"Hey mom. What are you doing out of bed?" RJ asked coming into the loft from school.
"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately. You needed me and I wasn't there for you." Marty said standing in the kitchen leaning on the counter.
"It's OK mom. It's been really hard on you." he said going into the kitchen.
"It's been hard on you too. And I haven't been fair. I'm sorry." she told him starting to cry as he put his arms around her.
"Mom, it's OK. I understand." he said hugging her.
"No, it's not OK. RJ, I should have been there for you more. But I'm gonna try to be now, OK?" she told him pulling back to wipe her eyes.
"OK mom." he said looking down at her as Julia and Mark came out of their room.
"Hey Marty. How are you doing?" Julia asked approaching her.
"I'm OK. It's not easy, but I'm trying." she said giving her a faint smile.
"Well we're proud of you sweetie." Mark said hugging her.
"I'm gonna make dinner, so why don't you go do your homework and Mark, Julia, go out and film something." she told them patting RJ's arm.
"I can stay and help you if you want." Julia said with her arm around Mark's waist.
"No, it's OK. You guys have been taking care of me long enough. I'm making dinner for my family." she said smiling at them.
"Are you sure mom? I mean, I don't have much homework to do. I can help you." RJ said leaning on the counter.
"I'm sure. Go. Dinner'll be ready in an hour." Marty told them continuing what she was doing.
"OK sweetie. Do you need us to pick anything up for you?" Julia asked smiling over at Mark.
"Yeah, why don't you pick up some ice cream and root beer. I'll make root beer floats after dinner." Marty said smiling up at RJ.
"Dads favorite." he said smiling down at her.
"Yeah, I'm making his favorite dinner too." she said smiling at Mark.
"Lasagna." Mark said laughing as he held Julia close.
"Yeah, I want to honor him tonight." she told them playing with her shirt sleeves.
"OK honey. We'll be back in a little while." Julia said smiling at Mark as they left the loft.
"Mom, what happened today?" RJ asked setting up his home work at the dining room table.
"Let's just say your dad sent me a message and I heard him." she said smiling at him as she continued to make dinner.
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"He's looking more and more like you everyday." Marty said holding a picture of her and Roger. "I just hope he's half the man you were my love." she said kissing her finger before touching the picture and laying down to go to sleep. It was her first real nights sleep since Roger died. She dreamt about Roger. He was holding her in his arms and they were laughing. The next morning the alarm went off and she got up to wake RJ for school. But he was already up. He was in the kitchen making breakfast.
"Morning mom." he said cooking eggs.
"Hey, I was just gonna get you up. What are you doing up so early?" she asked stretching as he reached into the cabinet for her pills.
"I woke up about an hour ago and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I thought I'd make you breakfast. Dad's special." he said handing her a cup of coffee and her pill.
"Thank you babyboy. But you don't have to cook me breakfast." she said taking her medicine.
"That's OK. I don't mind." he said smiling at her as she sat at the table.
"Did I ever tell you about the morning after I moved in here?" she asked looking up at him.
"No, you didn't." she said stirring the eggs.
"Well, your father had slept in my room with me because I was afraid to be in the room by myself. When I woke up the next morning he came in carrying a tray. He made me eggs, bacon, toast, coffee and juice. He was the sweetest man. I mean, I had just gone through this horrible experience and he was the most gentle, caring man I had ever met. No wonder I fell in love with him so quickly. He made me feel so safe." she told him as he smiled at her.
"That was dad." he said taking the eggs out of the pan.
"Yeah it was. In the 20 years we were together, I never felt more loved and cared for. You remind me so much of him, you know." she said looking up at him as he handed her the plate and a fork.
"Really?" he asked sitting next to her.
"Yeah, you are so considerate like him." she said reaching over to caress her sons cheek.
"Well you and dad raised me." he said leaning up to kiss her cheek before going to his bedroom to get ready for school as Mark came out of his and Julia's room.
"Good morning Marty. How do you feel today?" he asked going to the kitchen to pour himself some coffee.
"I'm good Mark. Do you want the rest of my eggs? Your nephew made me too much." she said sliding the plate over to him.
"RJ made you breakfast?" he asked smiling down at her.
"Yeah. He's turning out more and more like Roger every day." she said smiling at RJ's bedroom door.
"He's a good kid Marty." Mark said picking up the fork.
"Well Roger was a good man." she said getting up and going into hers and Roger's room to get dressed. When RJ came out of his room, he was ready for school. Mark was sitting on the couch playing with his camera.
"Where's mom?" he asked looking around.
"She's in her room. She went in a little while ago." he told him as RJ looked at the door worried.
"Mom, are you OK?" RJ asked knocking on the bedroom door.
"Come in sweetie." she called out sitting on the bed with her laptop computer in front of her.
"Are you OK?" he asked opening the door.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had an idea for a story and wanted to get it down." she said typing away.
"Oh, OK. As long as your OK." he told her smiling down at her.
"I'll see you after school sweetie, OK?" she said smiling up at him as he came over to kiss her cheek.
"Bye mom. I love you." he said hugging her.
"I love you too RJ." she said smiling up at him before beginning to type again. She stayed in that position all day. Mark and Julia could hear her tapping on the keys. She seemed to be typing furiously.
"Where's mom?" RJ asked walking into the loft as Mark and Julia pointed to the bedroom door. "Still? And you left her in there?" he said worried as he opened the door. She was sitting in the same position she was in when he left. "Mom, are you OK?" he asked as she smiled up at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. This is really coming along. I am so excited about it." she told him happily as she reached her arms out to hug him.
"What are you writing about?" he asked sitting next to her.
"I'm writing about your dad and me." she said smiling at him. It had been a long time since she could talk about Roger and not crumble.
"That's great mom. Did you eat today?" he asked in typical Roger style.
"I'll have a little something in a little while. Let me just finish this up, OK?" she asked looking up at him smiling.
"OK." he said kissing her head before leaving the room.
"How is she?" Julia asked jumping up.
"She's writing about her and dad. She's really happy." he said smiling down at her.
"Oh thank God." she said hugging him.
"Well it seems she's picked herself up and is on her way to being the old Marty." Mark said smiling at them.
"It's a start." Julia said smiling at them.