AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That smile felt good. Too bad it didn’t last.
You see, Dominic played lacrosse, not baseball. And I’d unfortunately either forgotten that information or been too preoccupied running around trying to do better to check which sports bag I’d grabbed before leaving my apartment.
After looking in the trunk and discovering my error, Dominic was pissed. I’m talking pissed. He yelled. He screamed. He slammed my trunk and cursed, telling me how stupid I was and how much he hated me.
I wanted to argue that he could maybe borrow some equipment, or at least sit and watch, but that didn’t seem like the right thing to say at the moment or an option Dominic wanted to hear.
He looked defeated. He climbed in the car, shaking, face beet red and tears in his eyes.
I couldn’t remember how many sorries I gave him on our way to pick up Eli, but I knew it was a lot.
I also knew it wasn’t enough.
When we got back to the apartment, Eli honed in on the Xbox I’d taken from the house and immediately started up a game. He thanked me three times for setting it up for them.
Dominic joined him after dropping off his stuff in the bedroom, grabbing the other remote, and plopping down next to Eli on the couch.
He didn’t thank me. He didn’t even look at me.
Again, I deserved his anger, so I didn’t get on him about it.
When Mom called later that night to check on things, I kept the conversation on Nana, Pop, and Dad, figuring if I did that, I wouldn’t have to share my monumental mess-ups and risk upsetting her. When she asked how the boys were doing, I told her they were okay. Okay seemed like an appropriate word.
Not great. Not terrible.
My response seemed expected. With Dad’s disease progressing the way it was doing, I had a feeling she was used to them being just okay.
I wanted to do everything I could to help with that, and after I finished speaking with her, I went ahead and set a second backup alarm on my phone. I wasn’t leaving any room for error.
The next day started out so much better than the previous.
We got up on time. The boys got a good breakfast in them. There wasn’t any rushing around, and Dominic didn’t seem to hate me as much as he did the night before, at least making eye contact with me when I’d ask him a question. I had high hopes. Today was going to be a good day.
I even had my first appointment in my brand-new, spectacular chair while the boys were at school. The lady who lived across the hall in 6B went from drab to fab when I put some blonde with rose gold peekaboo highlights in her hair.
Her husband was returning from deployment soon, and she wanted to surprise him. I was stoked she was giving me the honor. That made the experience even more special.
She hugged me after the blow dry, loving how her hair turned out, booked her next appointment, and asked about bringing her kids over for fresh cuts.
I couldn’t help myself. I was just so happy. I had to hug her again.
After that, I took to Snapchat and posted a pic of the before and after.
It was difficult waiting for 6B to leave before I danced all around my apartment, but I fought the urge. Then, once that door closed behind her, I really let loose.
I shimmied my hips from room to room. I even posted a little video of my celebration with the hashtag thankful.
Tori, Syd, and Kali all commented on my video, telling me how much ass I was kicking. That made me feel good.
I was determined to start kicking ass at everything.
School pickups went by without a hitch that afternoon. Once I got the boys home, I heated up the leftovers and set the table for dinner while they worked on their homework.
Eli was happy. Dominic cracked a smile when I stubbed my toe on a chair, which I typically wouldn’t appreciate, but at least he was smiling. I thought we were over the bad. Especially when the boys actually ate dinner with me and didn’t request more game time.
I wore a smile during that entire meal. I didn’t even care how weird I looked, chewing and smiling at the same time. Everything was going to work out. I wouldn’t let the boys down anymore, and I wouldn’t disappoint my mom.
My phone rang just as I was washing up the dishes.
I dried off my hands while leaning over the counter, looking at the number flashing on the screen.
Again, it was one I didn’t recognize, but I just figured it was someone looking to get their hair done, so I didn’t get an uneasy feeling.
“Hi, Shay, this is Rachel, Eli’s speech therapist…”
