Picking Up The Pieces (Working Title)

Hadley Smith

By the time Eden was done with me, I’d most definitely gotten over the nerves that seemed to come with the idea of sex. Oh, and I had three missed calls from Mom and a voice message from John asking when I was picking Lily up. Eden was in the shower while I was trying to get my brain to function enough to get dressed and drive to pick up the kids. She’d invited me to join her but I’d politely declined. It’s not that I didn’t want to, it’s just the last sexual dream I’d had about Maxxie had been in the shower. I managed to get dressed and let Eden know I was getting the kids, asking her to please be dressed when I got back. She promised me she would be but said she couldn’t make any promises for once the kids had gone to bed. I stopped by John’s first, figuring Mom would want to chat. Long story short, keeping two girls occupied had tired him out and he’d sat them down in front of the TV so he could have a nap. Now I know what you’re thinking, I should probably have a go at him for leaving my daughter unoccupied, but c’mon, Lily and Beau aren’t stupid. I sat and had some coffee, thanking him once we were done and telling him I was more than happy to watch Beau if he ever needed a break.

I took Lily’s hand as we walked to Mom’s. Like usual, the front door was unlocked from the outside and the two of us walked right on in.

“I told you to lock the door, Mom” I said and I shut the door behind me.

“Hadley, we’re not about to get robbed” Mom insisted from the dining table.

I let go of Lily’s hand and she went and sat on Dad’s lap, earning herself a hug and some entertainment while I got Danny. I made my way into the dining room and sat down opposite Danny and watching as him and Mom played Monopoly. Of course my baby was winning.

“Mom, we’re living in tough times” I said.

“Hadley, we live in a quiet little suburb where everyone knows everyone’s business. We’re not going to get robbed. And if we do, we’ve got insurance.

“I was more concerned about you guys getting hurt” I frowned and Mom smiled.

“Hear that, Eric? Hadley’s worried about is” she called over to Dad.

“How sweet” Dad chuckled, playing some game with Lily.

I frowned again. “You don’t have to make fun of me”

“We’re your parents, it’s our job to make fun of you” Mom smiled, leaning over and kissing my cheek. A small frown creased her brow. “You smell funny”

“Do I? Must just be Eden’s perfume” I said, chuckling and rubbing the back of my neck kind of nervously.

“No, it’s not perfume” Mom said, full on sniffing me.

“Mom” I whined, but apparently she didn’t care.

“Hadley Smith” she said sternly when she realised I stank of sex and not perfume. “I thought you’d have a little more patience”

“Mom” I whined again, blushing.

“At the very least, I’d have liked to have met her before you stuck your-”

“Mom” I said sternly. “Remember who else is here” I glanced at Danny and she followed my gaze.

“Oh, it’s nothing they won’t learn in school”

“You can give them the talk, then”

“I’ll do it now, if you want”

“Mother, I am taking my children home now before you poison their minds”

“I’m not poisoning their minds, I’m teaching them things they need to know in life”

“Well Danny doesn’t need to know how to father a child yet. C’mon, sport” I said, standing up, and Danny slipped off his seat, following me into the living room.

Lily said bye to Dad, same as me and Danny, and the three of us headed out to the car with Mom not far behind. She waited til I’d gotten the kids strapped in to speak to me.

“You are okay, aren’t you?” she asked cautiously.

“I’m fine, Mom”

“And you’re happy?”

“As happy as I can be given the circumstances”

“I know we’ve had our rough patches, but I’m still your mother and I still care about you. I don’t want you to do anything stupid, y’know?”

“I won’t, Mom” I smiled.

“And bring this girl over for dinner sometime before you get her pregnant, would you?” Mom laughed as I blushed.

“I’m not gonna get her pregnant, Mom”

“Use protection” she said sternly as I got in the car.

“I will, Mom”

Danny and Lily waved at Mom as we drove off and she waved back. The two kids eagerly told me what they’d been up to for their couple days away from home. Lily had ultimately had more fun, but Danny had been spoilt rotten by my parents. Thankfully they’d both been fed and were starting to get tired. By the time we got home, Lily was pretty much asleep and Danny wasn’t far off. I picked Lily up, taking Danny’s hand in mine and heading inside. Eden was in one of my t-shirts again but she’d put on a pair of jeans this time. She flashed me a smile, laughing a little when she saw the state the kids were in. I carried Lily upstairs, still holding Danny’s hands, and got the both of them into their pyjamas, tucking them in. I made my way back to Eden, flopping onto the couch and resting my head on her shoulder.

“Bed?” she asked, playing with my hair.

“Yeah” I said, yawning a little.

The two of us got up, heading for the bedroom. I stripped down to my boxers and Eden pulled her jeans off, sliding into bed and snuggling up to me. I kissed the top of her head, yawning again and falling asleep in her arms. I hope she hadn’t been planning on getting some action before bed.