When the kids were napping, he hired therapists and acupuncturists and trainers.In the evenings he watched television with JP.
At night he read for hours and periodically cried.
It was an amazing life for the kids.
Mike had come today to take JP to one of his appointments.They’d been gone all day, and he hoped everything was okay.
“Daddy?Where Dad?”
He smiled at Tori.“He’s at the doctor.Do you want to play outside?”
“No.I want Dad.”
“He’s not home.”
She pouted and put her hands on her hips, something in the way she held her body saying she was working up to the mother of all tantrums.“I want him.”
“I’m sorry, lovely.He’s not home.”Ian wanted him too, but they were all destined for disappointment.
The front door opened noisily, Mike helping JP get over the threshold, and handing him his walker.
JP grunted and took it, clearly in some pain; he’d been managing without the walker the last few days.
“Dad!Dad, I missed you!I want to play.”Tori went barreling toward JP, and Ian grabbed for her.He missed, though, and she headed in hard.Mike grabbed her as she skirted the walker and picked her up.
“Hey, munchkin.”
She arched her back, her plan frustrated, and she screamed.“I WANT MY DAD!”
“Victoria Therese,” he gasped.“Let me have her.I’ll put her in her room.”
“I just need to sit, honey.Listen to your Daddy.”JP bit the words out, lines etched around his eyes and mouth.
“It was a hard testing session,” Mike murmured as he passed Tori over to him.“Like brutally.”
“I’ll put her in her room and keep them busy and quiet.Thank you, brother.”
She was still screaming and kicking all the way up to her room.
He put her down on her bed, and she glared up at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
He didn’t meet her energy.She was allowed to be mad.She wasn’t allowed to scream and carry on downstairs because she didn’t get her way.
She turned her back on him and started crying like her heart was broken.He knew now she’d stay in her room until she was ready to come and apologize.
“I love you.I’ll be in my bedroom.”
“Goddamn it.Ian!”
JP’s roar filled the air, and he went running down the stairs, met halfway up the stairs by his sobbing son.
“Daddy!Daddy, I sorry!”
He wrapped Petey up in his arms.“What’s wrong?What happened?”
“The man!The man yelled!”
“Shh.Shh.You’re okay.You’re fine.Come upstairs.”What the actual fuck?What had happened?
