CHAPTER NINE
“What do you want, Chloe?”
“Grandpa?” Parker asked, confused. The picture on his mommy’s phone had been of his grandma.
In Salem, Victor looked at his wife’s phone, confused. He then put it back to his ear. “Parker?”
“How long is she gonna be here?” Parker whined.
“Who?” Victor asked him, motioning for his wife to come across the room. He pushed the button on her phone to turn on the speaker.
“The baby,” he grumbled.
Confused, Maggie rose from her seat by the fire, closing her iPad cover. “Is that Parker?” Maggie whispered. Victor nodded.
“How long is she gonna live here?” Parker asked.
“She lives with your mother and Philip,” Victor reminded him.
“Forever?”
Maggie covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh as Victor answered, “yes.”
“When I go to Daddy’s, does she live there too?”
“No.”
“Good,” Parker smiled. His smile then faded, an idea occurring to him. “Does she live at your house too?”
“No, but she probably will come visit,” he pointed out.
“Do I have to share my room?”
“No, I think your Grandma is giving her a room of her own.”
“Is it near mine?”
“You’ll have to ask your grandma,” Victor smiled, wrapping an arm around his wife as he held the phone in the other hand.
“I don’t like her,” he sighed.
“You don’t like your Grandma?”
“I like Grandma. I don’t like Lane.”
The monitor between them, Chloe and Philip stood in Lane’s bedroom listening to Parker. They’d figured out that he’d somehow called his grandparents. Philip took his cell phone out of his pocket. He tried to call Maggie since his father was on the phone with Parker, but the call went straight to voicemail. He ended the call and looked down at the phone, confused about what to do next.
Chloe took the phone from his hands and scanned the contacts for Victor’s number. She then tapped the icon to send a text message and typed in ‘Parker locked in bedroom. Can u get him to come out?’ She then handed the phone back to Philip with a shrug and a smile.
Victor felt the phone vibrate him his pocket. Handing her cell phone to his wife, he pulled out his phone and looked at the screen before showing it to Maggie.
“Hi, Parker,” she greeted.
“Do I hafta to share a room with Lane?” Parker asked her.
“No, you don’t,” Maggie promised him.
“Is her room near mine?”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Can I live with you and Grandpa?”
“Won’t you miss your mommy?”
Parker was silent for a moment. “She can come stay at your house.”
“But what about Lane and Philip?”
“Philip can come too.”
“But Lane can’t take care of herself. She’s a baby.”
“Fine,” he grumbled, “she can come too, but she has to stay in her room.”
“Honey, does your mom know you are on the phone?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Are you lying to Grandma?”
“No.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“Why?” he asked.
“Well, I need to talk to her about where you are going to live. If you live here, then you’re going to have to change schools. And you won’t see your mom that often because she works in Chicago. I doubt you’ll see Philip at all.”
“But they can come visit,” Parker suggested.
“Maybe, but it’s a long drive,” Maggie reminded him. “Your grandpa is out of town a lot. Can you help Henderson and me take care of the house when he’s gone?”
“I have chores?” he asked. “I don’t hafta do chores when I spend the night.”
“But it’s different if you live here,” she told him.
“Can I think about it?” he asked.
“Of course. I know Lane would miss you if you left her.”
“She cries a lot.”
“You did too when you were a baby.”
“I did?”
“You did,” Maggie confirmed. “You were excited to be a big brother. You don’t love her anymore?”
“She’s okay,” he admitted.
Victor motioned for Maggie to give him back the phone.
“Parker, your Grandpa wants to talk to you again,” she told him, passing the phone to him.
Victor pushed the button to take it off speakerphone and started to walk out of the room. Maggie followed, but he turned around and put his hand out for her to stop. With a frown, Maggie propped her hands on her hips and watched him walk down the back hallway.
Picking Victor’s phone up from the table, she called Philip’s cell phone. He answered immediately.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “We can’t hear anything anymore.”
“Victor walked off. He’s talking to Parker,” Maggie told her stepson.
“What do you think he’s saying to him?”
“I have no idea,” she sighed.
“Philip!” Chloe smacked his arm, “Parker just ran down the hallway.”
“I think he came out,” Philip told Maggie as he and Chloe crept down the hallway to where they could hear Parker. He was in Lane’s bedroom, looking at her crib.
“I promise, Grandpa.”
“What going on?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know,” Philip told her.
“Shhh,” Chloe chided Philip, trying to hear what Parker was saying.
He turned around to them and held out the television remote. “You can turn it down.”
Chloe stared down at him, not sure what to say. Was she supposed to punish him? She felt like she was supposed to punish him.
He then held the cell phone up to Philip with his other hand, both arms now extended. “Your daddy’s on the phone.”
Philip took the phone and Chloe took the remote.
“Can I watch a movie with Lane?” he asked.
“She’s … uh … yeah, sure,” Chloe stammered.
“I’ll go pick one,” Parker stated excitedly running out of the room.
Philip looked between the two phones. He didn’t remember which was his father and which was Maggie. He pressed one to his ear. “Hello?”
“What is going on, Philip?” Maggie asked.
“I … I don’t know,” Philip answered.
Coming up behind his wife, Victor took the phone from her. She looked at him incredulously. “Everything should be fine now,” Victor spoke into the phone.
“Wait … what … Dad … how … what did you-”
Victor cut off his son’s ramblings. “Everything is fine now. Have a good night.”
Still processing things, Philip realized that his father had ended the call. He put both phones down and went to the living room.
Parker stood on the couch as Philip came into the room. “Sit with Mommy and Lane,” he told Philip. “We’re gonna watch Cap’n ‘merica!”
Philip looked from Parker to Chloe, who only shrugged. He settled down next to them as Parker started the movie.
“Is it too loud for her?” Parker asked, pointing to Lane.
“It’s okay,” Chloe assured her son as he pushed the volume buttons.
“What did my dad say to you?” Philip asked.
“Grandpa said it’s a Kiriakis secret.”
“But, I’m a Kiriakis,” Philip pointed out.
“Me too,” Chloe reminded her son.
Parker frowned. He felt like they were trying to trick him. “Movie’s starting,” he pointed to the television.
“Looks like this is our life for the foreseeable future,” Chloe informed Philip, shifting Lane in her arms.
“It’s pretty great, isn’t it?” he asked, stroking Lane’s head.
“Yeah, it is,” she agreed.
“Am I great too?” Parker asked.
“You’re the greatest,” Philip assured him, tugging Parker in his lap and tickling him.
THE END
