Chapter 21
The next morning at breakfast the girls begged me to let them go play out in the snow, while Juju begged for table scraps. Bryan seemed out of it and hardly touched his food.
"You need to eat Bry...come on." Charlie insisted as he ate his own breakfast.
"I...I don't think I feel so good." He replied.
"Oh? You sick to your stomach?" I asked.
He shook his head. Charlie reached over to Bryan and grabbed his ear.
"I don't think you have fever either Bryan...come here."
Charlie wiped his mouth on a napkin and left the table. Bryan and I followed. Charlie picked Bryan up and sat him on the sink countertop in the bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet to check Bryan's sugar.
"Here let me see it."
Bryan held his hand up and grunted as Charlie pricked his finger.
"Ow!"
"Sorry son."
Charlie checked the meter then just sighed.
"His sugar pretty low?" I asked.
"No...it's perfectly normal."
He picked Bryan up and helped him down off the sink.
"Where do you feel sick at?"
It was at that moment I saw tears in Bryan's eyes.
"Well sweetheart..."
I got on my knees and touched his shoulders.
"You're crying...something's wrong."
Charlie bent down near us.
"Did you have vision son?"
Bryan shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Well if you didn't have a vision and you're not sick, then what's the matter baby?" I stroked his arms.
"I want my Daddy!"
"Oh well Charlie!"
"Here I am bud. Here I am."
Bryan held his hands up and Charlie picked him up. As we stood up Bryan just cried into Charlie's shoulder. Charlie shrugged and patted Bryan consolingly on the back.
I took the girls and Juju out in the snow. Charlie sat inside leaned back in the recliner with Bryan on his chest. I just couldn't understand it. The more I tried to make sense of it; the more confused I became. I knew Bryan and Charlie were close, they grew even closer when Charlie had his surgery, but this was just too much. He didn't want to leave his father's side not even for a second, and Charlie was doing so well for himself now, physically and mentally. Bryan couldn't have thought something was wrong with Charlie.
"Mommy!" Mira shouted. "Can we make a snowman?"
"Uh sure Mira..."
Anna laughed as she followed Juju's footprints in the snow.
"Juju!" She cried. He ran over to her and almost knocked her down. She just laughed everytime. What it was, was Juju was so small that he'd get lost in the snow, then pop out at her. I helped Mira and Isa make a snowman. He really wasn't that big of a snowman but they still loved it.
"Snowball fight!" Anna declared and tossed a snowball at Mira. Mira laughed and tossed one back. I laughed and tossed one lightly at Isabelle. She giggled and flakes of cold snow attached to her beautiful brown curls underneath her hood.
The girls and I threw snowballs at each other. The snow was perfect for it. It was cold enough and solid enough to make the best snowballs. They were powdery enough that they lightly exploded when they hit you. Juju barked as he too wanted to play. I tried to duck from a snowball and fell over into the snow. Juju rushed over to me and licked my face.
"Ahh Juju stop it!"
The girls laughed loudly. They then pounded me while I was down with snowballs.
"Ahhh! I'm being attacked from all sides!"
We didn't stay out in the cold for too long. I got us inside and out of our wet clothes and into some warmer clothes. I made the girls some hot chocolate. They sat at the kitchen table just laughing and talking with each other. I smiled as I overheard their convetsation and cleaned up the kitchen.
"I hope Santa brings me a doll!" Anna told them.
"I want a doll too, so I can play with your doll!" Mira replied.
"I want a nice dress...with glitter and shiny things on it!" Isa said loudly.
"Do you think Santa will bring Bryan a toy too?" Anna asked.
"Sure...he hasn't been bad and Santa gives gifts to all the good boys and girls." Isa explained.
"What about Mommy and Daddy?" Mira said after.
"Aww Mirabelle you know Santa only gives toys to kids." Isa told her.
"Hey! Let's make Mommy and Daddy something!" Anna said excitedly.
"Yeah!"
"Okay!"
They ran to their room leaving their hot chocolate behind. My sweet baby girls. I checked in on my other two babies. My favorite boys.
I looked in the living room. They were as we left them.
"Hey Bry..." Charlie mumbled. "I have to go to the bathroom son...but I'll be right back."
Charlie sat up and put Bryan down in the chair.
"No! No Daddy!"
He tried to grab Charlie's shirt.
"Bryan!" I screamed. "Let go of your Daddy!"
"Nooo!"
I had to pry him loose so Charlie could go to the bathroom. Bryan cried loudly like a two year old and he was almost six.
"Bryannnn! Bryan!" I yelled over his cries. He tried to get away from me. He then did something he's never done before. He hit me. Slapped me right across the face. Charlie came running into the living room.
"I tried to go as fast as I could! Give him to me!"
"Daddy!"
Charlie took Bryan and held onto him. Charlie and I both sighed heavily. I held my cheek from where Bryan hit me.
"You okay?"
"Yeah..."
"Something wrong with your cheek?"
"No...but he... he slapped me."
Charlie put Bryan down.
"No!"
"Bryan stop...Stop!" Charlie scolded. He yelled in a very stern voice. Bryan grew quiet.
"Did you hit your mother?"
"Charlie...it's okay...it didn't hurt...I was just shocked I-"
"Bryan Jay answer me!"
"Char-"
"My dad hit my mom, I had these awful thoughts to do something terrible to Blossom...there's something in the LeMay blood Har...I won't have him harming or hitting women...especially his mother...and especially over something stupid as me going to the bathroom and leaving him with you! Bryan did you hit your mother?!"
Bryan nodded.
"Bryan Jay you apologize to your mother and I wanna know what's going on with you and I wanna know now!"
"I...I'm sorry Mommy! But I don't want be like you and have powers! I wanna be like Daddy and and I want Daddy to teach me to be like him and I'm scared and I...I'm really sad!"
He took off running to his bedroom.
"Bryan!" I shouted after him. Charlie hid his face in his hand. I looked at Charlie. What were we going to do?