By the morning, Francine was gone and only the scent of her flowery perfume lingering in Arthur's bed confirmed that she had ever been there at all. Sitting up in his bed, Arthur held his head as it ached dully. He should know better than to get drunk on a work night, but sometimes he just really needed to get out of the house and be at least a little irresponsible. He and Francine had been high school sweethearts and before either could fully comprehend what was happening, they became parents and Arthur had to take on new responsibilities. The time in most young men's lives to be reckless and irresponsible was cut short for Arthur and he couldn't afford to do anything stupid anymore. Then even more pressure was added on to him when Francine refused to grow up. The stress built up over time and Arthur just had to go out and get a little drunk sometimes to cope. It felt good to do little stupid things here and there. It made him feel young again with no worries. Thus, he had called up his ex for a drink, knowing fully well that it was a stupid thing to do and that he would most likely regret it later. He was regretting it now.
Despite the hangover, Arthur forced himself out of bed, showered, shaved, and pulled on clothes he was pretty certain were clean. The entire process took him less than 20 minutes. He never gave himself much time for himself; how could he with two young trouble making boys under his care? Arthur proceeded to said trouble making boys' room. "Rise and shine, boys," Arthur smiled as he crossed the room and opened the blinds, letting the early morning sun fill the room.
As sunlight shined brightly on the two boys' faces they both started to move. Alfred immediately pulled his covers over his face to block out the intruding light and go back to sleep while Matthew sat up and rubbed his eyes. The boy yawned, revealing a full mouth of baby teeth with one missing on the bottom row.
"Good morning, Matthew," Arthur smiled at the boy before directing his attention to Alfred, the real troublemaker. "Alfred. It's time to get up," he said merrily as he moved closer to the boy's bed. There was no response. "Alright, if you want to play this game," Arthur said coolly before springing, arms reached out to the lump in the bed and he started tickling the boy beneath. Alfred roared in laughter as he kicked the blanket off and tried to get away, but Arthur wasn't going to let him go so easily. He continued tickling relentlessly for a few moments longer before he finally stopped and sat back with a laugh. "Good morning, Alfred."
Now that both boys were awake, the next task was to get them both dressed. Opening the top drawer of their shared dresser, he handed each boy a pair of boxers to put on. Then he opened the bottom drawer and handed them each a pair of shorts. Lastly, Arthur opened the middle drawer and picked out a pair of shirts. One was bright red with a dinosaur on it and the other was a sky blue with a polar bear on it. Matthew took the blue shirt with a smile and pulled it over his head, but Alfred was being more difficult. "I don't want to wear my dino shirt today."
"Well then what shirt would you like to wear?" Arthur asked patently.
"Guess!" Alfred squealed delightedly, clapping his hands. He loved playing games like this.
Alfred sighed, but complied and put the red dino shirt away before picking a different shirt. This one was neon green with an alien on it. Alfred laughed and shook his head no. Arthur tried again with an orange shirt with a picture of a monster truck on it. Still Alfred shook his head no. Finally Arthur pulled out a dark blue shirt with a superman logo on the front. Alfred grinned happily and snatched the shirt from his father, then quickly pulled it on over his head.
"Alright. To the bathroom now. Come on," Arthur ushered the children into the bathroom where they brushed their teeth and combed their hair. Looking at his boys in the mirror, Arthur laughed. "Both of you. Why won't your hair lay flat?" Each boy had at least one stray strand of hair that stuck out. Matthew's even curled despite the rest of his hair being nothing more than a little wavy. Alfred's was the most stubborn sticking straight up from the top of his head. It looked like a little antenna and Arthur joked sometimes that Alfred could pick up radio waves and hear music if he ever stopped talking long enough to listen.
In the kitchen yet another challenge presented itself. What to eat. Cereal bowls were taken from the cupboard and given to each boy with a spoon. Then they each picked out a box of cereal to eat while Arthur got the milk from the fridge. Once the two youngsters were sitting down with a bowl full of Lucky Charms and Maple-O's, Arthur started making himself a cup of coffee and eating his own bowl full of Cheerios. He watched the children like a hawk as he sipped his coffee, eyes alert for any possible trouble.
