Take Me Dancing

I woke up the next day with Zeno kicking me in his sleep. Zeno and Theodore ended up crashing in my room as well after Bryce left around 8:30.
"Boys," I cooed, "Wake up, it's time to get up, guys,"
Zeno just shifted in his sleep while his older brother rolled over on his back and looked at me with tired eyes,
"Momma, I sweepy,"
I laughed and pulled the blanket off of the pajama clad three year old, "It's almost nine,"
Theodore rolled his eyes and sat up. I then turned to Zeno and shook him gently. The younger boy just ignored me. I laughed and pulled the blanket off of him as well just to receive a quiet groan from the two year old. He sat up and wrapped his little arms around my neck, his head on my shoulder and drifted back to sleep.
"Mommy," Zeno murmured, nestling his face in my shirt.
"Hi baby," I grinned and stood up, instantly cringing when my bare feet came in contact with the cold wooden floor. Theodore jumped off of the small bed and grabbed my hand as we walked out of the bedroom and down the seven stairs to the foyer. We walked down the decorated hallway and into the modern looking kitchen where I could hear my parents shuffling around.
"Morning," I greeted as the three of us wandered into the tiled kitchen. My father was sitting at the wooden kitchen table with a plate of food in front of him. My mother stood, leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup of, what looked to be, coffee in her hands.
"Good morning, Jennifer, Boys," My father greeted with a smile. He stood up and walked over to us and pulled me into a hug, wrinkling his pressed dress shirt and tie.
"Morning Gwandpa Will," Theodore murmured quietly, reaching up for my father to pick him up.
"Good morning, Theodore," Dad said, pulling the little boy from the chilly floor and into his arms. Theodore waved at my mother who sent a polite smile back and took a sip of her coffee. I bit my lip and looked away from the dark haired woman. It was awkwardly quiet in the kitchen that I had spent a lot of time in during my childhood. After a moment my Father set Theodore down and kissed my mothers cheek before he spoke,
"Well, I've got to be to work. I'll see you guys later, then?"
I nodded uneasily as Theodore said his goodbyes. When Zeno looked up, thinking everyone was gone, I took the chance and set him on the floor. I ignored his protest and told him and his brother to take a seat at the kitchen table. They listened and I went over to the fridge, pretending to be oblivious to the look of disgust on my mother face as I started to grab items from the fridge.
"What are you doing?" She asked, placing her cup in the sink and turning to me with her arms folded over her chest.
I sighed and turned to face her impatiently, "I'm cooking for my children,"
"I see that," She stated, "That's the job of your nanny,"
I rolled my eyes and began to mix everything together for pancake mix, "I am the nanny, mother,"
I swear I heard my mother gasp from where she stood, right before she spoke, "You mean Garrett never hired a nanny?"
I shook my head and turned the stove on, "No, unlike you, I want to be the one raising my kids, Mom. The boys mean the world to Garrett and I,"
"Jennifer!" My mother scolded, "You and Bryan mean everything to me!"
I nodded unbelievingly and glanced to my anxious boys, "Okay Mother," I replied, offering Zeno and Theodore a smile.
Theodore didn't smile back and Zeno just laid his head on the table and closed his eyes as smoke started coming out of Mom's ears.
"Jennifer, I was just doing what I thought was best for you," She defended, reaching forward to rest her right hand on my shoulder.
"No," I whispered, "You were doing what was right for you. What was right for me was marrying the man that I fell in love with," I bit my lip and took in a deep breath, wishing that she wouldn't have brought this up.
"I thought that Garrett was no good for you back then. I couldn't see him going any where and now I know that I was wrong. Garrett's band has become quite successful, honey, I was wrong,"
I gave a stiff nod and continued to cook breakfast for my two boys. Mom sighed and took her hand off of my shoulder, yet I could still feel her gaze on me as I worked.

