Chapter Eleven: Locked-In
Jen opens her eyes wide with a gasp as the deafening thunder that must have woken her up still rumbles through the ether slowly fading away. Immediately a torrential rain begins to pelting the window. -fucking great!-
Judy's body beside her clings to her. She's lying on her side, Judy, with her back against her right side. Jen smiles at the ceiling, enjoying her warmth, then turns, sinking her nose into the mass of her hair and encircles her waist with one arm.
The brunette presses herself against her even more, reaches behind her, finds Jen's leg, and bends it forward, making it adhere to her own.
"Hey", she mumbles in a sleepy voice, keeping her hand on the crook of the other's knee.
"I fucking missed you!", Jen whispers, with her face still deep in her hair, she stretches her neck to look at the clock, 5:47 am. Before resting her head on the pillow, she drops a gentle kiss on her neck. She smiles against his skin, feeling the chill that shakes the brunette's petite body.
"Well, at least you slept half the time, Harding!", Judy retorts with a smile between her lips and her eyes still closed.
"Are you trying to make me feel guilty for ending up in a coma?", the blonde asks with a giggle. The flashing light of lightning bursts into the room illuminating their profiles.
"That depends. Are you trying to make it up to me for ending up in a coma?", a thunder crash partially covers Jen's laughter.
"Ow, fuck! Don't make me laugh!", Jen protests bringing a hand up to her sore ribs, a grimace of pain on her face.
—
"Charlie?", Henry cautiously enters his brother's room, as soon as the lightning illuminates its interior, the little one quickly slips under the covers, the eldest mumbles something but leaves him some room to lie down beside him.
The child gasps at the thunder that follows, just a little consoled that he heard his older brother jump in turn, caught off guard by the sudden crash.
"It's just a thunderstorm, buddy", Charlie mumbles in his sleep.
"I know but…", the younger isn't quite sure how to respond. The few times a thunderstorm broke out, there was his daddy tucking under the covers with him.
"There is a bright side, Hen. If this keeps up, we'll skip school today", his brother consoles him by turning to face him. The movement prompts an urgency that hasn't allowed him to get much rest during the night. He curses to himself and pulls off the blankets.
"Where are you going?", the younger one asks in alarm.
"Henry, I have to pee!", he pauses for a moment, thoughtful, if it keeps thundering and raining so hard he can fucking kiss sleep goodbye for the time being. In a moment of youthful selfishness, he feels a rush of selfdisgust. Then he pushes the feeling away and indulges in some maturity.
"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you go over to Mom and Judy's while I make breakfast and join you guys? Don't say anything, though. Are we going to surprise them?", the boy smiles at him reassuringly.
The little boy's face lights up, enthusiastic about his brother's proposal, then a doubtful expression appears on his face.
"Hey, wait a minute, you don't know how to make pancakes!", the child reminds him.
"Well, you're right, but I think I can put something decent together, come on dude! I'll see you at Mom and Judy's in a bit and make sure you don't slip anything, okay?", Charlie gets up, walks him down the corridor and disappears into the bathroom in a hurry.
—
At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Judy instinctively moves, trying to get away from Jen.
"Hey, where are you going?", the blonde reassures her. "Come on, it's okay", she insists, placing a kiss on her forehead when the other turns to look at her, doubtful.
"Come in, Boop", the mom guesses which of the two sons is on the opposite side of the closed door and greets him with a reassuring smile as he enters.
"Can I stay here with you for a while?" the child asks in a frightened tone.
"Sure honey, come here", Judy encourages him by spreading her arms wide and welcoming him just as a new bolt of lightning announces the next thunder.
Henry snuggles into the brunette's arms, and the mother reaches out an arm beyond her body to touch her son. She rests her forehead on Judy's shoulders and closes her eyes, letting her voice lull her as she launches enthusiastically into a scientific explanation of the origin of lightnings, thunders, and so on. She even finds herself counting the seconds between each phenomenon with them.
All this feels like home, and love. And it's fucking awesome, and gross.
So. Fucking. Gross.
When Charlie enters without knocking, cautiously carrying a tinkling tray of glasses, his mother does not protest and, like Judy, opens her eyes wide in surprise and little Henry jumps up excited and curious to see what his brother has come up with.
"Wow Char, what happened to you? Did you pissed out of you even your nasty brain tonight?!", his mom jokes to mask her pride.
"Fuck Ma, I just wanted to thank Judy for last night! If I'd known you wouldn't miss a chance to shitting me like this, I'd have made one less sandwich!", the boy reaches over, afraid that he's going to spill everything. He finally manages to set the tray down in the middle of the bed after the three occupants have made room for it. He scratches his head feeling a mixture of pride and embarrassment.
"Charlie! Thank you! That's the sweetest thought!", Judy thanks him with bright eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Just don't get used to it!", he cuts in blushing. "And anyway it's just some orange juice and some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches", he states as he sits down at one corner of the bed.
