Chapter Five
"Delinda, don't get too close to the baby, he's sleeping," Jillian said quietly as she walked over and took her daughter away from the bassinette.
"But mommy," Delinda whined, "I just wanna see him."
"I know that," she said, "but he's sleeping now and we don't want to wake him up."
The little girl sighed deeply as she went over and sat down on the floor and looked at her dolls. Smiling at her, Jillian said, "Why don't you see if Janie wants to come over and play?"
"She's in Florida," she said glumly.
"Oh," her mother responded. Walking over, she bent down and kissed the top her head, "Mommy's going to make dinner, daddy should be home shortly, okay?"
Delinda nodded as she dumped out a Ziploc filled with Barbie clothes and accessories. A few minutes later, Ed walked through the front door, briefcase in his hands. Smiling when he saw his daughter, he said, "Hey, buttercup."
Delinda grinned as she leapt to her feet and went over to her father and squeezed his legs, "Hi, daddy, wanna play with me?"
Ed looked down at the scattered array of Barbie dolls and let out an inward groan, "Sure," he said, "let me just put my stuff down, where's mommy?"
"Making dinner," she answered as she skipped back over and sat down.
Walking upstairs, Ed went into the bedroom and took the gun he wore to work out of the back holster and set it up on the top shelf of his closet. Taking his tie off, he set his coat down on the bed and walked back downstairs to where his family was. Finding his daughter on her stomach playing, he grinned as he went over and sat down on the hardwood floor next to her.
"Here, Daddy," she said, handing him a doll, "you can play with Ken."
"Yeah, but Barbie is pretty too," he said.
"Barbie's a girl," she laughed, "Ken's a boy, he's Barbie's boyfriend."
"Ah," Ed said as he took the Ken doll and looked at him, "Um, sweetie, where are all of Ken's clothes?"
"He doesn't have any."
Furrowing his brow, Ed said, "I know we didn't buy you a naked Barbie doll, Delinda."
"Ken doll, Daddy!" She interjected.
"Whatever, where are his clothes?"
Sighing dramatically, she said, "Ken was naughty so Barbie threw his clothes away."
Ed sighed as he ran a hand over his face, "Alight, no more throwing Ken's clothes away, okay? It's not nice."
"But, Daddy, Barbie came home from shopping and found Ken taking a bath with Midge and they didn't have any clothes on either!"
"What!" Ed looked in shock at his four year old, wondering where she got such images. "Um, honey, I'll tell you what," he said, "mommy's going to have dinner ready soon, why don't you pick this stuff up and put it away and help set the table, okay? You can play with your Barbies later."
"Okay, Daddy," Delinda chirped as she stood up and picked her mess up.
Sighing deeply, Ed stood up and walked into the kitchen and found his wife stirring a pot at the stove. Grinning, he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind as he kissed her neck, "Hey, honey."
Gently smacking his hand with a wooden spoon, Jillian said, "Marcus, I told you, my husband will be home shortly, you have got to leave."
Feeling him swat her on the behind, Jillian laughed as she turned her head and kissed her husband, "How was your day?"
"Good till I got home," he said as he walked over to the refrigerator, "I find out my daughter might know about sex at four years old and that I have to kill some guy named Marcus."
His wife frowned at the first one, "What makes you think Delinda knows about sex?"
Grabbing a soda out, he shut the door and popped the tab. "I came through the door and she asked me to play with her dolls with her, so I said I would."
"Wait," Jillian said, looking at her husband, "You played Barbies with Delinda?" She started to grin widely, "That's so sweet!"
Ed sighed, "Jillian," he said.
"Sorry," she said as she went back to her cooking.
"Anyway," he said as he went over and perched himself on the edge of the counter. "I come back downstairs after putting my you know what up, and sat down with her and she hands me this bare assed naked Ken doll. I asked her where the clothes were and she told me Barbie threw them out because she walked in on Ken and Midge naked in the bathtub."
Jillian stopped stirring the pot and looked at her husband, "What did you say?"
