Take a Chance

by Simone Jaine

  She was glad the heat pump on the other side of the room had a remote control so she didn’t have to risk injury to turn it on. Still shivering, Jem picked up the console sitting on the breakfast bar and pressed the on button. A barely discernable sigh indicated the heat pump had started.

  Leaving her shoulder bag on the breakfast bar, Jem picked up her suitcase and kicked a path through the toys to the guest bedroom by the stairs. She set her suitcase on the bed and took a towel from the ensuite, blotted her face then unclipped her hair and rubbed it until it stopped dripping. Then she peeled off her damp clothes in favour of ugg boots, thick socks, jeans, a navy skivvy and matching jersey from her suitcase.

  She went back into the family room and saw through the partially open pocket doors a spread of toys in the lounge not much better than in the family room but at least with a navigable floor.

  Aidan thumping down the stairs in his Buzz Lightyear costume caught her attention.

  “We need to get you changed,” she told him, scooping him up.

  “No,” said Aidan, more from habit than meaning it.

  With Aidan resting on her hip, Jem climbed the stairs and used the remote clipped beside the hall light switch to turn on another heat pump to warm the upstairs rooms. The bedroom doors were all open and she was not surprised to see that all the children’s rooms were untidy.

  In addition to the toys scattered on the floors Jess must’ve been in the process of changing the beds as they were all stripped with fresh pairs of folded sheets and pillowcases sitting at the end of them.

  She turned her attention back to Aidan.

  “Buzz Lightyear doesn’t wear a wet uniform because he doesn’t want to smell mildewy when he dries,” Jem told him as she entered his room and put him down to retrieve dry clothes from his drawers.

  “What smell?” asked Aidan.

  “A yucky smell,” Jem answered simply, screwing up her nose for effect as she dropped to her knees in front of him.

  “Yucky,” Aidan agreed and started tugging his sleeves off his arms.

  With his cooperation she got him changed quickly and the moment she let him go after his head was through his sweatshirt he disappeared out the door.

  “You’re welcome,” she said towards the empty doorway.

  As she stood up, Aidan raced back in, threw his arms in a hug around her legs and kissed her knees. Then he ran out of the room again.

  With a small smile on her face she gathered the wet clothes from the bedrooms but found the clothes hamper missing from the upstairs bathroom.

  Bemused, Jem carried the clothes downstairs and added her wet work clothes to the pile in her arms. She headed to the laundry and on her way past the dining room noticed the ironing board set up with a large pile of items to be ironed sitting on the table nearby. She reached the laundry and was greeted by an overflowing hamper with the stripped sheets dumped beside it.

  She thought of how much work she had left behind in her office. There were things she still needed to do to impress Martha and possibly Nate to get the promotion yet here she was, stuck indefinitely looking after three children with enough housework to keep her fully occupied for a week and then it’d all need doing again.

  Annoyed with her sister for leaving so much unfinished, Jem angrily stuffed the clothes she was carrying into the washing machine and finished filling it with clothes from the hamper. Once sufficiently full she added washing powder and started it.

  From experience she knew that before she could continue working the children needed to be asleep in bed but before that could happen she needed to make up their beds, feed and bath them. Even if she could manage to do all that quickly their bedtime was hours away. Precious hours she needed to work.

  Frustrated, she kicked the washing machine with her ugg boot which made an unsatisfying dull thud so she kicked it again and left a small dent. Not wanting to cause more damage just because she was mad, Jem lifted the washing machine lid and let it slam down. That sound was much better so she lifted the lid and crashed it down a few more times to release her pent up anger.

  Lifting the lid again she spotted her work jacket swirling around in the soapy water as the washing machine filled. That and her skirt were dry clean only so she cursed and slid her sleeves up as she dragged the jacket out and fished around for her skirt. She dumped them both in the laundry tub and cursed again.

  Damn Jess. It will be all her fault if my suit is ruined. And if she costs me that promotion I’ll kill her.

