Chapter 81: Domesticity
The next morning, Jamie slowly wakes up and stretches.
"Morning." he suddenly hears his wife say.
Slowly opening his eyes, Jamie looks beside him to see is wife in the exact same position he last saw her the night before watching him.
"Morning." he returns "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine."
"I do see that." Eddie replies.
Jamie sighs "Please tell me you weren't up ALL night."
"I wasn't." Eddie confirms.
"Good." Jamie accepts "Now am I allowed to get up and get out of bed nurse… nurse… damn it what's your name again?"
Eddie's eyes go wide in a panic.
"I'm kidding Nurse Edit Marie Janko Reagan." Jamie immediately promises.
Eddie huffs out an unhappy breath of air "That is NOT funny."
Jamie shrugs "Funny to me."
"You are such a jerk." Eddie tosses back.
"See that's interesting because yesterday I was a really great guy." Jamie points out.
"Double Jerk." Eddie returns.
"Oh double jerk." Jamie notes impressed "That's not a thing." he then rejects.
"It's a thing if I say it's a thing." Eddie insists "And in this case it is most definitely a thing."
Jamie yawns.
"You're yawning." Eddie notes again with a heighten sense of alarm in her voice "Why are you yawning?"
"Because it's morning?" Jamie counters.
"Except you almost never yawn." Eddie insists "Did you not get a good night's sleep? It seemed like you did. Here let me see your bump." She decides as she reaches for his bandage "I have to check it anyway."
Jamie sighs in defeat and just lets her play nurse maid "Good thing I'm a jerk." he notes as Eddie carefully removes the bandage "If I was a really great guy my wife might go a little overboard in the hovering department." he adds before wincing in slight pain.
"Sorry." Eddie apologizes as she finishes removing the bandage "Okay it looks okay." She announces in relief "Bandage is clean."
"Awesome." Jamie replies "Can I get up now?"
"I don't know." Eddie replies "You tell me. Can you walk? Do you need help?"
"Oh my god." Jamie groans in rejection as he simply throws the covers off and gets out of bed "Look I'm walking." he tosses at his wife with a quick backward glance "It's a miracle."
"Don't even joke about that." Eddie seriously counters.
Jamie thinks about his wife's words "You're right. I'm sorry." He apologizes "All I meant was I'm fine Eddie. You can stop hovering."
"Fine." Edie relents "So what's for breakfast then?"
Jamie pauses slightly as he realizes she was serious about her earlier declaration about him being responsible for all meals "What are you asking me for?" He innocently counters "I have a head wound."
"Oh but I'm not allowed in the kitchen remember?" Eddie sweetly counters "And I believe you just said you're fine correct so you can't have it both ways Jamie. Either you're fine and you fix breakfast or you're not fine and I hover. Which is it going to be?"
Jamie looks at his wife and frowns at her catch 22 reasoning "Can I take option number three?" He curiously inquires.
"There is no option three." Eddie seriously deadpans.
"Sure there is!" Jamie counters "Mia! She's made us breakfast before. Pretty sure she can do it again."
Suddenly Mia appears in the doorway with a bowl in hand "Good you're up. We're out of milk. I can't eat my cereal like this." She adds as she gestures to the bowl containing cereal and only a little bit of milk "Not enough milk."
Jamie looks at Mia confused "How are we out of milk? There was a full cartoon in the fridge yesterday."
Mia shrugs "I dunno."
Jamie sighs "It's I don't know." he corrects her.
"I know." Mia returns.
"They why do you keep saying I dunno?" Jamie challenges.
Mia shrugs "Like Aunt Eddie likes Eddie and Ms. Lena likes Grand MaMa, I like 'I dunno'."
Eddie giggles as she turns to look at her husband "Oh she's got you there Jamie!" She tells her husband returning the favor to him from the previous night.
Jamie tosses her a silent annoyed look.
Mia looks back and forth between her god parents "So milk?" she prompts trying to turn the conversation back to her.
"Mia." Eddie curiously begins as she turns her attention back to the young girl "Usually we have to drag you out of bed in the mornings, yet here you are up, dressed and eating breakfast before us, what changed?"
"Reagan." Mia replies "He likes to get up early and run around – he wakes me up."
Eddie tries to contain her laughter as she looks over at her husband "Yet another trait in common! That cat really is like your long lost family member!"
"So about the milk." Mia again presses on "My cereal is getting soggy."
"Then eat it." Jamie advises.
"But there is not enough milk!" Mia reiterates.
"If the cereal can get soggy." Jamie points out "It's got enough milk. Just eat it because no one is running out to get more milk at this hour."
