Inspired by the song by Trace Adkins
1995
Mike was lying on top of his bed, his hands behind his head, watching his wife, Andria, getting into her jeans with an amused smile on his face because she was having quite a tough time,
"Damn things..."
she cursed, grabbing on to belt loops and jumping,
"...go on..."
behind her she heard him laugh out loud, but then try to cover it by coughing. She turned her head towards him and growled,
"How 'bout insteada laughin' at me you go wake-up the kids?"
"Yes ma'am..."
He smirked, getting off the bed and heading for the door. Just as he got to the door, he paused and looked back in;
"If ya need help, call me, I'll gladly come and help..."
as an answer Andria looked up from her jeans and cast him a death glare. Mike just laughed and disappeared around the corner
------
Mike tip toed into his youngest son, 12-year-old Nathan�s room and grabbed the foghorn that he got at a hockey game in Detroit, off his dresser and pressed the button, which sent a blaring, droning noise through the room,
"Whaaaaa..."
Nathan yelled as he shot up in his bed and covered his ears.
"Dad...why'd you do that?"
He growled, shaking his head a bit to dispel the ringing in his ears
"Felt like it, I guess..."
Mike shrugged placing the horn back on the dresser and turning around,
"Come on, time to get up"
"Ya, ya..."
Nathan yawned, moving his tired body to a sitting position.
------
Next was his daughter, 15-year-old Allannah's room.
"Ally, time to get outta bed, baby"
"5 more minutes..."
Allannah moaned, rolling onto her other side
"No, come on now...�
Mike laughed.
He ran his hand along the wall until his fingers felt the switch, and then turned it on. As soon as the light met Allannah's eyes she moaned even louder and put a pillow over her face,
"Dad...please..."
Mike heard her mumble,
"No, you gotta get up and ready fer school. Or ya won't get a drive..."
"It's not like I could walk there, ya know"
She yawned, as she through the pillow off her face and sat up,
"You wanna bet?"
Allannah didn't move an inch for a couple minutes till she growled and began sitting up,
"Ok, fine, I'm up...now I gotta get my stuff ready...so, scoot, man..."
"Yes ma'am..."
Mike smirked as he closed her door.
-----
Next, his youngest two, Jilliyn and Cayelyn,
"Come on guys..."
He called quietly...
"Awe daddy,"
7-year-old Jilliyn moaned as she rolled over in her bed,
"No, awe daddies, Jilly, time for school..."
He bent down and poked her softly in her ribs,
"You too, Caye"
He called over to Jilliyn's twin sister, who still laid spread eagle in her bed with the covers wrapped around her legs and her mouth wide open, fast asleep.
"Cayelyn Ashley Nesmith, wake up, now!"
He roared,
Cayelyn moaned loudly and rolled, she rolled so far she rolled right off her bed and landed on the floor with a big "thud". Mike ran to her side of the room and looked down, Cayelyn, by now, had sat up and was rubbing the back of her head with a pained look on her face. He sighed loudly and hit his face with his hand, if she was like this at 7, what would she be like as a teenager?
"Ok, well, yer all up...so..."
He carefully stepped over Cayelyn who still sat on the floor looking up at her dad,
"I'll leave..."
He started walking out the door, but quickly popped his head back in,
"..However, don't you even think 'bout goin' back ta sleep Caye...or you, Jilly"
As an answer Cayelyn growled.
-----
Mikes mission was finally accomplished he walked down the stairs with a small smirk on his face. Mid way down the stairs, he caught a glimpse of Andria in the kitchen; she was bent over the kitchen sink furiously scrubbing a plate. The way the light from the kitchen window hit her face made it look like she was glowing like
an angel, Mike had to stop for a second on the stairs and quietly regain his lost composure.
"Ok, babe, they're up..."
He croaked as he stumbled down the last few steps, maybe he should have stayed there a bit longer, The fluctuation in Mike�s voice made Andria look back and cast him a questioning look, Mike just shrugged and smirked and began walking to the cupboard that had all the cereal in it. Mike let out a disgusted sigh as he placed the 3rd box of cereal on the counter,
"4 kids do not need 3 different cereals...when I was young-"
"Ok, Mike-"
Andria stopped him before he started,
"I don't really need ta hear this today...and anyways, it was just yur mother an' you when you were growin' up. This is different..."
Mike just huffed as he turned around and walked to table.
Andria stopped scrubbing, moved a piece of hair out of her face, and turned towards Mike,
"Why don't ya come an' help me, ol' wise one..."
"No thanks...I like the view jist fine"
Mike smirked, he was pertaining to the view he got when Andria turned around. Andria groaned a bit as she turned back around, wiped her hands on the back of her jeans and then walked to the stairs and called up,
"If you kids ain't down here in 5 minutes...ya ain't gettin' no
drive to school...yous can walk..."
"We're comin'!"
Allannah�s annoyed voice rang down the stairs,
"Good!"
