Collette and her two friends came running in from outside, their hair was plastered to their sweaty heads under bandannas. The smell of little kid sweat and fresh air was just noticeable over the burning that filled the room.
“Oh, no,” they all chorused. “The cupcakes!”
“We will just have cookies,” Harrison offered helpfully.
“I didn’t get any,” I said emotionless.
“Noooo!” they yelled, and I had to close my eyes as the chaos inside me threatened to make me snap. I had been rushing, and I completely forgot about the cookies. And I thought we would be making cupcakes. I wanted to explain. But found my jaw welded shut.
“We want cookies! We want cookies!” the girls chanted, and George joined the uprising.
“That’s lame, Frowny Frankie,” Collette said.
Heat burned my cheeks. She couldn’t know how those words hurt me. She was just a child—
“No,” Harrison said sharply in a tone he’d never used. I flinched to look at him, but he was kneeling in front of Collette. “We don’t call her that. That is not kind, and we do not talk to each other like that.”
“But Mommy calls her that.” Collette tugged on her ear, glancing at me for backup.
I opened my mouth to interject, but Harrison held up a hand. “It doesn’t matter. We can’t control how other people speak, but we can control how we talk to each other. Okay?”
“Okay. Sorry, Frankie,” Collette said quietly. I nodded at her, too surprised to say anything.
I’d never been defended like that, and the gentleness of it in the heat of the moment only added to my overlapping emotions. My tears were closer to the surface than ever, and I was too shaken up. I needed to move. Get away.
Harrison stepped toward me tentatively, handing me the ice cube wrapped in a paper towel. “I’m going to clean all this up.” Frowning at George, he added, “Really, George, encouraging mutiny?”
The older man shrugged with a mischievous grin before straightening his shoulders. He slammed the cane down once. “All right, mateys, fall in line. I run a tight ship.” The three girls lined themselves up, lifting their chins, trying to be serious as they giggled. “Now.” He sniffed. “Who wants to see my secret treats stash?” They hooted their delight as George managed to get them out of the kitchen.
My mouth fell open, but the girls were following him, marching and chanting, “Chocolate!”
One crisis at a time.
I was too flustered to speak. I couldn’t even move. The place was a disaster, and I was the bad guy. I came home on a literal black cloud and ruined all the fun. Or at least that was how it looked to all of them. My throat bobbed on a swallow. A pattern was forming, and I was already so exhausted.
Harrison tugged on my arm to get my hurt hand, where I kept it tight to my body, like prying open a clam. “Let me help you,” he whispered, and I unfurled.
“It’s your help that got us here in the first place,” I said numbly.
Hurt flashed over his features. I sucked in my lips.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to make them happy, and then we had the treasure, and they were trying to steal it, and we forgot about the cupcakes.”
“The cupcakes that I asked you not to make,” I said through clenched teeth.
He winced. “I know. You try saying no to three sets of puppy dog eyes. I looked online, and it said that as long as we greased the pan, it would be fine.”
“That worked out.”
“I got distracted. I’m sorry.” He shrugged and looked so miserable it only made me feel worse.
“I hate being the bad guy here. I really do. You obviously didn’t mean to do it, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened. You could have caught the house on fire. George was in there sleeping. Little children who we are responsible for are over.” I pointed outside, my voice breaking. I took a breath to collect myself. I hated being this person. “I shouldn’t have left. Even for the day.” I glared at the ground and shook my head. “You’re supposed to be helping me. Not adding to my load. I can’t do this.”
“Frankie, I—”
I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t look at this place that, at this moment, felt like a prison I would never escape.
“I just need a minute.” I walked out of the house before I could see his hurt and feel any worse.
