WATCHING BRAD
Part 80
Tuesday was a much easier day. I knew what I was up against and was better prepared for it. The kids ate their breakfasts without fuss and once again put their own dishes into the dishwasher before running off to get ready and dressed for the day. After a quick phone call to Bernice to make sure she was set for picking up Lindsay at noon (to which she replied, "Of course I am!"), I dropped Lindsay off at school and headed off to work.
The boys were great, as usual, sitting on the carpet in front of the desk playing with their toys and GameBoys. Jamie dropped in as often as he could to play with them and keep them occupied, sitting cross-legged beside them on the floor. He even babysat them for over an hour as I went to help a colleague figure out a bit of programming he'd mangled quite adequately.
By the time I got back to my office, the twins were wearing those triangular paper hats which Jamie had made for them and several paper planes littered the floor. He'd used the sports section of a newspaper Sally had brought to him and colourful sports heros decorated their heads. I grabbed a book off the shelf behind my desk and sat in my chair once more. Jamie stood up to face me.
"Look, Mr. de Vee," he said. "I've been thinking. I could, like, come over to your place after my classes at night to help you out around the house if you want. You know, like doing laundry or cleaning and stuff."
"Thanks, Jamie," I replied with a smile. "That's not necessary."
"I don't mind, really. I just go home and watch television anyway. I thought, with Brad being away, maybe you could use the help."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll manage."
"You don't have to pay me or anything," he continued. "I'd be happy to help out."
"You do enough helping out around here, Jamie. I'll be okay. Don't worry."
Jamie looked so disheartened. He looked down at his hands as he began picking at a fingernail with his other hand. "I. . . um. . . If you ever need a babysitter or something. . ." he said quietly.
"I'll certainly keep you in mind. Could you take this book to Gary? He's waiting for it. Tell him to look in Chapter Twelve."
"Sure," Jamie said as he took the book. "I'll be back," he said to the boys and then turned to leave my office. I watched his round little butt as it disappeared out the door.
The twins came to me then, resting their elbows on my leg and looking up at me. I looked down at their smiling faces. "And what can I do for you gentlemen?" I asked.
"We have to go pee," Justin said.
"Then pee you shall go," I said as I grabbed a twin in each arm and stood up. "But first, you know what it costs for me to take you to the bathroom."
Two sets of lips puckered up and I kissed them both before smacking my lips. "Mmmm. Paid in full." They hugged me and kissed my cheeks.
Jeremy whispered, "Daddy, we have a secret."
"What is it?" I asked in my own whisper."
Justin replied. "We love you a whole bunch."
"And I love you a whole bunch more." I kissed them again before carting them off to the bathroom.
* * * * *
The boys had almost fallen asleep in the van by the time I got them home for their nap that Tuesday afternoon. I managed to get their jackets off at the door, but I waited until I got them into bed before taking off their shoes. Even then, they were asleep before I was finished.
I went back out into the entryway to put their jackets in the closet, then into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I stopped in the doorway and looked around at the mess, heaving a big sigh as I did so. I began to imagine the rest of the house. The bathrooms, the towels, the laundry hampers, the bedrooms with all the dirty linen, the livingroom with all the toys and papers and junk spread around. My mind didn't even go as far as the den downstairs.
I didn't realize until that moment how much Terry and Brad did for me around the house.
I heaved another sigh, made my pot of coffee, grabbed some things from the freezer to defrost for dinner, then set about doing the housework. I was sitting on the sofa, enjoying a mug of coffee and taking a break, when the boys came running out of their room to climb into my lap for their hugs and kisses. They settled against me after Justin grabbed the remote, then turned on cartoons. They knew what buttons to push.
They each sat on a leg, their shoulders together and my arms wrapped around their little bodies. Their tiny hands held onto my arms. During commercial breaks, they'd twist their heads around and up so they could kiss me. I tell you. That's the best part of being a father. Their love is unconditional. There are no strings attached. And one single kiss can erase an hour's worth of misery and worry and reservations.
