It's Been Awhile, Chapter Seven
I hope this is a 'cough' decent chapter. I'll try to put some action in. Sorry the long time between updates! It's been nearly a year since I started this story. Oops ;x
(at the station)
Corey could tell that Chris was hurt. "Uh, Chris, T.C., maybe you should talk in private," Corey offered. Neither said anything, but followed Corey.
"T.C., I think it will be a good chance to maybe...To maybe repair what we had," Chris finally said, after a few moments of awkward silence in the empty office.
"What did we have, Chris?" T.C. asked sarcastically, and then continued. "We had triplets together. We had two sons and a daughter. You didn't even want them to grow up together. Your career was so much more important than the kids growing up together. I don't even KNOW my son! I don't know one of my kids. You don't know two of your children. You have a son and a daughter you don't know. Doesn't that bother you?" T.C. was ranting now; and repeating, but he didn't care. He was releasing eight years of frustration. "Aarit doesn't even know what I look like! Ashley knows what you look like through a picture that's ten years old. Aarick wouldn't be able to tell you his mother's name off the top of his head. Doesn't that bother you, even a little bit?"
Chris was a little taken back. "T.C., it was-"
"Oh, I know. It was for the job. It was best for the kids. Best for them to grow up apart, than to have to take a few plane rides a year, right?"
"Listen to me, T.C.! Don't start jumping down my throat. MAYBE I made a mistake. But think about it! Do you seriously think you could raise three little kids, all the same age? At the same time? Palermo had a hard time with one daughter, being a cop. You trying to raise three little kids would have been impossible. You had to high of expectations. It's better for them to meet later in life than we to give them off to some adoption agency, to never meet each other. I made a mistake! I'm human!"
"You made a mistake with your kids' lives!" T.C. yelled back. "You didn't want your style being cramped by three kids."
"That is not how it went, and you know that! Don't put words in my mouth. Don't you dare! I love all the kids. Neither of us could have handled three kids for an extended period of time. And you know it. That's why you're so mad. You're yelling at me, because you're mad at yourself. You would have felt like a failure, and you know it!" Chris screamed, and after one long, final look at T.C., tore out of the room.
That night, as Aarit and Chris ate at a makeshift table-made of a moving box and broken bookshelf piece-, Aarit cleared his throat and put down his Chinese. "Mom, I gotta question."
Chris wiped her mouth and took a drink of her soda. "Shoot, Aar."
"In my new class, there's...There's this boy. He looks a lot like me. He has a sister, and she does, too. I heard him talking and he said he didn't know his mother. I'm...I'm not accusing you of lying, or anything but I was wondering. Do I have a brother? Or a sister? I mean, dad...My dad, he lives in California right? Santa Monica? That's not that far away. You've just never told me much, so I thought maybe..."
Chris was surprised. She knew Del James was a small town, but she hadn't even thought of the possibility of the three kids meeting. Hell, she hadn't originally thought that she would even attempt to talk to T.C. They had ten more years before they had to seriously think about talking about anything other than how the kids were doing at school. Yet, here they were. Aarit was probably in his brother's class, and T.C. was pissed at her. Things couldn't get any worse.
Then she got the call. Telling Aarit to wait a minute, she dodged boxes and toys and finally found the phone.
T.C. was sitting at his desk when Aarick came up next to him and tugged on his short. Aarick was wearing frayed jean shorts and no shirt. Even though it was nearly eight o'clock at night, they were still outside and he was dirty and sweaty. "Oh, are you still outside? Go get your sister. Time to take a bath," T.C. said, not paying attention.
"No, dad, I need to talk to you."
T.C. sighed and rubbed his temples. "What, Aarick?"
"There's a new kid in my class."
T.C. silently prayed that this was just a coincidence.
"He looks a lot like me. Almost exactly, even. Richard says that he could even be my brother."
No. No. No. No. Maybe if he kept saying the word, this WOULD just be a coincidence.
"In fact, his name is a lot like mine. Aarit. A-A-R-I-T, like that."
You've got to be kidding me, T.C. thought angrily.
"Daddy, do I have a brother?"
T.C. stood up. "It's time for you to go get your sister, Aarick. I need to talk to you two. Go on. I have to call someone."
While Aarick walked outside, T.C. dialed the number that Corey had shoved towards him as he had angrily walked out that afternoon. "Call her. Don't be a man, T.C."
"Hello?" Chris answered, sounding exasperated.
"Uh...Chris. Listen, I'm sorry for this afternoon. I was wrong. Well, for most of it. Okay, some of it. I mean, I was just-"
"T.C., is this an apology or what, because I'm in the middle of something."
"No, no. I mean, yeah I apologize but I have to talk to you. About the kids. I think the boys may be in a class together. Aarick asked me if he had a brother. I think, that it's time for the kids to meet. And us to talk. I mean, really talk."
T.C. heard Chris sigh. It was a defeated sigh, like everything had just come crashing down. "I know, T.C. Aarit asked me about it, too."
"Okay, well. Come to the station tomorrow, so we can talk while the kids are at school."
They hung up, and T.C. heard a voice that could only be produced from his daughter's lungs.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DADDY LIED?!"
He sighed and leaned against the wall as the door swung open and revealed his little dynamo, Ashley.
