Just Another Ordinary Day

February 2017

By the time Josh dragged himself home from the Metro station he'd begun to think the only thing that could possibly save his miserable day was finding an empty house in which to come home to. All he wanted was some peace and quiet.

He should have known better.

Donna's car wasn't in the driveway, which meant she wasn't home yet from her four day trip to New York. The van was in the driveway, which meant Ben was home and therefore the boys were probably around too as Ben would have picked them up from school due to the cold rain that had been falling for what seemed like weeks. The cold damp weather only added to Josh's general misery as it left him stiff and achy. He hated the fact he'd become one of "those people", the people who could predict the weather by their aches and pains. As he dragged his aching body up the front walk he wasn't paying attention and stepped right in a rather large puddle, leaving him with wet socks and mud on his khaki pants.

He opened the front door with a sigh and a half hearted greeting to whoever happened to be near by.

Judging by the half dozen or so pairs of sneakers in the foyer and the pile of backpacks in the corner his hope for peace and quiet was shattered into a million little pieces.

"I'm in the kitchen," Josh heard Ben call as he kicked off his shoes and added them to the pile before putting his backpack on the bench and tossing his rain coat onto the coat rack. "What happened to you?" Ben asked as he tried his best not to laugh at Josh who was standing before him in wet socks and muddy pants, with water dripping off his head looking rather pathetic.

"Umbrella broke, Metro was slow, there's a lake on the front walk and I was hoping for peace and quiet."

"You're out of luck then," Ben teased as he tossed Josh a dish towel to he would stop dripping on the floor. Josh ran the towel over his head and walked across the kitchen to pitch the damp towel into the laundry room.

"Just how many kids are here? And more importantly, how long are they staying for?" Josh asked as he filled the teapot with water and set it on the stove.

"The two that belong here and three others. Jake and his two friends are leaving in an hour and a half for basketball practice and Brian's here to play with Jessie. His mom said to send him home by 5:30."

"Ah," Josh muttered as he searched through the basket of tea bags, trying to decide which one he wanted. "You taking the boys to basketball?"

"Yeah. I'll just feed them something before we go. Donna called. Traffic's bad so she probably won't be home until after 6:00."

"Great," Josh muttered, feeling like nothing was going to go his way in the near future. He grabbed a few Oreos out of the cookie jar and flipped through the mail as he waited for the water to boil. He made small talk as Ben unloaded the dishwasher.

"How about I take the boys to basketball and then take Jessie out for a while? You and Donna can have a few hours to yourselves," Ben suggested as he poured the water for Josh's tea.

"Best offer I've had all week," Josh said with a grin.

"Good. Then I suggest you take a shower and change or something. Cause you look like crap and that's the first thing Donna's going to say when she gets home," Ben teased as he pulled some frozen pizzas out for the boys.

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Josh said as he picked up the tea and his cane before heading for his bedroom. Josh stripped off his soggy pants and shrugged out of his shirt as he went into the bathroom to start the water in the tub. His knees creaked in protest as he knelt down to look under the sink for the bottle of cranky baby bath bubbles Donna always kept on hand. He dumped in a generous amount before taking a couple of Tylenol with a handful of water. A quick glance in the mirror yielded a tired reflection that seemed to get older by the day. He grabbed the cordless phone and set it on the floor next to the tub, in case Donna called.

With a loud sigh, Josh eased himself down into the hot water before the tub was finished filling up. The warmth relaxed him almost immediately and the scent helped to clear his head a bit. He was feeling almost human by the time the water started to cool and the bubbles disappeared. Not planning on leaving the house for the rest of the night, Josh put on a pair of flannel pants and a DNC sweatshirt. He could tell by the sounds coming from the kitchen that Ben was serving up the pizza. Since he hadn't actually seen the boys he went into the kitchen. He got a chorus of "hi, Dad" and "hi, Mr. Lyman". He grabbed a slice of pizza and took a seat on one of the stools. Ben tossed him a can of soda and he watched the kids practically inhale the second pizza Ben pulled out of the oven.

Half an hour later the house cleared out, leaving behind a table covered in paper plates and empty soda cans. Josh had assured Ben that he would clean up in exchange for peace and quiet. Josh cleaned up the kitchen and hunted in the freezer for something to make for himself and Donna, the slice of pizza he'd eaten wasn't enough and there wasn't even a piece of crust left from the kids. A quick look in the freezer yielded nothing interesting. The fact that he really had no clue what he wanted to eat wasn't helping the situation. Finally he decided on comfort food, homemade macaroni and cheese. He put the water on to boil and flicked on the television that was mounted under the cabinet. He caught the headlines on CNN; nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on in the world for a change. After mixing the macaroni with the cheese sauce, he tossed it in the oven and made a salad. As he was loading up the dishwasher Donna called to say she would be home in about fifteen minutes.

