Chapter 15

People wandered into and through and out of the house. It was our first annual open-house birthday party.

Getting people to come to this one was easy: they wanted to see Jacob, just nine days old.

All three of our kids' birthdays fell in less than a three-week span. Given that we are homo sapiens, I discounted an annual cycle and chalked it up to chance. It was attended by relatives, neighbors and friends.

Alexander and Melinda each had their own parties with their own friends. He was five and had an idea who his friends were, but we still assisted three-year-old Melinda with picking hers.

They each requested, actually demanded big brother Harry the Babysitter, that was his full name as far as they were concerned, be in attendance.

Harry insisted on bringing along Nancy and Justin completely on his own - after I had a conversation with him about it.

Any party we held that included children included my other three kids and also Betty, under her official name, Harry's Mommy.

All five children loved each other and loved to be with each other. I give Karen a lot of the credit for that.

We were lucky they were the first to arrive. Alexander and Melinda were doing the home equivalent of, "Are we there yet?" They started right after breakfast with, "Are they here yet?" We must have heard that at least a hundred times in less than four hours. With their arrival came blessed relief.

Betty looked at us and a range of emotions played across her face like the views of a hologram seen from different angles. It wasn't difficult to read. I had seen them before. Looking at the five of us, a happy, if noisy, family seemed to bring her a unique kind of pain. She knew, but for her own actions, it could have been her in that portrait instead of Karen.

She had seen both Karen and me with the look. Betty said she would give anything to be the giver and recipient of the look. She had come to terms with her actions over these five years, but the look and the fulfillment Karen and I represented this day would pain her until the day she died.

She said it softly, but Karen and I could hear. "This could have been mine."

It was wistful and rueful. It reminded me of the exchange we had last time she brought Harry and his siblings over to baby sit.

"You've come a long way, Betty," Karen told her. "You've taken control of your life. I think you're ready to move on when you get the chance. We wish you the best."

Betty glanced questioningly at me.

"We," I confirmed.

"It's a shame it took me so long to grow up," Betty said. "I'm forty-one. I don't know how many right men are left to come along. There may have been a good supply when I was half this age. But a lot of them have been taken in the interim. Some had to face life and they're no longer the right men as a result.

"Randy could have been one of them with all I did to him."

Karen put her arms around me from behind and rested her chin on my shoulder.

"I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to have this man. I don't mean anything by that, Betty."

"I know," Betty answered.

"I just can't believe how lucky I am to have him in my life." She tightened her arms a bit.

"There you go projecting again," I said.

"See?" said Karen.

"Yes," whispered Betty.

It was Betty's week, but she let the children stay after the party to be with their brothers, sister, Dad and Mommy Two.

We returned them at bedtime. I drove our Honda Odyssey.

I told Karen when we bought it, "I hate to be driving something this big. It feels emotionally almost like a recreational vehicle to me. I'm trading it in as soon as they come out with it in a hybrid."

So, all eight of us made the trip to Betty's house. Our three were asleep when we got there.

Karen and I took Harry, Nancy and Justin to the door.

Betty smiled as she welcomed the children in. Her eyes were moist, but not overflowing.

"It's like a Tim Burton version of A Christmas Carol, combined with Groundhog Day," she said. "I keep getting to see Christmas future and there's nothing I can do to change it."

"Are you okay, Mommy?" asked Nancy.

"I'm okay baby. I'm just happy to see Daddy so happy with his nice family."

"Our kids are pretty special, too, Betty," I said.

A tear wandered down her cheek.

Karen squeezed my hand. As we turned to head back to the Odyssey, she leaned against me and I put my arm around her.