Chapter Forty Four
The night before had been incredibly long for both JC and Jen, but just because they were tired, that didn’t mean they could shrug off their parental duties. At six thirty promptly, Jen was up when the baby started to cry. She thought her husband was in desperate need of rest, so she got up to take care of the baby, leaving him to sleep in a little longer.
By the time she had gotten Jack changed and downstairs, she was surprised to see her husband already there, pulling out things for breakfast.
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to attempt to cook,” Jen laughed, shifting Jack in her arms. He turned to face her, a sleepy smile on his face. “Nope. I just came to relieve you of the boy while you get started on breakfast,” he said, walking over to remove the baby from his wife’s arms. He pressed a kiss to Jack’s forehead. “You wanna fix him a bottle for me while I run up to talk to Jules real quick?”
Nodding, Jen smiled at her husband. He turned to the doorway with their baby boy. “Hey,” she called, smiling even brighter when he turned. “I love you.”
He rewarded his wife with a grin in return. “I know. I love you too baby,” he said, walking over to her to kiss her lips. “And thank you for last night. Just one more reason I love you,” he told her, before walking out of the kitchen with their son.
~*~
He shifted Jack in his arms and lifted his hand to knock on his daughter’s door, before pushing it open. He was going to ask her if she would be interested in spending the day with him. He still felt insanely guilty for what had happened to his daughter and this was his way of beginning to make up for it. You could imagine his surprise when he opened the door and found his daughter fully dressed, putting her books into her school bag.
“What are you doing up so early?” He asked, his eyes wide.
She stood up and smoothed her shirt. “I umm… I’m going to school,” she said softly, avoiding his gaze. She’d not discussed it with her parents, but she truly felt that this was her decision, one that she had to make on her own. This was part of getting her life back.
He felt like he’d been punched in the gut and all the wind had been knocked out of him. She didn’t mean that, did she? She wasn’t ready. HE wasn’t ready. “I’m sorry… what?”
She took a deep breath, lifting her book bag off of her bed and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’m going back to school today. I don’t want to get too far behind and have to fight to catch up to everyone else.”
“Baby… your teachers… they’ll understand… you don’t have to go”“
“Yes I do,” she said. “I need to go back for me and I’d really appreciate your support,” she told him, brushing past him on her way out the door.
~*~
After having gotten over the initial shock of his daughter’s declaration, he took the stairs and hurried into the kitchen. He was surprised to see Abbi up as well. Like JC, she loved her sleep and usually slept until the very last minute if possible. However, he was too preoccupied with Julie at the moment to ask.
“Hey daddy?” Abbi asked softly, her head propped up on her hand. Her eyelids were drooping dangerously, with dark circles visible.
“Hmm?”
“Can I take one of your NSYNC CDs to school today? It’s show and tell.”
“Mmhmm…sure….”
At least once a year, Abbi always borrowed one of her father’s old CDs to take to school, proud of her father’s past accomplishments and just wanting to show him off a little, even though it had been years since he’d been in the spot light.
“An’ can you pick me up today after school?”
“Mmmhmm… Julie, are you sure about this?” He asked, shifting the attention away from his youngest daughter.
She let out a sigh. “Daddy please…I need to do this,” she said softly. “If I need to, I’ll come home, but for now, I need to try,” she told him. She sighed and pushed her plate away. “Sorry Jenny… I’m just not very hungry,” she said softly. “I think I’m going to go in a little early anyway to talk to a few of my teachers,” she said, getting up.
JC’s frowned increased as he watched her stand. He missed the look on Abbi’s face as he pushed his own plate back and got up to follow after Julie.
Although he missed the look, Jen did not. She knew that Abbi had to be feeling pretty bad. “Are you okay sweetie?” She asked softly.
Abbi looked up at her mom and just shrugged. “Can I be ‘scused?” She asked. “I need to go get dressed for school,” she said quietly, getting up and leaving her mom there alone.
Number of reviews: 76
Print:
Chapter or Story