Before she even had a chance to put her bags down, her fourteen-year-old greeted her. “Mom, I need new shoes. I can’t find mine.” Kyle was a classic teen in oversized sweats, EarPods, and knockoff Uggs. Her hair, which she’d dyed red to match Gabby’s, was shoved under a beanie, along with her love for her mother.
Wrinkling her nose, Kyle said, “Eww. Why are you so sweaty?”
“Hello to you too.”
“But really, I need shoes. I had to wear Uggs in gym today.” At which point, she noticed Gabby’s feet. “Mom! Why are you wearing my shoes?”
“Sorry, sweetie. I was in a rush. I guess we all need some new shoes.”
Gabby took her phone out of her pocket and shoved it at Kyle. “Just go online and pick something out.”
Already scrolling, Kyle headed toward her bedroom, and Gabby called after her, “Don’t order anything until you show me!” She was making decent money, but she was still a government employee paying California prices for everything.
In the kitchen, Granny was putting away leftovers. Justin was sitting at the counter, sipping a glass of rosé like he was just there for the show. He probably was.
“Where’s Burt?” Gabby glanced at the empty La-Z-Boy. Her grandmother’s boyfriend, Burt, was in a committed relationship with the television, Steve Harvey in particular.
Looking over her shoulder from the fridge, Granny said, “I made him take Bubbles for a walk. I’m not sure if the man can bend over to pick up the dog poo so I sent Lucas too.”
At least Burt and Lucas had both gotten out from behind their screens for a few minutes.
From upstairs, Kyle yelled, “MOM!” and then something Gabby couldn’t understand because Kyle was in another room.
Gabby walked to the bottom of the stairs. “Kyle, if you’re speaking to me, please come into the same room as me.” Not to mention, “The shoes aren’t that important.” Kyle needed to develop some patience.
Kyle appeared at the top of the stairs. Instead of mentioning shoes, she announced, “The toilet is being weird.”
Weird… “Weird like Uncle Jim or weird like it’s clogged?”
“Not funny, Mom!”
Which is when she remembered: Granny had asked her to get a plunger.
“Kyle, go to the utility closet and get the plunger. It’s wrapped in a garbage bag. Plunge the toilet, and I’ll check on it after.” These kids needed to figure out how to solve a few basic problems.
“Gross.” Kyle made a noise of horror. “I don’t think I need to get that involved.”
Did she have to do everything? “Just put the plunger over the hole and push down. It might take a couple of times. It’s simple, Kyle.”
“Can’t you do it?” Kyle whined.
“See if you can figure it out first.” She had been trying to set her expectations for the kids higher with mixed results. Some days, Kyle would make scrambled eggs and pack her own lunch and Lucas’s. Then there would be two weeks where Gabby would need a crowbar just to get her off the couch to carry her own dirty dishes to the sink. And the EarPods. She was connected to the outside world and unavailable to her own mother.
With anoof, Gabby plopped down on a kitchen stool next to Justin, and Granny slid a glass of wine across the counter toward her.
“Thanks, Granny. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Granny patted Gabby’s hand. “It’d be ugly.”
Justin huffed. “What am I, chopped liver?”
Gabby gave him a side hug. “I love you too, Justin.”
She would like to tell them she was going to the Azores. She needed to tell them she was leaving for a work trip, but she and Markus hadn’t gotten around to making up a cover story yet. Everyone at home thought she was an executive assistant. They’d met Markus, so she’d simply said he was a coworker. They were boring employees of a boring company no one would ever want to ask a second question about.
Granny spoke up. “Shouldn’t you go home, Justin? I don’t want you neglecting Hugh and getting divorced like Gabby here.”
Justin laughed off the idea like it was preposterous. “I’m the hot, fun one with personality. There’s no way Hugh can leave.”