Thankfully breakfast went by without incident this morning and Arthur was able to walk the boys to the bus stop and get there on time. Far too often the three of them had to dash down the sidewalk to catch the bus. Arthur waited with them until the large yellow vehicle came barreling down the street and stopped at the corner. Arthur kissed both boys on the forehead (to which Alfred loudly protested) and then watched as they climbed onto the bus. He wished the elderly bus driver a good morning and then waved as the bus pulled away and then turned another corner on its way to school.
The children thus taken care of, Arthur returned home, cleaned up from breakfast and did his best to tidy up a little bit before he left for work. For a single parent, getting the right job is only accomplishable by hard work, the right connections, and research. The same can be said for someone without a college degree, but for someone who has both of these handicaps it can only be accomplished by the grace of God. Looking back on the last few years of his life, Arthur sometimes wondered how he had managed to get so far. Every day he had felt like a fish flopping around on dry land, gasping for breath, but now he had finally reached a point where he felt comfortable.
Thanks to a good connection, Arthur landed himself a job with a finance company. He started out in the worst possible position, but quickly worked his way up. He proved himself to be a hard worker and despite not having a college degree was able to quickly climb the ranks. He had been required to take a few classes, which he was able to complete online and late at night after he had put the boys to bed. He had been able to pay for it thanks to financial aid that had been available to him. It had been hard work and he had to go without a lot of things (including a good night's sleep) for a long time, but it had been worth it. Arthur didn't gain a BA or even an AA, but a certificate of completion (which was enough for his company) and he had been able to advance even further. Arthur now had a secure job that paid well. He was well liked within the company and had become an asset. He was even able to gain a flexible schedule including being able to work from home for some of his hours.
Arthur locked the house behind him and then walked a few blocks with a briefcase under his arm. He stopped at a bus stop and waited. He didn't own a car; it was one of the luxuries he couldn't afford and could do without. Even with such a good job, he wasn't rich and still went without a lot of things for himself, preferring to spend his hard earned money on his children instead. He could have saved up for a car if he wanted to, but instead he took every bit of extra money and put it away in a college fund for Matthew and Alfred. He was determined to give them the opportunities he never had.
The bus finally rolled up and opened its doors letting Arthur and a few other people on. Arthur flashed his bus pass and then found a seat. The ride would only take about 15 minutes, but Arthur wasn't about to waste that time. Instead of idly looking out the window or twiddling his thumbs, he opened his briefcase and started rifling through some papers and making some notes here and there with a blue ink pen. When his stop arrived, he shut his case and filed off the bus. From the bus stop, Arthur's company's office was only a few minutes' walk away.
The building he went into looked impressive. Arthur himself looked impressive with his suit and nice clothes. Looking at him one wouldn't imagine that he was ever struggling with money. He knew how to present himself. Once inside, Arthur was greeted by several people, but he didn't stop to chat with anyone unless it was about work. Some of his coworkers thought of him as unsociable while others admired his work ethic. The ones who worked closest to him obviously were the ones who knew him best and while he wasn't known for talking about his personal life, he could easily be distracted if one simply asked how his boys were doing.
"How are the boys doing?" a familiar voice asked.
Arthur turned around although he didn't have to see to know who the flat voice belonged to. Walking up behind him was a small man with a thin frame. He had short blond hair and cool blue-indigo eyes. He kept his bangs out of his eyes with a clip in the shape of a cross and yet there was one long piece of hair that curled out to the side. It reminded Arthur of Alfred and Matthew's stubborn hairs and yet this one always caught him off guard. At times the light would hit it just right and make it appear to not even be attached to his head but just floating beside it. "Good morning, Lukas. The boys are doing fine, though you aren't normally one to ask."
"Well I figured that this must be a difficult time in their lives. Having to reintroduce them to their mother can be tough." Lukas fell into step beside Arthur as they walked through the building.
"What?" Arthur asked, bewildered, "Where on Earth did you get an idea like that? That isn't happening at all!" He turned his head to look at his coworker and friend, but didn't slow his pace. He was on the clock, no time to stop and chat, although he could talk as he walked to his desk.
"I saw you and Francine last night coming from a bar." It was stated simply as an observation. Lukas's voice didn't change much and it was hard to ever spot emotion or anything in it. Before his companion could ask, he added, "Mathias dragged me out last night. I thought he was the only idiot who thought it was a good idea to go drinking on a Thursday night, but I see I was wrong."
