For the first time in weeks the only thing that woke the seven year old Travis Stoll was the sunlight filtering into his bedroom. He wiped his eyes groggily, looking around the bedroom he shared with his little brother, Connor. It took about all of five seconds for him to sit straight up and say excitedly,
"Pancakes!" Their mother rarely, if ever, cooked a meal for them so this was a special treat. He hopped out of bed, shoved Connor out of his own before racing into the kitchen. "Mom! Did you make pancakes?" She grinned and showed him the plateful she had set aside already.
"Thought I'd surprise my boys. Did it work?" His eyes lit up and she took that as a yes. Just then a sleepy six year old walked into the room, rubbing his eyes. He yawned and blinked at his mother for just a second before rushing to the table.
"Pancakes!" He squealed before settling down at his spot. Both kids ate their breakfast quickly, taking in more than Ms. Stoll could make. She smiled at let them eat their full of the delicious cakes, hoping it would soften them up for what she was about to say.
"Boys… I'm going out tonight. For work." She held back her cringe as Travis' bright expression faded and Connor slumped in his seat. Neither of them really knew what that meant, not yet, but neither of them wanted their mom to leave them, not again, not as she had been doing at least three times a week since they were born. Ms. Stoll sighed to herself sadly as the boys shrugged off the disappointment – oh how they'd learn to do that in their later years – and ran off to play with their toy trucks in the living room.
As she began to clean up the breakfast mess, she heard them already squabbling over whose cars were whose and where to play. After a sharp cry from Connor, their mother reprimanded Travis, saying "Don't beat up your brother! If you do, I won't let you order pizza tonight!" Connor stuck out his tongue and Travis gave him a childish scowl in return. It didn't take long for him to start smirking – which would, in fact become a trade mark – at Connor. He noticed a moment too late before Travis tackled him to the ground, tickling him fiercely. This wasn't just your average I-want-to-make-you-giggle-and-squirm tickle. This was a flat out you-can't-breathe-so-I'm-going-to-make-it-worse tickle, the one that's reserved for siblings and the occasional parent. In between Connor's shrieks, he managed to mimic his brother's actions, and it was Travis' first lesson that Connor was very good at copying him. As their mother watched in bemusement, the children rolled around the ground, fully engaged in their scuffle. He fell backwards and tried to push Connor off, but the smaller Stoll was persistent. Finally Travis managed to stand up, putting his hands up, muttering,
"Fine, fine! I surrender, I give up, you win!" Connor grinned at him cockily. Travis just rolled his eyes.
"Oh my goodness. I… oh, dear. Is it that time already?" Ms. Stoll exclaimed, looking at her watch. Travis frowned.
"Doesn't your work usually start at night?"
"Yes… but… this time he wants me to spend the day with him… strictly business…" She trailed off, having no idea how to explain to her child that he was paying her double for spending the day with the man before she slept with him. "I'm going to call Ms. Jensen right now so she can come over… you two should go outside and play!" Connor sighed.
"But, mommy. You said we could go to the zoo today!" Her jaw dropped in surprise. In her eagerness to earn the extra money, she had completely forgotten her promise to take them to the New Jersey Zoo. Travis raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response.
"We'll just have to go another day, dear. Don't worry! A promise is a promise, after all!" Travis sensed some sort of tantrum from his little brother coming on so he quickly put an arm around his shoulder and squeezed it.
"Hey, let's go to the park and play catch!" His suggestion was simple, but he knew Connor would love it. As they walked down the hallway of their apartment building, Ms. Stoll could hear Connor's young voice call out,
"Race you there!" She smiled at how proud their father would have been at their already budding athleticism, speed and sure-footedness, then put the thought out of her mind. Very quickly her boys would be at that Camp that Hermes had mentioned just after Connor was born, and even sooner they would know the dark truth. About how they were born. How she made money. Ms. Stoll sighed sadly as she got ready for her "date" and only wished she could let them be children forever.