Carolyn" LOL, I wouldn't have been able to write those scenes without having experienced them myself. As for peeing against the tree, how about an ice cream parlor with outdoor seating and a 3 year old doesn't even discuss the potty, just took it upon himself to use the tire of a very nice SUV parked in the parking lot. My son was yelling "DON'T" and he might just as well have whistled in the wind. My husband and I sat and laughed like fools while my daughter-in-law sat there hiding her head and saying "How embarrassing." Didn't do any good. I think those Tonka Trucks you mentioned are boxed up out in the garage. Hope you still have yours...I was told they're worth a fortune. Maybe to someone but to me they are priceless. JP is at work again in this one....
Eve: We had a couple of showers earlier this week but not nearly as much as we need and it did snow back East. As for the golf ball episode...Please, don't ever tell anyone to try it. The story is very true and they do explode. My brother-in-law heated his golf balls before leaving the house because it was cold. My sister-in-law got hysterical telling us about her husband dancing all over the kitchen while the golf balls exploded through my brother-in-law's pants pocket and literally blew rubber bands all over the kitchen. Honest, I didn't make it up, I just inserted it for fun but it's true.
Chapter: 19
Max and Michael met up with Jeff and Philip right at 8:00 a.m. and all four men were ready to go…but Philip had to know why Max needed more golf balls. Michael had to leave while Max told his story, he couldn’t stand to hear about it after living through it. Philip and Jeff both looked at each other in disbelief and then Michael just had to get into the good parts after letting them know that Liz had told Max it wasn’t a good idea. By the time Michael had finished, in great detail and with grand flourish, all four of the men were doubled over in laughter. Philip looked at his son and had to ask…
“Max, don’t you ever do anything easy?” And they laughed even harder.
Max looked at his dad and grinned…
“Doesn’t seem like it does it?” And with that they all headed toward the golf cart and got ready for a morning’s game of golf. Max did tell his dad and Jeff that they were going ice skating after they got home so don’t get too tired. Philip looked at his son and grinned…
“Suck up?” Max grinned back at his dad…
“Yes and no…it’s only fair.”
And they all smiled in agreement; it was only fair… I guess.
*
Back at the house Maria and Liz had all the kids bathed and dressed and ready for some morning fun of a different kind when the phone in the office rang.
Liz took off and left Maria in the family room with the rest of the bunch and when she finally got to the phone it had started to go to the answering machine just as she picked it up.
“Hello.”
“Hi Liz, it’s Jesse. I tried to get hold of Philip but he wasn’t home so I thought maybe I would find him at your place. Would he be there by any chance?”
“Hi Jesse, no he isn’t. He and Max are golfing with Michael and Jeff this morning, I’m sure they all have their phones off... Is it urgent? I can call the golf club and get a message to him if you need me to.”
“Oh no Liz, it’s nothing like that…I just thought I would bring him up to date on the Don Adams situation before I went home. I’ll just fax the information over to him. How’s everything with you?”
Jesse was concerned about the listening device and wanted to get this taken care of as soon as possible and he didn’t want Liz to know that another man was watching their home besides Ed Bradley so he figured that he would just have to wait and tell Philip…then he had a brainstorm…
“Liz, that gardener that I sent over, is he still there?”
“Yes Jesse. We put him up in the pool house…As a matter of fact there are two of them. One takes care of the pool, which there isn’t much to take care of at this time of the year, while the other one seems to spend a lot of time weeding the flower beds. Max is going to have the “pool” guy check out some other stuff around the house and see if he’d like to earn some extra cash. How much longer do you think we’re going to need this type of service Jesse. It’s not like they’re any bother but it really is nerve wracking as hell knowing why they’re here.”
Jesse kept the sigh he was holding to himself and took a deep breath…
“I can just imagine Liz. We’re doing the best we can, honest. We just can’t figure out why in the hell the guy put the device in your home to begin with and we don’t want to tip our hand until we know his reasoning. We have to prove that his intentions are not in your best interest if he’s the one that did it before we can file a formal complaint.”
“I know Jesse, but I’m almost willing to let it go just to get back to normal.”
“Liz, we’ll do whatever you want us to do but I would strongly advise that you go along with the program as it is right now. It could become dangerous.”
“I know Jesse, and thank you. Do you want me to have one of your guys call you?”
“No, I’ll just call them and check up and see if there have been any new developments. Thanks Liz and relax. We’ll get you back to normal soon, I promise.”
