From the Ground Up 2.17

After the boys’ party was over, we quickly cleaned up, left Jude and Jarret with Riley’s dad, and headed to The Blue Velvet lounge for Cerena’s performance.

Once we arrived, Riley, Catia, and I found seats right up front. We sat around chatting while we waited for the show to start.

Despite the fact that I already knew just how nervous she was, Cerena looked beautiful and confident when she stepped up to the piano.

She played wonderfully, just as I knew she would. I’m no musician, but I didn’t notice any mistakes. As she played, more people wandered in from the bar area. Eventually there were so many people, that we could no longer see Cerena playing from our seats.

I could have been irritated that people were being inconsiderate, but instead I was just happy for my sister. I knew this would really help her confidence in her music. I chatted quietly with Riley a little, and then I looked over at Catia. It seemed that someone had sat down at the table with her, and they were too engrossed in conversation to notice anyone else.

After Cerena finished her performance, we decided to celebrate with a drink. While we waited to order, Riley and I ran into Billie Murphy, one of our patients from the clinic.

She was pregnant.. key word being was! She went into labor while we were there, and as we were leaving, she was being taken to the hospital by an ambulance.

When we walked in the front door at home…

We got quite a surprize! Jude and Jarret were still up, and watching scary movies!

“WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU ARE DOING?” I yelled. The boys, who had been so enraptured by the movie, that they hadn’t noticed us come in, jumped up off of the couch. 

“We were just watching a movie, dad!” said Jude.

“Oh, I see! And do you have any idea what time it is?” I asked. “Where is your grandfather, by the way?”

“He laid down after we went to bed, and fell asleep… but we couldn’t sleep, so we got up to watch tv!” Jude explained.

I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. “What on earth would make you think that it was ok to get out of bed after grandpa sent you there, and watch a scary movie?”

Jarret stood in the background looking nervous, but Jude just stood there staring at me, balling up his fists at his sides.

“You two,” I said, “are grounded!”

“That’s not FAIR!” Jude shouted.

“Go to your room, and go to bed… now!” I said, between clenched teeth.

After the boys left the room, I felt physically drained.

“Why are they acting up like this?” I asked Riley. “I just don’t understand it.” Riley put her arms around me.

“They are growing boys, who are testing their boundaries. You handled it perfectly, love!” she said.

That did make me feel a little better, but I was a little worried that this incident might point to trouble ahead where the boys were concerned.