  That thought suddenly reminded her of the reason why she was in Jess’s home, taking care of her children and doing the washing. Jem was immediately swamped with guilt for thinking such a thing and worrying over trivialities like a possible promotion while her sister was in hospital fighting for her life.

  She burst into tears and sank against the washing machine until she was sitting on the floor.

  Please Jess, I didn’t mean it.

  She sobbed, the sound drowned out by water still filling the washing machine. Drawing her knees up to her chest she cried for several minutes until she heard Daisy and Aidan fighting in the other room.

  Get it together. You haven’t even told them yet.

  Drawing in a few shaky breaths, Jem wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and patted down her pockets looking for a tissue to blow her nose. Not finding one she used the corner of a sheet on the floor beside her.

  “Aunty Jem!” Daisy bellowed from the other end of the house just as Aidan shrieked.

  Jem managed to get halfway down the hallway before Daisy barrelled into her.

  “Aidan’s got my fairy wand!” she complained and pulled on Jem’s hand, expecting her to sort the problem out to her satisfaction.

  Jem knew Aidan would drop the wand if no one paid any attention to him with it so decided to tackle the reason she was there instead.

  As they entered the family room she saw Aidan running around hitting things with Daisy’s wand. Jeremy appeared from the kitchen with his homework folder from his school bag.

  “I need to tell you all something,” she said. “How about you all come and sit with me on the couch.”

  Curious, the children obligingly helped her clear toys from the couch and sat down. As soon as Jem sat in the spot between Jeremy and Daisy, Aidan climbed over and settled on her lap.

  “What is it Aunty Jem?” Jeremy asked cheerfully.

  Jem gently explained that their mother had been in a car accident and was in hospital to get better so until she was Jem was staying to look after them.

  As she expected, the news went over Aidan’s head and upset Jeremy and Daisy.

  “Can we go see her?” Daisy asked, her brown eyes big and solemn.

  “Not at the moment. She’s very unwell. In a few days when she’s feeling better we will go and see her.”

  “She’s not going to die, is she?” Jeremy asked, alarmed.

  Jem didn’t want to tell them she didn’t know nor did she want to upset them so she crossed her fingers and told them their mother would be fine.

  “What if she’s in hospital for a very long time? Who’ll look after us then?” Jeremy demanded.

  “I’ll be here to look after you all for as long as I’m needed,” Jem promised. “Okay?”

  “Okay,” Jeremy replied, subdued.

  Aidan slid off her lap to play and Jem handed Daisy the wand he’d left behind.

  Just as she was about to get up, Jeremy tugged on her sleeve.

  “Aunty Jem, you have to listen to me read,” Jeremy told her.

  “I’d love to hear you read,” Jem said and watched attentively as he pulled his reader out from his homework folder.

  He opened the small book and Jem dutifully listened and tried to ignore the chaos in the room around her. Near the lounge doors Aidan and Daisy pulled more toys out from goodness knows where then started fighting over a fairy dress.

  Fortunately the story was short. Jem praised Jeremy’s reading and took the reading record book he hande
d her to the breakfast bar. Rolling her eyes when she couldn’t see any pens in the jar between the phone and note paper she grabbed her shoulder bag which she had left on the breakfast bar and selected a pen from the side pocket.

  After filling out the reading record book she looked around and discovered Jeremy was in the middle of a computer game.

  “Hang on a minute,” she told Jeremy. “Before you start playing on the computer you need to help tidy this room.”

  “That goes for all of you,” she added seeing Daisy drop the end of the fairy dress and slink out the door. “Daisy!”

  Daisy slowly came back into the room with her brown eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip quivering. Even her cute little brown pigtails seemed to sag and look forlorn.

  “There’s too much to do!” Daisy wailed.

  “Yeah!” said Jeremy and pointed at Aidan. “And he makes all the mess while I’m at school!”

