Mrs. Independent

Chapter Eighteen: First Day of School

Okay so I've gotten a few people saying to make a fourth book so I'll end up doing it. You guys can expect it sometime soon

Chapter Eighteen: First Day of School

Katherine

The entire house smells of bacon as I dig through Matthew's dresser.
"Those don't fit me." He says when I hand him a pair of shorts.
"What do you mean they don't fit you?" I ask calmly, trying to hide my frustration.
They're too big."
I look down at the shorts.
They're blue green white and orange plaid with a navy blue tie. I bought them when I was pregnant with Emma and they were way too big, but I thought they were cute and they were the last one in the store.
Am I the type of mother that buys something for my child so they can grow into it?
Yes. Yes I am.
"When is the last time you tried them on?" I ask him.
He's standing in front of me in his underwear.
"I don't remember."
I nod slowly.
"Okay, I want you to try them on."
"But they don't fit me Mama."
"Matthew, please try them on."
He frowns and picks up the pants. I watch as he puts them on and pulls them up, and they fit perfectly.
"See? They fit?" I dip my fingers into the waistline to make sure it's not digging in, and then I tie the navy blue straps into a bow. "If you're at school and you see to go potty, you pull this string." I show him the string. "Now pull it so I can see that you can do it."
He pulls the string to let them loose and it comes free right away. "Great." I tie it back up, closing his bottom drawer.
I check my watch and see we have plenty of time.
But I know that time is going to fly past quickly.
I find a navy blue t-shirt with a picture of the country on it that says Just Cruisin Coast 2 Coast in orange and white letters.
It's cute, so I unfold it and hold it out to him.
He pulls it on.
"Arms up." I say.
He lifts up his arms and his belly doesn't come out.
"Perfect." I stand up and walk over to his closet, grabbing a pair of navy blue vans and some socks. I hand them to him and watch him dress, and then I bring him to Josh and I'm bathroom and with a comb and a little bit of hair gel, he's styled and ready for school.
"Okay, now go downstairs to Daddy and tell him Mommy said you need to stay with him while I get your brothers and your sister ready."
"Okay."
He leaves the bedroom, and I move onto the next one, putting Caiden in blue jeans and a white v-neck, and then black converse. I comb and gel his hair, and then I stand back and look at him.
"What Mama?" He asks.
"You look so much like your Daddy." I say. Same facial structure, same eye shape, same nose, same lips...the only thing he got from me is my eye color. I kiss his forehead.
"Go downstairs to Daddy and tell him Mommy said you have to stay with him until I get your brother and sister ready."
"Okay Mama."
He skips out of the bedroom.
I make my way over to Bryson's room.
He's in his underwear sitting on the floor waiting for me.
I go through the same process of finding him something to wear and decide on a pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt that has AC DC in red letters, and then red converse.
I take him to the bathroom to do his hair, and then send him downstairs and move on to Emma.
She's too little to be left in her room alone, so I go downstairs to get her. The boys are at the table waiting for Josh, who is still in his pajamas, and I am too.
I pick her up off the floor and bring her upstairs.
"Down!" She whines, squirming to get out of my arms.
"Not right now Emma." I say, carrying her upstairs.
I set her down in her room and go through her closet.
I find a blue and white dress and help her get it on. With it, I put her in a pair of sandals, and then I get her hairbrush from the bathroom in her bedroom. I brush her hair out and braid it down the side.
"Breakfast is ready!" Josh yells from downstairs.
"We'll be down in a minute!" I yell back.
I have Emma stand in front of me, pleased with her outfit.
"Alright, let's go downstairs."
I hold her hand as she goes down the staircase and bring her into the kitchen. The three boys are already eating.
Last year when Caiden was starting kindergarten and Matthew was starting preschool, I got the kids ready and then they got syrup on their clothes.
So I went to walmart and cut head sized holes in towels.
Now when they're dressed for the day, I make them wear them, and thankfully, Josh has the boys wearing them.
They're going to keep wearing them until they learn to be more careful when they're eating.
I put on one Emma too and set her in the night chair. Josh gives her a cup of milk and her breakfast.
"Alright, you go get ready since you're going to take longer than I am." He says.
Nodding, I kiss his cheek and go upstairs.
First day of school is important because I want to be dressed so I can look like a great Mom. All the other Moms are there with their kids, and my kid could end up being friends with somebody else's Mom.
I have to look good, and I usually fret over how Josh looks, too. I just want to look respectable. My Mom always did when it came to my schooling.
Besides, Josh has to work today and it's been weeks since I've gone into work to check on things.
I shuffle through the closet until I find a black tight dress. It has shoulder sleeves and it goes down to an inch above the knee. It's crew cut and very business formal looking.
I nod to myself and grab it, glancing down at my watch.
We have to leave in about forty five minutes.
I turn to my shoes, settling on white pointed heels.
I grab the dress and the shoes, going into the bathroom.
I brush my teeth and floss, and then I brush my hair. I plug in the curling irons and expertly pluck my brows as I wait for it to heat up. I fill in parts of my brows and blend it, and then I put on concealer, followed, by liquid foundation, and then powder to settle it, blending it all in so it looks even with the rest of my skin. I put on some eyeshadow, darker shades to match the dress and make my blue eyes pop, and then I put on mascara and curl my lashes. I apply a light shade of lipstick, some blush, and then I put in diamond earrings since mine have been out for the last two weeks.
With my makeup done, I grab the curling wand and quickly curl my short hair, flipping it so it's parted down the left side, flipped over to the right.
