Demon

Gabe

“Hey, Jon!” I’m glad to see he’s here to help us set up the Christmas Eve luminarias. Natalie comes running over to the front door, and as soon as he gets in she gives him a smile and takes his hand. I know what she’s doing, trying to touch him every chance she gets. I can see it helping him.

He gives her a little smile too, just a glimmer of what his big bright smile used to be. He lets her lead him inside to where we have all the cookies set up on the kitchen table.

Timothy is waiting there. He isn’t holding his notebook and taking notes, but he might as well be. He’s ready to watch everything, and remember stuff to write down later. I’ve started to get used to the fact that to him, this is all one giant experiment, and he is gathering data to analyze later. It’s all about proving a hypothesis, or reaching a conclusion, or finding the next thing to investigate. The world is his experiment. He’s a lot more complicated than I ever realized before, back when I used to only hang around with Jonathan. Jon always just said Timothy was a weirdo, and so I never took the time to know him before. Now I realize that Jonathan was right, because yes, Timothy is very weird, and so is my sister. But not at all in the way that Jon meant.

I’m glad that I understand what Natalie and Timothy are doing, but I have started to feel like I really miss the old Jonathan. I miss my best friend. He is so different now. Not at all the exciting guy that could always find some thrilling new activity for us. Now, he mostly just waits for Natalie to decide what we should all do together.

Well, as long as I’ve got this cast on, I really couldn’t play with Jon the way we used to, anyway. The doctor gave me a walking boot to put over my cast, so that I can get around easier, but I’m still supposed to try to stay off my foot if I can. So I still use my crutches for walking sometimes, and sometimes I hobble around with the walking boot. Natalie told me that Angel says the bone is healing well and that by the time the cast comes off at the end of next month it should be all better.

Maybe by that time Jon will be all better too? And we can get back to having fun while we play?

For now though, it’s pretty much all about the Jonathan Project. Natalie touches Jonathan, Angel tells her how his soul is doing, Timothy takes notes, and all the Guardians look for Demon.

What a freaking weird situation.

Stefanie

Brad and I put our stuff down, while Jonathan goes over with the kids to look at the table where they’ve got a bunch of food set up, including a whole ton of cookies. “Wow, Brenda, looks like you were busy today!”

She smiles. “Yep. Natalie decided that we should become a Christmas cookie factory today.”

I go over and stand with Jonathan, who is staring at the cookie display. I lean down and murmur to him, “Go ahead, but just one. I don’t want you to spoil your appetite for dinner.” He grabs a cookie, Natalie smiling by his side.

I hear the front door opening, and Ron greeting Laura’s husband who has just arrived. “Hey Mike,” Ron says. “Come on in.”

Once Michael gets in, Ron tells us, “Okay, you all remember the drill! Let’s get those luminarias set up before dinner.”

We all head back to the front. Last year, most of us had never heard of luminarias before, but now that I know how pretty it’s going to be, I’m looking forward to seeing them again.

Same as last year, Ron gets us all set up into teams. The adults prepare the paper lunch sacks, folding down the top so they stay open. He gives the kids buckets of sand, to put a bit in the bottom of each bag. Gabe goes around and puts a candle into each bag, then finally Ron goes through and lights all the candles.

I have this sudden memory of last year, Timothy having an outburst when he didn’t like something Jonathan was doing. This year, though, the kids all seem to be getting along together just great. They are quietly and efficiently fulfilling their duties. Jonathan is scooping sand into the bags, seeming perfectly content to be participating. I keep seeing Natalie right next to him. It’s very smooth and efficient.

When we get everything set up and lit, after a couple minutes of just stopping to admire how pretty the luminarias look, glowing golden and lining the yard, we head inside for our potluck.

Brad and I have decided to go ahead and share our news with our friends tonight. I’m into the second trimester, and the doctor at my last appointment said everything looks fine. I know I’m starting to show, so there isn’t much point in trying to hide it from our friends. I think this will be a good night to tell them.

We told Jonathan yesterday. I don’t think it has really sunk in yet for him. He pretty much just smiled and said “Okay” when we explained that we are going to have a baby, probably at the end of May or beginning of June. I’m not sure what kind of reaction I was expecting from him, but at least it wasn’t negative. I’m sure it will seem more real to him the closer it gets, like when I am really starting to show and I can let him feel the baby moving.

We’ve all gotten our plates and are scattered around the room. The kids are all sitting on the floor eating together, and the rest of us have seats at the table or on the couch. Everyone is chatting together about everything going on in our lives. Brad and I look at each other, asking silently if it’s time to share our news.

Before I get the chance, though, Ron says, raising his voice slightly, “Well, we have some news!”

Laura

I already know what he’s going to say, of course. Brenda told me a couple of days ago. She would never allow him to just spring it on me. It isn’t a surprise at all, after having spent the last year watching them try to figure out what they are doing and where they are living. I’m trying hard to be happy for them. And of course, Brenda has assured me over and over that we are still going to see each other all the time. If not for our own sakes, we obviously have to make sure that Timothy and Natalie get to continue their close friendship. So we figure we’ll all still have dinner together at least once a week, and drive the kids around on weekends to play with each other.

Ron continues, “You all know that Brenda and I have been doing this crazy thing where we are going back and forth between our houses all the time. But we figure, now that we’re getting re-married, that we really need to just pick one. So we’ve decided that we’re going to stay here, in this house. We’ll fix up her condo and rent it out for at least a while.”

Michael pauses, fork halfway to his mouth, and looks over at me. I hadn’t told him. I nod at him and shrug. He knows how close I am to Brenda. “Well,” he says, “that’s going to be a real change.”

I glance over at Timothy, but as I had figured, he doesn’t look surprised at the news. Obviously Natalie would have already told him, after her parents told her what they had decided. There’s no way Natalie would let him be surprised by something like that either.

“That’s great,” Brad says, looking over at Stefanie and smiling. “I’m glad to hear you’ll be here all the time. Cool, right Jonathan?”

Jonathan, sitting right next to Natalie, nods. “Yes,” he says, “that will be nice.” Natalie smiles at him and puts her arm around his shoulders, giving him a brief hug. Timothy, on Natalie’s other side, leans forward slightly like he’s trying to get a better look at Jonathan.

I’ve wondered about how different the kids all seem with each other lately. They had all that trouble a couple of weeks ago, where they had a fight at the library, then Jonathan and Gabe both got hurt on the school playground. But ever since then, the four of them seem really inseparable. It feels a bit strange, since I know Timothy didn’t really like Jonathan before. Oh well, I guess relationships with kids shift around, as they grow and mature and change. It’s probably a good thing that Timothy and Jonathan seem to be getting friendlier, since now with Brenda living here instead of at her house, the kids will all probably be with each other even more often.