My husband, Thomas, came out of the kitchen, a burp cloth over his shoulder. “Becca? What are you doing here?”
“Easter weekend,” she said brightly. “Surprise, brother.”
Thomas looked at me first. He always did when his family became a problem.
“It’s just for a couple of days,” Becca added.
Behind her, Matthew dropped a duffel bag in my hallway. “Do you have coffee that isn’t flavored, Talia? I can’t do vanilla.”
Instead, because being polite had been ruining my life in little ways for years, I said, “I’ll clear the guest room.”
Becca smiled. “You’re a lifesaver, Talia.”
No, I thought. I’m just too tired to fight.
I came back already out of breath, and Jessie had spilled apple juice across the couch.
“Jessie, sweetheart—” I started.
“Oops,” Becca said from the armchair, barely looking up from her phone. “You’ll sort that out, Tals?”
Thomas was already reaching for paper towels. I handed Spencer to him and crouched. Pain shot across my stomach so sharply I had to bite it back.
“Talia,” Thomas said quietly, “don’t. You shouldn’t be doing all that.”
“Then stop your niece from baptizing the furniture,” I muttered.
By bedtime, the house felt occupied.
Matthew’s sock was under the table. Jonah was inside the cabinet where I kept baby bottles.
“Buddy, no,” I said. “That’s for your baby cousin.”
From the bathroom, Becca called, “Talia? Is this your expensive shampoo?”
“Just use whatever’s open.”
“Well, I don’t want the cheap one. It dries my hair out.”
Thomas glanced at me. “Want me to say something?”
“Not tonight,” I said. “She’ll make it ugly.”
The next morning was worse.
I stood in the kitchen in an old robe, Spencer against my chest, stirring oatmeal.
Matthew looked into the pot. “That’s breakfast?”
“Yes.”
He opened the fridge. “No eggs? Bacon? Avocado?”
“We have eggs.”
“Then why are we eating oatmeal?”
“Because it takes three minutes, and I slept forty-two minutes.”
He nodded, embarrassed.
Becca walked in, looked me over, and said, “You know what would help you? A routine. Shower, get dressed. You’d feel more like yourself.”
I stared at her.
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