Rory watched as his husband opened one cupboard after another. Taking the contents of each and setting them on the counter all the while muttering to himself. Shaking his head he turned away. There was nothing he could say to alleviate Eddie’s nervous flutter of activity. He might feel the say way if one of his music idols suddenly announced they were coming to visit. He personally had no clue who Faye Ferrari was other than what he had seen of her on TV. Her father was an ass. That much he did know.
Faye he hoped was a different story. He’d reserve judgement until after he met the girl. For all he knew her abrasive behavior on the show had been an act. He hoped for Eddie’s sake that was true or at the very least she’d keep her tongue in check while she and Tom were here.
A loud cry of pain diverted his attention. Eddie was waving his hand around cursing. Attempting to keep his amusement at bay Rory asked “what’s wrong?”
Turning Eddie glared at him “it’s not funny.” He had his hand clamped around his arm where blood oozed around his fingers.
“I’m sorry” Rory apologized approaching his irate husband “let me see it.”
“It’s nothing” Eddie jerked his hand away from Rory’s touch “I was organizing the miscellaneous draw. Something sharp cut me.”
Being as gentle as he could Rory convinced Eddie to remove his hand. Blood gushed freely from the wound dripping to the floor. Ignoring the hiss of pain Eddie made he inspected the gash. “I think you need stitches.”
“I don’t have time to go to the ER for stitches” Eddie protested.
“You’re going” Rory said in a tone that said it wasn’t up for discussion.
Once they returned home from the emergency room Rory made sure Eddie was comfortable in their room with the laptop nearby. Rory went to finish cleaning the kitchen. Various items were strewn on the counter. Frowning he wondered what had been in the drawer that could have left such a nasty cut that required six stitches. Pulling the offending drawer out he dumped the contents on the floor. A knife lay in the jumbled pile. It was the one he knew Eddie had been searching for for the past couple of weeks. How had it wound up being inside this drawer? Neither one of them would have put a knife inside a drawer Hannah could have gotten into. What if it had been her instead of Eddie who had been hurt?
He squeezed his eyes shut attempting to blot out the images of his little girl slicing one of his delicate little fingers off. Eddie was bad enough but he doubted he could have handled seeing Hannah bleeding everywhere. With his mind distracted Rory discarded anything that posed a slicing hazard to curious hands reaching inside. When he was finished he sterilized the knife before returning it to it’s case.
He stomped into the bedroom. “That woman is never allowed inside our home again” he announced to his startled husband.
Glancing up from the computer screen where he was attempting to edit his manuscript for what felt like the hundredth time. “Who isn’t allowed back?” he asked.
“That woman” Rory grumbled as if Eddied should know who that woman was. “That woman had to of put that knife in the drawer. Hannah could have gotten hurt if you hadn’t beaten her to it.”
Eddie shook his head as if he were having a hard time following what Rory was saying. The knife Rory was referring to must have been what had cut him. That woman….oh that woman….Rory’s mother. She had shown up at their doorstep a few weeks ago demanding to see her granddaughter. She barely acknowledged Eddie’s existence or her son’s. Kept hinting that Hannah would be better off under a woman’s care.
Rory had scowled at her so long scrunching his face up so tight Eddie thought his head might explode from the tension. After she had made one too many snide remarks Rory had pointed to the door “get the hell out of my house.”
Eddie knew he’d always remember the stricken look on the older woman’s face as Rory continued.” This is my family. Not yours. Hannah doesn’t need you in her life. You lost the right to be her Grandma when you abandoned your own daughter.”
“I don’t think she did it on purpose” Eddie said running his fingers through Rory’s hair the way he had after Rory’s mother went screaming from the house. Slipping his arms around his husbands waste he leaned in close whispering “I love you.”
“I love you more” Rory leaned forward resting his forehead on Eddie’s. After a second or two he straightened saying “I’m warning you now. Faye better be on her best behavior while she’s here.”
“Don’t worry about her” Eddie smiled leaning in close giving his husband a tender kiss “I’m not. I trust my brother. He likes her. From the way he talks about Faye he loves her. That’s all I need to know.”
“I hope you’re right” Rory said sounding less sure than his husband.
Not So Ordinary Life Extras 