Waiting Is The Hardest Part
Chapter 21
Bosco pulled in the driveway, turned off the headlights, put the car in park, and turned off the engine. He sat for a moment, feeling how good it felt to be home. Getting out of the car, he felt the crisp night air envelop him. Taking in a deep breath of the clean air, he looked around the immediate area – something he had come to do automatically. He looked up at the cloudless sky and noticed how bright the stars seemed tonight. In fact, they may very well have been the first stars he'd seen all week.
He gave one last glance up and down the street and headed to the front door, feeling for the front door key amongst the keys on the keychain with his fingers. He made a mental note of the things that needed to be done over the weekend – cut the lawn; that door could use a fresh coat of paint; Jordan had her t-ball game on Saturday too. He couldn't wait to get started. He enjoyed puttering around, working on the house, and spending time with the his family. He quietly put the key in the lock and slowly turned the knob. Once opened, he noticed that Jennifer had left a light on in the living room as well as the light over the stove in the kitchen. He gently closed and locked the door behind him and placed his keys on the table by the door. He hung his jacket on the coat rack in the corner and slipped his shoes off so he didn't make noise.
He walked into the living room, peeling his sweatshirt off and throwing it onto the bed in "his" room on the way by. He saw some papers lying on the table near the lamp that had been left on and as he approached them, he was startled by Jennifer lying on the couch, asleep, a book resting on her stomach. He looked at her for a moment and then shifted his attention back to the table where there were two pictures; one from Jordan and one from Jason – obviously with some help from Jordan.
"Welcome Home, Daddy" and "We missed you" were written in crayon across the front, with self-portraits of them out on the back lawn – "Mommy" and "Daddy" clearly marked and holding hands.
He smiled and looked back at Jennifer who still slept peacefully. He reached down and gently tugged at her toes. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes.
"Hey," he whispered. "What're you still doing up?" he asked as she wiped at her eyes and sat up.
"I was waiting for you. I wanted to make sure you got home alright? What time is it?" she asked, looking over at the clock at the same time that Bosco told her it was almost 2:00 a.m.
"You must be exhausted," she said sleepily. "Are you hungry?" she asked walking toward the kitchen to make him something to eat.
"No. Jen. It's okay. Go to sleep. You didn't have to wait up," he said as she stopped and turned to him.
"I'm okay," she said with a shy smile. "I've been sleeping for the last two hours," she admitted. "I didn't want you to come home to a dark, quiet house. I always hated that after working all night during my residency."
He chuckled. "Go on up. I want to look in on the kids and then I'll see you in the morning," he said, deciding to head for the kitchen for a drink of juice.
"Goodnight," she said and headed for the stairs.
"Thanks for waiting up," he said as he continued into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. He reached in and grabbed the carton of juice.
"Use a glass!" she shouted in a whisper to him as he was lifting the carton to his lips. He almost dropped the carton on the floor at the familiar command. He put the carton down and looked around the corner to the stairs, but she had already gone up, apparently unaware of the comment that she'd made so many times before.
He climbed the stairs after putting the juice away and headed to Jason's room. He saw him illuminated by the nightlight – sleeping on his tummy, with his knees up under him so that his behind stuck up in the air. Bosco was amazed that anyone could sleep that way, but that had been his position of choice since he was born. He bent down and took in the baby powder scent of him and then put the blanket back over him. He put his hand on the side of his cheek to feel the softness of his baby skin.
He walked across the hallway into Jordan's room and saw her illuminated by her nightlight as well. He picked her doll up off the floor and tucked it in the covers alongside her. Jordan stirred and her eyes fluttered open briefly.
"Daddy?" she said, recognizing the scent of him more than the fact that he was standing alongside her.
"Yes, Bug. It's me. Thanks for the pictures. I'll see you in the morning," he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek and tucking in her blanket around her.
All he was rewarded with was a mumble of some kind. He went back out into the hallway and headed toward the stairs. He saw a flickering light coming from the master bedroom and looked in on his way by. The television was on, with the sound turned very low. Jennifer was asleep.
Bosco smiled as he walked in to turn off the television. Jennifer had always cursed the fact that she always had to have the television on when she was trying to go to sleep. She said she'd picked up the habit when she was in her own apartment after college and medical school. She'd been used to the noise of the dorms – there was always something going on at all hours – and when she'd gotten a place of her own she couldn't sleep without the noise. So, she'd resorted to leaving the television on until she feel asleep, setting the timer to turn it off.
The timer on this set had been broken for a long time, but Bosco had always been the one to turn it off for her. He reached over to push the button on the television when he noticed some opened books on the desk in the corner. Walking over to look at them, he saw that she'd had the photo albums out. There were pictures of their wedding and of the kids scattered across the desk. She must have been going over them, trying to remember.
