Chapter 5

Episode 8 - Normal Run of Things

The stock of imaginary tea and continually recycled plastic cookies seemed to be dwindling, and the hostess was running out of fresh topics for conversation when Brady’s ears caught the the click of a door and footsteps in the hall. He entertained a fleeting question of how quickly they could clean up the incriminating evidence but let it go and relaxed carefully against the couch, offering super-Grace a smile as she tapped her spoon absently against her plate.

Marcus stepped into the doorway and stopped short, taking in the scene, and Brady raised an eyebrow, daring him to make a comment, but the younger boy lifted his hands in surrender as he settled in his recliner.

“I got cousins, man. Not saying a word.”

That drew a grin from Brady, and Rachelle hummed a low chuckle as she shifted her legs and glanced up at the clock.

“What do you think, baby? Are we about done here? I still need to call Mrs. Jackson about your other party.”

“Okay!” Grace sprang up excitedly, scattering half the dishes, and Brady reached to pick them up, but Rachelle shook her head.

“Put the toys away, Grace. And then take the capes back to your room and get dressed, okay? I’ll see if Harper’s up to fixing your hair when she’s awake.”

“Or Brady can help,” Grace volunteered cheerfully, and Rachelle cocked her head in warning, even as she bit down on what might have been a smile.

“It’s up to Brady to say if he can help. You don’t get to decide that, remember?”

“But I can ask?”

Rachelle opened her mouth, then closed it again, and Brady hesitated just a second before adding his voice to the conversation, hoping he wasn’t crossing a line.

“Yes, you can ask. It’s never wrong to ask for help; you just can’t make people help, or keep pestering if they say no, right?”

“Can you help with my hair?” Grace nodded emphatically as she finished the question, and Brady couldn’t help smiling.

“Why don’t you clean up and get dressed first, and then we’ll see if my fingers can handle it today, all right?”

“Okay!” Grace dropped to the ground and began scooping her toys back into the bin, and Brady glanced up at Rachelle and found her watching her sister with a look he couldn’t interpret. He waited until the little girl ran back to her room, trailing the blankets behind her, then touched Rachelle’s hand with an apologetic wince.

“Sorry. Shouldn’t have taken over. If you need to correct any of that, go ahead. I’ll back you up.”

“No. It was a good answer. I just—”

“Have trouble remembering it yourself sometimes. Not that you shouldn’t pester, but that it’s not wrong to ask.”

“Why do I feel like you’re not really wondering?” Rachelle sighed, and Marcus snorted softly from across the room.

“Because that’s like, you 101. But Brady’s way sounds right to me.”

“And you know you’d say it to anyone else. It’s just you and your responsibility that you’re worried about being a burden.” Brady offered her a wry smile, and after a few seconds, Rachelle nodded.

“Yep. Creeps up on me unaware. Thanks for the reminder. And it’s that time too. I need to go call Shavonne.”

“Want help with your phone?” Brady let his smile broaden into a grin, and Rachelle glanced down at her hands before giving a little groan of acknowledgement.

“Probably safest.” She fished it carefully out of her pocket, and Brady quickly entered her passcode and found Shavonne’s contact, then swiped the call button and handed it back. Rachelle mouthed a silent “thank you” before retreating to the corner, and Brady pulled himself back onto the couch as footsteps too heavy and slow to be Grace’s sounded in the hallway.

“Morning, Harper.” The words left his lips a second before her messy blue bedhead appeared in the doorway, and she mumbled something even his enhanced hearing couldn’t make sense of as she shuffled across the room and flopped onto her couch.

“Wow, slow down, Sunshine. Training for a marathon?” Marcus quipped, and Harper curled around her pillow and blew her hair out of her eyes before mumbling a response.

“Kept waking up. Might as well watch something interesting.”

“Too bad you missed the morning show.” Marcus snickered, and Brady shot him a look, but a sudden stifled cry of distress from the corner suddenly shot his attention back to the corner where Rachelle stood.

“No. No. Don’t apologize. Not in any way your fault. We’ll—” She cut off and listened for a moment, shaking her head hard. “No, don’t worry about it, Shavonne. I’ll handle it. You rest up. Sounds like you’re in for it. Tell Rowan and Lonnie we hope they feel better soon.” Her hard swallow and steadying breath carried clearly to Brady’s ears, but her voice was impressively calm when she answered again. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll take care of it. We’ll work it out later. Go.” She waited a few more seconds, then dropped her phone on the counter like a hot potato and let her head fall onto her clenched fists.

