The Lockdown

39

Christmas was approaching. A few days after they got back from St. Louis, Cam wrote a long letter to his grandparents thanking them for everything. He asked for more time to deal with the trust fund issue. He also begged off the annual Christmas party claiming that they should not leave the bar in these difficult times, though they all understood the underlying issue: Cam was not ready to confront the rest of his family especially his mother. His grandparents called him time after time to keep in touch which made the youngster very happy.

Andy and Cam was supposed to travel to his sister's place for the holidays. They helped Maggie pack up the house and move before they reopened the bar, she rented the cottage near Jennie and although Andy missed his mother, they talked often. They got their first dose of the vaccine just a week prior, closed the bar down for two days and spent a very Merry Christmas with their family. Jenny gave birth at the end of November, Daniel was born on the same day BB did four years before, and she immediately claimed her baby brother as hers by default. Jennie asked Cam to be his godfather which he gladly accepted.

Abe was disappointed that they would not be in town but convinced them to have dinner before the New Year together. He invited them to a posh restaurant in Minneapolis, they left the bar in Sarah's care for the night and dressed up nicely for the occasion.

"I think this is the first time I see you wearing a tie," Cam remarked as they were walking into the restaurant. He had to wear one most days while he worked for the agency, but Andy apparently did not relish the formality of the dress code required by the establishment.

'I know. I hate these things," he whined.

"You look handsome." Cam adjusted Andy's tie before they entered the reception area where a hostess was waiting to lead them to their table. Andy saw Abe first and he grabbed the youngster's hand in warning.

"I think your mother is here." Cam wanted to storm out of the restaurant, but Andy managed to convince him to stay. At least for a little while.

Cara O'Malley Reyes was the middle child of three siblings. Her sister was a year younger, her brother five years older. Robert Patrick O'Malley, their father, was a well-respected county judge, her mother an active socialite who threw lavish dinner parties clamored by the St. Louis elite. In addition, she ran her own business she inherited from her father and their political status in conservative Missouri was elevated even higher when he successfully ran for office as a State Senator. Her brother followed the footsteps of their father and became a prosperous defense lawyer, her sister married the heir of an industry tycoon, moved across the country and lived happily with her four children.

Cara had long considered herself the disappointment of the family. When she met Abe at school, her brother was already in law school providing her with a template of academic excellence she strived to emulate. Her sister, less academically inclined, was the most popular girl in school, she was the baby of the family and could do no wrong in her father's eyes. Then Cara got competition in school in the form of Abe and she was stupefied how fast he wormed his way into her heart. Even her parents liked him, which she resented a bit at first hoping to exert some independence by choosing someone they may not approve of but she failed in that respect miserably. She became valedictorian though she suspected that the final percentage point that beat Abe out might have been the result of a deliberately missed answer on his final exam, and triumphantly accepted a scholarship to an Ivy League school in Boston.

Her lone misstep at the end of the summer before college doomed her future irrevocably. The semester she kept her pregnancy secret from everyone taxed her well-being much more fundamentally than she ever admitted. Even though her parents took the news better than expected and Abe immediately married her, she knew deep in her heart that she failed them all. She locked herself in her room most of the time avoiding society and any offer of help as much as she could. When Abe moved back to St. Louis after Cameron was born, the situation got gradually better. His love and devotion to both her and their child slowly improved her mood, but she needed more to be able to move on with her life.