“That’s not what I meant.It means that I’m stressed, and it wouldn’t take much for me to get upset.”
When we finally arrived at the car, I was sweating, Elana was hopping from foot to foot, and Addy was rolling again.I refused to think about how dirty the ground was.It’ll build up her immune system.Hopefully.“Okay, girls, let’s get in the car.”
I wrangled my bag and their backpacks onto the passenger seat so I could pick up my children, since neither of them made a move to get in.
What I wasn’t prepared for when I turned back around was to see Elana squatting on the small—and mostly dead—nature strip in front of the car.
“Elana, what are you—”
She pulled her pants back up, grinning at me.“All done.”
Coming around to the side of the car, she climbed in while I blinked, wondering where I’d taken a wrong turn on my parenting journey.“You’re not supposed to pee in public.”
I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I dropped the girls off at school and daycare, the car ride giving me a short reprieve between the craziness of my morning and walking into the office.
Since I was running late, I didn’t stop for coffee.Instead, I stumbled inside with my coat half on, one arm in, one out, holding my bag in one hand while attempting to free my hair from where it had gotten stuck in the coat buttons that had somehow ended up over my shoulder.
“Need help?”
Malena didn’t wait for an answer and rescued me.
A familiar laugh sounded from the door.“Having trouble dressing yourself this morning?”
I shrugged at Thad, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, watching us with a smirk on his face.
“If that was the only problem I had this morning, then I’d be happy.”
The grumbled complaint was underlined by the growling of my stomach.I must have forgotten to eat breakfast again.
Thad pulled Malena into his side when she was close enough, and they both turned their attention on me.“What happened?”she asked, leaning against him.
“Addy refused to walk because she didn’t want to go to school.Apparently, the teacher makes her read words.”I feigned shock, and Malena tried—and failed—to hold back her laughter.“And Elana watered the dirt strip in the parking lot because she couldn’t wait until we got to daycare to go potty.”
She grinned.“Must be a Porter girls thing.”
I sighed, sinking into my chair and turning on the computer.“I’m going to ignore what you said since we all vowed to never speak of it again.”
“At least the office should be quiet today.It’s only Thad and me here.Keely is at court all day and took Riley with her, and Vance is in Chicago.”
I didn’t tell her that I already knew where Vance was and nodded.“That gives me a chance to catch up on emails.Holler if you need anything.”
They disappeared down the hallway, whispering to each other.They were still just as in love as when they first got together.I couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy at the way Thad doted on Malena.
I’d never experienced such devotion.
After a quiet morning, the bell ringing over the door startled me enough that I spilled the water I’d been about to drink.I was wearing a white blouse and now had a see-through spot right on my breast.
Since there was nothing I could do about it, I slid in closer under the desk, hoping I could hide behind the counter.“Welcome to…”
I trailed off when I saw who had come inside.Cockalorum.
“Hank.What are you doing here?”
This couldn’t be about the kids.They were at school for another two hours.
He stopped in front of my desk, studying the flowers that were delivered every Monday, his critical gaze wandering over the business cards.“I want the kids for the next school holidays.We want to take them to St.Barts.”
