Trouble in Paradise (sorry stupid title, I suck at titles, and can never
think up anything good)
**Note** This is a sequel to Honey guess what (6 months later).
Steven Hyde was relieved to finally be coming home after a very hectic day at work. Never before in his life until now had he actually understood what a home was supposed to be. He and Jackie had purchased a modest three bedroom/two bath house about five months ago and had just moved in four months ago.
Finally after months of unpacking boxes and picking up items at liquidation sales and auctions their house was finally coming together nicely. Jackie had spent countless hours trying to make it perfect for their small family despite chasing after two small children all day. After months of agonizing she and Steven had come to the decision that she should stay home with the kids because otherwise she would just be working to pay for the babysitter. Money was a little tight but they were managing. Luckily their mortgage payment wasn't too much more than the rent on their apartment.
Mrs. Forman still occasionally watched the kids for them but they didn't feel right having her watch their two rambunctious loud-mouthed kids for free, and Kitty wouldn't allow them to pay her a dime for it. Jackie's mother would offer to watch Jacob and Kaitlyn once in awhile but afterwards all she would do was complain and criticize Jackie and Hyde's parenting skills. Hyde had finally had enough and told Jackie that he didn't want her mother watching their kids anymore.
Jackie had once heard Bill Cosby say in a comedy show that you weren't really a parent until you had more than one child. Boy had that turned out to be true. Kaitlyn had been a handful but Kaitlyn and Jacob together were enough to keep three people busy. She loved her babies so much it was overwhelming but they just drained the life out of her sometimes. They needed her every second. Sometimes she was lucky if she could even go to the bathroom by herself. It was either one or the other or both that always wanted to be held, changed, fed or bathed. It was enough to send her to a padded cell sometimes and she felt guilty for feeling that way.
She had never talked to Steven about it because he was the one working his fingers to the bone to pay for everything. She needed to have a life outside of their house, even if it was for just a few hours a day. She had been going to an exercise class at the local YMCA since shortly after Jacob's birth and that had helped immensely.
Steven was always grumbling about it because he was tired when he came home from work and wanted to relax and not watch their two kids by himself who needed constant attention and he also wanted to spend time with Jackie since they seldom got to spend any quality time with each other. Plus he didn't think she needed to lose anymore weight and thought she looked great the way she was. Jackie was happy with her appearance but she enjoyed just getting out of the house and talking to other women and working off her frustrations.
Hyde arrived home and noticed immediately that Jackie's car wasn't in the driveway but then remembered it was her exercise night.
"Great, I look forward to seeing her all day and she's not here."
He unlocked the door to find his mother Edna in the living room holding Kaitlyn in her lap while Jacob was asleep on the floor on a blanket.
"Hey Edna"
"Hi, Steven. How was work?"
"Fine. How long has Jackie been gone?"
"For about half an hour" replied Edna, noticing that Steven seemed a bit perturbed that Jackie wasn't there. "She should be home in a little while. Well, since you're here I'll probably head on home."
"Do you need a ride home? I didn't see your car?"
"No, its out there. I parked it on the other side of the street because there wasn't anywhere to park earlier."
"Ok, Thanks for watching them for us." said Hyde, trying to be friendly, even though he wasn't thrilled with his mother watching his children. They had gradually formed a relationship over the last few months but they still had some trust issues to work out. It also boiled down to the fact that he was extremely protective of his children and trusted very few people with them.
Edna picked up on the tension but tried not to worry about it too much. She was well aware that their problems were of her own making but she was trying as hard as she could to earn his trust again. Edna handed Kaitlyn over to her father and gathered her purse and coat and gave each child a kiss on the cheek and gave Steven a quick hug and left.
Hyde sat down on the couch with Kaitlyn who was about ready to fall asleep herself. She'd refused to take a nap earlier and was very tired but was still fighting it. She was going through the terrible two's having officially reached that age about two weeks earlier. Jacob was still sound asleep. After a few minutes of watching the 6:00 news Hyde fell asleep on the couch with Kaitlyn in his arms. Minutes later he was awoken by Jackie coming into the room, putting her purse and coat on the chair.
"Hi Steven" whispered Jackie, trying not to wake Kaitlyn up. If Kaitlyn woke up from her nap before she was ready she was really cranky and screamed bloody murder so Jackie liked to avoid that as much as possible.