Please review
I hope this is a 'cough' decent chapter. I'll try to put some action in. Sorry the long time between updates! It's been nearly a year since I started this story. Oops ;x
(at the station)
Corey could tell that Chris was hurt. "Uh, Chris, T.C., maybe you should talk in private," Corey offered. Neither said anything, but followed Corey.
"T.C., I think it will be a good chance to maybe...To maybe repair what we had," Chris finally said, after a few moments of awkward silence in the empty office.
"What did we have, Chris?" T.C. asked sarcastically, and then continued. "We had triplets together. We had two sons and a daughter. You didn't even want them to grow up together. Your career was so much more important than the kids growing up together. I don't even KNOW my son! I don't know one of my kids. You don't know two of your children. You have a son and a daughter you don't know. Doesn't that bother you?" T.C. was ranting now; and repeating, but he didn't care. He was releasing eight years of frustration. "Aarit doesn't even know what I look like! Ashley knows what you look like through a picture that's ten years old. Aarick wouldn't be able to tell you his mother's name off the top of his head. Doesn't that bother you, even a little bit?"
Chris was a little taken back. "T.C., it was-"
"Oh, I know. It was for the job. It was best for the kids. Best for them to grow up apart, than to have to take a few plane rides a year, right?"
"Listen to me, T.C.! Don't start jumping down my throat. MAYBE I made a mistake. But think about it! Do you seriously think you could raise three little kids, all the same age? At the same time? Palermo had a hard time with one daughter, being a cop. You trying to raise three little kids would have been impossible. You had to high of expectations. It's better for them to meet later in life than we to give them off to some adoption agency, to never meet each other. I made a mistake! I'm human!"
"You made a mistake with your kids' lives!" T.C. yelled back. "You didn't want your style being cramped by three kids."
"That is not how it went, and you know that! Don't put words in my mouth. Don't you dare! I love all the kids. Neither of us could have handled three kids for an extended period of time. And you know it. That's why you're so mad. You're yelling at me, because you're mad at yourself. You would have felt like a failure, and you know it!" Chris screamed, and after one long, final look at T.C., tore out of the room.
That night, as Aarit and Chris ate at a makeshift table-made of a moving box and broken bookshelf piece-, Aarit cleared his throat and put down his Chinese. "Mom, I gotta question."
Chris wiped her mouth and took a drink of her soda. "Shoot, Aar."
"In my new class, there's...There's this boy. He looks a lot like me. He has a sister, and she does, too. I heard him talking and he said he didn't know his mother. I'm...I'm not accusing you of lying, or anything but I was wondering. Do I have a brother? Or a sister? I mean, dad...My dad, he lives in California right? Santa Monica? That's not that far away. You've just never told me much, so I thought maybe..."
Chris was surprised. She knew Del James was a small town, but she hadn't even thought of the possibility of the three kids meeting. Hell, she hadn't originally thought that she would even attempt to talk to T.C. They had ten more years before they had to seriously think about talking about anything other than how the kids were doing at school. Yet, here they were. Aarit was probably in his brother's class, and T.C. was pissed at her. Things couldn't get any worse.
Then she got the call. Telling Aarit to wait a minute, she dodged boxes and toys and finally found the phone.
T.C. was sitting at his desk when Aarick came up next to him and tugged on his short. Aarick was wearing frayed jean shorts and no shirt. Even though it was nearly eight o'clock at night, they were still outside and he was dirty and sweaty. "Oh, are you still outside? Go get your sister. Time to take a bath," T.C. said, not paying attention.
"No, dad, I need to talk to you."
T.C. sighed and rubbed his temples. "What, Aarick?"
"There's a new kid in my class."
T.C. silently prayed that this was just a coincidence.
"He looks a lot like me. Almost exactly, even. Richard says that he could even be my brother."
No. No. No. No. Maybe if he kept saying the word, this WOULD just be a coincidence.
"In fact, his name is a lot like mine. Aarit. A-A-R-I-T, like that."
You've got to be kidding me, T.C. thought angrily.
"Daddy, do I have a brother?"
T.C. stood up. "It's time for you to go get your sister, Aarick. I need to talk to you two. Go on. I have to call someone."
While Aarick walked outside, T.C. dialed the number that Corey had shoved towards him as he had angrily walked out that afternoon. "Call her. Don't be a man, T.C."
"Hello?" Chris answered, sounding exasperated.
"Uh...Chris. Listen, I'm sorry for this afternoon. I was wrong. Well, for most of it. Okay, some of it. I mean, I was just-"
"T.C., is this an apology or what, because I'm in the middle of something."
"No, no. I mean, yeah I apologize but I have to talk to you. About the kids. I think the boys may be in a class together. Aarick asked me if he had a brother. I think, that it's time for the kids to meet. And us to talk. I mean, really talk."
T.C. heard Chris sigh. It was a defeated sigh, like everything had just come crashing down. "I know, T.C. Aarit asked me about it, too."
"Okay, well. Come to the station tomorrow, so we can talk while the kids are at school."
They hung up, and T.C. heard a voice that could only be produced from his daughter's lungs.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DADDY LIED?!"
He sighed and leaned against the wall as the door swung open and revealed his little dynamo, Ashley.
Please review