Surfacing
Part 17
By Lauren
Voices. It was incessant, humming voices that awakened Drew from her seemingly eternal slumber. Or had she been awakened? Or was it just another flashback.
Drew opened her eyes to find herself standing in the backyard of the Bauer house. Really, she was getting rather sick of all these damned flashbacks. She’d been here; she’d experienced these moments. None of it was new, and Drew much preferred the new to the old.
“Hey, Drew, heads up!” Andy’s voice called out.
The sun blinded her as she turned toward him; a softball landed at her feet. “What the hell?” she muttered, picking up the ball and rolling it between her fingers. She’d never been much of an athlete; really, she’d never been an athlete at all. The rough seams felt strange underneath her soft hands.
“Come on, Drew, you’re killing me here,” Andy said breathlessly, jogging toward her. “Dahlia just got an inside-the-backyard home run. My pitching sucks already, you’re not helping me out any here!”
“Your pitching sucks?” Drew said lightly, tossing him the ball. He caught it easily and threw it towards the sapling tree that served as home plate. “That I believe.”
“Ha, ha,” Andy said. “Hey, have you seen my lovely cousin? She was supposed to go find Danny, then come back out. She’s on deck.”
“On deck,” Drew repeated. “Whatever. I’ll go inside and see if I can find her.”
She trudged past the grill and Jacuzzi and opened the Bauer’s kitchen door with more force than she’d intended. She caught it before it slammed into the wall and shut it much more gently.
“Hey, hey,” she said, pulling up a chair at the kitchen table beside Marah, who’d apparently had another brawl with a floor or a wall or something. “Michelle, Andy’s looking for you.”
Michelle, who was standing at the kitchen counter with Danny and the baby, looked over with a furrowed brow. “What’s wrong with Andy?”
Marah swallowed, and Drew had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. “He said something about a deck. I don’t know, they’re playing baseball or something.”
“I’m on deck?” Michelle asked, handing the baby to Danny.
“Yeah, that sounds right,” Drew agreed.
"Can you handle the baby for a while?" Michelle questioned, rubbing the baby’s back.
Danny rolled his eyes at Drew and Marah. "I've never seen a more overprotective mother. Sure, we'll be fine. We're great pals, you know."
"That's not what you said when she woke you up at three this morning," Michelle laughed, gently running a hand over her daughter’s mess of curls. Danny held the baby against his shoulder, pressing his lips lightly to her soft baby hair and rocking her slightly. "I won't be gone long."
"Have faith, Michelle, have faith," Danny teased as Michelle gave Elena a kiss on her pudgy cheek and dashed from the room, her Keds squeaking on the tile floor as she hurried outside.
“How are you?” Drew asked quietly, her eyes focusing on Marah’s.
An unmistakable look of fear flashed across Marah’s face, then settled into quiet ease. “I’m fine. Still confused and weird, but fine.”
“Good,” Drew whispered back.
"So, Drew," Danny said, shifting his body weight from side to side to lull the baby to sleep, "you haven't heard anything about somebody named Jay Chamberlain coming back to town, have you?"
Drew looked up at him. "No, I hadn't. It’s J, by the way, just the letter. Why?"
Danny shook his head. "I don't know, I've heard some things about the guy, and I wondered if you knew anything."
"What kind of things?" Drew asked, leaning her elbows on the countertop.
"Things," Danny said, turning his full attention to the baby, who had squealed.
"If it's the fact that he and Michelle used to date, then I really don't think--" Marah began.
"He and Michelle used to date?" Danny asked, looking up from Elena to meet Marah's eyes.
"Yeah, Michelle dated old No Dot for a little while in high school. I take it that's not what you're talking about," Marah said, flushing slightly.
"No, no, nothing like that," Danny said, resuming his side to side sway. “Aren’t they cousins or something?”
“Through Maureen, so it’s not blood,” Drew clarified.
“That’s still gross,” Danny said.
"Well, are you going to make us guess, or are you going to tell us?" Marah persisted.
"You don't take no for an answer, do you?" Danny asked, and Marah smirked.
"Not usually," she agreed. "So?"