"Well that's more than I could have made at this hour, Char, thank you very much", his mother smiles proudly at him.
The rain is still pouring down with power, urged on by the wind, the lightning continues to periodically invade the room. And the thunders, more and more distant, do not disturb at all the chattering and laughters of the family gathered in the four corners of the bed enjoying their breakfast altogether.
"Okay folks, plans for the day? The bulletin says everything is shut down downtown and schools are closed. Apparently another storm is expected in a few hours, so… what's next?", Jen looks at them one by one, waiting for suggestions. She's never been happier about being stuck at home because of bad weather.
"Harry Potter marathon?", little Henry proposes.
"No, please!", Charlie huffs rolling his eyes.
"Okay, one title each, how about that?", Judy proposes, diplomatic as usual.
"Great idea!", Jen approves, smiling lovingly at her.
"I choose Resident Evil!", Charlie exclaims.
"Char... no...," his mother looks at him sternly.
"Um... Pitch Black?", the boy insists chuckling. "Okay, okay, I'll have to think about it..."
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!", Henry chirps enthusiastically.
"Night at the museum", Judy suggests.
Jen rolls her eyes, already aware that the title she's about to propose will elicit some kind of amused reaction from the brunette.
"Alright, how about... Galaxy Quest?"
"Harding!", Judy exclaims in wonder with a raised eyebrow.
"What's that?", her youngest asks.
"A movie with Sigourney Weaver, happy?", the mother declares nonchalantly, winking at the child and then at Judy as well.
"Okay okay I got it", Charlie announces thrilled.
"Avatar!", as he speaks her mom rolls her eyes annoyed.
"Really Char?"
"What? C'mon Mom it's cool! Don't be lame just it's another one with that cool chick!"
—
In spite of the weather outside, the atmosphere in the house is relaxed and full of warmth. The first part of the morning flows by quickly as everyone focuses on their own activities. Jen and Judy had to postpone, for the second time in a row, their first appointment with their respective therapists, chosen after meticulous cross-referencing between Pastor Waine's list and reviews on Yelp.
Then they sis altogether on the couch watching Harry Potter for the umpteenth time. Well, actually only Henry watches it, and Judy occasionally makes an effort to participate because she feels bad thinking of leaving him alone. Charlie keeps throughout the movie texting presumably with Natalie. And Jen... well fuck, Jen is totally absorbed in the feeling of having Judy clinging to her, one arm entwined with hers and her hands laced under a warm blanket.
And fuck those hands, those hands! She forced herself to hold on firmly to Judy's hand the whole time, afraid to start playing with it like she did that time in Lorna's presence. -Fuck it's only 11 in the morning! Get your shit together, Jen!-
Just as the Wesley Brothers' flying car saves Ron and Harry from the horde of spiders unleashed by Aragog, the two adults get up to make lunch. Judy suggests a curry with rice, chickpeas and coconut milk, just to warm up the stormy atmosphere of the day, she says. Henry enthusiastically accepts the idea, while Charlie, as usual, plays around being a Party Pooper.
Jen didn't think she could have so much fun in the kitchen chopping vegetables under the brunette's careful guidance. She is enthralled by the recipe as it takes its form under Judy's skilled hands, and when they finally pour the creamy, amber-colored sauce into the bowls already filled with steamed basmati rice, the zesty, spicy scent wafting out is even more intense than the one already invading the room.
Jen thinks that the recipe is one of the best things she has ever tasted, and with her youngest son they propose to try, sooner or later, to replace the chickpeas with fish, while Charlie, who can't contain his enthusiasm since he too loves the dish, also proposes a version with meat.
Judy is so happy that for a moment she wonders why it only occurred to her now, after almost two years, to cook them such a special dish! She would have had them all in her hands the very first night! She thinks, amused.
Jen insists to send the brunette back on the couch and leave the kitchen cleaning to herself, stealing a quick kiss from her, while the boys laugh every time Sigourney Weaver probes her fake boobs on the spaceship that is "Not The Enterprise"
"Night at the Museum" goes by sleepily, the curry, warm in temperature and hot thanks to the spices, has a soporific effect on everyone, and although the couch is big enough for everyone, the fact that Jen is still sore sends the other three clinging to one side of the couch, while the blonde "rests her eyes" by lying long with her head on Judy's lap for the entire duration of the film. She is so engrossed in resting her eyes that by the end of the film Judy has to repeat her name three times before the woman answers her.
Each of them in their own Pajamas, two slices of pizza each (thank goodness Slice's deliveries don't stop even in a storm), and one Avatar later, the family says goodnight, happy for the great day together. Although he has hardly moved from the couch, Henry is so exhausted that he doesn't even ask for the usual company "until he falls all the way asleep", and Charlie gives them a quick goodnight and disappears into his room, happy to finally have some time to himself.
Jen and Judy retreat hand in hand to the refuge that is their room. Exhausted as well, they take turns dragging themselves to the bathroom, and fall asleep in each other's arms shortly after lying down.