"They're beautiful, Darling," My Mom said after a few minutes. I turned to her in shock, my arms hanging limply at my sides as I glanced between her and the two boys that seemed to be a sleep at the kitchen table.
"They look just like you,"
I shook my head, "They look more like Garrett. Exactly like Garrett,"
I watched my Mom as she studied their features, from their dark coloured hair, to their rounded cheeks and partially visible dimples.
"You should visit more," My mother concluded, looking away from them and to me, "Next time bring Garrett,"
I nodded as I tried to hide the smile on my face at my mothers form of an apology. I turned back the the pan, noticing the that their were no more bubbles on the pancakes and I flipped them one last time before I called loudly for Theodore and Zeno to wake up.
I grinned at my Mom as the boys shot up and looked around like they were confused, "Breakfast," I sang, placing a plate of cut up pancakes down in front of them and grabbing my fathers plate from the spot he was sitting in before and discarding it in the chrome sink.
I took my father's seat and my mother took the one across from it, smiling as she watched the dimpled boys devour the pancakes like they hadn't eaten in months. I ate a couple of light brown pancakes myself before I grabbed a wash cloth and wiped the syrup from their faces, ignoring their protests.
"Momma!" Theodore whined as I grabbed his hands and washed the sticky 'Mrs. Butterworth' syrup from his little fingers.
"Stop it," I murmured as he glared cutely, yanking his hands away and attempting to put them palm down into the puddle of syrup on his pate. I grabbed the plate before he could and stuck my tongue out at the three year old. He pouted and pushed his shaggy hair from his eyes before crossing his arms and leaning his head on the table once again.

Once I had both of the boys cleaned up, I asked my Mom is she would keep an eye out for them while I ran up to shower, quickly.
"Sure, honey, take your time," She replied, smiling at me.
I nodded slowly, surveying all the breakable things in the room, "Mom, don't let Theo out of your sight," I warned, backing away before she could change her mind.
"Alright, alright go shower, Jennifer!" My mother demanded with a chuckle, shooing me out of the kitchen.
I went to the bathroom that was across the hall from my bedroom and stripped down. My shower was scalding yet enjoyable, seeing as I didn't have to rush in fear that Theodore would be trying to colour on the walls or cut his younger brothers hair. When I did finally exit about 30 minutes later I could hear Bryan down stairs as well. I wandered, clad in only a fluffy white towel, into my bed room and got dressed in a pair of baggy grey sweats and a black wife-beater that I had stolen from Garrett a while back. I sighed as I slipped the t'shirt on over my light purple bra.
"Bryan!" I yelled as I skipped down the stairs and into the living room, waiting for my 18 year old younger brother to come running through the door.
"What?" He whined loudly, a pout on his face as he wandered through the kitchen door with Theodore on his back and Zeno standing next to him.
I rolled my eyes at his tone, "Well, the boys need baths and then I figured you'd want to come with us to the fair,"
All three of their eyes lit up at the mention of the perpetual fair that was down town. And Bryan nodded, pulling Zeno into his arms as he raced past me screaming, "The Redcoats are coming!" And howling like an Indian. I rolled my eyes and followed after them anyways.

It took about an hour to actually clean them off because of the fact that Bryan wouldn't stop throwing water around and wiping bubbles onto his nephew's faces.
"Bryan Daniel Martin!" I warned for the seventh time as he splashed me, the boys copying him as they sat in the large bathtub.
"What?" Bryan asked defensively, holding his hands up in innocence.
"You know what," I growled, "Leave,"
Bryan put a puppy dog look on his face, his green eyes watering and his bottom lip jutting out as he stood up slowly and walked to the door. He stopped with his right hand on the door knob and looked back at me over his shoulder.
"Leave," I said again, hiding the chuckle that so desperately wanted to escape.
Bryan nodded and left, slamming the door behind him loudly like he used to when we were kids and he didn't get his way.
It only took me a few minutes from then on to get the boys washed up and dripping on the bathroom floor wrapped up in towels. They followed me like little ducks to the bed room and stood their as I pulled out clothing from the only bag that I had packed. I groaned to myself when I realized that I had only brought enough cloths for today and tomorrow.
I got each of them dressed quickly and ran a brush through their thick hair before I told them to scurry back into the bathroom so we could brush our teeth.
I helped Zeno brush his while Theodore roughly brushed his own. I brushed mine afterwards as they stood leaning in the doorway with excited looks on their faces.
"Hurry, Momma!" Theodore demanded, tapping his barefoot on the wooden floor. I rolled my own green eyes and nodded, spitting the access toothpaste into the sink.
"Lets go," I murmured, ushering them out of the bathroom. I yelled for Bryan as I carried Zeno down the stairs, making our way to the front door so we could put our shoes on.
"Lets go, Loser!" I yelled after Bryan told me to 'give him a fucking second'.
"I'm coming!" He sighed as he raced down the stairs in his ratty old classic converse.
Bryan helped Theodore tie his shoes while I did up the velcro on Zeno's. A minute later we were out the door and on our way to the large summer fair that we drove by on the way here yesterday.