Chapter 2: A Home for a night.

Chapter 2

I turned the key in the lock and pulled open the door, stepping aside to allow Jason to pass before I entered and closed it behind us. The first thing I did was to flip on the light switch, then I watched him as he looked around, his eyes wide as he took it all in.

I glanced around the spacious room, trying to see it from his eyes; the lived-in leather couches, cream carpeting, and scratched up coffee table that was home to a stack of used magazines and an empty beer can, the large flat screen TV mounted on the olive colored wall, and the remote control lying on the floor by the couch.

The walls at least were clean after having repainted it a week ago, and the smashed mirror that had once stood in the corner of the family room was lying in pieces outside in the garbage can. My time here had made me productive, and as a result I spent more time cleaning the place than I did anything else, but even I couldn’t transform it into perfection.

The child-Timmy, turned in his father’s arms, looking around the room as we did. He had woken up when we were only a block away from the house, and had simply sat on his father’s lap, sucking his middle and index fingers without a sound. Now his small face mirrored his father’s expression as he looked around with fingers still trapped securely in his mouth.

I couldn’t tell if he was so quiet because that’s how children were at that age, or if it was because he found himself in a strange place, but his little round face was too adorable not to have me melting as I stood there. I’d always had a soft spot for children, there was just something about their innocence, and general cluelessness that made me want to drop everything and try make them smile.

Timmy didn’t glance my way though and I didn’t attempt to get his attention.

“Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.” I said, and led him out of the room and through the kitchen, where I deposited the food I’d picked up at the drive-thru on the way over. Then I led them down the hall and up the stairs. Jason followed me without a sound, his wet shoes making squishing sounds against the tiles.

I stopped briefly in the hallway when we passed the upstairs bathroom, and pulled out two large towels and washcloths from the in-wall cabinet, then I led them to the room that would be theirs for the night. When I pushed the door open, flipped the switch and stepped in, he finally set Timmy down, but I noted that he held his small hand firmly in his. The little boy stared up at me with his large brown eyes – his favorite fingers still nestled safe and warm in his mouth.

I smiled at him and he twisted away from me, hiding his tiny body behind his father.

“There’s a bathroom through there.” I told Jason when I pried my eyes away from the little thing and pointed to the door to the far corner of the room. “You guys can wash up while I go share your food.”

Jason looked around uncertainly, then bit his lip before meeting my eyes. “I forgot our clothes at the house.” He said regretfully, and I looked him up and down, taking in the filthy outfit he walked around in. I couldn’t imagine how the rest of his clothes looked, and suddenly I pitied him and his child. People should never be forced to live like this.

“That’s alright, I’m sure I can find you something to wear. Give me a sec.” I assured him, handing him the towels and washcloths before I exited the room.

I walked the short distance to my bedroom and toed off my wet shoes, before I padded over to the closet. I had nothing that would fit either of them, so I just pulled out two T-shirts and a pair of shorts with elastic in the waist, then dipped into the far corner of a drawer and pulled out two brand-new toothbrushes.

“They won’t fit but, it’s the best I can do for now.” I told him when I reentered the room. By now Timmy was standing naked in the center of the space, his dirty clothes laying in a pile by the bed.

Jason took the clothes from me with a forced smile and said his thanks.

“Just leave your clothes by the door, I’ll throw them in the machine for you so you’ll have something clean to wear in the morning.” I told him. “Then when you’re done come downstairs for dinner.”

He nodded and I glanced briefly at Timmy again, who took hold of Jason’s hand when he held it out and they walked into the bathroom, leaving me standing there with nothing more to say.

I shook my head and scooped Timmy’s clothes from the ground, and when I heard the squeaking of the pipes I left the room.

Once downstairs I sorted through the bags, pulling out the burgers and fries I’d ordered and set them on the table, then I pulled the lone box of Mac and Cheese from the cupboard, set the water the boil, and threw it in.

Seven minutes later and it was ready, so I scooped it all into a dish and set it on the table with a spoon before stepping back to survey my work. It had been awhile since I’d had any company over, and longer since I’d prepared a meal in this house for anyone but myself. It felt strange, yet satisfying and I grinned, glad that at least for tonight, I’d be providing a home for two people who needed one desperately.

At the very last minute I pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge, and poured the contents into a glass, then switched to a cup when I considered the fact that a two year old might need something a bit more durable. I looked up when I heard the small feet coming slowly down the stairs and a second later my guests entered the kitchen.

They looked like different people after their bath, clean and fresh with their lengthy curls damp and falling at their shoulders. No one could mistake their relation to each other. My shirt was massive on little Timmy, swallowing him up almost completely as it came to stop just above his ankles, and  while Jason looked more put together, the clothes hung unattractively on his small frame.

They were too small, some food would do them both some good. I decided, showing them their place at the table.

“Omee?” Timmy spoke for the first time, and I glanced up from my own place at the table and stared at him in amusement. He was pointing to the bowl of Mac and Cheese, his little face turned up to Jason as he asked him something using a word I couldn’t hope to understand.

“No not oatmeal, it’s Mac and Cheese see?” Jason explained to him, filling half the spoon with the gooey stuff and holding it up to his mouth. Timmy’s brows furrowed. “Maancheese?” He asked, then finally took a bite of the offered treat.