Josh took a quick look in the mirror, frowning at his reflection. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to tame it down a little. He put on a CD and flipped through the newspaper while he waited for Donna to arrive. When he heard her car pull in the driveway he opened the front door and stood on the porch to wait for her. She managed to watch where she was going and avoid the large puddle on the walk. She took one look at Josh and gave him a little shake of her head, letting him know she wasn't happy with what she saw. But that didn't last long and she dropped her bags in the foyer before giving him a proper greeting.

"What smells amazing?" she asked as she headed to the bedroom to change.

"Macaroni and cheese. The real kind," Josh clarified as he curled up in the overstuffed chair to watch Donna change.

"Comfort food?" Donna teased as she opened up the top drawer of Josh's dresser and pulled out a t-shirt of his.

"Rough week?" she asked as she curled up on the chair with him. Josh just nodded as she brushed back his hair and planted a kiss on his forehead. "Anything in particular I need to know about?" she asked as she put her head on his shoulder.

"Not really. Stiff and sore from the weather. Haven't slept too well, no big deal. Are we doing anything this weekend?" Josh asked, hoping to change the focus of the conversation away from him.

"God, I hope not," Donna muttered as she gave him one last kiss and climbed out of the chair.

They ate dinner at the kitchen table, making small talk about nothing in particular. Donna seemed a little quiet to Josh, like she had something on her mind but he didn't press and she didn't offer up any clue as to why she was quiet. When they were done Donna cleaned up while Josh went into his office to check his email and pay a few bills. He was almost done by the time Donna joined him. As he slid the extra envelopes and junk mail into the wastebasket he managed to give himself a nasty paper cut. Normally that wasn't a big deal but since he'd been taking medication to thin his blood any kind of cut bled longer than anticipated. Donna grabbed a tissue and put some firm pressure on his finger with one hand as she searched in his desk drawer for a Band-Aid with the other. "I can't find one. Here press on it and I'll grab one out of the bathroom," she said.

Donna flicked the light on in the bathroom and hunted around for the box of Band-Aids. She didn't see it on first glance and ran upstairs to see what she could find in the boys' bathroom. All she found were Sponge Bob Squarepants ones. "The hell with it, Josh'll just have to live with it," she muttered as she pulled one from the box.

"Sponge Bob?" Josh whined as he looked at the blue Band-Aid on his finger.

"It's all we had, live with it," Donna said as she pressed a kiss on the pad of his finger. "All better," she declared as Josh looked at her with a rather dubious glance. "Let me on the computer," she said as she sat down in Josh's desk chair. He relinquished his laptop and collapsed on the couch with the television remote. While Josh alternately flipped through the channels and dozed lightly, Donna read her own email, did a little shopping and watched her husband. Eventually Josh fell completely asleep, dropping the remote to the floor. "So much for a romantic reunion and a serious chat," Donna muttered to herself with a laugh as he picked up the remote and tossed and afghan over Josh. She kissed his forehead and turned out the light.

Donna went into the bedroom and unpacked her suitcase. She tossed the dirty clothes in a pile and put her shoes in the walk-in closet. She put her toiletry kit under the sink in the bathroom and her bathrobe on the hook on the back of the door. With a sigh she sat down in the over stuffed chair in the corner of the room and unpacked a few things from her tote bag. As she glanced in the doorway, to make sure Josh hadn't snuck up on her, she pulled out the package from the drug store she'd picked up on her way home. She opened the bag, looked in and closed it again quickly. She ran her fingers through her blond hair before climbing out of the chair and heading for the bathroom. As she was about to lock the door behind her she heard Josh head down the hall from his study, probably on his way to the kitchen. She threw the package under the sink and went to follow him.

"Hey," he muttered as he pulled a bottle of Snapple out of the refrigerator. "Want one?" he asked.

"I'll share yours," Donna said as she turned off the bright overhead light and flicked on the one over the stove.

"Mood lighting?" Josh teased. His teasing wasn't met with a laugh from his wife, which both surprised and worried him. "Donna?" he whispered as he sat down on one of the stools at the counter. He held out his hand to her but she turned away, pretending to look for something in the pantry cabinet.

"You want some cookies?" she called over her shoulder.

"No thanks," Josh said with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"So do you want to do something tomorrow night? Just the two of us?" Donna asked as she needlessly rearranged a few cans and boxes.