* * * * *
The boys wore their rollerblades when we went to pick up Lindsay after school. They skated along beside me as I held their hands. Back home, I took off the boys skates and pads and helmets and sent them off to the livingroom with Lindsay to watch television as I prepared supper ready for them.
After supper, I got them into their baths and gathered up all their clothes and carted them off to the laundry room and dropped them into a pile on the floor. The beds were next, and the dirty linens joined the clothes in the basement. I didn't bother even trying to sort out a load to put in the washing machine. I just left the whole pile for later.
By that time, the boys were ready to come out of their baths. I rinsed them off and drained the tub as the boys dried themselves. I got them dressed into their pyjamas and we all went out to the livingroom to watch Wheel of Fortune. Lindsay joined us and there we sat - just the four of us. Justin sat on my right leg. Jeremy sat on my left. Lindsay sat beside me, my arm wrapped around her. Just the four of us.
The kids were unusually quiet that night for some reason. I think they knew I was tired.
At eight o'clock, I took the boys to bed. I sat on the side of their bed for a few minutes, holding them as they hugged me and kissed me ‘goodnight', and then they simply laid their heads against my chest, their tiny fingers grasping my shirt.
"Daddy," Justin mumbled quietly, "we miss Brad."
I kissed their hair. "I do, too, Babies."
There was a short pause. "We need you tonight, Daddy," Jeremy said.
"Can we sleep in your bed?" Justin asked.
I hugged them closer to me and kissed their hair again, burying my face in the short spikes on the top. I needed them, too. I slid my butt closer to the headboard, grabbed their Teddy bears, and headed off for my bedroom with my two sons.
The boys gave me one more kiss on the cheek before clambering under the blankets with their Teddies. "Nite, Daddy," they said.
"Nitey-nite, boys," I said as I gave them one more kiss of my own.
* * * * *
Lindsay was sitting in my lap, watching televison. I had the telephone book open beside me on the sofa, opened to housekeeping services.
The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Lindsay said as she began scrambling off my lap.
I grabbed her in my arm and pulled her back. "Oh, no you don't, Sweetheart," I said. "I'll get it. You know you don't answer the door at night." I set her on the sofa beside me and told her to stay put.
Jamie was standing at the door with another young man who bore a striking family resemblance, although Jamie was the shorter of the two. "Jamie," I said stupidly. "Hi."
"Hi, Mr. de Vee," he replied. "This is my younger brother, Mark."
I held out my hand for him to shake. "Hello, Mark. Won't you come in?" I stepped aside and let the two brothers pass. I closed the door and pointed the way to he livingroom. "This is my daughter, Lindsay," I told them. "Sweetheart? This is Jamie and Mark," I introduced as I put a hand on their shoulder as I spoke their names.
"Hi," Lindsay said meekly.
"Hi, Lindsay," Jamie smiled.
"Please, have a seat," I said, pointing to the settee. They sat. "Can I get you a coffee or anything?"
"No, thank you," Mark replied politely.
"I'm fine, too," Jamie said.
I closed the phone book and set it on the coffee table before sitting beside Lindsay. Jamie cast his eyes about the room. "Sorry for the mess," I apologized. "Three kids, you know."
"That's why we're here, Mr. de Vee," Jamie said. "We know you're alone right now, for a little while at least. We've come to offer our services."
"That's very kind of you, but. . ."
"Please, hear us out," Jamie said quickly. "Mark's still in high school. He's a hard worker and he could use a job for after school and during the summer. I know you need some help. You can't look after three kids and be a housekeeper at the same time."
I looked at Mark. He met my gaze momentarily, then turned his attention to the fidgetting fingers in his lap.
"Mark?" I said. He looked back at me again. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen," he replied. "I have my birth certificate with me."
"I trust you," I said. "Do you know how to do laundry?"
"Yes, Sir," he answered.
"Well, Mark, as it so happens, I was just going through the phone book looking for a housekeeping service for a few days a week. Think you could handle two or three hours on Monday and Thursday nights and maybe Saturday mornings or afternoons?"
