Chapter 10
Jenny was sitting at the kitchen table when the boys came down to the dining room. Neither of them was dressed in the new clothes, but were wearing the same things they’d come here in. But she did notice that Davy had on the shoes she’d gotten for him. Standing up, she helped him into the chair, then pulled out one for Connor.
“I’m only having tea and a scone for breakfast. What do you guys want? We have cereal if you want that. Or Janie can cook you something hot. We have a lot to do today, and I was hoping you guys would get up early, so we can get started.” Davy asked what they were going to be doing. But she could tell that Connor was just as curious. “While you guys eat, I’ll give you a rundown. Go ahead, tell her what you want.”
Davy asked for bacon. That was all, just bacon. And when asked about and egg or toast, he nodded and asked her if that was all right. Janie huffed. She was really good at that, Jenny thought.
“You can have whatever I have in my pantry. I was thinking of baking some cookies up today too. I like them warm right out of the oven with a cup of tea, myself. What do you guys think of chocolate chip?” Davy again was the one who answered, and he gave her a resounding yes on that. “Good. I’ll make sure I time it right for when you’ll be back.” Connor said he just wanted cereal.
“Today we’re going to see about getting you something else to wear, first of all. I know that some of the things that we got didn’t fit. We’ll remedy that first.” She drank a sip of her tea to hide the smile at the look on Connor’s face. He was staring at Davy’s breakfast like a man on the edge. A bowl and a box of colorful cereal was put in front of him. “Then we have to go by the grocery store for a few things. Connor, you can pick yourself out some different cereals if you want that for breakfast from now on.”
“No, I think I’ll have what Davy is eating. It looks all right.” Janie, the huffing queen, scooped up the bowl and box and replaced it with a plate full of the same thing that Davy had. Bacon, eggs, fluffy pancakes, and a bowl of fruit. “I’ll eat this, I guess.” And he did, every last crumb of it.
By the time she got them both bundled up and in the car, she was ready for a nap. It was an uphill battle trying to make sure that they were dressed in good sturdy clothing, as well as hats, gloves, and coats. Jenny wasn’t sure what she would have done if Janie hadn’t helped her.
The drive to the mall was made slowly. There was fresh snow on the ground, despite it being the beginning of February. And when they arrived, Davy had to go to the bathroom. That was where she thought she might fail them.
“I’ll take him.” She thanked Connor, and told him how much she appreciated his help. And when they left her to go into the men’s room, she wanted to bar others from going in with them. She was afraid for them, she thought, and didn’t want anything to happen to them. When they finally came out, she got down on her knees and helped Davy with his pants, all the while talking to Connor.
“Do you like comics, Connor?” He said that he’d never had one. “Oh well, we’ll go by the comic store too while we’re here. I know that Valyn loves them. He has a collection that is very old. Maybe you can have him show it to you.”
“Whatever.”
She wanted to lash out at him, tell him that she was trying her best here, but moved to pull them both along to the first store. Jenny was hurt, and she knew that was what Connor had planned to do to her.
They spent about three hours in the clothing store before she realized how late it was. Going to the mall area that had restaurants, she had no idea what they would like. She asked Connor what he wanted, and he looked at the burger place. Davy wanted a taco, even though he had not one clue what it was.
“If I give you money, do you think you can walk over there and order your food?” Connor looked terrified and shook his head no. “All right then. We’ll go and get you yours first, and then when you’re at a table, I’ll get mine and Davy’s. Is that all right?”
“Don’t go too far.” She nodded. “I mean with Davy. I don’t want you going too far away with my brother. I need him.”
“I promise you that I won’t go far. So long as you sit at the table and don’t leave it. I don’t want to lose you here. It’s very busy.” He nodded, and they made their way over to the restaurant.
She ordered for him and paid. He was afraid of her leaving him, she only just realized. And when he was handed his food on a tray, he looked at her like he was lost. Taking it from him, she talked about anything that popped into her head as she found them a table close to the taco place.
