“ I’m going to join the school PTA.Not to be in charge but to be a part of the kids’ activities.It’s been nice being able to have first-hand information from you when you’re there listening, but I want to be a part of it for a while.At least until the boys are out of elementary school.I might like it enough to run it someday.”She laughed, and he joined her.She wouldn’t run it.He had a feeling that she’d only go to a couple of meetings and decide that it wasn’t for her.He didn’t like gossip anymore than Mandy did, and that’s basically what it all was.“ You said that they’re having a meeting soon.I’ll go just to see what’s going on.I don’t have to join anything to be around, do I?”
“ No.Most of the people there are only there for the cookies and juice afterwards.I know a couple of people who are loud about things, but that’s not for me.I only go because I’m required to by the school board, because I work there.I don’t think I’m going to enjoy it as much as you might.They do gossip a great deal.”She said that she didn’t want to be a part of that.“ I knew you wouldn’t.Sometimes, it’s all I can do to get through the mornings with so much going around.”
“ Yes, I wouldn’t care for that.I’ll just sit in the back and watch what goes on.”He nodded as he made the first batch of fries.“ I’ll call the kids down.I know that they had homework, and I hope they got it done.Otherwise, we’re going to be up for a while.”
The rest of the evening, after dinner, they did work on homework.It wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be.Just some reading to do and some math homework.It would be the end of the terms soon, and they’d have to get them into some activities around the town to keep them busy, but he knew that they’d love that.Now that their pool was in, they would spend a great deal of time sitting around it and enjoying the summer months.He knew that he was going to.
Getting them ready for bed that night, he forgot that tomorrow was Friday.He had to make pancakes for the older two tomorrow and then cook them at school for his other two sons.It was fun having the first meal of the day with them.He never tried to change things up with them anymore.Just went with the flow of things like normal.Messing with routines could cause a meltdown, and he wasn’t ready for that early in the morning.
After the boys were all in bed, he and Mandy sat in the living room and watched some television.There wasn’t really anything that he watched, but it was nice to catch up on the news.There was a lot going on in the news of late.
Going to bed with Mandy was always a thrill for him.She would come to bed all warm and snuggly, and he’d be asleep in no time.Once in a while, they’d talk about their day, but not often.They were busy parents of four boys, and they didn’t have time to be there for them if they were exhausted all the time.He loved his growing family and was glad that he got to share it with Mandy, the one and true love of his life.Rolling to his side, taking Mandy with him, he closed his eyes.It was then that he realized that he’d forgotten to order for the school and would have to do that first thing in the morning.Glad for this time to be relaxed, he decided that when they took the trip to DC this summer, he was going to hotel it.Or stay with Dusty and Shipley in their house.Camping was fun, but he wanted tosee the sights more than he wanted to be worrying about water levels in his tanks.
He was up and showered before his alarm went off.As soon as he sat down at his computer to order the next week’s food, he realized that he had done it.He was getting forgetful in his old age and decided to tell Mandy about it.She’d get a kick out of what he’d done and laugh with him.Or at him.He found that either way, he was going to be happy.As soon as he got breakfast finished up for the two who were in middle school, it was time to go to work.Demi enjoyed his job of cooking for the kids and thought he would for as long as it took to get his other two onto the next level.
After work, he decided that he needed to get a few things for home.The cook would usually order what he needed, but she was on vacation and wouldn’t be back for another few days.He was enjoying cooking for his family on the nights that she was off, but he didn’t want to do it all the time.The clean-up was messy, and he wanted to spend time with the kids.They usually helped him with cooking, but they usually made a mess bigger than if he did it by himself, but he never complained when they wanted to help.Spending time with them was the best part of his day.
They were going to have burgers on the grill tonight, and then they were going to make their own sundaes for dessert.It was really messy to make, but they all appreciated that time of the meal, and he couldn’t turn them down when that was what they wanted.He was just leaving the store when he heard from Mandy.
“ They said they’d been wondering when I was going to make the move to join you at home.”He said that it was great and loved her.“ I love you too.I’m so excited.I only have a few more classes to teach before they start bundling them all together.Just like you said.It’ll be tough getting used to being home all the time, but I think that I can handle it.”
“ I’m sure that you will be able to.I can’t wait until we get into a good schedule with the kids so that we can be around them more.”She told him that was what she was looking forward to as well.“ Good.I wonder who will be next to leave their job.It might be Knox.I know that he was hoping to have more to do with the business, but with Zander retiring, he might well do it as well.”
“ Let’s hope we don’t all go crazy with being at home all the time.I don’t want us to fight all the time when we’re together.”He said he didn’t see that happening.“ I’m going to let you go so that you can finish up what you’re doing.”
He was home in another ten minutes and decided that he was going to make brownies to go with the sundaes.He was even going to make some hot fudge to go with them.
