Chapter 4

Talking quietly with each other, Lucy and William waited in the theater for Eddie to arrive. The theater room had four rows of ten seats each facing a large screen. Each chair was large and comfortable with a holder for a soda built into the armrest. Beth had ordered the chairs from a real theater supply company. Like a real movie theater, the floor slanted down towards the front of the room.

At the entrance to the room, there was a snack bar complete with a typical theater-style popcorn machine. The smell of popcorn filled the air. Small tubs for popcorn were stacked beside the popcorn machine. A soda fountain with six different flavors of soft drinks was on the snack bar along with paper cups, lids, and straws. Taking up a small area of the table was a rack with several different kinds of theater candies. There was an ice machine built under the snack bar.

William stared off into the distance for a second, frowned at not knowing what was happening with his brother, and then said, "I wonder what is taking Eddie so long."

"This is a big house. It is probably taking him a while to find Ed," Lucy answered realizing that this wasn't the first time that William had asked such a question over the past few days. He still wasn't used to having to guess what was happening around him. She put a hand on his in an attempt to comfort him. It was the first time since the interviews that he had ventured out of their bedroom or his office. The fact that he had allowed someone so dangerous into the house had significantly undermined his confidence.

"Let's see, we've got popcorn, candy, and soft drinks. All we need is for Eddie to select a film," William said thinking it was a rather clever idea of his sister to include a snack bar in the room.

"First we need Eddie to show up," Lucy said. She looked around the room amazed at how accurately Beth had reproduced a movie theater in the house. In their earlier visits to the house, she hadn't even mentioned that she was going to set up a room like this. She commented, "She really did a nice job on this."

"Yes, but I wonder why she put it on the family level rather than the business level of the house," William said looking around the room.

Excited by the news he was going to deliver, Eddie ran into the theater. William noticed his excitement and asked, "What's up, Eddie?"

"We're going to be big brothers," Eddie announced breathing heavily as a result of the short run from the guest room where he and his father were staying.

The news took William by surprise. Raising an eyebrow, William knew what Eddie meant, but decided to play with him a little. He said, "I'm already a big brother. Betsy is my little sister and you're my little brother."

"Yeah, I know, but you're going to be a big brother even more," Eddie said and then thought about what he had said. His last sentence didn't make sense. Shaking his head, he said, "I guess I'm trying to say that we're going to have a new baby brother or sister."

"That's good news. Which of our mothers is expecting?"

"Momma Claire. She and Daddy Dan are having a baby," Eddie said. He was so pleased by the news that he could hardly contain himself.

"It's about time," William said. He had wondered how long it would be before Claire would have a baby. He thought about the news and realized that receiving it was a little different than in the past. In the past, he would have been the first to know that Claire was expecting and he would even have known the gender of the child. The knowledge would have come upon him slowly and he'd never have the joy of being surprised by good news.

Grinning broadly, Eddie said, "I'm really looking forward to watching over the baby."

Lucy noticed an unusual tone in his voice and said, "This is really important to you."

"Yes it is," Eddie answered, "I've been the baby of the family for years. It isn't all that easy being me."

"What do you mean?" William asked. He had been the youngest until Betsy was born and didn't recall it as being particularly bad.

"Well, I'm not special like my brothers and sisters," Eddie answered without looking over at William. John, Beth, and William were the smartest people he had ever met. His sister, Betsy, was a very gifted athlete. He was just plain old Eddie.

"I wouldn't say that," William said looking at his brother with concern. He wondered why his brother would think that of himself.

"Everyone else is smarter, stronger, faster, and tougher than I am," Eddie said. His father hadn't even allowed him to start learning the martial arts yet.

Lucy turned to examine Eddie. The young man was looking down at the floor with a frown plastered on his face. His eyes were shiny as if he were on the verge of tears. It had to be tough to grow up in the shadow of four such exceptional siblings. The oldest two were very successful and had established international reputations in their chosen fields. William and Betsy were each unique in different ways. She wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind that would reassure him.

"Don't pretend otherwise, William," Eddie said upon seeing William's reaction. He sighed and added, "I'm hoping that my little brother or sister will be normal like me. Then I won't feel so left out."

"You're right that we are smarter, stronger, faster, and tougher than you," William said after thinking about it for a second.

