Confident that she was in a deep sleep and wouldn't be aroused by his departure, he eased her out of his arms and down into the bed; making sure to cover her up. She was always cold; no matter how many blankets were on the bed or how high they had the heat up. Before leaving, he turned on the portable heater that set in the corner of their room. He then made his way down the stairs to his study. The house seemed strangely quiet now that both of the children were away at college. Markus would be finishing up with his undergraduate studies and entering law school while Dinah would soon be entering as a pre med student. Now that Louise was no longer working everything was up to him. He had to see how he could come up with the additional expenses.
Louise's unexpected sickness had put a dent into their personal savings; however he wasn't willing to compromise the quality of care she was receiving or their children's education. He would find a way to take care of everything even if that meant that he would have to moonlight as a court clerk in another county. Once downstairs and sitting behind his desk, he couldn't concentrate on his personal finances right now. He was too busy being distracted about what had happened earlier today on his way to work. He had walked around downtown and Millennium Park for hours just before the next to the last train would be leaving the city heading back south.
"How can that be?" He whispered under his breath holding his head up in his open palms. Rubbing at his tired eyes he then leaned back into his recliner stretching out his tight muscles. It had been a while since he had gone to the gym.
"How can that be?" He asked still finding it hard to believe that the water boy was his son. His hands slightly shook at the thought of the boy. Jacob needed a drink. Sitting up, he reached down at the bottom of his drawer on his left side for the last drawer in his desk. Opening it up, he removed a fifth bottle of vodka and a small cocktail glass. One-by-one he set the two items on his desk pouring himself a drink.
Murmuring "ice," he grimaced swallowing the warm liquor. The drink could use a couple cubes of ice. Jacob was too tired to move; he would just have to drink the warm liquor as it was. How could he continue going to that train station every day facing that kid yet not acknowledging him as his own? The warm alcohol slowly began seeping into his tired muscles and bones relaxing him.