"Oh no."
Her thoughts turned to Chase whose back injury left him paralyzed. Pain was a good thing, wasn't it? If Bill didn't have any pain after a fall off a roof, then that would mean... No, she refused to consider that for the larger-than-life man.
"You go be with Scott and Alice. I'll manage just fine here."
"Thank you. I'll let you know when I hear something." Then the line went dead, leaving Eden wondering who would be there for Rudy.
When it got too hot outside, Eden brought the kids in and played with them, doing her best to keep them entertained, but she couldn't help feeling more than a little stressed when it came time to fix dinner. After what felt like forever, she finally managed to figure out how to work the TV in the family room and turned on a cartoon.
With William frequently following her, she bounced back and forth between the kitchen and the family room to check on the girls while she made mac & cheese and heated chicken nuggets. It had been a long time since she'd eaten the simple fair that was a children's favorite. She'd forgotten how much she liked the fake cheese flavor on the macaroni.
After dinner, all three kids grew restless and whiny while Eden hurriedly cleaned the kitchen. Mia and Lucia kept asking for Gamma, and William seemed to feed off their anxiety and became increasingly fussier.
Eden found herself near tears a time or two. She wasn't sure if it was because she felt overwhelmed by responsibility or if it was worry for Bill. She hadn't heard anything yet from Kennedy or Rudy and her fears ran rampant.
All three children hit meltdown mode at the same time, and desperation drove Eden to the lengthy list of instructions that Debbie had left on the fridge, but she hadn't had a chance to read yet. Bouncing William on her hip and alternately patting the heads of the toddlers who clung to her legs, she scanned the pages.
Her eyes caught on the word bath, and she recalled how much the children at the daycare had enjoyed playing with the water table. There was something about the element that calmed children.
"Who wants to take a bath?" she asked.
The tears stopped immediately.
"Bath?" Lucia repeated.
"Yay!" Mia let go of Eden's leg and darted down the hall.
Eden faced a moment of panic as she realized she had no idea how to bathe one child let alone three. Did she put them all in at once or one at a time? She knew she couldn't possibly dress all three at once, but it would be dangerous to leave the girls in the tub while she dressed William and vice versa. So, even though William fussed and clamored to get into the tub, she put the girls in first.
He eventually settled down and was content to play with the girls over the edge of the tub, squealing each time the girls flicked water at him. Because they were all so happy, she let them play until the girls’ hands and feet looked like raisins.
She repeatedly found herself smiling at the children's joy in such simple little things. As stressful as taking care of these little ones was and even though she felt out of her element, she couldn't help thinking that she would make a good mom given the opportunity. Preferably with one baby at a time.
A twinge hit her low abdomen, and she pressed a hand to her stomach. She'd heard of women feeling like their biological clock was ticking, but she'd never experienced this kind of yearning before. It mimicked that powerful feeling she had the day she learned Debbie was pregnant.
I'm only twenty-six, for goodness’ sake. My biological clock is not ticking.
Besides, she wasn't ready to give up her career just yet. Well, when she found another career.
The next forty minutes as she got all three kids bathed and into pajamas were hectic and exhausting. Eden made a mental note to come back and clean up the bathroom after she put the children into bed, which she hoped was soon. She needed a break.
Concern for Bill stayed with her as she fixed the girls sippy cups of milk and William a bottle of formula. She couldn't believe no one had bothered to let her know how he was doing. Surely, they'd heard something by now. If not, that didn't bode well for Bill.
Of course, she wasn't actually a member of the family, so she'd be the last person they would bother notifying. Hopefully, they had let Rudy's sisters know. Would they all end up cutting their family vacations short?
She turned off all the lights except for the one over the kitchen sink and a lamp in the family room before settling on the couch with the children to read stories. Unsure of the children's actual bedtime routine, she let the girls look at more books in their beds while she rocked William for a few minutes.
The way he laid his head on her shoulder and put his chubby arm around her neck triggered that urgent feeling low in her abdomen again. Trying to ignore it, she gently kissed his head and tucked him into his crib.
When she returned to the girls’ room, she was grateful to find them still in bed already half asleep.
When she bent over Lucia to take her book and tuck her in, a concerned look crossed the toddler's face. "Gamma?"
Eden knelt on the floor beside the toddler bed and stroked her cheek. "It's okay, sweetie. Grandpa got an owie and Grandma needs to be with him for a while. She'll come back as soon as she can. I promise."
Eden hoped her promise wasn't in vain and again prayed that Bill's "owie" wasn't so serious it prevented the children from seeing their grandparents again soon. But the longer she went without hearing from anyone, the heavier the feeling of foreboding that settled over her became.
After pressing a soft kiss to each girl's forehead, she left their door open a crack and hurried to clean up the mess they'd made in the bathroom.
