I'll Fight Hell to Hold You

Tommy's First Good Day

Tommy woke up feeling much better about two days after Eric came back. He slipped out of bed, dressed in shorts and a polo shirt and headed to the kitchen. Leaving Paul a note and grabbing a bag of fruit and a milk carton, he headed to the golf course. 

Paul woke up around nine to find Tommy's side of the bed empty. He immediately sat up and panicked. "The kitchen! I left all the knives there!" "Oh my God!"

Running down the stairs, Paul nearly slipped turning the corner. Finding the note, he let out a sigh. "Thank God!"

Reading the note, Paul made coffee and heated up two Danishes. He sent Tommy a text saying he loved him and he'd probably take the girls shopping.

"Dada? Momma?" called Taylor. "Up!"

Paul went to bring Taylor to the kitchen. Her curls had slipped out of her braid. Paul undid her  hair and re-brushed it. Putting a red bow in her braid, he told her what his plans were. "Let's go get your sisters and we can eat. "

"Eat cakies?" (pancakes) squealed the little girl. "Hah! (Hannah) Cakies!" 

Paul soon had four hungry little girls eating pancakes. Aurora tried not to mess up her pink, teddy bear print dress. Hannah , wearing blue, fed her stuffed flower as Paul fed Mady. All his daughters shared the same big eyes. Taylor's were dark brown, Aurora's hazel, Hannah's hazel/brown and Mady's dark brown.  Aurora and Mady had blonde curls while Taylor and Hannah's were black. All of them had headfuls of hair.

Meanwhile, Tommy had already worked his way through five holes and was eating an apple. He texted Paul to let him know he was doing okay and to enjoy shopping. He finished the first game and stopped to drink a beer. The alcohol made him feel light headed but warm inside. Telling himself one was the limit, he went to start another game of golf. He wound up drinking five.

Later that evening, Tommy managed to make it home shortly before Paul drove up. He was buzzed and passed out on the bed. Paul could smell the cheap beer when he walked in. He carried four sleeping babies upstairs one at a time. Tucking them in, he then headed to the car again to bring in their purchases. 

When he finally made it to the bedroom, Tommy was passed out. "Damn! For an expensive country club, the beer's cheap as hell!" The smell was nauseating. Paul wound up on the couch. 

Later that night he could hear Tommy throwing up all the cheap beer. Getting up, he headed back upstairs. "Tom, you okay?"

"Gross! Cheap beer!" mumbled Tommy between gagging and puking. 

Paul helped him back to bed after coaxing him to shower and change. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself even if the booze sucked."

Mumbling something about frog water, Tommy went back to sleep.