Why are There No Clouds in the Sky?, chapter 2
Billie fumbled with his keys as he tried to lock the car behind him as he walked toward his house. Fuckers, he thought. All of them. Fuckers.
He sighed with relief when he saw through the window the faint recollection of his wife's figure, hoping she would make him feel better. And his two children perhaps would bring the first smile of the day to his face.
As he unlocked the door to the house and stepped in, he not only heard the sound of footsteps rushing through the halls, but screaming as well.
"JOSEPH MARCIANO ARMSTRONG, PUT THAT BAT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Billie heard his wife scream at his son.
"NO!" Joey insisted, continuing to apparently run madly through the house. Adrienne ran downstairs to Billie and informed him of what was happening.
"Hey, Billie, bit of a crisis here," she told him. "Joey is running around the house with a bat smashing basically everything in his path because I asked him to take a shower. I mean, he's 8, shouldn't he be okay with taking a shower? So he's broken a drawer, one of my good plates, a leg on the table downstairs and a hell of a lot of toys. And now Jakob is sitting in his room balling his eyes out because Joey hit him with the bat in his arm. So between trying to take the bat away from Joey and tending to Jake, I need your help."
Can I not have one peaceful day? Billie thought to himself. "Um, I'll take care of Joey," he told Adrienne. "You get ice for Jake."
Billie then marched up the stairs, refraining from screaming at the top of his lungs. Billie was a small guy, sure, but he had no problem getting his kids to listen.
Before running to the attic, where the sounds of smashed toys were coming from, Billie stopped in Jakob's room. "Hey, Jake, what's the matter?" Billie asked his sobbing son.
Jake wiped his small hand across his eyes. "J-j-joey hit me-e-e," ; he sputtered through his tears.
"Aww, little man, it'll be okay," Billie assured his son. "Mommy's gonna come and fix it. Here' I'll give your arm a kiss." He did so and then his head shot up to the sound of breaking glass. "Holy..."
Both Billie and Adrienne met at the stairs and ran panicked up to the attic. There, they found Joey with a cut on his hand, tears rolling down his eyes, and a broken window of the glass bureau.
"Oh dear Lord," Adrienne gasped as she ran to her son's side. "Billie get some bandages!"
"You know," Billie said. "This wouldn't have happened if you had kept the kids quiet."
"Wow, what the hell Billie? Could you quit being selfish for once and get your bleeding son a bandage?" ; Adrienne requested of her husband.
Billie Joe was hesitant to move, and Adrienne got frustrated with his lack of cooperation. "Must I repeat it again, your son is bleed-ing and is in desperate need of a band-age," she told him.
"Fine, fine, whatever," Billie said as he trotted downstairs to the 2nd floor and then to the kitchen, where he found a roll of bandages in the medicine cabinet. After grabbing that, he ran back upstairs to his wife's aid.
He handed her the roll and she unraveled it, and after disinfecting the cut with soap and a washcloth she had apparently gotten when Billie was downstairs, she slowly wrapped the bandage around Joey's hand while whispering soothing words to her sobbing son. Billie, on the other hand, was so completely disgusted with the situation that he said nothing at all.
After both of the boys were done crying, Adrienne announced it would probably be in everyone's best interests if they all went to bed. So Billie picked up a red-faced Jakob and Adrienne took the hand of Joey and they brought them to their rooms.
Billie set his 5-year-old son on his bed and picked out a pair of pajamas for him and changed Jake into them. Jake hobbled over to his bureau across the room and picked up Green Eggs and Ham, his favorite book. Jakob looked at his father with his big, loving blue eyes.
"Story time, Daddy?" he asked.
"Sorry son, not tonight," Billie Joe replied. "Daddy's really tired tonight."
Jakob let his head hang down, dejected, and then looked back up with a few tears welded in his eyes. "Daddy?" he asked his father.
"Yes?" Billie Joe replied.
"Why are you and Mommy fighting?" Jake asked with pleading eyes, wanting to know what was wrong with his beloved father. Jakob was a smart little boy, and he knew when his daddy didn't want to read him a story it was because him and his mommy were in a fight.
Billie Joe patted his son on the head, "No reason that should worry you, kiddo."
"But Daddy, what if you and Mommy get in a divorce?" Jakob asked his father. God, what were they showing on TV these days?
Billie Joe smiled slightly at his son's intelligence and then kneeled down to eye-level with the young boy. "Don't worry," he said. "Mommy and I won't get a divorce. I promise. Things are going to be just fine. Here, now give me a hug goodnight."
