Chapter 4, enjoy!
"So what was all that about yesterday?" Billy asked when he and Tim got some downtime at their business, Riggins Rigs.
"All what?" Tim asked, confused.
"Julie's little outburst," Billy answered.
"Oh," Tim started, taking a seat on the couch in their shop.
"I'm guessing this is a long story," Billy predicted.
"Julie doesn't want to go back to school, she doesn't want to leave RaeLynn at home. And she just kind of realized that Tyra, Lyla, and I won't be at school with her. Then she finds out Landry is going to East Dillon this year, so she claims she doesn't have any friends. And she swears the teachers and kids looked at her differently."
"She has a valid point. You know how high school girls are, they probably will treat her differently," Billy responded.
"She convinced Tami to let her transfer. Since Coach is on the staff at East, she can go to either school without living in the district."
"So you guys aren't having relationship problems or anything?" Billy asked to clarify.
"No, just this whole going back to school thing. Other than that things are great with us," Tim answered honestly.
"That's good," Billy replied. "So you're enjoying playing house over there at the Taylor's?" He joked.
"Shut up!" Tim exclaimed. "But yeah, things are good. And Billy, you're a great father figure, guardian, or whatever you want to consider yourself, but having a real structured family unit is awesome. Mrs. Taylor treats me like her own son-"
"Well, I mean your kind of her son-in-law. Or I guess, father of her grandchild."
"Do you always have to point out the fact that I have a kid? I am taking part in raising her, which is more than we can say about our parents."
"I know Tim, and I am so proud of you for that. You easily could have left Julie, but you stuck with her," Billy replied. "And your speech, how is it coming along?"
"It's coming together, slowly," Tim told his brother. It was coming along very slowly, he had all of one sentence written as of last night.
"You know the wedding is tomorrow right?"
"Yes, I know," Tim stated. "So are you ready to marry Mindy?" Tim watched as a smile formed on Billy's face at the mention of his fiancée.
"Yeah, yeah I am," Billy happily answered. "It's crazy what a good woman will do to ya, I never thought I'd be getting married."
"Yeah, I didn't think you would either," Tim laughed. Billy's words made him think about Julie and how much she had changed his life. His life was so much better with Julie, and now RaeLynn. "Let's get back to work," Tim suggested.
•
"Shelley, you are still good to watch RaeLynn during the wedding tomorrow?" Tami asked to confirm.
"Sure am," Shelley replied.
"I will back home after all the speeches and cake cutting, hopefully no later than 8," Julie chimed in.
"Stay all night if you want to, I don't mind watching her," Shelley told her.
"I think I'll still come home early."
"Okay then."
"Mom, are you and dad going?" Julie asked.
"We were planning on it," Tami replied. "Honey, I think your baby is crying," Tami added when cries echoed from down the hallway.
"What is her deal?" Shelley nosily asked, feeling completely out of the loop these days. "She should go enjoy herself at the wedding tomorrow night, instead she's going to rush back home. I really don't mind watching RaeLynn all night."
"I know you don't mind, and Julie knows that you don't mind. The problem is that Julie doesn't want to leave her. We had to force her to go to enrollment yesterday and it has been like pulling teeth to get her to make plans about this school year and what classes she wants to take," Tami explained.
"Sounds like a typical first time mom. You don't know how many moms I see cry dropping theirs kids off in my pre-K classroom on the first day of school. There's about as many as the kids who cry when their parents leave."
"And I totally understand her feelings, I didn't want to go back to work after I had her, but I eventually did."
"Yeah, after you took a year off," Shelley replied.
"But she needs to go back to school, for her sake and for RaeLynn's sake. She is a smart girl and she has always wanted to continue her education, and get the best education possible."
"I agree, but you can't help hut feel for her. Just like you said, you didn't want to leave her. And think, how many times has she been away from that baby for longer than an hour ever since she was born? Not very dang many," Shelley pointed out.
"You are right. Maybe she'll have a good time and want to stay longer and realize that RaeLynn is fine without her for a couple of hours," Tami responded.
Sorry this one was a short one. This was more of a filler/prep chapter. I hope you still enjoyed though! Let me know what you think, and if you would like to see anything in particular with this story, I am open to some ideas!