Chapter Four: Any Other Day

Time is precious to most people. It is fickle, sometimes leaving us hanging on threads of hope, but others allowing the impossible. But the thing that I love most about times is that it allows second chances. Not always, but in the right circumstances, if we didn't get it right the first time, we can always try, try again.

Three days after my thirty-first birthday, I rolled over in bed. Opening my eyes cautiously, I surveyed my surroundings. I was all alone, and my heart leapt at the sight. Finally, I didn't have to cook on a Saturday morning.

Groaning, I sat up, pushing myself onto the floor. Clothed in a crimson nightgown with black beadwork, I opened the door, stepping into the hallway. Running my hand down the banister, I looked over the railing on the long catwalk and down to the sight below.

My eyes laid first upon my husband Mason, sitting at the dining room table. Across from him sat my dear Carrie, a mere vibrant seven years old. She was tearing up little pieces of pancake and feeding them ever so carefully to my other blessing, Jess, who at eight months sat attentively in his highchair. It seemed a crime to disrupt the picture perfect scene, but I walked slowly down the steps and sat down at the table, pulling a plate towards me.

Mason looked up at me as I did so, smiling pleasantly. "Enjoy your rest?" He asked me.

I giggled, piling four pancakes onto my plate. "As I a matter of fact, I did. Thank you for making breakfast." I leaned over the table kissing him softly. Then, I turned to Carrie, who already had her eyes plastered to me. "What do you want to do today Carrie?"

She scooped up some of the syrup on her plate, slurping loudly. "Can I go play with Cousin Jude?"

I grinned, turning to Mason. "How about we all go over to see Tommy and Sadie? We could get a babysitter and the four of us could go out to dinner."

He nodded. I knew that the Quincy's had never been his best friends, but he always agreed to visit for my sake. I respected him greatly for those little things he did for me.

I turned back to Carrie. "Sure sweetie. I think that would be fine. Let me just call them and make sure they don't have any plans."

"Yay!" She yelped as I reached for the telephone.

Dialing the numbers, I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" Sadie answered.

"Hey Sades." I fingered my orange juice, debating whether to take a sip. "What are you guys up to?"

"Um- not much. Jude is watching reruns of Cheyenne on MTV, which Tommy lets her watch," Jude could picture Sadie rolling her eyes, "And I am folding clothes while Tommy talks to Darius on the phone. They're having an argument about something or…"

Jude heard Tommy swear loudly, and Sadie stomp her foot. "TOMMY, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!" She screeched. "God, you think he would remember after ten years that he has a non-adult to look out for."

I laughed. Tommy wouldn't care. I could picture his reaction right now:

"Look, the kid's gonna hear it sometime or another, so who says we shouldn't give her a head start?"

"Jude? Are you still there?"

My head snapped, coming back to our conversation. "Uh yeah, sorry. Do you want to go out to dinner with Mason and me tonight? We could leave the little people at home." I laughed at my own Neanderthal wit.

"Sure, that sounds great. Come meet us here at about four. I gotta go. Bye." Sadie hung up the phone quickly and I stared at it, puzzled.

"What did she say?" Mason asked.

I stood up, swooping up Jess into my arms and pulling Carrie out of her chair. "We leave at four my prince." I sauntered quietly, walking hand in hand with Carrie up the stairs and with Jess hugged tight to my chest.

I had just stepped out of the shower and, clad in a towel laid my clothes out on the bed. Suddenly, I heard the bedroom door close behind me. Smiling expectantly, I didn't even turn around at the intrusion. I felt Mason come up behind me, wrapping his arms around my stomach and kissing my neck softly once. I giggled, turning around to face him. But instead of playful eyes, his look was serious, unmoving.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

"Are you happy Jude?"

I squinted. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, slowly looking away. "I mean, are you happy with the way your life turned out?"

My eyes grew wide and I pulled away. "Um… that's deep." I looked up at him cautiously. "I wouldn't have my life any other way."

'At least I think…' I thought guiltily.

"What brought you to ask this?"

He rolled his shoulders, walking around the room. "I don't know…. It's just I can't help but sometimes wonder how I ended up with you… What I did to deserve you… And what made you want me back…."

My heart leapt, and I ran to embrace him. "Don't think about that. There isn't any reason you should. I love you Mason, and I thank God everyday for letting me have you."

He grinned sheepishly, kissing my forehead. "Thank you Jude. I love you too."

I flashed him a toothy grin and then proceeded to get dressed.

About two hours later, we stood outside the Quincy home. It was large, extravagant, I guess, with a pool and a built in steam room in the backyard. I wondered sometimes how they could afford this house, with Sadie being a stay at home mother and Tommy being a producer like Mason and I. But, I suppose Boyz Attack left him more money than he let on.

I knocked, which was followed by shouts of "Get off the freakin' phone Tommy!", and a scrambling at the door. I laughed. My sister's family was one of the weirdest around. Sometimes I asked myself why two of the most different people in the world got together and started a family. And sometimes, I just settled on blaming it on Sadie's D cups.

A disheveled Sadie opened the door, running a hand through her flyaway blonde locks. "Come in." She said panting. "I was just trying to finish cleaning up. Tommy decided he was going to go all macho man while on the phone with Darius and threw an apple at the wall which of course, split and leaked juice all over our living room carpet." She stepped aside, and I walked in, giving her a hug.

"You looked like you needed it." I whispered in her ear as she giggled, the same laugh she had had while we had been in high school. Mason handed the baby to me, and got a hug from Sadie as well. Then, she moved on to Carrie. Bending down to her level, Sadie grinned.

"Jude is in the playroom if you want to go on up honey."

Carrie, of course, sprinted upstairs, without another word. We all laughed merrily at my daughter, before Tommy walked into the foyer from a random doorway, undoubtedly his office. His eyes landed on me, and I smiled slightly as I placed Jess in his bassinette.

Tom hadn't changed much over the last ten years. No signs of aging were apparent across his perfect face, no thinning hairs above his brow. In fact, if you showed anyone a picture of him then and him now, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sometimes in the studio, I would tease him about how well his plastic surgery was going. 'Hey, we couldn't all be physically oblivious to time and age,' I thought, as I looked down at my voluminous hips. Needless to say, I didn't look twenty anymore. Maybe 28 though. Just maybe.

"Hey." He muttered as I stretched my arms out to him. Hugging Tommy still felt weird. I still got a little jolt in my lower stomach, but nothing more. Tommy was my brother in law, what could I say? I pulled away, and Tommy's hand reached for Mason's which he firmly shook. I stifled a giggle, as did Sadie.

"Um… The babysitter is upstairs already, so we can go ahead and leave. I'll take Jess." Sadie said, breaking the awkward silence, and walking up the stairs with Jess in hand.

I immediately looked up at Tommy. "So, what was Darius putting up a fight about?"

Tommy ran a hand over his face. "You don't want to know. Trust me on this one."

My eyes bulged, and I mouthed a silent ok. Sadie fluttered back down the steps suddenly, grabbing her purse off the table. Little did we know what life had in store for us. Funny how life does that, giving you so little warning towards the worst day of your life.