Mother Knows Best

The scratches on her arms were as red and unrelenting as the pulse beneath her skin. Laughter poured from upstairs along with the loud splashes of her children, Erica and Lexi. The girls were always boisterous at bath time and the sounds of their laughter usually brought her great joy, but the scratches stole her attention.

She padded into the kitchen on autopilot. Mac and cheese. Her girls loved mac and cheese. She went about grabbing ingredients, mindlessly stepping over the mice and spilled boxes of cereal.

Baby shark, dodododododo.

Her girls had been singing the song all week and she never got tired of it. She thought to call Greg down for dinner or ask him to watch the girls, but her husband was useless. The man had been hiding away in his office all week. He needed to clean it too if the smell was any indication. But she was tired of reminding him and hoped the flies would drive him to do it.

Drip, drip, drip.

She rolled her eyes at the leak in the ceiling. She kept reminding Greg to call a plumber, but did he listen? No. No matter. She was capable of calling one herself. She checked her phone for the number before realizing she hadn't charged it. Easily fixed, as she plugged it in.

She set out four place settings and fixed four plates. She went to the girls' room and laid out their Owlette and Elsa pajamas.

"Greg, dinner's ready!" She called. She didn't expect much of an answer.

She went to their bedroom, moving aside the suitcase he had packed for a business trip. She hadn't seen it on the family calendar, but it's what he had said when she asked him about it the last time they spoke. She brushed her hair, tossing it back into a loose bun.

The scratches itched again. Persistent little things.

"Erica! Lexi! Can you get out of the bath and get dressed in your pajamas? I made your favorite, mac and cheese," she called.

"Mommy come play with us!" Erica laughed.

She smiled. It wouldn't hurt to indulge the girls a little. She rubbed at the angry little scratches. The scabs had yet to heal. "Coming!"

She opened the door, ignoring the water pooling on the floor. She'd have to mop it up later. The apple scented air freshener competed with the smells of the girls in the bathtub.

"Come Mommy. Time you swim too!" Lexi cooed. Her  bloated hands reached for her mother.

"Yes honey, why don't you help the girls?" Her husband said from the doorway. He still had a coffee in his hand, but the least he could do was clean the obnoxious red stain he made after she had so kindly brought it to him.

Lexi pulled her right hand and Erica the left as her husband dunked her head into the fetid water. Their fingers sinking into the grooves of the scratches.

Baby shark, dodododo.