Page 56 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

“Always. Love you.”

“Love you too. Keep all your parts attached so I can show ya how much later.” Tommy tried not to sound worried.

“I’ll do my best.” Bobby ended the call.

Tommy looked around the kitchen for a long moment. One of Judy’s cake covers was sitting empty and washed on the counter along with a few other dishes from her. Davey’s history report he’d gotten an A on, with Judy’s help, was hanging on the refrigerator. Zoe walked in with the soft little doll Judy had given her for Christmas. He ran his hand over his face and let out a frustrated breath. “Goddamn it,” he muttered.

Zoe looked up at him like he’d been talking to her, and Tommy laughed as he picked her up. “You wanna go bye-bye?” he asked her. When she nodded, her curly hair bounced into her face.

It took them less than an hour to throw a pan of brownies together, send Davey down to the store to pick up (and pay for) a small bouquet of flowers, get the kids cleaned up and dressed, and get everyone piled into the car. The flowers were an extravagance they could barely afford, and there weren’t enough seats for all eight of them in the station wagon. Tommy knew it was wrong, but he let Collin sit on the floor in the back. He drove slow and steady over to Judy’s house.

He rang the doorbell four times and was ready to start knocking when Judy answered the door. She was wearing her robe, tied tightly over a pair of pajamas. Her eyes and nose were puffy and red. If Tommy hadn’t already gotten the details from Bobby, everyone might have thought she had a cold. She tried to smile at the kids, but she turned to Tommy and said, “This really isn’t—”

“Not a good time?” he asked as he cut her off. “Is it a little annoying to have people on your doorstep unannounced?”

Judy put her hands on her hips like she did when she was going to give him the “don’t argue with me” speech, but he didn’t let her get that far. He stepped back so Max could slice his way through the crowd. Max held the flowers up to her and said her name. Judy’s expression changed and her smile seemed easier, but it was still pained and Tommy understood. She picked up Max and kissed his cheek before stepping aside to let the kids in.

“We brought brownies,” Carrie told her as she went past.

They’d been to Judy’s house a few times over the last couple of months and they were familiar with the layout.

Judy put Max down and asked Colleen to help him put the flowers in some water. When she and Tommy were alone, she closed the door behind him. “That was a low blow.”

He looked at her for a long moment and thought about making a joke, but in the end he said seriously, “We take care of our own. And no one should be alone on days like this.”

Judy threw her arms around him in a fierce hug and whispered, “You’re a good boy.”

He could hear her sniffling against his shoulder. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I know when it’s time to drop by without calling first.”

Judy let out a wet laugh and then pulled back, wiping her eyes.

Pictures were spread over the coffee table next to a scrapbook lying open in the middle. The kids were in the backyard making snowmen while Tommy sat with Judy on the couch. She showed him pictures of Bobby when he was a baby and a few snapshots of other children who had come and gone when Judy was still taking in foster kids. He’d looked at her wedding pictures and was surprised by how much Bobby looked like his father. He had his mother’s mannerisms, but Bobby’s blond hair and blue eyes came from his dad.

“You know,” Judy said, still flipping pages in the album, “the funny thing is, Warren would’ve hated this.” She closed the book and leaned back against the cushion. “Whenever I do this I know he’s somewhere watching. I can hear his voice in my head telling me to knock it off.” Her laugh was sad and full of memories, but she didn’t cry, so Tommy figured they were making progress.

Tommy thought the dead didn’t have a right to make demands from the grave, but he didn’t say so. “You maybe want us to come with you when you go visit the cemetery?” he asked hesitantly.

Judy’s eyes filled with tears again, and Tommy kicked himself for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I think I’d like that very much.”

They stayed on the couch for a long time. They watched the kids build a whole snow family in the backyard until it was time to come in and warm up by the fireplace.

At some point in the evening, Judy had changed clothes and was wearing a pink velvet jogging suit. Her outfit was soft and looked comfortable, but Tommy figured it was a step up from flannel pajamas and a chenille robe.

Bobby came in while the kids were helping her cook dinner. “What’s all this?” he asked Tommy as he pulled him aside.

Tommy wrapped his arms around Bobby’s waist and kissed him before he answered. “Your mother needed an intervention.”

Judy laughed from the kitchen and one of the kids called out for paper towels.

“Sounds like it worked,” Bobby said happily, kissing Tommy again. He put his face against Tommy’s neck, and Tommy realized he was hiding, ashamed, when he whispered, “Thank you.”

Tommy could feel Bobby’s breath against his skin, and he tightened his arms around Bobby.

“I don’t know what to do for her when she’s like that. I just try to give her space and let her ride it out.”

“She’s got plenty of space. I think she needed a distraction from her grief. The kids are great at distracting people.”

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