Visiting
"Ok, in through those doors there." AJ told six year old Jude, pointing to a set of swing doors after signing in at the front door, eight months pregnant and struggling to keep up with her daughter's energy.
"These ones!" Jude pointed as AJ nodded.
"Yeah, those ones." AJ nodded, following her through the doors, "Come take my hand." She said as Jude looked back, waiting on her mother catching up and taking her hand.
"Why did Thea not want to come?" Jude asked with confusion.
"She was just busy with homework." AJ said briefly, brushing her hand through her daughter's dark hair, "She'll come next time." She nodded hopefully.
"That means I have daddy all to myself." Jude smiled with glee as AJ nodded.
"Ok, through here." AJ guided her, walking into the prisons visitation room, looking on at other families sitting around tables. She couldn't quite get used to this. It had only been a few months and she couldn't think about doing this for years to come. It was like real torture. But Jude had no idea. She was too young get to understand her father was in prison.
"Mommy, my snacks are falling out of my hoodie." Jude worried, feeling the large middle pocket of her hoodie carefully.
"Don't let them see." AJ reminded as Jude nodded.
"It's a secret." Jude nodded to herself, taking a seat at the empty table, taking her backpack off and sitting it at her feet.
AJ watched as Punk walked out of one of the side doors where he normally came from, noticing he had a black eye and sighing to herself, watching him approach the table.
"Hey." Punk smiled cheerfully. He'd learned how to put on an excellent brave face for his daughters. Jude bought it. Thea, not so much.
"Daddy, what's wrong with your eye?" Jude noticed immediately. She was very observant.
"Oh, I just bumped it." Punk said calmly, lifting her up for a hug as she squeezed him tightly, "How was school?" He asked, hugging her tightly. Sometimes he just didn't want to let go. The only comfort he got out of his days was this precious hour he was allowed with his family.
"It was fine." Jude said, "I had a burger for lunch and I ate it all." She told him proudly.
"No way." Punk shook his head teasingly.
"I did!" Jude insisted as he put her down, "And I drank all my milk."
"Damn, let me see those muscles." Punk put his hands on his hips as she flexed her arms for him, "Hell yeah." Punk nodded as Jude giggled, "Has mommy been drinking her milk?"
"No, just coffee." Jude said, climbing up onto her chair whilst Punk looked over to AJ.
"Hey." Punk said a little more quietly, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head.
"Hey." AJ sighed. She wasn't sure how he was being so brave. How he could put on such a brave face for the girls, and even for her, "What happened?" She asked quietly, cupping his face and looking closely at his bruised eye.
"It's alright." He assured her.
"I didn't ask if it was ok. I asked what happened?" AJ looked up at him.
"It's a black eye. What do you think happened?" Punk whispered as AJ sighed. She couldn't really put into words how much it broke her heart to see him like this. To have him locked away from them like he was some caged animal.
"Daddy I have homework." Jude announced, getting his attention, pulling out her notebook from her bookbag as well as some pencils and pens.
"Are you gonna teach me some things?" Punk smiled, sitting down at the table as AJ sat beside Jude. They had agreed, as parents, that there was to be no talk about prison or the situation they were in with the girls, especially Jude. Thea was no fool. She was thirteen and knew exactly what prison was for.
"I have spelling." Jude said, opening up her notebook as Punk watched, looking at her notebook which had drawings all over it.
"Are you allowed to draw pictures all over your notebook?" He chuckled a little.
"No, but I do it anyway." Jude nodded as Punk smiled, "I drew this today whilst my teacher was talking." She showed him the picture of what appeared to be a sunshine.
"That's the finest looking sun I've ever seen." Punk smiled as Jude giggled.
"Daddy, I brought you snacks too." Jude told him in a whisper as he laughed a little, "Sour Patch Kids." She smiled, "In my hoodie." She looked down to make sure she still had them hidden.
"My favourite." Punk nodded, "You can slip them to me before you leave." He said as she nodded. She was too young to understand the sadness in what was happening. She was young and her mind was filled with positives.
AJ looked over at Punk, wondering how he was managing inside, wondering how he was living without their children, wondering how hard it had to have been to come out here and sit across from them like some detained thug. She hated it. If not for her, for their daughters and soon to be newborn baby.
"I need a colourful pencil." Jude announced, looking in her pencil case as AJ smiled, looking over at Punk who smiled too.
"You like colours, huh?" Punk smiled.
"Yes. All colours." Jude nodded, picking a pencil up, "I like when the page is pretty." She smiled to herself as Punk laughed a little.
