Jesse

It was around 11 that night. The house was quiet. I was in my room, drawing. Karen'd gone to sleep about 2 hours ago. Karen'd had a very long day, as had Ashley. Kate had slept all day because she'd been so tired. Ashley, lily and rose had had ballet twice today as usual, from 5 - 7 a.m. and p.m. then Ashley had gone to her job at the bookstore which ended at 10 so shed been back for an hr. Lily and rose had been home since 8 p.m.

There was an empty black coffee mug on my bedside table. Karen and the others had their bedrooms upstairs while mine was downstairs.

The reasons I had the bedroom downstairs were convention, and if Kate got sick in the downstairs bathroom I could check on her therefore making it more convenient for me to have the downstairs one. Along with my room, the living rooms, dining room and kitchen, there were also several guest room downstairs. Some nights, just as I was getting to sleep, someone would come into my room and inform me Kate was being taken to the hospital. Because I was home all day, as Ashley'd pointed out several times, I knew more of what went on with Kate being sick. sometimes I'd be called to deal with the fires Evan's deliberately set, or to help Anna's art class, when Karen couldn't. If I wasn't home, Evan would be. And if he wasn't, Ashley would be. And so it went. And then alexa.

I was an artist and firefighter and Karen was a psychologist. W/ my art I worked whenever and same w/ firefighting. Karen worked during the week.

Evan was the oldest, at 18 then Ashley, at 17. Hannah, Alexa, Lily and Rose were 16; Marie and the twins Amanda and Louisa were 14, Kate was 13 and Anna was 10. Karen and I'd adopted Ashley, Marie, Alexa, Lily and Rose. Ashley from New York, Marie from Paris and Rose from London and alexa from Boston. Ashley's, maries and roses mothers had died early. Lily, Marie and Hannah looked a lot alike, with their white skin, blue eyes and long black hair, the only difference being that Hannah's hair was straight. Ashley, Karen and the twins looked alike, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Rose, Evan and Alexa were the only ones who didn't quite look like their siblings. Rose had curly red-orange hair, green eyes and pale, creamy skin. Evan looked a lot like me, with his longish, straight, light brown hair and color changing eyes, which changed from a dark brown to a pale silver. Alexa had dark brown hair in waves to her shoulders, light skin and dark brown eyes. Anna had pale skin and long, straight dark brown hair that matched her eyes.

I dropped my pencil on the desk and looked up, sure I'd heard a noise from upstairs. I waited, and the house became quiet again. I stood up and took my coffee mug to the cold medium sized kitchen, where I set it in the silver sink. I went to the living room and sat down on one of the big white sofas.

They all had their different personalities, with similarities; Evan and Ashley were the ones who woke up early and made breakfast at the start of the day, and dinner at the end. When even was at our place and Ashley wasn't at ballet. Otherwise the job went to me. Evan was the stable one when I wasn't. I told him more of what was going on with Kate than I did the others, because he was the oldest and my only son. He loved fire, as I had when I was his age. And he was an artist just like me. He was sweet and funny. I know he still smoked and drank, even though he'd told his mom and I he'd stopped. He never covered up the smell.

Ashley, the primary ballet dancer of the family, was also a singer; she could sing anything, from jazz to Queen. She was sweet, a nurturer when needed who took charge. Angry, confused.

Lily was the perceptive one, Rose, lovely. Lovely, sweet, elegant. Beautiful. Pure. Marie was one of the quietest people I'd ever met, but very charming and sweet, also a singer. Kate, albeit sick, was very sweet, fun and creative. She loved the stars and bubbles. Anna, friendly. Loved dogs.

We knew some about maries, Ashley's and alexas family but not much about lily's, roses or Hannah's for some reason. Maries mother had been a prostitute back in Paris and had passed during one of her meetings. Alexas family was in Boston, crazy. She had at least 2 siblings Sophie and tom. Ashley was originally from new Orleans but moved to Brooklyn w/ her dad. Her mother Angela had passed when she was little. Her dad was abusive.

Evan, the twins, Kate and Anna were our own. Karen and id had Anna as a donor for Kate who'd been diagnosed w/ leukemia when she was 2. Evan and the twins had come along later in life, about when we were in college.

Karen, Evan, Anna, Kate, the twins and id moved from CT to Denver, CO a few yrs ago when our family was expanding. We now lived in cherry creek, very near to Ashley's cousin Annabelle and her family. Her sister Karen and parents mike and Susanna.

Upstairs, above me, I heard someone run across the ceiling of the living room, which was the floor of the hallway upstairs. I stood up and quickly ran up the stairs and down the hallway to the white bathroom. In all the years I'd done this it always came as a surprise. I knocked on the tall wooden door.

"Kate?" I asked, putting my hand on the knob and my ear to the door.

The response that came from inside was vomiting.

I came in and there was Kate, leaning over the toilet. She was in jeans and a t shirt.

When she heard me enter she turned her head and looked at me. The bathroom was cold.

I closed the door and came toward my daughter.

"Dad?" she asked, before vomiting into the toilet again.

I went to her side and rubbed her back.

"Stay with me."

"I will baby," I promised: "I will."

We stayed like that, in the quiet night for awhile.


It was about a year or so earlier. Karen and I were in New York, Brooklyn. She was at dinner with our friend Mark and I was walking in the city. Anna, Kate, the twins, Rose and Marie were all back in CO with Evan. Before we'd left Evan assured me he'd call if anything happened.

Ahead of me I noticed a young woman sitting on a black metal bench which was under a tree lining the street. She looked to be about 16, with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. She was pretty. She was in a pink short sleeve shirt, black pants and black shoes. She had a black purse w/ her.

"Hey," I said, approaching her.

"Hi."

"Mind if I sit?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I started to sit next to her.

"Other bench," she ordered.

"What?" I asked.

"Sit on the other bench. I got issues with space."

"Uh ok."

I moved and sat on the black bench that was on the other side of the tree seperating the 2.

"Thanks," she said.

"Sure."

I noticed a bruise on her arm. Several more followed it.

"Do you have leukemia?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"My daughter, she uh, has bruises like that from her leukemia."

"Oh. No. My dad."

"Oh."

"I'm Ashley," she said.

"Jesse nice to meet you."

"yeah you too. So what are you doing here?"

"the woman I live with and I. were visiting a friend."

"oh."

"and you?"

"well I currently live here. But at the moment im getting away from my dad."

I looked down at the bruises then back up again: "oh. Where's your mom?"

"she's long gone."

"oh. I'm. You have my sympathy."

"don't need it. Er. Um. I mean."

Clearly the blonde wasn't used to this.

"no I get it. My dads long gone too," I told her.

"oh. How?"

"the drink killed him."

"oh wow. Yeah my dad drinks. More than he should."

"same w/ mine. So I get it. What happened to your mom?"

"she was sick."'

"oh."

"yall aren't married?" the blonde asked.

"no she doesn't go that way far as I know."

"oh."