Chapter Seven

The next day, on a Monday morning, it had been very good between Jamie and Michael. For the first time in weeks, Michael had slept fully on the same bed as Jamie, putting his arms around her to keep her warm but sadly, it had ended about two hours ago, around six when Michael got up and got himself ready by going to the bathroom and getting himself all clean and nice before leaving the house but he did one more thing before he went to the bathroom.

After waking up, he turned to his wife who was sleeping very peacefully with the sheets around her and to tell his wife that he loves her, he whispered softly to Jamie’s ear, “Morning, Jamie. Hope that you have a sweet dream!” and then, smoothed out her wavy brown hair and kissed her on the forehead. Jamie smiled at when he did that which also made Michael smiled and knowing that he got only two hours to get himself and the kids ready before telling Jamie something that had came at the last-minute that involved them.

The moment she woke up, the orange digits on the clock on the bedside table told her that the time was eight o’clock and from upstairs, she smelled the smell of pancakes in the kitchen. Thinking that Michael was making some pancakes for the girls before heading off to Quantico for work and for the girls, school just like old times, Jamie smiled at herself and said to herself, “Oh, Michael. You’re still back!”, referring to her husband’s sudden return to the man before the tour of duty. Wanting to get down before the members of the Thomas family will eat all the breakfast, she grabbed her old, broken in, terrycloth robe, put it on, and ran downstairs to the kitchen to be with her family but something out of the blue will come to them.

Two minutes later, when Jamie got to the kitchen, she was expecting her children to be very happy while eating the pancakes their fathers made for them but it was very different. Instead of the happiness, she saw Mac and Izzie, crying while holding on the legs of the pants that looked like the ones that were part of Michael’s military uniform, and telling her father in a very sad voice between the tears, “Daddy! Daddy! Don’t leave us!” Even Jake was crying out to him, telling him not to go because he was getting used to his father after being not very close to him over the past few months.

Looking up from their girls to the olive green jacket over a tan dress shirt and a matching tie to Michael’s face, Jamie walked over to them and asked them, “What the hell was going on around here?”

Mac looked up to her mother when Jamie asked that question and with tears coming down her face, she answered Jamie’s question by saying to her, “Daddy leaving us again!” To get what Izzie was thinking about it, Jamie turned her head to her youngest daughter for it and in return, Izzie gave her the same answer but with this, she added a nod to it. Seconds later, Jamie even looked at Jake who was still crying his blue eyes out. After seeing that, Jamie sighed to herself and walked over to Jake’s high-chair, picked him up, and walking over to her husband who was watching all of this and comforting Mac and Izzie at the same time, she looked at him and asked him, “Michael, tell me what had happened here?”

Staring at her, Michael looked at Jamie’s blue eyes and said to her, “Jamie, I know that you think that I am becoming back to the man after I came back from Iraq but this is nothing like that. Not at all.” Jamie stared at Michael for a long time, sinking that into her brain and moments later, she asked him again, “Michael, if that wasn’t it, what is it, then?” Right away, holding the two girls who still holding his only set of legs, Michael told her that he got a call from his company leader who was living at Pendleton that he got a very important assignment that needed his help and right away, Michael told him that he was okay with that and the call came from yesterday and he had to leave that particular morning to get over there.

After hearing that, Jamie looked like that she might kill him for telling her that on the morning of his departure instead of yesterday but from thinking about it, maybe this morning was the better choice because after spending some time with their father, Mac and Izzie were very happy and loving their Daddy all over again and she don’t want those images on their faces to fade away again. Now, staring at her husband, Jamie sighed for the second time and asked him, “When are you coming back?”

Michael just shook his head and answered her question, “I don’t know, Jamie. He hadn’t given the exact info but he does know that this might be about two weeks tops.” In the background, the both of them can hear Mac and Izzie, still in their sad voices, asking her father, “Two weeks? Daddy, that’s long!”

Knowing that the two of them were very sad about that, with a grin on his face, Michael squatted down to them and said something to make them happy, “I know, girls. Two weeks is a very long time but I will make sure that won’t be that way.” The two girls looked up to their father’s face and asked him, “But how?” Still with that grin on his face, Michael said back to them, “I will call you guys every night and ask the both of you about your day. I will send you some photos and maybe, you two can use Mama’s laptop and use the webcam and I can see you guys’ pretty faces from the other coast. Okay with that, Angels?”

