"Life Goes On" - Chapter 5
Chapter: 5 ~ “Settling Back In”
Author’s Notes: None
*~*~*
Calleigh quietly made breakfast; they had decided to just let Madison have the week off of school. Without their household being on a normal schedule, it made things hard on everyone. “Horatio!” Calleigh called, “You’re going to be late! You told Frank twenty minutes…” She shook her head as she poured his coffee into a traveler’s mug and set a piece of buttered toast on top. There was no way she could ask Horatio to stay home from work. She’d have to return next week as it was, so she didn’t mind spending time with the girls. He had been hesitant at first, but she reminded him that she could take care of herself.
Emma was safely strapped into her high chair. Calleigh had thought about moving her to a booster seat, but since Emma hadn’t quite outgrown her chair, Calleigh didn’t see any point yet. She had already fed the toddler, and had eaten herself. She was making Madison’s breakfast when Horatio came through the kitchen, pulling his jacket on. “You’re gonna be late…and then you know who Frank’s gonna blame?” she said before kissing him.
“He’s married…has kids,” Horatio reminded before kissing Calleigh again. “I’ll call him to let him know I’m on my way though.” He smiled and took the toast and the coffee travel mug from the counter, “Thank you, Sweetheart.”
Calleigh smiled, “Make sure you’re home for dinner…” It was something that she’d tried to impress; it wasn’t only for her…but for the girls, too. “Love ya, Handsome.”
“Love you.”
“Bye Daddy!” Emma said waving as she picked up a Cherrio that was on her highchair tray and then popped it into her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Honey,” Horatio apologized with a smile. He loved when Emma talked to him. He walked over to her and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. Love you. See you later, Emma.” He smiled, “Take care of your Mom for me.” Straightening he turned to Calleigh and then headed out.
Just as the door shut, it closed again. “What’d ya forget?” Calleigh asked as she turned back around to see what her fiancée wanted. But instead of Horatio, she found Sheryl in the kitchen with her. The girl wasn’t supposed to be working until Monday.
“Awww man! No more Coco Krispies! Those are my favorite!” Sheryl complained as she sat down and set her bag down on the chair beside her.
“You’re not supposed to be up and about until Monday,” Calleigh reminded before setting a bowl, spoon, and a box of cereal in front of Sheryl. The milk was already on the table. “I hadn’t expected you to be here until then.”
“I got bored,” Sheryl explained as she poured herself a bowl of Cherrios. She grabbed a banana from the bunch on the table and peeled it open. With her spoon, she cut the banana into manageable bite sized pieces and dumped them into the bowl. She poured milk over it all to top it all off.
Calleigh went back to making eggs and pancakes for Madison’s breakfast, “I had planned on taking the girls out… With Emma’s birthday comin’ up and all.”
“I LOVE shopping!” Sheryl exclaimed and looked over at Emma, “And Emma Turtle loves it, too!”
Emma giggled and held out a Cherrio to show Sheryl. “Sher here!” she said happily
“Such a good turtle!”
“Madison! Breakfast’s ready,” Calleigh called as she put the eggs and pancakes onto a plate for her before setting it onto the table in Madison’s place. She already had an empty glass and utensils set beforehand, so everything was ready when the girl got to the table.
*~*~*
Madison excitedly hurried about the party section of the store. “Are we going to get a lot of party stuff? Balloons, too?” she asked.
“I don’t know if we need to go that far,” Calleigh told them as she pushed the cart along, Emma in the child seat of it. Sheryl and Madison had seemed far more excited than she could have ever guessed. Though, they had gone more than a year without really celebrating things, so she could understand why they were.
“Awww…the turtle’s gotta have balloons!” Sheryl complained.
“So, does that mean we’re having a Finding Nemo party?” Calleigh wondered. She knew that that was a movie that her daughter seemed to enjoy, though so did Sheryl and Madison. All she knew was that it involved fish and turtles… She hadn’t had time to sit down and watch it with Emma. Though, she figured that was because she would much rather read to Emma, rock her, and cuddle with her beautiful girl rather than being hypnotized by cartoon fish.
“Ooooo can we?!” Sheryl asked.
Madison quickly found the Finding Nemo section, “Look! They have the stuff!” She started to pull things off of the shelf and putting them into the shopping cart, “Oh! Can we have a piñata, too?!”
“We’re not going to have many kids at the party…” Calleigh reminded. “How about we get the balloons and the other party things? Maybe when it’s your birthday in a couple months we can have one, okay?”
