Winchester Legacy 2.2

RECAP: Toni and Dane FINALLY got married, there were birthdays and a birth, Dane quit his job as Chief of Staff(CoS from now on) and became involved in some shady business, and OH, let’s not forget Gordon’s walk by rage tactics! Let the good times roll!

The kids were playing Don’t Wake the Llama and talking about something but I was just so angry I wasn’t listening. I hadn’t been able to read the newspaper for at least a week now. I’d walk outside to get it and it would be gone. Gordon, I thought with an inward snarl. Look, I wasn’t that big on the news but still I paid for that paper just like everyone else did and I wanted to read it if I so choose. Obviously I didn’t have that option.  I wanted the option to leave it out in the rain or to recycle it! As I raged in the kitchen the kids continued to play.

“You’re not my real sister you know.”

“Uh huh. Mom said just ’cause we have different daddies doesn’t mean we’re not family.”

“Your dad made my dad go away. I remember it as if it were yesterday…”

Val rolled her eyes. “Neil, you were a baby when that happened. How can you remember?”

“Cause I can!” he snapped.

“It’s not a big deal you know. I know plenty of kids at school who only live with one parent. I know a girl who has two moms!”

“So what?! I know a guy who’s dad got ab…abdu…” Neil worked his jaw as he tried to spit out the word. “Abducted by aliens. He don’t even know who his other parent is!”

“You’re stupid! There’s no such thing as aliens.” Val carefully placed her piece on the llama.

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Is too, you stupid girl!”

“Is not, you dirty boy! The reason why mom broke up with your dad is ’cause he was dirty!”

“No, he wasn’t! Take that back!”

I had calmed down enough to walk over and join them in their game. “What are you two talking about?” I asked as I pulled out a chair. They both had such serious looks on their face.

They shared a look before Neil grinned at me. “We was talking about a movie.”

“You were talking about a movie,” I gently corrected.

“Yep,” he said as he reached up and rubbed at his shoulder. I eyed him and his eyes darted away from mine. I looked over at Val to see her focused intently on not waking the llama.  Thank goodness they got along so well and didn’t bring up the fact that they had two different dads. That whole situation wasn’t something that I wanted to explain to an nine and ten year old.

I opened my eyes slightly when I felt the bed dip. It wasn’t Dane’s dip. He would try to ease into bed when he came into the house and then he’d gather me into his arms. No, this dip was more like a scurry and then I heard a weary sigh. I waited for Val to speak but when she didn’t my eyes started to drift close again. Now that the baby was finally here I could sleep how I wanted and I didn’t have to constantly get up and go to the bathroom.

“Mom?”

“Yeah honey?” I asked as I smothered a yawn.

“How come Neil and I have different daddy’s?”

My eyes flew open at that question. Oh, well this was just great, I thought. I tried to rack my brain for a suitable answer but it was still fuzzy from near sleep so I settled on the truth…or at least the partial truth.

“I met and fell in love with your father and then we had you.”

“But weren’t you still married to Neil’s dad?”

“Yes honey, I was.”

“Then how come you fell in love with someone else?” She shoved her hand under the pillow and began to fiddle with the blanket with her other hand.

“Val, everything isn’t always black and white. Your father and I fell in love and we hurt Neil’s father in the process.”

“Is that why he’s always walking by the house and glaring?”

“Yes.” I was really going to have to talk to Gordon.

“Okay.”

I waited for her to ask me another question bu the silence stretched. Reaching out I tapped her on her nose. “Any more questions?”

“Nah, I just like sleeping in the big bed with you.”

Laughing, I snuggled her close and we both drifted off to sleep.

“Ohhh…let me tell you! I am SO going to be an airplane pilot when I grow  up.  I don’t care what nobody says!”

“Anybody says.”

“Yep! I don’t care. I’m going to be the best pilot in the world. I’m going to fly a huge plane-”

“All planes are huge!” Val interjected.

“A HUGE PLANE,” Neil said loudly, trying to talk over her, “and everyone is gonna be like: “Oh, there goes Pilot Wolosenko. He’s the best pilot that ever lived. You don’t have to worry about crashes when he’s in the cockpit.”

Val snorted. “You’re so weird.”

” Just wait! Just wait!”

Val opened her mouth to say something but Dane cut her off. “Alright, what are your plans for today? It’s Sunday so-”

“I want to start a lemonade stand!”

Everyone blinked at Neil while he finished shoving his pancakes in his mouth. “I got it all set up in my mind. It should be easy!”

“First,” Neil said as everyone gathered outside his hastily built stand, “You gotta squeeze the lemons to make your lemonade. It’s not real lemonade if you don’t squeeze all the juice out  of it.”

I clapped a hand over my mouth to smother a laugh at his intense facial expressions. I noticed Dane biting his lip when Neil squeezed the lemon so hard juice squirted out and hit him in the eye. He dropped the rind and clapped hand over his eye as he wiggled around in his seat. Apparently the burning faded because he soon picked up another lemon and started the process all over again.

“Then you gotta make it sweet.”

I winced when he dumped a crap load of sugar into the pitcher. Val sighed.

“This is boring. I’m going to go do something else.”

Neil stuck his tongue out at her and she reciprocated before heading back into the house.

“Now, you have to taste it!”

Whipping out a spoon he dipped it into the pitcher, sniffed at the contents of the spoon before bring it to his mouth and taking a loud sip. I let out a chuckle as he swished it around his mouth, someone had been watching the food network again, before swallowing. Smacking his lips a slow grin spread across his face.

“Good stuff, good stuff!” he muttered before straightening the cups. “And now, we pour and wait for the money to roll in.”

Or the ants, I thought with a wince as he carelessly dumped the lemonade into each cup. Or in the general directions of the cups. Dane and I left him muttering about presentation as he straightened the piggy bank.

“Looks like we have a a little entrepreneur in our mists,” Dane said as  he slung his arm around my shoulder and nuzzled my neck. “What’s say we try for another one?”

Laughing, we snuck off into the bedroom.