Jakob wrapped his arms around his father and held tight.
"I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, son."
He sighed with relief when he saw through the window the faint recollection of his wife's figure, hoping she would make him feel better. And his two children perhaps would bring the first smile of the day to his face.
As he unlocked the door to the house and stepped in, he not only heard the sound of footsteps rushing through the halls, but screaming as well.
"JOSEPH MARCIANO ARMSTRONG, PUT THAT BAT DOWN RIGHT NOW!" Billie heard his wife scream at his son.
"NO!" Joey insisted, continuing to apparently run madly through the house. Adrienne ran downstairs to Billie and informed him of what was happening.
"Hey, Billie, bit of a crisis here," she told him. "Joey is running around the house with a bat smashing basically everything in his path because I asked him to take a shower. I mean, he's 8, shouldn't he be okay with taking a shower? So he's broken a drawer, one of my good plates, a leg on the table downstairs and a hell of a lot of toys. And now Jakob is sitting in his room balling his eyes out because Joey hit him with the bat in his arm. So between trying to take the bat away from Joey and tending to Jake, I need your help."
Can I not have one peaceful day? Billie thought to himself. "Um, I'll take care of Joey," he told Adrienne. "You get ice for Jake."
Billie then marched up the stairs, refraining from screaming at the top of his lungs. Billie was a small guy, sure, but he had no problem getting his kids to listen.
Before running to the attic, where the sounds of smashed toys were coming from, Billie stopped in Jakob's room. "Hey, Jake, what's the matter?" Billie asked his sobbing son.
Jake wiped his small hand across his eyes. "J-j-joey hit me-e-e," ; he sputtered through his tears.
"Aww, little man, it'll be okay," Billie assured his son. "Mommy's gonna come and fix it. Here' I'll give your arm a kiss." He did so and then his head shot up to the sound of breaking glass. "Holy..."
Both Billie and Adrienne met at the stairs and ran panicked up to the attic. There, they found Joey with a cut on his hand, tears rolling down his eyes, and a broken window of the glass bureau.
"Oh dear Lord," Adrienne gasped as she ran to her son's side. "Billie get some bandages!"
"You know," Billie said. "This wouldn't have happened if you had kept the kids quiet."
"Wow, what the hell Billie? Could you quit being selfish for once and get your bleeding son a bandage?" ; Adrienne requested of her husband.
Billie Joe was hesitant to move, and Adrienne got frustrated with his lack of cooperation. "Must I repeat it again, your son is bleed-ing and is in desperate need of a band-age," she told him.
"Fine, fine, whatever," Billie said as he trotted downstairs to the 2nd floor and then to the kitchen, where he found a roll of bandages in the medicine cabinet. After grabbing that, he ran back upstairs to his wife's aid.
He handed her the roll and she unraveled it, and after disinfecting the cut with soap and a washcloth she had apparently gotten when Billie was downstairs, she slowly wrapped the bandage around Joey's hand while whispering soothing words to her sobbing son. Billie, on the other hand, was so completely disgusted with the situation that he said nothing at all.
After both of the boys were done crying, Adrienne announced it would probably be in everyone's best interests if they all went to bed. So Billie picked up a red-faced Jakob and Adrienne took the hand of Joey and they brought them to their rooms.
Billie set his 5-year-old son on his bed and picked out a pair of pajamas for him and changed Jake into them. Jake hobbled over to his bureau across the room and picked up Green Eggs and Ham, his favorite book. Jakob looked at his father with his big, loving blue eyes.
"Story time, Daddy?" he asked.
"Sorry son, not tonight," Billie Joe replied. "Daddy's really tired tonight."
Jakob let his head hang down, dejected, and then looked back up with a few tears welded in his eyes. "Daddy?" he asked his father.
"Yes?" Billie Joe replied.
"Why are you and Mommy fighting?" Jake asked with pleading eyes, wanting to know what was wrong with his beloved father. Jakob was a smart little boy, and he knew when his daddy didn't want to read him a story it was because him and his mommy were in a fight.
Billie Joe patted his son on the head, "No reason that should worry you, kiddo."
"But Daddy, what if you and Mommy get in a divorce?" Jakob asked his father. God, what were they showing on TV these days?
Billie Joe smiled slightly at his son's intelligence and then kneeled down to eye-level with the young boy. "Don't worry," he said. "Mommy and I won't get a divorce. I promise. Things are going to be just fine. Here, now give me a hug goodnight."
Jakob wrapped his arms around his father and held tight.
"I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, son."