Arthur sighed and flushed a little at the jab. "I have no excuse for what I did." Really last night had been a stupid whim to do something reckless.
"Well? Since when did you start seeing your ex again?" Lukas asked bluntly, not allowing Arthur to avoid the question.
"I'm not seeing her. Last night was a onetime thing. Really I don't know why I called her." Arthur avoided eye contact. Lukas had been his friend since high school. It was because of him that Arthur had been able to get a job with this company (his father was the president). Thus this man knew practically everything about Arthur's life and past mistakes.
Lukas's facial expression didn't change and he stated a simple, "I see."
Arthur knew better than to read into Lukas's words, but he couldn't help but sense sarcasm. "I'm not getting back together with Francine. Not again." He said firmly, but was given no answer. Finally he reached his desk and sat down, quickly getting to work. The topic of conversation easily changed from Francine to work and the former wasn't brought up again. Soon enough Lukas excused himself to do his own work.
For the rest of the day there weren't any more distractions and Arthur did his best to get as much done that he needed to get done while he was still in the office. Despite forgoing breaks, taking a shorter lunch most days and working hard, there never seemed to be enough time in the day before he had to return home. He was thankful for afterschool programs that kept the boys busy an extra hour and a half and the bus service that brought them home, but he still grumbled when he had to pack up and leave for home when there was still so much that needed to get done. Arthur clocked out and bid a short goodbye to a few coworkers who happened to cross his path on his way out.
Arthur arrived home about fifteen minutes before Alfred and Matthew and he used these few minutes to try and clean the house. Only fifteen or so minutes a day was a pathetic attempt at keeping a clean home, but it was all he could manage and as long as the important areas like the kitchen and bathroom were kept bacteria free it was enough for Arthur. He could get Alfred and Matthew to clean their room and pick up their play things from the house, but they were still too young to really understand the need to clean the bathtub. According to their logic it should get clean when they took a bath instead of getting dirty because of it. Today Arthur targeted the kitchen and managed to sweep the floor and wipe down the counters before he heard the door open and two pairs of footsteps rushing in.
"Welcome home, boys. How was school? What did you learn?" Arthur asked, already aware of the answer he was going to get because it was the same one he got every day he asked.
"Nothing." Was the one word reply from Alfred. Then the boy quickly asked, "Can we eat a snack?"
Arthur laughed and nodded his head. "How about I make you guys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" There was a cheer of agreement from the boys and then Arthur added, "But then you have to get your homework done." The cheer quickly turned into a laugh, not the usual groan Arthur had been expecting.
Alfred explained, "We don't have homework on Fridays, silly!" Arthur blinked as his brain wrapped around the day. His little excursion last night had confused him and he had forgotten that it was a Friday today. Arthur sighed. He really couldn't have waited one more night to go out and get drunk? He had to go out on a Thursday? He really was an idiot!
After the sandwiches were made and eaten, the boys ran off to play. Alfred grabbed a soccer ball and he and Matthew scurried into the small backyard and started kicking it around. Arthur smiled, but worry tugged at the corners of his eyes. Normally he would work while the boys played during the day, but whenever a ball was brought outside Arthur had learned that he needed to keep a close watch on the boys. He sat down at the coffee table and spread his work out in front of him. It wasn't the best desk and he usually preferred the kitchen table, but this way he could keep a better eye on the boys and still get something done. He opened up a laptop his work had lent him and logged in before checking his email and quickly losing himself in his work, pausing only to quickly peek out the window at the boys.
An hour or so later, Arthur sat up and stretched his cramping muscles. He glanced outside to see that the boys had grown bored of the soccer ball and were now literally rolling around in the grass. "I guess I'll have to give them baths tonight," Arthur mused to himself before glancing at the clock. It was a little after six so he decided to get started on making dinner. "Making dinner" for Arthur normally meant making something without using the stove or oven unless he wanted to serve burnt crisps for dinner. Tonight he microwaved chicken nuggets, and steamed vegetables in a bag. Then he called the boys inside, instructed them to wash their hands and then the three of them sat down to eat.