Jenny tried very hard not to keep looking for Connor every few minutes. But true to his word, he never left the table. And when she and Davy joined him, he helped with his brother’s food and then his own. She supposed that he was used to caring for him, and even now it was habit.
Connor ate the burger in no time. He might have been eating while he could, or he was that hungry, she didn’t know. But when she offered to get him another burger, he nodded and smiled at her. Jenny could have gone a lifetime on the feelings that it invoked in her.
Returning with the burger, she noticed a couple watching them. For some reason they gave her the creeps, and she wanted to take the kids to her chest and warn them off. But she only sat there, eating her lunch and enjoying the conversation of the kids. Then the couple came to their table. Connor reached for her hand and she took it.
“We wanted to tell you how wonderful your children are.” She nodded her thanks and waited for one of them to tell the couple they weren’t hers. “They’re so polite and helpful to each other. You and your husband must be really proud of them. Good job. I wish more people would take lessons from you.”
When they wandered off, she let go of Connor’s hand when he pulled it. She sat there for several minutes before she started laughing. Davy joined her, but Connor just stared at her. She finally had to stop laughing so they’d not call the cops on her.
“I thought for sure she was going to take you guys. I have no idea why, but I have to tell you, I was going to smack them around a lot if they even touched either of you.” Connor asked her why she’d not just let them have the two of them. “Why? Because even though you’ve only been with us for a day, I love you two with all my heart. You’re just what we wanted in children to come to us. I wish that I could have taken you sooner, but we’re family now, and that’s what’s important to me.”
Jenny was worried about how Connor would take it, but she gathered them up again to go to the next store. He didn’t say anything about it again and she let it go. Davy became a chatterbox of all kinds of information, and she got a kick out of some of the words he stumbled over.
By the time they had gotten all they could stuff in the car, they left the mall. It was nearly dinnertime then, and she asked Valyn if he wanted to join them in town. He was thrilled, telling her that he’d not had such a good day and could use something different than work right now. This time the dinner menu was a restaurant that prided itself on not just steaks, but also their milkshakes.
Valyn kissed her and gave her a hug, then turned to the boys. He asked if he could get a hug and Davy seemed to jump into his arms. Connor was a little less enthusiastic about it, but he let Valyn hug him in the end. They were seated in a booth with Davy on the side of Valyn and Connor near her.
Today she had learned a great deal about each of their boys. For one, Connor was smart. Very smart if what he was telling her about some of the books he’d read was true. He also loved math, and was right on top of it when they were buying things. He’d tell her how much it should come to before tax, and he’d be spot on when they paid.
Davy was a jokester. He enjoyed slapstick mostly, but he liked a good joke too. He wasn’t very good at telling them, but he did try. Davy also loved books. And even for as young as he was, he could read very well. Which reminded her, they needed to get them into a school. Watching them talk to and tell Valyn about their day, she leaned back on the seat and just enjoyed being with them.
Even though the day had been trying at times, she wouldn’t have missed it for the world. And the fact that they were much better at talking to them, it had made it easier to get them clothing that they liked instead of what she had already bought them.
When they were walking out to their car, Valyn coming with them because Galin had just dropped him off, she remembered the gifts that they’d gotten them. And she was proud that what they’d gotten them was a good choice. As soon as they got home, she was going to give them to the boys. It was an exciting time for them all.
Driving had become scary now. The snow was covering the road and there was slush everywhere the snow wasn’t. Cars were taking heed of the weather and driving slowly. When they came to the town’s only stop light, she let out a long breath that they’d made it nearly home without incident.
“I’ll be glad to get home.” She told Valyn that she would be as well and turned to make sure the boys were buckled in good and tight. “There are a lot of fools out tonight too. Look how fast that guy is going. He’ll be lucky to make it home at that speed.”
