Chapter 18

Julie and Samantha came home from the hospital 2 days later. Julie was still on an emotional high. The first time she sat down in the rocker and rocked her baby to sleep put a smile on her face that I didn't think would ever fall off. After she put the baby to bed, she came back out with Becky and me. She didn't seem as happy anymore.

"Julie, what's wrong?"

"I wish my Mom could be here to see her new granddaughter. I still haven't heard from them at all."

"Give them time. It takes time for them to admit that they are old enough to actually be grandparents."

"I hope you're right."

I looked at Becky and gave her a wink. Becky knew that I was up to something. Later, after Julie had gone to bed, I finally got the chance to talk to Becky.

"Becky, I'm going to try to get in touch with her parents. I'll try from work where they won't be able to see the caller id telling them where the call is coming from."

"That's a good idea. Do you have their number?"

"Yeah, she's been trying since she moved in to call them. I know she's said more than once that she just keep leaving messages. I just checked the phone bill."

"Can't hide it from there."

That Monday at work, I took my lunch break to place the call. I rang a couple times before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Mr. or Mrs. Weeks."

"You're talking to the Missus. How can I help you?"

"I'm calling for a friend, your daughter Julie."

I got a very rude, "Oh" returned back to me.

"She's been trying to get in touch with you for a few weeks and has been having some trouble. She really wants to talk to her parents."

"What's there to talk about? She no longer seems to care what we think. She was at school for a few months and was already tramping around."

"Listen, she just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, your granddaughter. She would like to at least introduce you."

"The last thing I knew, she was giving the baby up. What happened to that plan?"

"Well, like most mothers, she fell in love with her daughter. She also doesn't feel like she has a home to go back to anymore."

I noticed that I was getting quite a bit of silence. It took her some time to come back.

"I'm sorry. It just upset me so much when I found out. She couldn't even tell me."

"Well, give her a chance to explain. She can't tell you how she felt unless you give her a chance."

"Yeah, you're right. Listen, would it be ok if we drove up to surprise her? I would like to meet my granddaughter."

"I know she would like that. Do you have the address where she has been staying?"

"Yeah, we still have her letters."

"Good. When can I expect you?"

"How about the second weekend in August. That's in 2 and a half weeks. We're going to have to take a few days off from work."

"That will be fine. I'm not going to tell her. I want it to be a surprise."

"Ok. Listen, it seems that she's not going to come home this summer. School starts back up in only 4 or 5 weeks. We'll drive her car up and fly back down. Now that she has the baby, she may want that."

"Yeah, she does."

"Ok. Thanks umm..."

"Rob"

"Thanks."

I felt good. I had a surprise coming that I knew was going to surprise Julie. I know that she had needed a surprise.

The next 2 weeks went by quite quickly. My birthday just happened to fall on the weekend when the Weeks were coming for their visit. So I planned on having a big barbeque cookout. When the Friday arrived, things could not have been any better. I had gotten a call earlier in the day letting me know what time to expect them. I had preparations going for dinner to be nice and enjoyable.

Becky was in on the surprise with me. She talked Julie into taking Samantha for a walk at just the right time. About 20 minutes after they left, I heard a knock on my front door.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Rob?"

"You must be Julie's parents." I offered my hand, "Robert Becker. Everyone calls me Rob."

Julie's father shook my hand. "Nice to meet you Rob. My name's John and this is my wife Janet."

"Why don't you come in and have a seat. I'm sure you're tired from the long drive. Can I get you something to drink?"

Janet replied, "God yes."

"I hope Diet Pepsi or regular Pepsi is good. That is almost all I drink. The kids drink the regular."

"Diet will be fine for both of us, Thanks."

I went to the kitchen to get some drinks. I returned handing a can to each.

"If you need the bathroom, you'll find it at the end of the hall."

"Thanks. Is Julie here?"

"She's taking a walk with my daughters right now. They should be back in a little while. How long are you going to be here?"

"Our flight will leave from Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. We figured that we could get a room to stay at a motel or something."

"Nonsense. You can use my bed. I will crash on the sofa for 2 days."

"Oh no, we couldn't impose on you or your wife like that."

It took me a moment to reply. "My wife was killed in a car accident in late April. It's just me now."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's Ok. You had no way of knowing. Listen, I have a barbeque planned since it's my birthday, so you're welcome to join us."

"Sounds good."

About that time, the door opened and I heard the girls come in.

"If you could excuse me for a moment, I think the girls have returned."

I walked out to the foyer to see Julie putting the stroller away. Becky was holding Samantha and had a smile on her face. She knew what was going to happen next.

"Julie, I have a surprise for you in the living room."

"Another surprise. Ok, so what is it this ti..."

That is as far as she got before she saw her parents waiting there for her. Janet and John jumped up happy to see their daughter.

"Julie!"

"Mommy, Daddy!"

Tears were flowing everywhere. Becky and I stood back with Sam and watched as they greeted each other. They must have been hugging, kissing and crying for 5 minutes before Julie remembered Sam.

"Mommy, Daddy, I would like to introduce your granddaughter Samantha."

Becky walked over and handed the baby to Janet. You could see hearts melt with that little baby. A few minutes later, John walked over to me and asked the obvious question.

"Rob, I thought you said that Julie was with your daughters. I see Becky, but where... You're the father aren't you?"

I nodded.

"That's why you've been taking care of them."

Again, I just nodded.

"I don't know whether to hit you or hug you."

"Well, before you start the hitting part, you might want to talk to your daughter about how it happened. The little minx set me up."

"Ahh. Really. I might just have to do that."

The rest of the weekend was wonderful. Julie was as happy as I've ever seen her. She had her car and her parents were talking with her again. That got me another big hug after they left.

The next few months settled into a routine. With all of us at school and me working, Robbie playing football and Sam spending time at day care. Life had settled down quite a bit into a routine. I was still dealing with Melanie's death. Besides crying myself to sleep almost every night, I still had the lawsuit pending.

The lawsuit against the driver and his trucking company was progressing and we had a preliminary hearing. It had been over a year since the accident. It had been moved up to a federal court level (Which I didn't understand why.)

We were awaiting the judge when I ran into another familiar face.

"Melissa?" She turned and looked at me.

"Rob? Is that you?"

"Yeah. You're the law clerk for this judge?"

"Yeah. How'd you know that I was a law clerk?"

"I ran into your brother about 2 years ago and he told me. We need to get together sometime."

"Sure."

We exchanged phone numbers and promised to get back in touch.

During the hearing, I actually interrupted to ask a question, upsetting my lawyer.

"Your Honor. Is Melissa your law clerk?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know how my attorney feels, but I think it would be best if you remove yourself from the case."

"On what grounds?"

"Melissa and I grew up together. She was the closest I had to having a sister. That would create a possible conflict of interest."

He turned and asked the bailiff to fetch Missy. When he returned with her, he asked about the truthfulness of my statement. Missy agreed totally. So did the judge and that ended the hearing.

Missy asked if we could go for dinner that Saturday. I agreed. She came to my house to pick me up. God she was dressed up nice. Missy was always a beautiful young lady. She still was beautiful. She told me over dinner that it was good that I made the motion.