  The object of his pointed finger had the fairy dress on inside-out and looked pleased with himself as he staggered around in dress-up high heels.

  Jem knew she’d have war on her hands if she insisted on complete tidiness so she decided to attempt a minor campaign instead.

  “I need to vacuum the lounge,” she said. “You need to clear every toy from the lounge while I make the beds upstairs and have finished by the time I come back down.”

  “Are you going to vacuum the family room too?” Jeremy asked.

  At that moment he looked suspiciously innocent and Jem sensed she’d opened her request to interpretation but couldn’t work out how. She blinked but the family room was still in chaos. It’d take a bobcat to clear it in an afternoon. “No, I’ll leave that until tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Come on you guys, help me,” Jeremy ordered. Daisy and Aidan reluctantly followed him.

  That seemed too easy but she wasn’t about to question the best thing that had happened all day so headed upstairs without further comment.

  She was only halfway through making up the second bed when she heard the sound of the computer game faintly in the background.

  How could they have finished already?

  Jem finished making the bed and dodged toys as she went down the stairs. She checked the lounge and they had indeed cleared it. Suspicious, she checked behind the couch and in the few cupboards and drawers the room contained. No toys. She went into the dining room which still contained the ironing and back into the kitchen. From her vantage point the number of toys in the family room appeared to have multiplied.

  “You haven’t put the toys away, you’ve just shifted them,” she muttered, annoyed with herself.

  Jeremy heard her and spun around on the swivel chair by the computer.

  “You aren’t vacuuming in here today and the other room is clear like you asked.”

  He shrugged then turned back to his game.

  Jem had to bite her lip to stop a smile of unwanted amusement showing. Now she knew what was wrong. She needed to be specific in her orders. She had heard Jessica bemoan many times how Jeremy would find the loophole in instructions and would exploit it. Okay, today they had put nothing away but the lounge had been cleared so she’d call it a draw.

  She left the kids to play and finished making the beds then came downstairs and moved towards to the kitchen. The first thing she noticed were numerous photos pinned to the noticeboard above the school bag hooks. How many times over the years had she seen the photos that she had no longer noticed them?

  As she got closer she started making out the details. There were snapshots from Jess and Jase’s wedding, including her favourite one of Jason hugging Jess to his side. There were photos of the children as babies and of them all participating in different activities. Whether Jess was hugging her newborn daughter with her long dark brown locks hanging untamed over her shoulders or scruffily dressed holding a paint roller, she grinned at the camera. It was an expression Jem knew well as her sister was one of the happiest people she knew.

  Jem crashed onto the bar stool, rested her elbows on the breakfast bar and dropped her head into her hands. A wave of guilt swallowed her for even unconsciously thinking her sister had purposely left her with so much to do. Only yesterday Jess had phoned her at work and laughingly listed tips to ensure promotion that she’d found in a magazine.

  Jem sucked in her top lip and bit down to prevent the tears forming. She hadn’t seen her father since she was a teenager, her mother was, to put it politely, emotionally unavailable and her younger brother was great but seldom around.

  If anything happened to Jess…

  She felt out of control of the situation which she didn’t like at all. She realised she needed to be doing something to prove she at least had a little control over her tiny corner of the universe, anything at all to keep busy and take her mind away from finishing that thought.

  Jem pulled her shoulder bag to her, withdrew her notepad and started furiously writing a list of things she needed to do around the house then another of work related things while they were still fresh in her mind. When she finally finished she dropped the pen and stretched her fingers.

  Fearing that seeing her sister’s face could set her to tears again, Jem studiously avoided looking at the noticeboard as she reread the first item on her list and got off the stool.

  As she tidied and cleaned she repeatedly had to point out toys for the children to pick up that had mysteriously escaped the family room without any of them knowing how that could have possibly happened.

  “That includes books,” she later added so Aidan backed up a truck to remove several Spot lift-the-flap books from the lounge while she was vacuuming.