“Okay Jesse, take care and bye for now.”
“Bye Liz, and enjoy your company.”
And the two old friends rang off.
*
Jesse called the cell phone out in the pool house to check on his men and got an answer on the second ring…
“Hi Jones, Jesse here…anything interesting to report?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact there is. This is, without a doubt, the strangest case you’ve ever put me on. There are more people watching this place than there are secret service in the white house, I swear!
That Ed Bradley is parked out in his car almost 12 hours everyday…then there’s another unmarked car watching Bradley. I know this car is from the PD because the guy is just too obvious. Then there’s our guy who is watching Bradley but is aware of the PD also.
Now here’s the kicker, I’ve managed to get a picture of the fourth player and I’ve e-mailed that off to you at your home due to the secrecy surrounding this case. God knows who this guy is but he’s not real bright. So far he seems to be casing the place, like he might want to break in, but he hasn’t made any moves in that direction yet. Of course there is the dog…the family pet! I truly believe the animal would tear the leg off anybody that would attempt anything with one of those kids or Liz. He seems as gentle as a lamb but the animal doesn’t miss a trick and knows exactly where this fourth guy is at all times.
The guy does leave for a few hours but is generally back for most of the day. He’s really strange looking. Wears cammies and a ball cap check your e-mail at home and let me know what you think?”
Jesse frowned at the news Jonesy had just related to him and said…
“Jonesy, thanks. I’ll get right on that photo and see what the hell else is going on. Keep up the good work and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a good week-end in spite of the circumstances. I think I’ll have Valenti check out the photo for us, I don’t know why but I have a strange feeling that is where we should start.”
“Hey Jesse, you know I’m not complaining…private quarters, home cooked meals and Smitty for company…who could ask for anything more?”
And all three men laughed…Smitty being the pool man who was sitting at the bar on a stool working a cross-word puzzle…Smith and Jones, what a combination!
*
So, that was the extent of the news of the day from Jesse’s end but the crap was about to hit the fan down at police headquarters. The Chief was really getting bent out of shape with the Ed Bradley development and he had Carl, Ed’s partner, in his office again wanting to know “What in the hell is going on?” Carl wasn’t sure but had a sneaking suspicion that Bradley was stalking the Evans woman and didn’t want to say it aloud until he was certain, but from what he could tell it sure as hell looked like it. Then there was Judge Abbott who had his bailiff, Dave White, checking up on the activity in the police department and nobody knew what anybody else was doing.
Finally Carl closed the Chiefs door and took a seat.
“Chief, I think Bradley is stalking the Evans woman. I found a receiver on the front seat of our car the other day when I went for burgers and Bradley’s only been coming into the office every morning long enough to make an appearance and then he’s gone again.
“I checked out an unmarked car the other day and followed him and he drove straight over to the Evans’ place and sat in the car for almost 6 hours. Then he drove to the hospital to check on the guy that Mrs. Evans knocked unconscious with the skillet. I waited until he left and then went and talked to the guard stationed at the prisoner’s room and he said Bradley comes in everyday to see if that Don Adams has regained consciousness.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on Chief, but it’s weird that Bradley isn’t reporting any of his actions to anyone here. If it had anything to do with the case he should at least write up a report and clue someone in on what’s going on. You know his wife threw his ass out for messing around with that waitress over at the Liberty Bar. I guess she’s not the first one he’s ever had an affair with according to Shelly. Shelly’s his wife, remember we met her at the picnic last year. Sweet little thing…I guess Bradley beat her up pretty bad before she got the restraining order on him.
“He’s allowed to visit the boy one day a week for 4 hours and he has to have an escort with him when he goes to the house. I guess he’s okay with the kid.”
“Good God man, why in the hell didn’t you say something before this?”
“Well Chief, I wasn’t sure…I’m still not sure what’s going on. I’ve only told you what I do know and what I think…that’s all I’ve got to go on right now.”
“Well, I’m glad you brought this to my attention because Judge Abbott’s office has Officer White checking on the department to see why there’s a listening device planted at the Evans’ home. Mrs. Evans kept running into Bradley all over town and got suspicious and started checking around her kitchen and found the device on top of her refrigerator…it looks like your suspicions might have some merit. You say you followed Bradley?”