“Cool!”
*~*~*
Dinner came faster than Calleigh had realized, and she ended up pushing to get dinner done on time. She had taken Sheryl home not thinking that she should drive. She had been okay for the first few hours, but then Calleigh thought that she really needed to sleep. So, it had put her a bit behind, plus the fact that Madison had pointed out afterward that Emma would need presents.
She arrived home finally around the same time Horatio did. As she got out of the car, she immediately started to apologize, “I’m so sorry… I haven’t made dinner yet… We were out…and-”
Horatio smiled as he shut the door to his vehicle, “Its fine,” he assured as he opened the back driver’s side door and got Emma out of her car seat. “How’s my little girl today?” he asked as he kissed Emma’s cheek.
Madison found her uncle’s side as she filled him in on everything they did. “We got balloons and a little helium tank… Oh! And Calleigh says we can have a piñata for my birthday!”
“That sounds really great,” Horatio said smiling down at his niece. “Why don’t we order in today? Hmmm? It’ll be easy…”
“Can we have pizza?” Madison asked.
Calleigh smiled feeling a bit relieved as they got to the front door and she managed to open it, “Sounds fine to me…”
*~*~*
“Uncle Horatio?” Madison asked as she twirled her pizza crust around in ranch dressing on her plate. Her uncle had offered her marinara sauce, but she found ranch much more pleasing.
“Yes, Honey?”
Madison felt odd asking, but felt like she should know. “My mom…she’s in jail, isn’t she?” She knew that her mother had done horrible things. She had been on drugs for a long time, had gotten off of them when they met Horatio, but then she was back to her old habits again. She still felt bad about her mother coming to the house and banging on the windows. Horatio and Calleigh hadn’t said anything, but she knew her mother was the reason that Sheryl got hurt and that Emma had been taken away…
Horatio looked over at Calleigh, who looked shocked at the random questioning, but knew that it was best to be truthful in the situation. “Yes, Madison…I’m afraid she is…”
“Does that mean that I get to stay here with you and Calleigh forever?” Madison questioned looking over and seeing Calleigh looked a bit nervous. “You do want to keep me, right?”
“Of course we do, Honey,” Calleigh said quickly when she saw that Madison was looking her way. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Madison, she did, it was Suzie Barnham that Calleigh was nervous about. The woman had threatened her family, and she didn’t want it to happen again in any shape or form.
Horatio reached out and took Madison’s hand and squeezed it, “Your mom has to see the judge and it’s going to take them a while to talk…but then once the judge has decided what’s going to happen to your mom, then we can talk about you being permanently part of our family.”
“Do I have to speak to the judge?”
“Only if you want to,” Horatio assured. “You will have to talk to the judge, though, when they make you apart of our family.”
“Okay.”
*~*~*
“Happy birthday, Baby,” Calleigh whispered into Emma’s ear as the group finished singing. She leaned over the toddler’s shoulder and helped her blow out the candles. She kissed her cheek and then clapped with the others. She smiled brightly down at Emma as she clapped along too. That morning Calleigh had felt awful, she had had memories of giving birth to her little girl, and as much as she wanted it to all be special…it had been down right terrifying… But she wouldn’t take any of it back… Her Emma was well worth it all. With all of her friends and family there, it felt so special and there was so much love.
Love radiated through the room as Alexx helped cut the birthday cake and started to pass around pieces on Finding Nemo cake plates.
As Emma ate her cake with Madison, Ray Jr., and Alexx’s kids, Calleigh walked through the room knowing that Sheryl was watching the kids. Calleigh found her father talking to Horatio as the two ate cake. “Hey…there y’all are… Hiding off in halls, are we?” she asked before taking a bit of her cake.
Kenwall smiled, “No, no…Horatio and I were just talking about how we should do this for Thanksgiving and Christmas…” He reached out and pushed some of Calleigh’s golden locks off of her shoulder. “Did you invite your mother and your brothers to your weddin’? It’s comin’ up here, isn’t it?”
Calleigh smiled, and started to wonder if that had been the original line of questioning. “I’ve sent them invitations…and I’ve even offered to pay for the flights and hotel rooms… They should be getting there today or tomorrow…”
“I hope they come…for you… They should see your happy day, and see your precious little girl. That angel…she is what I live for, Darlin’. You and that angel is why I stay sober…” he whispered and put his arm around her pulling her close before pressing a kiss to her head.”
“I’m glad, Daddy…” she whispered.