He put the pictures back down and walked over to turn off the set. He glanced back at his sleeping wife and then walked out and down the stairs, wishing he could've lay down next to her. He longed to feel her alongside him while he slept.
She felt the hot sun shining on her face and a warm breeze brushing against her skin. She lay on the blanket and watched and listened to the sights and sounds of the kids splashing in the water. She saw Jason walking toward the water, his bucket and shovel in hand, and Jordan was running back toward her, being chased by a wave hitting the beach. She started to get up hurriedly to go with Jason so that he didn't get knocked over by the wave and go under.
"I've got him, Hon," she heard from behind her and she instantly recognized the voice of Maurice. She watched him charge toward Jordan in a fake tackling move as he headed toward Jason just as the wave reached his toes and he screeched with delight. She was laughing as Jordan reached her and flopped down on the blanket next to her, soaking wet from the ocean.
"Having fun, Jord?" she asked, pushing her wet hair from her face while checking to see if she was getting too red and needed more sunblock.
"Yeah, Mommy. Daddy said maybe we could go to the fish restaurant tonight? Can we? Please?" she pleaded.
"Daddy said that, huh?" Jennifer replied as she handed her daughter a juice from the cooler. "We can probably do that then."
"Yay!" she cheered as Bosco carried Jason over toward them.
"What 'yay'?" Bosco asked as he reached them and put Jason down on the blanket.
"Apparently we're going the fish restaurant tonight," she said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him. He was silhouetted by the sun behind him and she took in the sight of his physical condition. It always took her breath away and she swore he stood that way on purpose.
"What?" he said, taking the look on her face.
"You know what," she said simply.
"I know. You want me," he said, in her ear as he sat down next to her. She poked him in the ribs.
"You're bad," she said, laughing.
"You have no idea, Mrs. Boscorelli," he teased.
"Oh, I know exactly how bad you are, Mr. Boscorelli," she said, leaning into him and meeting his lips with her own.
"Yuck!" Jordan yelled, drawing their attention.
"Oh yeah, Jason needs a new diaper," Bosco said. "It's your turn," he said, reaching into the cooler for a beer.
"Gee, thanks," she replied, reaching into the bag and grabbing the supplies for the job. "We should start packing everything up if we're going to get cleaned up and ready to go to dinner. I don't want to get there too late because then we'll be stuck waiting for a table."
"Yes, Ma'am," Bosco said, standing up and saluting. She watched him as he started collecting all the beach toys that were strewn about.
He looked out at the water and then, over his shoulder, said, "Gonna be a beautiful sunset tonight."
"Maybe once we get these two down for the night, we can sit on the deck and watch the sun go down," she told him.
"Ummm..., maybe, but I'll want some dessert," he told her.
"Oh, I've got your dessert," she said.
"I know that you do," he answered as she finished cleaning up from her task.
She watched him continue to gather everything up, the warm sun on her face and the memories of the day making her smile...
Jennifer slowly opened her eyes, the smile still on her face. She wasn't sure where she was at first and then realized that she must have been dreaming. The warm morning sun shining on her face, coupled with the smell of pancakes cooking, had woken her up.
The memory of the dream she'd been having was still on her mind and she sat up and grabbed her robe off the end of the bed. She walked over to the window to take in the start of the day and noticed the pictures on the desk. She wasn't dreaming, she was remembering – the pictures of one of their vacations had triggered the memory and her mind replayed it during the night.
As she looked out the window, she saw Jordan and Jason playing in the backyard while Maurice made them all breakfast. Their usual morning ritual. Maurice hated to waste a minute of the time he was home and always rose early to take a run before the kids woke up. Jordan was sitting on the old tree stump in the backyard and Maurice walked out and kneeled down alongside her. She smiled as she remembered the day of their wedding. Maurice had taken off his coat and put it over the stump as he talked to Jordan so that she wouldn't get her beautiful dress dirty before the ceremony. She was feeling a little anxious about walking down the aisle as the flower girl. He was so gentle and good to her right from the start. He made a wonderful father and she remembered the look on his face when she'd told him that they were going to have Jason. First he paled, then you couldn't wipe the smile from his face for days afterward...,
She gasped as the reality hit her. She was remembering! Remembering everything! Flashes of all that had happened over the years came flooding back, seemingly all at once. She couldn't seem to catch her breath and she grabbed onto the edge of the desk to steady herself.
"Calm down," she told herself as she watched her husband and children in the yard below. She tried to concentrate on taking slow, even breaths, but the rush of everything coming back so quickly prevented it. Memory after memory came flooding over her. She felt herself getting weak - she was hyperventilating.
She reached over and cranked the window open a little wider. She called out to Maurice, but she didn't think her voice carried. The last thing she remembered was the room spinning and her loss of balance. Then, everything was dark.
TBC...
