Juliet pulled up to the carpool line at the elementary school to pick up Jeremy. She put the car in park and he got in. "Hey, Buddy. How was your first day of school here?" She asked, making sure he got buckled.
"It was okay. I kind of made a friend and my teacher is nice. Can I have a snack? I'm hungry."
"Of course you can. I'll tell you what, why don't we go to the grocery store on our way home and we can get some yummy snacks for you. I know Shawn has some food that someone your age would like, but you can get your own. Sound good?"
"Ya! I want some gummies!"
"Haha. Okay you got it buddy." She drove over to the store and let him pick out his favorite snacks for him to eat and they met Shawn at home.
When they walked in the door, Shawn was in the kitchen making an ice cream sundae for Jeremy and a margarita for Juliet. "Hey guys! How was your day, Jeremy? Shawn asked, first picking Jeremy up and putting him on the counter and then kissing Juliet, holding tightly around her waist and gently moving her over towards Jeremy so they could enjoy their treats.
"It was okay. But way better now that I get ice cream! Thanks Shawn." Jeremy said with a big toothy grin, taking a big bite of his sundae. He was still sad because he knew he couldn't see his mommy anymore and he was still constantly afraid that he would again have to be taken care of by mean people, but he was trying really hard to like Shawn and Juliet, and he knew they liked him. That helped a lot.
"Glad to hear it! You'll adjust to the new school soon enough. Just be the one to tell all the jokes, everyone will love you." Shawn said. That was the way he got through school, he figured it was sound advice.
"Shawn, that would mean disrupting class and getting in trouble all the time like you did. Just be yourself Jeremy. They will love you as much as we do in no time." She simultaneously scolded Shawn and gave advice to Jeremy. She took a sip of her drink and decided she needed to get out of her pantsuit and sit by the TV in order to properly enjoy this wonderful drink. "Well I am going to go change and watch some TV while I enjoy this lovely drink. I'll be right back. There was a chance that nothing would go wrong if she left the two of them alone for three minutes.
When she got back to the kitchen wearing her favorite leggings and one of Shawn's flannel shirts, she could hear the two of them but couldn't see them. As she walked around the corner so she could see over the counter, she looked down to see Jeremy taping Shawn's wrists together with scotch tape.
"I bet you five bucks I can break this and come find you in the next two minutes." Shawn said, clearly just as excited about the game as the five year old.
"Deal. You'll never be able to find me"
They obviously hadn't noticed Juliet standing there yet, but she figured she better stop them before something went wrong. Just as Jeremy was about to get up and run off, Juliet cleared her throat and gave her best 'what in the world do you think you're doing' look. Both boys slowly looked up and smiled innocently.
"Oh hey, Jules. What's up?" Shawn said, knowing he was about to get in trouble, but trying his best to get out of it.
"Shawn, this is not a good game to be playing. It's not going to end well and you know that. You are supposed to be a good example, not invent games that will cause trouble!" Juliet crossed her arms to make sure she got her point across.
"I know. I'm sorry. But it was his idea!" Shawn pointed his finger at Jeremy. Trying to pass the blame but knowing it wouldn't work.
"Ha! That's good, Shawn. Really nice. Now, Come on, Jeremy. Let's go watch TV. Shawn, I'll give you that five bucks when you can break that tape without using anything but your hands in the next three minutes." She smirked. She knew he would figure it out eventually, it was just fun to catch him off guard like this sometimes. She was interested to see how long it would actually take him to undo it without cheating. She took Jeremy's hand and grabbed her drink with the other and they walked to the living room, leaving Shawn in the kitchen to figure out how to get free.
After just a couple of minutes, Juliet felt a pair of lips fall onto her neck. She turned in the char she was sitting in to see Shawn and kissed him back on the lips. "What took you so long?" She said, laughing. She wasn't at all surprised he got out that quickly, it was just fun to tease him.
Shawn walked over and sat at the other side of the couch from Jeremy to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants. He motioned for Jules to come over and cuddle with him and she obliged. As the three of them sate there on the couch, watching Jeremy's favorite show, Shawn felt so complete. This is definitely how he wanted his life to turn out, sitting on the couch with the love of his life curled up against him and Jeremy sitting in the same room, happy and relaxed. This was a great moment he would cherish forever. "You know, Jules, I was thinking. I don't think I want the five bucks, could I receive something else as my prize for getting out of your bondage in three minutes?" Shawn whispered seductively in Juliet's ear so she was the only one that could hear.
Juliet turned to give him a half reprimanding, half intrigued look. "I am open to discussion. Nothing to weird and it was not bandage you know that." She retorted.
Shawn was encouraged. "Can't wait for bedtime then, my love." He smiled as he kissed the back of her head.
They ate dinner and continued to watch Sponge Bob for the next three hours until Juliet decided she couldn't take that laugh anymore and went to take a bath. "Okay, Buddy. It's bed time. Go get your Pjs on and I'll be in to tuck you in in a minute." Shawn told Jeremy. He cleaned up the rest of the dishes in the sink, which he usually didn't do but felt like being nice, and went to Jeremy's room to find him sitting on his bed. "You ready to go to sleep? Teeth brushed and all that junk?" He wondered.
"How long am I going to be here? Forever? Or will I be moved from house to house all the time?" Jeremy wondered.
"Well, Squirt, I really can't answer that right now. But, Juliet and I are doing everything we can to make sure you stay here as long as possible until we can find you a more permanent place to live. Once you leave here, you will be with your new family. I promise you won't continue to move around from place to place all the time. Okay?" Shawn replied, wording his response carefully.
"So I can't live you with you guys for forever and have you be my family?"
"I can't answer that right now, Bud. I'm sorry I really wish I could. But let's all just go to bed and get a good night's rest."
Jeremy laid down and Shawn pulled the blankets up to his chest. "Good night, Little Man. You sleep well."
Shawn closed the door as he walked out of the dark room and went into his and Juliet's. "Jules, we need to talk" He called to her as he shut their door behind him. "It's serious."