*~*~*
TBC…
Author’s Notes: None
*~*~*
Calleigh quietly made breakfast; they had decided to just let Madison have the week off of school. Without their household being on a normal schedule, it made things hard on everyone. “Horatio!” Calleigh called, “You’re going to be late! You told Frank twenty minutes…” She shook her head as she poured his coffee into a traveler’s mug and set a piece of buttered toast on top. There was no way she could ask Horatio to stay home from work. She’d have to return next week as it was, so she didn’t mind spending time with the girls. He had been hesitant at first, but she reminded him that she could take care of herself.
Emma was safely strapped into her high chair. Calleigh had thought about moving her to a booster seat, but since Emma hadn’t quite outgrown her chair, Calleigh didn’t see any point yet. She had already fed the toddler, and had eaten herself. She was making Madison’s breakfast when Horatio came through the kitchen, pulling his jacket on. “You’re gonna be late…and then you know who Frank’s gonna blame?” she said before kissing him.
“He’s married…has kids,” Horatio reminded before kissing Calleigh again. “I’ll call him to let him know I’m on my way though.” He smiled and took the toast and the coffee travel mug from the counter, “Thank you, Sweetheart.”
Calleigh smiled, “Make sure you’re home for dinner…” It was something that she’d tried to impress; it wasn’t only for her…but for the girls, too. “Love ya, Handsome.”
“Love you.”
“Bye Daddy!” Emma said waving as she picked up a Cherrio that was on her highchair tray and then popped it into her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Honey,” Horatio apologized with a smile. He loved when Emma talked to him. He walked over to her and dropped a kiss onto the top of her head. Love you. See you later, Emma.” He smiled, “Take care of your Mom for me.” Straightening he turned to Calleigh and then headed out.
Just as the door shut, it closed again. “What’d ya forget?” Calleigh asked as she turned back around to see what her fiancée wanted. But instead of Horatio, she found Sheryl in the kitchen with her. The girl wasn’t supposed to be working until Monday.
“Awww man! No more Coco Krispies! Those are my favorite!” Sheryl complained as she sat down and set her bag down on the chair beside her.
“You’re not supposed to be up and about until Monday,” Calleigh reminded before setting a bowl, spoon, and a box of cereal in front of Sheryl. The milk was already on the table. “I hadn’t expected you to be here until then.”
“I got bored,” Sheryl explained as she poured herself a bowl of Cherrios. She grabbed a banana from the bunch on the table and peeled it open. With her spoon, she cut the banana into manageable bite sized pieces and dumped them into the bowl. She poured milk over it all to top it all off.
Calleigh went back to making eggs and pancakes for Madison’s breakfast, “I had planned on taking the girls out… With Emma’s birthday comin’ up and all.”
“I LOVE shopping!” Sheryl exclaimed and looked over at Emma, “And Emma Turtle loves it, too!”
Emma giggled and held out a Cherrio to show Sheryl. “Sher here!” she said happily
“Such a good turtle!”
“Madison! Breakfast’s ready,” Calleigh called as she put the eggs and pancakes onto a plate for her before setting it onto the table in Madison’s place. She already had an empty glass and utensils set beforehand, so everything was ready when the girl got to the table.
*~*~*
Madison excitedly hurried about the party section of the store. “Are we going to get a lot of party stuff? Balloons, too?” she asked.
“I don’t know if we need to go that far,” Calleigh told them as she pushed the cart along, Emma in the child seat of it. Sheryl and Madison had seemed far more excited than she could have ever guessed. Though, they had gone more than a year without really celebrating things, so she could understand why they were.
“Awww…the turtle’s gotta have balloons!” Sheryl complained.
“So, does that mean we’re having a Finding Nemo party?” Calleigh wondered. She knew that that was a movie that her daughter seemed to enjoy, though so did Sheryl and Madison. All she knew was that it involved fish and turtles… She hadn’t had time to sit down and watch it with Emma. Though, she figured that was because she would much rather read to Emma, rock her, and cuddle with her beautiful girl rather than being hypnotized by cartoon fish.
“Ooooo can we?!” Sheryl asked.
Madison quickly found the Finding Nemo section, “Look! They have the stuff!” She started to pull things off of the shelf and putting them into the shopping cart, “Oh! Can we have a piñata, too?!”
“We’re not going to have many kids at the party…” Calleigh reminded. “How about we get the balloons and the other party things? Maybe when it’s your birthday in a couple months we can have one, okay?”