I nod to myself and remove my clothing. I put on a black thong and a black push-up bra. I unzip the dress and step into it, carefully pulling it up.
I glance down at my watch.
We have to leave in fifteen minutes.
I struggle with the zipper, and a moment later I hear footsteps in the hallway.
"Babe? Are you almost done?" Josh calls from the doorway of the bedroom.
"Come here, I need help."
I moment later, he walks into the bedroom.
His eyebrows raise at the sight of me and he lets out a low whistle.
"Damn Mama, I'm really enjoying that short hair." He reaches out and lets a curl wind around his finger.
I mentally thank myself for the blush I applied to conceal the real blush rising to my cheeks.
"Thanks baby, can you zip me?"
He reaches for the zipper.
"Up!" I say.
He sighs in protest and zips it up instead of down.
I sit down on the edge of the tub and pull on my heels, cringing at the condition of my nails.
"Sweetheart, I need to get dressed." He says patiently. "Can you go downstairs with the kids?"
Nodding, I unplug the curling iron, planting a kiss on his cheek.
I grin when I see my lips printed in lipstick.
I grab a light pink nail polish along with the remover from the vanity, along with a few cotton balls and some clear coat.
I leave him to do his thing, smiling at the sound of my heels on the floor.
It just feels normal.
I wear heels like most people wear sneakers. I could run track in these things.
I cross the house and see the kids are still working on their breakfast. I sit down at the counter and quickly remove my chipped nail polish, putting a coat on each nail, followed by a second one.
Halfway through my second hand, my husband comes downstairs.
His hair is gelled and he's wearing a white button down tucked in and a pair of black dress slacks, along with his dress shoes.
He's looking very attractive, and he shaved.
"We need to go." He says to me.
"Boys, go get your backpacks." I say. "I need my purse-"
"I'll get it." Josh volunteers.
"Okay, but can you grab my lipstick too?"
"Yes."
"And my mascara?"
"Yes."
He disappears upstairs.
I finish the last three nails and wave my hands around. It's a quick dry polish.
Josh comes back with my large Michael Kors purse. I drop the pink bottle of nail polish in it.
"The mascara and lipstick are in that black makeup bag." Josh says.
"Thanks baby." I look up at him and he bends down to peck my lips, his lips tinted a shade of lip pink. I reach up and brush it off of him lips with my thumb, and then we make our way to the car.
The boys get in their seats and Josh buckles Emma in. I get in the passenger seat and unscrew the bottle of clear nail polish.
Josh gets in the driver's seat.
"Hun, that stinks." He says.
"Sorry." I mumble. "They were chipped. What kind of business woman wears chipped nail polish?"
He just rolls his eyes and starts the engine.
It's a ten minute drive to the preschool. I put on the clear nail polish, pausing my movements every time my husband says the word "bump" so I don't mess them up.
When they're done, I screw on the cap and toss it in my purse, turning up the AC and holding my hands in front of the vent.
We stop at a light.
"You're not wearing your seatbelt." Josh says.
"Yeah, my nails are wet."
"Sit back." He says.
I do, and he reaches over and grabs my seat belt, buckling it around me and tugging it tightly.
"I'd rather you mess up your nails than go through the windshield. You can redo your nails, but you can't redo your life."
"You're right, I'm sorry." I say. I pat his thigh
A couple of minutes later, my nails are completely dry. I re-apply my lipstick in the parking lot of the preschool, sling my purse over my shoulder, and get out.
"Daddy, this isn't my school." Caiden says.
"No buddy, this is Bryson's school." Josh says.
I hold Emma and Matthew's hand and Josh holds Caiden and Bryson's hand as we lead them into the building. We got the information for their classes weeks ago, and this is Bryson's first day of school ever. Before this, he's always been home with us.
He's my last boy.
A lot of parents litter the hallways, nervous children, things like that.
I reach Bryson's room and stop.
The teacher is holding the door open, and she looks to be about my age with brown hair and brown eyes.
"Who do we have here?" She asks, looking at all four of the kids faces.
Bryson has his backpack on his back, and I think he realizes he's really going to school because he darts behind me, wrapping both hands around my legs.
"Don't make me go!" He pleads.
I pull his arms off of me and crouch down, keeping my legs together so I don't flash anyone.
He looks terrified, and my heart hurts.
He's my last boy and he's starting school.
He's not going to stop school until he's graduated, before I know it, he'll be in middle school and his voice will be squeaking from puberty.
"Bryson, sweetie, it's just school. You're going to go to school and learn how to read. You'll color and make a lot of friends and play on the playground, and then we'll be back to pick you up before you know it."
He starts crying when he realizes he actually has to go. Josh kneels down too and Bryson starts crying harder.
"I don't wanna go. What if school lets out and you guys forget about me?"
"Sweetheart, we're not going to forget about you."
"Bryson, school is normal." Caiden cuts in. "And you get to make friends."
"Can I see my friends after school?" He sniffles.
There's no way I'm letting my four year old go to some strangers house for a play date, and no parent would let theirs go, either. If I was going with him, sure, he can have a playdate.
"Of course you can." I say.
"Bryson, we're going to be back to get you before you know it! And you're gonna have so much fun." Josh says gently.
He sniffles and I can see his reluctance.
"Okay." He says.
After a few moments of hesitation, he hugs me and his teacher takes him into the room.
I hesitate by the door until I feel Josh gently pulling me away.
"He's our last boy." I say.
"I know." He says. "They're gonna be in puberty before we know it."

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The next book will be up soon (this is the end btw lol)

It will be called "Mrs. Independent Part Two"

~Sam