“Exactly,” she says, crossing her arms and giving me a pointed look. “So, I can’t move them.”
“Why do you need four?” I ask, trying to get her to put at least two in the dishwasher.
She sighs as if she is an astrophysicist trying to explain her job to a toddler who won’t listen. “Because,” she starts and points to each glass as she speaks, “week one, two, three, and four. If I take away one, I’ll ruin the whole thing. That’s what Mr. Hutch said I had to do.”
“But it’s been a month, so…isn’t it over?”
“No. Mr. Hutch hasn’t seen it yet,” she says with exasperation.
I run a hand down my face. How can something so cute be so irritating? After a beat, I realize I’m asking myself a rhetorical question.
She grabs her shoes and puts them on while I watch her.
“OK, we’ll get him to stop by this week,” I say as I turn and head back out of her room. She follows after adjusting her climbing dolls.
This is going to be the longest summer ever.
Ava stares mindlessly at the television. We spent the day at the museum, and then I had a brilliant idea as we walked past a toy store on the way home. I pretended that she was so good that she was getting a surprise. The surprise happened to be a pop-up tent that looks like a clubhouse. Thank God for window displays.
We set it up in the corner of her room and moved her tea party and Mount Monopoly into it. Along with her pretend kitchen.
I got her to help vacuum her room, and thankfully, Hutch came home early and saw the experiment. After taking forty photos, we put the glasses in the dishwasher. Now her room actually looks livable.
I put a lasagna I had prepped in the oven. I’m waiting for it to finish so I can take some with me.
Meanwhile, I’m checking emails and prepping for my day at work.
The door opens, and Carly walks in carrying her bag and a giant box of veggies and fruit.
I jump off the sofa and run to grab it from her, where she’s clearly struggling to not drop it.
I place it on the table and turn to her.
“How was your day?” I ask.
“Hey, Mom,” Ava yells from the sofa.
“Hi, Peanut. It was good. How was your day?” she asks.
As if suddenly remembering we had a whole day, Ava pops up from where she sits and grabs Carly’s hand. “Mom! Come look!”
Carly glances at me, and I nod toward the bedrooms.
She gives me a curious look but continues to let Ava drag her across the living room. I follow them and watch her face break into a giant smile when she sees the clean room.
She hugs her daughter and kisses the top of her head, mouthing, “Thank you,” to me. I nod, loving seeing her happy and wishing I could make her happier more often.
“This looks amazing!” she declares as Ava bounces around the room and explains everything we did.
I walk over to Carly, and she leans against me. I can feel her tired body sag, and I wish I could stay and take care of her. She deserves someone who will love her and care for her as much as she does for everyone else.
The oven beeps and I head into the kitchen to pull out the tray of lasagna, carefully cutting a slice and sticking it in Tupperware.
“You made dinner too?” she asks as she walks in behind me.
“I figured it’d be easiest on both of us,” I say.
She motions to the box. “I’ll prep something for tomorrow.”
