Family Ties
The phone was ringing, and Claire's first thought was 'Oh no.'
It had been a pleasantly quiet Sunday evening in the Dunphy household. With everyone home, that would usually be a cause for concern, but Luke had returned that afternoon from a weekend camping trip and was exhausted from all the fun, Haley was currently not speaking to her parents, and Alex, bless her, was their quiet child. Claire and Phil had decided to take advantage of the rare peace and have their own little date night on the couch with some wine and mindless television.
And now the phone was ringing, and Claire had a feeling her quiet evening was about to come to a screeching halt.
"Hello?"
"Can you come over?" It was Mitchell, and he didn't sound like himself.
She yawned. "What's up?"
"Someone threw a brick through our window."
"A brick?"
"Through our window, yeah. Very sixties of them, don't you think?"
Claire sat up, suddenly wide awake. "Is everyone okay?" She shook her head tightly at Phil's questioning look.
"You mean did the brick clock my two-year-old in the head?" Mitchell sounded like he was trying not to cry. "No, but—hang on—Cameron! Keep Lily away from the glass!"
Cameron's angry reply echoed faintly through the receiver. "No, Mitchell, I thought she might like to stick some in her mouth! Jesus!"
Claire rubbed her forehead. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." At her brother's clipped assent, she ended the call and slipped off the couch, rooting for her shoes in the pile of throw pillows.
Sensibly, Phil reached for the light. "What's going on?"
Claire didn't respond as she laced her Keds with jerky fingers and tried to swallow around the lump in her throat.
Phil's hand on her shoulder made her startle and roll back onto her butt. Her husband moved to sit beside her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Honey?"
Claire sniffed and blinked back the burning in her eyes. "Some asshole broke Mitchell's window. With a flying brick."
She could feel Phil tense beside her.
"I'm coming with you."
"The kids—"
"—can take care of themselves for a couple hours. I'll get the car warmed up."
Claire nodded and climbed to her feet. "I'm gonna grab a sweatshirt." She jogged up the stairs and crossed to Haley's door, knocking once before pushing her way in.
Her elder daughter was Skyping with Dylan, and looked furious at the intrusion.
"Mom—"
Claire held up a hand. "I don't have time for this. Your father and I are heading to your uncles' for a little while."
Haley sat up, frowning. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Claire began, before sighing. "Later, okay? I need you to watch Alex and Luke for me."
Haley followed her mother into the hall. "But—"
"Later, Haley." She barely registered her daughter's confused 'okay' as she yanked open the third dresser drawer and pulled on an Arizona State hoodie, hurrying to meet her husband in the driveway.
:
Flashing red and blue lights lit up the outside of Mitchell and Cam's home.
The front door stood open and Claire marched straight inside. She wasn't surprised to see her father deep in discussion with a law enforcement officer he clearly knew. Cameron and Mitchell were sitting side-by-side on the couch, watching another officer take photos of the broken window. Lily was nowhere in sight.
She crossed the room to her brother and, without pause, leaned down and hugged him tightly. He remained stiff in her arms, and after a few moments she released him to embrace Cam.
"What can we do?" she asked.
Mitchell only shook his head. Cameron reached over and took his partner's hand, meeting Claire's eyes.
"Could you check on Lily?" He sounded anxious. "We just put her to bed, but she might have woken up and I can't remember if I locked the window."
Claire understood. "Of course." She squeezed Cam's arm and headed down the hall to the nursery.
Lily was fast asleep in her crib. Claire tenderly adjusted her niece's blanket. Looking down at the defenseless little girl, she felt angry tears build in her eyes. This time she didn't bother to hold them back.
"What happened?"
Ten-year-old Mitchell shook his head, close to tears. His clothes were smeared with dirt and grass stains, and his left knee was bleeding. He didn't look at his sister.
"Nothing."
Claire bristled. He was obviously lying. Her brother being bullied was nothing new, but the physical evidence of this most recent incident was too much to brush away.
"Tell me who did it," she demanded.
Mitchell dug the toe of his sneaker into the sidewalk. "Only if you promise not to tell Dad."
That was an easy promise. "Okay."
"It was Jim and Clay," he murmured. He still hadn't looked up.
Of course it was. Those insects. They were always picking on Mitchell because he was smarter and smaller than them. Claire looked past her brother at the mostly empty playground. No sign of either boy. She sighed.
"Let's go home."
The next afternoon, Claire made sure to get to the elementary school early. She watched as kids spilled out of the building, heading to their respective carpools or the bus. A few kids migrated to the playground. Jim and Clay were among them.
Claire headed straight for the two boys, intercepting them as they approached the slide.
"Hey." They stared up at her. "Do you know who I am?" Both nodded, but she could see that they hadn't made the connection, too stunned to be spoken to by a middle school girl. She smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Good. I'm here to give you a warning."
"Huh?" Jim inquired eloquently.
"A warning," Claire repeated, "to stay away from my brother."
Comprehension dawned, and while Jim looked contrite, Clay didn't.
"Or what?" he asked daringly.
Her smile turned predatory. "Or I will personally make your lives very miserable. I know people who are bigger than the two of you. And I can be very nasty when provoked. Ask anyone. You do not want to test me. Leave. Mitchell. Alone. Got it?"
Cowed, they nodded. Message delivered, she turned her back and strutted away.
Caught in the memory, Claire lost track of her surroundings and jumped when someone touched her shoulder.
Her husband smiled apologetically. "Sorry." He folded her into his arms and she let herself sag as the tears slowly came to a halt.
"I'm so angry," she said into his shirt.
"I know."
"We live in California! This is the 21st century!"
"I know."
Claire pulled back and took a deep breath, her eyes falling once more on the sleeping and completely oblivious baby. She straightened.
Nobody messed with her family.