Chapter 55
Thanks to all of you who have let me know you're still reading, and for letting me know what you think. I love hearing from all of you. We're almost at the end… thanks for hanging in there. As always, I don't own any part of STFBE, and no copy write infringement is intended. I do this because I love to and I love to share it with all of you.
The week passed quickly. Anita, Jack, Lucy and Sue had worked day and night to clear out the kids' mother's room and repaint it, giving it just enough of Sue's personality. The friend's had moved Sue in, gotten her settled. She didn't take much more than her bed and some clothes. Most everything was put into storage or at Jack's. Sunday night rolled around and Sue was putting the last touches in her room. She placed her Bible on her night stand, the latest mystery novel she was reading next to it. Her Black berry plug, lamp, and alarm clock all next to her bed as well. Levi's bed was placed on the bottom of her bed, near the window.
There was a knock on the door. It was Jack. Levi knocked Sue onto the bed.
"Levi!" She scolded. Jack laughed from the doorway, but quickly took advantage of the fact that Sue was on her back on the bed.
"Levi, you're going to be good to have around I think." He teased as he dove onto the bed, stretching out next to Sue. She tried to sit up, but Jack slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Sue began to protest by putting her hand on his chest, but wasn't fast enough. Jack's lips found hers, softly caressing her. It didn't take much coercing on Jack's part for Sue to give in. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him to her.
Sue's lips parted enough to take a deep breath and Jack took full advantage. His tongue slipped between her full lips, enticing its partner to dance with his. His hands traveled along her hip to her upper thighs. His fingers sprayed along the back of them, massaging, softly gliding up to her buttocks. His fingers slowly massaged the tender flesh beneath his strong hands. Sue moaned into his kiss but to his surprise, didn't pull away from his. She pushed one leg over the top of his making them closer. She could feel her response to their play turning deep in her belly heightening their passion. She could also feel Jack's response. His lips left hers, lightly traveling down her cheek to her jaw. His tongue sought out her earlobe, licking and sucking, gently nipping on it, pulling it into his mouth. His mouth continued its ministrations along her neck to her shoulder. He softly suckled the tender skin between the base of her neck and the corner of her shoulder. It sent shivers along Sue's arm and chest. Jack let one hand let go of her bottom to travel to her blouse. He had the top three buttons undone before either realized it. When Sue felt her bra strap being slipped down, she took Jack's hand in hers. It didn't get his attention until Sue bent his thumb back.
"Ow!" He howled. She let go and kissed his hand.
"Sorry, but I needed to get your attention fast." Sue explained.
"Why?" He asked, his chest heaving from built passion.
"We can't go where this was going, that's why." She explained. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
Just then, Anita pushed the door open to spy them sharing a kiss.
"I'd say get a room, but…" She joked.
"OH!" Sue exclaimed, sitting up quickly. Anita handed both of them a bottle of water.
"I think you both could use this. The only question is, do I let you drink it or pour it over your heads?" Anita teased. Sue made her way to the door, her face a deep red. As she passed Anita, she put her arm on Sue's shoulder. "Now, do I need to have the safe sex talk with you too?" She asked raising an eye brow.
"And, on that note, I'm going home." Jack said squeezing past the two women toward the front door. He leaned in and kissed her lightly. "Good night."
"Night. I love you." Sue said.
"Love you too." He replied as he walked down the front steps to his car.
Sue closed and locked the door and turned toward the kitchen. Anita smirked at her when she returned with a hot cup of coffee.
"So, do I have to have that chat?" Anita teased. Sue blushed deeply again.
"No." Sue laughed. "Actually, I have chosen abstinence as my form of birth control" Sue answered.
"Abstinence? Is that realistic?" She asked.
"It is for me and Jack. He understands where I'm coming from, and, even though we get carried away once in a while, he won't push past that point." Sue explained.
"Is that really fair to Jack?" Anita asked.
"Is what fair?"
"Making him wait for sex?"
"It's my beliefs. Jack understands that, he accepts that."
"Your beliefs? You mean, you've never…" Anita asked hesitantly.
Sue shook her head. "Nope. Jack and I will be married on Christmas Eve…" She blushed once again. Anita smiled, also blushing.
"It's admirable. Waiting I mean." She paused. "Not a lot of girls do that anymore." She laughed. "Most of them don't wait past ninth grade." She laughed.
"What about you?" Sue asked.
"Me? No, I'm still a virgin. Let's face it, I'm not exactly a beauty queen. With my work load with school, the kids and the laundry, I don't have time." She explained.
"You're beautiful. Don't put yourself down like that. You just need someone to take some of the work load off your shoulders. Think about it. If you didn't have to work so many hours, and didn't have to worry about the kids so much… I bet, you'd actually have time to date." Sue smiled.
"You might want to think about the advice you're giving me, seeing as you're my foster mom now." Anita joked.
