Chapter 13

They had reached the bottom of the stairs She stopped and handed Romeo back to Jon.

"We were going to show you this tonight when we went to bed." Alex turned back around and went back up the stairs as she explained to Jon and Richie.

Richie looked more puzzled, Jon even more so, they were all going to bed together? He wasn't so sure he saw anything wrong with that.

"When I first got here, Romoe had a rough time. So when I put him down for the night we had a time getting him to sleep."

Hattie had told him that during one of his calls that, of all the kids Romeo was missing his mother the most. That there were nights, he didn't sleep at all, till dawn as about to break.

"I would go up to the top of the stairs and call down to him." She slowly got to the banister overlooking the foyer.

"Romeo, Romeo, where fore art thou, Romeo? It is night and tis time for all brave young knights to rest as there are dragons they must slay tomorrow for the faire Alexis."

Romeo looked up at Alexis the rest of the kids came out to the foyer and smiled.

"I thought we were going to eat first?" Jake whose stomach was growling asked. Stephanie punched him in the arm and whispered for him to shut up.

"Fair Lexis, it is I Meo, I sway da dragons for you! I da bravest knight in da house and I more better than sir Jakey or sir Jessie!" Romeo reached into his pocket and pulled out his ninja Turtle and held it up high like a sword.

Richie covered his mouth to keep from laughing and Jon just stared at his youngest son. That was the most words he had strung together since he was home last. Then he looked up at Alexis as she started coming down the stairs. He started to feel that itch in the back of his throat whenever he got the urge to cry. She had worked miracles in such a short time.

"And that is how Meo got his new nickname," She bent down and took Romeo up in her arms. Alexis never tired of getting a hug from these kids. "Even his teachers is starting to call him Meo, that is after out little talk."

Just then Hattie came out in the hall.

"So this is where you all are, and my dinner is getting cold!"

They all went into the dinning room. The kid's had booted eating in the kitchen - this was special! The first dinner their dad was home and their mother wasn't.

Jon mad a mental not to discuss the problem with Romeo's Teacher. Hattie had not spoken about any of these concerns. He had been told about Jake and Jessie trying to decide who was going to be the man of the course. Jessie being the oldest had started bossing his little brothers around. Stephanie had just laughed when he tried it on her. Things had really changed in the big white house on the river.

Dinner was fun, to say the least. Richie had them all laughing with stories from tour. Telling them abut Jon getting locked out of the hotel in Germany and Jon forgetting which hotel they were staying at, ending up checking into a hotel that was not on their list.

Jon felt his cheeks getting redder by the time Richie was through with his little sideshow.

Alex was watching the kids react to their father's antics. Was it just her or did they seem to act like he was a guest in his own home? She noticed Jessie was looking from his father to her. Something was up. She was just going to have to wait him out. Jessie was the quiet one, the man of the house. Since they had gotten home from picking up Stephanie, he had seemed thoughtful. Like he had a problem, but not sure who to ask for help. Should he as her or his dad?