately. She was happy to have his help and his friendship.
Gordon returned her smile and was happy himself for once. He was thrilled to help her and was pleased with the possibilities that could arise after she had divorced her husband. "I am glad you have accepted the offer. Now lets go back inside and get you settled in for the night. I am sure we can find you some pajamas and the like. I will fill the kids in on the details, with your permission of course."
Casey nodded and the two headed into the house. Several hours and a movie latter Gordon climbed into his bed with an aching knee and a smile on his face. His house was full of people. Elena was asleep in her bed, horrified by Mike's behavior, but supportive of Casey's decision to leave him and thrilled with the possibilities it all brought. Adam was sleeping on the couch in the family room, having been warned that if he knew what was good for him, he would remain where he was. But sleep did not come easy he was concerned about how Charlie would react and wishing he could hold Elena in his arms as they slept. And Casey was asleep in the guest room, exhausted, emotionally drained, and dreading talking to Charlie, but the most relieved she had been in a long time. Gordon tried to sleep but found himself contemplating the coming months. They would be a trying time for all concerned, but they also held such infinite potential. When he finally drifted to sleep Gordon was content, and thinking of all the drama that was about to occur.