Hyde got up very slowly and carefully and put Kaitlyn down in her bedroom upstairs to sleep. He came back down a few minutes later. Jacob had woken up and was very hungry so Jackie had taken him into the kitchen and put him in his high chair and was feeding him a jar of baby food when Hyde came into the room.
Hyde sat down in a chair at the kitchen table and watched Jackie feed their son. He had a voracious appetite and already weighed more than Kaitlyn had at a year. Jacob was starting to fall asleep while still eating and his little eye lids were drooping while finishing off the last of the jar of baby food.
"Well, I guess that's enough for him. I'll go take him upstairs and change him into his pajamas. I'll be right back Steven."
"Ok, I guess I'll heat up something to eat."
Jackie picked Jacob up out of his chair, stopped to drop Steven a quick kiss on the lips and went upstairs to put the baby to bed. By the time she came back downstairs Hyde had just sat down to eat some leftover Lasagna.
"So how was your exercise class?" Hyde asked, not really keeping the annoyance out of his voice.
"Fine. Steven, what's with the attitude? Is it because your mother was watching the kids or because I was gone when you came home?"
"Everything's cool" Hyde replied in his habitual Zen-like fashion.
"Oh cut the crap Steven, who do you think you're talking to? Excuse me, if I leave for an hour. It's either that or check myself into the insane asylum." exclaimed Jackie angrily.
"I don't have a problem with you going to your exercise class"
"Could have fooled me. You've done nothing but complain about it since I started going."
"Jackie, the only thing I've said is that I don't think you need to lose anymore weight. You look great. You've had 2 kids, of course you look different but it's a good different." Hyde explained, giving her an appreciative look.
"So what is it then? Your mother? Steven, she has been nothing but wonderful with Kate and Jake. I haven't seen one sign that she's drinking again, have you?"
"No. I can't help it Jackie, I still don't trust her. If you grew up with that woman you'd understand."
"Steven, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for awhile."
"What?" Hyde asked, suddenly fearful of what she might say.
"My dad has offered to pay for me to go to school part-time. Steven, don't get mad. It would only be a few hours a day, a couple times a week. Mrs. Forman said she would watch Kate and Jake whenever you wouldn't be home and your mother could watch them also. Or my mother if worst came to worst."
Hyde just stared at Jackie, trying to think of a way to say what he wanted that wouldn't result in him sleeping alone for a month. Instead he just simply said "No".
"No?"
"You heard me, no. We're not taking money from your dad. We can't afford for you to go to school right now but maybe in a few months after we get Jake's hospital bill paid off we'll be able to afford it then."
"Steven, you really need to get over your attitude towards my father. He's trying to help us. Steven, I really need to have time to myself sometimes. I always wanted to go to college but couldn't because I was busy being pregnant and taking care of a baby and working."
"And that's my fault I suppose" Hyde said sarcastically.
"No, Steven. I didn't say that. It's both our faults. I'm not blaming anybody; it's just the way it is. Now's the perfect time because Jake's finally on the bottle and Katie's almost potty trained. Plus if I'm ever going to be able to get a job that pays more than minimum wage I'm going to have to go to school, at least for awhile."
"Jackie, the only reason your dad is offering to pay for you to go to school is so that you can earn a living and eventually leave me."
"Steven, that is so not true and you know it!!" Jackie yelled, shocked that Steven would dare to say such a thing.
"Jackie, you know damn well your father hates my guts and doesn't think I'm good enough for you and thinks I've ruined your life, despite the fact that we own our own house and pay our bills on time. And don't get me started on your mother! We're not taking their money, so drop it!"
"So that's it huh, you make all the money, so you make all the decisions. I'll have you know its hard work taking care of two screaming kids all day. I'd love to see you take care of them all day and see how you feel. I didn't marry a male chauvinist pig, but you're sure turning into one!" Jackie yelled as she left the room.
Hyde followed after her "Male chauvinist pig huh! Oh really? That's fucking hilarious! I never said that just because I'm the one working right now that you have no say in anything. That's you putting words in my mouth. You're acting like a spoiled brat who's not getting her way. Some things never change, do they?!"
"Oh, go to hell!" and Jackie stormed up the stairs and locked their bedroom door.
Just then the doorbell rang. Hyde though to himself "Just fucking great, me and Jackie get into world war three and we have visitors!"
He opened the door to find Eric standing on their door step anxiously with a duffel bag. "Hey Hyde, Can I stay with you for awhile? Donna threw me out."
