"Milk or coffee?" Andrea asked.
"Yes, please?"
Andrea howled with laughter again. "Then milk and coffee it is. Would you grab a couple of glasses from that cupboard? And mugs are in the next one over."
"Do you want plates?"
"Nah. Napkins are on the hutch. That's all we need, right?"
"You are so good for me."
"Now, tell me about these friends of yours who thought they needed to tell you how to live your life?" Andrea said, putting the coffee pot and jug of milk on the table after Polly hurriedly moved papers out of the way.
"Oh, they're such good friends. They want me to be okay."
"I think you're doing fine. It's not like this period of your life is going to last forever." Andrea tilted her head and smiled at Polly. "But with you, maybe it will. Once half of your family leaves, you'll fill it back up with more. I can't see you living the quiet life with no one around to take care of."
"That's what I tried to tell them. This is only temporary. I wasn't this bad before January and once a few things get settled down, I'll have more time again." She smiled. "Tab doesn't have any kids."
"Tab Hudson?"
Polly nodded.
"She's such a nice girl. Do you know that she checks in with Cilla on a regular basis? Just to make sure she's doing okay? It's a no big deal thing, either. She doesn't make a production out of it, she just checks in."
"I had no idea. That's wonderful. And that would be Tab. Joss is the most organized woman on the planet, I swear. I don't know how she does it, but that chick has six kids and her house is never out of control. She's happy, she has happy kids, she has a happy husband and a happy dog. She's totally in her element."
"I hate her," Andrea said.
"It would be easy to except that she's the sweetest person alive."
"You're going over tomorrow night, aren't you?" Andrea asked.
Polly nodded. "We wouldn’t miss Nate's birthday party."
"He's been so good to Kirk. Not just at that shop of his either. Last month, he questioned us about a new med one of the docs prescribed for Kirk. Sure enough, it was going to mess with something else Kirk was already taking." Andrea sighed. "It's things like that right there that make me so thankful to be in a small town. He didn't tell us Kirk couldn't take it, but told us to ask more questions. He has my undying gratitude for that alone, but there's so much more. Kirk really likes him. Says he knows a lot about cars and has a fantastic shop. I think if Kirk could spend every day there working on a car, he'd be happy."
"Does he want to work in a garage?"
Andrea shook her head. "He couldn't work for someone else. Not right now anyway. If he had to deal with the pressure of a paycheck, I don't think he'd be able to function. I'm going to be really glad when we get that room built on back there. I want to move him away from the main part of the house. He wakes up screaming some nights. The kids know that he's going to be okay, but how hard would that be, waking up to your dad totally freaking out?"
"How hard is it on you?"
Andrea rolled her eyes. "It ain't easy, but I know how to take care of him now. I just have to talk to him and bring him all the way awake. It usually takes a while for him to calm down, but some of the new meds are helping him sleep better. We'll get through this."
"It's only temporary, right?"
"I hope so. We'll probably always have something to manage through with him, but it's okay. I'm just glad he's home and alive." She smiled at Polly. "And I'm really glad we moved to Bellingwood. Enough about me. You came over because you needed to bend my ear. What are you going to do about your friends and family thinking you are incapable of running your own life?"
Polly laughed. "It’s not all that bad. I felt a little put-upon today. Henry's been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to talk to him."
"Yeah, about that," Andrea said. "Did you really find a dead body at one of his work sites? How did that go?"
"Not so well. It was someone he planned to hire."
"Get out."
"Not without another couple of cookies."
Andrea cackled. "Does it freak him out when you find a body?"
"This one really pushed him to the edge mostly because he recognized the guy. We were supposed to meet him for lunch. Henry was furious when he didn't show up and then he felt guilty that the guy had been lying there dead. Can't be mad at the poor man for that."
"Well, you can. It's just not an extremely healthy response. Do you have any idea what happened?"
"Someone popped him upside the head, killed him, and wrapped him in the plastic sheeting that had covered one of the new salon chairs."
