Jane Morgendorffer (Part 25)
Helen called upstairs to announce that breakfast was almost ready. Quinn ran out of her room and barreled past her dad and into Daria and Jane's room. Her two older sisters were getting ready for their last day of being fourth graders. When they went downstairs for breakfast, Trent was at the kitchen studying for his last and hardest for him exam - English. Having Charity, Helen, and Jake around to help him, Trent had started to improve in the subject, taking a shaky low C average and bringing it up to a B average. Seeing their older brother getting stressed out, the three little girls gave him a good luck hug. A few moments later, a car horn signaled that Trent's ride was there. Wishing him good luck, Helen and Jake waved as the teenager walked out the door.
As the three little girls ate, they talked about the class parties that were being thrown that day. Listening to the conversation, Jake began to box up the cupcakes that he and the girls had made the previous night. Unconsciously, he started scratching at his nose, which had been covered in chocolate frosting twelve hours earlier. Jane finished eating first and helped Jake load the treats into the car. As they put the last tray in the front seat, they heard the sound of the front door closing. Daria and Quinn were talking about how much they were looking forward to summer vacation. Jane joined them as they climbed into the backseat. Jake adjusted his rear view mirror and smiled. Hearing the laughter coming from the behind him, Jake realized just how much he loved taking them to school. Once at Highland Elementary, Jake helped the girls bring the snacks to their classrooms, earning him a big hug from each. Walking out of the school, he looked at his watch. In just five hours, his favorite part of the day would be there - picking them up from school and hearing about their day.
The two client meetings Jake scheduled for that day went well. Now he was making some last minute changes on a proposal for a potential new client. While he was looking over everything with a fine tooth comb, he heard the alarm he had set chime. After grabbing his paperwork and placing it in his briefcase, Jake locked his office door to go get the girls from school. Pulling up to the curb, Jake opened the car door for Daria and Jane while Quinn was telling some of her friends goodbye. On their way home, Jake stopped and got everyone ice cream. When they got home, Trent was waiting for them with a grin on his face. He had passed his exam and was going to end year with a B average. Jake gave him a high five and agreed to take him to buy a new guitar on the weekend.
Helen's day had been long and stressful. As she pulled into the driveway, she could hear the sounds of music and laughter. Seeing that his wife was having a bad day, Jake pulled her into a warm embrace. After kissing him on the cheek, Jake told her about the kids and their day. The news of Trent's exam did seem to lighten her mood. Then, Jake started talking about how excited the kids were about the upcoming summer vacation. Helen cringed for a moment and asked Jake to have the kids join them. When everyone was in the living room, Helen drew a long breath. The happiness of the day had been momentarily halted by one sentence.
"Jake, kids ... my mother is coming to visit us."