Game Changer
In the den, Jesse set up the poker table for the big game. Classic rock music was playing in the background, Jesse's favorite. Once everything was ready he walked into the kitchen. Clara was busy putting the final touches on the food.
"Okay, we have spinach artichoke dip, pretzels, cookie dough dip, these cute little hotdog things and the pizza's on its way. Beer is in the fridge and I've got sangria for Julie and I."
"Wow, babe," Jesse laughed. "This is something else!"
"Too much?"
Jesse shrugged, "I don't care if it is. I'm hungry."
The front door opened as Tom and Julie arrived. "Who's ready for a poker game?"
"We are!" Jesse left the kitchen. "Hey bro, Julie. Good to see you guys."
"You too!" Julie hung up her jacket and went to see Clara in the kitchen.
"Bro, you got a sec?" Tom asked. "I think we should see how things go, maybe take it easier on the girls tonight."
"You think?"
"Let's just say Julie mentioned earlier that poker was like Go Fish."
"Seriously? Oh boy."
"Yeah. I just want her to have tonight. Clara too."
"Good call. We'll play it by ear."
Once the pizza arrived, the four sat down around the poker table ready to start the game. Tom picked up the deck and began shuffling.
"Can I shuffle?"
"Sure, babe." Tom handed her the deck.
Julie took the deck and began doing a simple shuffle with the skill of a professional dealer.
Jesse leaned over. "You sure we've got to go easier on them?"
"Let's just see how it goes, alright?"
Julie handed the cards back to Tom, "Let's do this thing!"
Tom dealt out the hands to each of them, and the game began. "5 card draw, jokers are wild, everyone ante."
"This is so much fun!" Clara squealed. "But wait, how many of these chippy things makes 20 bucks again?"
The boys looked at each other. "Well, usually we do white $0.50, pink $1, red $5, blue $10, green $25, black $100."
"If that's the case I'm putting these black ones way over here. No way do I want to get confused and end up owing more than I make in a day!" Clara carefully slid the black stack to the right of her drink.
"Smart move, babe." Jesse leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.
Tom cleared his throat. "Everyone look at your cards. Julie how many?"
"Um, two."
"Clara?"
"Just one."
"Jess?"
"Two please."
"Alright! Here we go!
Twenty minutes later, Tom was in the lead, then Jesse, with both ladies trailing behind. Everyone was having a good time. The dip that Clara made was halfway demolished.
"I'll tell you what, the food for poker night is a lot better when we but you in charge, Clara. Might have to keep you around," Tom teased.
"I'll bake for you boys any time. Just ask."
"Careful," Tom laughed, "I just might remember that."
The next hand was about to begin.
"Okay everyone, uncle up!" Julie giggled.
"Come again?" Jesse questioned.
"Oh you know, ante up… sounds like aunty. So I said 'uncle', get it?"
Clara laughed, "That was a good one, Jules."
"I thought so!"
The brothers shared glances. A slight communication passed between them with their eyes. Signaling each other that going easy on the girls might be a wise choice as they continued. Clara noticed the look and knew exactly what it meant.
"Alright, who's feeling lucky?" Clara asked, looking straight at Julie. What the boys didn't know was that was code for, "Let her rip." The game was about to take a turn.
….
Later that evening Jack and Elizabeth laid curled up together on the couch. It had been one busy Saturday. The kids fought bedtime left and right that night. Now the TV was on in the background, but neither one was paying much attention.
Jack's fingers ran along Elizabeth's back, just under her shirt, causing her to be the most relaxed she had been all day. He squeezed her tighter to his chest. "I love nights like this."
"Me too." Elizabeth scooched her body a little so she could kiss Jack. "Today was a good day, wasn't it?"
"It was." Mya's team had performed well that afternoon. Mya even scored a goal! After a late lunch they took the kids to Castle park.
The show ended and Jack reached for the remote, turning the TV off completely. "What do you say we go curl up in bed? Clothing optional."
Elizabeth laughed. "I think I could get behind that."
He rose from the couch and gave her his hand. They were walking hand in hand towards the stairs when her phone rang.
"Where's my phone?" She looked all over.
"Kitchen I think."
She hurried in, catching it just before the call ended. "Hey Julie. What's going on? How was poker night?" Elizabeth kissed Jack on the cheek before he excused himself to let her take the call with Julie.
As soon as Jack left the room his own phone rang. He picked it up. It was Tom.
"Hey brother, what's up?"
"I've been hustled! That's what!"
"Wait, what?" Jack laughed. "Hustled by who?"
"My girlfriend, that's who!"
"Ah," Jack l laughed. "I take it poker was pretty interesting tonight?"
