“No, it doesn’t.” She shook her head.
“Yes, it does.” He grabbed the dishwashing soap from underneath the sink. “That’s the rule.”
“Yeah, Mom. That’s the rule.” Owen backed him up, and Caleb gave him a pound.
Taylor’s head tilted to one side. “Don’t you have homework?”
“Owen can do his homework.” Caleb turned the water on. “I’ll do the dishes.”
“Yeah, Mom.”
The no cleaning if you cook had been a rule in Caleb’s house growing up, but even if it hadn’t, the dark circles under Taylor’s eyes meant there was no way he was going to let her clean.
“You’re our guest. You shouldn’t clean.” Taylor was doing her best to protest, but Caleb could see he was wearing her down.
“Okay.” Caleb shut the water off and turned back toward Taylor. who was standing next to the table. “I think the only fair way to do this is to take a vote.”
“A vote?” she questioned.
“Yes. A vote.”
“That’s not…we can’t…” she stuttered.
“Who is in favor of taking a vote?”
Both Owen and Caleb raised their hands.
Taylor rolled her eyes as a hint of a smile lifted on her face. “You’revotingon whether or not to take avote?”
“Absolutely,” Caleb replied. “I believe in being fair.”
“Yeah, we have to be fair.” Owen nodded.
“Okay…” Caleb pretended to count the arms in the air, which were his and Owen’s. “So it is two to one in favor of taking a vote.”
“Oh my gosh.” Taylor crossed her arms and sighed as she shook her head back and forth, her hint of a smile now spread from ear to ear.
“All in favor of me washing dishes, Owen doing his homework, and Taylor, aka Mom, taking the rest of the night off.”
Both Caleb and Owen raised their hands. He started to count again when Owen yelled, “Wait!”
Caleb watched as Owen kept one hand in the air, and then he held his other hand in a fist, and Casper sat up on his hind legs and lifted one paw.
“Oh!” Caleb couldn’t believe he’d left Minnie out. Of course, they needed to vote. The hand that wasn’t in the air he held outwith his palm facing up, and Minnie lifted her paw in the air to give him a high five, aka vote in favor of.
“Okay, so that’s one, two, three, four…four to one in favor.” They all lowered their hands, and Caleb picked up the wooden spoon to use as a gavel. He hit the spoon on the cutting board and announced, “The ayes have it; the motion is passed.”
“Sorry, Mom.” Owen was beaming as he hooked his arm through Taylor’s and led her to the couch. “Sometimes things don’t go your way. That’s democracy.”
Caleb got to work doing the dishes, and Owen brought his homework to the kitchen table. He was doing math, which had been Caleb’s favorite subject in school. He helped him with a few problems and found himself getting a little choked up while he did because he was helping his son with homework. He had to keep reminding himself that Owen picked up on everything, so he had to keep his emotions in check.
Once the kitchen was clean and the homework was done, the boys looked over and saw that Taylor was sound asleep on the couch. She was in the corner with her legs tucked beneath her. She wasn’t the only one who was in slumber-ville. Minnie and Casper were both curled up, facing each other, with their heads resting on the other’s back end like the yin and yang symbol.
“She’s beenreallytired lately.” Concern tinted Owen’s voice.
“She just started the new job.”
“It was even before that.”
