He was sitting on the chaise, Ralphie in his lap, stroking the dog’s mane and staring off into the distance. She watched just a moment. Ian Justyn lost in thought was a sight to behold.
She had known him long enough to pick up little things. Like the way he tilted his head almost undetectably to the right if the thought wasn’t quite connecting. Then there was what she called the stroke. He’d fold his index finger down and rub the second knuckle slowly back and forth across his bottom lip when he couldn’t focus on one thought.
Tonight, tonight was the hard one. His hands were methodically repeating a gesture, in this case stroking the dog’s coat hand over hand, his face was totally blank and his focus focused unfocused on something in the darkening sky. She feared that someday he’d get lost in that thought and never, ever come back.
She had to be gentle. More than once she had startled him from his thought trance and he’d broke out into a sweat that seemed painful. She made sure he heard her coming. She’d learned to always make sure he knew that you were coming.
“Baby Doll.” She smiled quietly and rubbed her fingers on his cheek.
It took just a barely noticeable moment, but he came back from where ever he was, not turning his head but moving his eyes to take her in. He smiled. “I thought you’d be in bed by now.”
Tippy made a sound to communicate otherwise. “May I sit with you?”
He nodded his head and smiled down at Ralphie, in heaven at the attention and the human touch. His tail beat quietly on the staccato of the patio. His chin pressed so tightly into Ian’s lap it almost became part of his skin.
She pulled a second armless chaise until it touched the one Ian was sprawled across and sat down putting her feet up after a long, long day. The only sound exchanged between them was silence, but it said absolutely everything that needed to be said. Tippy reached over to touch his face. He leaned forward a bit and rubbed his cheek tenderly against her fingers.
She knew that meant good, well almost good. They listened to the loud silence of California nature a moment. It was defining. From the corner of her eye she saw him move. Without ever taking her eye from the point out into space she was looking at, she slipped her arm around him as he leaned over and put his head on her shoulder. She didn’t squeeze. She didn’t rub. She just took him in.
She felt the tension in his body. She could feel the fire in his mind trying to get out, and his heart beating so fast it made the temperature outdoors even muggier. She gently lay her cheek on the top of that black, black hair.
“You know once before I left Mountain City, I sat out on our back porch, or I guess I should say the back part of our wrap around porch about this time of day. It was always my favorite time of day and time of year back home. Just about now, when you suddenly realize the light of that day was done for but the dark hadn’t quite taken over, the mountain would start to twinkle.”
“Twinkle?”
“Mmm hmmm, lighnin’ bugs; just millions of ‘em all over Forge Mountain. It always took my breath away. My Granny used to say it made her sad, but it just made my heart soar. Just think a tiny little bug just bein’ a bug and still getting’ someone to notice him from so far away.”
Tippy felt him smile and cuddle closer into her shoulder. “I always thought that’s how God sees us, us just bein’ one of millions of bugs each with our own special twinkle lightin’ up a tiny little portion of the mountain.”
“I used to catch ‘em and put them in a jar on my window sill. They’d either crawl out of the holes I made in the top or be laying on their back dead as door nails by morning. I always set the ones that lived free.”
“I think we all did that.” Tippy smiled. “Except m’ sister Jeannie. She’d catch ‘em, and rip their little buts off and smear ‘em on her finger until she had this nasty glowy little ring.”
Ian sat up a bit and looked at her. “Are you still close to your sister?”
“I wish.” Tippy sighed. “She really hasn’t spoken to me since I won Miss Johnson County. I beat her.”
“You were both in the same pageant?” Ian smirked. “That wasn’t smart.”
“Well, I knew that, but they only had five girls and for some reason they needed one more or it wouldn’t be official or something. I was barely old enough and Jeannie insisted.”
“Was she at last first runner up?”
“Came in next to last. Still it was my fault. Maybe it was. I always thought she was much prettier than me, and a much better singer but I guess the judges just couldn’t get past the fact that her personality read “Bitch” from fifty paces.”
“Anyone other siblings?”
“Just me and Jeannie. Daddy died when I was in high school and Mama passed away a few years ago.”
“You never hear from her?”
“Only when she wanted money from that day on. You know, I put all five of her kids through college and not one has even bothered to send a thank you note. We offered to fly ‘em all out here for every holiday and several times for just no reason at all, but they don’t want to be tainted I guess. Jeannie’s husband is a Holy Roller Preacher.”
“He’s gonna love “Quarters”.” Ian chuckled quietly.
“Ya know, that doesn’t matter, that movie is gonna shock a lot of people, but I also think it’s gonna open the eyes for a lot of people to a problem not many even know exist.”
