“I would love it if you guys didn’t have babysitters and let me keep my own grandkids, but seeing as you won’t, I have to take advantage of when my grandbabies need me.”
“Alright, you can keep her home with you today. But no going out, Mom, like you said, she’s cranky and needs to be surrounded by familiar things today.”
“Emory, I raised three girls, I think I know when a baby needs to be kept home, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, Mom.” Wow I’m guessing this is a touchy subject for her. Or someone else is a bit cranky themselves from lack of sleep. She isn’t a spring chicken anymore, even though you can’t tell her that. Shyann begins to stir in my arms, so I begin to rock her hoping to lull her back to sleep. She needs to make up for the many missing hours from the night before. Her eyes flutter open, she smiles at me then closes her eyes again. When her breathing evens back out, I relax and finish drinking my much-needed caffeine.
This has been a long-ass shift and I am dead on my feet. I hope our little princess is feeling better and allows me to get some desperately needed sleep tonight. One more night on my own, other than Mom, and it’s Marcus’ turn to get up with her at night. I’m feeling drained, and knowing it’s a side effect of my meds, makes me realize that I’ll be feeling this way until I get the all-clear sign from my doctor, and can get off these meds.
I pull into my driveway and don’t have the strength to even exit the car. I lay my head on the steering wheel and beg for energy. Marcus has been so understanding about everything I’m going through. I just want to cry, but I know I need to stay strong and keep positive thoughts. I have a little girl depending on me to be there for her. I don’t have time for a pity party for one. I have to keep wearing my game face, and not let everyone know how truly scared and worried I am. I called Dr. Tremaine’s office today and told them about my exhaustion. They’ve recommended I add some vitamins to accompany my daily dose and they’ve also advised I get more sleep. I wanted to laugh at that, what new mother, and that’s what I consider myself, has time to sleep, work the hours I do, and still maintain a household?
I lay my head on the steering wheel, thinking a few minutes with my eyes closed will help me.
Glory
I see the headlights come into the driveway and go to heat up some leftovers from dinner for my baby girl. She puts too much on her shoulders and puts on a brave face, but I know my girls and I know she’s struggling. She may be able to fool everyone else, but she can’t pull the wool over my eyes, I’m her mother. As soon as her dinner has heated up, I remove it from the microwave and look over at the door with concern, she should’ve already come inside. I open the front door and see her silhouette in the car. I walk up to the car and see her sleeping, she has her head laying on her steering wheel and is out for the count. I can’t leave her out here, I go to lift the handle to the car, but it’s locked. I start knocking on the window, but she doesn’t budge. I begin banging and calling out her name, still nothing. Fear takes over and I begin screaming at the top of my lungs.
She finally lifts her head and peers at me through slanted eyes. I can see the fog coating her irises from just the few minutes of sleep she’s gotten sitting in her car. “Come on, sweet girl,” I coax her, “come inside and let’s get you into bed.” She shakes her head to wake herself some, then reaches over and grabs her bag and opens the car door.
“Sorry, Mom,” she whispers out.
“You scared me,” I tell her.
“I was just resting my eyes for a few minutes, I’m alright.”
Lies! All lies she tells to keep us all in the dark as to how she’s actually feeling. “I think a couple days off is what you need,” I tell her, in my stern motherly voice.
“I can’t take off, we’re booked solid for the next week. None of us can take any time off. It will leave the others blindsided, and I won’t do that to them.”
“We’ll see about that,” I say to her. As soon as I have her settled in bed, I pick up the phone and call Ariel. If anyone can talk her into taking a few days off it will be the one daughter who takes no shit and will put her foot down. Especially when it comes to her sister’s health.
“Mom? Is everything alright?”
“It most certainly is not,” I reply.
“What is it?” She sounds frantic, as she should be.
“I saw your sister’s car pull up tonight, warmed up a plate for her and was waiting for her to come in. When I realized that she hadn’t I went out to her car. I called her name, tapped on her window, it took me screaming and banging on the window to get her to wake up. I told her she needed a day off…and she’s refused. Says she wouldn’t put y’all in a bind like that.”
“I noticed she looked really tired today. I asked her about it and she spewed some bullshit about how she was just a little tired from being up with Shy-shy last night because she was teething.”
“Shyann is teething and was up, but Emory got sleep, I made sure of it. It’s these meds she’s on, Ariel, they have her wiped. She needs to rest—her body needs time to fight this. She will never get better if she doesn’t rest and relax more.”
“I agree, I’m giving her the next week off. I’ll call Marcus and tell him about her episode and the fact that she’s not letting any of us know when she needs a break.”
“Sounds good, baby. I’ll talk to you later. I need to go check on Emory and Shyann. Love you,” I say before hanging up the phone. Emory will start taking better care of herself, she can either do it on her own, or we’ll force her hand.
Chapter 10
Marcus
Love is gentle, love is kind, love is patience…
It’s late at night, or early in the morning. Depends on the person, we’ve just gotten back from a house fire and are sitting around the common room waiting on the adrenaline to calm down in our bodies. It was a good call, if there is such a thing, we got everyone out of the home safely and got the fire out before it was able to spread to the neighboring homes. I’m talking to Jensen about our lack of progress with finding out about our old unit when my phone rings. Looking at the screen has me on instant alert, Dillon is calling…odd.