Andria retorted,
almost immediately she heard Mike�s laughter,
"Be quiet..."
she warned, walking past him and over to the sink again,
"Yes ma'am"
she whipped around and cast daggers at Mike,
Mike saw the look he was getting and started coughing,
"Sorry..."
Andria just grumbled,
The next thing they heard was a loud bang then watched as Nathan rolled down the stairs at an alarming speed and land on the landing with a thud. Both Mike and Andria ran to Nathan�s aid, helping where ever they thought necessary, but, Nathan just waved them both off got up on his own power and wiped himself off. Then looked at his pale and panting parents and grinned sheepishly,
"I'm ok"
the first few steps he took towards the cereal were limps but after that, he seemed to walk normally,
"What did you do, what happened?"
Andria couldn't get her words out fast enough as she ran in front of Nathan and began checking his arms and face for an sign of injury, Nathan just moaned and pulled his arms away and reached out for the
Frosted Flakes,
"I jist fergot ta put away mah roller blades last night and tripped over the laces..."
"What did I tell ya 'bout that...?�
Andria scorned,
"Ya coulda killed yurself..."
"Hell...ya almost did"
She added as after thought
"Jeeze, its only roller blades, chill, man..."
Nathan told him mom, Andria was just about to reply when Mike cut her off,
"Ah, Nate, is yur sisters almost ready?"
"Ya,"
"Good, then, eat, and we will go..."
-------
Allannah, Cayelyn, and Jilliyn came down the stairs one after the other, and one after the other they ate their breakfast. The only problem they encountered afterward was a small push and shove between Allannah and Nathan, but Mike quickly put that to rest and pushed them outside as he got the other two ready.
"Alright, everyone in the car lets go..."
He called as soon as he stepped out the door behind Cayelyn and Jilliyn
"I don't wanna go to school daddy..."
Cayelyn whined walking to the car,
"Ya, me too, man..."
Allannah agreed, Nathan nodded
"Well, too bad yur goin'" "Get in..."
"This is unfair..."
Allannah added her opinion,
"Oh ya, gettin' an education, really unfair."
Mike retorted in a sarcastic tone,
"Well let me tell ya babe, there's worse things in life..." "Get yur seatbelts on..."
Allannah growled as she pulled the seatbelt around her,
"Ally, help yur sisters..."
Mike started the car and soon was pulling out of the drive way and on to the street. He quickly looked back when he heard struggling in the backseat to see Allannah and Nathan slapping each other,
"Why did you two sit beside each other when you know this always happens?"
"Ally told me I looked like a monkey..."
Nathan complained slapping his sister across her shoulder.
"I meant the band the Monkees...you look like dad...foul"
Allannah slapped Nathan across the head. Nathan retaliated by hitting his sister across the head, which- well lets just say, started another fight. Which Mike put to rest, yet again by abruptly stopping the car at the intersection and turning back,
"Ok,"
He began, staring at Allannah and Nathan with nothing but fiery in his eyes. As soon as Allannah and Nathan saw the look in their fathers eyes they froze,
"Allannah...up here with me..."
His voice betrayed the look in his eyes, it was calm - maybe too calm,
He turned back to the front to check if the light had changed, it hadn't so he started again,
"Jilly, I know its your turn, but, please move"
Jilliyn slightly nodded as she undid her seatbelt and opened the door. She waited patiently beside the outside car for her sister to trade seats with her and when Allannah finally crawled over her sister and climbed out she climbed in and did her seatbelt up as soon as she got in.
"This unfair, he started it-"
Allannah protested as she climbed in the front and did her seatbelt,
"Jist be quiet, and hold on"
Mike warned as he slammed on the gas pedal.
-------
Mike got the group to school without any further incident and quickly skidded out of the school parking lot and back home. As soon as Mike made it in the door he collapsed against it and sighed, Andria who had heard him come in took one look at his weathered face and burst out laughing,
"Good your home, they didn't make you do something drastic...like I thought they would..."
Mike looked at his wife and smirked. Then pushed himself off the door and began walking toward her,
"How do you handle them 4 days a week, hell, I only have 'em once a week and I'm totally wiped"
Andria smiled and as soon as she felt his arms around her she said, quite calmly,
"Practice..."
She slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She liked the feeling, but then suddenly pushed away from him, shot her eyes open, looked up into her husband�s startled eyes and pushed her way out of his grip and ran up the stairs. Mike just watched Andria run up the stairs and could not help but feel a heavy sense of rejection. He stood still for a while carefully deciding on whether to go upstairs and ask Andria what the cause was for the sudden chill in the air or just hang down here. He shrugged and looked down at the floor and started walking
towards the kitchen. He would ask her later, maybe give her some
time to cool off...
