This story is based loosely on the new song from Reba McEntire. It's called, "Eight Crazy Hours In the Story of Love. It's most likely a one shot. Enjoy... I don't own Castle or any of the characters. The only character I own in this story are the kids...
Have you ever felt like running away? Doing something reckless? Sometimes the need to leave becomes stronger than the need to stay...
It was somethin' as simple
As makin' the bed
That kicked off the voice
Inside her head
She was smoothin' the sheet
With the palm of her hand
When the thought struck home
"I don't know who I am"
Kate smiled as she watched her kids getting ready for school. She was incredibly proud of her family. At nearly seventeen, Lindsey was their oldest. She looked more and more like her mom every day. She knew there would be a day that they'd have to fight off the boys with a stick. For now, Lindsey was preoccupied with sports. Something that her parents were all too happy to encourage.
Lindsey grabbed her lunch and hurried out the door to catch the bus. Hers was the first to arrive at their house each morning. Before she left she called out to Kate, "Don't forget to pick me up after practice tonight mom!"
Kate smiled, but before she could respond, Lindsey was out the door. She sighed and knew that their daughter was growing up. She had been born shortly after she married Rick. It seemed as if she had grown up before their eyes. They blinked and then she was nearly ready to leave for college.
Their daughter Cassie was the next down. She was twelve and she was the perfect combination of both her and Rick. She was the most independent of their children. As the middle child, she was fond of telling her parents that she was too old for them to worry about. Kate had tried to tell her that they would always worry about her.
That statement usually earned them an eye roll and a heavy sigh. Something that always made Kate sad for some reason.
Their son was next down the stairs. At eight, he was the spitting image of his father. From his hair, to his crooked and heartbreaking smile. She smiled and handed him his lunch and watched as he ran out the door to catch his bus. Sometimes he would tell her goodbye, but more often than not, he would leave without even a kiss goodbye.
She sighed as she was left alone in the house. They barely needed her anymore. Rick was away on another book signing tour and the kids were so involved in their after-school activities. She was making their beds when the thought hit her with the weight of a semi truck, "They don't need me anymore."
She'd been a wife and mother for such a long time, that she didn't know how to be anything but a wife and mom. She'd loved every crazy, wonderful and sometime hectic minute of it. But smoothing out the sheet of her and Rick's sheet, she realized that she didn't know who she was anymore. Wife or mom? Woman or friend? Why did that thought fill her with an unwanted and unwelcome sense of dread? It nearly drove her to her knees. She loved being a wife and mom. It was essential to everything that she was. Everything that she would be.
And she sat cross-legged
On the bedroom floor
And thought
There's 3 people in this house
That don't need me anymore
And she cried like a baby
In a pile of dirty clothes
The thoughts that ran through her head caused her to dissolve into the most heartbreaking spasms of tears that anyone had or would ever have heard. She was sitting on the bedroom floor, sorting through the dirty laundry, when the tears started. It only made it worse. For once the tears started, the thoughts came with them. Her kids didn't need her anymore. They were old enough to take care of themselves now. That thought had her crying harder and harder. If Rick had seen her, she would have been embarrassed crying like a baby. He would be very sweet about it. Telling her that they all needed her, but it hurt to think that this was all there would be to her life anymore.
She picked up one of her son's shirts and put it to her nose. It smelled just like him. She longed to pull him close to her and wrap him in her arms. She knew that if she did that, then he would pull away and tell her that he wasn't a baby anymore.
Oh, should I be more care free
Should I be more sexy
Should I be more friend, than mom
And the dryer was buzzin'
And the TV was blarin'
And she wanted to call her mother
She was too uptight. That was her problem. Maybe she needed to do something different. Maybe she needed to dress more sexy. Maybe instead of always laying down the law with the kids, she needed to be more of a friend to them. Laugh more and joke around them. Maybe she needed to be more like Rick.
She heard the dryer's buzzer going off. The sound of the TV was like a white noise somewhere in the background. She wished that her mom was still alive. She had never missed her more than she did at that moment. Maybe she could call Martha. Ever since she and Rick had gotten married, her mother-in-law had been just like a mother to her. She knew that she couldn't do that though. Martha would surely think that she'd lost her mind. Everyone thought that she had the perfect marriage. The perfect life. Hell, she'd thought that until this morning. What had turned that switch on? Why was she having all of these thoughts about running away?
