 |
As Time Goes By
You must remember this,
Moonlight and love songs
It's still the same
old story,
A fight for love and glory, A case of do or die. The world will always welcome lovers, As time goes by. |
“Cleo, honey, can you do me a favor?” Diana asked as I walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Taylor.
“Sure, anything…” I said. We both stole apple slices out of the cobbler she was making. She slapped at our hands.
“Shoo! You go take a shower and put some clothes on! I don’t care if it is your birthday, you don’t get to walk around half naked!” She said as she sprinkled the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top.
“Aww… but Mom, I thought today would be the perfect day to announce that I’m seriously considering life as a nudist.” Taylor whined. He playfully rolled the waistband of his boxers down.
“Jordan Taylor Hanson! I brought you into this world, I can take you out.” Diana said as she snapped a towel at Taylor’s bare legs.
“Ow!” Taylor said as the towel connected solidly with his calf. “That’s child abuse.”
“If only you were a child.” Diana said as she picked up her coffee mug and took a big sip. “I may just have to kick you out of the house now that you are twenty.”
“You didn’t kick Ike out,” Taylor said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Ike managed to keep his clothes on.” Diana said an evil little grin playing across her lips. Zac may look like his dad, but he got his sense of humor from his placid and sweet mother, with her wicked sense of irony and a dead on sarcastic wit. “Go take a shower and put on something warm.”
“Okay,” Taylor said leaning forward and kissing his mother on the forehead. He then walked around the island and placed a very passionate kiss on my lips. Surprisingly so, considering he was standing about 3 feet from his mother.
“Taylor...” I said pushing him away.
“Cleo, don’t worry, I’ve seen people kiss before.” Diana said taking a sip of her coffee.
“After all, a kiss is just a kiss.” Taylor said wrapping his hands around his coffee cup and slowly sauntered up the stairs sipping his coffee and quietly humming the song “As time goes by.” I watched as he turned to go up to the room he shared with Zac and Ike. I heard his voice yelling up at them. “There’d better still be some hot water…”
I sighed and turned to Diana who heaved a sigh all her own. “Sometimes…”
“Sometimes?” I asked.
“Sometimes, I think that it’s good that boy is so pretty.” Diana said smiling at me. “And that he’s very lucky to have found someone who can put up with his lunacy.”
“I hope I can put up with the craziness that is his life.” I said accepting the cup of coffee she handed me. “I mean, I didn’t do that great of a job on the last tour…”
“I think you did a great job…” Diana trailed off; her eyes had a faraway dreamy quality to them. Her eyes were extraordinary. They were the exact same color as Taylor’s a cool, icy, bluish gray. Her eyes were truly the windows to her soul; they danced with joy or shone with sadness, but they were never empty or expressionless. “It wasn’t the tour that got crazy, it was life. But that happens, especially with seven children. Life always seems to happen at an accelerated pace around here.”
“Well, I wish it hadn’t ended the way it did…” I said, watching the deep sadness in her eyes.
“Cleo, honey, it ended how it ended. And there is nothing we can do about it.” Diana said looking at me and smiling. She reached out and smoothed my crazy hair. “Oh, that reminds me, could you take Zac into physical therapy for me?”
“Sure, I have to go and learn how to torture him anyway.” I said sliding onto a stool. “I can’t wait until we leave for LA and I get to make the poor boy swear and sweat.”
“Well, I hope he isn’t really swearing.” Diana said sliding the cobbler into the oven. “He seems to be his old self again, doesn’t he?” She asked this question as a newly showered and fully dressed Zac bounded down the stairs. He was still skinny, skinnier than Taylor, but he had his puppy dog energy back. “Hey sweetie.” Diana said as he planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek. “Cleo is going to be taking you to therapy…”
“Ooh… car fun with Cleo!” Zac said slinging his arm around my neck, trying desperately to pull me off of the stool, but at half-strength I was easily stronger than him.
“Dang, Zac, you can’t even take her down anymore!” Isaac said as he wandered into the kitchen. He was buttoning his shirt up as he came down the stairs, I could see Emory’s wedding band hanging around his neck on a chain. He was so sweet and romantic. Both he and Emory kept their bands close to their hearts.
“Ike, this came from Emory this morning.” I said handing him the thick overnight package.
“Thanks!” He said tearing open the package, pulling out some pictures and swatches of fabrics.
