“I don’t know. I put the timer on, opened the oven door, and well, it was just full of smoke.”
“Show me.”
So, I showed him what I pressed. He looks just as confused as I feel until he turns around to the two children.
“Own up. Who pressed the buttons?”
Eden’s eyes look down.Busted.
“Eden, why did you touch it?” Charlie asks. He folds his arms over his chest, looking intimidating.
“I wanted to press the buttons like Granny lets me, but Gemma wouldn’t let me touch it.”
“Right, I see. Well, I’ll leave that for your father to dealwith. I best be going. Are you okay with the microwave?” he asks, looking at me.
“I think so,” I reply, looking and feeling confused by all the buttons.
“This one here. Ten minutes.” Charlie shows me the timer.
“Thank you.” I smile at him. At least I can’t mess this up.
Three hours later, the kids are overtired and restless. I tried to wait for Alex, as he promised to be home by five, and now it’s gone eight. The children are wild, running around the living room, screaming and jumping. Exhausted from the day, I sit on the sofa, giving up. The kids aren’t listening to me; they only want their father.
At last, the front door opens and shuts with a loud force. Alex walks straight into the living room. The children stop and look at him.
“Why are they still up?” Alex yells at me.
“By the way you slammed the door, I’m sure you would have woken them up anyway,” I retort. He can’t talk to me like that. “Besides, they wanted to see you. You said you’d be back by five. I finished three hours ago. It’s been a long day for me.”
His eyes are weary, with a heavy frown crinkling his brows. He looks troubled. The kids continue to scream, running around the room completely out of control.
“Bed,” Alex shouts at them.
“No!” Eden screams, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. It hits a small vase, smashing it to pieces.
The room falls silent.
“What have you done?” Alex speaks, almost through gritted teeth. He bends to pick up the pieces.
“It was an accident.” I jump in to defend Eden.
Alex glowers at me. “They’re meant to be in bed. I hire you to watch them, not act out.”
“You said you would be home at five o’clock. The kids were waiting to see you,” I reiterate calmly. I don’t want the kids to see us arguing.
“Do your job,” he retorts.
“It’s just a vase. We can buy another one,” Eden tells him.
“That’s not the point, Eden. You shouldn’t have done it,” Alex shouts at her.
“I want Mummy.” Eden starts to cry. “I hate you. You’re mean.”
“Eden,” Alex yells.
“Go away. I want my mummy.” She’s crying now.
“Well, it’s tough. Mummy isn’t coming back. It’s just me.” Alex’s hands fly over his mouth at his words, and his eyes widen when he realises what he just said.He turns to me. “I need to talk to the children alone. Take tomorrow off. They won’t be going to school. I’ll need to be with them.”
