Damned and Cursed (Book 6): Broken Home
Broken Home
By Glenn Bullion
Copyright © 2014 by Glenn Bullion
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Glenn Bullion.
Special Thanks:
Zach Gusler
Chuck Christy
Hugh F
Kelly Daniels Embelton
Bruce Ford-Coates
Will Wittmann
1973
Janet Fields slowly roused from sleep as the quiet sounds pulled at her.
The steady, rhythmic beating of a shower.
The hum of a hairdryer.
The clanging of a belt buckle.
She peeled her eyes open to see her husband, Ed, standing next to their bed.
They had their own bathroom attached to the bedroom, and the light was still on behind him.
He stepped into one leg of his jeans, nearly clumsily stumbling to the floor in the process.
It was all Janet could do to hold in a chuckle.
She stretched her arms above her, not in a hurry to rise from bed.
The carnality of their lovemaking was still fresh in her mind.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Ed had awakened.
There were no words, only action.
They hadn't had a night like that in a long time.
Too long.
Their sex life since having children had changed, for lack of a better word.
Janet had to figure out how to manufacture more nights like the previous one.
She pulled the blanket down to her waist, exposing her bare breasts.
They didn't even bother dressing in sleepwear after exhausting each other.
Tossing her auburn hair over the pillow, she tried to look as sexy as a morning awakening would allow.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
Ed looked down at her.
A smile spread across his face, and she relished it.
His eyes traveled along her.
Janet enjoyed the gaze, enjoyed the attention.
He sat on the edge of the bed and gently cupped her cheek.
"Good morning, beautiful."
Janet ran a hand down his chest, and felt the desire for a second round building.
The enthusiasm deflated as she glanced at the clock next to the bed.
It was nearly eight o'clock.
Soon, possibly any second, the life of a parent would resume once again.
The girls would be awake, if they weren't already.
Sleep granted them their only break, and many times not even that could keep the joys of parenthood away.
"How long have you been up?" she asked.
"Not long.
I was just going to go out and pick up some breakfast.
Save you from a morning of cooking."
"Aww.
You're so sweet."
"I'm your husband.
That's my job."
"You don't have to do that.
Maybe we'll all go out for dinner instead."
"I smell a steak in my future."
Janet smiled.
They'd been married ten years, together for twelve.
Ed nearly looked the same as he did on their wedding day, with the exception of a gray hair or two.
He worked in a garage, and had the hands to show for it.
Rough and strong, but so gentle when dealing with their children.
They met in their senior year of high school.
Her parents constantly told her she could do better, but they were simply wrong.
Ed was the best.
No one else could make her happier, and he gave her two wonderful daughters.
Ed glanced out the window as he pulled a shirt from the dresser.
Janet ogled his still trim physique.
"Mary's boy is up early."
Janet sat up and tossed the covers off of her.
She swung her legs over the bed and peered out the window, making sure to keep her naked body out of sight.
Their neighbor Mary's only son was already throwing a ball in the air.
He ran aimlessly and climbed a fallen tree still in their backyard, a casualty of Hurricane Agnes, which tore through their state not long ago.
"I guess we know where Sarah will be today."
Ed smiled at the edge in her voice.
Janet noticed his amusement and folded her arms across her chest.
"What?"
"I thought I was supposed to be the one upset when our daughter started spending time with boys.
And we're a few years too early to get all crazy."
"I just…don't know if I like that boy."
"They're only eight.
Don't worry.
I think it's good that Sarah is finally being social."
Janet knew her husband was right.
Until she met her new best friend, Mark, Sarah was trapped in shyness.
Her teachers in school always told Janet how her daughter never spoke in class, never played with the other children.
It wasn't until the new neighbors moved in next door and Janet coerced Sarah into saying hello did the wall of shyness break.
Now Sarah and Mark were inseparable, and their youngest daughter Elizabeth was starting to slowly join their little group.
Janet enjoyed seeing her daughters happy, embracing their youth, and making a new friend.
Still, there were times she watched them playing in the yard from the kitchen, and sadness trickled in.
She was conscious enough of her own feelings to realize it was jealousy, pure and simple.
Janet stayed at home while Ed worked, and for a time, Janet was Sarah's best friend.
Sarah would come home from school, and the three women of the family would play together, talk about their days, cook dinner together for Ed when he came home.
Now, Sarah's time went to Mark, and Janet would have been lying if she said it didn't affect her somewhat.
She was watching Sarah continue to grow into a young lady, and it was both exciting and terrifying.
Ed put a comforting hand on her bare shoulder, almost reading her mind.
"It's okay, honey.