“Cool!”
*~*~*
Dinner came faster than Calleigh had realized, and she ended up pushing to get dinner done on time. She had taken Sheryl home not thinking that she should drive. She had been okay for the first few hours, but then Calleigh thought that she really needed to sleep. So, it had put her a bit behind, plus the fact that Madison had pointed out afterward that Emma would need presents.
She arrived home finally around the same time Horatio did. As she got out of the car, she immediately started to apologize, “I’m so sorry… I haven’t made dinner yet… We were out…and-”
Horatio smiled as he shut the door to his vehicle, “Its fine,” he assured as he opened the back driver’s side door and got Emma out of her car seat. “How’s my little girl today?” he asked as he kissed Emma’s cheek.
Madison found her uncle’s side as she filled him in on everything they did. “We got balloons and a little helium tank… Oh! And Calleigh says we can have a piñata for my birthday!”
“That sounds really great,” Horatio said smiling down at his niece. “Why don’t we order in today? Hmmm? It’ll be easy…”
“Can we have pizza?” Madison asked.
Calleigh smiled feeling a bit relieved as they got to the front door and she managed to open it, “Sounds fine to me…”
*~*~*
“Uncle Horatio?” Madison asked as she twirled her pizza crust around in ranch dressing on her plate. Her uncle had offered her marinara sauce, but she found ranch much more pleasing.
“Yes, Honey?”
Madison felt odd asking, but felt like she should know. “My mom…she’s in jail, isn’t she?” She knew that her mother had done horrible things. She had been on drugs for a long time, had gotten off of them when they met Horatio, but then she was back to her old habits again. She still felt bad about her mother coming to the house and banging on the windows. Horatio and Calleigh hadn’t said anything, but she knew her mother was the reason that Sheryl got hurt and that Emma had been taken away…
Horatio looked over at Calleigh, who looked shocked at the random questioning, but knew that it was best to be truthful in the situation. “Yes, Madison…I’m afraid she is…”
“Does that mean that I get to stay here with you and Calleigh forever?” Madison questioned looking over and seeing Calleigh looked a bit nervous. “You do want to keep me, right?”
“Of course we do, Honey,” Calleigh said quickly when she saw that Madison was looking her way. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Madison, she did, it was Suzie Barnham that Calleigh was nervous about. The woman had threatened her family, and she didn’t want it to happen again in any shape or form.
Horatio reached out and took Madison’s hand and squeezed it, “Your mom has to see the judge and it’s going to take them a while to talk…but then once the judge has decided what’s going to happen to your mom, then we can talk about you being permanently part of our family.”
“Do I have to speak to the judge?”
“Only if you want to,” Horatio assured. “You will have to talk to the judge, though, when they make you apart of our family.”
“Okay.”
*~*~*
“Happy birthday, Baby,” Calleigh whispered into Emma’s ear as the group finished singing. She leaned over the toddler’s shoulder and helped her blow out the candles. She kissed her cheek and then clapped with the others. She smiled brightly down at Emma as she clapped along too. That morning Calleigh had felt awful, she had had memories of giving birth to her little girl, and as much as she wanted it to all be special…it had been down right terrifying… But she wouldn’t take any of it back… Her Emma was well worth it all. With all of her friends and family there, it felt so special and there was so much love.
Love radiated through the room as Alexx helped cut the birthday cake and started to pass around pieces on Finding Nemo cake plates.
As Emma ate her cake with Madison, Ray Jr., and Alexx’s kids, Calleigh walked through the room knowing that Sheryl was watching the kids. Calleigh found her father talking to Horatio as the two ate cake. “Hey…there y’all are… Hiding off in halls, are we?” she asked before taking a bit of her cake.
Kenwall smiled, “No, no…Horatio and I were just talking about how we should do this for Thanksgiving and Christmas…” He reached out and pushed some of Calleigh’s golden locks off of her shoulder. “Did you invite your mother and your brothers to your weddin’? It’s comin’ up here, isn’t it?”
Calleigh smiled, and started to wonder if that had been the original line of questioning. “I’ve sent them invitations…and I’ve even offered to pay for the flights and hotel rooms… They should be getting there today or tomorrow…”
“I hope they come…for you… They should see your happy day, and see your precious little girl. That angel…she is what I live for, Darlin’. You and that angel is why I stay sober…” he whispered and put his arm around her pulling her close before pressing a kiss to her head.”
“I’m glad, Daddy…” she whispered.
*~*~*
TBC…