“They say admitting you have a problem is the first step.”
“Yup. I suppose it is,” Zane agreed. “Okay, I really better run. Talk to you next week, Mom.”
“Give my love to the kids and save a little for yourself.”
“Love you, too.”
Zane hung up, then stretched his neck, which was sore from holding it at such an awkward angle. He stood in the kitchen, staring at the mess from opening the blender. Little bits of Styrofoam stuck to the countertop. He wiped them onto the terracotta tile floor, only to realize that all he’d done was shift the problem. His new housekeeper wasn’t coming again until Monday, so he’d have to deal with this himself. He went in search of the vacuum, then dragged theheavy appliance from the hall closet to the kitchen, banging it into the wall as he rounded the corner, gouging the drywall. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered, staring at the damage.
Ten minutes later, he shut off the vacuum, having finally cleaned up the mess.
The doorbell rang, and he dropped the hose and ran to the door. When he swung it open, he saw Sienna and Ivy, both of whom looked thoroughly pissed off, and Poppy, who looked like she was trying not to cry.
“Hey, you guys,” he said in a gentle voice. “I hope you haven’t been here long.”
“We have,” Ivy told him.
“We were about to leave,” Sienna added.
“I thought for sure you forgot about us,” Poppy said.
He reached out and ruffled her hair. “I could never forget about you, my little Poppy Seed. I was vacuuming.”
Sienna’s eyes widened. “Vacuuming?”
Nodding, he smiled modestly. “I made a bit of a mess in the kitchen, and I wanted everything to be perfect for the girls’ visit.” He gave her a meaningful look. “I’m learning how to be a better husband.”
Ivy wrinkled up her nose as she walked past him into the house. “Geez, Dad, shouldn’t cleaning up your own mess be the bare minimum?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, yes it should. I think I got behind on… some of the more normal things adults do.”
“You mean like keeping your wedding vows?” Sienna asked in a tight voice while Poppy jumped through the doorway with both feet.
Zane’s smile faded. “Exactly like that.”
She pursed her lips, then glanced away for a second. “Okay, well, we’ll be back on Sunday by seven at the latest. If he gets knocked out early, we might be here as early as three.”
Zane looked at the car and saw his son’s silhouette against the darkening sky. “Do you think he’d mind if I wish him good luck?”
Shrugging, Sienna said, “You can do it. He may not answer.” She poked her head in the door. “Okay, my girls. Have a wonderful time with your dad. Love you to bits.”
Poppy hurried over for hugs and kisses, while Zane made his way down the cold, wet sidewalk in his bare feet. His heart thumped as he reached out and opened the passenger door.
Parker was clearly startled to see his dad. For the briefest, most glorious of moments, he looked happy. Immediately, his expression morphed to anger again, and he turned to stare out the front window.
“Hey, champ, I just wanted to wish you good luck this weekend,” Zane said, controlling the impulse to put his hand on Parker’s shoulder. “I’ll be cheering you on from here.”
Zane could hear Sienna’s high-heeled boots clicking against the sidewalk as she approached, and he felt an urgent need to get his son to say something before she got in the driver’s seat.Thanks. See you. Screw you. Anything at all would be better than this silence. But Parker kept his stoic mask in place, and Zane knew that each time his son practiced this, he’d get better at it.
Waiting a beat, Zane added, “Love you, buddy. Take care of your mom.”
Without looking at him, Parker muttered, “Somebody has to.” His son reached out and tugged the door shut, leaving Zane out in the cold winter drizzle.
Sighing, Zane made his way back to the house. At least he’d have better luck with his daughters.
Or not. In fact, over the course of the evening, things went from bad to worse. They’d already seen all the movies he rented (and how didn’t he know that they’d already seenHoney, I Shrunk the Kids?He literally watched it with Ivy and Parker in the theater when it first came out). He burned the bag of microwave popcorn, leaving the house with a horrible stench. And his first attempt at Sienna’s famous chocolate milkshakes was a huge failure because he’d neglected to wash out the glass pitcher, which Ivy said was disgusting because all those people at the factory would’ve touched it and it must be full of germs. Poppy immediately agreed that the milkshakes were too gross to drink. So he dumped them, scrubbed the blender with hot, soapy water (burning his hands), then dried it carefully, all the while trying to sound upbeat. “So, how are your classes going this semester?” he asked Ivy.
“Fine. I want to drop calculus, but Mom won’t let me.”
