Patrick's Reality

“We’ve got a backup plan at least that’s what Maximus said,” Patrick explained sighing, rubbing his neck that felt taut to him. 

“Patrick, what was your friend doing in Afghanistan?”

“Her name is Helena Stanton, she’s a cable network anchor for the BBC,” Patrick said, chuckling, “not what I had expected of her.”

“I know who she is, Anna and I love to watch her talk show on PBS, so she’s your old girlfriend,” Elizabeth said smirking. “Have you seen her show lately?”

“No, I can’t say that I have but then I haven’t been keeping up with her life,” Patrick said, pulling his wife closer to him, he embraced her tenderly and then kissed her lips wantonly. “It’s your life that I want to keep up with it’s, you that I love and only you.”

“You have a crazy way of showing that at times,” Elizabeth said, leaning into his arms for comfort. “Please be careful, I cannot raise these seven children by myself -- they’ll need their father and I want my husband.”

Patrick’s chin rested on his wife’s head, he mulled over in his head those words of his wife. ‘I cannot raise seven children by myself,’ he mumbled aloud. “Elizabeth, you’re pregnant aren’t you?”

“Yes, I don’t know how it happened but in five months we’ll have another baby,” Elizabeth said, sighing. “Somewhere around the middle of June, we’ll have another child.”

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“Your father guessed that I was with child, and he told me to tell you soon,” Elizabeth said, smiling in spite of her heavy heart.

“I love you and I’m sorry that I’ve been such a jerk but when I come back from Afghanistan, I’ll explain why I’m not my usual jovial self,” her husband said, hugging her tightly. “Are we having Thanksgiving dinner here or at the hospitality house?” he asked changing the subject to release some of the tension.

“I’m not sure, it depends on what Dr. McKinnon has to say,” Elizabeth said, with a sigh. “If he thinks that it’s okay for the babies’ to be around everyone then I guess, we’ll have it here.”

“Will that be all right with you?” he asked worriedly.

“Yes that’ll be fine with me, I’d rather have everyone here but when will you and Maximus leave?”

“We’re leaving on Saturday that’s the soonest that we can get the company jet from Mission for the Poor,” Patrick replied wearily. “Elizabeth, we have five days together so let’s experience a few unforgettable moments.”

“Patrick -- Patrick,” she mumbled against his neck, and then kissed him passionately; their babies’ giggled excitedly as they watched their parents embrace each other. Patrick could see the three angels watching them; he smiled while his wife tried to kiss him against. “Why are you smiling?”

“Turn slowly to look at the three angels, we’re entertaining them,” he said, guiding her in their direction.

Elizabeth smiled; she had seen their expressions of joy before but it did her heart good to see it at this moment. She went over to Ian’s crib to pick him up; her son laid his head on her shoulder and rocked back and forth. The minute that he was quiet the other two began to cry for attention, their father came to release them from their prison. Patrick did a balancing act with Grace in his left arm and Kathleen in the other arm.

“Do you suppose that they are hungry?” Patrick asked his wife as she changed their son’s diaper again.

“Patrick, if you will change the girls diapers while I fix them dinner and us,” she said laughing, “I hope Maximus likes my chicken casserole because that’s our dinner.”

“I’m sure that he’s not hard to please but I’ll ask him,” Patrick said, changing his daughter’s dirty diaper. “Elizabeth, I need some bath water for this one,” he said, holding up the dirty naked baby for his wife to see.

“I get the picture but thanks for the graphic display, I’ll be right back with a bucket of warm water,” she remarked, taking Ian out to the kitchen to leave with Anna.

The older Murphy child was engrossed with a show on the Learning Channel; she didn’t hear her mother’s call for help until her youngest brother squealed loudly. Anna rose reluctantly from her place on the sofa to see what her mother wanted.

“I hate to disturb your comfort but I need you to take care of Ian, while I help your father bathes Kathleen,” her mother giggled.

“She did it to him, too?” Anna asked, gathering her brother and his toys to take him into the playroom.

“Oh boy did she, it’s a real big mess,” Elizabeth laughed, when she heard her husband bellow her name. “I’m coming Patrick, hung in there the water’s on the way.”   

Elizabeth hurried to the kitchen to fill the babies’ water bucket with enough warm water to wash and rinse the little angel. When she returned to the room, she was unable to contain the laughter that racked her petite body. Elizabeth fell against the arm of the old winged back recliner and sank into the center of it laughing so hard that she had spilled some of the water. There stood her husband holding their daughter up and out away from him so that she wouldn’t drip on him, he glared at her as she got up to fill the portable bathtub. While she did the bath water he continued to hold the wiggling baby in an upright position.

“Hurry will you, she’s leaking all over the place.”

“Oh, Patrick, please stop it, you’re making my side hurt,” Elizabeth said, reserving half of the water to rinse the messy child.

“And how pray tell, am I causing your side to hurt?” he asked, as he soaped up his daughter to wash her all over.

“I only wish that you could’ve seen your expression as you held Kathleen like she was contaminated,” his wife giggled loudly.

“Elizabeth, she was soiled all the way up her back and you took your time getting the water,” he remarked as he splashed water at her. She filled the other side of the double bathtub with the clean water so her husband could rinse their daughter.

“Thanks for the explanation but you don’t need to be so descriptive, I got the picture – didn’t I, Kathleen?” she asked to sweet child who giggled aloud when her father rubbed and then kissed her sweet feet. “I’ll dress her.”