Heaven knows what's next

Chevy did not like this one little bit.

He'd actually been avoiding Clare all this time, and now she was here, and he had to behave himself.

Damn, if she didn't look better than he remembered. He winced hard, not wanting to take her in with his eyes, but he had too. How could this be, he thought. She never took care of herself. She'd smoked, taken all sort of forms of drugs and always ate what she wanted. That is, if she were ever hungry.

Oh, she had a hunger for other things, and he did his best not to bring it up, but evidently..she'd found what she was looking for. Naturally, she'd bring her lover. No way, was she ever going to mend her wicked ways, as far as he was concerned.

"Well, are you really sure ..you're up for this?" He kept his arms crossed.

"For what?" She did have a way of being oblivious.

"There will be a baby at your place. I doubt, you can handle it." He shrugged. He couldn't think of her ever wanting to change a diaper.

"We'll be fine." She looked at him hard.

"My dad really is good with babies." Out of nowhere, that surfer's son was defending him. "He pretty much raised me." He smiled, ever so quaintly.

"Great." Chevy would say nothing more on the subject, and then he sighed heavily.

"But..but school will be here before you know it, Gage. You, do remember, you have high school?" He looked at Gage, who'd gathered Alec's things and had him snapped in the car carrier.

"Yeah, I know, I'll go to school, dad." Gage looked at him as if he planned to stay in touch.

"And you, young lady, need to get to the University." He pointed to Halie. Chevy did plan to get Halie into some classes.

Of course, Halie looked at him as if his gaze would not let her move.

"Chevy, stop scaring the poor girl." Clare winced then.

It was such a short meeting. Everyone was practically out the door.

"But....you..you guys could stay for dinner, couldn't you?" Of course, Ren only had some cold tuna in the fridge, but he knew she could make a dip of some kind to keep them around, for a little longer.

"No, we have to be going. I want to get them settled." Clare prodded them along.

He went to say good-bye to Alec then, gave Halie a hug and then clung on to Gage as if he just couldn't go.

It had been a mistake. A big mistake, trying to keep some order, he guessed, but Chevy had never apologized for anything in his life.