Chapter Text
I just saw Haley's comet, shooting
She waved, said, "Why are you always running in place"
Even the man in the moon disappeared
Somewhere in the stratosphere
Second Chance by Shinedown
*******
On the other side of town a distraught father of two is attempting a French braid on his ten year old daughter and failing miserably one might add, while looking over his ten year old son’s math homework.
“Ow!”
Castiel Novak frowns.
“Sorry sweetheart. Daddy didn’t mean to yank the hair out of your skull. Let me try again. I promise to get it right this time.”
His beautiful blonde, blue-eyed daughter looks back at him dubiously and huffs.
“You’d better. Mommy always got it right.”
Castiel sighs.
“Yes. Your mother was a saint and apparently a wonderful beautician, but she’s in heaven now, so all you have is me. I will do my upmost duty to practice my braiding technique in the following days.”
Ten year old Claire grins.
“Love you, daddy.”
“Love you more.” Cas responds.
They’re suddenly interrupted by a rambunctious boy with matching blonde hair and blue eyes, Claire’s twin brother Jack. He slams his backpack on the kitchen table.
“Jack, how many times have I told you not to abuse the furniture?”
Jack grins.
“I dunno. A hundred? A thousand?”
Castiel frowns yet again. “
So, how’d I do on my math homework?”
Jack grabs a plastic bowl from the kitchen cabinet and begins to pour Frosted Flakes into it.
“Not bad, but you did get number 17 and number 20 wrong. I suggest you do them over and find your mistakes.”
Jack makes a face, grabs the milk jug from the refrigerator and pours it into the bowl.
“Well 18 out of 20 ain’t too bad. That would be a 90% score.”
Castiel finishes braiding Claire’s hair. It doesn’t look half as bad as it looked the first time he did it. The first time Claire looked like a mauled cat. Claire gets up and looks into the wall mirror by the foyer. She smiles.
“There’s hope for you, yet, dad.”
Castiel grins and finishes his morning cup of coffee.
“Good to know I have grooming skills in case I ever need to find another line of work besides insurance. Now lets get going before you two are late for school.”
“Yes, dad.” The twins say in unison which always surprises their father.
The trip to school is uneventful as the car radio plays pop rock. Claire starts singing some peppy tune while her brother makes fun of her— the usual. Castiel kisses both his children’s heads as they head out the back door of his steel blue Honda Civic. He’ll pick them up at 3:15.
The drive to his workplace is different. The radio’s turned off. There’s no peppy singing. It’s like the world is standing still while the car’s still moving. The only sound Castiel Novak can hear is the sound of his breaking heart. It’s currently being held together by duck tape because he has to be strong for his children. Truthfully though, he’s not ok. Six months later and it’s if his wife Hannah had just died yesterday. Castiel passes a Target store and immediately bursts into tears.
“Hannah loved Target.” — Is all he says.
He makes it to the parking garage and parks in his usual spot that bears his name. It’s his family’s building. It’s the family business. He steps out of his car and grabs his briefcase. He yanks tissues out of his now rumpled tan trench coat to wipe his eyes and blow his nose. It’s a daily occurrence, this grieving and crying. He puts on his game face and hopes the duck tape around his heart stays in place for the rest of the day.
The rest of the day is monotonous with tons of claims to work on. He breaks for a short lunch, his favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a soda from the vending machine in the break room.
The afternoon is filled with meetings and more paperwork. Occasionally someone asks him if he’s ok or how’s he holding up. Castiel tries to smile. It comes off lopsided. He inwardly feels insincere, but what does one say? ‘No. I’m not ok. No. I’m not holding up well. I feel like crap, now leave me the fuck alone.’ No, one cannot say things like that so he grins and bears it like a hood little soldier. He excuses himself, ends up going into his office where he closes the mini blinds, locks the door and cries for five minutes straight.
“Get a grip, Novak. Suck it up, Novak. You’ve got a job to do and kids to take care of.”
That usually does it. He composes himself and goes about the rest of his day. His mother, Naomi calls around 2:30, tells him dinner’s on her and his father, Zachariah. There’s no debating it. He’s to arrive at Biggerson’s restaurant by five o’clock with twins in tow.
“Yes, mother. We’ll be there. No, mother. I’m not a fan of turducken sandwiches. I’ll probably order a grilled cheese. Yes, the twins still love Mac and cheese. See you at five. Love you.”
He packs up his briefcase for the day and bids farewell to his fellow worker bees. He’s off to pick up the kids from school. Everyone knows he leaves early now that his wife is gone and can’t pick the kids from school. They know he’ll still pull his share of the workload because he does a lot of the paperwork from his home office. They cut him some well-deserved slack. Nobody wants to be in Castiel Novak’s shoes.
He picks up his twins from school on time. Claire turns the radio on and starts singing “I’m a Barbie Girl In a Barbie World.” Jack starts singing as well. It’s really quite hilarious. Then Claire turns the radio off suddenly.
“Do you still miss mommy?” She asks.
Castiel looks at her in the rear view mirror.
“Every moment of everyday, sweetheart.”
“I miss her too.” Jacks says.
“We all do. Remember angels are watching over you and now she is, too.”
The twins are pensive as they squirm in the backseat. Castiel decides to add a more cheerful note.
“Tonight we feast at Biggerson’s with grandma and grandpa. Your grandparents are craving turducken. Why, I have no idea.”
The twins smile, but the mood is still quiet as the car rolls down the highway towards home so the he and the twins can change into something more casual then it’s off to Biggerson’s.
Dinner goes well. Zachariah sits next to Jack as they discuss the joys of banana splits and ice cream sundaes. Claire sits next to Naomi and shows off her French braided hair curtesy of daddy. Naomi fawns over the young girl’s hairstyle. She gives her kudos to the stylist. Castiel blushes.
He sits with perfect posture in his inadequately upholstered metal chair and looks at the empty chair besides him. Hannah would be sitting there if she was still with him. He sighs. ‘Get a grip, Novak. You can’t break down here at Biggerson’s no matter how awful the turducken is!’ His lower lip trembles a little, but he soon has it under control. Naomi though, being the mama bear that she is, notices.
“You ok, Castiel?”
Castiel looks at her with glassy blue eyes.
“Of course, mother— never been better.”
She glances over to her husband.
“Zachariah, would you be a dear and take the twins to the front counter. I know for a fact that they’d love one of Biggerson’s famous chocolate brownies. You can pay the bill while you’re at it.” She winks at him whilst saying it.
Zachariah gets the clue. Naomi wants to speak with their son in private.
“Come on, kiddos. I foresee two chocolate brownies with your names on them.” Zachariah exclaims.
The twins rise from their chairs quickly with the promise of sweets in their very near future.
Once they’re gone, Naomi squeezes Castiel’s arm.
“My baby boy, I can see that you are not ok. Have you reconsidered my advice? You know Salvation of the Lord still has those grieving sessions on Thursdays. Why don’t you attend one? If it’s not your cup of tea, then I won’t suggest it again. It might be nice to talk with others who are going through the same thing. I hear Sister Tessa is a very inspirational person.”
Castiel gives his mother his best lopsided smile.
“Ok. I’ll go. I’ll try it.”
Naomi kisses her son’s forehead.
“Good.”
She gets up to join her husband and her grandchildren.
Castiel looks fondly at the empty chair. He pats it, gets up and leaves as well. Perhaps Biggerson’s isn’t the worst place to eat after all.
*******************