S:
"Chew good," I tell Hudson as I set small cut up pieces of pancake in front of him. "One bite at a time, babe." I move on to her, half smiling as she claps her hands together happily.
"Ma!" Helena squeals, chubby cheeks red from all that smiling.
She's the happiest, most bubbly baby ever, and that's not even a bias statement. They're both just so full of life, I don't know what I did to deserve such bright lights in my life.
"So? What time is Lindsey coming?" Sharon is sitting at the island, watching me move through the kitchen to get both babies fed.
"He should be here any time," a deep breath escapes me once I turn to look at the clock on the stove.
We've been up for a couple of hours already, but time seems to slip right through the cracks of my fingers nowadays. It's a nightmare getting two one year olds around in the morning, especially when there's just one of you. I'll admit it, things were much simpler with Lindsey hanging around, but now we both have so much more freedom. He's able to live a normal life most days of the week and every other weekend- I'm a normal fifty year old woman.
I spend time at the coffee shop on Saturday mornings with the girls, and then drinks in the evening after a nice dinner. It's good to pretend like I'm on the verge of menopause in a regular way, even if I'm not... My life is a little different compared to Lori's, Sharon's, Minnie's and Mary's. I'm rocking babies to bed every night at around eight, while they pour themselves a healthy, nightly glass of red wine.
We aren't living the same lives.
"How's Bridget been? Are you ladies having a good visit so far?" Minnie asks, pouring milk into sippy cups for both of the babies.
"It's been good," nodding softly, I lean back into the counter. "She's supposed to go overseas by the end of the year." I hate the sound of those words.
That just sounds so scary, so real... a reality that I still want to protect her from, but I can't.
"I'm sure she's excited...?" Sharon creases her eyebrows- a look of confusion just as prominent on her face as it was on mine when Bridget first told me.
"I think she is," I shrug lightly, nervous that I even brought it up. I don't want to talk about it, not even in the slightest.
"What about the boyfriend? Did he ever make it out here to see her?" Lori must be able to tell that I'm a little on edge about her big life choices, because she's quick to change the topic of conversation.
It's not that I'm not proud of Bridget, how could I not be proud? She wants to fight for our country and do good on this earth, of course that makes me happy. But as her mother, it also makes me nervous.
"They broke up before they made it here." It might sound awful, but I wasn't really looking forward to meeting him.
Bridget is a lot like me, while Betsy takes after Mark in an absurd way. Bridget is a little more carefree and believe it or not, so was I at one point in my life. I used to spend hours painting, reading, and for a long time I even wrote poetry. I used to spend almost ever weekend with the girls, even when Bridget and Betsy were little. I spent most Saturday nights at a bar while Mark hung out with his group of friends and my parents watched the girls for the night.... I wish everything could be as simple as it was then.
"He wasn't the one then," Lori shrugs, shaking her head softly.
The girls all start to agree, but the sound of the doorbell ringing causes me to leave the kitchen. Stepping into the foyer, I let off a small smile before I pull open the front door. But my smile fades the minute I see a woman standing next to Lindsey... Tammy.
Instead of greeting either of them, I pull open the door a little further to welcome them both into my home. "The kids are just finishing up their breakfast," I lead the way into the kitchen, almost rolling my eyes the second all of my girls come into view. "Tammy, this is Sharon, Lori, and Minnie." I introduce them all, even though the girls have already heard all about Tammy.
The second Minnie tells her to sit down, Lindsey pulls me to one side of the kitchen. In a low tone he starts telling me about a trip he's taking to Florida next month- he said he tried to get out of it, but there is no way, he has to go.
"Do you think maybe the kids could tag along?" He asks in a serious manner. "We'd be staying in Miami for just three days, and we-"
I hold up my hand, silently telling him to shut up. "Don't you have to work? How do you plan on spending time with two kids on a work trip?" I don't necessarily think it's a completely stupid idea, but I do think he hasn't planned it out all the way.
He pauses for a moment, a sigh escaping him. "Adam is going to go... and it won't be work the entire time." He explains, and I can tell he knows exactly what I'm thinking.
"You expect me to trust you and Adam with our two children?" I smirk lightly, leaning to one side of the counter.
He looks at me for a second, jaw obviously settling. "I'm telling you that I'm taking my children to Florida, okay? I'm not asking." He gives me a shitty shrug as he pushes himself away from the counter to trail towards the babies.
I wasn't saying that he couldn't go- I would never tell him that. He is their father, but he hasn't thought this through enough. Who is going to take care of them while he's stuck in a meeting? What sort of family bonding does he expect to happen on this trip?
Sighing lightly, I turn to look at him pull Lena out of her high chair. She starts babbling to her daddy, making all these noises almost like she's telling a story and he nods and goes along with it.
I love that. I really do, but I don't love this idea.
I try to look away when Tammy stands up, moving towards Lindsey. She reaches out, taking Lena's hand in her own gently. "Are you excited to go to Florida with us?" She asks in a tone full of excitement, and I swear, my heart stops beating.
Lindsey's eyes immediately meet mine, but without saying a word- I move around the counter to get the kids bags. I just want them to leave, because my heart can't handle the thought of my children going on some family trip without their mother.
"See you on Sunday."