“Good to know. Remind me of that when Westboro Baptist Church protests my kid’s birthday parties.”
“By the way, thank you.”
Ian sat up and looked Tippy in the eyes. “For what?”
She smiled and finally caressed his shoulder. “For m’job and for my little role in ‘Quarters’. Baby Doll, I know that sometimes it’s hard for you to understand the reason behind all the awful things that have happened, but for all the nasty you keep just dropping bucket loads of wow on people, an’ me and Colton, and we’re just two that are oh so greatful.”
Ian eased back to his place on her shoulder and Tippy settled back to just enjoy another moment or two with a young man who just needed a mother’s love. “Have you talked to Saxon lately?”
“She’s filming tonight, tougher on Jeremy and Trampus but I can tell it’s putting them all through the ringer. God, they are brilliant. I’ve just seen dailies and rushes, but Tippy I don’t think they even understand how incredible they are. I’ve even caught Mr. Turner sitting in his office in tears.”
“Aw, he’s just an’ old softie.”
“When I ask him if he wants to talk about it, he just pretends like he has something in his eye and says “It’s the way it should be” then quickly changes the subject.”
“Hmmm…who does he remind me of?” Tippy mused to herself. “Now, I hate to be a grandmother, I cannot believe I’m admitting that out loud, but have you made any headway on setting up the nursery? This isn’t like the old days and you can just clean out a drawer to tuck ‘em in.”
“Actually, we’ve set tomorrow aside to look at the house plans and get started.” Ian stopped her before she could throw her ‘but’ in. “Until then, we’ve set up the cribs and the temporary nursery in the room between Ronnie and Clare. Obviously our boys are going to be born before we have a chance to finish the renovations, so that room seemed like the obvious choice.”
“Are you getting a little excited?”
“I’m still trying.” Tippy felt the tension come back into his body. “Just once, I’d like to be happy about becoming a father from the get go.”
“You weren’t happy about Ronnie?”
“To be honest, Taylor hid the fact she was pregnant for so long by the time I had no choice but get past my own stupidity all I could do was be terrified. Tippy, I was working four part time jobs and going to school and still couldn’t afford a place to live. She was living with Jude and I saw her so rarely I’m still shocked were alone long enough to get pregnant.”
“Well, babies aren’t known for always being convenient. Maybe next time, you’ll be a little more prepared.”
“I’m trying so hard, Tippy. I really am. There’s just still so much anger and mistrust with these twins. I’m not pointing fingers here, I’m just as angry at myself as I am at Clare. I think even Clare is apprehensive. Maybe when the little buggers finally pop out, we can all relax and just enjoy it.”
Tippy laughed. “Relaxing, yeah that’s exactly what happens with newborns.”
“Okay, okay…I got one son, and in many, many ways I’m still about to be a first time father, but I hope you understand what I mean.”
“You are going to take a paternity leave, aren’t you? Even just a small one?”
“That hadn’t occurred to me.” Ian started to sit up and then put his head back down on Tippy’s shoulder. “Nah. I can do this. Things won’t really heat up at the office until the end of August. It’ll be fine.”
“I don’know Baby Doll. Once you get a look at those sweet little babies, you may not want to even think about going into work for a while. Have you talked about names yet?”
“Ronnie’s partial to Spot and Fluffy, but that’s about it. I guess where kind of waiting until they’re born to decide…you know, to see which one looks like a Spot and which one looks like a Fluffy.”
“Good plan.” Tippy bit her lip. “Does Clare have any thoughts on that subject?”
“Not sure, but there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Of course not. Realizing she was pregnant and getting to a doctor, getting around to telling the father and deciding on where to put the nursery were all a snap, picking a couple of names after giving birth to twins will be a walk in the park for her.”
“I know this isn’t going to be easy, Tippy, but I think the hard part is behind us, at least the hard part for Clare and I. The movie has about two weeks before we hit post-production. The fall season is solid and we’ve already got back up plans and we’re laying groundwork for next year. All is good.”
“Way to go Superman.”
“Now if we can just figure out that little annoying bit about someone trying to kill me, all will be well.”
“Baby Doll, you know everybody loves Superman, especially me, but I love Ian Justyn most of all. I’m hoping I get to see more of him real soon.”
“Me, too, Mamie Rae. Me, too.” Ian’s eyes darted to that far away place Tippy feared he’ll never come back from. “If I can just figure out who that is.”
“Everybody else knows, Baby Doll. Just trust us, and we’ll show you.”
Tippy rubbed Ian’s hair and he sighed, content and happy, if only for an instant that he was in fact, at this moment in time, where he was needed and where he wanted to be the most.
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