"Let's just say it was a little more than I bargained for."
"You lost, didn't you?"
"Oh, we didn't just lose. She and Clara cleared us out!"
"What? How?!"
"We're in the car on the way to Jess and Clara. The whole time she's talking about how much fun she had learning about the game from her dad, how it reminded her of Go Fish, and how she just hopes that she can keep up with us tonight."
"Sure, sure. So what happened?"
"Look, I'm not that competitive. I mean, I am at times but I wanted her and Clara to have a good time so when we got to Jesse's I walked up to him and said, "Hey man, maybe we should go easy on the girls tonight. Let's just have a good time." Of course he agreed. He wanted Clara happy too."
"Makes sense to me."
"Right? Then the game starts…" Tom retold the whole thing. Jack could only assume Elizabeth was getting Julie's side in the other room from all the laughter he was hearing.
"Well, at least for Jesse and Clara, they're married. So all the money between them is coming and going from the same bank account."
"Yeah, lucky them. What about me?" Tom laughed.
"Guess you better come with a backup plan, bro."
"Yeah. I might have to propose to Julie just to keep my money!" They laughed.
…..
Monday rolled around and it was business as usual. Elizabeth felt as if she was counting down not just the days, but the hours till she and Jack could have their weekend together. She walked around the table of her classroom as her students worked on their geography project.
Back at her desk, she picked up her phone to text Jack.
Elizabeth: Thinking of you, babe.
Jack: Thinking of you too.
Jack: I might have to work late tonight.
Elizabeth: The case?
Jack: Yeah. New evidence popped up. I'm going through it as quickly as I can but I'm waiting to hear back from the lab."
Elizabeth: Bummer. But I get it.
Jack: I'll make it up to you.
Elizabeth: You always do. Better get back to my students. I love you.
Jack: Love you too.
…..
Across town, Charlotte Thornton pulled her truck into the precinct parking lot just before lunch. She walked in and was immediately greeted by Bill Avery.
"Well, look who it is? Afternoon, Mrs. Thornton."
"Bill, call me Charlotte."
"Of course. How are you doing?"
"Not bad. Hope you don't mind me stopping by to see my son?"
"Not at all. He should be back in his office."
Charlotte made her way down the hall to the door with Jacks name on it and smiled. She peeked her head in quietly and watched. He was busy at work studying some paperwork on his desk and something on his screen. He had the same look of concentration that his father had when he'd be working hard on something.
"You look just like your father there, son."
Jack looked up and dropped his papers on the desk before heading towards her. "Mom! What are you doing here?"
"What? Can't a proud mother come visit her son at work?"
"I suppose so," Jack smiled as he hugged his mom.
"I just wanted to see you."
"Is that really all?"
"Not really," she laughed. "I got your text asking if you could use the cabin in the woods for your little weekend away. I wanted to come here in person to tell you I thought it was a great idea."
"Really? Thanks mom!"
"You're welcome. You're father and I use to go there a lot when you boys were younger. Then even more when you were teenagers and drove us crazy," she laughed. "I'm happy you want to use it too. It's a place I'm not sure I'll be using much anymore."
"Why's that?"
Her eyes glistened, thinking about all the memories she had at the cabin with Tom. "I had a wonderful life with your father. And even though some things are bound to overlap, the cabin isn't something I want to share with Dale like I did your father. It's nothing against Dale at all, but the cabin was Toms. His special place that he shared with me. Dale and I need to make our own special memories."
"I get that, and I respect it too."
"Thank you. Now it's time you boys utilize it. Let it be your escape like it was ours."
"Thanks Mom. I figured Elizabeth would love it up there. Just her and me for a weekend, it will be nice."
"That's very romantic, son." She placed her hand on his cheek. "You're so much like your father you know?"
"I like that. He was a good man." Charlotte nodded. "Are you okay? Missing him a lot right now or something?"
"I'm okay. Just thinking over my life. I went up to the cabin to make sure everything would be ready for you two. It takes you back."
"Back but you're ready to move forward?"
"I am. Dale is wonderful. It nice to feel that kind of love again."
"You deserve it, Mom." Jack's cell rang on his desk. "Give me one second." Jack answered the call. "Major Thornton here… yes… understood. I can be there in 20 minutes… bye."
"What is it?"
"That was my commanding officer with the National Guard."
"What did he want?" Charlotte stood eyes wide.
"I don't know, but I have to go in to see him asap."
"I'll walk you out."
"Thanks, Mom." Jack sent out an email to the precinct that he was headed out for a bit then grabbed his keys.
"You look about as nervous as a dog at the vet. What do you think this is about?"
