Chapter 11
She hadn't accounted on the fact that Erin would follow her into the bathroom, this was something that she needed to do and frankly she didn't want an audience. Luckily she had already peed on the stick before Erin had practically forced her way into the bathroom and by the time Rose was just sitting on the toilet with the test in her hand. The younger of the two women shut the door softly behind her and walked over to the counter, and then she looked over and noticed that her friend had an anxious expression on her face. And even though it had been sometime since they had last seen each other, it was maybe the third time at most that she had seen the expression. "How many will this make?"
"Lucky number six" Rose stated flatly wanting the time to pass.
Erin whistled. "And I thought that three kids was painful"
"You wanna talk about painful, just ask my husband, I think when I gave birth the last time I practically ripped his arm off when I was pushing them out," Rose reflected. "But my memory is a little fuzzy, I was medicated from the eyes down"
Turning around she leaned on a sink. "My son's were both c-sections, and when I gave birth to my daughter my husband convinced me to give birth naturally"
"I take it that he regretted that" Rose smirked.
Smiling she nodded and brought up her hand. "Four stitches, he saw the bone"
Rose actually winced. "Damn and I thought I was vicious"
"Well it's hard to be kind when you trying to blow a Saint Bernard out of your ass, but I digress" She remarked dryly clasping her hands together over her stomach.
That made her laugh, and just as she was going to respond the test that was in her lap began to beep. She was surprised how quickly these worked, but then again she had used an electronic one with her third child Rachel, and she had gotten it back in less than a few minutes. Before looking down to see the result, she looked over to Erin and smiled. "It's funny to me when I think that ever since I started having sex with my husband, and I've been doing that since I was sixteen, I've played the role of a fetus condo to five children"
Looking down, her breath caught and then she gasped. This test had given her the exact opposite answer that her daughter's test had given her, she was pregnant, she was going to give birth to another child. It wasn't surprising to her and she was less happy than she imagined that she would be. And without her knowledge, tears began to fall down her flushed face. "Is it good news?"
"It depends on what you consider good news," She said. "I don't even know why I'm crying, I mean I'm going to have another kid, but I'm just not sure if…"
Erin understood her concern, because she had shared that concern so much in the last few years with her Husband. They were getting older, and Erin was quite confident that she could speak for herself and Rose when she said that the more kids that they had, the longer it would take for their lives to start. She loved her kids, but she also loved her Husband. "I think about it this way, when they're all gone, you'll have your husband, and you'll get too see your grandchildren and spoil them rotten, and spend holidays and birthdays with them and it will work"
"Wow, I've really never thought about that" Rose admitted her eyes widening.
The other woman scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "You've never thought about that, and yet you have two Grandkids who happen to also be mine?"
"Hey," Rose stuck her tongue out at her. "I give them anything they want"
Erin eyed her, mocking suspicion. "Well one time about ten months ago, I was really pregnant and I was moody, I was picking one of them up from school and I told him that we were going to the store, he said he wanted some candy, I told him no, he gave me a face that made me start crying right there in the aisle, I broke and told him to go pick out the biggest bag of candy he could find"
"Oh God your daughter must love you," Erin mused and then she smiled. "You know I might just do what you did, might buy some points with the Grandkids"
Rose stood up and sat the test down on the counter. "I find that with kids that small, their love is just as easy to buy as it is to earn, keep that in mind with them"
Inside the home of Mark Harrison and Erin Hutchinson
Something inside of his was amazed that this was the home that his mother had made for herself and her family, and he wondered how he was going to fit into this life that his mother had made for himself. He walked through the hall that his mother had gone down and he found that he couldn't stop looking at the pictures that adorned the wall. Johnny felt a wave of jealousy come over him when he saw a picture of his mother, and it was most undoubtedly his mother, sitting on a playground swing with an infant child between her legs. That was probably his little half brother, and he didn't know exactly why he was jealous about all of that. It was simply a mother and her child, but then he knew why.
