Unexpected Family

The Vist

Billie's POV

I cleaned the house twice.

Vacuumed. Swept. Hid the broken crayon bits and shoved at least three Barbie shoes into the junk drawer.

Skylar helped by wiping down the table with a paper towel until it tore in half and left wet crumbs everywhere.

Mackenzie helped by dumping an entire basket of stuffed animals onto the floor and telling me "they had to look cozy."

By the time the doorbell rang, I was sweating and not in a rockstar-on-stage kind of way.

"Don't open it yet!" I hissed, snatching Mackenzie back from the front door. "We talked about this!"

She looked at me with wide eyes. "But what if it's pizza?"

"It's not pizza."

Skylar held onto my leg. "I'm scared."

I bent down, brushing her hair back. "You don't have to be scared. It's just someone coming to make sure we're all doing okay.

You don't have to do anything special. Just be you, alright?"

She nodded, not looking convinced.

I opened the door.

The caseworker a different one this time, her name was Laura stood there with a soft smile and a folder in hand.

"Hi, Billie," she said. "Mind if I come in?"

I stepped back and let her inside, instantly hyper-aware of everything the toys on the floor,

the half-finished cereal bowl on the coffee table, the coloring on the wall I hadn't quite scrubbed off.

"It's a little... messy," I said.

Laura smiled. "It's a house with toddlers. I'd be concerned if it wasn't."

The visit started easy enough. She asked me questions while the girls played nearby.

What's your current schedule?

Who watches them when you're working?

How are they sleeping?

How do you handle tantrums?

I answered everything honestly. Maybe too honestly. At one point I admitted I bribe them with cereal

and once cried in the laundry room because I couldn't find Skylar's favorite pajamas.

Laura just nodded and kept writing.

Then she asked to speak to the girls.

Skylar was quiet, cuddled up next to me, but answered every question with these careful little nods and soft words.

"Yes, I like living here."

"No, Bee doesn't yell a lot."

"She makes me pancakes."

Mackenzie, on the other hand, looked Laura dead in the eye and said, "Sometimes she farts when she thinks we can't hear."

I wanted to disappear into the couch.

Laura laughed.

And for the first time in hours, I did too.

The visit ended with a handshake and a quiet, "You're doing better than you think."

After she left, I collapsed on the couch between the girls, who immediately climbed onto me like I was furniture.

"You did great," I whispered.

Skylar nodded. "You too."

Mackenzie grinned. "Can we have pancakes now?"

"Absolutely," I said, kissing the top of her messy curls. "You earned them."