"Not sure. Usually he's very up front with me."
"Want me to go with you? I'll wait in the car of course but afterwards, good or bad I'll buy you lunch."
Jack wrapped his arm around his mom. "Sure. Your car or mine?"
…...
Elizabeth picked up both kids and headed home after school. She had just got home and made a quick snack of apples and peanut butter for the kids when she heard Jack's car pull in the drive.
"Hey." He walked in with a tired expression on his face.
"Hi. I wasn't expecting you till much later. Everything okay?" She kissed his lips softly. There was some look in his eyes that let her know something was up. "Kids, can you take your snack into the living room please? You can watch a TV show."
"Yes!" Asher hopped off the counter stool followed by Mya. Elizabeth grabbed their plates and followed them to the living room. Once they were set she hurried back to the kitchen.
Jack was leaning against the counter with a Dr. Pepper in hand.
"They're distracted now. What's going on?"
Jack put his drink down and placed his hands on her sides, holding her. "I got a call today."
"From who?"
"My commanding officer at the Guard."
Elizabeth stepped back. "Is there a problem with your discharge?"
"No, but there's word going around that some of the men from my unit will be recalled to Iraq for a..."
"Jack no!" she interrupted, walking further away.
"Hang on, love!" He hurried across the room wrapping her in his arms. "You know how I have a drill weekend coming up?" She nodded "My commanding officer as something different in mind for me now. He's sending me to teach a class at the mountaineering school in Vermont. It will be my two week assignment for the year."
She leaned back against the counter. "Two weeks?"
"Trust me, I'm not happy about this either. My CO told me if I do this, he thinks he can push my discharge paper through early."
"What does that mean?"
"His goal is to get me out before the recall hits." She turned away, trying to hide the tears that were forming fast. "Babe, please. He knows I don't want to leave you and the kids. He gets how important this is."
"And what if they send you anyway? How much pull does your CO actually have?"
"Let's just take this one day at a time, please. I'm going to do everything I can to stay with you, Asher and Mya."
She flew back into his arms. "I know. I'm sorry Jack. I'm just scared. I can't lose you."
"You won't lose me." He nuzzled her face with his face, taking in the scent that calmed him. "I love you. I'm sorry."
"Jack, you have nothing to be sorry about. You told me that until you were officially discharged anything could happen. I remember that. I was just hoping we'd never have to be in this position."
"Me too."
"When do you leave for the training class?"
"Friday."
"So our weekend away…"
"Yeah. It will have to wait."
….
After lunch with Jack, Charlotte headed home. She felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her. The very thought of Jack possibly being sent away again so soon terrified her. He was finally truly happy. Elizabeth, her beloved daughter-in-law, was getting a much deserved second chance at the life she'd deserved for her and her kids. This wasn't fair. Charlotte knew the drill, life wasn't fair. That didn't mean she didn't desperately want it to be.
She sat on her back deck looking at nothing in particular for hours after she got home. Anything left on her do to list for the day had been forgotten. Including dinner with Dale.
She was so lost in thought she didn't even hear his boots as he climbed the deck steps.
"Charlotte, dear?"
"Oh, Dale. Hi."
"Hello to you. What are you doing out here? It's almost dark."
She looking around then down at her watch. "I guess it is. I must have lost track of time." Then it hit her. "Oh Dale, I was supposed to cook dinner for you. I completely forget. Nothing's even started!"
"That's alright, sweetheart. We can go out tonight. What do you say we go into town to the diner?"
"Sure. That sounds good."
It was apparent to Dale that something was wrong. He just had no idea what. The whole drive into town Charlotte stared out the window. He pulled into the parking space near the diner. As they walked down the street, Charlotte was confused when instead of stopping at the diner, Dale lead her by the hand to a gazebo on the green in the center of their little town that was right across the street from the diner. They sat on the benches that went all around the inside edge.
"Dale, what are we doing?"
"I want to know what's got you all twisted up. You were going to see Jack today, right? You two have a spat or something?"
"Heavens no. Jack and I don't have arguments really, same with Jesse. Tommy and I," she let out a small laugh. "We can be a bit too much alike. Not Jack, though."
"Okay. That's good to know. So what happened?"
"Jack got word today. There's a chance he'll have to go back to Iraq."
"I thought he was getting out though?" Dale's face paled.
"But he's not out yet. They can still send him away."
Dale stood and began pacing the floor of the gazebo. "Who can I call? There's got to be someone. A general maybe? There's got to be something we can do to keep him here."
"There's nothing we can do. His CO is going to do what he can, but he can't make any promises."
