Sheeple Ch. 02

Kate bent down and kissed Eric. "Good morning."

Eric returned the kiss. "Morning to you. How are you feeling this morning?"

Kate stretched and took a mental inventory. "I feel really relaxed. And, a bit sore. A kind of sore I can live with... get use to... really get use to."

"Ah, then you did enjoy last night?"He was smiling.

"Oh yes. And you?"

"Yes. In fact, I think I enjoyed it so much that I'd like to play again." He lifted the quilt to show her just how much he had enjoyed last night.

"Ah, we will have to be much quieter. There be children awake out there," she said softly.

"Oh yes... quiet," he whispered as he pulled her under the quilt and began to let his fingers and lips explore her skin. Giggles then sighs escaped the confines of the quilt.

Down the hall, Andy turned up the radio. It wouldn't do to spoil their fun, nor the children's breakfast.

*

They showered together when Andy let them know that he and the children were headed for the park. It felt so nice to have someone else to touch as well as be touched by Kate thought. They had tried to talk over the rush of water, but soon gave up. That and all the kisses kept interrupting conversation. Stepping out of the shower, she handed him a towel and watched him as he dried off. He noticed her looking and smiled. He made sure that the towel didn't conceal too much of him. He was also taking time to watch her.

"You know, this is the first time I've seen all of you," she said.

"And I you. Not bad at all for someone who thinks of herself as a fat out of shape old woman." He teased her.

"Oh you!" She tried to snap at him with her towel. "I was just trying to be honest about the shape I'm in."

"Yes, and I told you, I think you are beautiful. Wrinkles, scars, soft bits and all."

"I know. Doesn't mean I don't have a bit of a problem with it though now and again."

"And I don't have a problem with how you look. I like how you look and how you feel in my arms."

Kate blushed. "Eric, how old are you?"

"I'll be forty-two in a few months. Why?"

Kate looked at him again. "You certainly don't look forty-two. Thirty-five maybe, but not in your forty's. Except for that touch of gray at the temple."

"As a family, we tend to look young. You don't exactly look forty-five you know."

Kate just shook her head. "No points there dear. I know how much gray there is, and how many wrinkles."

Eric walked up to her and took her in his arms. "No, you just don't see you the way I do." He kissed her. "We'd better get dressed."

"I guess you're right." She walked out the door to her room.

*

Andy called Zach from the park. The two of them stood talking while the children played. "Just to let you know, I walked into Mom's room and found her and Eric all snuggled together under a quilt."

"All Righty!" Zach said. "Do you think this is a one night fling? Or something more?"

"Well if the sounds from the bedroom were any indication, this is something more. I had to turn up the radio to keep the kids from hearing."

"Oh my! That's great. Do Pat and Jon know yet?"

"Well, if Jon doesn't know, he's deaf. They were right over his bed. However, I'll talk to them both before tonight. I don't think Mom wants the kids knowing yet, and I can understand that. Especially if this is just a one off thing."

"Ok. Keep me posted."

"Will do." Andy wondered if they had had enough time to get showered and presentable. He hoped that they were talking and working things out. Mom had been way too long without someone in her life. Eric must have been too. Either way, it was good to see Mom happy.

*

A week later, Eric and Kate gathered everyone into the kitchen after dinner. The guys all had an idea of what was going on, but let Mom have her moment.

"Eric and I have a small announcement to make," Kate started. Everyone gave her their attention, including the children. "We have decided that Eric and I are going to try living together."

"That's great Mom."

"Hey! I'm not giving up my room!" Jon said.

"No one is asking you to dear. Pat moved out two weeks ago in case you hadn't noticed. The two little ones will share that room and you will still have yours."

"Oh. Ok. But they better stay out of my stuff," Jon said, still trying to sound angry.

"Are you alright with this otherwise?"

Jon looked at her. "Yeah. I guess so."

"Good!"

"Congratulations Kate," said Anne. "You two look so happy."

"Thank you dear."

"Yeah, Mom. I'm happy for you and Eric," Zach said.

"Mom!" Pat shouted from the far end of the room. "How does it feel to have a life again?"

"Wonderful dear."

"Good! Don't forget to turn up the stereo!" he said with a laugh. Turning up the music had been a family joke for years. Especially as each of the boys had become sexually active.

