To Love, Honor and Cherish

by Timothy Paterson

  Chapter 6

  On the Monday after Thanksgiving, Betty and her family moved into Joe’s house. They did not have much furniture, so all of their belongings fit onto one small truck. They were settled in by that evening.

  At first, Betty did not want to have the master bedroom. She thought that Joe should have it. Joe told her that it was too soon after his parents had died, and that she needed a place to get away from the kids occasionally.

  Joe had fixed up the master bedroom to look like a hotel suite. Besides a king sized bed, there was a small table with chairs, an overstuffed chair, a dressing table, a chest of drawers, a huge walk-in closet, a small refrigerator and an automatic coffee maker and a small sink. The bedroom also had a private bath with a Jacuzzi as well as a shower.

  Mary was given the room next to her mother’s room, also with a private bath. Matt got the other room with a private bath. The four younger boys shared two of the other rooms, with Mark and Luke in one and Paul and John in the other. The empty room on the other side of Betty’s room would be the nursery for the baby when it was born. Joe kept the room that he had lived in since he was a small boy.

  That night, after they were all settled in, and had eaten dinner, Betty told the children to go to bed and get a good night’s rest. She and Joe talked for another hour or so before they retired for the evening.

  The next morning, Betty got her kids up at 7AM to get ready for their first day at their new school. When the kids went downstairs, they found that Joe had breakfast all ready for them. He had made pancakes and scrambled eggs. They also had milk and fruit. Joe had made coffee for Betty and himself.

  After breakfast, they headed to their new schools in their van. Luke and Mark were very excited. Luke was in the first grade and Mark was in the third grade. Matt and Mary, however, were a little nervous about starting a new school. Matt was in the sixth grade and Mary was in the eighth grade. They had only been to their previous school for 3 months. Now, they had to start yet another school. They would both be going to the same middle school.

  Joe tried to help them relax, by telling them stories about himself when he went to the same middle school years earlier. Before long, he had them laughing and they became less nervous.

  When Betty registered the kids at the schools, everything went very smoothly. She had called the previous school and they had transferred the school records to the new schools. Joe had called the schools and talked with the principals. Because Joe had been so popular and well liked when he was in school; the staff was very helpful in getting his children to feel at home in their new classrooms.

  That afternoon, the four school-aged children rode the buses home. Joe had written down the address of the house and he had given the address to the bus drivers, so that the kids would get off at the right stop.

  On the first day, Matt and Mary came home with a lot of homework. They were behind in schoolwork and had to do a lot of it at home, so they could catch up with the rest of their classes. Joe and their mother helped them get caught up, and by the end of the semester, they were in the top third of their classes.

  The family soon fell into a comfortable daily routine. Joe got up at 5:15 and had breakfast ready for the kids when they got up at 6:00. After breakfast, the kids brushed their teeth and got dressed. The school buses for both the middle school and the elementary school came around 7:30. Matt and Mary waited at the corner for their bus and Luke and Mark waited in front of their house for their bus, with Joe, Paul and John waiting with them.

  Betty got home from the hospital between 7:30 and 8:00 and she took care of John and Paul while Joe attended class at the university. Joe had graduated from high school at age 16 and had already taken quite a few college courses while still in high school. He had also been allowed to take the final exams for some college classes for credit. Joe was very gifted when it came to academics. He also had a photographic memory. He would have his bachelor degree in Business Administration by the time he was nineteen.

  When John and Paul took naps, Betty also took a nap. She also took care of the house and prepared dinner.

  The four oldest kids were home from school by 4:00 and Joe was usually home from school by 4:00-4:30. After an early dinner, Betty slept until 10:00pm. Joe and the older kids cleaned up the kitchen and Joe helped with homework and watched the younger ones.

  While the older kids were taking showers and getting ready for bed, Joe gave the younger ones baths and got them into their pajamas. After all the kids had brushed their teeth, they were in bed by 9:00pm.

  Joe then studied for his classes for a couple of hours before going to bed. Betty got up at 10:00 and was off to the hospital by 10:30. She worked from 11pm to 7am. Joe was home all night, and was there to comfort any of the kids if they were sick or had bad dreams.

  On the days when Joe did not have classes, he worked at the SaraCom building. Only a few executives knew that Joe was the CEO and president. To everybody else, he was just another employee. Joe was a genius when it came to computers, just as his dad had been. Joe frequently took some work home with him on weekends and worked on his computer at home.

  On Saturday mornings, Matt and Mary slept in, while Joe watched the younger children.

  When Betty got off work, she went home and slept until noon. Joe and the kids cleaned the house, made breakfast and lunch. In the afternoons, the family played games or went to the park. Saturday dinners were usually takeout such as pizza or Chinese food so that Joe and Betty got a break from cooking. In the evenings, they might watch a video or go to an early movie at the theater.

  On Sunday mornings, they all went to church together. Since the Rogers family and Joe were all Lutherans, Betty and her family became members of the church that Joe had been going to since he was a child. After the church service, the older children went to Sunday school, while Paul played in the nursery. Joe and Betty attended adult bible study.

  After church, the family would spend the day relaxing, sometimes going to the beach, or going on picnics or visiting state parks.

  Betty and the children liked living with Joe and Joe felt like he was part of their family. He felt like he now belonged somewhere. He could not imagine life getting much better.