The girls heard that and after sinking that in, Mac and Izzie gave him a big smile with all their teeth and a big hug while saying to him, “We are okay with that, Daddy. We’ll miss you!” Hugging his two little girls and giving them kisses all over their sweet faces, Michael said to them, “I’ll miss you guys, too.” and now staring at his wife who was still in the kitchen, carrying Jake in her arms, and smiling at that sweet moment of the girls and their father, Michael told Mac and Izzie to go back to the kitchen to finish their breakfast while he and Mama have a talk before the taxi comes over to pick him up to go to Quantico where he will flying from to Pendleton. “Okay, Daddy.” said the girls who gave him one more hug and kiss before heading off to the kitchen table to finish their breakfast. After seeing the girls running off, Michael gave Jamie a ‘come over’ gesture with his hand, telling her to come over to him so they can have one last talk, one last hug, and one last hug before heading off to somewhere far away.

When she came over to her husband, Jamie followed him out the kitchen, into the front hallway, and at the front door where a suitcase was standing at which Jamie hadn’t noticed when she came downstairs, Michael grabbed the handle of the suitcase, opened the door and stepped outside on the steps where a taxi was waiting for him. Knowing that this is their last good-bye for the next two weeks, Jamie did the same things and in front of Michael, she looked at Michael one more time and while sandwiched Jake between them, Jamie kissed him on the lips a few times and then, looking at those brown eyes of his and that grin on his face, she said to him with a smile on her own face, “Try to do a great job there, Michael and I will miss you!” After hearing that, in return, he told her that he will do that, he will miss her too, and kissed her again before heading over to Jake who was staring at the whole thing and said to him while kissing him and patting Jake’s light brown hair, “Bye, Jake. Take care of your Mama for me, okay?”

In return, Jake was saying something gibberish and giving his father a wide toothless smile, telling Michael that he will do that. Michael smiled at his son for that and turned to his wife, who he given him another kiss before hearing the taxi driver honking at him, telling him to hurry up. After hearing that, Michael waved back to the people who loves, got inside the cab, and left but the same time, Jamie heard some running and pacing at the right side of the railing and turning over to that side to who was doing those things, Jamie Thomas had froze again because Sean Connors was running toward them while holding onto a leash that was attached to a brown lab that was probably Boyd. “Oh, no! Don’t come over to me!”thought Jamie when she saw him making a quick landing a few feet away but her wish didn’t came true because instead of stopping at his own house, he ran over to hers and now standing at her front steps.

After looking Sean’s damp light brown hair, sweat-filled t-shirt and shorts, and facing the back of the taxi which contains Michael, he turned around to her and said to her with a grin on his face, “So, your husband just left, didn’t you?” Wanting to tell him that was true by being quiet and giving him a nod, Jamie was about to do that but she stopped because from the advice that Julie gave her yesterday, Jamie had to get over her fear and had to talk to Sean with confidence. Agreeing with that, Jamie decided to do that and said to Sean, “Yeah, he’s going to San Diego for work for two weeks.”

The moment he heard that, right away with enough confidence to last a lifetime and those blue eyes of his, Sean smiled at her and asked her after greeted Jake by saying to him, “Hey, little man!” which make Jake smiled, “You want me to keep you company?”

Seconds after hearing that, Jamie gave him a weird face and said back to him, “What?” After seeing that odd face of hers, Sean just smiled at her and said to her, “You know? Having a friend over each time you felt lonely. You know that?” Completely understanding every word he was saying out of his mouth, Jamie told him yeah and asked him, “Why you want to do that?” Still with that grin on his cute-ass face, Sean told her that he want to get to know her and her family better and thinks that this might be a good time to do that. Plus, it could be nice for her daughters to get to hang out with another person to keep them company while their Daddy is away.

Thinking that could be a great idea but still wondering if this was a bad idea or not, Jamie said to him, “I don’t know, Sean. I might have some reasons for that, especially for the kids.” Giving her the puppy eyes, Sean said to her, “Come on, Jamie. It could be a great idea. I am pretty sure that your kids might like me. Mac and Jake seems to like me but I am not pretty sure about little Izzie but it will worth the try.”

Not knowing how Sean knew the names of the other children even though he only met Mac, Jamie was about to ask him that but stopped because she agreed with him suddenly and right now, with a smile on her face, Jamie said to him, “Sure, Sean. We could do that. How about tonight?” With a grin on his face and holding on to Boyd’s leash, Sean said back to her, “Sure, Jamie. Tonight is good and looks at the time, I better get over to work.” Sean looked at his watch when he told her that, smiled at her seconds later, and said back to her while heading back into his own home, “See you tonight, Jamie.” Moments later, Sean Connors was back into his own home and waving at him, right now, Jamie had no idea what had happened to her recently but it seems nice.