Serial - Suddenly Daddy Part 30

Hey guys.  After reading the comments over on today's Alfie page (if you haven't noticed I'm a pretty big InCase fan) I just wanted to express my appreciation for how respectful you guys always are in the comments.  Even when one of you don't care for something it is expressed thoughtfully and politely.  I just wanted to take a second to say that I truly appreciate the positive atmosphere we have here.

On to the story.

Jeremy rejoins you after just a couple of minutes.  He is cleaned up, changed, and smelling great when he returns.  The pair of you kiss and snuggle a bit.  He wants to talk some more but you had to get a bit more shut eye.  You put him in the middle as you knew you'd be getting up for work in just an hour or two.  Having gotten his rocks off and feeling satisfied he cuddles against your arm and quickly drifts off.  

The last bit of sleep you get that night is restless and sporadic.  You had so much to think about now.  You were happy, but also deeply conflicted.  A relationship with a woman...and a man!?  A relationship with a mother and son?  How would Claire react?  How would any of this work?  Would you have to keep Jeremy a secret?  That didn't seem fair on him.  This was so messed up.

You knew hooking up with a woman with kids was going to be complicated.  You had no idea just how complicated it would be!

You get up before your phone alarm can go off.  The early morning light was just starting to light the room.  You slip out of bed and stand to stretch.  You hear Jeremy rustle and move.  Turning back you see Claire and her son were now embraced together.  Their peaceful faces only a few inches apart on the same pillow.  Their arms over the other's hip.  God, they were so beautiful.

You quickly clean up and do your business in the washroom before heading downstairs to get dressed.  You had no clothes, not even underwear, so you'd have to wander the house in the buff.  As you hit the hall you notice Poppy's door is open, the room dark and empty.  You shake your head.  Who knows where that kid might be.  You make your way down to the laundry room and find your clothes clean and dry in the dryer.  As you get dressed you couldn't deny that it felt nice having someone do things like this for you.  You decide you'd have to find something you could do for him to make it up.

That got you to thinking about the weekend.  It was Friday today and from what you had gathered no one had any concrete plans for Saturday or Sunday yet.  This might be a wonderful opportunity to spend time together, to really cement your place in this crazy family.  Your memories drift back to some of the wonderful bonding weekends your family would spend camping or going to ballgames or finding small town fairs to attend or heading up to the old cabin.  The cabin...hmmm.  Mom and Dad still owned it but since they'd moved to Florida you were the only one using it anymore.  Generally just a couple times over the summer to go fishing.  It was rough living and it would be cold up there this time of year.  Would these guys be interested?  They didn't seem the roughing it types.  No phones or electricity or internet or comfy conveniences...they'd quite likely hate it.  But getting away from it all for a couple days could be a lot of fun too.  You'd have to give it some thought.  It could be a nice surprise and you had to admit you loved the spontaneity of the idea.

All those thoughts come to a stop as you return to the living room.  You were about to leave for work.  You hadn't noticed her on the way to the laundry room but you see her now.  Poppy was passed out, face down, on the couch.  It looked like she had fallen face first into it.  One arm and both legs hung off the edge so just her torso and head lay on the cushions.  She was a mess.  Her hair was disheveled.  Her knee length socks bunched down around her ankles.  Her top was twisted sideways and you could see from the side her tit was half exposed.  Her short skirt was flipped up and her panties were on crooked.  There was a trail along the floor from the front door to the couch.  Coat, phone, keys, one high heel shoe...she still wore the other shoe.

You shake your head sadly.  “Oh Jesus.  Poppy, what the hell are you doing my girl?”

As angry as you'd been at her when you heard her telling a friend about you, you now felt only pity.  She looked simply pathetic in her condition.  Like a crumpled up piece of human trash tossed to the gutter.

Reaching down you gently scoop her up in your strong arms.  She reeked of booze.  She half wakes and looks up at you with bleary blue eyes.  That impish spark of life that made her so attractive now dull and dim.  You see her bright red lipstick was smeared up onto her cheek.  “Oh...hi Daddy...”  She slurs her words as she gives you a crooked grin.  Her head slumps down to rest on your chest as she starts to fade out once more.  She says in a half awake voice.  “...hey...you wanna...fool around....mmmmm...big Daddy...”  She balls up and snuggles into you and within a few seconds she is out cold.  Dead to the world once more.

You carry her to her room and carefully lie her down on her bed.  You remove the one shoe then cover her with her blankets.  You look down at the passed out young woman and you began to worry.  There was nothing wrong with partying at her age, but she had gone out two nights in a row, weekday nights.  Was this her regular routine?  What a state to return home in.  You hoped this wasn't normal for her, but you were starting to suspect that it was.  You knew she had insecurities, bullies always did.  Insecurities mixed with the regular over consumption of alcohol was rarely a good combination.  Where would this life lead her?  

You hoped you were wrong.  And if you weren't wrong, you hoped it wasn't too late.

You shake your head once more.  You might not know a lot about being a parent, hell, with what was going on between you and Jeremy you REALLY knew that you didn't know a lot about parenting, but you could see what was plainly in front of you.  Claire needed to take a larger role in these kids' lives.  This freedom and open mindedness stuff surely had its limits.  It seemed more like an excuse to be a lazy parent.  You loved the woman but she was doing a disservice to these kids.  If you were going to be a part of this family things would have to change.

But right now...you had to get to work.  You head down stairs and pour a big mug of water and grab a couple of ibuprofen.   You return to leave them on Poppy's nightstand.  You notice a framed photo of the family sat there along with a clock, lamp and phone charger.  You pick it up to get a closer look.  The picture was of Claire and a small slim well dressed blonde man standing with Jeremy and Poppy in front of them.  The resemblance told you the man must be Roger, the kids real Dad.  The twins looked maybe six years old in the photo.  Claire and Roger stood side by side but weren't touching.  Claire had Jeremy in front of her, her arms resting down over his shoulders and across his chest.  Hugging him to her.  He had a very short boyish haircut and wore blue jeans and a blue collared shirt.  Poppy was in front of Roger in a frilly pink dress, he had both his hands gripping her shoulders making it appear as if he was holding her in front of him against her will.  At that age the twins were almost indistinguishable outside of their hair and clothes. Perhaps it was your bias coming out, but you saw only forced unhappy grins and dead dreary eyes in that picture.  

You take a long hard look at Roger.  You wanted to make sure you really knew what he looked like in case you ever happened to come across him in your day to day life.  You place the photo back where it belonged.

Looking back down at the unconscious party girl you can still see a bit of that six year old kid in her.  You bend down and give Poppy a tender kiss to her forehead.  She hums and takes a deep breath as she shifts in place.  “Mmmm.”

You quietly close the door behind you as you leave the room.  On the way out you pick up Poppy's stuff that was strewn across the floor.  You grab your jacket, phone, and keys and head out.  You realize that you cannot lock the deadbolt behind you as you had no keys to the house.  That was something you should get rectified soon.  It was a safe neighborhood and you knew Claire would be up soon to get ready for work so you leave it as is.

You head to your truck and begin your morning routine.  Drive thru breakfast then off to the yard.  As you drove you look at the empty seat beside you.  You were going to miss having your cute little assistant and duet singing partner with you today.