"Ben has plans, maybe we can get another babysitter," Josh said, growing more confused by the minute at his wife's actions and general demeanor. "Donna, what's going on?" he finally asked a minute later after Donna closed the cabinets doors and started to pace around the kitchen. It was like he was looking in some role-reversing mirror. Usually he was the one aimlessly pacing as he held in his feelings while Donna quietly sat on the stool waiting for him to open up.

"Nothing really," she said with an overly cheery tone in her voice. "Just a little late," she added quickly as she stopped in front of the sink, her back towards Josh.

"For what?" he blurted out. His tendency to speak before thinking was not something that was fading with age. "We don't have to be anywhere. Ben's picking up the boys. What are you......"

And the light bulb went on over his head.

Donna turned to face him as about 4 emotions went across his face in a matter of seconds. "How late?" he asked when he regained his power of speech. He held his hand out to Donna. He would have gotten up and walked over to her but he wasn't quite sure of his abilities to stand upright at that moment. Donna pushed herself away from the counter and took his hand. "How late?" Josh repeated as he wrapped his arms around Donna's slim waist.

"Two weeks or so. I haven't really been paying attention," Donna admitted.

"But how?" Josh muttered more to himself.

"Usual way," Donna snorted as she tried to escape his embrace. Josh just looked up at her, rolling his eyes a little.

After Jessie was born they had tried for a few years to have a third child. Since they already had two children they didn't really go through too many tests to find out why they were having trouble conceiving baby number 3. Jill Connors felt that Josh's health problems might have had something to do with it but wasn't sure. Josh had politely declined any further tests by the urologist and the idea of a third child was pushed aside. Soon after, Donna had turned 40 and Josh had had a stroke. Birth control wasn't something they really thought about much since conception didn't seem to be a strong possibility. Donna sort of kept an eye on the calendar for a year or so but when nothing happened they pushed aside all thoughts of conceiving and formal birth control just didn't seem to be necessary.

Now at 43 and 57, neither were too sure how they felt about the idea of becoming parents again.

"So, now what?" Josh asked as he released Donna from his embrace.

"I bought a test on the way home," Donna said quietly.

"Then let's go," Josh said as he slid off the stool and took her by the hand. Donna hesitated a second before following him. She wasn't quite sure what to make of how Josh was reacting. She had expected him to be having more of a "nutty" over the whole idea.

She picked the bag from the drugstore and they headed into the bathroom. Josh sat on the counter while Donna sat on the edge of the tub, reading the directions. "You planning on watching me pee on the stick?" Donna asked with a grin a minute later.

"uh, no, n-not really," Josh stuttered as he slid off the counter.

"Grab your watch and give me a minute," Donna said as she closed the door to the bathroom.

"Can I come back in?" Josh asked as he heard the toilet flush.

"Yeah," Donna answered as she opened the door back up. Josh went in and handed her his watch. "Two minutes," she said as they both sat down on the edge of the tub. They stared as the second hand went around the copper colored face of Josh's Fossil watch.

"OK," Josh whispered as the second hand hit 12 for the second time. He reached for the stick Donna held tightly in her hand. With a shaking hand he started to put the cover off the tip but stopped suddenly.

"What?" Donna asked as she tried to take the stick back.

"Whatever happens, I love you...always," Josh said as he pressed a kiss to her temple. Tears sprang to Donna's eyes in an instant as she gave him a nod and a little smile.

"Open it," she said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

With a deep breath and honestly not knowing which result he was hoping for, Josh slid the plastic cap off the end of the stick. "Negative," they both whispered at the same time. Neither said anything else for what seemed like an eternity. Josh eventually wrapped the stick up in a tissue, put it back in the box, put the box in the drugstore bag and tossed everything into the trashcan. He took Donna by the hand and led her back into their room. They curled up in the chair with Donna on his lap, her head on his shoulder and her long legs hanging over the arm.

"Are you relieved?" Josh finally asked.

"I honestly don't know," Donna admitted quietly. "Part of me was so far past the idea of having another child that I rarely even thought about it. But when there was this little glimmer of possibility...I don't know. Part of me wanted it to be positive, I guess. But that's not to say I want to really try again. It's pretty clear that any more children we would have would require a great deal of medical science. I just don't want to go through that."

A look of great relief came across Josh's face. Like Donna, the fleeting though of another child was exciting but deep down he knew they already had the family they were meant to have. "Me either," he said as he pulled Donna a little closer. "Maybe we should do something permanent," he suggested. It was an issue they talked about every once in a while but never did anything about.