  Since the sun was getting low in the sky Jem decided to give up the Herculean task of bringing order to the household. Instead she followed her nephew back to the family room where Jeremy was still attached to the computer and Daisy played with a herd of My Little Ponies.

  Jem steeled herself against the mess in front of her that plagued every anally tidy cell of her being. She would be looking after the children at least until Jason got back from Fiji which meant she wanted, no needed at least the lounge to be kept immaculate to hold onto her sanity.

  She thought quickly to remove any loophole from her requirements then clapped her hands to get the children’s attention. She gritted her teeth as Jeremy took his time to pause his game before turning around.

  “Okay, listen up. From now on no toys, books or other objects are to be taken into the lounge. It needs to be kept clear of all kid’s things,” she announced. “Also, from now on anything you get out, you put away where it belongs when you have finished with it. Is that clear?”

  She waited for the reluctant affirmatives from all three children. Satisfied, she swept aside toys with her feet to create a path to the kitchen where she could consult her list. Despite being in Jess’s home a couple of hours she’d barely made a dent in what needed to be done.

  With numerous tasks on her mind to do before phoning their mother to tell her about Jess, Jem stepped back and tripped over something behind her which yowled. Grabbing the edge of the kitchen bench for balance she steadied herself and looked around to see an overweight, indignant ginger cat sitting in front of the fridge swishing his tail. How could she have forgotten Drongo?

  The cat had adopted Jess and Jason when they had built their home two years ago and persistently demanded food. Jason had named him because he kept getting underfoot to get their attention when he wanted to be fed and being stepped on hadn’t taught him self-preservation. Drongo regularly caused accidents doing this and in addition was bulimic; often gobbling his food then bringing it up before he’d left the vicinity.

  Jess had been concerned about his health and had taken Drongo to the vet. After a thorough examination the vet declared him healthy and suggested limiting the quantity he ate in one sitting. Fine in theory but it meant Drongo worked for longer to get more food so there were more accidents.

  Jem squatted in front of the bottom pantry shelf w
here the cat food was stored to make her selection.

  “I help you,” Aidan said and squeezed in front knocking her off balance. She put her hands out behind her to prevent falling on her back.

  Ugh. The floor’s sticky. Something else that needs to be sorted out, she thought then got up to wash her hands in the sink. Another thing to add to the list of things to do that seemed to be growing exponentially.

  Aidan rummaged around then selected an individual sachet of cat meat in gravy.

  “This one,” he announced and turned to Jem. “Can you open it please?”

  “I like your manners,” Jem told him as she tore the top off the sachet. She must have squeezed it a little because the gravy overflowed onto her hands. With a sigh she washed her hands again while observing Aidan tipping the sachet in the cat bowl. Drongo purred loudly and rubbed against Aidan’s hands which bumped the sachet so most of the contents wound up on the floor beside the cat bowl.

  Jem decided to start dinner. That cat would lick the sides of the bowl and floor to get the last morsel. Could be why the floor was so sticky. She fought the urge to wash her hands again.

  She was scrubbing potatoes in the sink when the kitchen door opened and from the corner of her eye a large black shape moved inside.

  “Hi honey, I’m home!” the large black shape said.

  Chapter 3

  Jem turned and saw Jason’s best friend Eben Stone standing in the doorway wearing a wetsuit. Eben spent so much time with Jason that he was almost considered a fixture at the house.

  The close fitting wetsuit he wore left little to the imagination. Standing a few inches shy of six feet, Eben had broad shoulders, skin that seemed permanently tanned from spending a lot of time outdoors and eyes that appeared blue or grey depending upon what he was wearing. He had a strong jaw and a dimple high on his right cheek that only appeared when he smiled. Not that she noticed but the dratted man smiled a lot.

  All the thoughts she’d been dwelling on since the phone call she’d received at the office went out her head. In the back of her mind she wondered why she hadn’t thought to phone him but was too flustered to think of why she would.