Those two imps eyed their mother, expressions rife with mischief. Without saying a word, Rory and Tatum leaped.
Melanie screeched, “Demon spawn!” and the boys laughed. The two mini acrobats bounced on the sofa cushions, not at all repentant.
It was hard not to smile, so Renny averted her head, lest the children see her amusement. She sought out her son, Luke, and found that he sat in the corner at the play table, head bent as he scribbled away. She stared at him for a moment, but he never looked up. He ignored her. It was so obvious by the tight set of his shoulders and the furious stroke of his crayon.
Her son was mad at her, and with good reason. She was late. Again.
I won’t be winning the mother of the year award. But in her defense, she worked two jobs, and neither of them would cut her slack. “We’re short staffed, which means you need to work later today.” Saying no wasn’t an option when she needed that money to survive.
However, she did long for the day that she could tell Benny at the supermarket to take his job as a cashier and shove it in a very nasty spot. As for her nighttime waitressing, despite the late hours, that job she enjoyed, even if some nights her ass was slapped a few too many times for her liking. At least those nights meant good tips.
Renny snuck up behind her best friend, counting on the chortles from the twins to hide her approach.
Then she made Melanie jump. “Having fun again, are we? And yet you’re thinking of popping the third?”
Visibly jarred, Melanie whirled. “Dammit, Renny, don’t sneak up on me like that. I think I just wet myself.”
The twins took that moment to listen to their mother, and their mouths made the roundest O of surprise, but not for long before they went into spasms of giggles, Rory chortling, “Mommy peed her pants.” A pause then a yell from Tatum, “Again.”
Melanie glared at her brood. “It’s a good thing you’re cute or else...”
Before anyone could think Melanie was a witch of a mother, it should be noted that she doted on those boys, and while she did mock-threaten them, she was the first to encourage them to explore the world. In other words, climb. Just not the furniture in the house. Her poor curtain rods couldn’t handle any more abuse.
“Tickle monster attack!” Melanie yelled before diving at her boys. They scattered, high-pitched squeals along with the thump of bare feet on wood floors. Her friend wiped her arm across her forehead. “Whew. Those two are way too full of piss and vinegar today.”
“A little wound up, were they?”
“More like unhinged,” Melanie grumbled. “Must mean a storm is coming.”
“When isn’t a storm coming?”
“Good point. Given the silence, I’ve only got another minute or two before I need to hunt them down. The last time they disappeared for more than five minutes and were quiet, they slathered hand soap in the hallway and were using it as a slip and slide.”
The antics of Rory and Tatum never failed to entertain. Luke didn’t tend to such wildness, although, of late, his moods were more erratic. “How was Luke today?” Renny asked before kneeling by her son. He pointedly ignored her, the crayon dropped on the table so that he could thumb his Nintendo DS. He loved that toy, which made the scrimping she’d done to get it for him for Christmas worthwhile. But while he loved the game, it was now also a weapon he used to shut her out.
Ever since he’d begun school, her son had changed. Her shy and cuddly son now no longer wanted her to hold his hand in public, and he no longer crawled into her lap for stories.
He’s only four. So young, and yet very much his own person. A little man without the guidance of a father, something he’d only begun to notice.
His immersion in the big wide world of the public school system meant he got to see how the world worked. How other families lived. Not quite five years old, but perceptive for his age, he’d finally asked her not long ago the one question she never wanted to answer.
“Who’s my daddy?”
“Why do you want to know?”
Luke had fixed her with a stare. “Other kids have a daddy. Who’s mine?”
Did a no-good jerk who’d taken off and never looked back count? What about a guy who couldn’t run away fast enough, breaking her heart while, at the same time, leaving her the biggest trial and treasure of all?
A son.
A son who had resorted to the silent treatment when she copped out and said, “I’ll tell you when you’re older.” Weak. So weak.
Parenting fail, and yet telling him the truth now would not change anything.
For all intents and purpose, Luke’s daddy was—
“Did you hear? Caleb’s back in town.”