She and Tim drove to the ball field with an excited Nick in the back seat. He kept talking to her about baseball. Her knowledge was basic - hit the ball, run around the bases, three outs. She learned Nick like the outfield best, because he was good at catching flies.
Tim said, "You sound like a frog."
Julie looked over to see the grin on Tim's face while Nick whined. "Not bugs, fly balls."
Tim pretended to be surprised. "Oh, fly balls."
Without thinking Julie reached over and lightly slapped his arm.
Tim chuckled and reached out and grabbed her hand and held it. She liked the feel of her hand in his. Unfortunately, he dropped it, so he could turn into the parking lot for the ball field.
Nick jumped out to run to be with his friends. She and Tim joined the others, who arrived behind them and walked to the stands. When Nick pointed up to her, she waved. His smile lit up.
Tim asked, "Are you flirting?"
Julie rolled her eyes. "I don't flirt."
Tim laughed just as the game started. Julie was never one to follow sports, but she watched Nick and cheered for him. He caught a fly ball for an out. He also hit the ball twice. One time he scored a run. Meanwhile, Tim leaned in and whispered what was happening.
The whispering was her favorite part, Tim leaned so close she could smell his aftershave. She didn't think they'd have a chance to kiss over the weekend.
Thankfully, the game wasn't long and Nick was more excited than before, because his team won. He jumped into Tim's arms who held him, as he congratulated him. Once Tim let him down, Nick hugged Julie before getting hugs from both his parents.
Clare who had gone off to be with friends joined up and insisted on riding with Tim on the way home. Nick squabbled with her, but Dr. Burke told Nick to get in his car. Nick obeyed with a pout. Julie knew her father would have yelled and made a scene, while Tim's father just commanded.
They returned from the game and Mrs. Burke served lunch. Their lunch had a different feel from meals with her family. There was a lot of laughing and even the adults joined in. When did she last hear her father laugh? There was also cooperation. Everyone in the family helped clear the table and when Dr. Burke needed more water, he stood up to get it himself. Again Julie couldn't imagine her father ever helping himself. He sat and barked at her mother or even Julie to fetch whatever he needed and her younger brothers were just like him.
Nick complained. "Are we going to camp?"
Mrs. Burke said, "It's too cold to swim. Tomorrow will be warmer."
Nick pouted and Tim instantly tried to cheer him up. "We can play a game."
Nick's face lit up. "Julie too?"
He and Tim both looked at her. Unsure of a game, she said, "Only if I get to choose."
Nick smiled and Clare wanted to join them.
Dr. Burke turned to Tim. "Mum and I thought we'd take advantage of having you home and go out tonight."
Before Tim could answer, Clare said, "Do we get pizza?"
Mrs. Burke smiled. "If that's what you want."
Julie felt like she had stepped into the Twilight Zone - parents going on dates and kids playing together.
Nick dragged her to the cabinet under the television. There was a selection of board games. She was the popular ones like Monopoly, Life, Sorry, Clue and Risk. There were some she had never heard of like Guess Who, Bed Bugs and even one called Anti Monopoly.
"How about Sorry?"
"You might be Sorry." Tim joked.
Julie discovered the Burke children were very competitive. They ganged up on whoever was in the lead. She lost count of the times Nick smiled his sweet smile and exclaimed, "Sorry!" She didn't think he was sorry at all. Tim won while his brother and sister whined. "Again!"
Someone suggested Monopoly and Julie stood up. "Count me out. I think I'll read."
She was reading a romance book by one of her favorite authors. When she didn't have a new book, she read one of her books again. As she read, she heard complaints about the game. Clare was upset Tim had both Boardwalk and Park Place, especially since Nick had traded Park Place in a deal Clare said wasn't fair.
Eventually their game ended and Tim sat next to her. He wasn't too close and without warning Nick wedged himself between them. Tim looked over Nick's head and frowned. Julie smiled.
When Julie went to the bathroom, she peeked into the room Nick said was Tim's. It wasn't large. There was a desk. It looked like the kind that came in a box and had to be assembled. Along with the single bed, there was a filing cabinet. Julie imagined it had important documents in neatly labeled Pendaflex files.
