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I double check as I slam out of the car and hurry up the stairs inside the garage, but there’s nothing.
Maybe Ben stopped by to drop off something he forgot to put in Chase’s backpack this morning before daycare?Secretly, I hope so.Ben forgetting something every once and a while would make me feel much better about my own lapses in parental focus.
But when I step into the living room, it’s instantly clear something more serious is going on.
Aaron stands on one side of the coffee table, his good hand raised in surrender.Ben glares at him from the other side of the table, his arms crossed over his chest.Between them, Chase is building a skyscraper out of Legos, happily chattering, “And we had cookies, too.Aaron makes good cookies.”
“I didn’t make them,” Aaron says.“I had them delivered from a—”
“Chase already had cookies at school,” Ben cuts in.“Hugh’s mom sent a note to all the parents, saying she was bringing nut-free cookies for his birthday today.I made sure to forward it to Mel.Chase shouldn’t have had more cookies.”
“Oh.”Chase looks up, a worried expression on his face.“I sorry, Daddy.”
“It’s not your fault, buddy,” Ben says with a sweet smile for our son.The smile vanishes as he shifts his attention back to Aaron.“Mr.Boudreaux should have been made aware that we don’t have sugary treats every day, let alone twice a day.”
“It’s my fault,” I cut in, fighting the urge to flinch as both men’s heads snap my direction.“I forgot to tell Aaron healthy snacks only today.”Before Ben can respond, I turn the tables, asking, “What are you doing here?”
“I ran into your sister at the grocery store,” Ben says.“We started talking and she said she’d dropped Chase off at your house with a sitter.Since I hadn’t met this sitter, or heard anything about her, I thought I’d come introduce myself.”He glances back toward Aaron.“Only he wasn’t aher.He was Mr.Boudreaux, a man I’ve never met before.Who only has one arm.”
“He has two arms, Daddy,” Chase says with a giggle, mercifully not seeming to sense the tension in the room now that the cookie business is behind us.“One of them just has an owie.Right, Awin?”
“That’s right, bud,” Aaron says.“But who needs two working arms when you have a Lego master helping you build the Empire State Building?Did you see this, Mel?Chase is building the biggest skyscraper I’ve ever seen.”
“We’re going to put a snake on it!”Chase says, practically vibrating with excitement.“Awin said we could.And a sheep and a goat and all my animal toys.”
“That’s why we have so many balconies,” Aaron says, motioning toward the structure.“For the animals.And Mr.Potato Head’s eyeballs.We can’t fit Mr.Potato Head on there, but his eyes are going to look great at the top.”
Chase giggles.“It’ll be so silly.Come on, Awin.Let’s keep going.Mama don’t look yet.We want it to be a surprise.”
“Sounds good, I love surprises, baby.”I motion Ben over to the kitchen with a jerk of my head.“Daddy and I are going to talk for a few minutes, but then we need to pack up toys to take to Uncle Wesley’s house.He’s making us fancy grilled cheese for dinner tonight.”
“Yay, grilled cheese!”Chase shouts.“Do you like grilled cheese, Awin?”
“So much,” Aaron says seriously.“It’s easily one of my top three favorite foods.”
“Me too,” Chase says.“Cheese is so yummy.”
“And bread,” Aaron agrees.“You can’t go wrong with good bread and good cheese.Also a big fan of strawberries.”
“Me, too!”Chase cheers.
Leaving them discussing their other top eats, I pull Ben into the kitchen and ask in a softer voice, “What’s up?Why do you have resting just-sucked-a-lemon face?”
“Don’t play dumb, Mel.It doesn’t suit you.And I know you too well.”
I prop my hands on my hips.“Yeah, I know you, too, but I seriously don’t understand why you’re so upset.Aaron is a fully grown adult who passed multiple background checks in order to volunteer as a big brother to underprivileged kids in Minneapolis.And he’s Nora’s brother.He might not be my favorite person, but he’s absolutely trustworthy enough to watch Chase for a couple hours.”
“With one functional arm?”he challenges.“And probably loopy on painkillers?”
“Does he seem loopy to you?”I ask, meeting his hard look with one of my own.“He insisted on skipping his noon dose, so he’d be clearheaded for babysitting duty.He’s probably in horrible pain right now because he was so determined to be a responsible caregiver.Now, don’t you feel terrible?”I push on before he can answer, “Good, then go home and think about what you’ve done.I need to grab a quick shower before we head to Wesley’s.My hair smells like grilled chicken.”
“Mel, I just—” Ben’s cut off by Chase, who careens into the kitchen, crowing, “Mommy, Awin wants to watch Nemo with me!He likes Nemo, too!Can we watch it tonight?Pwease, pwease, pwease?”
Glancing at the clock, I sigh.“Probably not tonight, bud.We won’t be back from Uncle Wesley’s until it’s almost time for you to get to bed.But maybe tomorrow night?”
Ben’s head rears back, and I instantly realize my mistake.
Fuck my life, I totally forgot to send that text telling Ben Aaron would be staying with me for a while, didn’t I?
