Life On the Fjords

Cold Morning

Elsa was careful not to wake Jack the next morning. He was in a deep sleep and she knew it was better to let him rest so he could catch up on what he'd lost.

Padding out to the hall, she peeped on the children to see if they were sleeping and then went to the kitchen to start breakfast. What she'd failed to notice was that Jamie was already awake. He wasn't particularly anxious to get up if it meant spending time with Elsa, but he did want to get out of bed. As he shifted, he noticed a cold, wet spot in his bed, spread out in a small stain. Jamie then noticed his pants were soaked at the crotch and he realized what he'd done.

This hadn't happened in years. Jamie only wet the bed back when he was too scared to leave his room during the monster's worst tantrums. He must've just slept too hard the night before to realize he had to pee—he wasn't scared anymore, was he? Did Jack's nightmare bring back old anxieties?

Too embarrassed to ask for help, Jamie cautiously slipped out of bed, hiding the pee stain with his blanket before grabbing a change of clothes. Once he was dry and he'd hidden his pajamas in the laundry basket, all that was left were his sheets to deal with. When he left the bathroom, he bumped into Elsa, who startled.

"Oh, I was just coming to get you. Breakfast is ready."

"Mm." Jamie grunted and moved past her. He was going to wait until Mary was up and out of their room before he snuck the sheets into the hamper. He felt like he needed three baths. While his plate sat untouched on the table and Mary and Elsa dined together, Jamie used this opportunity to pull off his bedsheet and ball it up before creeping down the hall.

He would once again be intercepted by Jack exiting the bathroom. He'd just finished brushing his teeth in a half-asleep daze and wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. Jamie holding his sheets looking petrified. Jack winced, putting together what he thought had happened, but then recalled this all-to-familiar scenario and he sighed. "Put them in the hamper. I'll get it later."

Jack wondered what made Jamie wet the bed after years of no issue—he debated whether it was puberty and Jamie thought he'd wet the bed... but the smell of urine was unmistakable and so Jack took the basket aside immediately for washing. As he scrubbed the clothes and sheets, he asked himself why did puberty have to be so messy? Whether it was semen or blood, someone's bedsheets and underwear were getting ruined.

Poor Jamie and Mary were getting ready for their awkward stages. Jack himself was certain he hadn't outgrown his own yet. Worse yet, sweet kids turned into little night terrors when they became teenagers—Jack recalled his close friends in childhood suddenly became vicious, wicked creatures during their tween years. Lighthearted jokes became aggressive insults, and everyone seemed to be trying to prove something to everyone.

Not Jack. Jack had stayed quiet and reserved, to the point his teachers either loved him for his 'maturity' or worried about his 'lack of friends.' Adults would call Jack precocious, even during the years before his mother vanished. He gravitated more towards the older children or the adults, wanting desperately to be part of whatever they were doing and not children his own age. Even today, Jack was more drawn to older adults or young children he could look after. Elsa was the exception, of course. The only one for as far as he could see.

Jamie and Mary need to make new friends. Jack mused, finishing his mid-morning chore. When the holidays are over, we need to get them in school. The door slammed open and running past Jack, hopping off the porch were Mary and Jamie. Mary hastily said, "We're gonna go play on the swing!"

"Okay," Jack replied, but not loudly enough for them to hear. As the door was falling shut, it was pushed back open by Elsa. She had a distressed look on her face. "What's wrong?"