“Yo, man. What’s up?”
“Ariel just got a call from Glory.” I hear his car starting up.
“Why? What’s happened?” I know it’s one of my girls, but which one?
“Emory had an episode, I’m on my way over, at my woman’s insistence, to check on her.”
“Episode? Define episode for me here, Dillon.”
“She was exhausted from her day and couldn’t even gather the strength to get out of the car. She fell asleep and it took Glory beating on the car and screaming out her name to wake her. I’m going to go check her vitals and inform her she has the next week off work. Ariel was going to call you, but Devon woke up, so I told her I’d give you a heads up on the situation.”
“She’s so fucking willful and hard headed,” I tell him.
“She’s a Masters woman, what do you expect?” he asks, attempting to lighten the mood some. It isn’t working, I can’t get off and go check on her which has me upset.
“Will you call me, after you exam her? I’ll wait up for your call.”
“You got it, man.” We disconnect, and I tell Jensen about what was said.
“Your woman is a ball buster. She’s always on the go, she needs to think about her future and her health.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I tell him.
We pull out a deck of cards and play a few hands of Texas Hold ‘em, to keep my mind occupied for the time being.
Emory
I wake to something bright shining in my eyes. “What the fuck!” I open my eyes wider and see Dillon shining a light into my eyes. “Get that thing away from me, Dillon!” I say, batting his hand away.
“You’re not taking care of yourself, Emory. You’re dehydrated and the bags under your eyes say you aren’t getting enough sleep. My recommendation is to take at minimum at least two-weeks
off work and let your body rest and recuperate.”
“I can’t take two weeks away from the shop! We’re booked solid.”
“Ariel says whatever my recommendation for you is will apply, and is what she’ll go with. So the next couple of weeks it is, don’t even try to walk through those doors or you’ll be dealing with an enraged sister…just saying.”
“Did you two really have to involve her? I’ll never have any peace and quiet now,” I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Yes, and I’ve called your man who is waiting on a return call from me as we speak. Drink tons of fluids and get plenty of rest, which I’m sure was recommended to you already,” he says, packing up his bag.
“I called today, they also recommended some multivitamins be added to my regimen of medications,” I stubbornly inform them, since Mom has come into the bedroom and has been watching him work on me. Traitors. All of them.
“Should’ve already been taking those.” He gives me his best ‘doctor look’ at which I roll my eyes.
“Whatever you say, doctor.”
“Get some rest,” he says, patting my leg.
“That’s what I was doing before you woke me up.”
“Smartass, stubborn, hard-headed Masters women,” he mumbles under his breath.
“Oooh, I’m telling my sister you said that,” I say with laughter in my voice.
“You do that, I tell her all the time, so she’s used to hearing it.”
Marcus
One week later…
“Knock, knock,” I hear called out while someone is banging on my bunker door. “Get your ass out here, Marcus, before one of the guys steals your woman and kid,” Jensen hollers out.
“Fucking hell, they better keep their hands to themselves, I’m coming!” I shout back, getting out of bed and into my uniform. It doesn’t surprise me that my fellow firefighters want my woman, she’s gorgeous and Shyann is too cute for any man to resist. These thoughts make me anxious to get outside to my girls. I open the door and Jensen is standing there with a smile on his face.
“Your woman is now our favorite visitor. She brought dinner and a cute kid to entertain the men, not to mention, she’s not so bad on the eyes herself.” I punch him in the shoulder as I pass him.
“Keep your eyes to yourself!” I tell him as I pass him by. “She’s mine, they’re both mine, motherfucker.” He laughs at me, knowing he’s gotten a rise out of me. Which I’m sure was his intention in the first place. Since Emory and I got together, the guys like to razz me about my balls and how they’re securely in her purse. That’s fine, she can have them, they belong to her anyways. I walk out into the common room where she is sitting with Shyann firmly placed in her lap.
“Hey, baby,” I say as I reach her. I lean over and plant a kiss on her lips to let the guys know she is most definitely taken. Then I kiss Shyann’s head and she immediately holds her arms out for me to pick up. I grab her from Em’s lap and sit next to her. Of course, I have to move Jacob over, he’s sitting as close to her as he possibly can. “Get your ass away from my woman,” I tell him.
“All you had to do was tell me to move, asshole. You didn’t have to sit in my lap, you’ve got your woman to snuggle up to, don’t get any ideas where you and I are concerned.”
“Dickhead, have I ever given you the impression I want your ugly mug, when I have this gorgeous woman to go home to every night?” I hear Em giggle at my statement.
“Save us, Emory. He’s one broody asshole when you’re not around,” Jensen tells her.
“Sounds like he’s one even when I’m around,” she says, causing the guys to cackle like a bunch of hyenas.
“Hey,” I say pinching her side, “whose side are you on anyways?”
“Yours, baby, always yours, you know this,” she says, batting her eyelashes my way. I lean over and give her a quick kiss.
“Damn straight you are, Emory.”