Andy came forward with a wrapped parcel in his hands. "I... we... the guys all chipped in for a little present for you two." He handed it to Eric and then moved back.

Kate and Eric looked at each other and weren't certain if the box was going to bite them or explode.

"Do we dare open this?"

"Yeah Mom, go ahead," Pat said.

She and Eric both grabbed a bit and tore the wrappings. Inside was a basket full of condoms, flavored edible lotions and two red ribboned dog bones. They looked at the basket and started laughing.

"Oh you boys are so going to get it!" she said.

Eric was laughing so hard, that there were tears in the corners of his eyes. He remembered the afternoon they had talked to the boys about lycanthrope and how nervous he had been. Instead, the boys had taken it well.... except for teasing him about dog biscuits. Now of course, it had become a running joke.

Jon turned to Zach. "See! I told you he had a sense of humor."

"Yeah," Zach agreed, and soon everyone in the room was laughing.

*

Kate woke to the sound of the alarm going off. She swore she had turned it off at least ten times. She hated alarm clocks. Growing up, they always seemed to go off at what she thought of as oh-dark-thirty.... Which is what her dad called 5:30am. He'd been a military contractor. Then there was David. He'd been in the military for just long enough to realize that he didn't fit. So, she'd come to hate alarms early in the morning.

Kate rolled over to shut off the alarm again. This time, she realized that all prior attempts had been dreams. Looking at the clock as she turned it off, she realized that it had been going off for at least thirty minutes.

"Eric! Wake up! We're running late!" she said loudly as she scrambled for her clothes. Eric rolled over and mumbled something about getting up as soon as he found his feet.

"Come on! Its the first day of school for the kids!" Kate headed out the door to wake the children.

*

Fifteen minutes later, two sleepy children were eating cereal when Eric stumbled into the kitchen. He'd barely opened his mouth to say hello when Kate shoved a cup of tea into his hands. He looked at it oddly. It was a travel mug.

"We don't have time to dawdle! Have some toast." She grabbed more stuff and started heading out the door. Eric watched the children finish their breakfasts and grab their bags.

"Come on Daddy! School today! I'm gonna be in first grade with Bess! Come on Daddy!" Jamie said as she started to pull Eric out the door.

"Hold on a minute. Let me get my sunglasses." Eric smiled, and tried to figure out which hand to use. He stuffed his toast in his mouth, grabbed the glasses and headed out the door behind Mark and Jamie. Kate was already getting in the Subaru.

*

In the back seat, Jamie was singing quietly to herself. Something about going to school. Mark was staring out the window as if he was going to the dentist. Eric couldn't understand that child some days. He hoped that school would open up Mark's eyes to the bigger world. He also hoped that school was ready for Jamie.

Enrolling them in school the week before had been an adventure. No birth certificates. New social security cards. Thank goodness that Suzanne knew some strings to pull. No former school records and no mom either to help explain why there were no shot records, doctor records, etc. It had been rather overwhelming.

Luckily, Kate had a good rapport with the principal. Ms. Alexander was one of those down to earth women that made you feel that everything would be okay, if you just had enough education. She came across as a bit of a ditz at first, but then you suddenly realized that beneath that gray head of hair was a mind with a purpose. Ms. A, as Kate had called her, took everything in stride. Before he knew what was what, all the forms had been signed, and the kids were registered for school.

Next was getting them clothes and school supplies. The school had it's own school store where you could get almost everything except a backpack and clothes. Later on, Eric found out that there was a clothes bin too. Kate knew all about it as all four of her sons had gone to the school.

Clothes had been an adventure. Jamie was entranced by all things pink, frilly and sparkly. She'd been wearing Mark's hand-me-downs for many years. Mark didn't give two cents of input. He just stood there, and in the end, Kate handed him off to Zach who took him in tow and came back with the prerequisite jeans, undies, socks and teeshirts. Coats and heavy shoes would just have to wait.

*

Kate arrived at the school right behind one of the buses. Kids were pouring out as she parked and got out of the car. "Lets go meet your teachers." She herded the children towards the doors. Jamie's was first. Curly haired and bright eyed, Kelly was a wonderful loving woman. She had been Andy's favorite teacher and now was teaching first grade and art.

"Jamie, this is Kelly. Kelly, this is Jamie Cole," Kate said introducing the two.

