Chapter 21
It had been an amazing dinner, all the food was amazing and it made Karen’s mouth water thinking about it all again. Sophie hadn’t been as equally impressed- as it turned out she’d never really had an official thanksgiving dinner before- not really that surprising given who her parents had been. And so when Karen asked if she wanted any turkey, she said yes- then was disgusted and didn’t want any more at all. All Karen could get her to eat was a bread roll, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie. All she would eat were the carbs, but Karen figured it was one day it wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t eat all the food groups. All of them moved towards the living room to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, more on the adults insistence than the kids. Zach made it very clear he wasn’t into watching a ‘baby show’ so he asked to go up to his room, while Leo was fine with staying with her parents and watching the program. “Fine if your going up to your room, say goodnight to everyone.”
“Finnnnneee….. Night Mom, night Dad. Goodnight Pete- I mean Frank. Goodnight Frank’s girlfriend”
Sarah saw the bright red blushes that colored both Frank and Karen’s faces, “Zach!!”
“What! It’s true ain’t it?”
Then Leo but in to yell back at her brother, “Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you have to say it.”
Karen broke the silence, “Goodnight, Zach.”
Then the six of them left downstairs tried to forget about that awkward moment and went back to watching Charlie Brown. The adults were drinking, and both the kids were starting to slip into a food coma, leaving Leo to wish everyone a goodnight and Sophie to fall asleep in Karen’s arms.
Once she was asleep, the adults refilled all the drinks- on the fast track for drunk town.
“So Karen, how’d you and Frank meet?” Sarah asked as she sipped on her wine.
“Umm I guess he was shooting at me…”
David burst out laughing while Frank stuttered, “No, no, no- that is not how we met. And I wasn’t shooting at you, just at a person near you.”
Karen couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity they had with the Liebermans, sharing meet cute stories on thanksgiving- normal.
“Real romantic Frank, did you pull her hair and shoot spitballs at her too? I gotta tell ya Frank that’s not how you let a girl know you like her…”
Frank pushed his shoulder and David was close to spilling his glass of wine on the carpet- which Sarah would have killed him for. “Shut up, dumbass. I actually met Karen at the hospital- after I got caught. She was on the legal team and I was gonna turn me down when she pulls out this photo, that she only could have gotten from inside my house- and I knew. I knew they were who I wanted to represent me- I wanted her to represent me, because if she was willing to break into my home to find out the truth, she was my kinda gal.”
Karen looked over the top of Sophie’s head at Frank, never officially knowing why Frank had let them represent him until now. She had suspected that her bold move had been part of the reason he let Nelson and Murdock be his lawyers, but now she knew for sure he accepted because of her- and she wasn’t sure if it was the wine or just him but it made her feel this warm homey sparkle light inside her.
“So your a lawyer, Karen?”
“Actually I’m a-” She was about to respond to Sarah’s question when David cut her off.
“She’s a reporter- I could have told you that.”
Sarah looked over at her husband and he shrank behind the glare, “Well I didn’t ask you, did I David? Jesus sometimes he’s worse that the kids. You were saying Karen.”
“Yeah, now I am a reporter. But when I was working to defend Frank, I was a legal assistant- basically a secretary.”
“Well that must be interesting- do you like it?”
“Love it actually- after everything that went down it just felt so natural. And it’s who I became, Karen Page- full time Bulletin reporter. But now,” she looked down at the little girl sleeping in her arms, “Now I only work there from nine to five, it’s not the same- not as on call as I once was. But that’s okay, I have S- so much to do.”
“I can understand that, these kids think i’m their maid- it's like having three kids who have no clue how to survive on their own- David included. You’d think with him living on his own in some dank basement for a whole year would make him capable, but once he got back here he was back to being a big baby.” Karen laughed looking over at David who started blushing for the first time tonight.
“You're telling me, it took more than an hour for this one to pick out the perfect outfit” She pointed down at the little girl in her arms, “She was really excited and had to make sure we would find a ‘dress Frank would love’. I had to put my foot down when she wanted to wear her Halloween costume, she said she already knew that Frank liked that dress- so if I wanted anything resembling normal I had to give in to her ‘Dorothy’ dress here.” All three adults, with the exception of Frank- laughed, while he just shook his head and smiled at the three people who were making fun of him. It was strange to think how a few months ago, he hadn’t known these three or were anywhere close to calling them friends- but now it was hard to imagine his life without them. Without them he would be a lonely shell of a man, still bent on revenge and probably dead- hunted down by agent Orange, alone. Now his mission wasn't for revenge- it was how he kept going, something he needed to do. His family was avenged but it didn't mean the same type of people stopped roaming the streets- it was his duty to clean those streets up. So people like David and his family could feel safe, so he could feel better about Sophie and Karen walking home from school- that's what he does now.
He looked towards the clock on the wall beside the family portrait and saw it was closing in on one in the morning, and Frank glanced at the table in front of them- he saw all the empty beer bottles and the three bottles of wine. Sighing he knew it probably wasn't safe to drive home, if it was just himself Frank was sure he could sober up enough to be functional- but he wouldn't risk the lives of his girls by making an necessarily stupid decision to drive in his current state.
It was Sarah who noticed the time after another twenty minutes of laughing, Frank hadn't said anything not wanting to be the reason to end the fun- to end the Liebermans and Karen first meeting, “Jesus, is that the time? Tomorrow is going to be rough.”