"Hmm, good point. Maybe I need to reconsider taking some of the load." Sue said with her eyes squinting, and doing her best to hide a smile. "Perhaps the evil foster mother would be the better role to play here."
"Yeah, maybe." She giggled. "Hey, I have to get up in the morning. I'm going to bed." Anita said. Sue got up, put her cup in the sink. Anita gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, for everything."
"You're welcome." Sue said.
"Good night." Anita tried to sign.
"It's like this." Sue said, showing her the proper way to sign it. "Good night."
XOXOX
The days that passed and Sue and Jack began moving forward with the legality of making her the kids foster mother and getting Mitch Palmer back in their lives legally. Sue and the kids got used to each other, and got to know one another better. They began to soften around her, act more like kids. Anita laughed to herself when she realized Sue wasn't totally prepared for the mess she'd taken on. Sue found herself exhausted by the experience, and sleeping before the older kids most nights.
Her last day with the bureau was a hard one. Lots of tears flowed. Sue knew that she would see her friends after she left, after all, they were friends. It was difficult for her to think about her daily life without them in it. It was going to be a whole different world, the one she was entering. Sue was feeling over whelmed by everything as she cleaned out her desk. Her closest friends noticed and went to support and help her. Lucy ended up just hugging her while Bobby and Myles packed up her area.
"Come on." Bobby said as he carried her box of goodies down to her car. "We're going out to celebrate!"
"Yes!" Tara said slapping her hands together. Everyone looked at her. "What? I like to celebrate!"
With that, Sue turned her desk light off for the last time. The entire team escorted her and Levi downstairs on their way to dinner.
XOXOXOX
It was Lanie who brought it to Sue's attention that Halloween was in a few days. Sue looked at them shocked.
"Oh, my! I forgot about Halloween! What are you all going to be?" She asked excitedly.
"Uhh, I'm a little old for trick or treating." Vinnie mocked.
"How 'bout you?" Sue asked Jacob. He shrugged looking at his older brother.
"You should make decisions based on what you believe, no one else. There's nothing wrong with trick or treating." Sue said matter-of-factly.
"There is when I'm fourteen." He said under his breath.
"Then you can stay home and give out candy." Sue replied smartly. Anita's hand instantly flew to cover her mouth, and smother a giggle while Vinnie's mouth hung open. Sue turned to Lanie. "And you Miss… what shall you be?"
"A fairy princess!" She exclaimed.
"How did I know you would say that?" She laughed. "Well, we can see what we can do, how's that? What about your sister?"
"Hmm, a doggie?" Lanie suggested.
"Ooo, I like that idea. How should we make the costume?" Sue asked. While she and Lanie talked about the possibilities, Anita leaned into Vinnie and whispered.
"She's not going to take your shit. Give her a break, she's just trying to help." Anita laughed.
"Yeah, great, now I have to stay home…" He whined.
"Next time don't complain so much." She teased.
"What about you?" Sue looked up at Anita.
"Me? Uhh, I don't know. My friend Shelly asked me to go to her house for a party. I was thinking about it." Anita said.
"Party?"
Anita shook her head.
"Will there be responsible parents there?" Sue asked.
"Don't get all parental on me." She teased. Sue raised her eye brow.
"I think so. Mr. and Mrs. Pimentel don't usually go out if the kids are throwing a party.
"Illegal recreational fun?" She asked. Anita couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing.
"If you're asking if there's going to be booze or drugs there, I doubt it. The Pimentel's aren't that type of people. There might be beer in the house, but not at the party. It's just going to be a lot of scary music, creepy looking people, and too many sweets." She said lightly.
"Anita, these things are important, don't just brush them off." Sue warned.
"I'm not. But, you have to remember too, my mother is a drug addict. I never want to know what that's like. I can't imagine booze is any better when they can leave you in the same situation. I don't do drugs. I don't drink." She said seriously.
"Good." Sue said. She reached into her pocket and took out her Black Berry.
"I don't ever want to lose control like that. With addiction being a big part of my family, I can't ever do anything that will grab hold of my life like that. I want more out of life." Anita said looking off.
"Can I see your phone?"
"Why?" Anita asked.
"Please?"
Anita handed it to Sue. She turned it on, and scrolled through her contacts. She found her own number and smiled. She then looked at Anita.
"Can I call the Pimentel's?" Sue asked.
"Sure."
Sue pushed the button and the number popped up. She transferred it to her Black Berry and dialed it. Anita stared at her in shock.
"Hello? Is this Mrs. Pimentel?" She asked.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"My name is Sue Thomas. I am staying with Anita and her family for a while." She said.
"Oh, I just love Anita. She's such a sweet heart. What can I do for you?" She asked.
"Anita was telling me you're throwing a Halloween party this year?"