Kelly shook hands with Jamie and smiled. "And who is this big guy behind you Jamie?"

Jamie turned. "Its my Daddy. His name is Eric, and he hunts rabbits for me for breakfast." Turning towards Mark, she added, "And this is Mark. He's my brother. He doesn't like rabbits."

Kelly just smiled. "Oh, I'll remember that."

"Oh, and this is Kate. She's my mom, but not really. We live with her an she's the bestest mom cause she has Zach, an Andy, an Pat, an Jon. An I really like the cake she makes, an Ratkovich Surprise. That's dinner." Jamie spoke as fast as she could spit it out.

Everyone broke into giggles except Mark. He just stood there looking around.

"Jamie, I'm sure you are going to like first grade. Why don't you come in and find a desk," Kelly said leading Jamie into the room. She waved goodbye over her shoulder towards Eric and Kate.

Next, they took Mark up to the fourth grade room. Lisa met them at the door, and after a brief introduction, she lead him off to find his desk and what to expect from school. Kate had already talked to her about Mark being a bit of an odd duck. Lisa promised to keep her up on any problems that might arise.

Eric was watching everyone filter into the school and almost forgot to move at one point until Kate nudged him. "Come on dear, you're acting like you've never been in a school before."

"Well, except for a few years in what I think was middle school and college, I haven't been. Especially one as friendly as this place. My memories of school fit a prison yard by comparison."

"Mountain Valley school is a special place, that's for sure. All of my boys went up here. I was just very sad that there wasn't a high school."

"I think I understand. I'm just not use to anything like this."

"The kids will be okay. If anything happens, they'll call. They always do."

"I take it that you've had your fair share of emergencies?"

"Oh, one or two. Andy was a real handful, and then of course there is Jon. He never stayed in class. Always wandering about in and out of class."

Eric shook his head. He could see Jon doing just that and actually getting away with it here. No wonder he was having problems at the high school in town.

*

Kate had dropped Eric off to work and then headed to the shelter. She had already told Suzanne that she'd be arriving later during the school year. Suzanne had been understanding about the whole schedule business. Eric would pick up the kids most afternoons, and Kate would do the morning run.

There was plenty to do today as there had been a bunch of college students stranded for the night. Most had been picked up by lunch, but there was still a lot of paperwork to do between Kate and the school district. This had happened before, and the schools reimbursed the shelter at the same rate as a local hotel. It helped in ways Kate hadn't expected, because the teens often became aware of the human population that wasn't so fortunate. It broadened their world view. It certainly had hers over the years. People in shelters were there for all sorts of reasons. A knock on the door interrupted Kate's thoughts. She looked up to see Suzanne standing there.

"Hey Kate, there is a Sargent here wanting to talk to you," she said with an odd look on her face.

Kate tried to figure out what was going on, but before she could say anything, a tall man in uniform stepped into her office. Kate stood up to greet the man. "Hello Sargent." She shook his hand.

"Hello Mrs. Ratkovich. I need to talk to you about someone who might have come through here a few months ago."

"Um... okay. Sargent," she hesitated.

"Sargent O'Hare. I'm with the Army base about ninety miles north of here."

Kate thought for a moment. That would be Ft. Kit. She wondered what on earth he wanted. "What can I do for you sir?"

"I am looking for someone."

"Ok. You said that much already. Do you realize that we keep our records private and don't open them up for just anyone?"

"Yes, your boss explained that much. However, she did say that I might talk to you. Unofficially of course."

"Ah. Ok. Now, what is this about?"

"We, the military try to keep track of some of our men. Men with talents, and sometimes we need them for extra duties. Special operations."

"Ok. So, how could I help you?"

"Well, you're the admitting agent, and so we've been checking with all the shelters around here to see if one of our men and his family came through here."

"Oh," Kate was thinking to herself that she didn't like this man. He was sweating and smelled acrid. Smelled like he was lying about something.

"We're looking for a man in his mid-thirties. Curly brown hair, dark eyes, pale completion. Wife and two kids. A boy and a girl."

"That could be any of a half dozen families that have been through here in the last year."

The Sargent shifted in his seat. "Would you recognize a name?"

"I don't know. Besides, if I did, I couldn't really tell you. I said our records are confidential, and I abide by that."

"Well, you can't blame me for trying. The man's name is Olman. Nicholas Olman."