Alfred ended up making a mess as he drowned each nugget in ketchup and barbeque sauce before eating it. Matthew was at least a little more conservative with his sauce, but not by much. Arthur was the only one who didn't mind eating them plain although occasionally he would drizzle some honey over them. Arthur asked again what they had learned in school today and Matthew shyly started explaining about the solar system before Alfred took over and excitedly waved his hands around as he tried to remember all eight planets. Between the two of them they were able to name them all although they forgot Earth until Arthur asked which planet they lived on. Arthur laughed. It made him feel so much older listening to them. When he was going to school there had still been nine planets. After dinner was finished (including all the vegetables), Arthur had the boys help him with the dishes and then had them take out the trash. Then it was bath time.
"I don't wanna take a bath!" Alfred complained to no one's surprise.
"But you have to," Arthur reasoned softly. "Matthew is going to take a bath."
Matthew already had a towel in his hands and was heading to the bathroom to take a bath first. He was such a good kid. Arthur thanked the Lord that at least one of his children had been able to inherit his own responsible attitude while Alfred took after his mother more and more every day.
While Matthew took his bath, Arthur played with Alfred. Alfred had wanted to play a video game which Arthur wasn't very good at. He kept losing, much to Alfred's delight and the boy never tiered of the easy victories. Finally Matthew entered the family room already dressed in his pajamas and Alfred renewed his protests against a bath.
"Do I have to carry you into the bathroom and clean you myself? I thought you were a big boy," Arthur asked, putting his hands on his hips, getting a little tired. The day was almost over and he was starting to wear down.
"I am a big boy!" Alfred pouted. "I can do it myself." And with that he grabbed a fluffy red towel and headed off to take his turn.
While Alfred was in the bath it gave Arthur some time with his other son. Arthur plopped down onto the couch and Matthew climbed up in his lap with a storybook in his hands. Arthur smiled and picked it up. It was a Dr. Seuss book, "My Book About Me." It was a fun little book that had blanks were the reader filled in answers about themselves. Opening it up, Arthur smiled at the writing in it and then began reading. He paused for Matthew to fill in the blanks even though the blanks were already filled in with messy handwriting. Matthew supplied his favorite color, his favorite food, and whatever else the book wanted him to fill in. Arthur quickly noticed that every answer Matthew gave wasn't the same as what was already in the book. After a few pages he guessed that Alfred must have filled in the blanks in the book before Matthew could get to it. Another surprised to Arthur was that he didn't even have to read Alfred's answers to know what they were, but almost everything Matthew said was something new to him. Why didn't he know his own son's favorite food? Favorite book? Whether or not his feet were ticklish? Arthur suddenly felt like he didn't know his son at all! How had this happened?
Suddenly Alfred ran into the room wearing nothing but a towel/cape. "Alfred!" Arthur shouted. "Go get some clothes on!" He set the book down and stood up. Alfred was laughing at his prank and ran around the couch once before Arthur scooped him up and carried him into the bedroom and forced him into some pajamas. The boy laughed and giggled the whole time.
Just as Alfred was finally decent the doorbell rang and he bolted out of his room shouting, "I'll get it! I'll get it!" He ran past Matthew who was curious to see who was at the door too and then flung the door open. He tilted his head as he looked up at a tall blond woman he didn't recognize.
"Why hello there," the woman smiled and crouched to get down to his level. "You must be…" she paused looking the two boys over doing her best to guess which was which, "Matthew."
Alfred laughed and shook his head, "I'm Alfred!" He puffed his chest out proudly and then pointed to his brother who was standing not too far behind him. "That's Matthew."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Alfred. Matthew." She smiled kindly at them both, "I'm Francine, but you can call me Mama if you'd like."
By this time Arthur had arrived and as soon as he saw Francine he scowled and hearing her say something like that only made his expression darken. "Francine!" He said sternly, stepping up and between her and the boys. "What are you doing here? Boys, why don't you go play while I talk to Francine here for a minute."
The boys looked from their father to this stranger. They were curious about who she was and how she knew their names. She seemed nice enough and was very pretty. She even smelled nice. Despite their curiosity they obeyed their father and quickly retreated around the corner, but suddenly Alfred grabbed onto Matthew's pajamas and stopped. He put his finger to his lips and then crouched against the wall so he could listen in. Matthew sat beside his brother and they both tried to peek. Thankfully Arthur was facing the other direction so he couldn't see them. Also, despite the woman being a little taller than Arthur, she couldn't see over his head.