**Note** This is a sequel to Honey guess what (6 months later).
Steven Hyde was relieved to finally be coming home after a very hectic day at work. Never before in his life until now had he actually understood what a home was supposed to be. He and Jackie had purchased a modest three bedroom/two bath house about five months ago and had just moved in four months ago.
Finally after months of unpacking boxes and picking up items at liquidation sales and auctions their house was finally coming together nicely. Jackie had spent countless hours trying to make it perfect for their small family despite chasing after two small children all day. After months of agonizing she and Steven had come to the decision that she should stay home with the kids because otherwise she would just be working to pay for the babysitter. Money was a little tight but they were managing. Luckily their mortgage payment wasn't too much more than the rent on their apartment.
Mrs. Forman still occasionally watched the kids for them but they didn't feel right having her watch their two rambunctious loud-mouthed kids for free, and Kitty wouldn't allow them to pay her a dime for it. Jackie's mother would offer to watch Jacob and Kaitlyn once in awhile but afterwards all she would do was complain and criticize Jackie and Hyde's parenting skills. Hyde had finally had enough and told Jackie that he didn't want her mother watching their kids anymore.
Jackie had once heard Bill Cosby say in a comedy show that you weren't really a parent until you had more than one child. Boy had that turned out to be true. Kaitlyn had been a handful but Kaitlyn and Jacob together were enough to keep three people busy. She loved her babies so much it was overwhelming but they just drained the life out of her sometimes. They needed her every second. Sometimes she was lucky if she could even go to the bathroom by herself. It was either one or the other or both that always wanted to be held, changed, fed or bathed. It was enough to send her to a padded cell sometimes and she felt guilty for feeling that way.
She had never talked to Steven about it because he was the one working his fingers to the bone to pay for everything. She needed to have a life outside of their house, even if it was for just a few hours a day. She had been going to an exercise class at the local YMCA since shortly after Jacob's birth and that had helped immensely.
Steven was always grumbling about it because he was tired when he came home from work and wanted to relax and not watch their two kids by himself who needed constant attention and he also wanted to spend time with Jackie since they seldom got to spend any quality time with each other. Plus he didn't think she needed to lose anymore weight and thought she looked great the way she was. Jackie was happy with her appearance but she enjoyed just getting out of the house and talking to other women and working off her frustrations.
Hyde arrived home and noticed immediately that Jackie's car wasn't in the driveway but then remembered it was her exercise night.
"Great, I look forward to seeing her all day and she's not here."
He unlocked the door to find his mother Edna in the living room holding Kaitlyn in her lap while Jacob was asleep on the floor on a blanket.
"Hey Edna"
"Hi, Steven. How was work?"
"Fine. How long has Jackie been gone?"
"For about half an hour" replied Edna, noticing that Steven seemed a bit perturbed that Jackie wasn't there. "She should be home in a little while. Well, since you're here I'll probably head on home."
"Do you need a ride home? I didn't see your car?"
"No, its out there. I parked it on the other side of the street because there wasn't anywhere to park earlier."
"Ok, Thanks for watching them for us." said Hyde, trying to be friendly, even though he wasn't thrilled with his mother watching his children. They had gradually formed a relationship over the last few months but they still had some trust issues to work out. It also boiled down to the fact that he was extremely protective of his children and trusted very few people with them.
Edna picked up on the tension but tried not to worry about it too much. She was well aware that their problems were of her own making but she was trying as hard as she could to earn his trust again. Edna handed Kaitlyn over to her father and gathered her purse and coat and gave each child a kiss on the cheek and gave Steven a quick hug and left.
Hyde sat down on the couch with Kaitlyn who was about ready to fall asleep herself. She'd refused to take a nap earlier and was very tired but was still fighting it. She was going through the terrible two's having officially reached that age about two weeks earlier. Jacob was still sound asleep. After a few minutes of watching the 6:00 news Hyde fell asleep on the couch with Kaitlyn in his arms. Minutes later he was awoken by Jackie coming into the room, putting her purse and coat on the chair.
"Hi Steven" whispered Jackie, trying not to wake Kaitlyn up. If Kaitlyn woke up from her nap before she was ready she was really cranky and screamed bloody murder so Jackie liked to avoid that as much as possible.
