thin.”
“The divorce settlement should help you out, though.”
Carrie’s laugh reverberated through the room. “ If Dave’s payments come like they’re supposed to, my car note and school loan will be taken care of. Rent, food, fuel, and utilities will eat up the rest of my income. But, it’s wintertime, and plant work is kind of lean. I’m scratching to make ends meet now, and I’ll be scratching even more if I can ever move out.”
“Well, if he skips a note, throw his ass in jail.”
“Yeah, that’d go over big with my kids.”
“I’d do it.”
Carrie frowned and pushed away from the counter. “That’s because they’re not your kids. Besides, none of this is your concern, is it?”
“Carrie...”
She ignored what she assumed would be yet, another apology, and left him alone in the kitchen. Would she ever learn her lesson when it came to men?
***
She pulled up next to her mailbox at the end of the driveway, groaning at the sight of Dave’s truck parked in the drive. After collecting the stack of bills out of the box, she parked under the carport. She hauled her things inside and kicked her shoes off at the door, sliding her feet into the pair of warm, fuzzy slippers she kept there.
Carrie shivered at the nip in the air, but rather than raise the thermostat, she shuffled into her bedroom for a sweater to throw over her shirt. Still no visual on Dave.
She listened at the twins’ door and heard the steady beat of a pop tune from inside the room. She knocked once then poked her head inside.
Gretchen sat propped up against her headboard, reading a library book, while Lauren lay on her stomach atop her bedspread, doing math homework.
“Hey, Mom,” they said, as usual, in perfect unison.
Carrie smiled and walked into the room, searching for any hints of disturbance from her daughters. “Everything all right?” she asked, studying them carefully.
“Everything’s fine,” Gretchen told her. Carrie smiled at her daughter’s relaxed demeanor. She turned to the other twin, whose body language told a different story...pencil clenched tightly in her right hand, forehead resting on the open palm of her left hand, as she bit down on her lower lip.
“Lauren, are you all right?” Her daughter turned her huge brown eyes, so like her father’s, toward her, and lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug.
“Are you upset about something?” Carrie stepped over to sit on her daughter’s bed.
Without saying a word, Lauren closed her eyes and dropped her forehead on Carrie’s shoulder. A sound from the doorway alerted Carrie to Dave’s presence.
“Of course she’s upset. You broke up the family.”
Carrie wrapped her daughter in a hug, but ignored his calculated words. “It’ll be fine, Lauren. How’d your appointment with the school counselor go this morning?”
Lauren sniffed and wiped her eyes. “It was okay. She said lots of kids feel like this when their parents get divorced. But Gretchen and Grant don’t.”
“No two people handle situations the same way, honey. You’ll see in time. Until then, I’m here if you want to talk.”
Lauren made a half-hearted attempt to smile.
Carrie rose from the bed and turned toward the doorway where Dave stood, arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. She pushed him away from the entrance and pulled her daughters’ bedroom door shut on her way to the kitchen.
“You heard any more about that rent house?”
She stopped and threw back an annoyed look. “It’s still not available until January fifteenth.”
He sent her a scathing look. “Well, I thought you’d have had your family trying to pull some strings to get you in there sooner. I know they all hate me.”
She walked into the kitchen to start supper. “They don’t hate you, Dave.” Within two minutes, she had a package of thawed ground round frying, a pot of water heating for pasta, and two jars of spaghetti sauce sitting on the counter, ready to be opened and added to
“The divorce settlement should help you out, though.”
Carrie’s laugh reverberated through the room. “ If Dave’s payments come like they’re supposed to, my car note and school loan will be taken care of. Rent, food, fuel, and utilities will eat up the rest of my income. But, it’s wintertime, and plant work is kind of lean. I’m scratching to make ends meet now, and I’ll be scratching even more if I can ever move out.”
“Well, if he skips a note, throw his ass in jail.”
“Yeah, that’d go over big with my kids.”
“I’d do it.”
Carrie frowned and pushed away from the counter. “That’s because they’re not your kids. Besides, none of this is your concern, is it?”
“Carrie...”
She ignored what she assumed would be yet, another apology, and left him alone in the kitchen. Would she ever learn her lesson when it came to men?
***
She pulled up next to her mailbox at the end of the driveway, groaning at the sight of Dave’s truck parked in the drive. After collecting the stack of bills out of the box, she parked under the carport. She hauled her things inside and kicked her shoes off at the door, sliding her feet into the pair of warm, fuzzy slippers she kept there.
Carrie shivered at the nip in the air, but rather than raise the thermostat, she shuffled into her bedroom for a sweater to throw over her shirt. Still no visual on Dave.
She listened at the twins’ door and heard the steady beat of a pop tune from inside the room. She knocked once then poked her head inside.
Gretchen sat propped up against her headboard, reading a library book, while Lauren lay on her stomach atop her bedspread, doing math homework.
“Hey, Mom,” they said, as usual, in perfect unison.
Carrie smiled and walked into the room, searching for any hints of disturbance from her daughters. “Everything all right?” she asked, studying them carefully.
“Everything’s fine,” Gretchen told her. Carrie smiled at her daughter’s relaxed demeanor. She turned to the other twin, whose body language told a different story...pencil clenched tightly in her right hand, forehead resting on the open palm of her left hand, as she bit down on her lower lip.
“Lauren, are you all right?” Her daughter turned her huge brown eyes, so like her father’s, toward her, and lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug.
“Are you upset about something?” Carrie stepped over to sit on her daughter’s bed.
Without saying a word, Lauren closed her eyes and dropped her forehead on Carrie’s shoulder. A sound from the doorway alerted Carrie to Dave’s presence.
“Of course she’s upset. You broke up the family.”
Carrie wrapped her daughter in a hug, but ignored his calculated words. “It’ll be fine, Lauren. How’d your appointment with the school counselor go this morning?”
Lauren sniffed and wiped her eyes. “It was okay. She said lots of kids feel like this when their parents get divorced. But Gretchen and Grant don’t.”
“No two people handle situations the same way, honey. You’ll see in time. Until then, I’m here if you want to talk.”
Lauren made a half-hearted attempt to smile.
Carrie rose from the bed and turned toward the doorway where Dave stood, arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. She pushed him away from the entrance and pulled her daughters’ bedroom door shut on her way to the kitchen.
“You heard any more about that rent house?”
She stopped and threw back an annoyed look. “It’s still not available until January fifteenth.”
He sent her a scathing look. “Well, I thought you’d have had your family trying to pull some strings to get you in there sooner. I know they all hate me.”
She walked into the kitchen to start supper. “They don’t hate you, Dave.” Within two minutes, she had a package of thawed ground round frying, a pot of water heating for pasta, and two jars of spaghetti sauce sitting on the counter, ready to be opened and added to
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