It wasn't him on that swing and that was what made it hard, he didn't have anything like this, with either of his parents. His father would have dismissed this as a serious weakness and frankly he would have laughed at the idea. In the environment that he was raised, you weren't allowed to be a normal person, you were expected to disciplined, iron clad. And looking back on it now, he was amazed that you were supposed to act that way as a child.
"Hi honey" His mother's voice broke his somewhat depressing thoughts.
He turned and looked at her. "Where is Rose?"
"She's a little in disposed," Erin smiled. "I'll let her tell you what's happened"
Then she saw what he was looking at and she frowned slightly. "That was when your brother was two, I had been married to my husband for only a few months"
"You look like you're having fun" He said not blinking at all.
Erin nodded. "I never really told Mark this, your stepdad, but that was perhaps the second time in my life that I had ever even sat on a swing, it was quite nerve racking to be on that swing with your infant child when you yourself are afraid"
"You'd only been on a swing twice?" Johnny raised his eyebrows.
"Well Son, consider where we were both raised and then you'll understand why we all can't have childhood memories," She paused and motioned at the picture. "Like this one, but I tried to give my kids the most normal life possible"
The little voice in his head immediately shot back 'All expect you' and that made him frown. Erin immediately caught onto this. "Is there something wrong?"
And then it happened, the self control that he had against the subject of his mother for all of his life broke. Just standing there, looking at a picture of his siblings having these memories made him break. He reached forward and hugged her tightly and he began to sob in her shirt. And not knowing at all what to do about this, she simply returned the gesture and began to rub his back comfortingly. "I am so sorry that you had to grow up without me but…you know how your father was, and I know how he was and I had to leave for you"
"W-well why the hell didn't you take me with you then?" He choked out.
Tears began to fall down Erin's face as well. "Because you know he would have found us, and he would have killed me and probably you, and I couldn't allow that to happen, besides I asked Rose to look after you as you grew up"
"You did?" He asked her with a hint of laughter in his voice.
Erin nodded brining his face off of her shoulder and cupping it. "I asked her the very night I left to keep an eye on you and your father, I asked her to keep him in line and you out of trouble, she eagerly agreed, but apparently she wasn't-"
"-There long enough," Johnny finished the sentence for her. "I don't blame Mrs. Long or you for what's happened in the past, I blame dad him only…"
Erin's eyes brightened as she nodded. "Speaking of the devil, how did it happen, I mean how did Paul die? Was it gruesome as I had dreamed?"
"Well I sort of," He stopped for a moment to look down. "Shot him in the head"
That made her heart flutter, she simply reached up and hugged him even tighter and kissed on his cheek. "Don't tell the others," She said in conspiratorial hushed whisper. "But even thought I really don't know you, you're my favorite"
"Erin," A groggy voice came from the opposite end of the hall. "What's this?"
Erin looked over her son's shoulder and saw her husband, he looked like he had just woken up dressed in his robe and his ruffled hair. "Uh, Hi Honey, I don't believe you've met my son Johnny? He just decided to stop by"
"As happy as I am for you," He smiled wearily and waved at Johnny. "You are aware of what time it is, and that it is very rude to decide to visit at this time"
Johnny nodded at his step father, he felt so strange thinking that. "Well I know, and I really didn't want to do this, I'm sort of on a leash with my Mother in Law"
"Say no more," Mark threw his hands up. "I know what you mean"
He laughed and looked back at his mother. "Where are my brother and sister?"
"They're at their friend's house, and now with this revelation I was going to call over there and ask if they could stay there for a little while," Erin sighed. "I mean it's not going to be easy to tell them about all of this anyway don't you agree?"
Upon hearing this Mark walked down the hall to meet his wife and step-son, he was very confused. "Did I hear this right? You've got some situation to tell the kids, I mean Erin you just told me a few hours ago and I can't wrap my head around it?"
"W-well…" Erin stuttered.
AN:/ The next chapter will be rather long just some fair warning. Please review.
