Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 9

really small for him. That was OK right?" Sean smiled. Jase grew up with four siblings, three of them younger, so taking care of kids was a second nature to him. Jase was one of the few people who had been able to hold Cody as an infant without him fussing. Even after a year of not seeing each other, he was still Uncle Jase.
    "Yeah, that's perfect."
    "It's crazy to hear him talking by the way. He's gotten so big. When I was here last, he had just figured out sitting up, you know? And now, he's all over the place." Without asking, Jase pulled a mug from the cabinet, poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of Sean. "Milk and sugar?" He asked.
    "Please."
    CHAPTER 3
    They made it through the afternoon, teaming up, and taking turns with Cody. Because Jase was there, and Cody was enamored with his new playmate, he and Cody played together all afternoon. Cody refused to go down for his afternoon nap, which made for one cranky toddler later on. When Cody couldn't keep his eyes open after dinner, they put him in his PJ's, read him a story, Cody's current favorite " Goodnight Moon ," and put him to bed early. He was out like a light within minutes.
    By eight o'clock, Jase and Sean were sitting side by side on the worn leather couch in the family room, beers in hand, polishing off mac & cheese with cut up hot dogs, which was about the extent of Jase's cooking prowess. That, and there wasn't anything else to make. He was definitely going to have to take Sean food shopping tomorrow.
    When they finished, they sat in silence for a minute. Tag turned to face Jase. Finally, Jase thought. Tag had been avoiding this for hours, and it had been killing Jase to wait to find out what was going on, especially after watching his friend fall apart in his arms this morning. Tag had always been solid. Tag was the quiet, steady one. Seeing Tag hurting like he was now was... well it was fucking with his whole universe. Tag opened his mouth, and then closed it, as if he wasn't sure how to begin.
    "Tag. Talk to me, tell me what happened."
    "Well, she's been having some trouble getting cast in shows here. She's been on unemployment for the past 3 months, no upcoming gigs, and was going nuts."
    Frustrating yes, but not unheard of for a fledgling performer trying to break into the business. Jase rolled his eyes. Half his classmates were in similar situations. "Day job?" He asked.
    Tag shook his head no in response. "I tried to talk her into one, but she kept making excuses. I tried to convince her that even something part time would be good for her, but she flat out refused. About a month ago she started talking about taking a trip up to visit Emma in New York. Things have been pretty tense between us, and I thought maybe it would be good for her, you know? To have a vacation. So, she left over a week ago for New York to visit Thom and Emma. I'm on summer break until band practice starts in August, so it was a good time for her to go, and not have to worry about getting a sitter for Cody."
    "So she went to New York, and what?"
    "Apparently Em talked her into auditioning for a few things while she was there, and she introduced her to her agent. Which I guess went well. She was supposed to take the train back and be home yesterday."
    "But she didn't come home?"
    Sean shook his head. "Instead, last night she called me, still in the city, and drunk off her ass. It was around dinner time. She was yelling, and slurring her words, and she said all kinds of horrible things about Cody. She called Cody a little brat. She said she was leaving, that she hated her parents, my parents, hated Frederick, and said that I was a horrible fiancée. She said she wasn't the housewife type, and that her career was never going to take off unless she got out now. Jase, she said she never even wanted him."
    The hurt on Tag's face was obvious. Jase looked down at the floor, wishing he could hit something. What mother says that? He shook his head, incredulous, he looked back at Tag.
    Sean continued, "I told her to call back when she was sober, and hung up on her." Sean grimaced. "We've been fighting a lot, but never like that."
    "How long?" Jase asked.
    "Have we been fighting?" Sean leaned back as he replied, his brow wrinkling, "Since the beginning it seems like. Looking back on it, the whole thing was a mess. She got pregnant, and by the time she realized, it was too late to do anything but have it."
    "I remember. I always thought she knew and held off on telling you