"Nice. But no suspects?"
Polly shrugged. "Tons of people have access to that place. The sheriff's department is working on it."
Her phone buzzed with a call and she looked at the screen. "This is my mother-in-law. Do you mind?"
Andrea smiled.
"Hello?" Polly said.
"Hi, Polly. We're on our way home. Jessie is fine. They think we should keep an eye on her, so she and Molly are spending the night, but I believe Bill is worrying too much."
"I'm so glad to hear that. Thank you."
"How's Molly? Has she been any trouble? I'm so sorry for calling you in at the last minute like that. I didn't even think to wonder if you had something else going on."
"No problem. She and Cassidy are playing with Hayden and Cat this afternoon. They're going to make the girls lunch and put them down for a nap. Do you want her to come back before then?"
"If you want to wait until after the nap, that would be terrific," Marie said. "It will give us a little time to run over to Jessie's house so she can pack a bag. Thank you again."
"I'm glad to. Send me a text when you're settled at your house."
"I will, dear."
Polly put her phone back down and sighed. "She doesn't think I'm incapable of handling things either. Thank goodness."
Andrea laughed. "Girlfriend, you need to be okay with the mess in your house and in your life. If you want someone else to clean it up, pay 'em to do just that. Otherwise, let it be what it is."
"I'm just going to have to come over here every once in a while, so you can remind me that I haven't lost my mojo."
"Don't know much about your mojo, but as long as you love your babies and keep your sanity, you have nothing to worry about."
"Not so sure about my sanity."
"Yes, you are," Andrea said. "Now dunk your Oreo and stop talking."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Texts from Cilla and Rebecca had been flying in to Polly during their trip home on the school bus. Instead of the girls cooking dinner tonight, she and Andrea were putting together hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, and potato chips. The girls had lost their heart for it when Kayla couldn't come over.
Cat had taken Molly back to Marie and Bill Sturtz's house, then stopped at the grocery store for potato salad and baked beans. Andrea and Polly would cobble the rest together from their pantries and Hayden would grill the meat.
Andrea and Polly had also discussed the automobile situation, something they'd never really thought about as a team effort. But as they considered it, things began to come together. It was one thing to decide that the girls would work at home and earn the money needed to purchase two cars, but since the two were nearly always together, they considered allowing them to split the costs of running just one vehicle.
Once Polly, Henry, Kirk, and Andrea had time to discuss it, they thought that it would make sense for Rebecca to own a car. The girls would split regular maintenance, gas, and insurance would be split. Anything that was above and beyond oil changes and basic repair would be on Polly and Henry since it was their vehicle. If Kirk and Henry could fix it at Nate's garage, that would be even better.
The girls were already talking about summer jobs, but Rebecca was also planning a trip to the Pacific Northwest with Beryl. It was one area of the US that Beryl had never visited. Several clien
ts who purchased her work on the east coast had contacts that thought having one or two galleries on the west coast show Beryl's work would be a grand idea. She was pretty pleased with the idea of her work showing coast to coast.
The older girls were in the kitchen while Polly was upstairs with a worn out four-year-old little girl. Naptime hadn't gone quite as anyone planned. Cassidy and Molly hadn't been interested in sleeping and instead, climbed out of bed to play every time Cat left them alone. She hadn't yet learned that she needed to stay with them until they were asleep. It was one thing to allow Cassidy to work it out on her own, but if she had a playmate, nothing would go as planned.
Cat had taken an exhausted Molly to Bill and Marie's house, while Polly prayed that Cassidy wouldn’t melt down. Her prayers had gone unanswered. The boys had come home from school, all excited for the beginning of their spring break. They were also antsy to get out of the house and down to see their friends at the nursing home.
Poor Cat had gone from one crazy minute to the next, Hayden trailing along helpless beside her, doing his best to corral the energy that the four boys brought home with them.
