Becca straightens and pushes her hands against the counter. “Is she having nightmares?”
“Not that I know of. She doesn’t wake up screaming or say anything about bad dreams. She just has trouble falling asleep. She’s just likely to try to get extra books out of you. Or your attention for a while.” A few nights ago, I sat with her for about an hour before I gave up and went downstairs. She was still awake when I left.
“I don’t mind sitting with her for a while. Are you okay if she sits with me on the couch and watches some TV?”
I’m not really sure why she’s asking, she’s going to do whatever she wants anyway. These aren’t rules so much as things to look out for.
I cock my head to the side and look at her incredulously. “As long as it’s kid appropriate, you’re going to do whatever you do, and I know that. Bedtime is seven thirty for Charlie, eight for the girls, but I know you’ll let them all stay up late so I’m not even going to stress it. Or at least I’ll try not to.”
“‘Atta girl.” She pushes against my shoulder with her fist. “What about food? Any weird kicks I need to know about lately?”
Food is one area I get lucky with my kids. They’re not incredibly picky, and we have no food allergies. They’ll all try just about anything. Even Charlie is pretty adventurous for a three-year-old.
“No, nothing strange. Not like Charlie’s cereal only diet. Or Kendall’s chicken nuggets only phase.” Though they’re good eaters, they have their moments.
“So pizza would be okay?”
“Pizza would be perfect.” It’s a family favorite. And I know they’ll like it because Becca introduced us to our favorite pizza place.
“What else do you want me to know?”
“That I appreciate you taking them even if I don’t want to go to this stupid reunion anyway.”
She walks over to the fridge and helps herself to a bottle of water. She takes a sip before turning her gaze to me. “You’re going to have fun. As much as you maybe hated high school, everybody is different than they were ten years ago.”
“Trent isn’t.”
“No? Is he still the star quarterback?” She cocks an eyebrow at me to challenge me.
I straighten from the position of my forearms against the counter. “In some ways, yeah, he is. No, he doesn’t play football anymore except maybe a pickup game here or there, but he still has the looks, the charm, the same push he had back then.”
“So, some people will still be similar versions of themselves. But whatever you hated, it won’t be the same. You’re with the star player again, you’re married this time with three amazing kids.”
“Yeah, and a body that tells the story.”
“So, let’s run more. We only go once a week now. Let’s up it.” Easy for her to say. She’s not out of breath within the first ten minutes. Or less.
“I already take up enough of your day. You should be working right now.”
She waves a hand in my general direction. “Perk of working for yourself. Say, did you ever hear from your high school bff? She going to be there?”
I had sent Veronica a direct message a few days after I RSVPed, asking if she was going to be in attendance as well. “She is. She’s flying out from New York on Thursday. Guess she’s going to spend some time with her parents or whatever.”
“You know you’d do the same if yours were still close.”
“If mine were still close they’d be the ones watching the kids.” When my parents retired and moved to South Carolina, they swore they’d see the kids all the time. That it’s not that hard to hop on a plane and come see their grandbabies. We see them two times a year max. It hurts my heart in a way I didn’t think possible.
“Sorry, I know you don’t like to talk about it.”
“It’s fine. But yeah, Veronica will be there. It’ll be nice to catch up with her. Though she’s living the life she always planned, being an IT genius at some big company out east.” I can hear the jealousy in my own voice.
“Don’t go down that road, Les. Your life is pretty awesome, even if you can’t see it.” I know Becca is jealous ofme. Partially because we have a complete family unit. Partially because even though my husband looks incredible, he’s also extremely devoted and loyal. He’d never cheat the way her ex did.
“You’re right. I just know I’ll be back with all those people who will wonder what the fuck I do with myself all day. I was supposed tobesomething and I’m no more than a mom.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. First of all, moms are kickass. Everybody needs one. Second of all, there’s probably going to be people at that reunion that have the job or career or whatever but are jealous that they don’t have the family that you do. There will be a lot of people who haven’t found their spouse and don’t have any kids, meanwhile you’re rocking it with three.” She has a point. Getting the kids started young means I’m more likely to run into people who haven’t had any yet.
Becca’s always good at showing me the good parts of my life, not the things that make me feel less than. It’s just hard for me to see that most of the time.
