“Well, that may work for you, but it’s not that simple for everyone,” Diana said.
“You know what?” Jess said. “I think we have to agree to disagree on the topic of Kira Popowich. I like her. I’m getting a lot out of watching her videos. You don’t. That’s okay, too.”
“I guess,” Rachael said with a shrug. Then her eyes lit up. “Ooh, you should get divorced. At least you get every other week off from momming.”
Jess and Diana both chuckled.
“Sounds glorious,” Diana said, even though she would never consider a divorce. She, unlike her best friend, was perfectly content with her lot in life—stay-at-home-mom with three successful, good-looking, sporty nerd children. If Diana had to be apart from them every other week, she would totally fall apart. Her family was her life in a way that made Jess feel utterly incompetent sometimes. What was wrong with her that she didn’t eat, breathe, and sleep for her little darlings?
“I’d settle for one night a week off,” Jess said, not wanting to entertain the idea of something so drastic as a divorce so she could have a break once in a while.
“So take it. Choose a night and tell your family you won’t be available to do anything for them,” Rach said, just as Destiny returned with their meals.
The three women waited while she set the plates down in front of them. Jess thanked her when it was her turn, just as she taught her kids to do.Respect is for everyone, she’d say.So is gratitude. Jess even went so far as to thank Alexa for playing songs for her in front of the kids. She knew it was beyond obnoxious, and yet, she did it anyway.
As soon as Destiny departed, Rachael pointed at Jessica’s plate. “I thought you wanted the pan-fried potatoes. They gave you seasonal fruit.”
Jess looked down at her meal. “Oh, right. I guess they got it mixed up.”
“Let’s see if we can flag her down,” Diana said.
“No, it’s fine,” Jess answered, even though it really wasn’t. She’d been looking forward to the delicious fresh-cut potatoes since they made the plan to come here, but instead, she had cut up melons with a couple of purple grapes thrown in.
She looked around, but couldn’t see Destiny. “Let’s just eat. I’ll mention it when she comes back to check on us.”
“No, you won’t,” Rachael said.
“Okay, I probably won’t, but only because I’ll probably be full by then.”
“This might be the root cause of your unhappiness,” Rachael said, slicing her French toast.
“Melons?” Jess joked. “Agreed.”
“Seriously. You’ve got to stand up for yourself. You’ll honestly feel so much better if you do,” Rachael told her.
“Okay, I’ll tell her I wanted the potatoes.”
“Do it, don’t do it. It really doesn’t matter to me,” Rachael said. “I’m just telling you, you’ll be much happier when you stop letting people walk all over you. Tell her you asked for potatoes and tell your kids and Mike you’re taking every Friday night off. It’ll do you a world of good.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll take that under advisement.” Jess had her first bite of her eggs Benedict, but she couldn’t even taste it. Instead, she was thinking about whether or not she should bother trying to take a night off every week.
How would she even pick one? There was alwayssomethingthat needed doing. What if she chose Thursdays, for example, then Noah needed help with an essay or something? Would she really just abandon him to do it himself? She was just complaining for the fun of it. But Rachael had always been one to push her ideas on others, especially since the divorce. She was newly liberated and hated the thought of any woman taking any shit from anyone.
After her first couple of bites, Jess smiled at Rachael. “So, meet anyone worth shaving your penis fly trap for?”
Rachael swallowed her food and shook her head. “No way. We are not changing the subject. You’re not happy, so we need to figure out how to help Jess get her groove back.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t happy,” Jess answered, popping a boring grape into her mouth.
Rachael looked down her nose at Jess. “You just described your life as a thankless hamster wheel that you’re afraid you’ll never get off.”
Shrugging, Jess said, “I was just being dramatic. It’s been a long…”Week? Month? Life?“Week. We’ve been getting into it with Noah about his lack of effort at school and Winnie’s been an absolute nightmare. She’s super stressed about her grades this year and taking the SAT, and she seems to think taking her frustration out on her family is the only solution.”
Rachael tilted her head. “No offense, but it sounds like you’re letting their emotions rule your life. Now that I only have the kids half the time, it’s been easier for me to sort out what’s their stuff and what’s mine. I can be happy even if one of them is having a bad time. It may sound callous, but it’s healthy.”
“I don’t know if I could do that,” Diana said. “I mean, logically, that makes sense, but if one of them is upset, I can’t get it off my mind.”
Jess nodded. “I’m the same. I think it’s just part of being a mom.”
