Chapter 109: Tree Hill Hall
Wednesday, January 4th, Evening
Looking at her watch it wasn't too late, the four younger kids were in bed. Chastity "Chase" Burke sighed as she leaned against the wall and looked at the opposite wall. Col as always was the good one, putting himself to bed. BB needed to be tucked in, it's her thing, but she went to bed. It was the Irish Twins, as always that was the pain. PJ and Key were night owls, and with Brett being over too, they didn't want to go to bed. But with a little talking, cajoling, and downright prying, Chase got her two oldest daughters in bed and drifting off to sleep.
Chase reached into her pocket and pulled out her smartphone. She opened an app and looked at it, with a nod, she closed the app and pressed a button. The phone dialed and eventually connected.
"Hey Babe, is this my goodnight call?" Huck asked on the other end.
"Yeah, Brett's over so it's mommy, daughter, well step-daughter, movie night, so this is your good night call," Chase said.
Huck laughed, "So, what are two of my favorite ladies watching tonight?" he asked.
Chase smiled, and played with her nails on her free hand, "Well, I don't know, maybe Magic Mike, or American Gigolo," she said.
Huck laughed, "Well, enjoy it and there are plenty of batteries," he said.
"No fun," Chase said, "Anyways, keep yourself safe, I don't want to manage this heard without you."
"I'll take care of myself, for you and the kids," Huck said.
"All right, what are they feeding you?" Chase asked.
"I think it was chicken, I'm not sure what the engine cooked tonight," Huck said.
"Well you'll get some home cooking when you get home in the morning," Chase said.
"I look forward to it," Huck said.
"So, do I," Chase said, "I'll see you in the morning."
"See you in the morning," Huck said.
"Love you," Chase said.
"Love you," Huck said.
Chase hung up and sighed. She missed having Huck home, but he did have to work, every fourth day he would work twenty-four hours. That was his standard shift, twenty-four hours on, seventy-two hours off. After taking a deep breath, she pushed herself off the wall and headed downstairs.
She walked through the hall and came to the small family room. Inside the room Chase found Brett kneeling on the floor looking through the cabinet. Chase smiled and nodded.
"What is with all these Blu-Rays? Haven't you and Dad ever heard of Netflix?" Brett asked.
"We have Netflix, but sometimes the net goes down and we can still watch movies," Chase said.
"So, how's Dad?" Brett asked without missing a beat.
"He's good, the engine didn't feed him well," Chase said.
"Hmm, that's never good," Brett said.
"Why do you say that?" Chase asked.
"Because he'll eat more of the muffins," Brett said, with a smile.
Chase nodded her head, it wasn't like she was lying, "Yeah, well that's your Dad," she said.
"So, what do you want to watch tonight, Mama Chase?" Brett asked.
Chase laughed, "I told your dad we were going to either watch Magic Mike or American Gigolo," she said.
"What's American Gigolo?" Brett asked.
Chase shook her head and laughed, "Don't worry about it, it's an old movie," she said.
"Oh," Brett said, "Do you and Dad like old movies?"
Chase shrugged, "I like good movies," she said.
Brett nodded, "So no Twilight?" she asked.
"Exactly," Chase said.
Brett got off her knees and stretched. "So, why don't we stream the Witcher?" she asked.
Chase nodded, "Okay," she said, and walked over to the couch and sat down. Brett walked over and sat next to Chase. Looking at Brett, Chase smiled, "Toss a coin to your Witcher, oh valley of plenty," she sang.
"Very funny," Brett said.
"Not quite a dad joke," Chase said and turned on the TV. She next started up Netflix. Once Netflix was fully open Chase found the Witcher and started it.
Chase sat back and watch the tales of Geralt of Rivia. They call Geralt the White Wolf because of his Wolf Medallion and his white hair. Chase found it mildly entertaining, but she had seen better shows and had also seen worse shows.
About three episodes in, Chase got up. Brett looked up at Chase.
"What are you doing, Mama Chase?" Brett asked.
"I'm getting something to drink. Do you want anything?" Chase said.
Brett shook her head, "No, I'm good," she said, "Do you want me to pause it?"
Chase shook her head, "No, I'm good," she said.
"Okay," Brett said.
Chase left the room and went into the kitchen. Reaching into the cabinet, she came out with a glass and went to the sink. Filling up the glass, she took a deep pull of the water. Shaking her head, she let her mind drift. After another sip, she brought her mind back to the present. She finished her glass of water and put the glass in the dish rack.
After a second, Chase left the kitchen and returned to the small family room. Returning to her seat on the couch, she returned to watching the show.
Somewhere in one of the episodes, Brett kicked off her sneakers, then laid down resting her head on Chase's lap. This was something Brett would do since she was little on their movie night.
Their first movie night was about ten years ago. It was in her and Huck's old apartment, Tree Hill Hall wasn't ready yet, and Huck was working at Engine 29. They watched Frozen, and thus started their little tradition, even with PJ being a newborn, and Chase pregnant with Key.
That same night Brett curled up on the couch, laid her head on Chase's lap and like now fell asleep. Chase kept watching the TV show, even though she wasn't interested in it.
Chase looked down and watched her step-daughter sleep. The steady rhythm of her breathing reassured Chase that she was well good and asleep.
Chase reached down and ran her fingers through Brett's ginger red locks. Her hair was thin like her Dad's, not that he often wore it long enough for most people to know it.
When she was pregnant with PJ, Chase wished her child would have Huck's red hair. Of course, PJ was born with the Davis colorings. So went the story, with Key, BB, and finally, Col. The only branch of the family that kept the Burke name, didn't get the Burke coloring. Chase was jealous of seeing Kelly's son Phelan, and Kayla's son Jory, having the red hair, but both was auburn, not the Burke ginger. Ashlyn gave Huck his only red-headed child and not her's.
With a nod, Chase just watched the TV show Brett picked and stroked her hair. Because she knew these moments were fleeting and someday it will be Brett's significant other doing this. Maybe even later Brett with her own daughter. But that's the future and Chase wanted to live in the moment.