“Yeah, like it?” Jason asked him but rather than answer, he pulled the spoon clumsily from his father’s hand and, holding it close to the belly, he scooped up as much Mac and Cheese as he could.

It wasn’t until he was happily chewing on a mouthful that Jason picked up his burger and took a large bite, and finally I did the same.

“You wanna tell me why you were out picking pockets tonight?” I asked when he was halfway through his meal, and he glanced at me, mouth full and eyes wide.

“Not pockets.” He said. “Just yours. You didn’t look like you’d put up a fight.” He continued, and I shook my head.

“You think it’s right to steal people’s hard earned cash Jason?” I questioned seriously. He shrugged.

“When I ask them, they ignore me. Sometimes you gotta do, what you gotta do.” He explained, glancing briefly at Timmy who was too busy making a mess of his meal to notice the attention he was getting.

“You’re lucky it was me you chose tonight, another night and you might not have been so lucky.” I told him, and when he shrugged again I fixed him with a cold stare. “It’s dangerous out there Jason, if you keep doing this, I can guarantee that you’ll get hurt and when that happens who’s going to take care of Timmy?”

“I’ll be more careful next time.” He said under his breath, before taking the last bit of his burger. He started on the fries before he swallowed the bite.

“There won’t be a next time. I took you off the streets tonight for a reason, and before you leave here you’ll understand why it is that you can’t carry on the way you have.” I told him.

“It aint like I do it all the time. I got a job, I work hard like everybody else.” He said defensively, and when little Timmy looked quickly between us, I held back my retort.

“Eat up, we’ll finish this conversation in the morning.” I said, picking up a lone fry from my plate and plopping it into my mouth. Timmy looked at me-messy mouth and all- and stretched out a mac and cheese covered hand.

“Pease?” he said, and after glancing briefly at Jason and getting no opposition, I handed the kid a fry which he pulled toward his face and stared at for a moment before taking a bite.

While he chewed he offered me a dimpled smile and I couldn’t help but return it.

……………………………………………

It wasn’t long before the dishes were cleared and my two tired guests finally retired to the bedroom. While I settled into the chair downstairs with the glare of the muted television providing the only illumination in the dark space, I thought back to the events of the day.

Waking up this morning, I never would have guessed I’d be ending the night with strangers in my home, and as much as I wanted some action I never really expected it to be quite like this. It had been clear since the moment I met him that Jason was going to be a handful. He was a man who had been clearly dealt a shitty hand in life, and he was retaliating the only way he knew how.

I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been to raise a baby with nothing. Everyday must have been a struggle, stealing to put food on the table, while trying to ensure the child you left in the rundown place you called a home was still there, sleeping safe and sound when you got back.

I’d learned quite a bit about him after only this brief encounter; He was determined, with the potential to be hotheaded, he was brave yet very afraid; of the life he lived or the fact that I had plucked him from it? I wasn’t sure, and finally I knew that he loved Timmy; the evidence was right there in his eyes for all the world to bear witness. It was this very reason why telling him that Timmy would need to be placed in a foster home wasn’t going to be easy.

I thought about anything I could do to make the news come any easier to him, but in the end I decided that all I could do was be straight with him, pluck apart his life and show him just why his son couldn’t be in it.

I ran a hand threw my hair and closed my eyes. It wasn’t a conversation I was looking forward to. I thought about Timmy; his innocence while he slept in the place they called home, unaware of all the dangers around him, then I thought of the little dimples that were made for his cheeks; as if he needed to be any more adorable and finally, I thought about those large brown eyes that looked up at his father with only trust and adoration.

How did you tear two people like that away from each other? How did you rip apart a relationship so precious, when the only crime his father had committed was trying to put food on the table?

These thoughts and more plagued me as I sat there. The way the world was set up meant that even the innocent would suffer. I saw it every day in my line of work, on the news, and even walking down the street. It was life; some people got out of it happy, others fought for the simple satisfaction of being alive, while others, no matter how good or bad, fought and failed, because who said life was fair?

I pushed up from my seat and passed through the kitchen, down the hall and made my way up the stairs. When I got to their door, I paused, then pushed it open slightly and peered in. I was surprised to see them still awake, lying in bed, wrapped up in their warm blankets.

“…now I know my ABC’s next time won’t you sing with me.” Jason sang the words softly and Timmy repeated them, his lisp muddling the sound of the letters he clearly knew well.

For a while I could only stand there watching them, listening to their voices as they went over the same song, again and again, until Timmy grew too tired to follow, and still Jason kept on singing until his little boy’s eyes drifted shut, and his soft breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the silence. When he pulled the blanket up to Timmy’s chin and wrapped his arm securely around the child’s waist, I took a step back, pulling the door shut as I stepped into the hallway.

Yes, I decided, breaking the news tomorrow was going to be harder than I thought.

I did the usual rounds then, cleaning my teeth, bolting the doors that led outside, washing up the dishes and turning out the lights, but I paused at the foot of the stairs, instinct telling me I should pass out on the couch tonight, so I did.

I plucked a cushion from the floor and tucked in under my head as I prepared for an uncomfortable night, and once again, my gut didn’t fail me, when just before dawn I caught Jason trying to sneak out of the house with a sleeping Timmy wrapped up in his arms.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

DON'T WORRY GUYS, I'M WORKING ON LONGER CHAPTERS.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THAT AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER.

THANKS FOR READING AND KEEP SWEET!

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited.