Caitlin grinned, knowing what Joey meant, and smiled at Casey. “Casey, Robbie obviously loves you, and you love him. I take it you’ve already talked to Frank?” They nodded, so she continued. “So I guess he’s pointed out how hard this is going to be for you, the problems that you’re both going to face? Robbie is special, and he’s one of us, which I suppose makes you one of us now, and families hang together; otherwise, they’ll hang us separately, so welcome to the family! We won’t tell the girls exactly who you are; they can find that out when they’re a little older. And by the way, I’m Aunt Kat or Caitlin; Mrs. Novak’s what the paperboy calls me!”
As Joey and Karen left, Caitlin closed the door, obviously wanting a private word with the two of them.
“Robbie, Casey, you do know what you’re doing here, don’t you? This is a one-way street, there’s no turning back, no do-over, no running for the border. Am I making myself clear?” They both nodded silently.
“Good, because you’ve chosen a hard row to hoe. People have a way of labelling, and they’ll have some nasty names for what you’re doing, and even worse names for the two of you. Are you going to be strong enough together to get past all that? Get through without giving-up on each other because of outside pressure? I sincerely hope so. We can help you some of the way, but you’re going to have to do the lion’s share by yourselves, with no magic solutions, no god-in-a-box from on-high to come down and make it right. My best advice to you is: keep your secrets, and keep them well guarded, it’s the only way you’ll survive!”
Her eyes were brimming, and Casey had a sudden flash of insight into why, but Caitlin said nothing further.
“And Robbie, don’t ever tell the girls, they get an unhallowed thrill from spilling secrets, and this is too important to trust to them. They love you fiercely, but they’ve got mouths like jackrabbits, always running off at full speed, and they’ll spill it eventually, by accident if nothing else.”
They filed out of the den, the twins suddenly looking innocent, trying to look like they hadn’t been eavesdropping, trying to pump any and everyone for information, agog to know what the adults had been discussing. Eventually Caitlin gave in, and told the girls that Robbie was getting engaged, Casey and Robbie grinning at her over their heads, immediately setting-off a barrage of questions about when, was there going to be a party, when were they getting married, could they be bridesmaids, squabbling about the bridesmaids’ dresses and so on, eventually lapsing into ‘twin-speak’, gibberish comprehensible only to them.
Robbie and Joey left them to it, wandering off to find Frank in the garden, lying in a lounger under a spreading olive tree, drinking a beer and idly flicking through ‘Sports Illustrated’. He looked at them closely. “No marks, still got all your teeth, either she’s slowing down or she took it well!”
Robbie and Joey sat on the adjacent lounger and smiled. “She was OK, Uncle Frank, she accepted Casey. I’m worried about Casey, though; she’s been through a lot these last few years, but these last few days have been really rough on her, and now this endless round of apologizing, dragging up the past. I’m worried about her; she can’t keep beating herself up like this without paying for it. I was going to take her back home tomorrow, she wants Mom to know, make her peace there as well, but I’ve changed my mind, I think she needs to stay with me, just the two of us, get some stability back, before she turns into a basket-case. What do you think?”
Frank paused, took a slow, thoughtful swallow, and looked up at the sky for a moment. “There’s a lot to what you say, and ordinarily I’d agree with you, but I think Casey needs to face this one last hurdle and get this off her chest once and for all; the longer she delays, the harder it’s gonna get; Sarah needs to know, so they can both be at peace with this. I hear what you’re saying, and I feel for her; she’s a lovely girl, and she seems genuinely sorry for what happened, but I really think she needs to be square with your Mom right now; if you delay, it’ll look like you’re trying to hide something, and the longer you delay, the worse it will get. I really think you should take her home now, see Sarah, and close this all down for good. Trust your Mom, she may surprise you; you know she only ever wants what’s best for you. Plus, if you drag this out and she finds out I knew long before she did, my life will suddenly become very complicated!” Frank gave a wry grin, and Robbie smiled in quick sympathy.
Joey stood up and stretched.
“So, are we all heading home tomorrow or not? Robbie?”
“I guess so bro.”
Robbie and Casey quietly told Caitlin what they were planning, and she broadly agreed with Frank, so they made their farewells. Before they left, however, Robbie had a quick whispered conversation with Caitlin, earning him a raised eyebrow and a reluctant nod, and went out to the car. He came back in with the two packages from the trunk.
“Moira, Morag, come here, babies, I’ve got something for you!” he called, and waited until they came clattering in. “Girls, these are from Case and me, early birthday presents, OK?” the twins opened their packages and squealed; inside were the latest IPad’s.
“Remember, these are for your birthday, so no begging phone calls on the day, OK?” he grinned. “Happy early-Birthday from Case and me!” The twins danced around hugging Robbie and Casey, swearing undying love for both of them, then hustled off to their room to get acquainted with their new toys and boast to their friends.
Once they’d all left, and the girls were locked way in their own world with their new toys, Caitlin went looking for Frank, finding him still lounging in the shade. She sat on his lap, locking her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder. Frank slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
“You’re thinking about what happened before, aren’t you?” he asked, making it more of a statement than a question.
Caitlin murmured into his neck. “I’m scared, honey. I’m scared for those poor kids. It’s happening again; dear God, I thought it was over, instead it’s all happening again; how is Sarah going do it this time, really? After the last time, can she go through this again, even for Robbie? I know he’s not her biological son, but he may as well be, he’s family, and this is a family can of worms everyone thought was safely buried and forgotten. Robbie and Casey have got some big problems coming their way, is Sarah going to be able help them deal with all of it this time round? And there’s Joey to consider as well. Whether he knows it or not, he’s a part of this, a big part, supposing it all comes out while she’s trying to get Robbie through this? It could tear his world apart, how can anything justify doing that to that poor kid? He doesn’t deserve that!”
Frank stared thoughtfully into the canopy of the olive tree, gathering his thoughts.
“Sarah believes in Robbie, and the one person that Joey cares for more in the whole world than Sarah, or Karen, I suppose, is Robbie. If Joey finds out, I doubt he’ll care one way or the other; I think you give him too little credit for being the kid that he is; there’s more of Sarah in him than anyone else, so I don’t think we should concern ourselves too much on that front. And Sarah, before, she was alone, flying blind, and yet she got it right; now, for Robbie, there’s all of us there to help carry the load and make a difference. Sarah will get them both through this, with our help. Don’t worry, baby, it’ll work out fine, it’ll be OK; Robbie’s lucky, he’s got two mom’s to fight his corner, can you really see anyone getting past you and Sarah? Relax, they’ll be fine, it will all work itself out!”
On the drive back, Joey noted the gifts. “Smart move bro, now, when they find out who Casey is, all they’ll focus on is the fact she gave them IPad’s!”
Robbie grinned. “That was kind of the plan; I told you I know what makes those two little mercenaries tick!” He didn’t mention the conversation he’d had with Caitlin, but privately he knew, someday the girls would have to find out; they were family too, and Robbie loved them equally; they deserved to know, so he and Casey would have to work on that.
They arrived back in Daly City just about an hour after leaving Morgan Hill, and dropped Joey and Karen off to do some browsing in Westlake Shopping Center, the two of them asserting they ‘knew how to find a taxi, it’s OK, go home, see you later’. As Joey had pointed out, Robbie needed to call Sarah, and they wanted to shop.
Robbie called Sarah as soon as they got in; it was almost an hour later there, and she was enjoying a post lunch nap when he called.
“Hi, Mom? It’s me. I was just calling to say I’m coming home to see you, coming back with Joey and Karen, and I’ve got a surprise for you. What? No, you’ll find out tomorrow. I told, you it’s a surprise! Yeah, I know, see you tomorrow lunchtime, I love you too, Mom!”
Robbie grimaced. “OK Casey, now comes the hard part; are you sure you’re up to this?”
Casey smiled gently at him.
“Baby, I’ve made my peace with everyone in your family except the most important one, so yes, I think I’m ready for one last showdown! If I’m to have any chance of succeeding with your family and become a part of it, I have to do this, I have to clear this all out of the way now. I told you, I’ll be fine, Sarah’s not like my mom & dad, she’s only looking out for you, like we should have, so if she wants to unload on me, well, she’s earned the right, I guess. As long as you’re there I’ll be fine.”