She didn't linger feeling like she was snooping. The door to the parent's room was open. It was neat with a nice quilt on the queen-sized bed. She quickly moved on as her eyes caught pictures on top of the piano.
The first one she studied was a wedding picture. Tim stood next to the groom. He was older than Nick and smiling. The couple was smiling too. There were pictures of the family as it grew and added two babies. She stared for a long time at a picture from when Clare was a newborn. Mrs. Burke was smiling looking at the camera. Dr. Burke had his hand on his daughter's head but his eyes were on his wife. She studied his expression and saw love.
Love was everywhere in the Burke house. She had never experienced it before. She didn't hear Tim approach until he reached around her and pulled her to him. His lips were on her neck and her mind went completely blank. She couldn't think of anything but his lips.
She turned to face him and he kissed her lips. Before their kiss got too intense, she pulled away. "I was looking at these pictures. He really loves her doesn't he."
Tim nodded. "She loves him, too."
"What about your mother?" She wondered if he loved both his wives equally.
"He loved her and was lost after she died. Betty was his nurse and she had to go back to England. While she was gone, he discovered he loved her."
"Her name is Betty?" Julie didn't know why but the name surprised her.
Tim smiled his cheeky grin. "That was my nickname for her. She's Elizabeth."
Julie smiled. "Do you have a nickname for me?"
Tim smiled a mischievous smile. "Jules."
"Everyone calls me Jules!"
He shrugged. "I'll find one, but it might take time. Unless you like beautiful."
Julie blushed. She didn't feel beautiful.
Tim sat down at the piano bench and patted it for her to sit beside him. Their thighs were touching so they could fit. He played a funny tune that she didn't recognize. Then he took her hand and put her fingers on the keys. She smiled at him when he put his hand over hers and became playing. His fingers pushed hers onto the correct key and out came a tune.
"I recognize this."
"It's Heart and Soul. I'll teach you, so we can play it together."
Julie was happy to stay on the bench next to him. She liked the closeness. She focused on what she was meant to learn.
"You've got this."
Tim started playing the song he had played for her at the Walker's. This time she sang the words. When they finished she heard applause behind them. Turning she saw Dr. Burke smiling.
"Your mother would be proud." His face looked serious but not sad.
"This song is one of my strongest memories."
"It was our song. We always danced to it."
"But you don't listen to it anymore?"
The older man shook his head. "Some memories are meant to be treasured."
Julie was touched by their conversation. Part of her wanted to walk away, because it was a private conversation.
"I played it for Julie the night we met."
Dr. Burke smiled. "I think your mother would approve."
Tim smiled, but Julie wasn't certain if he meant Tim's mother would approve that he played the song or of Julie.
Later their parents dressed and for their evening out. She whispered. "Do they go out a lot?"
"Nah, because they can't leave those two alone."
Tim went for the pizza, while Nick took up all of Julie's attention. She tried to include Clare, too. Clare was close to Tim, so Julie worried she might not like her.
After they ate Tim brought out a photo album. It was filled with photos of when he was young with his father and mother. She was pretty and very much the opposite of his stepmother. She was tall with dark brown hair. Comparing herself she and Tim's mother couldn't be more opposite. Thinking how Nick's mother was much shorter, like Julie, she decided Nick wouldn't grow up to be as tall as Tim.
Nick joined them. "Oh, your mommy." Then he turned to Julie. "Do you have a mommy, too?"
"I have a mother."
"But is she a mom or a mum?"
"A mom." Julie shrugged.
"Is she nice and pretty like you?"
Julie couldn't even look at Tim. He was trying hard not to laugh. She took a breath and searched for an answer, because the one that came to her mind was no. Her mother was overweight and didn't care about her looks. Overwork and life had chiseled away at any beauty she had. Living with her father, her mother had adapted some of his less than kind attitudes. Did Julie love her mother? Of course she did.
"My mother is a lot older than your mum."
Nick accepted her answer. Tim whispered in her ear sending tingles through her. "Some day, you'll take me to meet them."
Julie wanted to say, no, but she stayed silent and continued to look at pictures of young Tim.