Memories
"Look what my mom gave me today when I picked the kids up." Thea said, walking into the living room where her husband was sitting watching TV. She'd just put the kids to bed and was finally glad to be sitting down on the sofa with her husband.
"What's that?" Dominic asked.
"They got all of our home video tapes turned into DVDs. My mom found a store that converts them." Thea said.
"Man, video tapes?" Dominic smile to himself.
"Yeah, now everyone just whips out their smart phone and it's with you for life." Thea shook her head, "I think there's tapes up until maybe Cassie's second birthday. I think my mom stopped doing it after dad went to prison. And I guess technology moved on." Thea said.
"So what's this one?" Dominic asked, opening up the DVD case.
"This is Jude's third birthday party." Thea smiled, "So I was nine, almost ten." She nodded.
"Well, I gotta see this." Dominic laughed to himself, walking over to the TV to stick the DVD in as Thea groaned.
"I don't think I've seen this one before, actually." Thea said, "I think that's why she gave me it to see. She said she always watches them to cheer herself up."
"How has she been doing at work? I know you said she was a little apprehensive about it all." Dominic said, walking back over to the couch and sitting beside her.
"She is but she's getting through it. Cassie's went to her office a couple times and met her for lunch. I met her yesterday and I think my dad did the first couple of days. She's doing ok with it, I think. You know she doesn't really let onto much." Thea shook her head as Dominic nodded.
"Well as long as she's got people around her." Dominic said.
"I think she's just glad it's over with now. I think most of the fear came from not knowing what people would say to her. Now she's got that out the way I think it's helped her." Thea said as Dominic nodded.
"Yeah, I bet." Dominic said, "Ok, let's see little demonic Thea." He chuckled to himself as she shoved him, watching him play the DVD as she looked over at the TV in front of them.
"Look at my mom. She looks so young." Thea smiled, watching the TV as her mother appeared on the camera, appearing to be putting decorations up whilst her father taped her. She was glad her parents kept things like this. It was the important things. Things that made them all smile when looking back on.
"Is he…" Dominic chuckled to himself, noticing the camera zooming in on AJ's ass.
"He's such an idiot." Thea rolled her eyes, smiling however as she heard her mother scolding her father on the video tape, telling him to act his age. They really hadn't changed much at all.
"Oh, Phil put that away just now." AJ shook her head, climbing down from the sofa after hanging some birthday decorations.
"These are the best bits." Punk said.
"You're gonna wake her up, you're making too much noise." AJ said, walking off into the kitchen as Punk put the camera down.
"Have you got her presents down here?" Punk asked as AJ nodded.
"Yeah they're at the bottom of the stairs. Could you move them into the living room?" AJ asked him as he nodded.
She turned her attention to opening up the birthday cake from the packaging, looking inside and smiling as she saw the rainbows with the message 'Happy third Birthday Jude' on it.
She sat it over out of the way, unpacking all the party stuff for later when they had their family over. She could remember several of her own birthday's without so much as a birthday card from her parents. She didn't whine about it or feel sorry for herself. But having children made her remember how it felt to spend birthday's alone. She never wanted her girls to ever feel like that. So their birthdays were special in their house.
"Ok, that's in the living room. Do you need help with anything else?" Punk walked back into the kitchen.
"Can you blow up some of these balloons for the floor." AJ nodded, handing him a pack of balloons as he nodded.
"You're better at blowing than I am." Punk scoffed as AJ looked over at him with a small smile as he shook his head, "Behave."
"These pancakes are almost ready." AJ nodded, keeping her eye on the birthday breakfast they'd been making, setting everything onto the table.
"They'll wake up soon." Punk looked at the clock, tying the balloon he'd blown up, throwing it onto the floor, continuing to blow the rest up.
Meanwhile upstairs, Jude had woken up, leaving her bedroom and running into her parents room, frowning when she couldn't see them.
She then ran into her sister's room, jumping on top of her on the bed as Thea groaned.
"Jude." Thea huffed.
"It's my birthday." Jude sat on top of Thea who looked at her, "You have to be nice to me today."
"No I don't." Thea shook her head, shoving her as Jude fell back, chuckling to herself.
"Yes you do." Jude jumped off the bed.
"I bet mom and dad forgot to get you presents." Thea grinned, looking over at Jude who folded her arms. She lived to tease her sister.
"No they haven't." Jude defended.
"I think they have." Thea nodded, watching as Jude ran out of the room and headed downstairs, causing Thea to laugh as she followed.
"Hey! Look who it is." Punk noticed Jude running into the kitchen. His favourite thing in the world was seeing their little faces on their birthdays or at Christmas time. The excitement was real. And he made sure he got that on tape.
"It's my birthday." Jude told them, picking up a balloon on the floor and throwing it up as AJ smiled.
