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Chapter Thirteen – Kevin

I stood there looking at Addy with a smile. She didn’t respond.

I really did want to make amends. From the time I had been released from the hospital until now, I had become extremely goal-oriented. I felt like the old me; it was a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time. Taking the advice of my lawyer, I had enrolled in an outpatient alcohol recovery program. Every two weeks I met with a group in Lexington. It was a humbling experience. It seemed like a strange turn of events; at one point in my life, I had intervened for AJ’s alcoholism and now I had gone down the same path. Without realizing it, drinking had become a big part of my life in the past year. Peeling back the layers to find out the reasons had helped me come to terms that my marriage had been unraveling for far longer than I had realized. Somewhere along the way, Kristin and I had fallen out of love with each other and I knew now that getting back together for the sake of Mason was not the right answer.

“Can we start over?” I asked again.

She turned around and grabbed her mug from the microwave.

“Sure,” she said with her back to me.

I didn’t want to press my luck any farther. Instead I turned to Dr. Selinski.

“I’ll be seeing you both around,” I said. He shook my hand.

“Let us know if you need anything,” he said warmly.

I opened the door and slipped back outside. It was a cold day, but for some reason I didn’t mind walking. I had left my car parked around the back of the house; both of my brothers were driving moving vans in to help me get settled. All in all I was in a fairly good mood and ready to focus on getting the house ready. If all went according to plan, I’d be seeing Mason really soon.

My boost of confidence had started days ago, but had hit a high this morning. Before I left to see the good doctor and his daughter, Robert McShaw had called my cell phone.

“You move fast,” he said approvingly. “I received character references from your mother, brothers and cousin last week and the fax machine had been going nonstop all morning. I just received faxed letters from a Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, and AJ McLean.”

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Brian had called right before he left on the cruise. He had called me at what I had begun to refer to as my “bad time.” I was packing up Mason’s toys and each one contained its own little memory. Half of the toys were going to Kristin in LA and the other half I was bringing with me to Sadieville. I had asked Brian if he could ask the other guys if they could write character references. I never expected they would squeeze in time on the cruise to get them faxed over so quickly.

“Wonderful,” I said happily.

“And I have more good news,” Robert said.

“What?”

“Kristin’s agreed to let Mason come for Christmas. She’d like you to fly him back out January 2.”

“Really?”

I had expected a huge battle about Christmas. It wasn’t like she still lived in Lexington. With me asking for Christmas, I meant all of Christmas.

“Well, her lawyer didn’t go into details, but I did some rooting around and found out that she was hired to do some sort of filming. Whatever she’s doing is going to take her up to Canada until New Year’s.”

I knew I had hit a turning point; it didn’t really matter why she didn’t want him. All that mattered was I wanted him.

“Now that we have all of the letters and our bases covered, I think we’ll be ready to start figuring out a custody schedule. Notwithstanding any hiccups along the way, your divorce might very well be finalized by the end of February.”

I took a deep breath. “Thanks Robert.”

By the time that I walked up to the old blue and white clapboard farmhouse, two moving vans were pulled in the front yard. Jerald and Tim were sitting in the back of one of the trucks, blowing on their hands.

“Are you crazy?” Jerald said as I strolled up. “You’re walking around like it’s ninety degrees out!”

“We’re freezing!” Tim added.

“Wimps,” I said with a laugh. “Let’s get going then.”

Kristin had decorated our home in Lexington. I had left most of the furniture for her to do with what she pleased. Instead, I had gotten stuff that fit my taste. Gone were the rooms of leather; in its place was comfortable pieces trimmed in natural wood.

The house could not have come on the market at a better time. It was a cheerful three-bedroom, one bath house with a large kitchen and living room. The moment I walked through it I couldn’t help but feel that it was a family home. When it came to a great place to raise Mason, a family home was what I needed. I hoped the judge would take that into consideration when comparing this beautiful house with Kristin’s small, swank apartment.

“Can you tell me again why you’re going to live in the middle of nowhere?” Tim said as I passed him on the porch as we began transferring boxes.

“It seems like the middle of nowhere, but I’m not far from Lexington,” I explained.

“There’s only 200 people here,” Tim said. “I sneezed on my way here and I missed Main Street entirely.”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t care if there were no other people here; once Mason gets here I’m good.”

“But, what about companionship?” Jerald said.

“Mason will be my companion,” I explained. “When Kristin has him, I’m going to stay busy. I’ve been thinking I might get back with the guys, depending on the scheduling. This old farm house has a huge basement that would make an awesome studio.”

Jerald shook his head. “I don’t mean companionship as in a good buddy. I mean companionship,” he emphasized.

I looked at him like he was crazy.

“The last thing I want is that type of companionship,” I said forcefully. “I’m not going through this again.”

“It’s not like you’re the only person that got divorced,” Jerald continued. “You were with Kristin for eighteen years. That’s better than most people will ever do. That doesn’t mean you have to turn into a monk. You’ll be single. Time to play, buddy.”

I turned to look at Tim. He was the one that married Kristin and I; I had a feeling that as a minister, he didn’t agree with Jerald’s logic.

“All I want is for you to be happy,” Tim said.

I shook my head. They just didn’t understand.

“You need some help?”

All three of us turned. My eyes widened in surprise. Addy was bundled up in head to toe white. She looked like a marshmallow.

“Help?”

“Dad thought it would be nice if I came over and help,” she said. She looked like she didn’t totally agree with her dad’s sentiments. In fact, she looked uncomfortable.

I opened my mouth to assure her we were fine, but Jerald stepped forward.

“We’d love your help,” he said enthusiastically. “Kevin’s a horrible organizer. I think some of it could use a woman’s eye.”

I frowned. I was a perfectionist; organizing was my life. What the hell was he playing at?

“Yeah,” Tim piped up. “We have most of the boxes and stuff in, but maybe you can help unpack.”

I eyed both of my brothers suspiciously; as Addy walked past them into the house, they grinned at each other.

“What the hell?” I whispered loudly.

Tim looked at me innocently. Jerald just laughed.

“Now I see why you wanted to move here,” Jerald said quietly. He craned his neck to look into the house. Addy was bending over, tearing the tape of a box. Her white snow pants molded her rear end perfectly. Feeling a rush of protectiveness, I smacked him on the back of the head.

“Knock it off and let’s get the last of the furniture in,” I grumbled.

Tim and Jerald laughed, scrambling back to the van.

It was hard being the mature brother, even if I was the baby.