Dad jogged over and picked me up from behind. He flipped me upside down, which caused me to laugh, and I could see he was smiling too. He carried me up the steps and at first, I thought he was taking me to the guest bedroom, but we passed it and went into his old bedroom.
He flipped me back and sat me down on his bed. He said "You know, while the repair guys are fixing the windows and the doors, this is gonna be your bed. You, Sean, and Jack have to stay here for a couple of days. Your mom and I are gonna go to a hotel in another town to figure out how these guys broke into the house. I'm assuming that's why you weren't eating, right?" I held my head low and nodded. When I looked back up, Grandpa, Pop, and Uncle Jamie were standing there behind Dad. They came and sat down next to me.
Grandpa stood behind Dad's chair still. "What's bugging ya kiddo?" Pop was to my right, and Uncle Jamie was to my left. I knew Uncle Joe was there too. I could feel it. I was just a little, 50 pounds, eight-year-old. Who was gonna believe me that my dead uncle, Joseph Connor Reagan, was protecting me, guarding me and was with me everywhere I went? So I just kept quiet and sat on the bed until Uncle Jamie picked me up and sat me on his lap. He put his finger under my chin and lifted my head up to where I was looking straight into his eyes. I had tears in my eyes, and he knew what was bugging me.
"Hey, buddy. Is it your Uncle Joe?" I nodded, and Dad shifted in his seat. Uncle Jamie pulled me closer, and I wrapped my head in his coat. He started running his fingers through my hair and quietly whispered, "Shhhh, it's ok buddy. It's okay. Everything is gonna be okay." He kept rocking me back and forth trying to get me to calm down.
When I finally did get calmed enough, my face was red, and I was wearing an old jacket of Uncle Joe's, that was ten sizes too big. I put the hood over my head and had to hold it just above my eyes. I watched as Grandpa kind of turned around, as to hide the fact he was gonna tear up too. Pop was confused but kept quiet. Uncle Jamie looked over to Dad, and Dad shook his head. I looked over at Dad, and he put his head down. I felt like I was a disappointment to them all for reminding them of Uncle Joe. I jumped off of Uncle Jamie's lap and tried to run out of the room. The jacket tripped me and I started to fall. Grandpa anticipated it, put his arm out, and caught me. He lifted me up and cradled me in his arms. As I sat there, I could feel the tears running down the sides of my hot face.
Grandpa reached down, wiped the tears off my face, and said, "Where are you going, son? You can't outrun four Reagan's." He smiled, and everyone laughed… except for me. He asked me what was wrong, and trying to hold back tears I managed to get out a "nothing." Dad stood up and reached for me to climb into his arms, which I did. Grandpa asked me again what was wrong.