Chapter 8 #2
“I want to save mine up too. That way, I can have a lot of money saved up to buy me something big someday. Like a house that has no rules. I want that.” Betty gave them each a crisp ten-dollar bill.
They didn’t understand that it was worth ten dollars when it was only one bill, but she thought that she had explained it well enough.
“Will you put it up and give it back to me when I ask for it? I got money one time from someone in the park, and Mom took it and didn’t give it back. I trust you.”
“Thank you for trusting me, and I’ll give it back to you whenever you wish.
If you’d like, we can open a savings account for the two of you, and every time you get some money, you can put it in the bank.
” Beth looked at Marshall before she answered.
“Or I can just keep the cash on me for you. It’s entirely up to you two. ”
“I’d like a bank account. That way I can have it someplace that will be safe.
” She didn’t know if Marshall thought that she’d spend his money or not, but didn’t read too much into it.
He’d never had money before, and he shouldn’t have trusted his parents with any, should he have had some.
“Does it cost money to have it in the bank?”
“No. In fact, they pay you a little bit of cash to keep your money in the bank. Not a whole lot, but enough to warrant having it in there, I think.” Marshall said again that he wanted a bank account, and of course, Beth said she wanted one too.
“All right. First thing in the morning, we’ll head to the bank to open you both an account.
I think because you’re so young that you’ll have to have my name on the account too, but that’s all right. I won’t touch your money at all.”
After visiting with Betty and Sherman, they went home.
She didn’t know what time Cullen would be back, but she was going to be ready for him.
She didn’t like sleeping alone in their bed and thought that she should buy herself a large pillow so she could snuggle up to it when he wasn’t there.
Though she didn’t know how that would work, it was better than sleeping alone. She missed him a great deal.
Throughout the day, she would be tempted to contact him, but didn’t.
He would reach out to her if he were able to speak to her.
She did end up taking the kids to the bank in the afternoon, and it was much easier than she had thought it would be to open two accounts for them.
They even got a card so that they could take out their money when they wanted; however, they both turned those over to her, too. They didn’t want to lose them.
“Now, when you get money for things, like birthdays and such, you can put it into your account and watch your money grow.” Marshall was excited to be able to get money for his birthday instead of gifts.
She wondered how long that would last if he saw his sister get gifts for hers.
She didn’t care how they wanted to do that; she was going to put money in their accounts monthly so that they could save it for something big, as Beth said.
“How about if you keep your rooms cleaned up and do things around the house, I pay you for that too. An allowance for doing things around the house that would make my job easier?”
“I’ll keep my room nice anyway. I like having nice things around all the time.” Marshall said that he’d even help his sister clean her room because she was so little. They, of course, argued about that for a little bit too. “I’ll help her when she asks for it. How about that?”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. The two of you are going to have lots of money before you know it.
” Neither of them trusted well, and she would blame her sister and brother-in-law for that.
Mary Beth and Bash had been the worst parents and not very good role models to the kids, and it might take them a while before they got them to trust them.
She didn’t bring up that they’d been adopted by them.
She wanted to tell Cullen first. She had made notes on things that she wanted him to know about, and the fact that the government was going to pay them to take care of the kids was something that she wanted to talk to him about.
They didn’t need the money, so she wanted to put it into their accounts. It was their money after all.
~*~
Cullen was home by six in the morning. The kids were happy to see him, and he was happy about that. He’d spoken to Emmie late into the night and knew that he was a dad now. As soon as he got to sit down with the two of them, he explained that they were Dixon’s if they wanted to be.
“You mean we don’t have to call Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad?
” He said that would be up to him. Marshall seemed to think that might be confusing.
“You don’t have to call us Mom and Dad. We’re your uncle and aunt.
You can call us by our first names if you want.
Or Uncle Cullen and Aunt Emmie like you’ve been doing. ”
“You don’t want us to call you Dad?” He told Beth that it would be up to her, but he was going to treat them like they were his kids. “I don’t know what I want to do. I like you very much, and you’ve not locked us in our room, but I don’t know what to call you.”
“Firstly, I’d never lock you into your rooms. I might tell you to go to your room sometime, but you will never be locked in.
Or beaten if that was something that happened to you a great deal.
” Marshall nodded, and then so did Beth.
“I won’t do that. We’ll talk things out, and you might get a punishment, but we’ll work that out when we come to it.
I don’t see the two of you being bad kids. Will you be?”
“No! We’ll be the best kids in the entire world.
You don’t ever have to take away our food, though I don’t think you’d do that, but Beth and I will be the best kids ever if you be good to us.
” He said that he would be there for them forever.
“I know that too. You’re the best in the world, and I love all your family.
They’re good to us too and don’t treat us like we’re welfare babies. ”
“They’d never do that.” Emmie joined them just as the kids were getting ready to get on the bus.
They were having a much better time of it since moving to his house, and no one made fun of them anymore.
At least that’s what he’d been told. After they left for the day, he decided to go to bed and try to catch up on some of the sleep that he’d missed.
He was glad that Emmie laid down with him until he fell asleep.
Waking up with a scream just on his lips, he looked around the darkened room and realized that it was more to do with the shades drawn rather than it being dark out.
Getting up to use the bathroom, he wasn’t thrilled to find himself alone in the bed.
But Emmie had told him that she’d found herself a job and was looking forward to working it.
He got back in bed just as his alarm went off to tell him it was time for him to call the president.
He was going to be firm with him about working and didn’t care who he hurt to get it taken care of.
He’d had enough of going out of the country to do jobs that gave him nightmares.
As soon as he answered the phone, he told him that he wasn’t going to be doing this anymore. The laughter caught him off guard.
“It’s nice to hear from you, too.” Cullen felt embarrassed but told him he wasn’t going to be working for the government anymore. “I understand. I really do. I’m not even going to try to talk you out of your decision. You’ve been doing such a great job, and I’ve been taking advantage of you.”
“Not really. I think I could have told you no before now. It’s just that I have a mate now, and as of yesterday, we’re raising her niece and nephew, too.
I can’t be a dad to them and a husband to Emmie if I’m forever on soil that doesn’t belong in my front yard.
I need this time to get to know all three of them, and I just can’t do it anymore.
” He asked him if he’d want to know about jobs so that he could turn them down or not.
“I don’t want to get sucked back in. And you know as well as I do that I will do that. ”
“I know. And like I said, I understand. I do. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to be away from my wife and kids for any length of time like you’ve been doing.
It was bad enough, I’m sure, being away from your family.
” He asked him what was going to happen to him now.
“Nothing. You’ll continue to get paid. That’s the least we can do for someone who has done what you’ve done for their country. ”
He didn’t bother telling him no, that he didn’t need the money. It would be nice to have the income with children in the house. He asked about his retirement, too. He told him he’d be covered under the insurance that he’d had before, as well as his family.
“We might have a brood of them.” He told him that it didn’t matter so long as he was happy with what he was doing. “I will be when you send me the paperwork that states that I’m finished. I just can’t do this anymore.”
“I know. And for as long as you have been doing it, you have mine and the country’s gratitude.” He thanked him again and wiped his eyes with his hand. “Are you all right, Cullen? I’ll have to get used to calling you by your first name from now on instead of Dixon.”
“I’ll have to get used to a lot of things nowadays.
” The two of them laughed, and it felt good.
“You don’t have any idea how much I’ve been dreading calling you.
I thought for sure you’d have me court martialed.
Or perhaps put before a firing squad. This has been a long time coming for me.
I’ve just had enough. I’m glad that you understand. ”