Something was up with my husband. He didn't stay late for beers after work on Fridays anymore. If he was running late, even for twenty minutes, he texted me a new ETA. Yesterday, he vacuumed the whole house before I found him on his knees, scrubbing the bathroom floor. I couldn't remember the last time he cleaned the bathroom. Willingly.
But perhaps the most surprising change he'd made was that he started using the shared calendar I'd set up for us—and he wasn't just checking my dates and notes; he was also adding his own reminders.
A project out of town in May. A friend's birthday dinner in June. He started putting notes on when he could do pickups or drop-offs for the kid's activities, and even wrote a reminder to buy Sienna new football shoes before her new season started.
It was all rather…peculiar. Yes, he was finally doing what I'd nagged him to do a million times, but I still couldn't help but feel unnerved by it all.
On the first week of April, I noticed that James had entered a new note for a date in early June.
"What is this?" I asked him, pointing at the date on my phone. All it said was V Day. "Is this our rescheduled Valentine's dinner?"
James immediately switched off his phone and placed it aside. "Uh, no." He cleared his throat, looking a little nervous. "It's actually the date of my vasectomy. It was the earliest date they had available, which works out well because I thought with your mum being here, she can watch the girls that weekend. I can get it done on Friday and recover while they're out of the house."
My mouth dropped open, and I stared at him blankly for a moment. "Why?" I breathed.
"Because…because I..." His voice faltered before a look of determination crossed his features. "Because I promised you I would. Because you said you were done with kids, and since you're the one who carries them, births them and does the majority of the workload, you get more of a say than I do. You've put your body through a lot, and now it's my turn."
My breath hitched as the force of his words hit me square in the chest. Sienna was three now, almost four. Even before her birth, I'd been asking James to get the snip, but he'd always blown me off and made excuses, or made some sexist joke about his threatened masculinity.
To hear that he'd booked the procedure on his own, and he not only knew but understood the importance of taking care of our birth control…well, it stunned me speechless. All I could do was stare at him in shock.
This behaviour was so unlike him and, while I appreciated it, I still couldn't understand why he was doing this all now, and not the tenth or even twentieth time I'd asked him.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern etching his features as he took in my stumped demeanour.
I shook my daze away and cleared the hoarseness from my throat. "Um, yeah. Wow. I'm surprised, that's all. I've been asking for this for ages. I honestly thought you were never going to do it."
I had no idea why he looked so sad. "Yeah, babe. I know. I'm really sorry it's taken me this long to get around to it. And honestly? I probably wouldn't have done it if I hadn't–"
He suddenly cut off, his face turning a little red, and looking mighty guilty. I frowned at his censure. "If you hadn't what?" I pressed.
He blinked a few times, his mouth opening and closing for a response. But before he could answer, Kehlani and Sienna ran in through the balcony doors, distracting us with their animated chatter.
Our conversation was swiftly dropped, but I couldn't help but wonder…what exactly was my husband about to say?
Chapter 11
Zara
Iwoke up to the sound of light rain and James' side of the bed empty. Since today's forecast called for bad weather, he'd taken the day off and informed me last night that he'd get Kehlani sorted for school. Usually, when James had a day off, he'd stay in bed while I got the girls up and ready. He would take Kehlani to school, but he usually waited until twenty minutes before they left to hop out of bed and start getting ready. He always used the excuse that he didn't know what lunches they liked, how to do their hair, or even where Kehlani's uniform was. There were times I resented him for staying in bed while I rushed around to get them and myself ready, but there was no point in harping on about it all the time. Besides, I had everything down to a fine art, so I just got on with it.
By the sounds of things, it appeared that James had the hang of everything. Apart from a few gripes from Sienna, all seemed calm and quiet. By the time I got out of the shower and made my way downstairs, the girls had finished breakfast, and Kehlaniwas in her school uniform. Sienna was attending her local Playgroup with me today—a parent-run, child-led kids' centre we both loved. She was dressed in shorts, sneakers and an old T-shirt. I hid a smile as I took in her wonky pigtails with the mismatched bows. James had never done the girls' hair, apart from a quick brush, which he usually gave up doing after a few minutes when they started crying about it hurting.
James handed me a hairbrush with a sheepish look. "Sorry, baby. I tried to do K's hair, but she wants some complicated plait."
"I want two plaits like Anna!" Kehlani exclaimed, referring to her favourite Disney princess.
"It's okay. I can do it." I took the hairbrush off him, and our fingers brushed during the exchange. I felt a crackle of electricity between us, and I breathed deeply to rid myself of the low pulse of desire.
James watched me closely as I started separating Kehlani's hair down the middle with a comb.
"How about I take Sienna to Playgroup today?" He suddenly offered.
I frowned at my task, my nimble fingers making quick work with one side of her hair. "What?"
I'd always encouraged James to attend a session with Sienna when he had a day off, but he always declined. He did help out whenever they had a working bee or needed things fixed around the centre, which was appreciated, but it would be nice for him to integrate more into the activities. I was always a little envious when a dad showed up for a session; for some reason, the kids always seemed to gravitate toward a male presence.
"Yeah." James smoothed down Sienna's hair, his brow furrowing as he tried to even out her pigtails. "It's about time I showed my face and met some of Sienna's Playgroup friends."
