Page 3 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

“Looks like everyone’s still awake,” Bobby observed as he turned the car off.

“Christ, they shouldn’t be up this late, they all got school tomorrow. Davey’s got two tests and Carrie’s supposed to give a presentation in Science.” He was talking to himself, thinking out loud in his frustration, but Bobby looked over at him, his face unreadable in the dark.

“It’ll be fine, Tom. We’ll get things settled in there.”

Before Tommy could protest, Bobby was out of the car, bag in hand, and striding toward the front steps like he belonged there.

The front door opened before they were halfway to the porch. Colleen stood with a baby on one hip and another curled around her leg. Dutiful to her core, she never complained, never thought for a moment about herself. Two days ago when she turned seventeen, Tommy had wished her a happy birthday—which was the most any of them got when birthdays rolled around. She had only looked at him as if she’d forgotten and then responded with a smile and a shrug.

Now, with her straight auburn hair pulled back into a tattered ponytail and a strained expression on her face, Tommy could tell she was exhausted. “Sorry things aren’t settled yet, Tommy, just….”

He kissed her on the forehead as he passed, stooping down to lift up little Max on his way through the door. “Don’t you dare apologize, Col.” The house was messier than he usually found it after work, but he could understand why. Max let out a small whimper as he dropped his head onto Tommy’s shoulder. “He feels warm too.”

Colleen walked behind them, updating him on everything as she went. “Yeah, his just started to go up. Zoe’s been running one off and on all day, but it started to get worse about an hour ago.” When she noticed Bobby, she smiled at him over her shoulder. “Hey, Bobby, good to see ya.”

“Good to see you too, Colleen. Where’s the folks?” he asked, glancing around the house.

Tommy felt a small flash of embarrassment, knowing their home wasn’t exactly fit for company even on the best days. The TV stood precariously on a makeshift shelf put together with cinder blocks and boards, a DVD player Davey had “found” one day sitting under it. A short bungee cord held the TV to the wall in hopes it wouldn’t crush the babies if it fell. Cigarette burns and stains sprinkled the carpets. Nearly as bad, the couch had holes worn in the fabric and a tattered blanket tossed over the back. But it would take a white glove to find any dust and the windows were crystal clear. They might not have the nicest things, the house might be too small and rundown, but they tried to keep it clean. Tommy could be proud of that, if nothing else.

“Probably in a gutter somewhere, same as usual,” Colleen answered without spite, just a matter-of-fact statement as if it belonged to a simple set of truths in this world: the sky is blue, the sun rises and sets, Calvin and Cheryl O’Shea are good-for-nothing bums who pass out in their own bodily fluids on a regular basis.

Bobby didn’t laugh, but he probably knew it wasn’t a joke. He looked around the room for another minute, and Tommy realized he was doing a head count when Bobby asked, “Where’s Davey and Carrie?”

Colleen and Bobby headed into the kitchen and Tommy followed, noticing again how Bobby acted as if he lived there. It didn’t bother him, exactly, but it made him feel restless and frustrated in some way he couldn’t name.

“Sent them to bed. Mikey is getting ready to do the same. Can’t move Collin from the sofa, though. Says he wants to finish whatever movie he’s watching, and I don’t have it in me to argue with him any more tonight.”

Bobby dug into the bag and passed Colleen the medicine just as Zoe tried to squirm out of her arms.

“Thanks,” she said as she took the boxes and passed Zoe over to Bobby.

The baby reached for him. Tommy could have laughed then too. Zoe didn’t like strangers, but Bobby had made so many visits to their home—on official business—that she treated him like family.

“No problem,” he murmured, pressing a small kiss to Zoe’s hair just as Tommy had done when he picked up Max. He started pacing, bouncing the baby in his arms and whispering to her, “It’s okay, we got your medicine, you’re gonna feel better soon.”

Zoe was still whimpering, looking worn-out and uncomfortable, but she was settling under Bobby’s tender tones and gentle steps. The image made Tommy’s breath catch. It twisted and tightened something in his chest that felt like it might break now.

“I’ll go get Collin up to bed,” Tommy said, his voice a rough whisper, not sure what to do with himself with this new person in the mix.

Colleen nodded as she started reading the back of the little bottle, serving up a dose for each of the babies. He could feel Bobby’s eyes on him as he strolled back into the living room with Max still in his arms.

Collin was sound asleep, curled up on the couch with the remote tucked in his hand. Some old sci-fi movie played on the TV, black-and-white, with a girl screaming as she ran through the woods with a bright light chasing her down. He muttered a curse as he turned off the television before reaching to nudge his little brother. “Rise and shine, kiddo.”

All he got in return was a mumble and a slight stir before Collin shifted and rolled over. Tommy shook his head, smiling fondly and thinking Collin was a lot sweeter when he was asleep and not swindling classmates out of their milk money or filching something off the back of a delivery truck with Davey. The kid worried him no end. Collin was growing up to be either a genius or a thug. Tommy hated it, but he knew which direction he’d bet his money.

He quietly wandered back to the kitchen, sidestepping a small pile of toys on his way. “I got these for the kids tomorrow,” he heard Bobby say as he rounded the corner. Bobby was passing the box of doughnuts over to Colleen.

“Bad for their teeth,” Tommy pointed out, not even sure why he was being such an ungrateful prick.

Bobby looked bashful for a flash of a second, like a kid caught doing something despicable, but then he shrugged and twitched a guilty smile at Tommy.

Colleen shot her brother a glare and then turned to Bobby. “Thanks, Bobby. I’ll let ’em know they’re from you.”

Tommy could tell Zoe had already had her dose as Colleen came over to give Max his. The baby fussed in his arms when he saw the little dispenser filled with purple fluid, but Tommy stroked his back and shushed him, and the boy let his sister give him the medicine. “There,” Tommy whispered, pressing another light kiss to Max’s temple. “We gotcha.”

Colleen started to wipe down the counters. Mike had done the dishes, but things were still a mess. “Collin go up to bed?”

“Nah, he’s out like a light. I’ll carry him up after I get the twins to bed. You go on up, you look beat,” he told her, nodding toward the door.

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