Chapter 10
He looked around the courtroom and decided then and there that he’d had enough, too.Laughing to himself, Knox decided that if he didn’t win this suit against the family, he was going to quit anyway.There was enough evidence to win in their favor, and he thought that for as much work as he’d put into this case, he should be able to do what he wanted.He called Elaine before he started and told her what he was planning on doing.
“ Thank goodness.I thought I was going to have to beat you into submission.Are you really going to retire too?I think that it would be great to have us both at home all the time.I miss the kids.”He said that he did as well and wanted to see things like his kids’ first games, too.“ I have missed so many of them that I want to cry at night.I’ve decided to give my notice at the hospital today.What do you think?”
“ I think that’s a fan-tabulous idea.”She said she was going to do it then.“ Good.I’m going to tell Locke in the morning.We have a breakfast meeting to go over some contracts.I’ll still do that for the family, but I’m not going to be researching everything to the point of spending weeks on a case that doesn’t require it.And I’m finished with the courtroom.I thought that I’d like it, but I don’t care for it.People are bastards, and I’m sick of dealing with them.”
“ Good for you.”She laughed and said that she was going to do it as soon as she got off the phone with him.“ I need to just make a clean break of it.And giving them two weeks’ notice will be about the same amount of time that I have left in vacation time.It’ll be nice to be home for the summer months, too.”
“ Yes, we’ll have to find us some places to go camping this summer.I know that we both love it.And it’s about time to introduce the boys to it as well.”She said that Kian was a bit small yet, but she thought that he’d enjoy going on a trip with mommy and daddy.“ All we need to do is load up some food and clothing, and we can be out the door.I love that about having our camper ready to go all the time.”
They’d been taking quick trips since the snow melted off, just overnight places that they could get a jump on camping season.So far this year alone, they’d had five trips, and they had enjoyed every one of them.But they wanted something more than a couple of days; they wanted a month to go someplace and hang their hats.
When the courtroom was adjourned for lunch, he went across the street and got himself a hot chicken sandwich with fries and a shake.Usually, he sat in the courtroom and went over his notes again and again just to make sure that he didn’t miss anything.But today he made himself slow down and experience his food.Even going so far as to just sit under the tree and feel the sun coming down on his face before going back to the courtroom.When it was time, he walked to his seat and waited before getting his paperwork out.This kind of thing wasn’t him at all, and he found himself taking pleasure in the break from scrambling around like he was late for everything.
After winning his case, he cleaned up his area and spent a few minutes with his clients.They were just other lawyers from the foundation, but he rarely spent any time with anyone outside the family, and he loved that he could make the time.He felt that he was missing a great deal by not spending time with others.He’d worked with these men and women for years and didn’t know anything about them.
Thinking that was sad, he wondered at the other things that he’d missed working so hard.Like his brothers, he’d been working all his life.Not even becoming a billionaire had changed him in his working habits.He got up every day with one thing in mind, and that was to work to the best of his ability and not stop until all the work was finished.Even when he had his mini vacations with his family, he could be found with paperwork in hand and his nose buried deep in records so that he hadall the information needed.More information than he needed in reality.
Going home, he put his briefcase on the table with his keys and went into the living room.No one was home yet, so he pulled the remote toward him and turned on the television.Finding a movie that he’d not seen, he watched it until Mandy and the boys came home.He even dozed off for a few minutes too.It was the best two hours that he’d ever spent in a while, and he loved it.
“ What did you watch?”He told Mandy what the name of the movie was supposed to be.“ I don’t think that got very good reviews.Why did you watch the whole thing?”
“ Because I could.And I didn’t answer the phone once while I was doing it.You know what?I’m going to do it again, too, when I have the chance.I can’t remember the last time I watched an entire movie without having to leave it to answer a question or two.It was quite entertaining.”He asked her how her afternoon went.She told him that she’d given her notice.“ That’s great.Did they try to talk you into staying?I would have.You’re the best nurse they have there.”
“ They asked me to give a month’s notice so that they could find a replacement.I almost said yes, but I didn’t.I don’t want to spend another month working when you’re home.How did your case go?”He told her about his lunch and how much fun he’d had at it.“ It’s the little things, isn’t it?I mean, we’ve been missing out on the little things for some time now.I’m excited about this next part of our lives.”
After dinner, where the two of them had a pleasant meal, they went to the living room with the boys and played a game.He’d like to say that he finished the game without interruptions, but the boys made it so that they had to take a break to get snacks.It was the most pleasant evening he’d spent with his family in a long time.And his kids noticed that he wasn’t in his office all the time, too.That was very telling for him.
Going up to bed after spending an hour in his office writing up his resignation, he felt better than he had in some time.He’d heard from Zander twice about how his retirement was accepted and was hoping that he was doing the same.All his brothers were thinking of spending more time with their families, and he thought that was the best way to go.He’d see how he felt in a month.Things might go back to the way they were, he told Mandy.
