Chapter Ten

Seven Years Later

"Leave me alone!"

"I'm not touching you."

"I said leave me alone!"

"OW! Daddy!"

Ed sighed as he dropped his pen on the dining room table and walked away from the income taxes he was trying to do. Walking over to the sliding glass door, he opened it and stepped out onto the patio, "What's going on out here?"

"Delinda hit me," Joey accused, rubbing his forearm.

"He deserved it!" Delinda countered back, giving her brother a steely gaze. "I was trying to read a book and he wouldn't leave me alone."

"So you hit him?" Ed questioned.

"Yes," Delinda said, wincing a little in preparation for her father's wrath.

Her father sighed as he rubbed his forehead, "Dee, I'm trying to do these taxes, and you know that math is far from my strong suit. I asked you three to come out here and hang out while I did this and for you and Ness to keep an eye on your brother." Ed paused as he looked around, "Wait a minute, where's Nessa?"

"Tommy Coleman's," Delinda answered.

Sighing, Ed shook his head, "What is your mother's and I's policy on hitting?" he asked his daughter.

"Don't do it," she said with a sigh, "but daddy, he was being so annoying, he wouldn't leave me alone. He was asking me really dumb questions."

"He's seven years old," he said, "seven year olds ask dumb questions. You did. Look, bottom line is this: we don't hit, period, got me?"

"But daddy, you hit Uncle Jack once."

"That was different," Ed said, "your Uncle Jack has a tendency to be an ass."

Delinda rolled her eyes, "Whatever, daddy."

"Eddie!" Jillian walked outside and smiled at her husband, "Honey, you've got a phone call."

Ed nodded at his wife and held a finger up at his daughter, "One more time and you won't go to your friend's house." Turning around, he walked back inside, pausing to kiss his wife, "Thanks, sweetie," he said as he went in to take the phone call.

"Wow."

"You can say that again."

Delinda, Nessa and some friends were all scattered around watching movies in the basement of Ed and Jillian's home. A large bowl of buttered popcorn was being passed around as the girls engrossed themselves into their movie. "You know, I heard he was a dancer in real life."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Nessa remarked.

"Delinda, your parents are so cool," her friend, Christy, said. "My parents have forbade me to even say the title of this movie."

Delinda rolled her eyes, "There's nothing wrong with 'Dirty Dancing'. It's destined to be a classic."

"Ooh, ooh, here it comes!" Nessa exclaimed as she turned up the volume of the console.

"Ready girls?" Delinda asked.

Seconds later, all three girls said in unison, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," before dissolving in a fit of giggles and dreamy sighs.

"I'm going to marry him," Delinda announced.

Rolling her eyes at her surrogate sister, Nessa said, "Now how are you going to do that when I'm Mrs. Patrick Swayze."

Quickly ceasing their girlish talk, all three girls looked towards the stairs to find Ed followed by two men walking down into the basement, "Hey girls," Ed greeted.

"Hi, daddy," Delinda said as she shut the video off.

"Ness, Dee, Christy, this is my friend, Frank. Frank, this is my daughter, Delinda, Nessa and their friend, Christy," Ed introduced.

The girls looked wide eyed at the big muscular man standing before them. "Hello," he said in a deep voice tainted with a heavy New York accent.

Sensing the girls' discomfort, Ed said, "Um, Delinda, would you guys mind going upstairs and hanging out up there? Frank and I got some work to do."

Delinda nodded as the girls got up from the couch, "Sure, Daddy."

As they walked upstairs, Christy's voice was heard, "Delinda, your dad's friend looks exactly like Rocky Balboa!"

As he heard the girl, Frank turned around and cocked an amused brow at her.

"Joey, get into the tub."

"No!"

"Joey! Get your clothes off and get into that bathtub right now!"

"No!"

Jillian sighed in exasperation at her son. "Joseph Martin Deline, you get your little bottom into that tub right now or else I will call your father in here."

The little boy looked at her and Jillian was startled at how much he resembled his father. Narrowing his steely blue eyes, eyes that mimicked Ed's he said, "No."

"Ed!"

Joey quickly shed his clothes just as Ed walked into the doorway, "What's going on?"

"Talk to your son," Jillian said, "he's refusing to get into the bathtub so I can get him ready for bed."

"Oh really?" Ed asked, a brow raised. Walking into the bathroom, he sat down on the ledge of the bathtub and looked at his son, "Why are you giving Mom a hard time?"

"Baths are for girls, men take showers."

Jillian concealed her giggle with a cough as Ed struggled to hide his own amusement. "Really? What makes you think that you are a man?"

"Look at these hands!" Joey said as he stretched them out for his father to see, "They are dirty. Brian Caskell's dad said that when a boy gets his hands dirty than that makes him a man." Stopping to look at his mother, he said, "I don't want to take no sissy bath."

Ed sighed softly, "Look, buddy, take the bath tonight and tomorrow night I'll help you take a shower, okay? Please? And no more giving your mother problems, got me?"

"Why not?" The boy asked.

"Because if you do," Ed said, "I will be forced to pull your lungs out through your belly button."

Joey's eyes grew wide and he nodded, "Okay, daddy."

"Good," he said, bending down to kiss the crown of his head, "Thank you."

As he was leaving, Ed threw his wife a wink.