I'm sure Sarah will need you for a few more years."
"She'd better need me longer than that."
He laughed.
"Don't worry.
You know, she—"
The door to the bedroom burst open.
Janet quickly jumped back into bed and pulled the covers up to her neck.
Sarah and Elizabeth screamed and flailed as they ran around the room.
Ed chuckled as their two daughters circled each other.
Elizabeth even went as far as crawling under the bed and popping up on the other side.
"Mom!
Dad!
It's Saturday!" Sarah shouted.
Elizabeth, who was one year shy of kindergarten, had no idea of the importance of Saturday.
Nevertheless, she agreed with her older sister with the utmost enthusiasm.
"It's Saturday!" Elizabeth repeated.
"Get out of bed!"
Janet glared at Ed as the girls yanked at her blankets.
Before their encounter in the middle of the night, Janet asked her husband if the door was locked.
The last thing she wanted was for her children to walk in on them and see how they were conceived.
Ed assured her he'd locked the door before bed, an obvious white lie in order to begin their moaning ten seconds sooner.
Ed shrugged sheepishly, and scooped Elizabeth into his arms.
"Whoa, there," he said.
"Where do you get all this energy?
What do you monsters want for breakfast?"
"A cheeseburger!" was Sarah's choice.
Elizabeth gave her father a tight squeeze.
"Can we have a pizza?"
"Nice try," Janet said.
"But I don't think so."
Janet and Sarah continued to play tug-of-war with the blankets.
"Mom, why aren't you getting out of bed?"
"I don't have any clothes on, honey.
I have to get dressed first."
Sarah's nose wrinkled.
"Why are you naked?"
Ed leaned back and roared with laughter as he set Elizabeth on the floor.
"Go ahead, Janet.
Tell them why you're naked."
"Very funny."
Elizabeth joined in on the battle, grabbing her sister around the waist and pulling.
Janet called for help, but Ed stayed neutral, simply watching with hands on his hips.
Sarah was the spitting image of her father, where Elizabeth more closely resembled her mother.
Sarah had Ed's eyes and nose.
Elizabeth and Janet shared the same laugh and smile.
The girls were wonderful, and thoughtful.
The last time Janet was sick, they both drew pictures for her and brought her chicken noodle soup.
Janet grew frustrated as the girls wouldn't let up with their battle.
Ed wasn't helping.
She simply wasn't in the mood for her children to see her naked, although she'd learned since becoming a parent that bathroom privacy was a thing of the past.
"Girls, stop," she said.
"You're going to rip the blankets."
"Then get out of bed," Sarah said, sticking out her tongue.
Salvation came in the form of the phone ringing in the kitchen downstairs.
Sarah let go, and both girls fell to the floor in a heap.
They pushed and struggled against each other as they raced to the door.
"I'll get it!" Sarah shouted.
"No!" Elizabeth countered.
"I want to answer it this time!"
Janet laughed.
The old answer-the-phone competition.
That particular game led to some interesting fights over the past year when they'd let Elizabeth answer the phone as well.
"Finally," Janet said.
She threw the blankets off and quickly jumped to her feet.
"Hey," Ed said, grabbing his wife by her hips.
"Looks like this is turning out to be a good morning."
She playfully shoved him away and grabbed her robe.
Tying it around her waist, she flashed Ed a semi-serious glare that he understood perfectly.
"Now, before you get mad—"
"Ed, you said you locked the door."
"Well, I thought I did."
"No, you didn't."
He winked and tried to charm her with his full smile.
It partially worked.
"What can I say?
I'm sorry, but the door was the last thing on my mind last night."
She tried to hide her grin as she slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt.
"Well, seriously, next time we have to lock the door.
I don't want the girls seeing where they came from."
"You got it, boss."
Sarah's voice echoed through the house from the bottom of the stairs.
"Daddy!
The phone's for you!"
"Mom!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Sarah hit me with the phone!"
Janet rolled her eyes.
"Don't hit your sister with the phone!"
Ed laughed as he left the bedroom.
The stairs sounded like a subway station as the girls marched up, passing their father as he headed down.
Elizabeth jumped onto her mother's bed and Sarah looked out through the bedroom window.
"Mom, Mark's outside.
Can I go out and play with him?"
"Oh!" Elizabeth said.
"Me, too!"
Janet smiled.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Sarah's brow wrinkled in confusion, and Janet marveled at how adorable her daughter was.
"Uh, please?"
"No.
Breakfast."
"Can Mark eat with us?"
"No, he can't.
He's got his own mom to shove food at him.
Let's go and get your father's vote on food."