All of the air in Dale's lungs seemed to escape as he sat back down. "I don't like this. Your boys, I don't know… they're my family now. I don't like being so helpless."
"You and me both," she laughed with a huff.
"How's he holding up?"
"He said he would leave work early today to tell Elizabeth. I think he was afraid to tell her."
"She's one of the strongest women I've ever met. She's not going to like this but she'll be okay. She loves him too much not to be."
Charlotte leaned her head against Dale's shoulder. "I thought I was done saying goodbye to my son like that. I don't want to do it again."
"It's not a done deal yet?"
"No. Thank God there's still hope."
"Then let's pray on that. We may be helpless but He isn't." Dale reached out his hand to her. When she took it, he began to pray. "God, I know you're there. You know what's going on in our family too. Be with our boy Jack and his family. Please make the future we're fearing not be. If this has to be the way of it, give us all the strength needed to handle it. In your name, amen."
"Amen." Charlotte repeated. It spoke to her heart how Dale had said, "our family" as he had prayer. "Dale, I love you."
"I love you too. We'll get through this. We'll get them through this too."
….
Later that night while Elizabeth was in the shower, Jack sat in the big armchair in their living room. His mind wouldn't rest. All he could think about was the possibility of deploying. A year ago, he was there, deployed to Iraq and feeling purpose in it. Now, he couldn't imagine feeling that way again. He had thought his life was going in a different direction.
Nevertheless, he was a soldier. This was his duty. If called upon he would go and serve to the best of his ability. It wasn't like he was the first soldier to have to leave his family. Most did. He'd always respected them greatly for their willingness to sacrifice to defend and protect.
"Stop worrying," he lectured himself. "You don't know what will happen. Just take it one day at a time."
He then decided to focus on his next assignment. He'd already spoken to Bill who told him not to worry about his cases or the job. It would all be there for him when he got back. He even offered to have him and Abigail check on Elizabeth and the kids to make sure things were okay. Even though it was just two weeks, Bill's offer gave Jack comfort.
Jack was rummaging through his gear locker in the basement when he felt a small hand on his back. He jumped in surprise.
"Hey, angel. You startled me."
"Sorry. Whatcha doing, Daddy?"
"What am I doing?" Jack grinned. "What are you doing? Are you supposed to be out of bed?"
She shrugged. "Rip's in my room. He's snoring too loud."
"Ah, yeah he'll do that." Jack took his Army bags and flung them over his shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you get the pup out of your room and then you can get some sleep."
"Okay." Jack followed Mya back up the two flights of stairs. "So what are the soldier's bags for?"
Jack and Elizabeth had planned to talk to the kids about his trip tomorrow, but thanks to Rip, it was going to have to be today for Mya. He wasn't about to start lying to her.
"Come here, angel." Jack dropped the bags and scooped his little girl up in his arms and carried her to her room. Sitting with her on her bed, he held her tight as he spoke. "You remember how I'm a soldier as well as a detective?"
"Yup. That's how you met Mommy. You wrote letters to each other."
"That's right. Now, I'm apart of what's called the National Guard, and for me that means I go away one weekend every month and 2 weeks every year."
"But you haven't done that before."
This would be the first time Jack had gone away while living in the house with the kids. Before it simply went unnoticed.
"He did, sweetie." Elizabeth now stood at the doorway dressed in a long smooth robe, her hair pulled back in a messy damp ponytail. "Before, it was only for a weekend and Daddy was usually back after church on Sundays."
"Oh, okay."
Elizabeth walked over to sit on the bed with Jack and Mya. Leaning in, she whispered in Jack's ear, "I thought you could use some help." He nodded, very appreciative of his beautiful and loving wife.
"So…" Mya looked up at Jack. "How long are you going away for?"
"Two weeks this time, angel."
"What?!"
"The Guard has asked your daddy to teach a very important class. Isn't that exciting?"
"No." Mya buried her face into Jack's chest. "Can't you say no?"
"Not this time."
"Why?"
"Why what, sweetie?" Elizabeth ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.
"Why can't you say no? Do you want to leave us?"
"Of course not, angel. It's part of my job though. I have a responsibility to these men. My job is to teach them how to best take care of themselves in certain situations."
"Can't someone else do it? Someone who's not my daddy?"
"I'm afraid not."
The poor girl sniffled back tears. "You'll come back?"
"I will, and I'll call as much as I can."
"You still love us?"
Jack moved Mya so she was now facing him. "I will never, ever stop loving you, Asher or your mom. You are my world. Nothing is more important to me than you three. I know it's hard to understand, but I need you to trust that I'm doing what is best for us right now."
"Okay," she sniffed. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too."