"Francine, what in the world are you doing here? Didn't I make it perfectly clear to you last night that you aren't welcome here?" He might have been drunk, but he clearly remembered telling Francine countless times to go home and that she wasn't welcomed.
"Oh yes. You made it perfectly clear what your feelings for me were," Francine whispered trailing a finger up his chest.
Arthur's face grew hot as he remembered that telling Francine to go home wasn't the only thing he had done. "N-never mind that!" He shouted before lowering his voice again, "Look, Francine. I was drunk. I wanted to do something stupid. Last night was just a one night stand. I have no lingering feelings for you at all so I'm sorry if I got your hopes up or gave you the wrong impression. I don't ever want to see you again."
"Your words say one thing, but your body told me a completely different story last night." Francine smiled. "Come on Arthur," she quickly continued before he could cut her off. "With all the stress you have piled on your shoulders you need a woman around to help you unwind after a hard day." Her voice was silky.
"No Francine!" Arthur hissed. "And if this is all you came here for tonight then you might as well turn around and leave right now because it's not happening."
"Actually no, that's not all I'm here for," she quickly retorted. "Sex isn't the only thing I'm good for despite what you might think. I have other womanly talents that could help you out. For instance when's the last time you vacuumed or dusted? I want to help you, Arthur."
Arthur raised his bushy brows and scoffed at her. "You? Clean? What game are you playing?"
"I've grown up. I've become more responsible. I can keep a home clean. I'm not afraid to break a nail like I was before. I also have a steady job and money that I want to spend on my children. And on you."
"We don't need your money." Arthur shot her offer down immediately.
"You don't need it? You're getting by just fine, huh? How long do you plan on going without a dresser, Arthur? What else are you going without? And last time I checked you couldn't cook. I hope you aren't feeding our children fast food every day. Just give me a chance and I'll prove it to you. Just one more chance. What harm could it do?"
"What harm could it do? Are you serious? If you think it couldn't do any harm then that only proves that you haven't matured yet. It can do a lot of harm. Think about how confused the boys would be by having you here!"
"And think about how confused the boys would be growing up without a mother? You'll have to tell them eventually and when the time comes what will you say? That they were mistakes? That the only reason they were born was because you couldn't keep it in your pants after a few slow songs pressed up against your high school sweetheart? Because we don't have to just be high school sweethearts. We can be more than that. We can be something good for our children."
"Francine!" Arthur shouted loudly causing the hidden children to flinch. They grew scared seeing their father so angry. They couldn't hear every word, but they could tell that the two adults were having an argument. "Francine," Arthur repeated softer this time. "Just go home. We're through. There's nothing more we can be." He was tired of arguing with Francine. She was a problem that he wasn't willing to add to his already mile long list of problems he had to deal with.
Seeing Arthur like this actually ended up making Francine angry and she snapped in a low whisper, "You stubborn, grouchy old man! You won't even consider what I'm offering will you? Even if it really is what's for the best, you wouldn't dare say I'm right. And you call me the immature one!" Francine tossed her hair over her shoulder in a fluid motion and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Arthur also shifted and momentarily provided Francine with a glimpse of the hallway where a pair of fearful yet curious blue eyes met her own. Seeing them caused her anger to quickly melt.
Noticing the strange change in Francine's expression, Arthur looked behind him. Spotting his son spying on him had a different reaction for the father than it did the mother and Arthur quickly shouted at the boy, "Alfred! I told you to go play. Is Matthew there with you too? Go to your room. Now. And don't come out."
"Arthur!" Francine shouted, shocked that he would yell at his son like that when he was obviously afraid.
"This is your fault, Francine," Arthur wheeled on her, his eyes flaming.
"My fault?" Francine shouted back. Suddenly realizing that she was shouting too, Francine cast a fearful glance back at the place Alfred had been to find it empty, but that didn't mean he wasn't still close by. Not wanting them to hear them shouting, Francine grabbed onto the front of Arthur's shirt and pulled him out onto the porch and then closed the door behind him. "Arthur, you have to really think seriously about what's best for our boys even if it includes doing something you might not particularly like. You need to stop being so stubborn and seriously consider my offer. Ask anything of me and I'll prove to you that you can trust me this time."
"Fine," Arthur snapped, saying anything to get Francine to leave, "but until I can trust you, I don't want you around the boys."