Polly only felt a little ornery at letting them deal with that mess. She'd started to scold the boys when they came into the kitchen, leaving their coats, shoes and backpacks in piles on the back porch, but Cat had jumped in. It was the right thing to do, she was trying to reestablish herself as a caregiver after having been away from them for a couple of weeks. So Polly walked away, not about to usurp Cat's authority. The only problem was, the boys weren't their normal selves today and Cat hadn't put that together. It wasn’t even just the fact that they were looking forward to spring break. Elijah was overexcited at the idea of his friends coming for dinner, he was happy to see Rebecca and Cilla, he didn't want to listen to Cat, and he grumped when she pushed him hard.
Noah had obediently put his things where they belonged, took a book from his backpack and headed to one of the sofas in the kitchen. He knew they were leaving to go to the nursing home, but waiting for everyone to get their act together was a good time to get some reading in. When he wouldn't help his younger brothers, Cat had gotten frustrated and there had been words.
Polly had stood in the doorway of her office, out of sight. If Cat and Hayden had needed her to intervene, she would have. Poor Cat. Her timing for giving Polly a lecture today couldn't have been worse and Polly tried to hold back the evil side of her that wanted to grin as the reality of five kids smacked the girl hard.
Caleb and JaRon were probably in the worst shape of all. Evidently, JaRon had gotten into trouble with his teacher for not listening. Polly hadn't seen that email yet. It truly was all about the excitement of spring break. He’d gotten a little extra loud and ended up in the hall when he wouldn't quiet down. Now he was terrified of Polly’s response. At least the boys no longer worried that she would make them go away. He did worry, though, that there would be cleaning consequences.
Caleb. Well, Caleb regularly had trouble controlling his anger at school. He was getting better, but it wasn't ever going to be easy for him. Anger had been his only protection when his life was out of control. He'd gotten mad at a couple of boys on the playground today and lost his recess privilege. He was still angry about that. It just wasn't fair. The only problem was, at his house, unless he had a very good explanation for why the teacher had been wrong to punish him, he'd never get away with it.
She smiled as she thought about the extra cleaning that would happen in the house this weekend.
Once Cat and Hayden put a little bit of a snack in the boys’ tummies and gotten their clothes changed, they were all off to the nursing home. The nurses and aides had started asking the boys to help with some of the residents during meal times. All they did was make sure people had everything they needed. They weren’t responsible for handling food, but if someone needed something extra or dropped a fork or needed an extra napkin, the boys were there to be hands and feet. They helped clear tables and spent time playing games or doing any number of things with their friends. Noah had a few friends who loved for him to read out loud. Cat described afternoons when he'd gather a large group of people around, all intently listening to the stories he had to share. Polly still couldn't believe her boys were willing to be part of those people's lives. What a gift for both groups.
Poor Cassidy lost it when everyone left without her. It wasn't like she hadn't experienced this before. It happened every week. Generally, she didn't care, but today her emotions boiled over and she'd thrown a tantrum in the middle of the kitchen floor when she realized she couldn't go. Polly finally got her upstairs and out of the way of Rebecca and Cilla.
One of Cassidy's biggest issues was her inability to fully express herself. After she cried herself out, Polly drew a warm bath. While her daughter played in the tub in her bathroom, Polly cleaned. She hadn't given this room enough attention in a while, so she started in the shower. By the time she was wiping down the sinks, Cassidy was ready to get out. Two birds with one stone. Yay.
They were in Cassidy's room picking out something to wear for the evening when Polly heard footsteps coming down the hall.
"Try those on," she said, pointing to a pair of red plaid pants. "I think they'll fit." Cassidy's little body was changing again. Pants were too big or too short.
Polly stuck her head out of the bedroom and grinned. "You're home early."
Henry laughed. "If you want to call five thirty early, yes I am."
"Is Heath home, too?"
"I told him to call his girlfriend. Rebecca tells me we're having dinner with Andrea’s family."
