Countdown (on hold)

Two years, twelve months, three weeks, three days, four hours before

When I awoke, the sun was shining through the small window next to my bed and the bluebirds were chirping. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t imagining anything before rushing out of bed. It was later than I meant to sleep until and I worried that Dad might be angry at me. Mom was the head of the house as punishments, cooking, and being on top of commitments, but Dad was in charge of dishing out chores to Theo and I. being that giving us and making sure we did our chores was his top priority, Dad took them seriously. Theo used to slack on washing the dishes, and the one time Dad caught him not towel drying them the correct way, Dad made Theo wash all of the dishes again, even the ones that weren’t dirty.

            I saw Theo reading the city newspaper as I ran down the stairs. “Where’s Mom and Dad?” I asked him as I brushed past him on my way to the kitchen. I had to mop the floors and wash the dishes from breakfast, but everything was spotless. The white speckled tiles were sparkling and there wasn’t a dirty dish in sight.

            “They went out for a walk an hour ago. When you didn’t wake up, I did your chores for you because I didn’t want you to mop the whole house. I already fed Carrot and Turnip, too.” I went up to Theo and gave him a tight hug.

            “Thank you!” I mumbled into his chest. I started to squirm under his spine breaking hug.

            Theo let me out of his hug, but only after laughing at my meek attempt to slip out of his arms. “I expect that you’ll do my chores tomorrow.”

            “Only if you do the rest of my chores for today.” I grinned just as the front door opened.

            Mom walked in first, with Dad following close behind her. “Shay, you’re up!” She laughed a little as I walked up to hug her, still clad in my baby blue pajamas. All four of us walked into the kitchen.

            Mom, Theo and I laughed as we all stood in the kitchen eating leftover cherry tarts from dessert. “Shay, you know my rule. Go up and change into regular clothes.” Dad told me. I nodded, and proceeded back up the stairs. Theo followed me back upstairs.

            “I feel an argument coming on.” He whispered to me. I followed him to the bathroom, knowing that he was just going to brush his teeth, but also breaking another one of Dad’s rules.            Since I became friends with Caleb, and rekindled my friendship with James, Dad enforced more rules about what I could and couldn’t do. Before, he didn’t care if I spent all day in my pajamas, if no one was over, or if I stood in the doorframe of the bathroom while Theo brushed his teeth. After Caleb and I became friends, Dad became stricter with his rules. Some of them I could understand, as in no boys in my room, but I didn’t understand why that would include Theo. He would always come into my room to talk to me, and it never seemed to bother Dad before. Or that Caleb or James couldn’t spend more than an hour a day at our house. Caleb used to come over after school and on the weekends and we would watch a movie or ride Carrot and Turnip, but then we were lucky if we would talk without Dad breathing down our necks. Mom tried talking to him, but he always said the same thing, “I’m only doing it for Shay’s benefit.”

            “It’s probably just about one of my never ending rules. I bet you Dad will come up with at least one more new rule for me before lunch.” I sighed. Theo nodded, his mouth filled with toothpaste. He wiped his face again before answering.