"Well, the kids are. It'll be in our furnished basement so the kids can dance and play games and not be traipsing through my clean kitchen!" She exclaimed with a chuckle.
"Will you and Mr. Pimentel be there?" Sue asked.
"Oh, yes. You're more than welcome to come as well." She said.
"No, thank you. I just wanted to be sure there would be adults at the party." Sue said.
"Thank you for calling, not many parents do that. Would you like to have coffee one day this week?" She asked.
"I would like that." Sue said. "Thank you. Please give me a call in a day or so."
Anita sat there with a smile on her face. Sue was happy that she was such a good kid, with her head squarely screwed onto her shoulders.
"Now… Are you going to need help with these costumes?" Anita asked.
"Yeah…" Sue said defeated.
"We'll hit the second hand stores after school tomorrow if you want. Usually we can find a great dress and some wings a lot cheaper than a cheesy costume. We make a magic wand with something from the craft store and presto, instant fairy princess costume. I'm sure we can get something in a big one piece outfit that's brown, or white. Then we just paint on big spots. I think… think… I remember Jacob having a puppy hat with big droopy ears. We can give her a squeaky chew toy from the less than a dollar store and poof! Instant puppy." Anita said.
"You're very crafty." Sue said. Anita smiled.
"I learned fast. Just cause we're poor doesn't mean the kids don't want to do arts and crafts or that they don't get bored." Anita said.
"What do they like to do? What keeps them happy?" Sue asked.
"And quiet?" Anita laughed.
"Yeah, that too!" She laughed. "I'm really new at this, and I have no idea what makes them happy that I can afford!"
"Well, there goes the idea of every DVD, CD, and game system on the market." She teased. "Look, there's no rule book. There's no perfect way of doing things. Kids are kids. They're going to do stuff that's going to piss you off. They're going to do stuff just to piss you off. But they're also the best thing that will ever happen to you. If you just spend time with them, help them with their homework, and bake every once in a while, they'll be ok. We'll be OK." She corrected.
"I'll do what I can." She promised. "So you like baking?"
Anita smiled, knowing she'd been found out.
"Yeah. Well… I like to eat baked goods." She laughed.
"So, about this party… since there will be adults there, and I'm pretty sure I can trust you to have a good time." Sue said.
Anita laughed excitedly and hugged Sue.
"Thank you!" She said.
"You're welcome. What are you wearing?" Sue asked.
"I have a wicked witch idea. I want to do red eye, flames coming off the arms and my hair…" Anita said excitedly.
"OK, so tomorrow, we'll go to the craft store, and maybe the party store to get some makeup." Sue said.
XOXOXOX
Halloween came and went, and everyone gathered enough candy to sink a small ship. The younger kids shared their candy with Vinnie who was being a little less miserable about the whole change. Sue felt it was time to bring Mitch into the picture on a more regular basis. For the time being he was sacking out on Jack's couch. Lucy offered him Sue's room, but he decided that wasn't the best idea.
Sue invited Mitch over to make cupcakes with the kids while she and the girls went for dress fittings. The three ladies gathered at Tara's apartment for drinks and dinner after the fittings. They went over everything for the wedding. Tara had the RSVP's returned to her house, and had quite a few. The seating was going well, everything else was completed. Sue decided to start on favors the following weekend.
When Sue arrived home at 9, the babies were cleaned and in bed. Vinnie and Mitch were playing cards at the table with Jacob. Anita was working on homework on the couch while watching Christmas movie.
"Hi." Mitch said looking up.
"Who's winning?" Sue asked putting her coat away.
"Not me! I'm down fifteen pretzels and two Oreo's." He said shaking his head.
"Wow, that's a tail whooping!" Sue teased.
"Yep. And, for me, that means, time to eat my winnings!" He joked, popping an Oreo in his mouth.
"Goodnight Sons. I'm going to head home. I'll see you soon, OK?" Mitch said grabbing his jacket.
"Hey, Dad?" Jacob called. Mitch turned to look at him. "I have a basketball game on Friday night, wanna come?"
"I'd love to. What time?" He asked.
"Uhh, not sure. I'll email you." He said.
"Make sure you do." Mitch made his way to the door, Sue followed. "Thank you for tonight. It was good to spend some time with the kids."
"Thank you for watching them for me. I really had to get those details settled." Sue said.
"Hey, Dad. Here." Vinnie said. He handed him a paper plate with cupcakes on it. "Give a couple to Jack too."
"Thanks. Let me know if you've got something coming up I can go to, OK?" Mitch said
"Yeah, sure." Vinnie agreed, but a little cooler than Jacob. Sue noticed the hurt on Mitch's face.
"Don't take it too hard." Sue said. "He's been very hurt and very bitter toward you since he was a boy. It's going to take some time for him to let that go."
"At least he's coming forward a little bit. I'll take whatever I can get." Mitch said as he walked down the steps.