Chapter 191: Prom
*High school is about finding who you are, because that’s more important than trying to be someone else. – Nick Jonas*
Cheryl and Waylon were sitting at the island in the little house, both looking tired and bleary eyed when Reese came down the hall. He busted out laughing when he circled the island to the coffee pot and found an equally tired Monster lying on the floor. His head lifted and his little stubby tail gave a few small wags.
“Do I dare ask?” Reese chuckled as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“You could have gotten them a hotel room.” His daughter complained.
“Oh….” Smirking behind his coffee cup, eyes twinkling through the steam, he leaned against the counter. “Why?”
Waylon cursed softly as he ran his hand through his short hair. They both still wore their pajamas and house shoes. Hers was a lightweight short set with pink and blue hearts and cupcakes all over them with the instructions of “… mix with love and bake for 9 months” on the sleeveless shirt. His was a pair of black and red buffalo print pants and an old Cal Fire shirt from a deployment a few years back.
In contrast, Reese was already showered and dressed for the day in his gray chinos and a dark blue Polo shirt. His hair was slightly darker from being wet and his silver seemed to shine even brighter.
“It was her senior prom. JD got here at four yesterday afternoon and has to leave at ten this morning to get back in time. They didn’t have much time together.” Reese pointed out to the couple.
“Trust me, they used the time that they had.” Waylon grumbled.
“They’re teenaged newlyweds, that have had less than a month together in the what four or five months that they’ve been married. What did you think they were going to do? Play cards?”
Cheryl took a deep breath and let it out on an equally deep sigh. “Fine. *We* should have gone to a hotel.”
“Or your own house.” Helen suggested as she took the coffee from Reese.
He scowled at her in her flowing purple skirt and pale violet sweater. Dark purple ropes peeked out from the neckline. Wrapping his arms around his wife, he lightly nibbled her neck before tugging the sweater over the ropes and resting his chin on her head.
Monster belly crawled closer to Helen and then rested his tired head on her foot. In just a few minutes, his light snores circled around the room. Helen and Reese both looked down before settling into an light embrace.
Cheryl smiled at the easy companionship between her father and his wife. “We promised her that we wouldn’t move out before she graduated.”
Helen eyed her stepdaughter and gave a small smile. “One night is not moving out. Besides, you need your sleep.”
“Yeah, the little gymnast is not helping any at all.” She leaned back and rubbed her belly.
“Try having three.” Helen laughed.
“Thanks, no.” the younger woman shook her head and a small shiver ran down her spine at the thought.
“I don’t think that I could handle her being pregnant for twenty-seven months.” Waylon said with a straight face.
Cheryl looked at him and he had to avert his eyes before he started laughing. “You’re an idiot.”
Smiling at his wife, Waylon leaned over and kissed her lightly. “And you married me. What does that say about you?”
“I was out of mind, crazy, stupid, in love with an idiot.”
“Awwe, you love me.” He grinned.
“I’m just waiting to cash on that insurance policy.” She teased and he laughed.
“Better buy one.” Waylon suggested with a teasing grin. “That little gymnast is the beneficiary now.”
“Good. She’s starting tumbling lessons at six months.” Cheryl adjusted as the baby moved, a slight grunt escaped as a strong limb connected with her ribs. “Okay, Simone Biles the second! Chill out in there.”
“Don’t miss those days.” Helen laughed as she handed the nearly empty coffee cup back to her husband and headed down the hall towards the nursery. Monster stood up, ready to follow his beloved Helen.
“I don’t know.” Reese grabbed her hand and pulled her back so he could kiss her. “There were some great nights when I got kicked and you swore that it was the babies.”
“It was. I couldn’t even see my legs at that point, much less move them enough to kick anyone.” She gave him a soft smile and then left the kitchen. The dog trotted happily after her with the short nails giving light tip tap sounds as they disappeared down the hall.
“You two are sick.” Cheryl teased her dad.
“How do you figure that?”
“You both have grown children, in about six weeks even Dean will be out doing whatever teenaged newlyweds do-“
“If you don’t know what they were doing, I’m not telling you.” Waylon interrupted and she gave him a dirty look before she continued. “But I’ll give you a hint, it’s how we got the little gymnast.”
Cheryl scoffed at him and gave a gentle nudge against his shoulder with her own. “I know what they were doing last night. We had front row seats to the concert of screams and moans.”
“Better you than me.” Reese refilled his coffee cup. “But now you see why I went with the house that had a guest house in Gulfport.”
“Smart man.” Waylon and Reese tapped their coffee cups together in salute.
“Anyway, continue on, darling child of mine, and tell me why I’m sick.”
“Well, you two could simply retire, travel the world and fuck like horny rabbits –“
“I like your retirement plan.” Reese grinned.
“Can this be our retirement plan too?” Waylon asked.
Cheryl flipped off both men before continuing. “But you’re not doing that. You’re starting over with three babies.”
“Although I do like your suggestions,” Reese grinned, “and I’m pretty sure that’s how you ended up with much younger siblings, I would not trade any of my children. The ones I fathered, or the ones I claimed.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” Cheryl grinned at her dad. “I also know that my little gymnast will be spoiled beyond compare.”
“All of our grandkids will be only slightly spoiled.” He pushed off from the counter.
“Only slightly?” she asked.
“Yes. Only slightly. I plan on keeping them in the fridge in Tupperware the rest of the time. It reduces the chances of spoilage.”
He walked out of the kitchen listening to his daughter laugh at the memory. Heather had complained that he was spoiling all three of the kids. Reese had countered that the boys had lost their dad and Cheryl had lost her stepdad, a little spoilage was allowed.
Heather’s mom, walking into the kitchen at the end of the conversation, suggested Tupperware to prevent additional spoilage. She even offered the name of a friend who still had Tupperware parties. Unsure of what to say, Heather simply nodded and found herself hosting a Tupperware party a month before the second anniversary her husband’s death.
“Just cremate my ass and put my ashes in a damned Tupperware container.” Heather had teased Reese after the party.
“I was wondering what I was going to do with the container set that I bought.”
The set had been given to Cheryl after she moved out to Colorado for college. Her roommates had worried when she pulled out a container marked *MOM’S ASHES* and insisted that it really did hold sugar. And the one marked *DAD’S ASHES* held flour.
“What are you grinning about?” Helen asked as he stepped over the large dog and entered the nursery.
Helen sat in one of the rocking chairs with Jagger in her lap. Gigi sat on the floor with the two girls who smiled up at their father. Janelle quickly began to crawl towards the large man. Monster lay in the doorway to the hall, ensuring that the babies did not sneak out while Helen and Gigi were busy with one of the other babies.
“Tupperware.” Reese admitted as he scooped up Janelle. “Where are you going, little one?”
“Da-da!” she answered happily.
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