“Yeah but I couldn’t stay on him all the time. We do have other investigations going on that need to be attended to and like I said, I was just following a hunch. Now that I know the whole story I think we should do something about this. Are you going to tell Judge Abbott about this? You know that Mrs. Evans father-in-law is an attorney and that is probably why Judge Abbott is working on this. Mr. Evans probably doesn’t trust anyone over here …what a mess. What in the hell is wrong with that man anyway?”
“Damned if I know but we have to take care of this ASAP. Pretty soon the street the Evans’ live on is going to look like a frreakin’ parkin’ lot…but we need to investigate this thing and get to the bottom of it. Do you think you can take care of it without anyone else becoming suspicious out there?” The captain nodded toward the squad room. “Bradley’s been with us a long time and he may have some friends that would tip him off.”
“I don’t know who would betray the force for a bad seed Cap…and after the assault on his wife there aren’t very many who are going to give us up for him.”
“Even so…let’s keep this as quiet as we possibly can and if you need help let me know…we’ll get some one from another precinct to work with us if we need to but we need to clean it up.”
“Fair enough cap. I’ll check him out again today and see if he’s over there. It’s supposed to be his day off, so if he’s sitting over there it’s pretty much stalking in my book.”
“Thanks Carl, let me know what you find…okay? Call me at home; we’re not doing anything today except some yard work.”
Carl looked at his captain and raised an eyebrow…he knew the captain hated yard work and the Captain just looked at Carl and grinned…
“Don’t ask?” And Carl grinned back and left the office…Cap must have done something to piss the wife off again, always has been her way of getting even.
And with that the Captain picked up his phone and dialed the court house, he needed to fill Dave in on what was going on and he would leave the information he passed on for Dave to decide whether or not he should share it with the Judge.
*~*~*
Meanwhile Liz and Maria were having a great time entertaining the kids and catching up on Roswell gossip when Max and Michael walked in and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek and started wrestling with the kids who were having a great time visiting with each other. The girls were just as rough-house as the boys and Max had his hands full. Michael was right in there with all six of them.
Maria and Liz left the room and found some peace and quiet in the living room, which was hardly ever used, and Liz felt at peace for the first time in almost two weeks. It was so nice to have her old friend with her and to be able to relax for awhile but it wasn’t to last because they soon heard the tiny voice of Ellie yelling through the baby monitor…
“Mommy!!!”
Maria and Liz both looked at each other and grinned…it was the best sound on earth and Maria took off with pony tail flying to get to her baby girl before the tears took over. Ellie was usually very good about waiting for her mommy but she was in a strange place and Maria wasn’t quite sure how she would take it if she didn’t see her soon.
Michael heard the yell from the family room and came walking quite fast into the living room to see if Maria wanted him to get the baby but Liz told him that Maria was already on her way upstairs and to relax…he smiled and said thanks and headed back to rescue Max from the invasion of the brat pack.
Soon the parents had all of the kids loaded into the two SUV’s and were on their way to the estate for an ice skating party and then some pizza afterwards. When they arrived the grandparents were already fitted out and getting loosened up and adjusted to the ice and the young parents took to getting the kids laced up and on the ice. Max and Liz’s kids all had their own skates which they brought from home but Junior and Ellie both needed skates.
Liz had found some double runner skates on line a few years back and had several pair in various sizes shipped to the facility so Ellie was equipped with a pair of those and was doing quite admirably on them. Maria and Michael were both as impressed along with everyone else. Michael was a natural on the ice and he and the kids had the hockey equipment out and set up in no time at all. Everyone was right in there helping and they soon were having a great time.
Liz stood back and smiled…how wonderful life was she thought to herself…even if it did have a lunatic show his ugly face every once in awhile and then Parker pissed JP off and it was time to break them up…No matter how many times she told JP that every action had a reaction and if he would just ignore Parker then Parker would quit bothering him. It didn’t do any good. Maybe he was just too little to understand or that temper of his was too much for him to handle at his young age but he had to learn and learn soon. He couldn’t start school with that short fuse.
And so the day ended and everyone was worn out to say the least.
*
On Sunday morning the alarm went off at its usual 6:00 a.m. and Liz didn’t even budge. Max reached over her head and slapped the annoyance off, wrapped his arms around his little wife and smiled as he went right back to sleep. It was about a half hour later that there was loud knocking on their bedroom door and Max opened one eye and yelled “It’s open!”
Michael stuck his head in and saw the two Evans’ taking up not much more space than a baby crib would allow in this huge king sized bed and shook his head. Liz was in her usual position of sleeping as though she was an extension of her husband’s body. Max didn’t seem to mind at all and Michael smiled.