"It is. You're three. That's so big." AJ shook her head as Jude nodded, "Can I give you a birthday hug?" She asked as Jude ran over to her, getting scooped up as AJ squeezed her tight, "Happy birthday, baby." AJ smiled, hugging her tightly as Jude smiled, holding onto her whilst eyeing up the pancakes on the kitchen table, which Punk got on tape, chuckling to himself.
"You hungry?" Punk laughed.
"Yeah." Jude smiled as AJ put her down whilst Thea came into the kitchen.
"Oh, it's only Thea." Punk teased as Thea rolled her eyes.
"Don't video me." Thea tried to give him a dead leg from behind as Punk chuckled to himself.
"Stop abusing your father." Punk tutted sarcastically as Thea walked over to the table, sitting down as she looked across at Jude who had already put her birthday hat on.
"You're so weird." Thea shook her head as Jude smiled to her.
"Ok, dig in." AJ told them as Punk sat the video tape over, joining them for breakfast.
After finishing breakfast Jude went into the living room to open up the presents she'd received. Thea was of course watching like a hawk to see if there was anything she could also play with.
"It's all pens and colouring books." Thea raised a brow, looking over at her parents.
"That's what she likes." Punk said.
"She's terrible at drawing." Thea chuckled to herself as Jude carried on opening up her presents, thrilled with all the arts and crafts things her parents had gotten her, things she loved to consume her time with.
"There's one more, daddy needs to go get it from the car." AJ smiled as Jude stood waiting, collecting all the wrapping paper to tidy up whilst Punk left to go get the last gift from the car.
"What is it?" Jude smiled, standing over with AJ.
"It's a surprise. I can't tell you." AJ smiled, kissing her head as Punk came into the living room with a children's blackboard as Jude smiled happily.
"I think this is for you too." Punk smiled, watching as Jude ran over to the blackboard which he'd sat down, looking at in awe as she took a piece of chalk and immediately began drawing on it.
"Do you like it?" AJ asked as Jude nodded with a permanent smile on her face.
They knew she loved drawing, so they did their best to make her special day personal to her.
"That's lame." Thea scoffed.
"Please, I know you wanna go draw on it." AJ looked at Thea who shook her head.
"It's for babies." Thea said.
"You're a baby." Punk nodded as Thea shook her head.
"Look!" Jude exclaimed, showing them her first drawing, "It's a cat." She told them as Thea smiled a little. It was hard not to."
"That's so good." Punk nodded.
"And… and he has a birthday hat on." Jude explained as AJ smiled, turning to Punk who winked to her.
AJ held out the birthday cake in front of Jude later that night as she sat on the couch, enjoying everyone singing happy birthday to her, smiling over to her father who was recording it on the video tape.
"Make a wish." AJ nodded to Jude, crouching down in front of her whilst Thea sat beside her. Dean and Renee were also there with their two year old daughter Chrissy, who was in Dean's arms.
"Umm… I wish-"
"No you can't say it out loud." Punk laughed a little, "Close your eyes and just… think of it. Otherwise it might not come true." He nodded.
"Oh." Jude nodded to herself, closing her eyes and making a wish as AJ smiled watching her, "I'm done." Jude told them all.
"Ok, blow them out." AJ nodded as Jude blew out the candles on her cake, just as Thea pinged her elasticated party hat down her face.
"Thea." Punk scoffed as Thea chuckled.
Jude, who took all of her sister's teasing on her stride, adjusted her party hat, grabbing some icing from the cake and smashing it against Thea's face as AJ raised her eyebrows in shock.
"Hey." Thea gasped whilst Punk chuckled to himself along with Dean and Renee.
"You need to be quiet." Jude told her sister as AJ just chuckled, shaking her head at the duo they had become.
"Ok, who wants some cake?" AJ chuckled, standing up straight and taking the cake back into the kitchen where Dean and Renee followed to help, whilst Punk continued taping Thea and Jude.
"I think Thea's had her cake for the day." Punk chuckled, walking over and crouching down in front of them, zooming in on Thea wiping her face from the cake as Jude watched with a smile, "You had a good day?" Punk asked Jude who nodded, "Yeah." He nodded triumphantly, "What was the best part?" He asked her.
"Umm… everyone being here." Jude nodded as Punk smiled.
"Not the blackboard?" Thea asked her.
"The blackboard too." Jude nodded as Punk smiled.
"What about Uncle Dean singing Hey Jude to you?" Punk asked her.
"No! I don't like him doing that." Jude made clear, "Or you." She said as he nodded.
"I know." He chuckled a little, "So it was a good birthday?"
"Yeah." Jude smiled as Punk nodded, lowering the video camera as he gave her a hug and kissed her head, feeling her hug him back tightly.
"Mommy and daddy love you so much." He said.
"Can I go get cake?" Jude asked him as Punk nodded.
"Yeah, on you go." Punk said, "You too." He nodded to Thea who followed Jude to the kitchen.
He smiled to himself, picking the video camera back up, zooming in on the blackboard where Jude's drawing was before shutting it off and heading into the kitchen to enjoy the rest of the night with his family.