"See, you agree with me. I'm the runt of the litter," Eddie said, his feelings hurt by hearing his brother confirm what he believed. Although he believed he was less special than his siblings, it was devastating to hear his older brother say it.

"I wouldn't put it that way. You're the most caring and supportive of all of the Carter kids. In my book, those are the most important traits that a person can have," William said. He gave a weak smile to Eddie and said, "I mean, think about it. Intelligence without concern for consequence is irresponsible. Strength without compassion is brutality. Fast without forethought is carelessness. Tough without empathy is sadism."

"So?"

William sighed and said, "In some ways, I think you are the most blessed amongst us. You are a good person. You're that way because it is your essential character and not because you have some special gift from the Gods or Goddesses. You're fully human and that's important."

"You really think so?" Eddie asked feeling a little better.

"Yes, I really think so," William answered. He added, "There are many who believe that I'm arrogant. Some people have even said that I'm callous. In a way they are right."

"I don't know about that," Lucy said.

William sat back in the theater chair and looked over at his little brother. Tilting his head to the side, he asked, "Which of my brothers and sisters came here to share my experience?"

Eddie stood in front of William thinking about the question. The obvious answer was him, but that wasn't what William meant. He went with the obvious and answered, "Me."

Lucy had listened to the exchange and knew that Eddie wasn't getting the point of what William was saying. In the past, William would have said exactly the right thing to defuse the situation. Today he was struggling with coming up with answers. She said, "Eddie, I've noticed something rather interesting over the years with William."

"What?"

"William is always happier after talking to you. Why do you think that is the case?" Lucy asked.

Eddie looked over at Lucy with a puzzled expression on his face. Shaking his head, he answered, "I don't know. Why?"

"You make him feel good. I think you and I are the only ones who always make William feel better," Lucy answered.

"Eddie, if you haven't noticed -- that puts you in very good company," William said with a smile. He hugged Lucy close to him. He smiled over at his little brother and said, "You're a great little brother and I think you'll make an outstanding big brother."

"Thanks," Eddie said feeling much better.

Lucy looked over at the young man and asked, "So is Ed coming?"

"Yes."

"Get some popcorn, candy, and a soft drink. You've got to pick out the movie," William said holding up a wireless keyboard. The keyboard connected to a computer that would download the movie from the central server in the library and then show it on the screen at the front of the room.

"Ah, give me a second," Eddie said going over to the entrance to the theater where the food was located. It took him a minute to fix a big tub of popcorn and a medium soft drink. He ignored the candies.

Taking a seat beside William, he looked over the chair before putting his soft drink into the cup holder built into the arm. He took a moment to examine the chair before putting the tub of popcorn on his lap. Frowning, he shook his head. Taking the keyboard from William, he asked, "So how do I select a movie?"

"Just traverse the menus using the keyboard. You can search for a film by name, actor, and category," William answered. He pointed to the screen where a menu was being presented. He had already spent a few minutes becoming familiar with the system.

Looking up at the screen, Eddie said, "I'd like something funny and about family."

William was silent while he tried to think of a movie that fit that description. He wanted to hit his head in order to wake up his sluggish brain. He was saved from answering when Lucy asked, "Do you have Harvey?"

"Harvey?" William asked looking over at Lucy. He wasn't familiar with the movie. Even if he had been familiar with the movie, he wasn't sure what movies they had managed to get digitized and added to the library.

"Yes, Harvey with Jimmy Stewart. It's a funny little film and the relationship between the brother and sister is very funny," Lucy answered. She thought that the two brothers would particularly enjoy the interaction between Jimmy Stewart's character and Harvey, the giant invisible rabbit.

Eddie leaned over the keyboard and typed in his query. It took less than a second for the server to show that the film was present. He went through the process of selecting it. The screen showed the name of the film and waited for confirmation before starting it. Eddie sat back and said, "We just have to wait for Dad."

"Where is he?" William asked. He actually wanted to know how much longer he would be, but he wasn't used to asking those kinds of questions.

"He was talking to Momma Claire on the cell phone when I found him. He'll be here when they are done talking," Eddie answered. He looked over at William and said, "You know, we don't have a place to show movies in our little town."

"You're right. I hadn't really thought about it," William said.