Page 38 of Rock the Cradle of Love
“There’s a Verizon store in Milaca. It’s a twenty minute drive, but I don’t think we’re going to have time for a field trip, Taylor,” Suzan says.
“You don’t understand—I need a working phone. I don’t know Noah’s number. I have to call him. He… I… We…” Taylor scrapes a hand through his hair, hoping his patheticness will translate into how important this is.
A sympathetic expression crosses her face and the sound of car doors thump from outside.
“If you don’t want anyone else in this family to see you in the buff, I suggest you go get dressed,” Gary says, rising.
“I really don’t care who sees me naked.” And he really doesn’t. He’ll attend the funeral in his birthday suit if he has to. Uncle Bud would probably get a laugh out of it.
“You might not, but they will. The Verizon store won’t open until at least ten and they won’t let you in without clothes, so go on,” says Gary.
All of Taylor’s bravado leaves him in a whoosh of his breath. He hightails it back up the stairs and gets his shower. He may as well. He’s got time to kill and he could use the time to get himself under control.
* * *
By the time he’s done and dressed and has returned to the kitchen for the promised coffee and Nutella, the rest of the family, including more than a dozen kids now, has descended on Suzan and Gary’s homestead. Most of the older kids are in the den, playing video games and filling the house with chatter and laughter. The younger set are split evenly between the den and the kitchen, either clinging to their respective mothers or scarfing down food.
His own mother looks tired, and red rims her eyes, but she looks over all her grandkids with a soft smile. His dad sticks close, but not too close. Taylor leans over to kiss her forehead. “Hi Mom.”
“Hi, sweetheart. You look much better than you did last night.”
He nods. He mostly feels better too. Hangover is gone. He’s gotten enough sleep. But the whole phone thing is making his stomach churn for a whole different reason. Despite that, he’s starving and takes his place behind a plate of pancakes covered in Nutella and raspberry preserves that can only be his. Suzan knows him so well. Spoils him when he’s home, God bless her.
“You’re in charge of the kids,” says Cherie, dropping her three-year-old into Taylor’s lap. Kenny pokes his finger into Taylor’s pancake and then sticks it into his mouth to lick off the Nutella.
Taylor’s gaze scans the microwave clock. “I’ve gotta run an errand and then I’m all yours.”
“What’s more important than you’re family right now, Taylor?” she asks. She’s the sister he gets along with least. She’s the youngest, he’s the oldest. He’d blame the ten-year age difference, but he gets along just fine with Jordan, who’s less than a year older than Cherie.
The temptation to go off on her sparks in his veins, but he won’t cause a scene in front of Mom.
“Nothing is more important than my family—” Which absolutely includes Noah and Emma. “—which is why I need to run an errand. I have responsibilities and obligations to people outside of Foley, Minnesota, you know.”
Cherie huffs and makes a face, but says nothing.
“Leave him alone,” Suze says, hip-checking Cherie. “He dropped everything to get here.”
Thank you, Suze.Taylor owes her. He’ll do something nice for the kids or set up a long weekend for her and Gary. For now, he scarfs down his breakfast.
He herds all the kids outside and matches up the teenagers with the infants and toddlers. Minutes slowly tick by until the magical time arrives for him to leave. After instructing the older kids on holding down the fort until he returns, he goes in search of someone’s car and car keys.
Baby Matty is screaming his fool head off. His whole head is red and tears stream down pudgy his face.
“Take my car and please, please, please take him with you,” Cameron begs, slapping the keys to their mini-van into Taylor’s hands. “Car seat, diaper bag, and stroller are all in the car. He’ll fall asleep and stay asleep. Please, Taylor, I’m begging you.”
“Fine, but you have to watch the rest of them until I get back.”
“Deal.”
Taylor takes a howling Matty from his brother and hustles to the correct vehicle.
Matty goes quiet once strapped into his car seat and having his pacifier plugged into his mouth. Taylor climbs in the driver’s seat, clicks the seatbelt on, and gets the car pointed in the right direction.
Okay, he’s got an hour until he can get Noah on the line. Twenty minutes or so to reach Milaca and the Verizon store. Another half hour or so to get his data retrieved and re-downloaded to a new phone.
He doesn’t want to have an in depth conversation until they’re face to face. Noah had kicked him out and Taylor sorta gets why now, but instead of standing his ground and hashing out and resolving the problem, they’re in this limbo that’s weighing heavily on Taylor’s shoulders.
Green growing things line both sides of the highway and Taylor takes a moment to enjoy the beauty of fields at various stages of maturity. Farming was his childhood. He doesn’t miss it per se, but he appreciates the reminder of the struggles he knows intimately that farmers across the country live with, day in and day out, in trying to feed the nation and the world.