Valyn pulled out into the traffic when the light turned green. She had only just gotten her license the other day, so she was sure that they were all right with Valyn driving. Jenny saw the car coming at them, and the look of pure terror on the man’s face that was going to hit them.
The first jolt of the car being hit had her nearly sick with the pain. She had bumped her head on the window and knew that she was going to have a headache from it. The second time they were hit, she knew a new kind of fear—her sons were in the back seat, and that was where the second car had hit them.
Screaming at them to hold on, that they had them, she knew things were off when she kept seeing the road then the sky in alternating sparks of color. They were flipping over now, and she knew they were all going to be hurt badly.
Jenny woke when someone called her name. It was hard to hear anything with the buzzing in her head. When she finally was able to move enough to turn toward the voice, she saw Valyn there. She cried when she saw that he was alive. But Jenny wanted to know about their sons.
“Davy? Connor?” Valyn said for her to come to him so that he could get her out of the vehicle. “Where are the boys? Where are my boys, Valyn?”
“They’ve been taken to the hospital. I thought that they should have care first, honey. You’re an immortal. You can be hurt, and you are, but I don’t know if they are or not.” He was crying when they got her out of the car, and she asked him how they were. “Davy is hurt, but Connor took the brunt of the car hitting us. He’s hurt very badly.”
“Take me to them.” He nodded and helped her to lie back on the ground when she got too dizzy to stand. “Please, I have to make sure that they’re all right. I need to be with them.”
“The ambulance is taking you there now. I’m going to be in there with you. We’ll get to them soon, love. We’ll get there.” She didn’t like that he kept looking away. Jenny knew that they were hurt much more than he was telling her.
Jenny didn’t ask again, fearful that he’d tell her the horrid truth, that Connor was going to die. Or worse yet, they had both died and that they’d lost them even before they got to tell them how much she already loved them.
Valyn held her hand all the way to the hospital. She wanted them to take her right to their boys, but they wanted to make sure that she was going to be all right first. Jenny had never thought of time going too slowly, but right now, it seemed the second hand was taking several seconds to move and not the usual one.
Valyn went to check on the boys while she let the doctor examine her. When he came back, she knew that he had bad news for her. And when he laid his forehead to hers, she started sobbing. She’d been too late. Connor was gone, and she hurt like she’d never hurt before.
“Connor’s in surgery.” She asked him what he said. “He is in surgery now. To repair the three broken ribs he has from poking his lungs. And he has a broken arm. Davy is all right—he’s coming with the nurse who was watching over them.”
Davy was there—she didn’t hear him come in, the doctor having given her something for the pain. So, when she woke, Davy was lying next to her in the bed and Valyn was in the chair next to them. Touching Davy’s blond hair, she cried again because they had let them get hurt.
~*~
Connor was hurting more than he ever had after the beatings that his father would give him. But he was alive. He’d thought they were all goners when that car plowed into them like they were only a bump in the road. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that he had a cast on his arm and his left ankle was wrapped up. But it was his breathing that hurt him the most.
“Hey, buddy.” He looked up at Valyn and asked about Davy. “He’s with Jennifer. She is in another room on a different floor. I’m working to get her down here too.”
Connor nodded and asked if he could have a drink. When the straw was put in his mouth, he felt like he’d been given the best stuff in the world. Valyn told him to go slowly, he still had some injuries that needed to heal. When Connor nodded because he was still dry, Valyn took the straw away and took his hand in his.
“How are you feeling, buddy? I can tell you where you’re hurt if you want. You have several broken ribs from the crash. And in turn, you had one or two of them that pushed into your lung. Are you with me so far?” He said that he was. “Good boy. The doctor said that you have a turned ankle that needed to be wrapped, as well as a few dozen places on your face that needed to be stitched up. And of course, as you can see, a broken arm. The cuts are not too bad, but they might leave you a tiny scar.”
“And Mom, how is she?” He knew that she wasn’t his mom, but he’d heard her when the car was rolling over. She’d called to them to hold on, telling them that she loved them. “She saved us. Telling me to hold on. I grabbed Davy and held him tight.”
