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“Yes,” they collectively chimed. The triplets shared a room. Eventually, Jenny would get her own bedroom, but for now, they were still young enough that they needed to stay together. They each had a single bed lined up against the wall. When Fe first showed the room to Lydia, she’d laughed because it reminded her of the seven dwarves from Snow White. Even the kids’ beds had their names carved intricately at the foot of each bed frame.
Minty fresh, the kids hopped into their respective beds and settled down. Jenny had already pointed to the story they wanted. Three renditions later, Lydia kissed each goodnight and flicked off the light. Only the soft glow of a night lamp illuminated the room.
Padding downstairs, Lydia wasn’t surprised to see Fe still perched on the kitchen stool with what looked like a fresh glass of wine. “Can I have one of those?”
“Go for it.”
“Want to tell me what the bloody hell that was? You sounded like a banshee. Scared the piss out of me for a second.”
Fe chuckled. “Sometimes I just need to vent. They weren’t listening to me, and by the time you arrived, they’d been at it for 15 minutes.”
“Jenny said Clark was supposed to read to them.”
Fe gave a mirthless laugh. “Clark promises them every time. And every time he lets them down. Guess who gets the brunt of their ire?”
“Oh, Fe, I’m sorry, sweetie.”
“Me too.” Swallowing two thirds of her glass, Fe reached over and topped it right back up again. “I think we’re in trouble, Lyds.”
“It’s that bad?” Lydia slid onto the stool next to Fe.
“Yeah. All we do is argue. The kids need to see their dad more than one hour a week.”
“What about weekends?”
“He works in his home office or is out with clients.”
“And you’ve told him how you’re feeling?”
“Of course, Lydia, bloody hell.”
Holding her hands up in surrender, Lydia leaned back, giving her sister some space. “I meant nothing by that, Fe. Just trying to figure out where you’re at.”
A sob wracked Fe’s body. “I-I’m sorry, Lyds. Shit. It’s such a mess. I think Clark is having an affair.”
“An affair?” The last person in this world Lydia thought would be unfaithful was Clark.
“It’s that, or he’s just tired of being a family man. The kids are testing us daily. If he’s not shagging someone, he’s purposefully working too much, so he doesn’t have to deal with me or the kids.”
“Christ.” Lydia held her sister until Fe stopped crying.
“I have to have it out with him, Lyds. This is driving me nuts. I’d rather know than carry on like this.”
“Of course. You need to talk, sweetie. I can have the kids if you want? I can take them to the museum. They always have fun there.”
“On your own. Did you forget about the carnage you witnessed earlier? They’re bloody monsters at the minute.”
Rubbing soothing circles on Fe’s back, Lydia tried to keep her voice low and calm. “I think they can sense something is going on. They probably don’t understand it and are acting out.”
“Great,” Fe choked, “we’re ruining their childhoods.”
“Calm down, no one said that. The sooner you talk to Clark, the sooner you can help them understand.”
“I need help to understand. I don’t understand why he’s disappearing from us. Nothing has changed.”
“Something has, for him, obviously. Why don’t I come over Saturday afternoon? I’m not working.”
“You’re going to take the kids to work on your day off?”