"Honestly, I was thinking about that very thing a few weeks ago. Let's face it, as long as we don't use any sort of birth control there's always a remote possibility. And I think I'd like to change that," Donna said as she sat up a little to get Josh's reaction. He nodded in agreement but then got a rather pained expression on his face. "Uh, Joshua, you've spent enough time with the doctor and plenty of time in the hospital. I'll go," Donna said with a smile. Relief once again washed over Josh and he tucked his head under Donna's chin. She kissed the top of his head once more and climbed off of his lap. She splashed some water on her face and tied her hair back before washing the makeup off her face.

By the time Donna finished in the bathroom Josh had wandered back into the kitchen and was sitting on the stool with a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby and the newspaper in front of him. But he was finding it hard to concentrate. So much seemed to have happened in the past hour or so and he was still trying to wrap his mind around everything. He stabbed at the ice cream a little, trying to dig out a piece of peanut butter filled pretzel. He picked up the remote to the CD player and pushed PLAY, not knowing what was in there. He laughed to himself when he realized the CD in there was something the boys teased Donna about mercilessly, her old Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. She liked to listen to it when she cleaned. He was humming along to "Stayin Alive" when Ben and the boys came barreling in the front door.

"Oh God, you're not in one of your really, really weird moods, are you?" asked Ben with a laugh.

"It's not my CD," Josh reminded him....loudly.

"But you're listening to it," Jake pointed out helpfully as he opened the refrigerator in search of a snack.

"I like it," Jessie said with a grin as he gave Josh a quick hug and stole the ice cream from in front of him. A minute later Donna came into the kitchen to find Jessie and Josh in the middle of the room doing their poor imitations of John Travolta, Jake laughing hysterically and Ben just shaking his head at the whole thing. She picked up the ice cream carton, which Jessie had set down on the counter when he started to dance. She hopped up on the counter and watched the dancing wind down as the song ended. Josh moved to stand in front of her knees, leaning back against her. Ben and the boys sat down at the table, sharing the bag of popcorn Jake had just pulled out of the microwave.

"How was basketball?" Donna asked.

"Good. Don't forget, we have a game tomorrow at 2," Jake reminded her.

"I remember. Jess, did you have fun with Brian?"

"Yeah. When I walked him home I went in to see his new puppy. He's so cute. Can we get one? Please?" he pleaded as he gave his parents the patented Lyman puppy dog face. His request for a dog was a recurring one and was met with the usual, negative answer. He pouted for all of a second and turned his attention to the catalog Jake was looking at.

"Hey mom, can I get these sneakers?" Jake asked. "Mine are too tight," he said as he pointed to the page with the latest Nike shoes on it.

"We'll go out over the weekend," she promised as she took a look at the catalog. "But not those. I don't think your father's first car cost that much," she teased.

"Was that a crack about my age?" Josh asked as he glanced up from his ice cream.

"No, not at all," Donna smirked as she wiped away a bit of fudge from his cheek. She kissed him softly while the boys made gagging sounds in the background.

"You know boys, one day, you won't think kissing girls is gross," Josh pointed out with a smirk.

"Yeah, what about Janie?" Jessie teased his brother. Jake responded by tossing a few unpopped corn kernels at his brother. Seven months after returning home from summer camp Jake still got a few letters a month from his "little friend" as Josh called her. They also emailed about once a week and talked on the phone every once in a while.

"No throwing food," Josh warned them as he leaned over to pick up a stray kernel off the floor. "Finish your snack and go upstairs to get ready for bed."

"It's only 9:30," Jake whined.

"Put on your pajamas and you can watch television for a while," Donna said as she tossed the now empty ice cream carton in the trashcan and the spoon into the sink.

"Dad can you come up and sit with me for a little while?" Jessie asked. He was fading faster than his brother and didn't seem to mind being sent to bed.

"Sure buddy; I'll be there in a minute," Josh promised. The boys headed upstairs, Ben headed for his room and Josh and Donna were left in the peace and quiet of the kitchen. "Two kids are plenty," Josh laughed as he pulled Donna in for a quick hug before he headed upstairs.

"It certainly is," Donna agreed.

"But maybe we can think about the dog thing," Josh called over his shoulder as he headed for the stairs.

"Not a chance Josh," Donna yelled back as the phone rang. "I got it," she yelled. "Hi Sam," she said as she looked at the Caller ID.

"Hey Donna. How's things. Anything new?"

"Nope, just an ordinary day around here," Donna said with a laugh as she headed for the couch to relax and catch up with Sam.

THE END

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