The days melted together and seemed to become one. I spent days cleaning and cooking while the boys were outside. Jimmy and Tommy had not gotten into another fight, but Tommy kept that stupid smirk on his lips. Jimmy and I would always go to our room after dinner and he would talk about our sons.
Days passed by. Possibly even weeks. Maybe even months.
I had lost track of time. I was happy with my daily routine. There were no more fights, I hadn't gotten in trouble, Tommy didn't touch me, and they did not go out hunting. Life seemed perfect to me. They were my loving family that gave me a happy home.
We were sitting at the table after dinner one day, and that was when I realized how much time had passed by. I was at the sink washing the dishes and Charles was going through their mail.
"Here's a letter from Taylor," he said.
My hands stayed in the water, but I turned my head so that I could see him rip open the envelope. He pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. I continued to wash the dishes as he silently read.
"What is it?" Jimmy asked. His voice was soft and concerned.
I could not see Charles' face, but from the tone of Jimmy's voice I could tell that it was not good news.
"Emme had his baby," he said. "It was a girl."
My stomach twisted into a knot. The plate that I was washing slipped from my hand and into the water. I gasped and picked it up praying that it did not crack.
"Better luck next time," Tommy said.
"You seriously can't say that," Jimmy said.
"Oh, come on," Tommy said. "It took Gabe and Lindsay like two years to get Jared. They obviously weren't doing it right."
"You don't know that."
"All I know is that Taylor - unlike you - actually got his girl pregnant."
"Thomas!" Charles said.
I had not turned around while they were arguing. A chair screeched across the floor.
"It's been almost six months, Jim," Tommy said. "But to be fair, we all expected that from you."
Another chair was knocked over. I turned around to see Jimmy leaning over the table. Charles held up his hand to silence them.
"That's it," Charles said. "Thomas, go up to your room. You too, James. I don't want to hear another word from either of you or there will be severe consequences. Understand?"
They both nodded. Tommy ran up the stairs. When Jimmy heard Tommy's door slam shut, he went upstairs. I picked up the dish towel and began drying the dishes. Charles let out a deep breath and sank back in his chair and shook his head. He pulled out his book and began reading.
Charles hadn't said anything as I put away the dishes. When I walked past the table, I picked up the chair that Jimmy had knocked over. Charles watched me as I walked over to the stairs.
"Juliet," he called out.
I turned on my heels. "Yes?"
"Come here," he said, gesturing over to the chair that I had just picked up. "I want to talk to you for a bit."
"Okay," I said as I walked.
I pulled out the chair, and Charles set his book down on the table. I pulled at the sleeves of the sweater that Jimmy had given me. Talking to Charles always made me nervous.
"Now, I know that women in the outside world do things differently," he said. "I just want to make sure that you have not done anything to stop yourself from having children."
"I don't understand," I said.
"I know that women mess with nature," he said. "I just want to make sure you have not had any kind of surgeries or done anything to ruin your body. If you have, you need to tell Jimmy and he'll have to figure out what to do with you."
My heart pounded in my chest. I shook my head.
"No," I said. "Not at all."
"Good," Charles said with a smile. "It would be a shame for him to have such a good girl like you and not be able to have any sons."
"It just takes a bit sometimes."
"You two are having sex, aren't you?"
My jaw dropped at his question. I was not expecting Charles to ask me something like that.
"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, we are."
"That's good," he said. "You are right. Sometimes it takes a bit of time, but remember how patient we are with you. Patience can run thin quickly."
"I'll remember that."
"Good. Now, go upstairs and spend time with Jimmy."
"Thank you."
"Have a nice night."
He picked up his novel and continued to read. I hurried up the stairs. I went down the hall, and I was happy to get away from that conversation.
When I walked into our bedroom, Jimmy was lying across the bed with a book in his hand and his other arm behind his head. He set down the book. He cocked his head to the side to motion for me to come closer. I laid down on the bed next to him.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"Your Dad was talking to me," I said.
"About what?"
"Just about our sons."
Jimmy chuckled and propped himself up on his elbow.
"Want to try again?" he asked.
I giggled and nodded my head as he leaned down and kissed me.
---
I struggled to fall asleep. All I could think about was Emme and her baby. She must have cried so hard when she discovered that it was a girl. I wondered if she begged and pleaded for Taylor to let her keep her baby. I know that is what I would have done.
I could not imagine Jimmy killing our baby. He's much more sensitive than the rest of the family. I would stand a chance of being able to keep my daughter. If we lived in a different house, Jimmy would not have to listen to Charles.
--
It was dark outside, and the boys had not come inside yet. Dinner was warming in the oven. I pulled the multi-colored crochet blanket off of the back of the couch and wrapped it around my shoulders. I curled up into a ball on the couch. I picked up one of the novels off of the end table and flipped through the pages.
I was never into reading, but I liked it when Jimmy read to me. He had not read to me since when I first came here. I hoped that he would do it again soon, but I was too afraid to ask.
The door creaked open, and there was a clicking noise making its way across the house. I lowered the book and there was a large weight on top of me. Something wet ran up my face and I threw my hands out to feel something soft.
There was a dog on my lap.
"I see you've met Buster, Jules," Tommy said.
I pulled my face away from the dog licking me. It was a large yellow labrador with soft golden fur. Drool was dripping out of his mouth and he had a red collar on.
"Buster?" I asked.
"Yeah, that is what his collar says," he said. He reached out for the dog's collar and twisted it so that the metal was in his hands. I saw BUSTER written across the tarnished metal.
The door opened again, and Buster jumped off of my lap and ran across the house. Fine strands of the dog's fur were covering my black sweater and the couch. I cursed under my breath when I thought about having to clean that every day.
"Hey there," I could hear Jimmy say.
I got up off the couch and went into the kitchen. Jimmy was sitting on the floor and petting Buster. The dog rolled over onto his back so that Jimmy was rubbing his belly. The door opened and Charles walked in.
"The dog may be a new part of our family," Charles said, "but he is not staying in the house all the time."
I sighed in relief to know I would not spend every day cleaning dog fur. A door slammed shut and Tommy walked back into the kitchen. I realized that he must have been in the basement. He dropped a bone onto the floor.
The basement is where they had dragged people down when they had come onto the property. The last people they had brought down were those hitchhikers a few months ago. I did not think that they would keep the bones.
"He's sleeping out in the yard," Charles said. "He can stay out with the chickens. And he only eats after us. We're running low on food and we are not wasting it on an animal."
"Yeah, for sure," Jimmy said, getting up off of the floor.
"He can eat the bones, Dad," Tommy said. "We don't use them and they are all that dogs need."
"We'll see about that," Charles said. "Is dinner ready, Juliet?"
"It's waiting in the oven," I said.
"Good," he said. "Now, boys, get washed up for dinner."
I went over to the cupboard and started to set the table. They all went upstairs, and the dog stayed down with me. He followed me as I pulled the roast out of the oven. I almost tripped on him as I carried it over to the table.
Buster abandoned me when Jimmy came back down the stairs. He ran over to Jimmy, and Jimmy scratched him behind his ear.
"He's cute, isn't he?" Jimmy said.
"Yes he is," I said. "Your Dad said we're low on food, so wouldn't we...well...you know...with the dog..."
Jimmy laughed at me as I trailed off. He shook his head and continued to scratch the dog.
"Come on, Julie," he said. "We're not monsters."