Elena began to cry, and Danny began to pat her back and speak softly to her.
"Is she hungry or something?" Drew asked.
Danny shook his head. "I don't think so, Michelle fed her not too long ago."
"Maybe she's tired,” Marah offered.
Danny scrunched up his face and shook his head again. "She slept all day."
"She's a baby, Danny. They do that," Marah pointed out. "Maybe she needs her diaper changed?"
Danny lifted the baby up and sniffed at her behind. Drew stifled laughter. A guy who was one of the most frightening people in Springfield to anyone who didn't know him, trying to see if his daughter needed changing or not. He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, that one's definitely a winner. I'll go get Michelle."
"She left the diaper bag with you, Danny," Marah indicated. "You don't need to go find her."
"It's just that...I don't..." he began, flustered, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.
"You don't know how to change a diaper?" Marah asked incredulously. "Your daughter's almost three months old and you haven't changed her diaper yet?"
"You make that sound like a bad thing," Danny said warily, glancing down at the crying baby.
"Come on," Marah said, reaching over the counter and grabbing the diaper bag.
Danny began to hand her the baby, but Marah shook her head. "Uh-uh. I'm just going along as a reference. You're going to change her."
"For Christ's sake," Danny said, clutching Elena to his chest as she bawled.
"Drew, we’re going to go change the baby. Come on, I may need moral support," Marah urged.
She led Danny, Drew, and the shrieking baby to the dining room and closed the door behind them. "Okay," Marah said, taking the baby from Danny and pushing the diaper bag towards him. "Get out the changing pad and unfold it on the table."
"Changing pad," Danny muttered, digging around in the bag as Marah cooed at the baby. "Okay, here it is." He pulled out a yellow plastic mat and spread it out on the table.
"Now lay the baby down on it," Marah instructed, handing Elena back to her father, "and undo the snaps on the legs of her outfit."
Danny did as he was told, gently laying Elena down on the table and unfastened the snaps on her little mint-colored romper. "Hey, baby, we're doing okay, aren't we?" he asked Elena, who had stopped crying, but still had a red face.
"Get out a new diaper and baby wipes," Marah continued, and Danny followed her directions. "Take off the old diaper and clean her up, then put on the new diaper."
Danny handed Marah the old, smelly diaper, and she laughed, shaking her head. "This is the thanks I get?" she asked, crossing the room and throwing the dirty diaper in the trash.
Drew stifled laughter as Danny frowned at the diaper, turning it over and over as Elena waved her arms and legs in the air. Marah finally sighed and grabbed the diaper, pointing out the tabs and the top and bottom.
“Thanks,” Danny said, carefully fastening the diaper on the baby, who reached for his hands and gurgled.
“No problem,” Marah said.
"Okay," Danny said, tickling the baby's tummy and smiling. "I did it! Your old man can officially change a diaper. Do you know how surprised your mommy's going to be?"
“I think I have some idea,” Drew deadpanned. “Hell, we might as well go get Andy to cover this for the Journal.”
Marah laughed. “I can see the headline now…’Goodfella finally does the dirty work’.”
“You two are so damned funny,” Danny said humorlessly.
“Yeah, you know it, we are,” Drew agreed.
“Hm,” Danny said, gathering the baby back up in his arms and kissing her forehead. “Just wait until the two of you have your own kids. And no, Drew, Max doesn’t count.”
“Where is Max, anyway?” Marah asked. “My niece told me she would be out here with him this afternoon.”
“Who knows,” Drew dismissed. “He’s probably as confused as the rest of the town. I mean, a Bauer barbecue on Memorial Day? It’s not the Fourth of July. There should be no grilling at this house.”
Danny snorted and turned as Michelle came into the room. “Hey, why’s everyone in here?” she asked, meeting Danny’s eyes quizzically.
He beamed. “Guess what I did?”
“That’s a dangerous question, babe,” she replied quickly, with a smile.
“Oh, ha, ha. Every female in this house thinks that she is just the cutest today,” he complained. “And only one of them is right.” He tickled Elena’s feet and made her squeal. Michelle gave him a puppy-eyed stare. “Well, okay, maybe two. Anyway, come on, guess what amazing parental duty I just performed.”
