Chapter 1
Bobby pulled slowly up the street. In the distance he could see a mob; a sea of people who were clogging up the road. He took a deep breath and slowly approached. He made the Pathfinder continue through the crowd who were reluctant to move, but eventually created a path and he pulled into the driveway. The driveway was a quite long and there were people all over, finally he pulled up in front of one of the garage bays and put it in park. Securing the leashes of both dogs he took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. Again the crowd parted for him to do so, but barely. Both dogs hopped out after him. He slammed the truck door and headed toward the house.On the other side Thomas jumped out and followed quickly behind. There were arms, microphones and flashbulbs in his face along the way. He kept his head down and continued on his mission. When he got to the porch and turned the handle it was locked. He was about to knock when the door flew open, they were all ushered in quickly and the door was slammed shut as quickly as it opened. The woman standing in the foyer looked simultaneously annoyed and relieved. She gave both men a kiss on the cheek and then whispered loudly "What took you so long?"
"As soon as I saw the news I packed up, picked up Thomas and headed here. The world is still functioning as usual at least for now and there was traffic." he smiled at her. "It's OK I am here now and I am prepared to stay until we see what the repercussions are going to be. The movement wants to go to war. They feel this was orchestrated to look like an innocent accident, but was actually a well thought out execution. I have managed to hold them off and my priority is here, but I don't know how long the PEACE will last."
Her mood softened "I know I'm sorry, we just feel trapped and helpless here. We can't go out...she was interrupted by another loud knock on the door. She hurried to peek out the curtain and then pulled the door open and shut it as quickly as before. The foyer was filled by the 6 foot 5 inch man who had just entered. He gave the woman a big hug and then shook hands with both men. "Traffic was bad and this chaos outside is worse!"
They all nodded in agreement. "So, what's first boss?"
The sound of the word boss made Bobby cringe the death if his brother in law put him in charge. This was something he always knew could be possible but never actually expected. In addition he never thought he would inherit this powder keg. He took a few seconds to gather his thoughts."OK, first Reggie you and Thomas take the girls and the dogs outside to the yard. Let the girls run around and play you guys watch the girls and the dogs. 15 minutes TOPS, but it is a beautiful day and they need fresh air." Thomas nodded. He turned to the woman who had let them all in. "TVs OFF unless it is a DVD no commercials or new breaking news interruptions and get Jake on the phone. See if he can get someone from local law enforcement to come move these idiots back across the street where they belong. They are going to kill her flowers!" The woman laughed. This is why he needed to be here. He could handle himself without being emotional. "I will deal with her and I need coffee, can I get some?"
Everyone headed to the kitchen, which was full of people. A collective sigh seemed to fall over the room at seeing Bobby. Marilyn was in the kitchen, the smell of brownies filled the room, Another woman, Rachel, got up from the table and hugged him. Suddenly, there were two sets of arms wrapped around his legs. He hugged each of his nieces and sent them out to play.
Someone handed him a large cup of black coffee. "Marilyn" she didn't turn around, she continued to shuffle around the kitchen. "Marilyn" she took a deep breath.
"What?" her voice was barely a whisper she looked terrible. Her eyes were red and swollen, her hair was stringy and stuck to her face.She was wearing over sized sweats and a tank top with no bra. She looked like she had not slept in days.
"Come here." he walked toward her and opened his arms.
"No." she turned around and started to wash dishes. He walked up behind her, turned off the sink, turned her around and held her. Less than 30 seconds later she was crying; crying harder than seemed humanly possible. He spoke into her hair "Did the girls see it?"
"No, they were at school. Mr Meyers collected them from class and I picked them up. They know he is dead, but they didn't see it...Thank God." she was still crying ad trying to pull away from the vise grip hug.
"You shower and a nap!" he snapped. "When did you last eat?"
"I made Ziti last night."
"But did you eat it? I don't care how many other people you fed. What about you." She shook her head "no" into his chest. "OK, first food. Maggie one of the other ladies at the table was headed to the fridge. Marilyn sat down at the table and a plate of warm pasta was placed in front of her. She started to pick at it as the door flew open and in ran two beautiful girls with raven black hair and bright green eyes followed by 4 very goofy dogs, all different ages, breeds and sizes. Behind them was two grown men who looked exhausted. Marilyn started to get up. Bobby put a hand on her shoulder "eat" we can all share in the hostess duties." she continued to pick at her pasta, but as the first real bite went into her mouth she realized how hungry she really was and she wolfed down the plate quickly along with several pieces of Italian bread. She stood up and was headed back toward the kitchen when he stopped her and steered her in toward the bedroom, which was right off the kitchen. He stopped before they entered the room. He motioned to Reggie who looked in and headed right past them, he checked each window and the sliding door, making sure each was locked and the blinds were closed, he disappeared briefly to check the bathroom as he emerged he nodded to Bobby who sent Marilyn into the bathroom. "run a tub if you want, shower whatever, but get clean!" he smirked at her. I'm going to sit outside here and check on you to be sure you don't fall asleep in there!
Looking up at her older brother made her feel like she was 12 again, older by several minutes, he never let her forget that, but he was her protector and always knew how she felt and what she needed. People would often ask in casual conversation about the "twin thing" and she used to tell them she doesn't know why, but yes they do often have the same moods etc. In fact the entire time she was pregnant he ate the same weird foods and he was a hundred miles away. So she would not discount the "twins thing". She turned away and went into the bathroom closing the door behind her. She started to run the tub and added Lavender bath salts. The steam was forming over the tub, the hot water reacting to the cool air conditioned temperature of the room. She stripped off her clothes and dropped them in the hamper. She looked at herself in the mirror; she looked like shit, Bobby was right she needed to clean up and try to get some sleep. There was a knock at the door.
"You OK in there?"
"Yes." she answered, she couldn't believe he was really sitting outside the door. She lowered her body into the steaming tub and sat back. The feeling of the water rushing over her body was amazing. She settled in and breathed in the sweet lavender sent. Then she once again started to cry.
Outside Bobby tapped on the door so she knew he really would be checking on her. Then he went back into the kitchen to see what else he needed to attend to. When he got there he saw Teresa the woman who had let them in finishing the dishes in the sink. She turned her attention toward him "Is she asleep?"
"Tub, but it is a step. Next, where are the girls?"
Reggie pointed to the basement "they wanted to go down and play. I put in the Little Mermaid so they wouldn't have to worry about seeing news."
Bobby laughed "was that their pick or yours??"
"Hey, I can't help that I have an affection for cute red heads!" everyone laughed.
Bobby turned back to Maggie who was sitting at the table again. "Is Johnny here? Your kids? How long are you staying? Sorry, too many things running through my head."