“Mom? Well, the police are saying you more than likely saved Davy from being more hurt than he was. There are a few places on his arm that needed stitches, but other than some scratches on his body from the car being flipped over, he’s fine.” Valyn put his head to his, and Connor could see that he was crying. “I’ve never been so afraid in my life as when they pulled you from the wreckage. I told you that I’d keep you safe, and I failed you both.”
Connor had never hugged anyone before but his brother, but when he put his good arm around the big man, he felt something that tore at his heart a bit. The man had been upset that they’d been hurt. He didn’t think that anyone had ever felt that way about them in all his life. Holding him for a little while more, Connor let him go when he stood up.
“Your mom, she’s pretty beat up too. But she’s begging—no, demanding—that they let her come and see you. She said that she’s going to kick some butt if they don’t give her a wheelchair and let her go. She— Her face looks bad, but it’ll heal soon. And she does have some deep cuts along her legs where the glass hit her. That’s why they’re keeping her overnight. I’ve been running back and forth between you and her since you were brought in. Are you really okay?”
“I’m better now that I know they’re okay.” Connor got another sip of water and it still tasted delicious. “That guy that hit us, he was going really fast, wasn’t he? I mean, he hit us more than once, right?”
“No, but he did cause the accidents. After he hit us, we were thrown into traffic and hit by other cars that were there. I think the police said that there were six cars in all that had been damaged in some way. I’m just glad that you two were in the back and buckled in.” He grinned then. “Your mother is going to have a fit, just so you know. All the things that she bought for you guys are all over the road and have been run over a few dozen times.”
“I know that you’re not a human, you showed us that. But I have to tell you something. A secret. I saw a few of them there, people with wings, when we were being knocked around. I thought for sure they were coming for us all.” He closed his eyes and knew that he’d been
given something for pain. He pried his eyes open to look at Valyn the best he could. “Thank you, Dad, for being here with me. Nobody else would have but you and Mom.”
For the first time in all his life, Connor knew that he could rest easy, that no one would hurt him or his brother. He knew that he’d been hurt, but it was the other guy’s fault, not Dad’s. Sleep seemed to just swallow him whole.
The next time he woke up, he saw his mom sitting in the chair in front of him. She did look bad. Her face was swollen, and she had a puffy lip on the top. Her hair, usually pulled back in some kind of clippie thing, was hanging down, and it made her look younger. Right now she was sleeping, but he knew that if he even breathed hard, she’d be awake. Looking around the room, he saw Davy was staring at him from Valyn’s lap. Getting up quietly, he came to stand next to the bed.
“You hurting, Connor?” He whispered that he was going to be all right. “I was scared out of my pants when you grabbed me up like you did.”
“Mom told me to hold on, and you were the first person I thought of holding. You didn’t get too hurt, did you?” Davy showed him the cuts on his arm and the stitches that were a bright green. “Those will have the girls all over you.”
“Yuck.” He smiled at his little brother and it hurt a little. Connor had to be careful the next time. “You called her Mom. Is that what I should call her too? She’s not, you know. She’s much nicer.”
“I’m going to. She saved our lives, and Valyn said that it scared him nearly to death when they pulled us out of the car.” Davy said it did him too. “They didn’t get mad or blame us for the accident. Dad would have. He would have said something like, ‘Damned kids, they made me do it.’”
Davy giggled, then tried to climb in the bed with him. Valyn lifted him up, and after telling him to be careful, he covered them both up. Davy told him that he loved him so much. And Connor told him that he kinda liked him. It was what they always said to each other.
Mom woke up soon after, and started sobbing about how sorry she was and that she almost didn’t get to tell them that she loved them. All kinds of things were spilling out of her mouth like the tears on her cheeks. He looked at Dad, and he just told him she needed it. Whatever that meant. But he did let her hold and kiss him. It was great having someone get all mushy with him. Another first for him.
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