Chapter 16: A peek into Julie's world

School was finally out for the summer. College is definitely tougher than high school was. I think I did pretty well on my finals. My grades were going to be sent to my parents. Problem with that is they still won't talk to me.

I had just moved in with Rob and his family. It's only until the baby is born. Then I will go home and try to make up with my parents. I will be glad to get back into my old clothes. I'm getting sick of this extended belly.

The mood around the Becker household has changed. Everyone was normally very happy. Since Melanie passed away, the family is just walking through life.

It took me most of the day on Sunday to get the room I'm staying in straightened up. I had a dresser to put my clothes in and a closet. The bed was much better than the one at the college. Life could be worse I guess.

I walked down the hall to talk to Becky. I found her sitting in her room reading again.

"Hey Becky. What are we going to do today?"

"Not much. Sunday is normally a quiet day around here. Everyone normally finds something to keep themselves busy."

"Oh. I guess I can do that."

"Feel free to raid any of my books that look interesting. I have read all of them that you see on that shelf."

"Thanks Becky. I'm thinking about taking a nap."

I started to get up just as a knock came at the door. Rob poked his head in the room and announced that dinner was ready. Ok, so I'll eat first. I turned to Becky.

"Who cooked dinner?"

"Daddy, why?"

"Your Dad can cook?"

"Daddy's a very good cook. My grandma made him learn. Daddy always said that she made him learn because he may spend 10 years as a bachelor. He taught Mom and me how to cook."

"Wow, I didn't know."

"Well, we better get out there to eat. If we are a bit slow, Robbie will eat it all. Then we'll go hungry."

We joined the family for dinner. It was quite good. I guess Rob is a good cook. After dinner, Becky and I did the dishes. We also took some time to talk.

"Becky, how are you doing since your mom's death."?

"I'm hanging in there. It's still a bit shocking that she's gone. It feels like she's only gone away for a few days. It's like she'll return in a day or two. We'll survive."

"If you need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me."

"Thanks Julie."

We finished the dishes then joined Rob and the boys watching a movie. I had never seen a James Bond movie. Seemed interesting, even if it was an older one. We went to bed sometime later.

It was nice to sleep in for a change. No alarms, no classes, just peace and quiet. I got up and went to the bathroom. I headed to the kitchen and made something to eat. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was 10 o'clock. It had been a while since I could sleep that late.

After breakfast, I sat at the table thinking about what I could do. I realized that there wasn't much to do. I looked around and decided that the house needed some cleaning, so I started cleaning the house. I also found something in the freezer and decided to work on dinner as well. I figured that I might as well. I had nothing better to do with my time. Well, ok, I guess I could sit back and watch my belly swell more.

Becky arrived home around 3 and decided to start helping me with dinner. I still hadn't decided what time to eat.

"Becky, what time does your dad come home?"

"He'll be home around 5:30."

"Then that's what time I need to plan dinner for."

We got everything prepared and put it in the fridge. It needed to go in the oven in about an hour.

Becky had homework, so I helped her. She really didn't need much help. I can tell that she's good in math like Rob.

I had dinner served when Rob arrived home. He seemed totally shocked that dinner was ready. He very politely thanked me for my efforts on dinner and the house cleaning. It felt nice to be appreciated. Robbie helped out and washed the dishes. The whole family went in and watched TV together. I wasn't sure that I would be welcome, but Becky made me join them anyway.

That night, I slept a little better. I had spent enough time here with Becky to be comfortable in my surroundings.

I woke up Tuesday at about the same time as yesterday. After showering and eating, I realized that I didn't have much to do. I planned something for dinner and pulled what was needed. I decided to take a nap.

I woke up with enough time to see Becky get home from school. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

"Hi Becky, how was your day?"

"Just another normal day. You look like you need something to do. Bored?"

"God, that's a mild understatement. I have another hour before starting dinner."

"Well, You might want to make it a bit earlier today. Daddy will just blow in and blow right back out."

"Why?"

"It's game night. That means Mike needs to be at the field around 5. Daddy is the umpire for the other game. He won't be able to watch Mike's game. He hates it when that happens."

"So what should I do about dinner?"

"Cook for about 4:30 and have most of us eat. Daddy will just have a sandwich before the game. He'll eat at the field after the game."

"Ok, I guess I better get working."

I started dinner. Everything happened just as Becky told me. I sat home bored as hell the rest of the night. I finally just decided to go to bed.

The rest of the week was as boring as it could get. I was home alone all day long with nothing to do. I had decided on Wednesday to send a letter home to my parents. I know they weren't talking to me, but I wanted them to at least know where to find me if they needed me.

I found that playing the role of housekeeper was quite easy. I was doing the laundry before the family would have been doing it themselves. Rob was spending every other evening at the ball field. I was told that this was normal. Everybody just came and went, as they needed. On the nights when there was no baseball, we all sat down for dinner as a family.

At the beginning of the second week, Becky grabbed me.

"Julie, are you coming to my first softball game?"

"When is it?"

"Thursday. I want you to see me play."

"Ok. I'll be there. How am I going to get there though?"

"Catch a ride with Daddy. He's the manager for our team."

"Oh, Ok. I can do that."