Just Another Manic Monday
“Chaser, I don’t think that’s how the hinges work on a door.” Jackie stood off to the side of their kitchen table as he watched his husband fumble with the building plans that were covering its surface.
Chase rolled his eyes and straightened his ball cap on his head. “Listen, Jacks, we managed to build the whole fucking building. I don’t know why the fuck this, of all things, is giving me as hard of a time as it is. I mean, seriously, how fucking hard is it to just anchor in the bolt?!”
“Well, maybe having it hooked onto the door might be a great place to start?”
“I didn’t want to put it on the door in case it didn’t latch properly! The guy down at the shop said this would do the trick!”
“Do...you still have the packaging for it?” Jackie asked. He reached for his silver thermos on the counter behind him, smiling a little as he noticed the packed boxes tucked semi-neatly against the cupboards.
Chase sighed and searched for a moment before grabbing the cut plastic package that was once the home of the hinge. It was only a matter of seconds after reading the package’s label that Jackie started to laugh.
“Chase, this isn’t for a standard door.” he explained.
“What?” Chase narrowed his eyes as he grabbed the package back from Jackie, reading it carefully. He couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips before he threw the package down to the floor.
“How did you not see it was for one of those cat doors?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to know that those bloody doors have a whole separate hinge to them?!” Chase brought his hands to his face at an attempt to hide the shame.
“Well…” Jackie chuckled and took a sip from his thermos.
“Well what?”
“The hinge is way smaller, mon realta.” Jackie picked up the door part in his hand, eyeing in closely. “I don’t think this little piece is strong enough to hold a normal sized door in any way, shape, or form. Maybe the doorknob, if it needed a hinge at all, but...not the door itself.”
Chase slumped in his chair and rested his head against the paper-covered desk, exhausted. It had almost been a full year and six months that they had been working on their new place, and the finishing touches were all that was left. After the honeymoon that had been long overdue, the newlyweds had taken a long, painful look at their apartment and realized that it wasn’t enough for their ever-growing family. With funds set aside for their future endeavours together, the two decided that they were going to build their own place, their way.
Between the cafe’s traffic and the house being built, it was the understatement of the century to say that both Chase and Jackie were tired.
“Listen,” Jackie smiled as he walked towards his husband. He placed one of his hands on Chase’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “We get the truck in an hour, and everything is packed. A hinge is nothing to worry about.”
Chase sighed, leaning into his husband’s touch for a moment. “I wanted everything to be perfect.”
“Who’s to say it isn’t?”
“The hinge. The doors aren’t on yet on any of the rooms. I mean, the front door is on tightly, and the backdoor to with that weird fucking lock you chose for both of the doors, but the doors to the bedrooms and stuff aren’t on.”
“How many doors is that, exactly?”
Chase paused for a moment and closed his eyes in an attempt to count. “There are two for our bedroom, one for Critter’s room, One for Ari’s, another for Ryder’s, and the one for the guest bedroom on the main floor. So...six?”
“Coincidentally an even number?” Jackie teased. Feeling strange towering over his husband for once, he sat down next to him and opted to bounce a leg instead.
“Listen,” Chase chuckled. “I know Jack is a part of this now and he’s opted to stay with his cabin and Ricky Roo Ra, but the extra room will be handy. We can actually have the other kiddos come and visit, or ta mère and sister, or Skye...anyone. We will actually have the space, Jacks!”
Jackie couldn’t help but smile as he watched his husband talk. Chase’s dark brown eyes were alight as he spoke about his plans, his dreams, his motions getting more and more lively as he spoke.
“I really...really hoped it was going to be perfect.” Chase’s voice softened as he spoke. “I haven’t taken Critter yet to see it. I just...man, I really want this to go smoothly.”
“Hey,” Jackie took Chase’s hand gently, the papers rustling beneath their now intertwined hands. “It’s perfect the way it is. The little details that you made sure are in there? I’m sure she’s gonna love it. I’m sure we are gonna love it. Our nesting spot, yeah?”
Chase smiled and squeezed Jackie’s hand gently. “Yeah. Our...our nesting spot.”
------------
With the final boxes in the back of the truck, and the bikes and other necessities they decided to keep from the storage space in their apartment complex, Jackie, Chase, and Critter loaded themselves up into the car and moving truck. The cityscape quickly changed to the lush, autumn hues of trees as they drove into the woods. Critter, in total surprise, was glued to the window in the car with Jackie.
“We’re moving out here?!” she tried to keep her excitement contained as she felt her tail wagging gently behind her.
Jackie chuckled and took a quick glance at his kiddo through the rearview mirror. “He really didn’t take you out here to see?”
“Nope.”
“Well, he’s...pretty excited.”
“That’s not how he looked on our way out.” Critter chuffed, getting comfortable once more in her seat. She gave Ducky and Lucky a couple rubs before she turned her gaze back to outside the window.