Hyde got up very slowly and carefully and put Kaitlyn down in her bedroom upstairs to sleep. He came back down a few minutes later. Jacob had woken up and was very hungry so Jackie had taken him into the kitchen and put him in his high chair and was feeding him a jar of baby food when Hyde came into the room.
Hyde sat down in a chair at the kitchen table and watched Jackie feed their son. He had a voracious appetite and already weighed more than Kaitlyn had at a year. Jacob was starting to fall asleep while still eating and his little eye lids were drooping while finishing off the last of the jar of baby food.
"Well, I guess that's enough for him. I'll go take him upstairs and change him into his pajamas. I'll be right back Steven."
"Ok, I guess I'll heat up something to eat."
Jackie picked Jacob up out of his chair, stopped to drop Steven a quick kiss on the lips and went upstairs to put the baby to bed. By the time she came back downstairs Hyde had just sat down to eat some leftover Lasagna.
"So how was your exercise class?" Hyde asked, not really keeping the annoyance out of his voice.
"Fine. Steven, what's with the attitude? Is it because your mother was watching the kids or because I was gone when you came home?"
"Everything's cool" Hyde replied in his habitual Zen-like fashion.
"Oh cut the crap Steven, who do you think you're talking to? Excuse me, if I leave for an hour. It's either that or check myself into the insane asylum." exclaimed Jackie angrily.
"I don't have a problem with you going to your exercise class"
"Could have fooled me. You've done nothing but complain about it since I started going."
"Jackie, the only thing I've said is that I don't think you need to lose anymore weight. You look great. You've had 2 kids, of course you look different but it's a good different." Hyde explained, giving her an appreciative look.
"So what is it then? Your mother? Steven, she has been nothing but wonderful with Kate and Jake. I haven't seen one sign that she's drinking again, have you?"
"No. I can't help it Jackie, I still don't trust her. If you grew up with that woman you'd understand."
"Steven, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for awhile."
"What?" Hyde asked, suddenly fearful of what she might say.
"My dad has offered to pay for me to go to school part-time. Steven, don't get mad. It would only be a few hours a day, a couple times a week. Mrs. Forman said she would watch Kate and Jake whenever you wouldn't be home and your mother could watch them also. Or my mother if worst came to worst."
Hyde just stared at Jackie, trying to think of a way to say what he wanted that wouldn't result in him sleeping alone for a month. Instead he just simply said "No".
"No?"
"You heard me, no. We're not taking money from your dad. We can't afford for you to go to school right now but maybe in a few months after we get Jake's hospital bill paid off we'll be able to afford it then."
"Steven, you really need to get over your attitude towards my father. He's trying to help us. Steven, I really need to have time to myself sometimes. I always wanted to go to college but couldn't because I was busy being pregnant and taking care of a baby and working."
"And that's my fault I suppose" Hyde said sarcastically.
"No, Steven. I didn't say that. It's both our faults. I'm not blaming anybody; it's just the way it is. Now's the perfect time because Jake's finally on the bottle and Katie's almost potty trained. Plus if I'm ever going to be able to get a job that pays more than minimum wage I'm going to have to go to school, at least for awhile."
"Jackie, the only reason your dad is offering to pay for you to go to school is so that you can earn a living and eventually leave me."
"Steven, that is so not true and you know it!!" Jackie yelled, shocked that Steven would dare to say such a thing.
"Jackie, you know damn well your father hates my guts and doesn't think I'm good enough for you and thinks I've ruined your life, despite the fact that we own our own house and pay our bills on time. And don't get me started on your mother! We're not taking their money, so drop it!"
"So that's it huh, you make all the money, so you make all the decisions. I'll have you know its hard work taking care of two screaming kids all day. I'd love to see you take care of them all day and see how you feel. I didn't marry a male chauvinist pig, but you're sure turning into one!" Jackie yelled as she left the room.
Hyde followed after her "Male chauvinist pig huh! Oh really? That's fucking hilarious! I never said that just because I'm the one working right now that you have no say in anything. That's you putting words in my mouth. You're acting like a spoiled brat who's not getting her way. Some things never change, do they?!"
"Oh, go to hell!" and Jackie stormed up the stairs and locked their bedroom door.
Just then the doorbell rang. Hyde though to himself "Just fucking great, me and Jackie get into world war three and we have visitors!"
He opened the door to find Eric standing on their door step anxiously with a duffel bag. "Hey Hyde, Can I stay with you for awhile? Donna threw me out."