Kate looked at the Sargent and wondered just what he thought he was pulling. "Sir, I have not heard that name nor seen any family that fits that description."

"Alright. Thank you for your time Mrs. Ratcovich." He stood and made as if to leave.

"Good afternoon Sargent." Kate saw him to the door.

She no sooner shut the door and got back to her seat than Suzanne slipped into the room. "That was weird," Suzanne said.

"You're telling me! Gads. I was waiting for the storm troopers to pile in and start looking under the desk. He just wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Nope. And to be honest, I don't trust him. I think that there are some files which will be shredded today and go out in the trash at my house." Suzanne didn't trust the government any more than she had to. The local county commissioners had tried to shut the shelter down more than once. It was one of the reasons that they kept all records confidential.

"You shred them and then re-shred them and stick them in the garbage disposal. Don't carry them home Suzanne." Kate didn't trust the man.

"Good idea! You don't think the family he's looking for has come through here do you?"

"Doesn't matter. How many times have we gotten a false name? Or address? There is just no way to know to be honest."

"You're right as usual. I'd best get cracking."

Kate looked around after Suzanne had left the room. She tried to decide if there was anything she ought to get rid of in light of the Sargent's visit. She saw nothing until she picked up her purse and realized that it had knocked over a picture of her and Eric with the kids. She almost put it back on her desk and then thought about it again. It was already knocked over when the Sargent had entered the room. He hadn't seen it. Looking at Eric, she thought back on the man's words and the way he smelled. She didn't trust him, and put the photo in her bag. She would have something to discuss with Eric when he got home. Kate spent the next few hours cleaning up her office and raced out the door just in time to go pick up the kids.

*

The kids bounded off the bus like kangaroos. Jamie was all smiles and swirling bits of paper. Mark walked behind, like he'd just discovered the most marvelous thing, and didn't know how to describe it.

"How was school?" Kate asked.

"It was fun," Mark said. "I like it I think."

"Good. It will take a bit of getting use to, but it is fun."

"I love-love-love school. It's the bestest thing in the whole world. An I can read, an have books, an have friends, an lunch was wonderful, an the bus driver is so nice an," Jamie rambled on.

"Whoa there dear! Not so fast!" Kate said.

"Ok. An did I tell you I have two new bestest friends? An that I can write my name an..."

"Jamie! Settle down dear. Fasten your belts so we can go home and you can tell Daddy all about it," Kate said.

"Ok!" both kids said at once.

*

Kate chickened out and headed for the basement laundry room when Eric got home. He got treated to the full bouncing craziness from Jamie and Mark actually tried to talk with his dad. She smiled and left Eric to deal with notes, homework and getting things organized for the next morning. She had the second load in the dryer and was folding towels when Eric came down the stairs.

"That was not fair dear." He leaned up against the washer and folding his arms across his chest.

"What wasn't fair?"

"Leaving me to deal with that blast of enthusiastic children."

"Oh? And where were you when they got off the bus like rockets?"

"You mean that they've calmed down since they got home?"

"Yes. They are positively placid compared to the way they got off the bus. Jamie talked ninety miles an hour and Mark actually spoke more than two sentences!"

"Wow. Are they always going to act like this?"

"Hopefully not. I don't know if I could handle such enthusiasm every day." Kate smiled.

Eric walked over and gave her a big hug. "Thank you for making my children so happy."

"You're welcome. Now, will you grab those towels?"

"Of course."

*

Laying there in bed, Kate couldn't wait any longer. She had to tell Eric about the day's weird events.

"Eric, I need to ask you something."

"Ask away."

Kate rolled over so she could see his face. "I had a visitor today at the shelter."

"Okay."

"He was looking for a family that he thought may have come through town."

Eric looked at her and wondered where she was going with this. "Alright, so did you tell him anything?"

"No. Not really. Our rules don't allow us to give out names. However, this Sargent was really insistent. Bent Suzanne's nose out of shape and so he came into see me."

At the mention of the word 'Sargent', Eric stiffened a bit. He looked at Kate and waited for her to speak.

"This Sargent, Sargent O'Hare, big sorta G.I.Joe type guy in an Army uniform pushed his way past Suzanne before she could finish introducing him. Then he kept asking questions that I couldn't answer. Or, should I say wouldn't answer."