Ice and Fire novel Chapter 382

Hearing his words, and feeling his hot breath in her ear, Cherry rolled toward him, buried her head in his chest, and nodded, "All right."

In the morning Cherry woke up to find Jackson was gone. She was upset as she stared at the empty room, because she had no idea when he left.

She got up, washed and dressed before she left the room.

She went downstairs. When she saw Joe had put his packed bags in the living room, she was astonished. Her son packed faster than she did.

Joe walked up to her, looking at her and asked, "Mommy, I am packed up and all ready. When are we leaving?"

Joe knew his father wasn't home, because, when he got downstairs, Lily told him Jackson had left earlier in the morning. Joe thought to himself, 'Maybe Daddy knows we are leaving today and doesn't want to see us go. So, he left early today.'

Cherry ruffled the hair on his head while suggesting, "Shall we have breakfast before we leave?"

"Okay." Joe agreed sweetly.

After breakfast, Cherry threw some clothes in her bag and carried it down the stairs.

When Joe saw she was only carrying one bag, he asked, "Mommy, that's all your belongs?"

Cherry replied, "Yes. I didn't bring many clothes. There is everything I need at the Villa, so I don't need to carry too many things."

At that moment, Lily and Bill walked into the room, and when they saw Cherry and Joe were preparing to leave, they were sad.

Lily said, "Mrs. Cherry, ask Mr. Jackson to remain here. I want to take care of you and Joe."

Bill added, "Yes, please, Mrs. Cherry, I'll be worried if you and Joe are at the Villa with nobody to take care of you."

Cherry smiled, shook her head and reassured him, "It's no big deal. Don't worry about us. We did fine here, so we will be fine there as well."

She paused adding, "Lily, please, take good care of Jackson for me. Remind him to eat on time, especially breakfast, he never remembers. Make hearty breakfasts for him please."

Lily nodded, and tears welled in her eyes. She was very sad to see Cherry and Joe go.

Cherry turned to Bill and smiling told him, "Bill, I'll be driving Joe to and from school. So, instead, help Jackson whenever he needs you to."

Bill said, "But Mrs. Cherry, I..." Cherry cut him off, before he could finish.

She put her hand up, and said firmly, "Joe and I will come back to see you. After all, this is our home too. You don't need to worry; I can take care of Joe." She knew that if she weren't strong now, Lily and Bill would be worried, and more importantly, her son would be heartbroken.

Lily finally nodded her head and replied, "Mrs. Cherry, if you find you need anything, call me please and I'll come to the villa right away."

Bill quickly added, "Yes, so will I, Mrs. Cherry. Please, call us if there are any problems."

"Yes, I will." Cherry replied with a sad smile. But, inside, she thought she would have no problem handling anything that came up and was just reassuring them.

Cherry looked down as Joe, and in an animated tone asked, "Joe, we all set now?"

Joe agreed, "Yeah!"

Cherry and Joe packed the car, got in and left the military residential compound.

On their way to the villa, Cherry felt the tears welling, but she knew she couldn't cry. Joe was sitting right behind her, and she couldn't let him see her sad or crying.

Cherry reminded herself that she had to be strong from now on, and that her biggest wish was to keep her son happy and healthy, as well as love Jackson the best she could.

After they got to the villa, Cherry looked at the house they had lived in before. Everything she needed was there. No one had been there for so long, and everything was dusty, so she needed to do some major spring-cleaning!

Cherry called out, "Joe."

Joe quickly replied, "Yes, Mommy?"

Cherry looked around and asked, "Do you think we need to get to work cleaning?"

Joe looked around, scratching his head and said, "Maybe. So how should we assign tasks?"

Cherry thought about it and said, "Well, since there's only the two of us, maybe we should work together as a team. First, we will clean the rooms upstairs. Then, we can clean the kitchen. When we are all done with cleaning, I'll take you out for a great lunch. Then, we could go grocery shopping. Tomorrow, we will tackle cleaning the living room and reading room. How's that sound?"

"Great!" Joe exclaimed smiling, as an afterthought he added "I haven't done any cleaning in a very long time. It sounds like it will be fun to clean the house with you!"

"You little scamp! People should always do housework on Saturdays and Sundays! It's a healthy routine and is good exercise for us!" Cherry felt things were how they used to be, back when she had lived alone with her son. All she was concerned about back then in the whole world was Joe, and he was the only person she saw every day.

Joe proudly stated, "Mommy, if I didn't want to help you save money, I would hire a housemaid to clean for us and sit out on the balcony drinking milk tea now."

Cherry giggled, "Come on Joe, let's start right away!"

Joe replied enthusiastically, "Okay, Mommy."