Chapter 27, enjoy!

Tami got up the next morning and started a pot of coffee - just like she did every other day. As she leaned on the bar and drank her cup of coffee, she looked to the living room where Tim was sprawled out on the air mattress loudly snoring. Our lives changed in so many ways when this kid came into our life, she thought

Eric eventually ventured into the kitchen, grabbing himself a cup of coffee. A short while later, Shelley's alarm began blaring and she too came into the kitchen.

"I'm going to go get Jules awake, you get him up," Tami commanded her husband. It was Sunday morning and church would be starting soon. Tami ventured into her daughters room where she was wrapped in her covers sound asleep.

"Jules sweetie," Tami said softly, sitting on her daughters bed. "It's time to get up. I need to you go wake Tim up, he's snoring too loud." Julie's eyes fluttered open, and she slightly chuckled.

"He does snore pretty loud," Julie agreed. She threw the covers off of her and got out of bed walking towards the living room. Eric hadn't done much towards walking him up, he simply turned on the lights.

"Get up sleeping beauty," Julie said, pulling the blankets off him. "Hey, your bruise doesn't look so bad! You should let me put some makeup on it," The side of his face hadn't bruised as bad as they thought it would, having only turned a light shade of purple that was easily covered by his long hair.

"Absolutely not," Tim groaned sitting up. Julie left the living room to get ready for church. Julie and Shelley were fixing their hair and putting on their makeup in the bathroom when Tim walked in, clothes in hand.

"What are you doing?" Shelley asked.

"Well I gotta take a shower Shells," Tim responded.

"Go take your shower, but make it quick!" Shelley commanded. The girls stood in the hallway while Tim began his shower.

"What are ya'll doin' out here?" Tami asked when she walked past them on her way to get ready for church.

"Tim had to take a shower," Julie answered. Tami nodded and continued into her bedroom.

"TIM HURRY UP!" Shelley yelled, banging on the bathroom door.

"There's too many people in this damn house," Tami stated while buckling her heels, having overheard her sister yelling at her daughter's boyfriend.

"I know hun, but we can't really kick him out," Eric responded, referring to Tim.

"I know, but I'm not meaning him. My sister has been here since Thanksgiving and has said nothing about leaving. I know she's my sister, but she's just about overstayed her welcome," Tami vented. "I don't have a problem with her staying if she would tell me what was going on, but instead she just asks if she could stay a couple days after Thanksgiving and a couple days turns into 3 weeks. I'm going to talk to her about it after church."

After church, the Taylor's came hone and ate one of Tami's home cooked meals. Tim and Eric settled in the couch to watch game film from the team they will be playing in the Championship. Julie eventually took a seat on the couch as well. Tami and Shelley decided to take an afternoon girls trip to Austin, just a short thirty-minute drive away, and do some last minute Christmas shopping. They were grabbing a drink at a Starbucks in the mall when Tami finally decided to have the conversation she'd been thinking about all day.

"What's going on Shells?" Tami asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Shelley responded.

"I mean why are you practically living in my house?" Tami asked. "I don't have a problem with it if you'd just tell me what is going on."

"I got fired," Shelley confessed. "And I had to sell my house in Dallas, I closed on it the day before Thanksgiving. I just thought I could stay with you and help out with Julie and her baby when it's born, unless your planning on taking a month off of work to stay home with her." Tami hadn't thought about what she would do once Julie had the baby, and now that it was inching closer she was glad Shelley brought it up. It would be kind of nice to have Shelley around to help out.

"Shelley... I'm so sorry! Why didn't you tell me?" Tami sympathized.

"You've just got so much going on your the principal now and Julie's pregnant," Shelley stated. "And now Tim's staying with ya'll. I'll just get a hotel room and find a job somewhere so I don't impose."

"No! Shelley, you will stay with us. We will make it work," Tami responded. "I don't know how long Tim will stay with us, but we will make having five people in the house work somehow. And I'm sure Julie would love to have you help out, I know I would."

Eric, Tim, and Julie were playing an intense game of Monopoly, when there was a knock on the door.

"I got it, don't play without me!" Julie shouted getting up from her seat at the table to open the door.

"Hey Jules, can I talk to Tim?" Billy asked when Julie opened the door. Tim made his way to the door and stepped out onto the front porch with his brother.

"What do you want Billy?" Tim asked as he pulled the front door shut behind him.

"I got in touch with a rehab center, they can get him in in the first of the year," Billy answered.

"Good, I'll stay here until then," Tim responded. "And he better not show up to the game on Saturday." Tim left no time for Billy to respond before going back in the house.

"So I talked to Shelley," Tami started that evening when she was taking off her makeup.

"And..." Eric prompted.

"She lost her job and had to sell her house," Tami reported. "I know our house is jam packed right now, but she doesn't have anywhere else to stay."

"I understand, but how long is she going to be here for?" Eric asked.

"Well, she said she would like to apply for a job at the school next year," Tami answered turning to face Eric and lean on the counter with her hands crossed in front of her. "She also said that she would like to help out with the baby, and we haven't really thought about that much, but this baby is coming in April and you and I have to finish out the school year. She would be a lot of help."

"We're gonna need a bigger damn house," Eric smarted off.

"Not a bad idea," Tami teased climbing into bed.

"I was joking," Eric clarified turning out the lamp.

"I wasn't," Tami responded.

Totally forgot where I was going with the Shelley sub-storyline so thought I'd address that issue.