Mark's eyes lit up with anticipation and he sat up in straight as he looked at me. "Yes, Sir!" He glanced quickly at his older brother, then back at me again.
"Tell you what," I said. "If you're free for a few hours tonight, I'll give you a try. I've got a mountain of laundry downstairs. If you can make a dent in it tonight, you can come back again tomorrow night until we get caught up and get this place looking like a house again. What do you say?"
"You mean I have the job?" Mark asked excitedly.
"If you do a good enough job tonight, then ‘yes', you have the job and we'll discuss wages before you go home."
Mark looked at Jamie again. As if Jamie could read his mind, he said, "He won't rip you off, Mark. Trust him."
For the first time, there was a smile on Mark's face when he looked back at me. He jumped to his feet and Jamie and I rose to ours. "Thank you, Sir. . . er. . . Mr. de Vee. I won't let you down." He stuck his hand out for me to shake. Then, to Jamie, he said, "I've got a job, Jamie!" And he gave his brother a big hug.
It was then that I realized what was going on. Mark was what many people would consider ‘slow', and Jamie was looking out for him. I got the impression that Mark had tried to get jobs before in places like fast-food joints and got lost in the hustle and bustle. Something lower keyed, like doing laundry and cleaning the house, might be just the thing he needed.
"You don't have the job yet, Bro," Jamie said. "Now, get your behind downstairs and start the laundry. Think you can find it?"
"It's at the bottom of the stairs to your right," I said.
"The one you don't draw with, Mark," Jamie said.
Mark looked at his left hand, then his right hand. "Yes, I can find it," Mark said, nodding. He hugged Jamie again and even kissed his cheek this. Jamie hugged him right back. "Jamie," Mark said in a hushed voice, "I got a job."
Jamie pushed him back a bit so he could look into his brother's face. "Go get started, Mark. I'll be right down to help you, okay?"
"Okay, Jamie." Mark separated himself from his brother and disappeared down the stairs.
Jamie watched him go, then turned to me. "Thank you, Mr. de Vee. Mark's been trying to get a job for a long time. He's pretty shy and he doesn't do well with a bunch of people, like at Burger King or McD's or someplace. Something like this is just what he needs."
"Can he do the job?" I asked seriously.
Jamie smiled. "Let's just say that, when I go downstairs to help him, he'll be teaching
me how to sort clothes. He might be a bit slow, Mr. de Vee, but once he learns how to do something, he doesn't forget, and he knows how to clean a house and do laundry. I'll teach him how to work the machines."
"Okay," I smiled back. "Could you tell him to start on the kids' clothes?"
"Sure. And don't worry about him. You won't regret hiring him." He went down the stairs to join his brother.
I sat beside Lindsay again, picked her up, and set her in my lap. "Is he our new maid, Daddy?"
"I don't know yet, Sweetheart, but he won't be called a maid. Let's call him a ‘domestic engineer'."
"What's a domes. . . doms. . . ? What's that thing you just called him?"
"A ‘domestic engineer'. A maid, Sweetheart." She tapped her lip with her index finger, the first time she'd done that in a long, long time. I had hoped it was a habit she'd managed to break. "I like that other thing," she said finally.
"So do I, Sweetheart," I said, giving her a gentle hug and a kiss on her hair.
* * * * *
We sat back together, watching television together and awaiting Brad's phone call. Jamie joined us about fifteen minutes later. "Mark wants to do it himself so you can see what he can do," he said as he sat on the settee once more."
I nodded my understanding. "There's coffee in the kitchen, or there's pop and juice in the fridge. Help yourself, and take something to Mark if you want. There's different kinds in the refrigerator in the laundry room, too."
"Thanks," he said. "I'll be right back."
When he'd gone, Lindsay turned to me. "Daddy? Do you miss Brad?"
"Very much, Sweetheart," I said.
"I do, too," she said as she turned back to the television. "Do you think he misses us, too?"
"I'm sure he does."
"Would you miss me if I went away?"