“We’ll just have to make some mimosas to get rid of the hangover tomorrow morning.” Tipping back the last of his beer, David looked down at his wife with a twinkle of humor in his eyes.
“So our solution to everything should just drink it off?”
“You got it, baby.”
His beautiful wife shook her head before getting up to pick up some of the bottles that littered the table, before turning to both Karen and Frank. “You're staying her tonight, right? We have an extra guest room down here you can use.”
The duo shook their heads in agreement at the question, non-question from Sarah- that was more if a command than anything. Karen got up as gently as possible, trying her best not to wake up the four year old in her arms- she looked towards the matriarch of the family and her finger came out and pointed towards a door that must have been the guest room.
Subtly her eyes drifted towards Frank, wondering if he would join them- but not wanting to ask in front of everyone. As much as the whole Lieberman clan assumed Frank and Karen were a couple- or at least destined to be one, Karen was still unsure of what they were, or what she was allowed to ask for from him. So she hoped her questioning gaze towards Frank would be enough, after a few moments of him not understanding her silent question- Sarah answered for her.
“So….. Frank you can stay on the couch- let Karen and Sophie have the bed, i'll leave you some bedding to use.” As she said it, Sarah pulled out the extra blankets and a pillow from a cabinet under the stairs and shoved it in his arms.
“Uh, um- okay.” Karen was disappointed he hadn't protested and at least asked to be in the same room as her, but she turned and closed the door behind her. Karen sat with Sophie still in her arms and softly took her little red shoes off- she then remembered neither of them could sleep in what they were wearing at the moment so she looked towards the set of drawers in the corner of the room and prayed there was something in them. Carefully she placed Sophie on the bed and walker over to open the first drawer.
The first drawer had nothing but extra sheets for the bed, and neither did the second- finding towels in that one. The third was where her luck turned around; all she found were a few t-shirts- so she took out the first two her fingers touched. A blue long sleeve tee, and a yellow short sleeve- she decided the yellow would be for Soph. Not only because it was her favorite color but because Karen figured if she tried to get her little arms through the long sleeves she would no doubt wake up- so it was blue for her.
It turned out Sophie was basically dead to the world, nothing woke her- today was obviously a very long and tiring day for her. Her eyes were slipping closed after moving Sophie in front of her, under the covers- when she heart it. The door creaked open quietly, and a small triangle of light appeared and then vanished after she heard footsteps move closer.
She knew it was him. It had only taken him about thirty minutes to choose to come to bed, whether it was because he thought she was asleep or because he told himself the bed was better for her back- she wasn't sure. All she knew was that he was here.
Frank was toeing off his boots, while silently deciding how much of his uncomfortable clothes he could take off without being too much of a creep. He was already slightly creepy, slipping in here while his still slightly buzzed mind told him it was okay to come in here. His belt buckle loosened and fell right along with his pants which left him only in his boxers and his black button up. He wished he could take the uncomfortable shirt off as well, but Frank figured it might be enough of a shock for Karen to wake up with him in her bed- it would probably be better if he wasn't basically naked when she woke would be better.
Frank pulled the covers back and layed down behind Karen, whose back was to him and he was about to slip an arm around her- when she turned towards him, “What are you doing?”
His heart started pounding, afraid he had misread the eyes she had been throwing at him- “Why are you wearing that shirt? It can't be comfortable.”
“Uh- I mean I don't have anything else….” He was relieved she at least wasn't mad at him for getting in bed with her.
She pointed to the chest of drawers near the corner of the room, “There's shirts in the third drawer over there.”
Karen watched him get up and move towards the chest, all the while staring at him as he unbuttoned his shirt before searching for another. Frank dug around and pulled out the only shirt he could find, a bright pink shirt that made Karen drool as it stretched across his broad chest. He walked back towards her and climbed in the spot he had recently left, and she knew she had missed him. Unknowingly she had gotten used to him in her bed a while back and had him long enough to learn to miss him.
Franks arm went around her waist and it was then she was glad for the alcohol she knew she would regret in the morning- but now it would help her be bold.
“What are we, Frank? What are we doing? Are we- am I your girlfriend? Are you my boyfriend?” The little comment Zach had made earlier had been harmless at the time, but the longer the night went on- and the more she drank- the more she thought. What were they?
“I- I don't- I'm not…. I don't know Karen. You're not my girlfriend,” Disappointment flooded through her- no matter how childish the term, it was a tough pill to swallow.
“You're more. Karen you're more than that. I don't- I don't know what to call us, whatever we are- or whatever were doing. But I know for a fact calling you my girlfriend is wrong. Girlfriend implies you being temporary- and you, Karen Page are anything but temporary. I need you- I can't lose you, I don't think- I don't think I could go on without you. I know what I feel for you is more than any word is going to define, and beyond any word anyone else could understand. But I need you to know, Karen- I need you to know- What i'm trying to say is I don't- I'm not the best with words, but I care about you. You know that, right?”
She didn't answer- couldn't answer without emotion making her voice shaky. Instead she just grabbed his hand in her own and pulled it in to her chest, saying without words that she needed to hear that from him- a silent thank you that she finally had at least some sort of acknowledgement this wasn't all one sided. That she wasn't just imagining it, that he wanted to be there.
And when he woke up the next day and the three of them headed towards the car after a big breakfast with the Lieberman's, David threw him an amused look at the pink shirt he wore, somehow knowing where he had been last night- most likely knowing exactly where the shirt he was wearing came from yet Frank didn't seem to care as long as Karen and Sophie were happy.