Chapter 29

Mr. Bell must have gotten the heads up from Millie, because he came back in a flash, and I suggested we all head home to Branson and get the children back on familiar territory. Rebecca may have left us, but my focus had to be on our daughter and son, not worrying about my hurt.

Colleen said Winnie called, reported that Rebecca refused protection, demanded the guards not follow her, climbed into a taxi, and rode away.

Everyone was stunned.

Without time for tears, the day went along smoothly. Millicent Jane was without a mother and needed me, and I would be damned before I'd allow Rebecca's actions affect her.

"Listen folks," I said sadly. "Rebecca chose this course. She obviously is still fighting postpartum depression or some other clinical form of depression, but I will not allow Millicent to be turned against her mother. Please help me by making sure we do not speak, or act in such a way to turn her away from her mother." They weren't blind. All of them saw the hurt in my eyes.

We packed up and slipped out of town. Meghan came by and after Millie filled her in, I asked her to let the club know that we'd had an emergency and headed home. The last place I wanted to be was in a parade, smiling and pretending to be happy.

I could have fallen into a funk but Benjamin snapped me out of it.

Mr. Bell suggested we have lunch delivered and enjoy a quiet meal before departing, so by the time we were packed and ready to go, lunch was waiting for us. As we arranged ourselves - minus one chair - Benjamin sensed my sadness, sat down beside me, laid his head in my lap, and licked my hand – once. His gentle act of unconditional love, temporarily at least, blew my funk away, and I found myself on the floor, rolling around, playing with him.

James crawled over and joined the fun, pulling my hair and poking Benjamin in the face. Pretty soon Millicent Jane was on the floor with us, and we were giggling, tickling, petting and playing up a storm.

After that, we had lunch, caught the G-4, and went home.

As we deplaned in Branson, Mr. Bell caught my am and said, "Rebecca called me. It must have been immediately after leaving the hotel, and demanded I remove her from the trust documents. She would brook no argument, reminded me that we all agreed to step back anytime, and that it was her decision.

"Don't expect her things to be at the house when we arrive. Yolanda called a little while before we took off and said movers showed up with a signed work order from Rebecca. They packed everything she wanted and took it all away.

"I hate to say it, but she's been planning this for some time. The thing I can't understand is why she didn't want to take Millie J. with her? And if she did intend to take Millicent, why weren't her things packed as well, in advance? I can't get that. What mother doesn't want her child?"

I thought about that as we walked to the cars. "Mr. Bell, I'm not going to let this eat me up. I do need to know how to protect Millicent from Rebecca if she is in any way disturbed and starts to go back and forth, wanting her one minute, then abandoning her the next. That's not good for a child. We need to know our rights, and how to protect them."

He thought...

I waited...

He thought some more, and said, "Got it. It is a good start that you are listed as father on the birth certificate. We'll settle this tomorrow. But first I need to talk to Clyde."

I don't remember much about the ride home. We were in the hotel. We were in our jet. Then we were home. Congratulations, you've heard the whole travelogue.

Yolanda was waiting when we came in. "Rebecca was here and gone so fast, my head is still spinning. She said she was going away to be alone, and we weren't to try and find her. She also said that Millie J. was 'safer' here, than with her, and that she'd contact us about visiting, soon.

"What's going on? What happened up in Kansas City? Why is Rebecca abandoning her child without even a thought about how Millicent will feel?

"Brian, we studied postpartum depression forever in medical school, and if I've ever seen a case of lingering, serious, postpartum, this is it, but Rebecca has sealed herself off from all of us, and everything. There's no way in to talk to her, reason with her, protect her from herself, or let her know how much we all care.

"She could be dangerous to herself..." Yolanda stopped talking when she saw Millie's face. She was terrified that Rebecca might hurt herself due to her depression.

"It's Ok," I said. "Rebecca is a doctor. She'll recognize the signs long before she would do anything really stupid. Don't worry. I know her at least that well. We all do

Yolanda interrupted. "That's not necessarily true. When clinically depressed, emotions often overrule reason, and I think that is the case here. I suggest that you have Jack find her and set up surveillance on her that's ready to step in and prevent her from physically harming herself."

Shock warred with hurt, and I called Jack to set him in motion to secretly watch and protect Rebecca.

Then the day was gone before we had time to do more than get the children settled, look over some mail, and get things straightened up after being away for the Series. At bedtime Winnie and Colleen needed reassured. Our lovemaking was active and energetic.

In the quiet afterglow, Colleen asked, "Are you bringing Meghan home to join us anytime soon?" She took my hand and kissed me gently, waiting for an answer.

"I think we need to stabilize our home without Rebecca, before we think about changing the makeup of our bedroom. I want Meghan to move here and join the Eagles front office to take over the TV project, but it's not the time to bring her here."

Both girls nodded their understanding, and we fell asleep intertwined.

I opened my eyes to a pair of happy faces, staring me in the face. Yolanda had carried Millicent J. into the bedroom and set her on my chest to wake me up. Jimmy B. was sitting on Colleen's tummy doing the same thing. We cuddled, giggled, played, and talked for a good half hour, before hopping up, setting the babies in their playpen, and showering.

It was very important to make absolutely sure Colleen and Winnie were squeaky clean, so I rubbed and petted them until they each squeaked with pleasure. Only then could I relinquish my hold on them, so they could dress and get the day started.

The things I do for my family...

I carried Millicent, and Colleen carried James into the kitchen, where we found Mr. Bell waiting rather impatiently for us.