I gave her an enormous hug then. "I miss you when you go to Grandma's for the night. If you went away, I'd miss you more than you can ever imagine."
She was quiet for a few moment, thinking. "I'd miss you, too, Daddy. I think I'll stay right here with you forever."
If only life worked that way.
* * * * *
Brad was right on time with his phone call. Lindsay answered it. Mark was still working downstairs and Jamie was watching television with Lindsay and me. I let Lindsay talk for five minutes, then sent her off to bed. Again, I told Brad I'd be right back and went in to tuck my daughter into bed.
A minute later, I was back on the phone.
"Hi, Tiger," I said cheerfully. "Miss you."
"I miss you, too, Pops," he replied. The sound of his voice relaxed me. "How are the twins?"
"Great," I replied. "They're in my bed right now. They want to sleep with me tonight. They miss you, too. I keep telling them you're coming back, but I'm not sure they believe me."
"Ten days, eighteen hours, and twelve minutes."
"Wow! That was fast."
"I've been counting the minutes, Ted," he said quietly. "I miss you so much."
"I do, too, Brad. How are you sleeping?"
"Pretty good, I suppose. I won't really sleep well again until you're sleeping with me."
"Hey, is Paul there with you?"
"Yeah," Brad replied. "He's watching some movie on Pay Per View. He's. . . um. . . he's busy."
"Right there with you in the room?"
"Well, we kind of came to an agreement. He spent almost an hour in the bathroom today and we were almost late for work. We agreed not to use the bathroom for that."
"You don't do it in front of him, do you?"
"No, Ted, I don't," Brad said. I could hear the smirk in his voice. "I won't until I'm with you again. Look, can we just talk for now? I need to hear you talking."
So we did. I told him about my day and he told me about his day. I told him what we had for supper and he told me what he had. He even told me what clothes he was wearing so I could picture him. I had no problem doing that.
Jamie disappeared downstairs twice to check on his brother, I suppose. I wasn't really paying attention.
Finally came the fateful words. "I've got five minutes left, Ted," he said to me. His voice was saddened again. "I can't tell you how much I miss you. I can't wait until you can hold me again."
"I can't wait to hold you. I love you, you know."
"Tell me again."
"I love you, Brad. I love you more every day you're gone."
Brad was silent. I suspect he was forcing back the tears in front of his roommate.
"I'll be there next Saturday afternoon," I promised. "We'll all be there, waiting to bring you home."
"Ted?" Brad's voice was barely audible.
"Yeah?" I said softly.
"Don't talk."
For the next three minutes, Brad and I sat there in silence, listening to each other breathe. Believe it or not, it was quite enjoyable and not at all uncomfortable for me.
Finally, Brad said quietly, "I have to go now."
"Okay."
"I want to call at eight tomorrow. I want to talk to the twins."
"We'll be here," I told him.
"I love you, Ted."
"I love you, too, Brad."
"Bye," he said in a cracking voice.
"Goodnight, Brad. Talk to you tomorrow."
There was a click and the phone went dead.
* * * * *
Jamie followed me downstairs to the laundry room. Inside, Mark was stuffing more clothes into the washing machine. On the floor, everything was sorted into tidy piles. On top of the folding table lay sorted piles of neatly-folded clothes. Even the socks were matched into pairs. I stopped Mark from continuing with the next load.
"I think that's enough for tonight, Mark," I said. "How much time is left on the dryer?"
Mark looked at the machine. "I don't know," he said. "Two lines. Is that two minutes?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Two minutes," he said with a proud grin.
"That's great," I said. "Leave the dirty clothes in the washing machine for now. You can come back tomorrow night and finish them up if you want to."
His grin grew even bigger. "I got the job?" He asked eagerly.
"You got the job," I told him.
Mark grabbed his brother tightly in his arms. "Jamie! I got the job!"
"I knew you could do it, Bro," he said proudly. "I just knew you could do it."
Mark separated from his brother and grabbed my arm, leading me out the door. "Come see," he said anxiously.
