Broken Bones
I was convinced that the terrible twos were never going to end; Ace and Spade were insane and that was coming from me. At three, they were literally climbing up the walls. They seemed to be constantly egging each other on…and J loved it. He lived for hectic and as much as he loved Violet, she had become quiet and calculated. At five, she was more interested in school and her training, like I was at her age. I had started teaching her gymnastics and she absolutely loved it.
J was in a meeting at the club and Violet was at school, leaving me alone with the boys. They were currently running around the house, naked and screaming. I had learned early on to leave them be, so I was on the couch enjoying the new book Johnny had picked up for me. It was incredibly boring being stuck at home with the kids but ever since J's last stint in Arkham, we had been trying to keep a low profile. It was hard for us, especially J, but the thought of never seeing the kids again was terrifying. J still made sure he was raising hell in the underworld, selling guns and occasionally coke.
"Rawr! I'm a monster!" Ace shrieked.
"I'm gonna getcha!" Spade yelled.
Unfortunately, their shrieks of laughter soon turned to cries of pain. I sprinted into the kitchen, where the cries had come from, to see Ace lying on the floor holding his arm to his chest and crying. All it took was one look to tell that his wrist was broken. I held him against my chest as I grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.
"My poor baby! It's okay, Momma's got ya, I'm gonna make it all bettah." I cooed at him.
"What Harley, I'm busy." J snapped at me over the phone.
"Puddin Ace broke his wrist, ya need to come home and bring a bone doctah with ya." I told him. "Here Ace talk to Dada."
"Ouchie Dada." He cried to the phone which I had switched to speaker.
"Don't worry son, I'm coming home now." J said.
I sat on the couch with the boys, Ace on my lap with his head buried in my chest and Spade had his head on my thigh. Rocco had gotten some children's Tylenol to help Ace with the pain, thankfully he had a pretty high pain tolerance. The ice and medicine calmed him down enough to take a nap.
"Harley!" J yelled.
"Living room." I told him.
He came in a second later followed by a trembling man, the doctor I assumed. I shook Ace awake and sat him down on the couch.
"No Mama!" He cried clinging to me with his good arm.
"H-he can stay on your lap." The doctor said. "It'll be easier if he's m-more comfortable."
J sat down next to me, taking Spade in his lap. The doctor looked at Ace's arm and immediately confirmed what I already knew, it was broken. Thankfully the man was smart enough to bring the materials needed for a cast. Ace had calmed down and was even excited to choose the color of his cast; green like his father's hair. The doctor gave us some medicine for the pain before J took him back; well if we're being honest he probably killed him.
"How are you feeling baby?" I asked Ace as I tucked him in bed.
"I'm tired Mama." He said softly.
"Does your arm still hurt?" I asked him.
"Kinda." He mumbled.
"Goodnight Ace, I love you." I said.
"Love you too Mama." He said sleepily.
I kissed his forehead before heading over to say goodnight to Spade who was already asleep. J was tucking Violet in so I decided to take a nice hot bath. I felt all of the day's stress melt away as I soaked in the tub. Seeing one of my babies in pain was horrible, I felt so helpless. J walked into the bathroom just as the tears began to fall.
"Harley what's wrong?" He asked me.
He kneeled in front of the tub, wiping the tears from my face.
"What do you mean what's wrong? Ace broke his fuckin arm, that's what's wrong. I coulda stopped it. They were runnin around the house and I coulda made them stop and color or somethin. But no, I just sat on the couch readin a goddamn book. I am a horrible mother!" I cried.
"Pumpkin, they're boys, they're going to run around the house and they're going to get hurt. Remember when Violet got sick and we were in the hospital for weeks? You made yourself so sick with worry, you can't do that again Pooh. Kids do stupid things, just like us, you can't save them all the time." He told me.
After four weeks Ace's cast was taken off. The second he came off he ran outside with his brother and sister and played on the swing set for hours. He wanted to save the cast, god knows why, so I put them on a shelf over his bed. Boys.