"And then Mommy blast through the walls of the supermarket and saved the day"
"Wow! Were there dinosaurs too?"
"Yeah big ones! She chased down a flock of T-rex right out into the bushes, with soldiers chasing after her and everything!"
I couldn't help but smile at Homer's exaggerated account of one of our Liberation missions. Although most parents would highly advise against the telling of violent bed time stories, Jack beamed with pride when he heard about the heroic tales of his parents. And well I figured, it could hardly be a bad thing to have your kid look up to and respect you. But sometimes it was worrying how 'inspired' he got, Homer and I almost had a heart attack when he 'accidentally' set fire to half a paddock when he experimented with a chocolate bar and a can of coke; credits to uncle Gavin. I can't say I didn't at least feel a bit proud of how resourceful he was becoming, I mean I wasn't kissing his cheeks and praising him at the time, but I was definitely impressed.
"But you know it was Daddy who kept the team together during the first half of the war" I said as I walked in and kissed his forehead. "Yeah but Mum was the one with all the bright ideas" retorted Homer as he wrapped his strong toned arms around me.
"So what happened next?" His little voice howled with excitement. I internally cringed, what had Homer been thinking when he started telling stories like this so close to bedtime? "Well, we all rode home and went to bed" I said, giving him a look to make it clear that it was bedtime." But what about Gavin, and the soldiers and what happened to the baby T-rex!?"
Homer looked incredulously at him. "What do you mean! It was way past all their bedtimes, everyone went to sleep of course! Even the T-rex." There was a moment of silence as Jack processed the newfound information. It was almost like in those gameshows where the contestants are left in limbo as the host takes a moment to figure out whether what they said was correct or not. Thankfully, Jack looked satisfied with Homer's answer, and without another word he finally settled down in his bed. I look to Homer as he does a fist pump in mid air, and we quickly scurry off into the hallway before jack reconsiders.
Homer's arm wraps around my waist as he pulls me in against his toned chest. All that farm work had really made an impact on his once podgy body and I can definitely feel his toned muscles through his shirt. He kisses down the line of neck and lightly nips the tip of my shoulder blades. His hands travel up the centre of my stomach, and a powerful warmth spreads over me.
"mmmmh," I moan out as he slips his hand under my bra.
A subtle stirring in the room reminded me that Jack was right around the corner. "Homer," I whispered hoarsely hoping he'd get the message. And he did, without another word he swooped me up and carried me down the rest of the hall and into our bedroom.
A lot had changed since we dropped out of Liberation, especially my relationship with Homer. Everything just seems so complicated and I honestly don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start with the biggest change in our lives; Jack.
After my relationship with Lee fell apart Gavin and I moved back to Wirrawee and I supported the both of us with my part time job helping out Ms. Sanders at the Bakery. As I was still technically the adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Yannos, they offered to babysit Gavin for me and we went over almost every night for dinner.
That was the arrangement for almost a year and a half until Gavin started Junior high and pronounced himself "old enough to look after himself." By then I had just managed to scrape by and complete my final year of high school and was now on the threshold to beginning what many considered "real life."
I remember having absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life, except a distant whim of pursuing a career in writing. But with bills to pay and Gavin to support, I knew that that road was far to much of a risk.
as in one day I was completing my finals in high school and just starting to manage the stress of exams and assignments that were constantly shouting out "do me", and the next week I'm vomiting every morning convinced that I've caught some kind of life-threatening disease. Well maybe not life-threatening, but definitely life-changing. To my surprise Homer handled it quiet well, well actually it was me that broke down into tears and he had to hold me for almost an hour before I could even get a single word out. At first Mr and Mrs Yannos weren't very pleased with us either, but considering some of the other stuff we'd already gotten up to, I guess they figured it could've been worst. And after the initial hurdle Mrs Yannos actually became the most supportive person I had during the entire pregnancy. She was pretty much my manual book, emotional support, midwife and child advisory service all rolled into one. I don't think I would've made it out alive without her.
The house is still mostly the same except for the redecorating in Jack's room which used to be Gavin's room and the conversion of my parent's room to a children's' bedroom when Lee's younger siblings moved in with us while he went to university. And of course, Homer moved in with me, well technically I moved in with him when he bought the property- well we brought the property, but it was under his name so. . . it's complicated.