Linstead - Broken hearts

Chapter 8

After they talked for a while, Jay put his children to bed and went to sleep. The next day he wakes up with his alarm, it was a tiring day for him, in addition to work and meetings, a sick child demanded a lot of his energy.

He turns off the alarm and looks around, taking in his boy's tiny body next to him. Jesse's feet were on his father's waist, one of his hands was holding Chase and the other was on top covering his face. His small body was diagonal and that brought a smile to Halstead's lips. His boy didn't know how to handle a big bed and tried to take up as much space as possible. The boy joined his father's bed around three in the morning. He snuggled into Jay's arms and quickly fell asleep.

Jay then gets up and decides to let his children rest a little longer since they went to bed a little later than usual the night before. The man goes down the stairs of his house and finishes cleaning, putting the clothes in the dryer while he prepares breakfast.

Even though he let his kids sleep more than usual, their biological clock didn't. His children's bodies were already accustomed to the routine and 20 minutes after their normal wake-up time, the two children he cared for and loved came down the stairs.

He checks on his son, he complains of some minor pains, which was to be expected, but the medicines were at least having an effect. He serves his children breakfast and as he had already eaten his, he busies himself taking the clothes out of the dryer.

One thing he has learned to do is share chores when raising his children. They each had their own laundry basket. Jay washes and dries them and sorts them (sometimes his kids help sort them). But the two children's obligation is to take their basket (if they can bear it) and take it to their rooms and put away their clothes. Maya could already manage it on her own, it wasn't perfect, but she was almost there. And Jesse still needed help. Another task Jay asked his children to do was clear the dishes from the table. They didn't need to be washed, sometimes his daughter put them in the dishwasher, but it wasn't an obligation he demanded, putting them in the sink was enough.

He was always helping and encouraging his children to maintain the house. In addition to being alone and if his children didn't help it would be difficult for him, he wanted his children to be responsible and careful in their home. He taught housework and his favorite part was the Halstead Kitchen moment. She had been missing for a while, but he intended to return. Cooking with his children was the therapy he wanted and needed, nothing else was as good.

So after breakfast, they went back to the second floor to get ready for the day. He would take both of them with him to work so he could keep an eye on Jesse and see how he spent the day.

- Why are you still in your pajamas? -he had left Maya to get ready while she helped her son.

- I was putting away my clothes. - she responds and shows her empty clothes basket.

- Good work... - he starts but is interrupted by his cell phone. He reads the messages and responds while his daughter gets dressed for the day.

- Who was? - she asks, curious and already finishing dressing.

- Work, we're going to have a meeting in a little while. - he tells his daughter. He always had morning meetings once or twice a week, via video call and beforehand he was notified whether they would be held or not and what time it would start. - Ok, I have two beautiful and well-dressed children... - He says looking at his children, already ready and dressed for the day. - but... I still feel breathless. - He plays making his children laugh.

While the two brush their teeth, Jay fixes his children's hair. Maya's hair has always been a problem for her. She's at the stage where she always wants a different hairstyle. Today she didn't ask for much. Just a side braid and a ponytail. It wasn't an exaggerated braid, it was a normal braid that he made and combined with the rest of his daughter's hair and tied it up. He expected her to complain, but her smile full of toothpaste and a spitted thank you showed that she loved what her father did. She wasn't professional, but it made her look beautiful.