Way Up High

She stood in the doorway, unable to believe what she saw. A trail of clothes, leading erratically from the hallway to the chair to the wall and finally ending at the bed. The covers were in a crumpled pile that was lurching spasmodically, threatening at any minute to cascade over the edge of the bed. A rhythmic creaking was emanating from the mass, with an occasional grunt or squeal providing some variation to the beat. Sighing, Janice quickly strode over and whipped the blanket off.

Surprised by the light, the twins looked up and started giggling. Sue, her skirt demurely tucked under her armpits squealed "Mummy! Jump with us!"
Clad only in a shoe (with the sock inexplicably on the opposite foot) Sam clapped happily nodding all the while.
Biting back a smile at the way her daughter’s curls were escaping the hairband, Janice reached up to undo her necklace. “Let me just take this off, so it doesn’t hit me in the face,”
She placed the ruby necklace down on the bedside table. “But I think I’ll keep the rest of my clothes on.”
The pair started to pout, so she took off her rings. “But you two can wear these, if you want…”
After a ragged cheer and some time to admire their new finery, the children ‘helped’ her onto the bed.

While still bouncing, Sam said in a small voice “I wish daddy was here, too.”
The levity of the moment gone all too soon, Janice knew she had to do something to rekindle the fun. She grabbed the photo next to her discarded necklace and held it close.
“He is, children. He is.”
All smiles once more, they started jumping. Sam started singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and the others soon joined in. They bounced unsteadily to the beat.
“Mummy, if we jump really high will we be up with Daddy?”
Unsure of her voice, Janice paused for a moment and ran her hands through her daughters’ curls. They were so evocative of her late husband. “No, sweetie, you still have a lot of jumping to do before you get to visit daddy again.”

This was my first try at the Finish That Thought flash fiction prompt week 40. You only have a day once the prompt goes live to finish a story, so I'm not sure how often I'll get to play along. I did get it entered on time, but posting it here took a bit longer. You get a starting sentence, and a challenge to throw in. This time it was a gemstone. Mine was a tad tokenistic this time round. Given a re-edit, I think I'd have spent some time tying it to a present from the husband. Originally I wasn't going to have him dead, just a workaholic, and have him burst in roaring like a dinosaur, having come to an epiphany about spending time with family, but I'm a tad glum at the moment.