The rest of my day ran smoothly when I went back to the office after lunch. My afternoon consisted of dividends of both wills and entailments. Why do I have a strange feeling that things are not going as well in the economy as everyone likes to think? I seem to get more and more entailments from the poor farmers from the three nearest counties including Old Sarum a way's yonder. Farmers are the real stewards of the land and if they are falling on hard times than I'm sure everyone else is bound to follow.

The mundane worries of my law office slip away when I come home to find Jem playing by himself in the driveway by our carport. I look up at the porch swing and see Jean cradling Scout, obviously waiting for me to come home again.

"Oh," I hear Jean say to Scout as she takes her off her shoulder. She then points her out to me and my daughter's face lit up. She melted my heart. "Daddy's home!"

"Atticus!" Jem squealed as he ran to me and hugged my leg. I ruffled his hair as I headed up the steps with him still attached to me.

"Did you have a good day today?" I asked my son.

"Yeah, Atticus."

"Hi, honey," Jean said as she walked over to me and kissed my lips in front of the children.

"Hi," I said as I begin to focus my attention to Scout who is babbling away at me.

"Come here, baby," I say as I extend my arms out while Jeans hands her over to me. I kiss her cheeks while she still is going on and on to me in her own little language.

"What's she saying, Atticus?" Jem asked me.

"Nobody knows yet, son," I chuckle as I ruffle his hair some more.

"Dinner is ready when you all are," Calpurnia called out from behind the door.

"We're coming, Cal," I said as I lead everyone in with Scout still in my arms.

We had a nice roast pork dinner for ourselves with cornbread and collard greens. Well, everybody except Scout, Calpurnia fed her in the kitchen while Jean, Jem and I ate our meal in the dining room. Jean would have liked it for Scout to eat with us and so would I but I can see why Cal does this like she does: she believes at the end of the day we deserve a nice, hot meal for ourselves without the baby distracting us. I think it's so nice to have a housekeeper who is as thoughtful and considerate as she.

After dinner was over, we went back outside until the sun went down and I had taken Calpurnia home for the night, then it was time to put ourselves to bed. On hot summer days, Jean liked to bathe Jem and Scout twice: once in the morning and once before bed. She would bathe herself again once the children were put to bed and drifting off to sleep. That was the time I took to read to Jem. I just read to him the things that I read; being the newspaper, the Code of Alabama or whatever type of book that strikes me as interesting that day. I have a feeling the children already sense the reality in which they live in and so I like to read to them real subjects. I secretly pity the adults who think it's cute to read their children about cats who act like real people. Kids know better than that and so shouldn't the adults who help rear them. I can't wait to read to Scout once she gets a little older.

My favorite thing about summer? Going to bed with my wife. She slept completely nude all summer long and even though I've seen her many times in that state, it never fails to excite me. I would walk into the room after reading to our son and there she would be, sitting on her side of the bed, naked with her legs crossed and waiting for me. She would smile at me and it was because I couldn't stop smiling at her.

"After all these years and summer nights, you still blush," she teases.

"I've never met a woman more open than you," I would always reply.

"I wonder if Alexandra has been this open with anyone, ever?" She asked this particular night.

"Jesus, Jean," I reply with a laugh of genuine disgust. "I don't care to think about it."

"I've always wanted to tell her that those corsets she insists on wearing all the time are very un-christian."

"Stop!" I scream as I laugh while unbuttoning my shirt. That was when Scout began to cry. Jean began to laugh as she got out of bed to tend to her.

"You scared her!" She said as she made her way into the hallway to go get her.

"You scared me!" I retorted. Now I was just hoping that Jem didn't wake up to find both his mother and father undressed. I breathe a sigh of relief when Jean brings out a still crying Scout and shuts the door behind her. Jem knows when and how to knock. I hurry up and get dressed for bed so I can comfort my daughter.

"Come here," I say as I pry her away from Jean. I kiss her temple while her cries begin to calm down. "I'm sorry, honey."

"Mommy's sorry, too," Jean says as she rubs her head. "She should have never mentioned your aunt."

Scout began to cry again as soon as she mentioned her aunt. God, our kids are funny! Jean takes Scout back into her arms and lays down in the bed with Scout on her bare chest. I lay down next to them and rub Scout's back as she begins to calm down again.

"I'm sorry, Atticus," Jean says out of nowhere.

"For what?"

"I know she's your sister but my God, I just can't believe the stuff she does sometimes."

"I know."

"Promise me something?"

"When Scout grows up, please make sure your sister never makes her feel as small as she makes me feel sometimes."

"What makes you think she would put her down?"

"Because she's perfect. Alexandra puts such a high premium on women that if they aren't who they want her to be, they are trash."

"Not just women, honey, everybody."

"Well, I don't know about everybody but I've given up trying to figure out what the hell I've done wrong."

"Why are you making her so important for? Is she your husband? No. I am and I think you're as perfect as our daughter."

"Thank God," she says as she put her arm around me and kisses me. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

We don't say anything to each other the rest of the night. She smiled at me as soon as she began to close her eyes. I watched her fall asleep with our daughter on her chest and I watched them stay that way until I closed my own eyes.