"I know you do, baby." He smiled, watching her as she began her spelling, "So what did you do at school today?" Punk asked her, watching as she concentrated on her spelling.
"I did some math sums." Jude told him, "But most of them were wrong." She said sadly.
"Hey, that's ok. You never have to get it right first time." He assured her as AJ smiled, cupping the back of her daughter's head sweetly, "So uh… where is your big sister?" He asked, looking over at AJ.
"She's busy with homework, mommy said." Jude told him as Punk nodded slowly, turning to AJ who just shook her head.
"Well at least she's doing it." Punk nodded, "So what's for dinner?" He asked Jude, "You cooking?" He teased.
"No." Jude scoffed, "Mommy is." She said as AJ nodded.
"Yeah, no change there." AJ smiled a little, "I don't know, baby what do you want?"
"Just surprise me." Jude mumbled as AJ and Punk smiled, "Is that right?" She asked, passing her notebook over to Punk for him to look.
"Hey, look at that. All perfect." Punk nodded as Jude smiled happily.
Meanwhile AJ watched as one of the prison guards walked over to their table, standing over Punk as Punk eventually looked up.
"I'm gonna have to ask you to put that away." The guard nodded as AJ looked over.
"What?" Punk questioned.
"The pencils. No sharp objects." The guard said as Jude looked at AJ with confusion.
"Seriously?" Punk looked up, "She's just doing her homework." Punk said.
"And I'm just telling you, it's gotta go away." The guard nodded as Punk stood up.
"Phil." AJ warned with concern.
"She's seven. I'm helping her with her homework." Punk said, "I'm not interested in taking her pencils." Punk made clear as the guard looked at him, turning to Jude who sat quietly with confusion, trying to hurry her pencils back into her pencil case worriedly.
"Fine." He said, "But you'll be strip searched before you go back in." The guard warned.
"Whatever." Punk said, sitting back down at the table as the guard looked over at AJ, smiling a little before walking away.
"Who is that?" AJ shook her head.
"Just one of the wardens for my wing." Punk shook his head, "Idiot." He muttered, helping Jude take her pencils back out, "Finish your spelling, babe. It's ok." Punk nodded whilst AJ looked over at the warden, looking back at Punk and staring at his black eye with worry.
"I don't want mac and cheese for dinner." Jude huffed, walking through the door to their house with AJ after getting home from visiting Punk.
"Well what do you want? What about chicken?" AJ asked her as Jude shook her head.
"No… no, I want tacos." Jude nodded, jumping up and down excitedly.
"Babe, you had tacos last night… and the night before." AJ said, "Something different tonight. You gotta eat more veg." She nodded, flicking Jude's chin playfully as Jude crouched down to take her converse off.
"Who likes veg?" Jude muttered to herself whilst AJ threw the keys into the pot by the door, looking up as she saw Thea walking downstairs.
"What are you doing home?" AJ questioned, looking on at her thirteen year old daughter coming downstairs, "You said you were going to a… friend's." AJ said quietly as she noticed Jackson coming downstairs behind Thea.
"Hi, Jackson!" Jude smiled as Jackson laughed a little.
"Hey, Jude." Jackson nodded politely, "Mrs Brooks." He looked at AJ.
"It's Mendez." AJ said, "And… April is fine." She said, looking at Thea, "You're not supposed to be in the house on your own."
"We just got back." Thea shrugged, "Can Jackson stay for dinner?" She asked as AJ looked at Thea. It was hard keeping her cool. She didn't want to hate a thirteen year old boy, but she couldn't help blame him for her husband's arrest. But she also knew when he was around, Thea somehow acted like herself, and she wanted that. She didn't think he was a bad kid…
"I can just go." Jackson insisted.
"No, you're fine." AJ nodded, "You can stay." She said, looking at Thea who smiled, "Mac and cheese." She said.
"No!" Jude complained sadly as Thea shook her head, rolling her eyes.
"Mommy, it smells like feet, don't make me eat it." Jude begged, taking her mother's hand.
"You're ridiculous." AJ laughed. The girls kept her going that was for sure, "Go put your bookbag upstairs and come help me make it." She nodded, "Have you done all your homework?" She looked at Thea who was standing on the stairs half way up with Jackson.
"Yeah, I did it earlier." Thea nodded.
"Ok, good." AJ nodded, "Well dinner won't be too long." She said, making her way down the hall into the kitchen. Sometimes, honestly, she felt numb. It was just about getting by.
Jude grabbed her bookbag and immediately went running upstairs as Jackson laughed a little, turning to Thea.
"What is she in a rush for?" He laughed a little, walking back upstairs with her.
"That's… just how she is." Thea shook her head but with a smile.
