Family Comes First

Chapter 49: Tommy's Girl

 It was pouring rain in the morning. The wind blew the rain so that it was pelting against the window. I had pulled Hunter's crib out of the living room and into the kitchen so that I would not be alone. I had a bowl in my arm and I was whisking the pancake mix.

I did not get any sleep last night, so I decided to get up early to make breakfast. I was worried about Tommy's plans all night.

The sweet aroma filled my nose as I poured the batter into the pan. The sizzling of the batter was barely audible over the sound of the rain. After I finished the pancakes, I put them in the oven to keep them warm.

"Wow, it smells good, Juliet."

I spun around on my heels to see Charles at the bottom of the steps. He rolled up his sleeves as he walked into the kitchen. He leaned over Hunter's crib and picked him up. Charles sat down in his chair while he was cradling Hunter.

"Thank you," I said as I pulled the dishes out of the cupboard.

I placed the plates and cutlery on the table. A smile overtook my face every time I looked at Charles and Hunter. I could tell that he was looking forward to having grandsons.

"By tonight it will be a full house," Charles said.

"For sure," I said, ignoring the knot in my stomach.

The stairs creaked and I looked over my shoulder to see Tommy walking into the kitchen.

"Smells good down here," he said.

"Thanks," I said.

Tommy walked over to Charles and ran his finger along Hunter's cheek. He looked over his shoulder at me and smirked. I bit down on my lip. I did not want to know what was going through his mind.

"Tell your brother to get down here so that we can eat," Charles told Tommy.

Tommy ran up the stairs and I pulled out the pancakes.

"Dad says get downstairs," he yelled through the door.

I placed the pancakes on the table and Charles handed Hunter over to me. I sat down and watched Tommy and Charles fill their plates. Jimmy was soon downstairs and joined us at the table.

"Aren't you eating?" Jimmy asked me.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"Eat one."

"I'm really not hungry."

Tommy's plans had made me nauseous and the thought of eating made me feel even sicker.

"Julie, you need to eat," Jimmy told me. "You're not leaving the table until you eat one."

I nodded and slid one onto my plate. I used one hand to cut it with the side of my fork. I chewed it slowly and forced myself to swallow it.

"Jim, I need that case with the syringes," Charles said.

"You got more of the tranquilizer?" Jimmy asked.

"What?"

"I told you that we were running out when I had to sedate Emme."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"James, I would have remembered that. You never told me that we ran out."

"He actually did, Dad," Tommy said.

Charles let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. I looked down to see that I managed to eat half of the pancake.

"My memory is getting worse," he said. "Boys, I need you to cover all the chores after breakfast. I'm going to have to head out early. I knew that the rain was going to slow me down, but this just made it a lot worse."