"Where?"
"Come," he said again and led me to the den.
I stood there for a few moments, just looking around. The place was clean and tidy. All the toys were put away, all the junk picked up, cushions straightened on the sofas, an afghan neatly folded over the back of the larger, fluffier sofa. So, that's what Mark had been doing all the time he'd been down here. I looked at him. There was such an innocent pride in his face and it warmed my heart to see it.
"Wow," I said. "You did this by yourself, Mark?"
His smile grew even larger as his head bobbed up and down. I wandered into the room, totally amazed. It had been a long time since I had seen it like this, and he hadn't even vacuumed or anything. Mark had simply tidied it up.
As I looked around, the buzzer on the dryer went off. I looked around in time to see Mark heading off to the laundry room. Jamie came up to me then.
"Does he really have the job, Mr. de Vee?" he asked.
"Yes, Jamie," I replied. "He does."
Jamie hugged me then, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close, his cheek pressed against my chest. I don't know if he was really thanking me, though. I have a feeling he wanted an excuse to hold me close. I could even feel his crotch pushing against my thigh. His hug went on much longer that it should have and ended only when I pushed my hands against him.
He stepped back, looking up at me. "I knew I could count on you, Mr. de Vee. You don't have to pay him very much."
"I'll pay him what I think he's worth," I told him. "Now, let's get back and talk to him."
I turned out the lights as I left. The soft glow of the night lights immediately took over.
Mark was busy sorting and folding the dry clothes on the table. He was surprisingly fast and careful of his work. Whereas I folded T-shirts once vertically, then once horizontally, Mark laid them flat and folded them quickly into neat bundles worthy of store display.
When he was finished, he piled all the clothes into the hampers. "Where should I take these?" he asked.
"I'll put them away tomorrow when the kids are awake," I told him. "You've done enough for now, Mark. Grab yourself a pop out of the fridge there and lets go upstairs to talk, okay?"
"Okay," he said as he opened the refrigerator door and looked inside. "Can I have juice?" he asked politely.
"Of course. Have whatever you want."
"Grab me a Coke, will you, Bro?" Jamie asked.
Mark picked out a Tetra Pak of orange juice and a can of Coke. "Would you like something, Mr. de Vee?"
"No, thank you, Mark," I told him. "Now, let's go upstairs."
By the time Mark and Jamie left that night, Mark had a twenty-dollar bill tucked into his jeans pocket and a very happy smile on his face. He would return the next evening, and probably Thursday evening as well until he was caught up with the housework. Jamie would bring him until Mark learned the route for himself, and then he'd ride his bicycle.
I was concerned about him riding his bike at night, but Jamie assured me he did it all the time and had all the lights and reflectors and pads and helmets he needed. He lived only fifteen minutes away from me, and there were no busy streets he had to ride on. That made me feel better.
Before they left, Jamie shook my hand, but Mark gave me a hug, thanking me over and over. When he released me, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the money I'd paid him. He looked at the bill as if it were a million dollars and, in his eyes, I suspect it did. And then he said one more time, more to himself than to anyone else, "I have a job."
Somehow, I knew that I wouldn't regret hiring him.
* * * * *
The twins were where I had left them, still curled up against each other, clutching their Teddy bears in their little arms and their foreheads touching each other. I undressed, but left my underwear on this time. I set the alarm, turned out the light, and climbed into bed.
Whatever it was with the twins, they knew the instant I was there. Whether or not they really woke up, I don't know, but, moments later, their Teddy's were abandoned and they were settling into my outstretched arms, nestling their heads comfortably on my chest.
I pulled the blankets over us, wrapped them into my arms, kissed their hair one last time, and lay back to think.
I don't remember thinking very long. I was asleep before I even realized it.
To Be Continued
Next update - Wednesday
I'm glad you've decided to pace yourself......nothing worse than sitting down to write a story because you feel it's expected of you.
I look forward to reading it every morning. I am happy that you have decided to slow down a little for the summer. I made it over the weekend OK, lol.
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