After reading her another bedtime story, and moving the snoring dog, Jack and Elizabeth retired to their room.
As soon as the door was closed, Jack grabbed his book from the bed and threw it against the wall.
"She'll be okay, Jack."
"I feel like I'm letting her down." He collapsed on the bed.
"You aren't. Trust me. She's just trying to understand all of this. Unfortunately even though she was young when Charles left, she's still a child with abandonment issues."
"I know. I hate that I'm bringing all that back up for her. I'm her father now. I'm supposed to protect her, not cause her harm."
"We'll help her through it and hopefully, by the time you go, she'll understand."
He sighed, "One more month, hopefully by then my papers will have gone through and this won't be an issue anymore."
"Right. Then you'll be down to just one dangerous job," Elizabeth teased.
"Funny, Mrs. Thornton."
"Hey, I try. EEK, Jack!" Jack lunged for her, wrapping his arms around her and tackling her down onto the large feather bed as they both giggled. "What was that for?"
Jack gazed down at his wife as he hovered over her, her hair now cascading over the soft sheets, her light blue robe open now more than before. She took his breath away. "I love you. That's all. Do I need another reason?"
Playfully she grinned up at him. "No. Not at all." He kissed her deeply. If she'd been standing, she was pretty sure she would have crumbled to the floor. Thankfully, she just felt herself molding to the contours of Jack's body. "Your mood seems to be improving." She grinned madly.
"You're distracting."
"Good." She wrapped her arms around him and let her touch and kisses lead them the rest of the way to marital bliss.
….
Telling Asher the next morning went about as well as they expected. He was confused and had a million questions.
"Will you be back for my birthday?"
"Of course I will. This is only for two weeks. I'll be back in plenty of time to make a mural for you like I did Mya and I certainly won't miss celebrating with my boy."
"Okay."
"Come here, let's look on the calendar." Jack pointed to each of the days and explained what was happening. That seemed to help both children.
Jack took the kids to school that morning to spend a little extra time with them. To make the morning even more special, first they went through the drive-thru of Dunkin Donuts for a coffee for him and three maple frosted donuts with sprinkles. He prayed this didn't result in calls home from the schools complaining of hyper and misbehaving Thornton children.
That evening, Jack planned a night out with his brothers. Drinks, appetizers and a game of pool at one of the local pubs. He wanted to talk to them about his possible deployment in person.
"This is crap!" Tom raised his voice. "Complete horse crap."
"Trust me, I don't like this either."
"So when will you know?" Jesse asked calmly.
"Hopefully soon. But who knows."
"They can't just do this! You're a husband and father now!" Tom exclaimed.
"So are countless others who deploy daily, Tom. It comes with the job."
"Let's just take this one day at a time. For now, what can we do?"
"I'm going to be gone on this training for 2 weeks. Would you guys mind helping Elizabeth if she needed it? Oh and Rosie could use someone to take my place with Mya's soccer team."
"We can do that." Tom raised his glass. "It's been a while since I've played but I remember the basics."
"That's all you need," Jack laughed. "It pretty much just looks like organized chaos on the field."
"That I can keep up with!" Tom laughed. "Look bro, I'm sorry to lose my temper. I just want you to be safe and for you and Beth to get your happy ending."
"Even if I get deployed again, I'll come back and we'll pick up where we left off. It's a bump, but it's not over."
"Do the kids know?" Jesse asked.
"Just about the 2 weeks. I'm not going to break their hearts unless I have to."
"We'll we're here for you. All of you."
"Thanks guys."
The kids were fast asleep in their beds when he returned home. Inside the warm home, Elizabeth sat on the couch with a book and a cup a hot tea.
"Hey, handsome." She placed her book on the table. "How'd they take the news?"
"Jesse is nervous, but calm. It's how he is. Tom on the other hand… he's never liked me leaving."
"I can understand that. Jesse went through a lot as a child. He was lucky and learned some good coping mechanisms. Tom's still working through losing your dad. Anything that makes him feel he could lose you is unacceptable."
"Pretty much, yeah." Jack sunk into the couch beside his wife. She moved her legs up and draped them over his lap. "Few more days."
"Yup. What would you like for meals the next little bit?"
"I'll make you a deal. I'll do most of the cooking except one night, I'd like your Shepard's pie."
"Deal. You know I love a man in an apron." She leaned over, meeting his lips with a slow smoldering fire.
"You know, there is something else I'd like to do a lot of before I leave."
"What's that?" she playfully bit her lip.
With a husky voice he answered, "Come upstairs and I'll show you."
...
Coming soon, chapter 50: It's All Going To Be Okay