"Fine," Francine repeated, "Come to my house tomorrow and I'll cook dinner for you."
Arthur scoffed at the offer and he crossed his arms, "You claim to be responsible, but don't you know I can't just leave the boys home alone."
"Get a babysitter." Francine retorted quickly.
Arthur frowned and after a short pause, he finally sighed and said, "Lunch then. And a short lunch too. I have work to do."
With a smile and a fluid motion, Francine plucked a scrap of paper and a pen from her purse and scribbled down an address and then handed it to Arthur. "This is where I'm living now. I'll see you tomorrow then." Francine flipped her hair behind her shoulder and looked Arthur up and down before adding, "And dress up a little, k?" She smiled and winked at him playfully. "Au revoir," she waved as she turned around and walked back down the driveway to the street where a cab waited. It was as if she knew she would never get into Arthur's house. Just before Francine climbed into the vehicle, she waved once more at Arthur and smiled to which Arthur returned a frown. Then she was gone.
Arthur sighed and slowly dragged his heavy feet back up into his home. Locking the door behind him, he wondered how he was going to explain Francine to his sons. He didn't want to tell them the truth, but he didn't want to lie either, not about something like this. He walked through the house and down the hall to the boys' shared bedroom where he found them both sitting on Matthew's bed and talking softly to one another. When Arthur entered their room, Alfred jumped up to his feet and pointed at his father and asked, "Who was that lady?" He showed no signs of being upset by Arthur yelling at him earlier. He got yelled at all the time with all the trouble he got into and he didn't tend to dwell on it too much.
Matthew on the other hand was the "good child" and shied away from being scolded. He hunched in on himself and frowned, but now he worked up enough courage to lift his eyes to Arthur's and ask tentatively, "Was that our Mom?"
"She said to call her Mama. Does that mean that she's our Mama?" Alfred asked, his blue eyes searching for an answer.
Arthur hesitated before finally figuring out how to answer. "Now now, boys. It's late and you two should be in bed. Alfred, get into your own bed and I'll tuck you both in. Then it's lights out." His solution was to not answer at all. "Also, I'm not very pleased that you disobeyed me and didn't go to your room when I asked you to." Matthew hung his head while Alfred pouted at the subject change. "Did you two brush your teeth already?" Arthur ushered the boys back into the bathroom to brush their teeth and was dismayed to step into a puddle of water. When would the day finally come when they didn't leave the bathroom a mess after taking a bath?
Once the boys finished brushing their teeth, and were back in their individual beds, Alfred said, "Will you tell us a story?" He demanded more than asked.
Rather pleased that he had been able to avoid having to explain Francine, Arthur was more than happy to tell a story so he sat down on the edge of Alfred's bed and started making up a story. He picked up on one of the many story lines he normally used including knights, fairies, and tonight's theme: pirates. He was very descriptive and didn't shy away from using big words or the proper names of the parts of the ship. He would also describe diseases that plagued the sea dogs and the violence that accompanied them wherever they went. Tonight's adventure took on a more mystical theme as they battled the kraken and other sea monsters. Mermaids and sirens also graced the story, but despite being beautiful they were nothing but trouble. Perhaps it was Arthur's recent encounter with his own siren that caused tonight's description of the sea witches to be that much more venomous. Once the boys finally started drifting off, he tucked them each in, kissing them both on the forehead. After turning off the light, the room was illuminated by a unicorn night light.
Arthur retreated from the boys' bedroom and returned to the bathroom. He sighed and started mopping up the water on the floor and cleaning the tub which had gotten quite dirty after two little boys took a bath. Once the bathroom was acceptable, Arthur moved to the kitchen where he wiped down the table and cleaned up the sticky mess from dinner that he hadn't managed to clean earlier. He straightened up a little more around the kitchen and the family room before retrieving his brief case and setting it down at the kitchen table. He opened it up and did his best to get what work done he could with what time he had. He was behind in his work as he almost always was and did his best to catch up. By the time he reached a place he felt comfortable stopping at, it was a little past midnight. Yawning, he fumbled with his paper and laptop, remembering to save before shutting it down. Then Arthur stumbled to the bathroom before making his way to his bedroom and collapsing into bed. He wiggled out of his pants and shirt and fell asleep not long after.