“Cleo, my appointment is at 12:30, we should probably get going soon.” Zac said giving up trying to pull me off the stool and just draping his arms over my shoulders and leaning his body full-length against my back.
“Hey Mom, what are you making?” Ike said, putting the samples back in the envelope. He kissed his mother and put both his hands on her shoulders, rubbing the unseen, but inevitable knots out of her shoulders.
“Oh, Taylor wanted some cobbler and homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner.” She said leaning back against her oldest son, her rock. “So, that’s what we’re going to have.”
“Mac and cheese?” Isaac asked. “Very classy! Cleo, you are marrying the very definition of high-class. He could have anything he wants and he chooses homemade macaroni and cheese…”
Just then there was a whoop and a holler and the pounding of little feet. Through the doorway that led to the classroom came bounding the four youngest Hanson’s. “Hey, slow down! Why aren’t you in class?” Diana asked as Zoë, Mac, Avery and Jessica appeared in the doorway.
“Daddy said we could come and have a snack!” Zoë said jumping up and down. “Is the cobbler done?”
“No and that is for dinner anyway. You can have apple slices and peanut butter.” Diana offered herding her children towards the breakfast nook. Just as she got them all seated, I noticed movement on the steps. I turned to see Taylor skipping down the steps. He was so blonde and tall, his pectoral muscles moving seductively under his too tight t-shirt as he slid his fingers through his hair, a button up shirt tied loosely about his waist. “Taylor, if you don’t get a haircut, you’re going to look like your brother shaggy here soon.” Diana said smoothing his still wet hair.
“Hey, collagen boy, get off my fiancée.” Taylor said grabbing the coffee pot and refilling his enormous cup of black coffee.
“Taylor, be nice to your brother.” Diana said as she sliced another apple for the four young ones waiting for their mid-morning snack. I could see her face and the smirk lurking there. “He can’t help that God gave him an overabundance of lips.”
“Mom? Are you mocking me?” Zac asked.
“Yes, son.” Diana said opening the cupboard and grabbing the huge jar of peanut butter. She began to spread a generous amount of peanut butter on each slice of apple. I had eaten this snack countless times; Diana called it “brain food,” because of the protein in the peanut butter. “I thought you of all people would recognize sarcasm”
“Oh, I’m cut to the core.” Zac said staggering back, falling to the ground his hands clutching at his heart.
“Get up, you fool.” Taylor said nudging him with his toe. “We have to get going…”
“We? Where are “we” going?” Zac asked standing up. “Cleo and I are going into Tulsa, there was no mention of you coming along.”
“You’re going to Tulsa?” Ike said setting his coffee cup down. “Can I come along? I need to go and talk…”
“To the contractor?” Taylor and Zac asked at exactly the same moment.
“No, the decorator.” Isaac said trying to sound superior. “Emory found some pictures and swatches of some fabrics she wants to use on our couches…”
Zac interrupted with an enormous snoring sound. “Oh, sorry. Were you talking Ike?” Taylor was giggling into his coffee.
“Well, I’m going to drive Zac in, if you two jokers want to come along, you can.” I said standing up. “I get to go and learn how to torture Zac.”
“Ooh, can I come and watch?” Taylor asked.
“Sure,” I said.
“No,” Zac said.
“Zac, even like this, you are probably stronger than stick boy…” I said grabbing my car keys off the counter.
“Hey, watch what you’re saying!” Taylor said flexing, making his pectoral muscles bounce up and down. “You are now talking to twig boy…”
“Whatever.” I said. “Get your shoes on if your coming.”
“Cleo, will you stop at the store and pick up a few things for tonight’s dinner?” Diana asked as Taylor sat on the steps and pulled on his shoes.
“Umm… Sure.” I said my eyes moving slowly over Taylor and Zac. Zac’s recovery had been slow, but almost complete. He still got tired after only about 45 minutes of drumming. So now, he went to physical therapy 5 days a week to build up his strength and endurance. Zac was now as tall as Taylor and about 20 pounds lighter. His illness had softened a lot of his rough movements and settled down his more rambunctious tendencies. Now, Taylor and Zac looked like twins almost. Thad and I had looked exactly alike except I had always had long hair. I smiled as I thought about the hundreds of friendly arguments Thad and I had each day. Isaac, Taylor and Zac were the best of brothers. Triplets born 5 years apart.
“Cleo, don’t let those boys bully you.” Diana said handing me a list and a credit card. “I know they have a tendency to beat you up at grocery stores.”
| feedback | > |