“There’s been a few hiccups, kiddo, but I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
They drove the rest of the drive in silence, the radio blasting some kind of energetic music. Jackie didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was coming off a playlist that Chase, or Jack, had more than likely made during one of their blaze sessions. It wasn’t long before they pulled into a stone driveway that was connected to a house that would have stood out in the city like a sore thumb.
“We’re here, I guess!” Jackie beamed as he turned the key in the ignition and swung the door to the car open, dodging as his kiddo whizzed by him.
“This is our house.” Critter screamed as she stood in front of the large home with the wrap-around porch. With ash-toned panelling and dark accents along the outside the home, it almost resembled the cottages that would be seen on postcards. To the left of the home, a large tire swing swung gently in the breeze, the moving truck parked near the large shed to the right of the home.
Chase was already working his way through the contents of the truck, moving box after box down the metal ramp with sharp thuds from his work boots. He smiled as he saw his family. Wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, he made his way over to his daughter.
“So?” he panted and dusted off his ripped jeans. “What do you think?”
Jackie bounced over and jumped onto the ramp of the truck, getting to work. He’d been idle for too long anyway, but he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. This was their home, now. “It’s amazing, Chaser.”
“Not you!” Chase snorted. “We built this together. I’m asking the kiddo.”
Critter, to say the least, was in awe of the home in front of her. Her tail wagged violently and she swung on her heels, trying to get the excitement out. “This is ours, dad?”
“All ours.” Chase smiled, “Took us sixteen months, give or take, and some heavy duty planning, but...yes. The Brody-Byrnes Burrow. Do you wanna see inside or...are you just going to pitch a tent out here? Cause I think the camping gear is...very, very buried in the moving truck.”
Critter rolled her eyes and gently punched her dad before she leaped up the three stairs, onto the porch, and through the open front door.
Most of the furniture had already been moved in days prior to the rest of the truck being packed, but it still warmed her heart to see just how large and cozy the home was on the inside. With earthy, neutral tones, and furniture that both of her fathers had picked, the living room was set up with two, chocolate brown couches that hugged the edges of the beige rug on the floor. A TV was anchored to the wall, the walls themselves of the hallway and the living room a cape cod blue to compliment the brown tones. The stairway leading to the upstairs was closer to the back of the house, with the kitchen and backdoor also in that direction.
“You should head upstairs while we grab some boxes, kid.” Chase beamed. “Your room is the second door on the left. First door on the same side is the loo!”
“‘Kay, Dad!” Critter smiled as she made her way up the stairs. She called out behind her as she continued upwards, “I’ll be down to help, too. Don’t think that I’m letting you and Dad Two do all the lifting.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, kid.” Chase chuckled and stepped outside towards the truck, grabbing the boxes he had already moved.
Critter, in an attempt to not break anything in excitement, paced herself as she moved towards the room Chase said for her to go to. She couldn’t help but notice that none of the bedrooms were missing doors, but she decided to pocket the question for later. When she reached the room, she froze in place at the sight in front of her.
The room, to say the least, was simple in design, but spoke volumes to her. With soft blue walls and sheer, white curtains blowing gently from the breeze outside, the room was quite large for its location in the home. A Queen sized bed was tucked in the corner near the window, the crisp, white footboard of the bed meeting with the edge of the windowsill. A matching white desk was adjacent to the door, with paint splotches strategically splotted across the surface and legs. It had been a summer project that she and her dads had done as a way to cure summer boredom, but she couldn’t help but smile at the small, blue handprint that was slapped on the side. Critter giggled, remembering Ryder running to place his paint-covered hand on the desk as a gift to his sister.
She stepped inside the room and was overwhelmed by emotion at the sight of a small, silver and gold locket sitting on the desk. Overwhelmed enough, that she hadn’t noticed Jackie standing behind her with a few of her boxes.
“You found our gift, huh?” he asked quietly, a relaxed expression on his face.
“Huh?” she picked up the locket gently, opening it to see a small, black and white photo of her and her two dads on their latest camping trip.
“We wanted you to have something special.” Jackie explained, “It was supposed to be here for your birthday, but as always, there were complications with the order that Chaser did. He said they were the wrong colours or something.”
Tears began to escape Critter’s eyes and she held the locket close to her chest. “Thank you.”
Jackie placed the boxes to the side of the door, and in one fell swoop, pulled his daughter in for a hug. “We got you, yeah?”
She nodded against his shoulder, the warmth filling the room. They both were so full of love as she pulled away.
“We should...probably help Dad out.” She smiled, “Don’t want him getting himself into trouble.”
Jackie couldn’t help but laugh. “He’ll more than likely get stuck between boxes or something.”
As if on cue, Chase could be heard from outside, his voice echoing from the inside of the truck.
“I’m...going to take a guess he got stuck.” Jackie sighed and made his way towards the stairs. Critter was right behind him, giggling.
They were home at last. The Brody-Byrnes Burrow did, after all, have a nice ring to it.
The End.
