Jet Pack Blues

Chapter 3

It was the middle of the night when I heard  a creaking sound. The hall light beamed in as my door opened. Gee stood there happily,

"Daddy, can I cuddles?" Gee asked.

"Of course," I said.

Gee crawled into bed between me and Jamia, making my wife stir awake.

"Hey, baby, did you have a nightmare?" She asked.

Gee shook his head. "I missed you."

"Oh, you're so sweet," she mumbled.

Jamia kissed his cheek and cuddled up close to him. The two quickly fell asleep but I wasn't so tired anymore. Instead I watched the way their chests rose and fell.

When morning came not long after I got up to get the kids ready for school. Miles' alarm was going off, the constant beeping driving me a bit insane.

"Daddy, I don't feel good," I heard a soft voice whimper.

Cherry stood in the hallway behind me and I knelt down, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Jamia! Cherry's sick!" I called.

Nobody pretended to be sick to get out of going to school in our household because of what being sick entails. We had to take special precautions because of Gee.

I picked cherry up and took her back to her room, shooing Lily out. I grabbed sanitation wipes and began wiping down everything in the room and the hallway that Cherry could've possibly touched. Jamia got hand sanitizer and sprayed it over gee's hands, rubbing them thoroughly. She gave him his pastel pink surgical mask and he let out an unhappy whine. He hated wearing masks.

"Alright, line up," I said.

Miles and Lily came over and got hand sanitizer too. I could hear Cherry crying, I felt bad but she had to be quarantined because Gee couldn't get sick. Jamia took the temperatures of all the kids and allowed them to go. Miles looked a little annoyed with all the fuss but he doesn't remember the last time Gee got sick, he was only a baby.

"I'm gonna be late," Miles complained as he stripped down to his underwear so Jamia could wash his clothes.

Maybe it's a bit extreme but we couldn't risk anything.

"That's okay, I'll drive you," I said.

He rolled his eyes and went back to his room. Lily was refusing to give up her stuffed bear as Jamia got her undressed. Her little hands clutched to it tight.

"Daddy, no," she sobbed. "I want Mr. Stuffy!"

"You'll get him soon," I promised.

It ripped my heart as I ripped the toy from her hands.

"Gee, go downstairs," I said.

He went downstairs and Jamia got some clean clothes before following him down there. I held Lily close, picking her up as I heard Miles' school bus drive by.

"Dad," Miles whined. "Can I just stay home?"

"No you can't," I denied.

He sighed and got dressed.

"I don't get why we have to make a big deal out of it," Miles complained. "Everyone gets sick."

"It's different for your brother, you know he has immunity problems," I said.

"He's not my brother," he stated.

"Stop that," I ordered. "Get dressed."

I went into the twins' room and sat Cherry down in the bed.