Road Trip To The Destiny - 18
"Hey Jake, don't you have football practice today?" Barbra Jean came in to the kitchen and saw Jake sitting reading his comic book at the breakfast table.
"Not today, the coach has her band practice."
"Where's your mom?"
"In the living room watching TV with dad." He answered, his eyes still locked on the book. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you. I think they are watching 'mysterious kisser' or something." Jake, still a teenager couldn't get used to seeing the affection between his parents. Kyra, a young adult, had gotten used to them quick enough.
"Would it be okay if I go to the living room?" Barbra Jean just had to make sure.
"If you don't mind seeing them all over each other, then why not?" Said Jake, he still couldn't tear his eyes off the book.
Barbra Jean went to the living room and Reba was cuddling with Brock watching what seemed to be a romantic movie. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Brock was playing with her silky red hair, twirling it around his finger. She heard soft conversation between them but their voices were a mere whisper. She couldn't make out what Brock said to Reba to make her giggle a bit, and Brock squeezed her in his arms and planted a kiss on the side of her head. Even the blind could tell how much he loved the woman that he wrapped up in his arms. Barbra Jean thought she should have let him go three years ago when she was eavesdropping on him, telling Reba that he thought he made a mistake.
She thought about when she walked in and found them hugging in the living room and she recalled running back home with tears. Brock never expressed his feeling toward her as much as he did to Reba. Only once that he told her how he felt when he thought she was moving to Little Rock. He said the sweetest thing to her then, but there was pain in his eyes. She thought because she was leaving and he was sad. It became clear to her now; the sorrow in his eyes was from lying to himself. He had been lying to himself that he loved her for the past six years; so much that he needed therapy. She should have let him go then. Better yet, she shouldn't have seduced him in that dark x-ray room and all this would never have happened.
Barbra Jean still stopped dead in her tracks, lost in her own thought. Brock still teased Reba, causing her to giggle a little more. He showered her with kisses. That was when he saw Barbra Jean in the corner of his eye.
"Hi Barbra Jean." Reba looked up and saw her friend making her way to a chair. "What's up?"
"Sorry to interrupt, I just wondering if you could help me by watching Henry tonight. I have a date." Barbra Jean announced, forcing out a smile. She would try to move on.
"Sure, why doesn't he stay over here tonight, so you could enjoy your date and not have to worry about him?" Suggested Brock. Barbra Jean couldn't help but feel a little hurt when his voice didn't even have a slightest feeling of jealousy. He really didn't love her. Comparing to when Reba said she was going on a date, he almost went nuts, and that was after five years of divorce.
"Don't you worry about him Barbra Jean, I'll make sure he has dinner and have him brush his teeth before he goes to bed." Reba flashed her friend her signature smile.
"Thanks guys, I really appreciated it." Barbra Jean was about to leave.
"Wait, aren't you gonna tell me about the guy you're dating?" Reba motioned her to sit back down. Brock turned off the TV. Barbra Jean told them about the cameraman that had a crush on her and finally picked up courage to ask her out.
"Is that why you look better on TV than in person?" Reba kidded.
"Ha ha peaches" Barbra Jean laughed sarcastically.
"Well, forgive her Barbra Jean. She's just jealous, she never looks good on camera." Brock's comment earned him a pinch on his arm.
"Yeah I know, I saw your wedding video. You hairdo almost didn't fit in the screen." Barbra Jean made fun of her friend's hairstyle back then. "Anyway, I'm going to get Henry from his friend's house. I'll drop him off later. You don't mind of he stays here tonight?"
"Nope, not at all. He's welcome here any day." Reba assured, "Although, you have the house to yourself, don't rush and take it slow." Reba meaningfully winked at her friend.
"Like the way you were with Brock when he took you to the beach?" Barbra Jean smiled teasingly and shook her head when Reba blushed. She left the living room with a chuckle.
"You women brag just about everything?"
"Brag? You men brag, we don't. We talk. We tell each other things"
"And you told her about that?"
"Well, you know her and Cheyenne, they'll keep nagging until you spill the details." Reba bashfully ran her fingers along his shirt collar.
"Details?"
"Not those kind of details!" Reba smacked his arm. "They asked me when you came out of the hospital and I told them I'll take you back here so I could take care of you. And they asked if anything was going on when we were caught in the rainstorm. So I said we were both soaking wet with no dry clothes to wear, what did they think? They got their answer. I didn't go into any kind of detail, 'cause that would be bragging," she seductively winked at him. "I should go start dinner."
"Can I help?"
"You know, I'm kinda getting use to you trying to help with everything I do." Reba led him by his hand to the kitchen.
"As long as I got pay with kisses, I'll help with anything."
"Is that all you want?" Reba turned around and hugged his neck.