"You have a text from me," Polly said. "I tried to let you know."
He looked down at the phone in its holster. "I can't believe I didn't check. I'm really sorry."
"It's okay. It's just been one of those crazy days. We're going to grill and eat picnic food."
"Kirk's coming over, too?"
"I think so. He was helping his parents with something today, but Andrea expected him to be home in plenty of time."
Henry nodded. "That's great. I want to talk to him about helping with the Woodies. They're going out to Joss and Nate's tomorrow for the party, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Will we lose you guys to the garage?"
"Doubt it. Joss kinda laid down the law. She told Nate it was his birthday and he couldn't hide out with his cronies." Henry grinned. "I'm somebody's crony now. I kinda like that. When is everyone showing up?"
"It's five-thirty now?"
He nodded.
"Hayden and Cat should be back any minute with the boys. He's doing the grilling tonight."
"We can all help."
"The girls are getting everything else ready. I told Andrea to come over between six thirty and seven. Will that work?"
"Perfect. Time for a shower."
"I scrubbed it clean," she said with a smile.
He frowned. "Our shower? That's kind of impressive."
"I'm embarrassed that you're impressed. Cassidy needed a warm bath, so while she played in the tub, I cleaned."
"Well, then, I can't wait. Now, where are those older kids so you can come play with me in the shower?"
Polly cackled. "No time for that."
"There's always time for that. I've missed you."
She leaned into a hug. "I love you very much," she whispered, "but you haven't had time for that in the last few weeks."
"What you're saying is that it isn't fair of me to suddenly have time when you have other things to do."
"That's not what I'm saying at all," Polly said. "In fact, it hadn't even crossed my mind. But okay, yeah. If I wasn't worried about the world dropping in on us this evening, I'd have time."
"I'll just go take my shower." He started down the hallway, then stopped and came back. Peeking in Cassidy's room, he waved at the little girl. "Hi there."
She smiled and waved at him.
He kissed Polly's forehead again. "Everything okay with you?"
"Don't tel
l me I look worn out or stressed out or wigged out or any other outs," she said.
"No, you're beautiful. You said it was a crazy day, the girls are in the kitchen, Cassidy had a warm bath, and you and Andrea planned a dinner together. You fell asleep early last night and you never did call me about Jessie today."
"I didn't?" Polly asked. "I meant to. Sorry." She stopped to think. "I was at Andrea's when Marie called. Then Cat took Molly home. I totally forgot. I'm sorry. Things are okay. I have a lot of things I want to tell you, but none of it is life-threatening or even really important."
He chuckled. "I feel the same way. I realized this afternoon how much stress washes away from me when I tell you about the crazy things that happened to me during the day and when I listen to you tell me about your day. It's like the planets re-align. We haven't had time for that. I know it's on me."
"Not really. It's on me, too. It'll be okay. Go get cleaned up."
~~~
"I'll take her," Hayden whispered to Polly.
She smiled down at the sleeping Cassidy in her arms.
"You sure? She's a chunk. And right now, she's dead weight."
He flexed his arm. "I can do this."
"We need to check on the boys anyway," Cat said. "If you don't mind, I think we'll stay upstairs."
"That's wonderful. Thank you two for everything," Polly said. "Good night."
Good nights echoed from around the dining room.
"We should probably think about getting home," Andrea said. "The kids promised they would go to bed, but if I know them, they're in our room watching television."
"Let 'em watch," Kirk said. "It's Friday night."
Andrea turned to Justin. "You set them up in there, didn't you?"
He didn't say anything and she shook her head. "You're carrying the girls up to their rooms, then. They'll be sound asleep when we get home."
Justin glanced at the doorway where Hayden and Cat had just left and, grinning at his mother, flexed his arms.
"He thinks he's adorable," Cilla said.
"I am," Justin retorted. "Everybody thinks so." He glanced at Rebecca, something he'd been doing all evening.
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