Best of Women

Pippa

I let myself into the Mirandas' apartment, setting my purse on the counter.  Lin was not a good housekeeper.  A bachelor with four children made for a pretty disgusting apartment.  Lin didn't ask me to, but I took it upon myself to deep clean the place each week.  The kids deserved to live in a clean apartment.

I got to work on the laundry first.  There were always mountains of it.  I went room to room, gathering the kids' baskets.  Sebastian didn't always manage to get his clothes to the hamper.  I wasn't going to be his maid.  If his clothes didn't make it to the hamper, they didn't get washed.  I picked up his hamper and lined it up in front of the washer and dryer.

As I was sorting the clothes, I always shook the pants to make sure nothing was inside.  As I shook a pair of Sebastian's jeans a baggie fell out.  I picked it up and found two joints inside.  I just stared at it a minute, sighing.  Sebastian was smoking pot?  He was in a rock band, so I guess it wasn't terribly surprising.  Still, I was disappointed.  I'd known Sebastian for about two years now.  He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.  I hated the position I was in.  I had to tell Lin.

I started up the first load of laundry, then went to work on the bathrooms.  As I started to clean Lin's shower I blushed, thinking about how he was naked in here every day.  I'd kissed him every day for a year as part of the play.  We were friends and it was part of the show.  It didn't mean anything, but I felt my heart flutter a little bit each time.  I don't think he felt anything.

It took a couple hours to clean the house, then I went to Hunter to pick up Rio and the girls.  I took the twins to gymnastics practice, which required a subway ride.  Lin still didn't want the girls riding the subway alone, which I understood.  The deal was that once they reached high school, they could.  That was next year.

They both put their earbuds in, sitting away from each other.  I'd never seen sibling rivalry like Mia and Eva had.  They were twins – fraternal, not identical – and they seemed to have daggers for each other.  The fact that they were competing at gymnastics didn't help.

Eva was the quieter kid and the hardest worker.  She mostly kept her nose to the grind and did what she was supposed to do.  She was driven, like her father.  The kid made straight A's easily. Eva seemed to resent her sister's blasé attitude towards life.  Mia was carefree.  She was smart as a whip, like all her siblings, but was perfectly happy coasting through school.  She was perfectly capable of straight A's, but made a scattering of A's, B's, and C's.  If a subject didn't interest her, she couldn't be bothered to put forth much effort.

We arrived at the gym and the girls went to the dressing room to change.  Rio knew the routine.  He found a spot in the bleachers and got to work on his homework.  Every day, he got dragged to his sisters' practice, whether it was with me or with one of his grandparents.

The girls joined the rest of their gymnastics class, each going to a separate group of girls.  They didn't have the same friends.  They began to stretch on the floor as they chatted, giggling.  A few minutes later, the coach came over and made them stand up.  They began warming up by running around the floor, pointing their toes.

Their three hour work out began.  I'd watched them practice countless times, but I was always amazed at what they did.  What they did frightened me, and I knew it frightened Lin as well.  It had been a long time since he'd watched them practice or even been to a meet.  He was a single father with an enormous work load.  I knew the girls wished he'd come watch them more.  They were teenagers now, so they wouldn't admit they still needed and wanted their father's attention, but they did.  It was covered up with teenage attitude and angst.

I'd brought my own laptop to get some work done.  I worked and I watched over the next couple hours.  When Rio was done with his homework, we went around the corner to get a little snack and hung out for a while.  He was a sweet kid and looked like a mini copy of his father.

I took the kids home after practice and got dinner started.  When Sebastian walked in, I greeted him as he set his skateboard down.

"Sebastian," I stopped him before he disappeared into his black hole of a room.  He stopped and raised his eyebrows.  I opened the drawer and pulled out his baggie.  "I found this when I was doing laundry today."

He reached for it, but I tucked it into my pocket.  Did he think I was going to give it back?

"Whatever," he muttered under his breath.

"Sebastian!" I called him.  "You know I'm going to have to tell your father."

He shrugged and grabbed a pinchful of cheese from the counter.  "What's he gonna do?  Ground me?  How's he gonna enforce it?  He's never home."

Sebastian disappeared down the hallway and slammed his bedroom door.  The loud music came on.  I sighed and turned my attention back to dinner.  I texted Lin to see when he'd be home.  He said he probably wouldn't be home until late – likely 8 or 9.  I couldn't stay.  I had to go home and I told him so.  I hated to leave the kids, but I wondered if they even noticed.  They all holed up in their rooms.

Around 7:00, I headed out, having done the dishes and left the apartment clean.  Sometimes it was a thankless job, but I wasn't sure how Lin would keep his head above water without me.  I didn't tell him about the pot for now; I wanted to tell him in person.

As I climbed into bed that night around 10:00, I got a text from Lin.

Thanks for cooking and cleaning.  We don't deserve you!

Had he just gotten home?  My heart ached for little Rio.  He was only eight years old.  He deserved to get tucked in by his dad every night.  The little guy wouldn't complain though.  He didn't want his dad to feel guilty because he knew Lin worked hard.

You're welcome.  Will you be home earlier tomorrow?

No I'm flying to PR in the morning.  Just overnight.

I gaped, wondering how he'd failed to mention this to me.  I assumed he'd made arrangements with his parents because this was the first time I'd heard about it.

Do you need me to check in on the kids?

Nah, my mom's coming but thx.  Could you come on Friday?

I responded that I could, then we said goodnight.  I settled under my covers and sighed.  Truthfully, this arrangement was starting to take a toll on me.  I shouldn't have let myself get roped in this far.  It broke my heart to see how uninvolved Lin had become in his children's lives.  His work had taken over his life, and without a partner, the kids were starting to suffer.  I felt like I needed to say something, but I didn't want to ruin our friendship.  I worried what would happen to the kids if I stepped away.

I slipped into a fitful sleep, wondering what I was supposed to do.