“Wasn’t trying to cause a show.” A note of worry crept into Harper’s voice, and Brady sighed and shook his head as he crossed to Rachelle’s side and laid a hand on her rock-hard shoulder.

“Jacksons are sick, huh?”

She jerked a quick nod without uncovering her face, and Brady moved his hand to rub it gently across her back.

“It’s okay, Chelle. Just like before. Not wrong to show that it’s hard.”

Rachelle gave a little moan that ended in a sob, then reached for her phone with a trembling hand before hastily pulling it back.

“Hey, breathe. Give it a minute. It’s still early; the calls can wait. Relax.”

Rachelle drew a long, hard breath and released it in a shudder that Brady felt all the way to his toes, then lowered herself gingerly into a chair at the table.

“No chance, huh?” Marcus asked quietly after a moment of silence, and Rachelle shook her head.

“No chance. Two kids with fevers. She thought Lonnie was getting his molars yesterday, but now Rowan’s down. And even if she wasn’t probably going to spread it, it’s not like she can just leave her own sick kids at home to run Grace’s party for me.”

“Nobody thinks you’d ask her to do that, even if it was an option.” Brady took the seat next to her and rested a hand on top of hers, but the tension in her muscles didn’t relax.

“Could you get one of the other moms to run backup?” Harper yawned, but her voice sounded more alert than it had since she’d joined them, and Brady shook his head in admiration at how quickly her brain had latched on to a new puzzle.

“Yeah, no.” Rachelle attempted a laugh, but it came out more of a groan. “It’s not backup. It’s the whole thing. We’re going to have to cancel completely, and I won’t get the deposit back. It’ll be another year at least before I can try again.” She flexed her fingers against the table hard enough that it creaked, and Brady reached for one of Dash’s stress balls and offered it to her, but she turned away. “Don’t give me that. I’m liable to put it through the wall.”

“Ohhh…” Harper breathed as she pulled her pillow under her arm and propped herself up a little. “Didn’t know you were powered up. Who’d you call?”

“Don’t ask. This morning was a mess.” Brady sighed as a clatter from behind him pulled his eyes through the walls to see Grace scrambling to scoop her hairbows back into their bin. “Chelle, Grace is on her way. Why don’t you go back to your room for a little bit? Pray it through. Get your thoughts in order. Figure out how to break it to her. We’ll handle things out here, okay?”

Rachelle opened her mouth like she was about to protest, then sprang up from the table and disappeared into her room so fast that Brady wouldn’t have been surprised to see the door go with her. He barely had time to whisper a prayer for the Lord to give her peace before Grace burst out of her room with hairbrush and squirt bottle in hand and skidded to her knees in front of his couch before she even registered that he’d moved.

“Coming, Gracie-girl.” An ache settled in Brady’s chest as he pushed himself up and took his usual place, fluffing her hair a little to assess the tangles. “Grab a towel this time, and let’s give it a shot.”

Grace giggled and scrambled for a dishtowel, and Brady pressed his lips together and did his best to ignore the coarse, wet sensations crawling around his fingers as he brushed out the little girl’s hair and fastened her chosen bow into a half-ponytail that he hoped didn’t look too awful. Not that he had to worry about anyone seeing it outside of the den, he added to himself with a sigh as he tried for the third time to position the sharp metal clasp in a way that didn’t immediately twist sideways.

“Want a hand with finishing touches?” Harper’s voice came from right beside his ear, and Brady jumped, not sure how he’d concentrated hard enough to tune out not only the sound of her moving but also the feel of her settling on the cushion next to him. He hesitated just a second, then handed over the hairbow, which Harper somehow settled on the first try.

“All right, you’re done, sweet girl. And not even swimming in a puddle this time. Hop up and put your brush away, okay?”

Grace popped to her feet with a happy little hum, and Brady’s heart squeezed at the sound, but before he could say anything, or even decide what to say, a door shut in the hall with too much force to be Dash’s, and the swish of Rachelle’s skirt preceded her determined footsteps into the common. Brady glanced up at her, noting with concern the tight control radiating from every line of her body.

“Hey, baby.” Rachelle’s voice was strained as she knelt next to her sister, and Grace looked up with wide, expectant eyes. “I need to tell you something important. Mrs. Jackson can’t come to your party today. Lonnie and Rowan are sick.”

Grace’s eyes widened, then fell, and her face began to crumple as she turned it away. Rachelle reached out as though to hug her but let her hands hover in the air, seemingly fearful that the lightest touch might crush her.

“Look at me, baby, please.” The words were almost breathless, and Grace slowly lifted her brimming eyes. “So I need your help, because we’re doing this party, superpowers or not.”