Mia frowns "Mom usually makes sure there is always a back up milk in the fridge." She points out "How come we don't have a back up milk?"
"Because your Mother is a professional parent and we are only the Aunt and Uncle?" Eddie offers in return causing Jamie to turn his head to look at his wife in disbelief and the second he does, Mia gets her first glimpse of the back of Jamie's head.
"OH MY GOD!" She cries in alarm "What happened to your head?"
Jamie and Eddie both cringe slightly.
"Oh this?" Jamie tries to nonchalantly deflect "It's nothing. Hit my head at work."
Mia eyes her Uncle then shifts her eyes to her Aunt looking for confirmation.
"He's fine." Eddie reassures her as she holds up and displays the bandage she just removed "See clean. Barely a scratch."
Mia stares at her Aunt and the bandage then shifts her gaze back to her Uncle. She walks over to him and stands on her tip toes trying to get a better look.
"I'm fine." He promises before gesturing at the bowl in her hands "Just eat your cereal."
Mia eyes him a moment then silently scoops up a spoon of cereal and shoves it in her mouth "So not enough milk." She mutters through her chewing as she turns to walk out of the room but she notices an open moving box and pauses for inside that box she sees the mini Miss Minnie.
A second later she leans over, swipes the plush toy up with her hand and exits the room.
Jamie and Eddie exchange a look then both curiously move to follow her "Hey!" Eddie calls "Where are you going with that?"
"You don't just put Mini Miss Minnie in some random box!" Mia chides as she tucks the toy under her arm holding the cereal bowl so she can use her now free hand to open her bedroom door causing Reagan who is curled up on the bed chilling out waiting to look up "She could get lost!" she adds as Jamie and Eddie watch her walk over to her dresser and place her next to her Miss Minnie.
"Meow." Reagan eagerly greets at seeing the bowl in Mia's hand.
"No this is not for you." Mia tells the cat before returning to her conversation with her Aunt and Uncle "She will go with me and Miss Minnie in my backpack." The young girl decides "That is where all my prized possessions are going."
Eddie stares at Mia a moment then turns to look at her husband next to her 'prized possessions?' she silently mouths at Mia using such grown up words.
Jamie shrugs in return.
Satisfied her work is done, Mia turns to walk back out of her room "Come on Reagan I'll get you breakfast." she prompts causing Reagan to jump off the bed and follow his young master out of the room.
"Is it just me…" Eddie slowly prompts "Or did she just go from being a child worried about her toys to acting like a responsible young adult right before our eyes."
Jamie sighs "She's growing up." he offers before turning to head to the bathroom but stops short in the doorways at the sight before him.
He sighs again "And then maybe not." he adds before turning his head backwards "MIA!" He calls
"WHAT?" Mia calls from the kitchen.
"COME HERE PLEASE!" Jamie returns.
"What?" Mia repeats again as she comes into view.
Jamie points at the used towel and wash cloth just haphazardly thrown about "Is that where those go?" he prompts before pointing at the tube of toothpaste left open and laying on its side on the counter "Or how you leave that?"
"Ugh." Mia groans in annoyance "I was getting to it." she mumbles as she stocks over, recaps the toothpaste and stands it upright then swipes the towel and cloth up and dumps them in the clothes hamper "Better?" she prompts as Reagan comes into the bathroom heading straight for his litter box as Mia turns and exits the room.
"At least she brushed her teeth without asking." Eddie tries to helpfully offer as Jamie again sighs as he watches Mia just walk away and her cat begin to dig.
"HEY!" He calls after her.
"What?" Mia whines out in exasperation as she stops and looks back at her Uncle.
Jamie points at Reagan in the litter box.
"Can I clean it later?" Mia pleads "My cereal is still getting soggy! In another minute I'm not even going to eat it because it will be too disgusting!"
An unhappy look appears on Jamie's face but he relents "Fine. Go." he adds causing Mia to turn and walk away while Jamie's eyes drift down to the cat in the box again as an aroma starts to fill the air.
"Ew!" Eddie notes "I think he's pooping." She adds before lightly patting her husband on the arm "I'll let you use the bathroom first."
Jamie shoots his wife a look.
"You could always just clean it yourself." Eddie points out "I'd do it myself but…"
"Yeah, yeah." Jamie interrupts "You're pregnant so you can't."
Edie flashes him a smile "Have fun!" She offers before simply turning to walk away.
Jamie watches her leave then turns his attention back to the cat to indeed see him pooping "Why do I get the feeling this will still be my job when we get to the house?" he asks the cat as he reaches for the scoop and waits for him to finish and cover.
...
