One year later…
In a small cozy house in the suburbs, as the day broke, the occupants were still asleep. Somewhere in the house, an alarm rang and was quickly stopped by Robert who turned over and went back to sleep. As he slept, unaware of the passage of time, Nicole got up and quietly began getting ready for the day.
The faint orange light of the sunrise seeped through the curtains when Nicole slipped out of bed. She silently crept to the window and adjusted the curtains so the sunlight would not get in until the sun was higher in the sky. Her movements were practiced and careful, each step placed with the grace of someone who had repeated this routine a thousand times. Robert had been spending a lot of sleepless nights in the lab lately, more so than usual. Last night, she heard him stumble into their bedroom around 3am. She glanced at her husband who was still asleep beside her, his chest rising and falling in deep, even breaths. Let him sleep a little longer, she thought.
She closed the bedroom door behind her softly with a quiet click before tip-toeing gently down the hallway. The silence of the house was thick and comforting. But she knew the silence wouldn't last long. Not once her boys got up.
Nicole peeked into her sons' bedrooms. First, she checked on Gabriel who was splayed across his bed in a tangle of limbs and bedsheets. Gabriel, who was sixteen, lay face down, arm hanging off the side like he'd been dropped there from a great height. She shook her head before going over to his bed to knock on the headboard.
"Come on, get up," she said, and in response, she got a groan. In frustration, she pulled him out of bed and pulled her still sleepy son to her other son's room.
In the room, she was unsurprised to see that Daniel, thirteen, had the covers pulled over his head like a cocoon. Only the top of his messy hair was just visible.
"Okay, Gabriel, get your brother up and get ready for school," she said before leaving him in the room.
She ran downstairs and began pulling out everything she needed for breakfast, humming a little tune. As she placed her hand on the eggs, she realized she still wasn't hearing her sons up and about.
"Don't tell me they're still asleep," she said to herself before returning upstairs.
She opened the door to an infuriating sight, Gabriel, instead of waking his brother up, had fallen asleep beside him.
"I can't believe this," she muttered to herself before she turned on the hallway light and knocked on the doorframe. "Boys. Time to get up."
Neither moved. Nicole crossed the threshold and tapped the foot of the bed.
"Come on, let's go. School doesn't care if you're still dreaming."
Gabriel groaned something unintelligible, and Daniel didn't move at all. Nicole sighed. First try: no luck. She knocked on the bed frame again to no response, before giving up.
She left them to stew in the idea of waking and headed to the kitchen, to continue her breakfast preparations.
The skillet went on the burner, followed by a small slab of butter. As the butter melted and hissed, she turned the pan from side to side so the melted would spread all over. Next, she cracked six eggs into a bowl and whisked them briskly. Pancake batter was already mixed from last night, a little shortcut she'd learned to buy herself more time in the mornings.
Bacon strips sizzled in the second pan, their rich scent blooming and curling into every corner of the house. If the boys wouldn't wake for school, maybe breakfast would lure them down.
She made her way back to the hallway. Once she got there, Nicole knocked again, louder this time.
"Gabriel. Daniel. I'm not coming back here three times."
"You just did. Mom, stop yelling," Gabriel's muffled voice replied.
"I haven't yelled yet, but give me time and see what happens," she countered, folding her arms.
Daniel stirred, turning around and pushing up his head from beneath the covers. "What day is it?"
"Tuesday."
"Ugh."
"That's a sound, not movement. Get up, and be quiet about it, your dad's still asleep."
"Yes mom," they chorused.
Nicole left them again, trying not to smile. She enjoyed the push and pull of mornings with them, even if they sometimes wore her patience thin.
Once she returned to the kitchen, she flipped the pancakes, they were golden and fluffy. She served them and then poured the eggs out into the pan. The coffee machine beeped quietly behind her, offering her a little reward for her efforts. She poured herself a mug and leaned against the counter, inhaling the rich aroma. Once she was done, she rinsed out the cup quickly to prevent her sons from trying to sneak a sip. The house was slowly waking up, beginning with footsteps upstairs and a creaking floorboard in the hallway.
Sure enough, Gabriel was the first to appear, shirtless and bleary-eyed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You only came in twice," he said as he plopped into a kitchen chair.
"That you remember."
Daniel followed close behind, dragging his feet, hair even messier than usual.
"Morning," she said, setting the plates down on the table.
Both boys muttered a return greeting before digging in. Pancakes vanished at a dizzying speed, as they practically doused it in the syrup which was promptly smeared across their plates, and they started on the bacon before Nicole had even poured them their glasses of orange juice.
"Keep it down like I asked you to," Nicole reminded her son.
"Why's dad still asleep? Isn't he usually at the lab at this time?" Gabriel mumbled as he chewed on a strip of bacon.
"He's tired. What do you mean at the lab? Sometimes he's around for family time breakfast," Nicole retorted. In response Daniel choked on his orange juice, spitting some on the table, and Gabriel threw his head back as he chuckled.
"Clean that up," she said, ignoring her sons who were still laughing.
"No, mom, really. It's funny. You know dad hasn't been present for a single family time breakfast in over five months," Gabriel said once he finished laughing. The mirth remained in his voice as he spoke, but the sad look on his face contrasted it.
Daniel looked just as sad as he got a few paper towels to clean the table.
Nicole found herself at a loss for words, she had made so many excuses for her husband that she understood why her sons weren't buying it anymore.
"Your dad wants to be here, he's just…"
"Very busy," the boys chorused, making Nicole shake her head.
"Okay, finish your meal. You're running late."
She stood at the kitchen island, arms crossed, watching them eat like they were racing against the clock. She quickly made them some ham and cheese sandwiches and packed it up for them in brown bags.
"Chew, don't inhale," she said. "It's not going anywhere, you'll choke yourself."
Daniel gave her a sheepish look in response. "Sorry, Mom. It's just really good."
Gabriel gave an exaggerated eye-roll. "Kiss ass. You say that every morning."
"Because it is really good every morning," Daniel shot back.
"Gabriel, don't curse. Daniel, thank you," Nicole said, leaving Gabriel to turn to his brother and make a face.
Nicole smiled. The sound of their bickering was oddly reassuring.
When the last pancake was claimed and the final sip of orange juice was swallowed, Nicole gave the dining table a quick wipe-down. The boys disappeared to gather their backpacks and get dressed as fast as they could.
"You're running really late, boys," Nicole reminded them as she stared out the window. Outside, the sun was now fully up, casting long rays through the trees.
Nicole opened the garage, revealing two bicycles propped up neatly against the wall. She checked the time. Still on schedule.
The sounds of footsteps running in her direction made her turn around. Her sons made a beeline straight for their bike.
As Gabriel wheeled the bike out, Nicole stepped in front of him. "Hey. I want you to keep an eye on Daniel today, okay?"
Gabriel paused, shoulders stiffening. "He's thirteen, Mom. He doesn't need a babysitter."
"He's your brother," she said firmly. "Just make sure he gets to school in one piece and stays out of trouble."
Daniel looked embarrassed. "I don't need a babysitter, I won't get in trouble."
Nicole raised an eyebrow. "You nearly wiped out last week racing Evan down the hill. Which was so dangerous by the way, you could have gotten a concussion. Or were you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"That was one time!"
"What about the time you made a swing out of old ropes and almost lost your front teeth?"
"Mom! That was years ago!"
"It wasn't that long ago."
"I was nine!"
"And you're still a baby.