“What if he has her bug?” I asked back. “It came on fast, Mitch. She was fine one minute, though she was grumpy and didn’t want to go to bed. Two hours later she was throwing up on the living room carpet and had a temperature of one hundred and three. That could happen to Billy and if it does, I want him right here.”
“Bud gets sick, the school calls and you or I go get him,” Mitch fired back.
Yes, my blood pressure was definitely ratcheting higher and that was why I put my hands on my hips, leaned into him and snapped, “That would be a waste of time too.”
“Baby, they’re both going to school,” Mitch announced.
“Honey, they are not,” I decreed.
Mitch glared at me. I glared back.
Then he said, “Just for the record, sweetheart, I’ve decided I like the Mara who lives in her own world and ums and uhs and doesn’t hand me attitude. Let’s go back to her.”
After that, I replied, “Just for the record, honey lumpkin, I know why you like the Mara who lives in her own world because that Mara lets you have your way. But when I’m worried about my kids, and you disagree with me, we’re not going back to her. And, by the way, I’ll remind you, yesterday you promised we’d be a team and talk about decisions regarding the kids.”
“Uh…baby,” he looked around and my glare heated when I noted he was looking around sarcastically, then his eyes hit mine and he stated, “That’s what we’re doin’. We’re talkin’.”
Luckily before I exploded, at this point Penny butted in and she did this by saying, “Can I just say, I freaking love this.”
“Not as much as me, sweetie,” Mrs. Lawson added and my eyes snapped to them to see they were both smiling huge.
Before I could freak out that I forgot my audience, Mitch spoke.
“Maybe one of you can make yourself useful and go wake up Billie so she can shower and get ready for school,” he suggested toward his mother and sister in a way that it was no suggestion at all.
“Please don’t,” I put in quickly. “She needs her rest and, not to be rude, she doesn’t know either of you and I don’t want her to be alarmed.”
Mitch’s eyes sliced back to me and he growled, “Mara.”
I couldn’t growl but I tried my best and returned, “Mitch.”
“How about I make myself useful by being the voice of experience and saying, sorry, Mara but Mitch’s right, she’ll probably be okay,” Penny stated, I bit my lip and her eyes went to her brother. “But I’m more sorry, Mitch because Mara’s more right. She’ll probably be okay but if it was one of my kids and they were puking their guts out and had a fever, no way they’d be in school the next day.” Then her eyes turned to Billy and her face gentled. “And even sorrier for you, honey, because, if you were my kid, I’d make you go and come get you if you got sick.”
“That’s what I’d do too,” Mrs. Lawson agreed.
“I’m good with going to school,” Billy chimed in and my gaze went to him because his eyes not five minutes ago lit with delight at the thought of missing school and anyway, what kid was good with going to school?
“That settles it,” Mitch decided and I looked back to him. “Sorted,” he finished, turned to the cupboard and pulled out the box of oatmeal while I watched and as I processed what was happening in my head, I realized I was also seething.
Then I asked Mitch’s back, “Did our discussion yesterday about teamwork penetrate…” I hesitated for emphasis before finishing, “at all?”
He put the oatmeal box down and turned to me. I glared into his dancing, beautiful, fathomless, dark brown eyes then suddenly found myself crushed to his long, hard body, his strong arms caging me in.
In my ear, he muttered his answer. “Yes but also kind of no.”
“I didn’t think so,” I returned acidly, my hands at his waist pushing back.
His head lifted up, he smiled down at me and asked, “You want oatmeal?”
I glared up at him and I really wanted to say no and there were a lot of other things I really wanted to say. But I couldn’t because firstly, his mother and sister were there and secondly, I’d had his oatmeal yesterday, he squirted maple syrup in it mid-nuke and it was really good.
“Yes,” I snapped.
His smile got bigger, he gave me a squeeze, let me go and turned to the oatmeal. I turned to my coffee mug which was sitting in front of Billy. That was when I saw Mrs. Lawson and Penny, still smiling huge, and Billy, his eyes going from me to Mitch and back again, his expression again fifty years older than he was.
I decided to ignore all of this and concentrate on caffeine.
It was the best decision I’d made all morning.
Chapter Nineteen
Harsh, Bright Light of Mara World
I stared at myself in Mitch’s bathroom mirror.
Seeing all that was me, I realized I’d made a huge mistake. Huge. Enormous.
My eyes moved over my made up face. Then they moved over the hair I’d curled into big soft curls and let fall around my shoulders. Then they took in the silky, sapphire-colored, blousy top I had on that came up in gathers to my neck and wrapped around with a wide sash which tied at the back of my neck, totally exposing my shoulders, arms and back. And last they took in the nice jeans and awesome silver belt I was wearing.
And I knew.
I knew I couldn’t do this. I had to rectify my mistake.
I heard the front door open.
Mitch was back from taking the kids to Penny’s. We were going out to dinner.
So that meant I had to rectify my mistake now.
* * * * *
I was clueless at the best of times but apparently when my life was in turmoil, something that hadn’t happened since I’d moved away from my crazy, mean Mom, it hadn’t happened because I guarded against it every second of every day, I was even more clueless.
But two days before I’d woken up in a dream come true after a night that included spending time with Mitch on the couch which was (almost) a different kind of dream come true. I fought it but not hard enough. It lulled me, sneaking up on me, taking over my safe cocoon and wrapping me in one that felt safer, snugger, warmer and much, much better.
* * * * *
The morning Mitch’s Mom and sister came over, Mitch made oatmeal while decreeing he was taking Billy to school. He did this again without discussing it with me. Then again, he was going out, I had Billie to look after so I didn’t argue since his bossy edict made sense.