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Chapter15
Mac groaned as he leaned forward to start the engine, that small movement enough to make him nauseated from the pain. The doctor had said it would hurt once the numbing medicine had worn off and had advised him to start on pain pills right away. But Mac wanted to get home first. Now, he was desperate enough—and close enough—to pop a pill on the drive to Sweet Meadow Farm Road.
He winced when he thought about the kids being all over him and how that wouldn’t be possible tonight.
As he took a right into his driveway, he noticed every light in the house was on, which meant business as usual. His mother had once said that was a sign of a house well lived in. To him, it was also the sign of a huge electric bill. He was working with Thomas to be his ally in conserving electricity, making shutting off lights part of his weekly allowance. Clearly, his oldest was failing at that job today.
Mac parked, shut off the engine and breathed a sigh of relief to be home. He sent a quick text to his parents to let them know he’d survived and was back on the island and then moved slowly and carefully to get out of the truck, bringing his ice pack with him. Every step up to the deck hurt worse than the one before, and he was in a full sweat by the time he reached the top. He slid open the slider and stepped into chaos.
Thomas was chasing Hailey around the room while baby Mac, also known now as Trip—he would never get used to that—toddled behind them while Maddie juggled screaming babies. The house was a total wreck, with toys strewn from one end to the other.
Hailey saw him come in and let out a shriek as she ran for him.
Mac put his hands out to keep her from colliding with him. “Easy, honey. Daddy is hurting.”
“What did I tell you, Hailey?” Maddie said. “We have to be gentle with Daddy tonight.”
“Sorry, Dada.”
Mac leaned in to kiss the top of her head. “That’s okay. Will you take care of me?”
His baby girl nodded and reached out her hand to lead him to the sofa, releasing him so she could move the dolls, trucks and Legos on the cushions and throw them on the floor with the rest of the toys. “I’d ask how it’s going around here, but I can see,” he said as he lowered himself gingerly to the sofa.
“It’s been that kind of day,” Maddie said, holding Emma as she brought him a bag of frozen peas.
“What’s this for?” he asked of the vegetables.
“I read online that they work well as an ice pack.”
“Ah, gotcha. Thanks.” He placed the peas on his lap. “Where’s Kelsey?”
“I knew you were on your way home, so she left twenty minutes ago. She cleaned up before she left, and this is what they’ve accomplished since then.”
“Yikes,” he said of the mess. “Could I borrow your phone for a sec?”
“Sure.” She pulled it out of her shorts pocket and handed it to him. “What’s wrong with yours?”
He punched in her code. “It doesn’t have the Mac’s Vasectomy group chat on it, because I wasn’t invited to participate.”
She lunged for the phone. “Mac! Give that back to me!”
Despite the pain, he held it out of her reach. “Not until I see what my lovely wife has been saying about me.”
“It’s all in good fun.”
“There is nothing good or fun about what I endured today.”
“Was it anything like pushing an extra-large pumpkin out of your vagina? Asking for a friend.”
“Since I don’t own a vagina, I can’t say for sure. All I can tell you is having a needle in the balls is the stuff of nightmares.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “My poor, poor baby.”
“You’re not even trying to be sincere.”
“I am, too! I’m sorry you’re hurting, and I got the frozen peas for you.”
“Whatever. Go tend to our children. I have some reading to do.”
