No Matter What

Chapter 3

"I can't take anymore." Henry said after he placed a sleeping Lily in one of the Pack'n'Plays in the den his parents kept in there for Mags and Brady. "I'm going to check on them."

Louisa grabbed his arm. "You have to give them time."

"How much time?" Grace asked looking at her phone. "Dad has been in there for over an hour."

Mamie shook her head as she, Henry and Grace had since realized how wrong they were about their mother. "What if he's letting her go?"

"Seriously? Have you three even met our parents? First, you think that Mom would actually leave us and Daddy. Not only that, but you took GRANDMOTHER'S word for it. GRANDMOTHER. Now, you think that Dad would actually let Mom leave? No way in hell." Louisa was so furious with her siblings. "You have to give them time. You know what, maybe we should leave."

Henry shook his head. "We need them to hear us out."

"After the hell your jumping to conclusions have caused today? You broke our parents' hearts. You have DESTROYED both of them." Louisa choked as she thought back to the conversation they overheard in their parents' bedroom. "You think either of them will want to see you 3?"

Mamie was getting tired of her baby sister's attitude. "Us 3? You were here, too."

"To try to talk you three out of this! Yes, I came along...TRYING to stop THIS from happening!" Louisa exclaimed. "I for one adore our parents, they need to know that at least ONE of their adult children support them."

Mamie shook her head. "I'm going to check on them."

"Me too." Henry said looking at Grace. "You coming?"

Grace nodded her head. "I'm worried."

"You all caused this!" Louisa muttered under her breath as she watched her 3 older siblings walk towards the downstairs master bedroom. "Sure, don't listen to Lou. I mean, what the hell do I know?"

Henry looked at his sisters. "The door is closed."

"It's not locked." Mamie said as she was able to turn the doorknob. "Should we go in?"

Grace peeked in. "They're okay."

"Oh, thank God." Henry breathed as he saw his father holding his mother as they laid on top of the comforter. "Of course he talked sense in her."

Mamie looked over to the cribs. "Let's get them and take them out with us."

"That's a good idea. Give Mom and Dad some time to sleep." Grace nodded. "This way the babies won't wake them up. I'm sure they haven't slept that much lately. Besides, if we really need them we can always come to wake them up."

They are starting to move around. "I'll grab Brady."

"I've got Mags." Grace said. "Mames, get their blankets?"

Mamie nodded as she grabbed some of the babies' belongings and then quietly closed the bedroom door. "Maybe they won't kill us when they find out we have been taking care of the babes."

***

Don startled awake when his dreams remembered the moment he heard Meryl say she was leaving. He breathed a sigh of relief that she was still curled up tightly to his side, sleeping away. Don wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed her head, so thankful that he could assure her. He wasn't upset with her, he couldn't be. He knew the reason she had been like that was because of his mother. His mother trying to come between him and his wife was nothing new, they had battled her for over 35 years, but she reached a new low in texting their children. As angry as he was at his mother, he was even more so at their children. He really didn't think Meryl would have been as upset as she was if it weren't for the kids. He knew he would deal with the kids later. He reached for his phone to send a message to his mother, but when he did, he felt Meryl tighten her hold on him. "Don, don't leave. Don't go anywhere."