----
Later on that day as Mike sat in the living room deeply engrossed in a book about the history of cowboys, he heard quite explicit words travel down the stairs from the second floor. Putting his book down on the side table, making sure he did not lose his spot, and taking his reading glasses off he got up from the chair with a groan and decided to see where his wife was. He climbed the stairs as quietly as he could, and quietly slipped down the hallway to Andria and his room. Where he saw Andria standing in front of their full-length mirror, looking down at a pair of jeans that just would not budge, and cursing, Mike inwardly sighed as he realized those were the jeans she had been trying to slip on that morning, without success. He walked straight into his room and right up behind Andria,
"Andria, stop..."
Mike placed his hands over hers. She looked up to him with big eyes,
"Michael, why ain't life like it use ta be?"
Andria whined, hitting his chest with her head,
"What do ya mean, babe?"
"What do I mean? I mean when life was simple. When it was just me an' you, before the kids...when I was skinny...and actually good lookin'"
"Andria, look in the mirra fer a minute..."
He carefully turned her around,
"-here we go, the cheesy "yur beautiful the way y'ar" speech"
Andria griped,
getting back to the business she had with her blasted jeans,
"No, leave the jeans alone,"
he pushed her tiny hands off and placed them at her sides, then took her head in his hands and directed her attention to the full length mirror she now stood in front of,
"Now,"
He smirked,
"Wha' do ya see, babe?"
Andria sighed loudly, but, went along with Mikes dumbass question,
"What do I see, I see an old, graying, wrinkled...40 something, chubby, house wife...who can't fit into a 2 year old pair of jeans she's only worn once"
"Ok,"
Mike nodded,
"Wanna know what I see?"
"No, not really, but, yer gonna tell me, ain't ya"
Mike smirked at her in the mirror then looked down at her body,
"I see an attractive 40 somethin' woman, who has nothin' wrong with her. So yur goin' grey, so am I. So you're gettin' wrinkles, so am I. Andria, so what if ya can't fit into a pair of jeans that you bought 2 years ago. Ya havta realize that people change. I don't want the pretty 19 year old girl I met in college; I want the gorgeous 46 year old woman that is standing in front of me."
Andria turned to face him, Mike smiled
"When I first met you, do you remember how "flat", skinny and square you were?"
Andria laughed,
"...a lotta help there with the self esteem, Mike..."
"Well, do ya..."
He did not let up,
"Ya, of course I do, strong 'nough wind could knock me over...didn't have anything. What ya ever saw in me, I will never know. I didn't start fillin' out till I was having Faithe..."
"I saw...uh,"
Mike smirked as he tried to find the words,
"...let's say potential..."
Andria laughed, then looked down at herself and sighed,
"Hey Andy, listen..."
Mike put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around to face him, then stared into her eyes,
"There's nothin' wrong with ya. Ya havta realize that people change..."
"Deja-vu?"
Andria smirked softly, Mike just ignored it,
"Ya look damn fine, you've had 6 kids...and have lived life to it's fullest...there's no reason to be 'shamed of that..."
"It's different for you, Mike, look at all the stuff you've done wit' yer life...and what have I done? Nothin', but stay at home and have kids..."
"Can you imagine me stayin' home with 6 kids, baseball practice, soccer practice, football practice, volleyball practice, and grocery shopping afterward...hell babe, you do that without a secretary..."
Mike smiled,
"...or a straight jacket..."
Andria laughed aloud,
"...that takes a lot more then I'd ever be able to give, Andria."
Andria stared into his eyes for what seemed like hours, but in fact was only a couple seconds. Then started smiling,
"Thanks baby..."
She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him,
"I needed that..."
"I know..."
He smirked,
he took her head in his hands and deepened the kiss. Andria soon pushed away and wiped her lips,
"Hold it, let me change into mah normal jeans...mah stomach's killin' me from holding mah breath all day..."
Mike laughed as he let go of Andrias hand and went to sit on the bed. He watched Andria quietly as she took another pair of jeans out of the closet, set them on the bed then slid the jeans she had been wearing off. It must have been the way he was feeling because with every centimeter of skin she uncovered; the hotter it seemed to get in the room.
Out of the corner of Andrias eye she was able to catch the dreamy look in his eyes,
"Wha'?"
She stopped mid thigh,
"Nothin'"
He sighed a bit too loudly,
Andria laughed then turned back to the task at hand, sliding her jeans off faster, to Mikes disappointment. She had just stepped out of her jeans and was just about to go for the other pair when Mike grabbed her arm, she turned to him with startled eyes,
"Not jist yet"
He smiled,
"Mike, I'm in mah bra and underwear...you may not have noticed it, but I'm cold..."
Mike just happily shook his head,
"Can't feel nothin'"
"Um hm,"
Andria�s brow rose in suspicion as she stared into her husbands eyes
"Wanna?"
Mike pointed behind him,
"Mike, the kids'll be home soon, then ya'll be wantin somethin' to eat...and..."
"Shush..."
He silenced her by putting his pointer finger on her lips.
She let out an exasperated sigh and just stared into Mikes eyes for the 100th time that day...
"I guess I do owe you..."
Andria laughed, as a playful shine filled her eyes. Mike smiled back, leaned back and kicked the door shut.
End