“What does that mean?” Sadie asks.
“It means we can still have grilled cheese and apples for dinner. Want to help?”
“Yes!” they both shout at me before running into the kitchen.
“How were they today?” I ask Emma, who is standing behind them.
“Good as always. Sadie read and Sam and I played Uno.”
I laugh. “How did that go?”
“I lost epically. I don’t know how she gets such good cards all the time.”
“She’s bad like you!” Sam calls from the kitchen.
“What’d we say about being a gracious winner?” I call back to her.
“It’s okay.” Emma waves me off. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Evans.”
“Thanks.”
I shut the door behind her and kick off my shoes into the pile that needs to be straightened by the door. A problem for another day.
All of the ingredients for dinner are spread on the marble countertop by the time I make it in there.
“We’re ready!” Both girls are grinning back at me from their stools behind the island.
“Perfect. Want to turn on a show while we make dinner?”
They both nod, and I grab the remote to turn on the living room TV. The open floor plan is nice on the days I need a little distraction.
“Bluey?” they ask in unison.
I groan but turn it on anyway, because I love that little dog. If they knew I actually liked it, they’d likely want to watch something else just to spite me.
The show is background noise as the two of them tell me about their day. These are the moments I love with the girls. As much as they don’t get along, they love each other that much more. It’s how Jamie and I were growing up. The much cooler older sister and the annoying little brother tagging along.
“It needs more apples,” Sam tells me, pushing my hands out of the way and adding more slices to her sandwich.
“Go for it.”
The two of them assemble their dinners before washing their hands and heading to their stools to watch the rest of Bluey while I grill the sandwiches.
“Get some carrots out to have with dinner, okay?”
Sadie nods and heads over to the fridge to pull the bag out and drop them onto their waiting plates.
As each sandwich is done, I cut it into fourths for them. “You two eat while I straighten up, okay?”
Sam and Sadie nod at me before pulling their plates toward them and digging in to their sandwiches.
I drop all the dishes into the sink before heading upstairs to start a load of laundry. The sage color paint heading up the stairs is hard to see through all the pictures decorating the walls. School pictures. Zoo trips. Vacations. Pictures of them with their mom and dad. Apicture of my dad, their grandpa they won’t really remember.
Some days are harder than others, like today where I’m exhausted and could use an extra set of hands. Passing their bathroom and seeing the state it’s in, I shut the door to try and ignore the problem. I add that to my mental to-do list. With a practice Saturday afternoon and Sunday off, I should be able to get everything taken care of, if I bribe the girls with watching a movie in the morning.
I could hire someone, but I don’t want just anyone coming into our home. I only found Emma through another guy on the team who used her before he got traded.
I’m thankful I have her to help.
