Changes
Written by Isa Bedigian
Charlie announces he's moving out of the Salinger house.
Sarah showed up at the Salinger house around ten am Monday morning. Charlie
was long gone, and she expected to find Claudia watching tv with Owen, but
when she came through the gate to the backyard, she saw Griffin playing in the
sandbox Charlie built with Owen.
"Hey," she knelt down on the grass next to them. "What's up?"
"We're building a sand city!" Owen announced proudly.
"Julia's inside, asleep. I didn't wanna wake her." Griffin molded a pile
of sand into a rectangle shape. "Who's this Keith guy?"
"Keith as in Daphne's Keith?"
"I guess so." he shrugged. "He took her to the doctor's or something."
"Charlie didn't go?"
He shrugged again. "He Owe, you keep working on this, I gotta talk to Sarah
for a second, k?"
"Okay."
Griffin stood up and walked over to the house. Sarah followed.
"Can you watch over Owen for me for awhile?"
"Griffin, that's basically why I'm here. It's my job."
"Great, thanks. I was thinking I'd go look at this apartment I found. It's
the attic of this beautiful old house - won't Jule love that?"
"Probably."
"I'll bring back pictures for her." he went back over to Owen. "Hey buddy,
I dotta go run some errands, so I'll see you later okay?"
"Okay."
When Griffin left, Sarah kicked her sandals off and sat on the edge of the
sandbox, resting her feet in the sand as she and Owen "worked". Around one
pm, Julia showed up inside the screen door.
"What time is it?"
Sarah checked her watch. "One. You feeling all right? You slept pretty
late."
"I'm pregnant." she said it as though it were an automatic excuse to be
lazy. She opened the screen door and came outside. "What're you doin Owe?"
"Making a sand city."
"That sounds like fun." she turned to Sarah. "Where's Griffin?"
"Work, I guess."
"He went to--"
"Owen," Sarah began, trying to shut him up. "How about if we go inside and
have lunch?"
"But we're working."
"We'll come back out when we're done."
He agreed and ran ahead of them into the house. The girls hung back, waiting
so that they could talk without an audience. Julia sighed at the way he took
off.
"Not ready for parenthood yet?"
"This book I got says that you're never 'ready' because women are supposedly
born ready to be mothers. The author called it a gift from God."
"And how well have you recieved it?"
Julia snorted. "The morning sickness, I could do without. The back pain
too. As for everything else, I'm okay. I've just really been thinking about
stuff lately. My mom & how she was and you know what I realized?
"What?"
"She would've loved this, Sarah. She would have wanted to sit with me and
touch my stomach & discuss names. She used to sit and talk with me about
pregnancy and the way she felt when each one of us was born. When she was
pregnant with Owen, we used to sit on the couch all night talking and she'd
let me feel him kicking her stomach."
"That must have been amazing."
"It was," she turned back to the house.
"Jule?"
"Hmmm?"
"You're really lucky, you know?"
She giggled. "Yeah, I am."
"I didn't mean now. I mean, you are, but I meant before. You and your mom,
you guys talked and she was there for you and she would talk with you about
guy stuff. Kissing, and sex, I never talked to anyone about that. Neither of
my moms. Robin wasn't around, and my mom just wasn't the type of person you
could talk about things with. So, you know, I envy that you had that."
"You can still have it Sarah. With Robin. She is your mother, you know?
And just because she has Isabel doesn't mean she doesn't want to be a big part
of your life. She wouldn't have contacted you if she didn't want to be
involved."
"I don't know Jule. We've missed alot of time and--"
"Stop! Come on, stop! I've gotta get up to bed. Don't do that, the kids
might be around!"
The girls stared at each other. "What was that?" Julia asked.
A loud giggle floated through the screen door.
Their eyes met again. "Daphne's back."
They went into the house and hung back in the kitchen, watching the couple
grope each other as they went upstairs. The laughing was turning into
moaning. Julia went over to the stairs, but by the time she got there she
could see them slamming the door to Daphne's room.
"What are they doing?" Sarah asked. Owen was behind her, eating Cherios
right out of the box. Julia gave Sarah a Look. "Okay, so I know what they're
doing, but I meant, why are they doing it?"
"Lust?"
She shuddered.
"God, and in our house!"
"Well, Charlie did tell her she could have him over."
"Yeah, for a visit, not some cheap thrill in Claudia's old bed!" she rolled
her eyes. "God, Charlie can really pick 'em."
The phone rang and Sarah went into the kitchen to answer it. Julia shook
her head and followed her.