“How are you feeling today, Em?”
“I’m feeling really well, in fact I have more energy today than I have in a while.” I take in her appearance and she does seem to have more color to her today than she has lately. “I brought everyone dinner,” she says to me.
“Oh yeah? What did you bring us?”
“Tater tot casserole, homemade biscuits and your favorite string green beans with bacon chunks.”
“Thanks, baby,” I say leaning in to kiss her. I see all the guys get up and head into the kitchen. “Hell no! I’m first, motherfuckers, my woman brought the food, so I get first dibs.”
I hear a round of, “Hurry the fuck up.”
“That’s not cool.”
“We’re fucking starving, man.”
“I’m coming, motherfuckers, pull your big boy britches up,” I say as I make my way to the front of the line, where I stack my plate full.
“Leave some for us,” Jacob calls out.
“Maybe,” I state, as I walk away from the guys. I put enough on my plate so that if Emory or Shyann want some they won’t be left in the cold. These guys will finish it off before she gets a chance to make herself a plate. “Wanna bite?” I ask her as I retake my position next to her.
“No but thank you. Shyann and I ate before we came. I didn’t want her fussy because I didn’t know if we’d have to wait on you or not.”
“Good plan, baby. Now, what made you decide to do this for these nuts?”
“I wanted to do something special for you since you won’t be home for forty-eight hours. We miss you when you’re gone, so it’s for purely selfish reasons on my end.”
“Nothing selfish about wanting to see your man. My Tawny used to do things like that before she passed away,” Chief says, walking into the room.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Emory tells him.
“Thank you, but it was ten years ago.” Chief’s wife, Tawny, died during child birth. She had a brain aneurism and died before she even got the chance to meet their son, Trevor. We all pitch in and help out where we can with the little guy, but mostly his sister-in-law, Taylor, keeps their boy when he works overnights. Otherwise, we all pitch in taking him to ball practice, games—which you’ll find most of us there rooting him on. Or school sometimes, depends on his needs. He won’t let any of us take Trevor for a weekend overnight to give him a break, he tells us he wants to spend as much free time with him as possible. Now that I have Shyann, I understand where he’s coming from.
“Doesn’t ball season begin soon?” I ask him.
“In about six weeks, he’s excited. We’re going to buy him some new cleats when I get off shift. That boy grows like a weed, I can’t keep up with him when it comes to clothes and shoes.”
“That’s what kids do, Chief, they grow so fast that one minute you’re caught up, and the next you’re buying out the department store.” Sam says, entering the common room with a plate of food himself. Sam’s story isn’t as sad as Chief’s is, but his woman gave birth to their son, Chandler, signed away her rights, and walked out the hospital doors without looking back. He keeps to himself and never allows any of us to pitch in and help him in any way.
We sit and bullshit with the guys for the next hour, then it’s time for Emory to get Shyann home, she’s getting cranky. She’s still teething, but it’s not as bothersome to her as it was before. I think we’re getting this parenting shit down. I walk her out to the car, buckle Shyann into her car seat and kiss my woman goodbye. I watch as her car exits the lot and heads down the road. I watch, as a matter of fact, until I can’t see her car any longer. I love my job, but I’m beginning to hate the nights away from my family.
We’re sitting in the waiting room for Em’s appointment. This is the appointment that will let us know if we should up her medication or if her cells are regenerating with her current dosage of meds. Her legs are bouncing up and down in anticipation, she isn’t able to hide the anxiety from her face today, which tells me she’s truly worried it isn’t working. I on the other hand have faith that it’s doing it
s job, because I can’t imagine any part of my life without her being by my side.
“Emory Masters?” The nurse calls her name. We stand up and I take her hand in mine and lace our fingers together. I give her hand a squeeze to remind her I’m here, by her side where I’ll always be. She squeezes back, and I know she’s in the here, and now, with me, and not lost inside of her head somewhere.
“That’s me,” Emory tells her, as we make our way to her.
“Follow me,” she tells us as we fall into step behind her.
We’re led to a corner where there’s a weight scale, and a chair with a blood pressure cuff laying on top of it. I turn my head in a show of respect. Once she’s done getting herself weighed and her blood pressure is taken we’re led into a room.
“The doctor will be with you shortly, are there any issues that have arisen since your last appointment?”
“Other than the drowsiness and exhaustion I can’t think of anything.”
“Same here,” I tell the nurse.
“I see that’s charted in your notes. I’ll let the doctor know you’re ready to see him.”
“Thank you,” we both say in unison. She walks out the door and we look at each other.
“No matter what,” she whispers.
I take her hand in mine and repeat, “No matter what.”
We only sit for a few minutes before there is a knock on the door and Dr. Tremaine comes into the room. I watch him scan the room and his shoulders drop slightly, guess the fact that Glory stayed home with Shyann is a disappointment to him. Oh well, he’ll get over it. In my opinion, he should be going to her instead of the other way around, he should be showing up at the door with flowers and candy and whatever else he can come up with. She deserves to be chased, admired and given one-hundred percent of his attention after everything she’s been through.
Clean Slate: Diva's Ink Page 8