"I told her to clean the mess up and get ready for dinner."
Shaking her head, his wife sighed, "Edward, Edward, Edward."
"What?" He said defensively as he watched her, "You wanted me to get into a conversation of the birds and the bees at four years old right before dinner?"
"No, of course not," she said.
"Than what?" Ed asked.
"I don't know," she sighed as she handed him a small stack of plates. "It's just so soon that she starts to have these ideas."
"You are telling me," he said as he headed out to the dining room, "Pretty soon we are going to have to put her Barbies on birth control."
"So, honey, what'd you do today?" Ed asked as he poked his fork into a meat ball.
"Colored," Delinda answered as she reached for her glass of milk.
"Careful, honey," Jillian advised as she watched her daughter drink the milk. Her azure eyes flashing over to her husband, she smiled, "How about you? What did you do today?"
"I, um," he said, before sighing. He had hoped that he could get away without telling her till later. "I was given another assignment."
Jillian dropped her fork onto her plate. The sound of metal hitting china echoed through the room. Clearing her throat, she smiled at her daughter, "Sweetie, why don't you go outside and play while it's still light, okay? I'll call you when it's time for your bath, but stay right in the backyard."
Delinda nodded as she pushed herself away from the table and ran out of the room. Rising up to her feet, Jillian began to collect the dishes.
"Jill," Ed said as he stood up, carrying some dishes himself into the kitchen, "Honey, talk to me."
"How long will this one last, Eddie?" she asked as she tied an apron on.
"I don't know," he admitted softly, "it's a pretty big case, I might have to be gone for a year."
"A year?" Jillian spun around and looked at her husband, "And what about the kids and I? Ed, what makes you think I can take care of Delinda and a new baby by myself? She starts school in a month!"
Ed sighed, "I know, I know, honey, I didn't do this intentionally, you have to know that by now. It was Bettina's orders."
His wife sighed as she propped her elbows on the counter and held her head in her hands, "Where are you going?"
"Madrid," he said softly.
"And Jack is going with you?"
Her husband squirmed a little, "No, Sandra is."
"Sandra!" Jillian spun around and looked her husband in the eye, "Sandra is going with you? Why Sandra?"
Ed sighed softly, "Because she'd be a lot more convincing as my wife than Jack would."
"Your wife... I see..." The woman turned and walked out of the kitchen to get more dishes from the dining room.
"It's strictly a cover, Jill!" Ed cried out as he followed her, "You gotta know that, the only thing that we gotta do is share a hotel room, that's it."
"And be all over each other in public," Jillian pointed out.
"Wait," he said, as he caught her wrist and pulled her to him, "You are the only woman on this planet that I'll ever want," sighing quietly, Ed reached out and tucked a lock of her hair behind an ear, "You have to know that, Jillian. Sandra means nothing to me, she's a coworker, that's it. We have to do a job, I promise you I won't do more than I have to and I won't allow her to do anymore than she has to as well."
Jillian's aqua eyes darted away from him as they filled with unshed tears. Pulling her closer, Ed wrapped his arms around her, "I know the timing sucks, and I am so sorry," he whispered softly into her hair, "but you have to know, baby, that there isn't a place I'd rather be more than here with you and the kids."
She nodded quietly, believing him, as she sighed, "We'll manage," she said, pulling back, "it won't be easy, but we'll manage."
"Listen," Ed said, getting an idea, "what if you had your Kate stay with you for a while to help you out. David took Brian on that camping trip, so she's by herself. I'm sure she'd jump at the chance to get to spend a few days with her nephew and help her sister out."
Jillian nodded again, "Yeah, that's a good idea, I'll call her later tonight." Running a hand through her blonde hair, she looked at her husband, "When do you leave?"
"Day after tomorrow."
His wife groaned, "That soon, Eddie?"
"Sooner I leave, the sooner I get back," he pointed out.
"With Sandra in tow... Can't you just give her up as a gift from the government to the Spanish government?" she asked.
Swallowing a chuckle, Ed gave her a kiss to wash away any doubts she had.