Free Fade to Black - Proof by Jeffrey Wilson Page B

to herself before they had
finished making love.
    “Daddy!” she
announced as he picked her up from her crib.
    “Hey, big girl,”
Jack said as he laid her on the footrest of the rocker and pulled off her damp
pull-up. He dressed her in his favorite outfit, big girl Levi’s and a pink Polo
pullover. He loved how much she looked like Pam dressed like that. Then, he
swept her up and carried her downstairs.
    He walked into
the kitchen with his baby in his arms, tugging on his “Air,” and was greeted by
the smell of fresh coffee and frying bacon. He came up behind Pam and playfully
reached under the oversized T-shirt, squeezing her gently.
    “Jack!” Pam
laughed. “My lord, man of mine, are you never satisfied?”
    “I am ALWAYS
satisfied,” he answered, kissing her neck and then turning to put Claire in her
high chair. “Each and every time. That’s what keeps me coming back.” He winked
at her and she blushed. Jack poured himself a cup of coffee, aware in a
detached way that he added nothing to it, and then sat at the table beside
Claire.
    “What’s with
the big breakfast, honey?” He glanced at his watch. “I don’t think I really
have time. I’m running a little late already.”
    Pam slid a
bowl of cereal with milk and a baby spoon in front of him.
    “Not anymore, baby,”
she said, turning back to her stove and carefully flipping the sizzling slice
of bacon. “Stuart Anderson called and asked how you were feeling. I said fine,
but he said to tell you to take one more day, that they already had a sub.”
    Jack felt his
face flush red with embarrassment and guilt. He waited for the inevitable
question, but it didn’t come. He turned to look at Pam, fully anticipating an
expectant stare, but instead she was happily whipping eggs and milk together in
a bowl. When she turned to him, she looked content.
    “You want
cheese in your eggs?”
    “Sure,” he
answered. He was about to say something, anything about what happened at
school, and then another thought occurred to him. “I didn’t hear the phone ring,”
he said instead.
    “Huh?” Pam
turned to him, her face confused, then smoothed out with realization. “Oh, the
call. Yeah, I was on the phone with Bev when he called, and I clicked over.”
She sprinkled grated cheese over the cooking eggs.
    Jack sat
quietly for a moment, feeding spoonfuls of cereal into his daughter’s mouth
with little thought.
    “Those
nightmares really had me spooked at school,” he started. He had to say
something, right? Pam said nothing, but still seemed all right, folding his omelet
over on itself. “I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Anyway, Chad and Stuart
both noticed, and I guess I told them I was sick. I didn’t know what else to
say.” He looked up at Pam now, milk dripping from the little spoon onto the
table. Claire strained to reach the bite but failed. Pam slid the omelet onto a
plate, cut it in half and slid one half onto a second plate. Then she added
strips of bacon and toast to both. She slid one in front of him and sat down
beside him in front of the other.
    “Bev was going
to watch Claire at her house for a while, so I could go shopping.” She poured
some juice into an empty glass in front of Jack. “Since you’re home today, do
you want to watch Claire, or go to the store with me?” Apparently his wife was
unconcerned by his in-school breakdown. Or maybe Anderson had not told her much.
Either way, Jack felt relieved.
    Jack decided
to go shopping with Pam. Rarely did they get much time just the two of them
these days, and Jack thought it might be fun to hang out together like old
times—maybe grab lunch out somewhere nice. Pam was delighted by that idea, and
started planning their morning outing while he fed Claire and nibbled at his
breakfast, still distracted by the lack of reaction his wife had to the news he
had left school “sick” yesterday. In the end he decided he was married to the
greatest woman in the universe (a fact he’d