Time Marches On
Chapter 4
As she suspected; after a particularly bad nightmare; Katie ended up sleeping next to Christine. Mike had woke up, but wisely kept his distance. She could tell it bothered him because when the kids were young and Mike was home; he always got up with them after a nightmare and helped them go back to sleep. Of course, the nightmares were different then and Mike could handle the monsters under the bed and in the closet. The monsters that Christine, Katie and even Hannah were battling now were different, because they were real and they had actually caused pain.
Christine woke up later into the morning to find an empty bed and neither of the girls upstairs. She dressed and headed downstairs, smelling bacon and strong coffee the entire way. Both girls were sitting at the kitchen island, watching Mike fry bacon and flip pancakes. Christine got herself a cup of coffee and gave Mike a kiss on the cheek.
"That smells delicious." Christine said.
"Katie's choice. I haven't made pancakes in years." Mike admitted. It was another tradition of theirs. Pancakes on a Saturday morning, but it wasn't Saturday. Just a random Wednesday, but Mike had missed a lot of Saturday morning breakfasts and he was going to be particularly indulgent with Katie. If she had asked for pancakes everyday; he would have made them.
"I can't believe I slept so long." Christine remarked, sipping the coffee. It was almost ten am and she had always been an early riser, like Mike.
"Daddy got up at five am, and Katie and I got up at eight." Hannah said.
"I work out early. Went for a run, worked out, showered and did a little work." Mike explained.
"Work?" Christine asked.
"The military still has me as a consultant for training and different things. Its from home and only a few hours here and there." Mike explained.
"I see. I didn't hear you moving around at all." Christine said.
"I didn't want you to. Wanted you all to sleep." Mike answered with a smile. He plated a few of the pancakes and placed them in front of Katie. "Two pancakes with strawberry jam and whipped cream, three sausage links and two pieces of slightly chewy bacon. Hannah, chocolate chips? Anything else?" Mike asked.
"Whipped cream. Crispy bacon and two sausages too please." Hannah asked.
"Christine?" Mike asked.
"Just regular pancakes with syrup. A couple pieces of bacon and sausage. Nothing special." Christine answered as Mike upturned a bag of chocolate chips onto Hannah's pancakes, much to her delight and Christine's frustration. Before she would have voiced it, but both girls were deserving of some special treats.
Ten minutes later; they were all sitting at the table tucking into the breakfasts. It was amazing and lighthearted and exactly what Christine needed. Even Katie smiled a bit. After they ate and cleaned up, the girls settled into the living room with books, and Mike went to his office to finish up some work. It gave Christine time to tidy up upstairs and she found herself in Mike's bedroom making his bed and cleaning the bathroom.
It was decorated exactly as she would prefer which was odd since it had been Mike's room. There were pictures of her and the kids placed around, but it still made her wonder if there had been someone else. Of course, she didn't find any signs. No cosmetics in the bathroom. No change of women's clothes in the closet and no condoms in the nightstand. She quit snooping around in her husband's bedroom, somewhat satisfied that he hadn't had a girlfriend from what she could find. She grabbed up some laundry and headed downstairs, already wondering how she was going to occupy her days.