"There's something else I want, but I don't think Jake wants to hear about it," said Brock motioning to their son, sitting and reading his comic at the table. Jake ran to his room. Reba chuckled and let go of Brock to start the dinner. Brock wasn't much help; he sat by the high chair and kept her company. Barbra Jean showed up a while later with Henry. He ran to his dad and gave him a hug.
Reba still felt bad for the boy, especially after she just talked to him that his daddy would not leave his mommy, and less than a month later, he did. Only because he still loved her. Reba had to talk to Henry again when the situation changed. At first it was hard for him to understand why his dad would leave him and his mom. Reba tried to reason with him. Jake was a big part of helping since he had gone through that at around the same age. He took care of his half brother when Barbra Jean was heartbroken. Brock told him that he would always have a daddy no matter what. Reba said they were still somewhat a family. It took the boy a while to accept the fact that his mommy and daddy would not be together anymore.
Then Brock went into a coma. It turned out to be a good thing, because Reba realized she never wanted to live without him. Although he was the one who caused all the mess, but when God wanted to take him away, his family realized that they forgave him and wanted him to stay. Brock and Reba had proved their love, the family wanted to see them back together again. God gave the dysfunctional family a second chance to make things right.
"Hey sweetie, I made you some mac & cheese," told Reba to the boy who spread a sheepish grin. His gapped tooth started to fill up with one tooth bigger than the rest.
"Did you put some chicken in it?" Henry requested,
"Of course," replied Reba with her beautiful smile. "Can you go tell Jake that dinner is ready?" With that the boy ran to Jake's room. "Like father like son." Reba mumbled. After dinner, they all sat in the living room to watch cartoons. Henry always enjoyed the big screen TV Reba had, and wished mommy would buy one too.
"Son, it's almost nine, I think you should go brush your teeth and go to bed," commented Brock glancing at the clock.
"But daddy..."
"No buts, you have your bed time." Henry pouted and went upstairs to get ready for bed.
"I don't usually see you being tough on the kids. It's different." Reba chuckled. "Usually I'm the bad guy."
"Well I have to make him go to bed so you and I-"
"Dad, Henry's gone but I'm still here!" Jake made sure his presence was known. Reba laughed.
"…so you and I can watch ten o'clock news." Brock covered up his remark. "But now that he mentioned it, why don't we make him go to bed too." Brock kidded and started kissing Reba. Jake cried 'get a room!' and ran to his room.
"Make sure Henry brushes his teeth!" Reba broke the kiss to shout. "You're so bad." She turned to Brock trying to glare at him. She couldn't help but smile.
"I kinda like his suggestion." Brock scooped her up in his arms and walked up the stairs. Reba insisted on checking the kids first. She made sure Jake and Henry tucked in before returning to their room. Brock stood in his boxer shorts, and took something out of his pocket and quickly put it back when Reba returned.
"What are you hiding? The blue pills?"
"Blue pills? Haven't needed those since you and I got together. It's nothing honey. Just my to do list. Now, where were we? Oh yeah we were in the middle of kissing before Jake suggested we get a room." He pulled her into a kiss stirring her mind away from what he was hiding. They manoeuvred their way to the bed, trying not to break the kiss. Brock gently laid her down, there's no doubt in his mind that she was the love of his life and he wanted to spend the rest of their life together, as husband and wife. "I love you, Reba" Reba mumbled 'I love you too', but the words escaped between his lips.
Reba gathered all their clothes in a basket; it was a laundry day. Brock went out, he said he had to get something for his office, but would return to help her with the household chores as soon as he could. Reba had already forgotten about his secrecy a couple of nights ago, when she caught him hiding something in his pocket. However, when she emptied his pocket with the intention of doing the laundry, she found something that brought tears in her eyes. She put it back in his pocket and took that pair of jeans back in their room, she wouldn't wash those today. Reba grinned when she remembered one of the Valentines gifts he gave her; she could put that to a good use. She slipped that in his pocket and resumed her household chores.
"Honey, you're back early." Reba greeted him with a sweet kiss. Brock looked a little stunned seeing a basket of clean laundry.
"Did you wash the pair of jeans I wore couple of days ago?"
"No honey, I didn't. I got a full load, but I can do it for you if you want it wash."
"No that's quite alright, I forgot my to do list in the pocket, I'm going to get it now." Brock gave her a quick peck and ran to the bedroom. Reba followed him silently. She leaned against the doorframe with her sweet smile watching Brock checking his pocket, not knowing that she was watching him. She examined his facial expression, which started from astonished, to confused and final joy. "YES!" He screamed and he spotted Reba standing at the doorframe with happy tears rolling down her cheeks. Brock pulled her in to a tight hug and showered her face with kisses, tears started to roll from his eyes. In his hand, he still had the piece of paper he wrote different ideas to propose to her and a little velvet box. He also held the item that Reba slipped into his pocket. A little card he gave her that read 'Yes, Dear'