“Hey you two…do you want to go to Mass today and if so, how about I cook us up some ‘Crashdown’ hash and eggs?”
Max eyed his friend, looked down at his wife’s head, and then back at his friend.
“You know Michael; you can be annoying as hell even when you’re being nice!”
Michael grinned and waited with his arms crossed over his chest…
“Liz? I know you’re not asleep. Do you want some hash and eggs?”
Liz managed to move her lips, eyes still closed,
“Michael, come back when it’s ready…okay?”
“Okay…but you better eat some or there will be consequences.”
“Fine, is Maria up?”
“Are you kidding…she’d kill me if I woke her up for breakfast.”
Then Liz lifted her head from Max’s chest and yelled…
“MICHAEL!!!”
And on that note Michael left Max and Liz’s room and headed down the back stairs with a great big grin on his face.
Liz was wishing that they had made time for Mass yesterday but things just got away from them…too much to do, too little time.
Max kissed Liz on the top of her head and worked his way loose of her body, which he had down to a science, and got himself up to go help Michael in the kitchen. Soon 6 of the 7 kids were all sitting around the table goofing off and having fun while their fathers prepared a breakfast fit for a lumberjack. Liz and Maria came staggering in with Ellie hanging onto her mother’s neck, her head on Maria’s shoulder, half asleep; neither knowing whether to kiss or kick Michael for being up so early. I guess, all in all, it wasn’t such a bad idea since they were having the bar-b-que later…they really should go to early Mass.
So the two men had everyone fed and was well on their way to having the kitchen cleaned up while Liz and Maria went back upstairs to take care of the slew of kids that needed bathed, dressed and hair done in proper order. By that time Michael and Max were back upstairs and ready for their showers.
Liz told Max to lock their door because she was going to take a little “rest” before showering…”it’s only 8:30 and Mass starts at 11:00 annnnd, if we keep Michael locked out we can both have a little rest. No?” And she looked at her husband and grinned. God, who could turn an offer like that down and with that Max was right on top of her and had her in a lip lock that wouldn’t quit when there was a knock on the door again. Max yelled…
“Michael! It’s locked…go get ready for Mass.” And a little voice said,
“Daddy, can we take Jack out in the yard for awhile?” Max looked down at Liz as she smiled. She shook her head no…so Max had to be the bad guy…
“Not now…after Mass you can go out and play with Jack. Just watch cartoons til’ mommy and I are ready for church, okay?”
“Okay…” came a groaned reply and Max rolled back over and grabbed his wife who was now leaning up on one elbow looking at him. He returned the look; half smile, half frown and said…
“Mood gone?” Liz smiled and shrugged one shoulder…
“Sorta’... Let’s shower.”
“Together?”
“Yeah…” and they both headed to the bathroom, very quickly.
*
By 10:15 everyone was assembled on the front porch waiting for Max, Michael and Ellie…Michael had taken the little girl with him to get her all buckled up before all of the other kids started to climb on board and soon they were off to the Cathedral. When they started to disembark Monsignor Gaughan was going into the Cathedral and spotted the Evans’ van and headed on over to say hello when he noticed the extra passengers.
“Why hello Michael, Maria, Junior and Ellie…it’s so nice to see you and hello to the Evans’s…how are all of you?”
“Fine Father and it’s so good to see you too.”
Then it was JP, leader of the pack…He gave the Monsignor a high five and then asked the elderly gentleman if he wanted to come to their house for bar-b-que today…Max and Liz grinned at the monsignor and nodded yes and so the old man looked down on the little one and smiled…
“JP, I would love to come to dinner. What time do you think would be a good time?”
JP looked at Liz with a questioning gaze and Liz smiled at her youngest and held up 3 fingers.
“Three will be great!” JP grinned and the monsignor smiled at the tyke and said…
“Great JP, I’ll see you at three for a bar-b-que.” And he left the group smiling from ear to ear…everyone that knew that little boy just fell in love with him. What a man he’s going to be some day and there was a fresh spring in the old man’s step.
All four of the adults grinned at each other and got the crew to fall in line for church.
And as they all walked across the parking lot there was a caravan of cars following their every move. Unbelievable, just unbelievable was the only thought going through Steve’s mind as he watched Carl watch Ed…but he was unaware of the fourth set of eyes watching as well.
*~*~*