"Hi Charlie. Yeah, she's back. Uh-huh. No, I don't know where Claudia is,
I thought she--oh, okay. I'll check on her. Sure. See you soon then. Bye."
she hung up.
"That was Charlie?"
"He said that he's coming by with Bailey and Kirsten to tell us something.
He also said that Claudia is in bed with cramps so I'm gonna go check on her."
"You're gonna go past that door??"
"I don't have a choice." she headed for the stairs.
"What is it Charlie?" Claudia moaned. She'd had Bailey carry her down the
stairs since she didn't feel all that good. She was wearing a robe and lying
under three blankets, one of which she shared with Julia who was sitting next
to her.
"Kirsten and I have some news."
"Well, would you get on with it already?" Bailey asked. "I gotta get back
to work."
"And I'm dying here," Claudia added.
"I guess I'll just spit it out then. Kirsten and I found this great
apartment today. It's just a few blocks from here, and it's perfect for us.
I'm gonna be moving."
"When?" Julia asked. She liked the idea of being the woman of the house,
wearing her mother's shoes. It would feel nice.
"Next week. Daphne's going to stay here, and then when the baby's born,
she'll move out, and this place is yours."
"Whose?" Claudia wondered.
"Julia's. And Griffin's, if they want it."
"Charlie, I, of course we want it."
"Then it's all settled. I--"
"What about Owen?" Claudia piped up. "I mean, he belongs here with us, but
what about him? He adores you Charlie."
"I'll be around alot Claud. I'm just moving, I'm not leaving."
She frowned. "It's the same thing, isn't it?"
"No, it's not." Sarah told them. "My mom, my birth mom, left. Just took
off & never saw me for sixteen years. That's leaving. When you go & you
don't come back."
Everyone was quiet for a minute, then they all just sort of drifted off
without really saying anything. Claudia & Julia went up to bed and Bailey
gave Sarah a kiss before leaving for the restaurant. Kirsten went shopping
for baby clothes, and Charlie headed upstairs to talk to Daphne. He knocked
first.
"Oh shit!" she whispered. Keith was next to her in bed, naked. "Get in the
closet!" he handed her a robe off the floor & ran into the closet. She
reached down with her hand & swept his clothes under the bed. She flicked the
TV on after getting dressed. "Come in."
He entered & closed the door. "Hi,"
"Hi," she kept her eyes on the TV.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"How do you feel about my moving out?"
"You're moving out? How does this effect me?"
"That's what I want to know. I won't be that far away, and I'll be around
alot, especially until the baby is born."
"So why should I care? Although it might be a little weird staying here
with your siblings and not you."
"So we're okay?"
"I am." she averted her eyes back to the television.
"Is this really that interesting?"
"Are you kidding? It's Days of Our Lives. Marlena just got kidnapped again
by Stefano......."
Bailey peeked outside the front door & found what he was looking for. Julia
was sitting on the swing.
"This old thing has quite a past huh?"
"Yeah, it does. It's kinda odd that it's out front here now, huh?"
"I don't think so. It looks good, it looks new." he sighed and sat next to
her. "Everything's changing here Jule."
"That's life. That's our life."
"It's weird. Him moving out."
"He's moved out before."
"I know, but this is different. He's like, starting his own life, with
Kirsten and the baby."
"He's a grown up now Bailey. We all are."
"Do you want it Jule?"
"What?"
"The house."
"Why would you ask me that?"
"I just gotta be sure. Because if you don't want it, you have to tell me."
"Why, you want it if I don't?"
"It's Dad's house Jule. One of us has to live here."
"I want it Bay. I was sitting out here thinking. When Mom & Dad moved
here, she must have sat out back on this swing and thought, 'This is where I'm
gonna raise my family.' And when I sit here now, and I look out at the steps,
and the street, I think the same thing."
"You're planning on having a family?" his eyes were a bit wide.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know, you & Griffin were having all those problems, and then
there's the whole........you...thing."
"What me thing?"
"I guess I just never saw you as the mothering type."
"Get used to the idea Bay. It's only around six or seven months away."
"What?"
"Griffin & I. We're gonna......a baby."
"You're kidding."
"Nope. I've got the morning sickness to prove it. I haven't eaten in days
& I've given up coffee."
"Must be hard."
"I'm surviving."
"You're really doing this. You're really pregnant?"
"Yep."
"Congratulations." he gave her a hug.
"Thanks. I'll admit, I was surprised by it, too." she glanced upward for a
second. "But I figure there must be a reason for it."
"You buy into all that?"
She smiled. "Sometimes I do."
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