It was somethin' as simple
As checkin' in to that cheap motel
Out on Highway 10
Was it the sting of leavin'
Or usin' her maiden name
That took all of the fun
Out of runnin' away
And she cried like a baby
In the tub of room 5
She sat in the tub and the only thing she could think of was how terrible it felt to be here. She made the decision to leave in haste. Instead of making her feel better, it only served to make her feel worse. Infinitely worse. She was ashamed that she'd used her maiden name. Did she hate her life that much? That she was willing to deny all the years that she and Rick had been married? She'd thought that running away would be fun. Fun? How could laying in a tub in a cheap motel be considered fun. Once again the tears rolled down her cheeks and she cried like a baby there in that tiny cramped tub. What on earth was happening to her? She was happy with her life. Wasn't she?
Oh, should I be more care free
Should I be more sexy
Should I be more friend, than mom
And her head was buzzin'
And the TV was blarin'
And she wanted to call her husband
She'd wanted to be free. She wanted to be like the women that she saw on tv. She wanted to know what it was like to be friends with your kids instead of having to be the bad guy all the time. She wanted Rick to look at her like he had all those years ago. Not as a wife and mother, but as a woman that he was desperately in love with. She knew that he still loved her, but a small part of her brain was telling her that she needed to change herself to keep his love. The tv blared in the background. Some tv show that she would soon forget was on. She suddenly had the strangest urge to call Rick. She knew that she couldn't call him though. He most definitely wouldn't understand what she was going through. How could he? She didn't even understand it herself.
It was somethin' as simple
As pickin' up the kids
That her back to Earth again
She'd been to the dark side of the moon
She had to keep it to herself
So she grabbed a bucket of chicken, for supper
She waited outside the gym for the kids to come outside. Lindsey was first. Followed soon by Cassie. She smiled as the two girls chatted happily about their day. She listened to them more as she drove to pick up Tommy. She even laughed a few times when the girls made jokes about something that happened that day.
Lindsey smiled at her and said, "Are you okay mom?"
Kate looked at her and said, "I'm fine sweetheart. Why?"
"I don't know. You seem different."
Kate simply shook her head and said, "I'm fine."
Lindsey gave her mom a strange look, but didn't say anything. Tommy got into the car and Lindsey said, "Hey squirt. How was your day?"
"Good Linds. Guess what mom?"
"What?"
"The coach is going to start me in the next game."
"No way?"
"Way! Do you think dad will be happy?"
Kate smiled and said, "I know he will be. Just wait until he gets home."
Tommy asked his mother, "When is he coming home?"
Kate smiled and told her son, "He will be home when we get there."
Tommy smiled and said, "Yes! I can't wait until he gets home! He's going to be so proud of me."
Kate smiled, "He's always proud of you."
Lindsey smiled and told her brother, "Yeah squirt! Dad loves that you are so into sports."
Kate laughed and shook her head. Her kids definitely got her love of sports. She listened to the kids talking to each other. Then they stopped to grab some chicken and all the fixings on the way home. This was what being a mom was all about. The little moments made her life worthwhile. The chatted happily on the way home.
Oh, but she looked more care free
And she looked more sexy
And she looked more friend than mom
And the table talk was buzzin'
And the TV, it was blarin'
And they all sat and laughed at each other
Kate knew that Rick was home when they walked in the door that night. Kate saw his suitcase near the door and the kids all ran into the living room and tackled their dad. Rick caught her eyes over their kids heads and she smiled back at him.
She kept catching Rick's eyes at dinner that night. She couldn't help but notice the way that he kept looking at her. She wondered if he knew. Then she realized that he didn't, but she felt more sexy than she had in a long time. Just from the looks and smiles he was giving her.
Even the kids noticed a difference in the way that she acted. They seemed more excited about telling her stories of their day. More like a friend than a mom. The talk around the table that night was more thrilling than she'd ever remembered before. Or maybe it was just her imagination. She couldn't be sure. The tv was blaring in the background. She barely heard it because of all the laughter going around the table.
It was somethin' as simple
As not givin' up
And eight crazy hours
In the story of love
She knew that the brief moment of insanity was something that changed her life forever. She was flad for it. It was the most important eight hours of her life. The most important eight crazy hours in the story of her and Rick's love affair...
Would love to hear your thoughts on this one. It just came to me when I was listening to my iPod list today...