“Opened her a trust fund at the bank?” Michelle asked.
“No.”
“Installed an extra security fence to keep potential suitors away.”
“No. Come on, Michelle,” he said with an exasperated smile.
“Oh, for God’s sake, he changed her diaper,” Drew said, thoroughly annoyed. Thank God Dahlia hadn’t brought High-and-Mighty Grant, or she might have to raid the Bauer liquor cabinet and put herself out of her misery. She’d seen a bottle of vodka on the kitchen counter earlier. At least she’d have had quality stuff to drown her disgust in.
She looked around the dining room as Michelle cooed over Elena and congratulated Danny. Wasn’t that usually where a liquor cabinet was kept?
“Hey, Michelle,” she said as they all walked back to the kitchen. “Where’s your liquor cabinet?”
“Why, thinking of getting a little wasted this afternoon, Drew?” Michelle returned.
Drew sneered. “No, I wanted to know how much booze I could swipe to take back to Millennium,” she replied.
“Rick and Abby don’t have a liquor cabinet,” Michelle clarified. “Rick’s had problems with alcohol, and so has my dad.”
“Oh,” Drew replied. “I saw a bottle of vodka on the kitchen counter, and I wondered.”
Michelle’s forehead wrinkled. “I didn’t see anyone bring in any liquor.”
“Oh,” Drew replied.
“Hey, Michelle, I…” Andy began, bursting through the kitchen door. His face sobered when he saw Marah, and she shifted uncomfortably.
“I wanted to know where Rick kept the garden hose,” he said. “Dahlia’s shoes are a little dirty, and she’s freaking out…”
“I’ll go get it, I know where it is,” Marah offered, rushing from the room.
“I’ll help you,” Andy said suddenly.
Marah’s eyes colored with surprise. “Okay,” she said slowly.
Drew stood awkwardly in the kitchen with the Santoses for a moment, watching them cradle the baby, then excused herself to use the restroom. She chose the bathroom overlooking the backyard, and opened the window a crack, watching Marah struggle with the snake-like hose.
“Are you ever going to talk to me again, or what?” Andy asked.
Marah didn’t look up, but kept her eyes fixed on the hose. “I don’t know what to say to you.”
“This is killing me,” Andy admitted.
“I’m sorry,” Marah said sharply. She sighed, then turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. “I just don’t know what to do, you know?”
“Yeah,” Andy said absently, kicking at a pebble in the grass with the toe of his sneaker. “Do you regret it?”
“I don’t know,” Marah said. “It…I needed that, at the time. Everything was so intense, in Boston…I mean, talking to the family, and then finding out what happened to you in Boston…”
Andy swallowed and exhaled. “It helped me a lot, having you with me when I went back there, after everything that happened…it healed a lot…I don’t regret it.”
“I’m glad,” Marah said softly. “Listen…I mean, we have to be careful about this…Drew and Dahlia found out, and Ben can’t find out.”
“I know…um…what do you want me to do? Can I help you out?”
“No…I don’t know,” Marah admitted.
“Will you at least tell me what’s been going on with you lately?” Andy asked. “I know it’s not about this. I mean, the bruises and everything have been going on for a while…”
“It’s nothing,” Marah dismissed quickly.
“It’s definitely something. It’s not something with the Santoses, is it? You’re not in over your head?”
Marah hesitated, then sighed. “No. No, it’s nothing with anything like that. Trust me, okay?”
“You know that I trust you,” he said quietly, sincerely. “Marah…”
“I have to go,” she interrupted. “You’d better take Dahl that garden hose before she gets an ulcer.”
“Trish misses you at the farm,” Andy revealed. “You ought to come back sometime.”
“Sometime,” Marah said softly. An awkward silence reigned for a few moments, the kind that Drew hated and always filled with random comments and loud laughter. “I’d better go,” Marah repeated, hurrying off.
“Yeah,” Andy said when she’d gone. “Bye, Mar.”
Drew turned away from the window, and was met by and enfolded in quick, startling, familiar darkness.