Tom returned to Two Rivers late the next night. When Lily woke up she saw his sorry looking little pick up in the yard and the storm flag up.
Jared and Anna had planned on inviting friends over that afternoon, so they were pouting.
“Why can’t we at least have a TV like normal people?” Jared demanded.
“Mr. Abbot says it lowers your IQ, and you can’t afford that,” Anna taunted.
“Shut up.”
“You shut up.”
Lily had had enough drama to last her at least a month, so of course, Frank chose that moment to pop into the kitchen.
“What’s all this noise about?”
The children were immediately silenced.
“You two are to go upstairs, get back into your pajamas, and get back in bed until I think you are ready to start your day.” Frank shook his finger at them.
“What do you say, to Mr. Abbot, children?” Lily asked them.
“Yes sir.” Anna said.
“You’re not the boss of me,” Jared challenged.
“No, but I am the boss of your mother. Unless you want to get her fired, I suggest you get your tail upstairs, now young man. And don’t you ever even think of defying either me or her. Do you understand?”
Jared’s “yes sir” was barely audible.
As soon as the children were out of the room, Lily turned to Frank and said, “You have no right to discipline my children. They are my children.”
“Fine, you’re fired.”
“Fine.”
“What’s for lunch?” Frank asked.
“What are you fixing?” Lily returned.
“I could grill us a couple steaks.”
Lily just rolled her eyes, “Fine, you grill steaks and I’ll parent my children.”
“Parent is not a verb.”
“It is now.”
“They’re good kids you know.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re doing a good job. Sometimes a grouchy voice helps.”
“What other voice do you have?”
“You’re still fired.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Frank did indeed grill steaks and burgers for lunch. The children were amazingly peaceful for the rest of the day. Frank amazed them with the bird calls he could imitate. After they had cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, they went upstairs and had a lengthy ping-pong tournament.
Lily sat alone in the kitchen. She liked her suite to sleep in. But in the evening when the house was quiet, she preferred the kitchen. She sat at the table with her scriptures, her journal and a cup of hot chocolate.
Tom tapped on the back door and Lily jumped knocking the chair over backwards. Tom had a bra hanging from his finger.
“Whose is this?”
“Well, it’s not Anna’s.”
“Well, it’s not yours.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, this is a B-cup and, not that I’ve been looking, but you are at least a double D.”
“Excuse me?” Lily spluttered.
“This was hanging on my door knob. Interesting welcome home gift.”
“I’m sorry about that. My sister was having a bit of a crisis and she went swimming to clear her head.”
“And she’s a B-cup.”
“Give me that!” She snatched the undergarment from his finger.
“By the way, will you pose for me sometime?”
“Get out of here!”
“My house.”
“My kitchen.”
“Seriously, would you pose for me?”
“That is the worst pick up line I have ever heard.”
“I honestly need a model.”
“A fully-clothed model?”
“Actually, I need a nude, but I will settle for bathing-suit. Is that an acceptable compromise?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tom.”
Tom nodded, “OK,” then he grinned mischievously, “then, can I have your sister’s number?”