Chapter 10 - Piece of the Puzzle

Camille woke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. Luckily, the sun was already up. Might as well start my day, she thought. "Henry, time to…" As she sat up to wake her son, she noticed the empty bundle of blankets at the foot of the bed. Panic stricken, she ran to Kendall's room, but to no avail. The door was wide open and the bed freshly made. Turning on her heel, she gasped at the sight before her.

"Oh, thank God!" The stringent voice of a frightened mother rang through the room, waking James from his restless sleep.

"What are you yelling about?"

"This!" Camille pointed to the bed and James rolled over to see a sleeping Henry curled up on the pillow behind him.

" Why is he here?"

Camille walked around the bed, scooping their child into her arms. "That's what I'd like to know! I woke up and he was missing, I thought…" She hugged Henry close, running her fingers through his messy hair.

"Breathe. He's fine, okay? Try to keep it down, he's still asleep."

The boy stirred in Camille's arms. "Mommy?" he asked groggily.

"I guess he's not asleep anymore," she said. "Yes, baby, it's me. Why were you sleeping in Uncle James' bed?" Suddenly her voice was calm and smooth, the way James had always remembered it.

"You were moving too much and I couldn't cuddle with you anymore. Uncle Kindle was snoring, so I came to Uncle Jamie's bed."

James snickered at the remark against his roommate, but stopped after receiving a glare from Camille. "Henry, you scared Mommy. Next time, if you can't sleep, let me know and we'll figure something out, okay? You can't just run away on me."

"But you said we're staying with Kindle and Jamie to stay safe, right?"

Camille's eyes turned away from her son's for a moment. "Yes, sweetie. That's right. Just…" Her voice caught for a second. "Just promise me you'll tell me next time you can't sleep, okay?"

"Okay, mommy." The boy writhed himself out of his mother's arms and made his way down, heading out of the room.

James looked up at Camille, who swiftly following Henry. "Cam, wait."

"Henry, go get dressed, I'll be there in a second!" she called out. Not expecting a response, she turned back to James, who was now sitting at the edge of his bed, clad only in sweatpants. Camille's gaze went straight towards James' rippled torso, each nook and cranny as toned and tanned as she remembered. After a moment, she regained her composure."You get dressed, too. I can't take you seriously without a shirt on."

James smirked as he made his way to the closet. "Glad to see some things haven't changed"

"Just tell me what you want, James." She didn't seem to be amused.

"It could have been worse, you know?"

"I suppose you're right. Sorry for waking you up." There was sadness in her voice. James opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Camille was already out the door.

Later in the kitchen, James found Camille looking over a newspaper while Henry ate some Cheerios.

"Uncle Jamie!" Henry's cereal went flying as he raised his arms in excitement.

Grabbing a towel to clean up the mess, James waved back.

"Henry, we've talked about this. What are we supposed to do when we get very excited?"

"Take a deep breath, then talk."

"Good. Let's try to practice that from now on. Thanks for getting that, by the way."

James nodded in her direction. He still didn't quite know how to act around the two of them. Camille alone he had all figured out, but Camille in single mother mode was another beast altogether. And Henry? Forget it. The first time he saw Henry, James simultaneously wanted to run away and hug the boy and never let go.

"James, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"I said 'Are you okay?'."

"Yeah, fine," he said. "Are you okay?"

Camille paused for a moment. "I've been better, but I've definitely been worse."

"So, any big plans for today?" James asked. As dumb as he thought it, small talk was the most he could really muster at the moment.

"Just looking through this," said Camille, holding up the newspaper, "and trying to find a job."

"You have anything in mind?"

"Obviously I'd prefer something in the business, but all things considered, I'll take anything right now."

"Well, if I hear about anything, I'll put in a good word for you."

"Thanks. What about you? Big day?"

"No, actually. I don't have any classes today."

"Fun…" Camille's face wrinkled at the thought of being home with James all day.

Sensing her distaste, James added, "I'm probably gonna go work out at some point with Kendall. And I think I have…a thing later."

"How fun. A thing!"

"Yeah. It'll be real fun. It'll be the most fun-tastic fun of any 'thing' ever."

"He said fun twice, Mommy," The boy giggled.

"You bet I did," James said, the retort almost a reflex.

Even Camille couldn't help but laugh. "You're right. Some things never change."

James eventually sat next to them, also enjoying some Cheerios. As he ate, he took in the scene around him. Between bites, Henry would engage his mother in conversation, Camille beaming at her son's brilliance. James thought about how he might fit into their family dynamic. It was very obvious in ways that Henry hadn't had a father figure, given his instant gravitation to Kendall and James the previous day, but in many ways, James could see that Henry had grown up fine without that influence. Camille had always been a very resilient person, a trait that was evidently passed on to her son. James continued to wonder how he could be in Henry's life, but by the time he reached the bottom of his cereal bowl he saw that, at least for now, just being around his son would be enough.