InsaneJournal

WHO: Thomas, Jamie, Emma and William Kemp
WHAT: Moving out
WHEN: 1995ish? I dunno, 17 years ago
WHERE: A studio apartment in NYC



To any normal seventeen-year-old boy, the idea of living on his own, away from his parents, meant freedom. It meant the ability to come and go whenever he pleased. The normal seventeen-year-old could have parties and girls (or boys) over, and he could consume any number of illegal substances without the watchful eyes of his parents to ruin his fun.

For Thomas, it was much different. Thomas had a one-year-old son, Jamie. He was moving out of his parents house, against their wishes, so that he could start taking responsibility for his family.

He had found the tiny studio apartment after searching for several months. It was small, but adequate for what he needed. The entire apartment flooring was a strange brown linoleum, but at least he knew he couldn't do anything to make it worse. The place had a rather large walk-in closet that he could turn into a little bedroom for Jamie when he was older. In the meantime, there was room to set up a crib near Thomas' bed. It had a small kitchenette and room for his card table and folding chairs which would serve as a dining room. He had managed to find a small, pink love seat at a thrift store for five dollars and while he didn't love the colour, it gave him somewhere to sit down that wasn't the bed. For some reason the bathroom was almost as large as the rest of the apartment just by itself. It even had a tub, though it was small and oddly grey. It would do. He even put a very cheap throw rug in the middle of the space to try to make it homier.

Thomas father, William helped Thomas set everything up. By the time they were done, the tiny studio was pretty full. Jamie's toys were all heaped in a corner and it looked like a playground had been given a time out. "Are you sure about this?" William asked, taking one last look around.

"Dad," Thomas sighed. "We'll be fine. You filled the fridge up. The rent is paid for the first few months. And you're twenty minutes away if there's bad traffic."

William didn't look convinced. "We could do another shop for you. Fill up your pantry a bit."

Thomas wanted to roll his eyes and tell his dad he was being super lame, but ever since becoming a father himself he had come to realise just how much his parents actually did for him. He also knew parental worry, and if stocking his pantry would make them feel better, he didn't think it would hurt to let them. "Sure, if you want to, but you don't have to. What you can do right now though is go find your wife and make her give me my son back." Thomas mother Emma had carried Jamie outside for some air as the boys worked and she wasn't back yet.

Thomas sat on his new sofa, wriggling around a little to find a comfortable position. There was a reason it had been so cheap. His father chuckled and wandered out of the apartment, hopefully to find where Emma had taken Jamie. It was past time for the little boy to go down for a nap. And with all the excitement of moving, he would probably be exhausted. If he missed his nap, he would be beyond cranky.

Thankfully his parents returned and Thomas jumped up to go retrieve his son from his mother's arms. He could tell instantly that Jamie was fussy and exhausted. "There's my boy!" he said happily, bouncing Jamie a little in the hopes that Jamie wouldn't cry. "Man, he is so tired. Look at him, he's fading. He's making old man in church face."

Emma was clearly too worried to laugh at her grandchild rapidly falling asleep in her son's arms. "Thomas, will you promise to call if you need anything?"

"Mom, of course I will. I'll see you in a few days anyway. I start work at that bakery and I have to drop Jamie off. And I've applied for a few more jobs just in case. So I'll be around. I should put Jamie down for a nap. And I need to feed him first." It was a subtle way of telling them to get out. Which, to their credit, they actually did, but not before a few dramatic hugs and kisses.

With his parents gone, Thomas managed to mix a bottle one-handed, and expertly at that. Then he carried Jamie over to one of the folding chairs and he settled down to feed his son. Jamie was quite grabby towards the bottle and Thomas chuckled at him. Once he got the bottle in his mouth, Jamie looked a bit blissful.

"I'm so sorry your lunch is a little late. We got so busy moving into our new place. But all your toys are here and we're going to have a great time. And when you're bigger you're going to have your own little cave to sleep in. You'll love it. It's just us now. Us against the world." He leaned down to plant a kiss on Jamie's head as his son ate. To Thomas' delight, Jamie reached for Thomas' pinky and his tiny hand wrapped around it. He held tight until he was finished with his lunch. "Yeah, well I love you too."

When Jamie was finished, Thomas carried him to the crib and he lowered his sleepy son into it. He pulled the blanket over Jamie's tiny body and then he leaned down, his arms resting against the crib. "We're gonna be okay, you and me, right, Kiddo?" Jamie simply blinked once and then slipped off to sleep. Thomas watched him for a little while, a it enthralled by the way Jamie's tiny hand clenched and unclenched in his sleep. Eventually he moved back a few paces and fell into his own bed to catch a quick nap while his son slept.