The Family: Ties That Bind (VOL. 2)

Chapter 19

Loretta and Drayton left the house early that morning on a trip into town. About once a month when supplies were running low, Loretta would make out a grocery list and Drayton would take her into town to do all the shopping while he worked at the gas station. When the list wasn't too long, she would have Dray pick it up on his way home from work but since he didn't know how to shop for feminine products or baby essentials, Loretta decided to take the trip herself. It took a lot of convincing on Dray's part to get her to go since she was hesitant to leave us all here alone when there were potential liabilities hidden somewhere on the property that would sink the family if they escaped. I had a feeling Dray could have cared less about that though, he just didn't want to have to buy me pads.

With Loretta and Drayton gone for the day, that left Thomas and me under the supervision of Bubba and Nubbins who were ordered not to let us out of their sight. Loretta still didn't trust me not to stir up trouble with the hostages so it was either lock me in the basement until she got back or make the boys swear to watch my every move. Wise decision on her part. I wouldn't trust me either if I were in her shoes. 

The floor of the living room was where I decided to set up camp until she got back. Laying a blanket out, I sat Thomas down and surrounded him with his toys. It was another stifling summer day so I stripped him down to his diaper to keep him from overheating while he played. Nubbins sat in a chair across from us on watch duty while Bubba was off doing both of their chores as usual. He never really had an excuse for why he couldn't work and yet Bubba was always more than content to take on the double workload. Today, of course, he was the first one to volunteer to watch over Thomas and me since it gave him an excuse not to do his chores.

He slumped back in the armchair by the window, propping his long, slender, legs on the edge of the coffee table. His attention wasn't on us but on the pocket knife he was balancing on his fingertip. Occasionally, it'd fall into his lap and he'd stick his finger in his mouth, no doubt licking away the blood the sharp tip of the knife pricked from his skin. Sitting still for him was torture. If there was one thing I learned about Nubbins since I arrived, it was that he had to be moving constantly. Sometimes he'd leave the house early in the morning before any of us were awake and wouldn't be back until dinner the next day. He was a restless nomad, saddled with responsibilities that kept him from living the life of freedom he sought.

Thomas emitted a gleeful coo at the sight of his favorite doll amidst the pile of toys, the sound disrupting Nubbins' concentration and causing him to drop the knife into his lap once again. "Damn it," he cursed out loud since Loretta was nowhere near to yell at him for it.

"You know I'm gonna laugh really hard when you drop that knife again and it kabobs your junk."

He glared at me in annoyance. "Kabobin' my junk would be more fun than sittin' here watchin' yew an' that muppet." 

"Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to be entertaining you too. Shall I get up and do a jig? Maybe sing a little ditty? Would that cure your boredom?" I flashed an obviously fake smile just to taunt him a tad more. Pissing him off was my favorite pastime after all.

He doesn't bother looking up again and goes back to balancing the blade on the tip of his finger. "Worth a try."

The fake smile on my lips fell into a frown of disgust. "Yeah, no, I'm not doing any of that for you, Nubbins."

"Then why suggest it?" He closed the pocket knife and squeezed the metal case in his palm as he leaned forward in his seat, dropping his feet into the floor.

"So you'd see how ridiculous you sound telling me that I'm boring you. The only one I'm supposed to be entertaining here is Thomas." I rolled an old toy car along his plump leg and across each roll of chunky baby fat, drawing a squeal and peal of giggles from him. His tiny hands grabbed the car and without hesitation, it went right into his mouth. Since the car was too large for him to swallow, I didn't stop him from chewing on the front of it.