CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Blair
Then
“Who’s the next candidate?” I asked, exhausted.
Scott, his dental hygienist Lana, and I were interviewing candidates for a full-time business manager for the dental practice.
I had done the job myself on a part-time basis for the past couple of years, but that just couldn’t go on.
I’d been crying when I finally confessed to Scott it was too much for me.
He’d been horrified I’d waited so long to tell him.
Sutton, our oldest, was three. Spencer and Sean, the twins, were two. And I was pregnant. It was too much. The kids needed me full time instead of Gam watching them a couple of hours a day. They were too much for her, whether she’d admit it or not.
Plus, the dental practice was growing by leaps and bounds. In the past few months, Scott had hired two new front office workers and another dental hygienist to take some of the load off Lana. She was approaching retirement age and desperately wanted to drop down to a part-time employee.
It was time for an office manager. One that wasn’t me.
We were down to three candidates. One was a young man who seemed really nice, but we couldn’t decide if he had enough experience for the position. He seemed like he’d fall to pieces if things got too busy. We all agreed he was out.
The other two were women. Sylvie was a middle-aged woman with tons of experience. She was very friendly and outgoing. The only drawback was that she really wanted a part-time position. With her experience, there was every chance that might be enough time for her to get things done.
Then there was the last candidate. Scarlett was a gorgeous blonde in her late twenties.
She had an awesome body, too, and she flaunted it in a barely restrained way.
Her smile didn’t really reach her eyes, and she seemed unapproachable.
She was highly educated, though, and she wanted a full-time position.
“Honestly? I think either one would be fine,” I said, massaging my temples.
I’d been up since four and my head was pounding.
“Sylvie has the experience; Scarlett has the education… it’s a toss-up.
I do like Sylvie more, though, and that matters in an office that caters to families.
I’m not sure how well Scarlett would relate to people, you know? ”
“I had the same thought,” Lana said. “She seems… stiff or something.”
Scott nodded. “I agree with you both, but I do like that she’s interested in a full-time position.”
“There is that,” I agreed, trying to hide a yawn.
“Blair, honey?” Lana was looking at me with sympathetic eyes. “You need to go home and get some sleep.”
“She’s right,” Scott said. “We’ll handle this; besides, I think the choice is clear.”
Lana and I both nodded, giving each other a look. There was an unspoken reason neither of us wanted Scarlett.
“Alright, then. See you later.” I gave Lana a quick hug, and Scott pulled me in and kissed the crown of my head.
I drove the five minutes to our house, texted Gam I’d be a little late picking up the kids and fell into bed.
***
“How’s the new office manager working out?” I asked a couple of months later.
Scott didn’t talk much about the office when he was home. He usually just ate whatever I’d made and listened to the kids and I tell him about our days.
I’d noticed, though, that he’d been getting more and more work texts in the evening.
I’d seen over his shoulder a couple of times that the contact was listed as ‘S,’ so I figured it was Sylvie, the new office manager.
He had a habit of just using people’s initials, which I thought was weird, but whatever. It was his system.
“Fine. She seems to have a lot of questions.” He looked irritated. “I don’t know why she doesn’t come to me with them during regular hours.”
I made a little humming sound to indicate I was listening, but my attention was really on the twins.
My eyes narrowed. They seemed to be assessing a set of bookshelves.
I knew it wasn’t for the books. Thankfully, the shelves were anchored to the wall.
Still, I didn’t want them climbing on them.
“Boys, go wash up for dinner. Sutton, watch over them, please.”
I was hurriedly folding a basket of laundry and listening out for the oven. I had a lasagna baking for dinner. My hand went to the small of my back, trying to massage the ache away. God. I was so ready for the baby to be born. It wouldn’t be long now.
“… and the conference is coming up, so I need to know,” Scott was saying, watching me.
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to admit I hadn’t heard a word he’d said. “That sounds good.”
He looked frustrated. “Were you listening at all?”
“Sorry. You know we do have twins who can get into anything and make a mess. Or turn the day into a stunt show—take your pick.”
“Yes, of course I know that. I’m just asking if you’ll be able to attend the dental conference next weekend.”
“Oh. Where was it again?”
“San Antonio.”
I blinked at him. “You do know pregnant women aren’t supposed to fly during their third trimester, right?”
The look on his face said he did, in fact, know that. But he covered well. “Right. I just didn’t want you to feel left out. I guess I’ll go alone.”
“You don’t have to go alone,” I protested. “Ask the new office manager to go. She’d probably welcome the time away from her family. It’ll be like a vacation for her.” I smiled.
He frowned, as if confused, but said, “Okay, I’ll ask her.”
“Just keep your phone on and be ready to jump on an early flight home in case I go into labor.”
Then the oven timer went off at the same time I heard a crash, and Sutton released an ear-splitting shriek. Sutton was quite dramatic, so I wasn’t instantly terrified. That shriek could be about anything from a spider to the twins trying to climb the shower curtain.
“Good lord,” I murmured. “Which do you want? Dinner or disaster?”
He looked at me like I’d lost it. “Dinner, obviously.”
***
Scott missed the birth of our fourth child.
To be fair, once my water broke I’d only been in labor four hours before Sophia arrived.
She practically fell out. She was tiny compared to each of the twins.
She was a bit early, but not so much so that she had to stay in the NICU.
I was so thankful for that, I almost forgot to be upset about Scott not being there.
Once I’d had a chance to think about it, though, I did wonder how it’d happened.
I’d called him as soon as my water broke, but it had rung forever before going to voicemail.
I left him a panicked message telling him to fly home early.
I tried his phone several more times before I got to the hospital.
Then either Gam or Carrie had kept trying him until he’d finally answered well after midnight.
But he hadn’t even tried to come home early.
“But where were you?” I asked softly as we stood over Sophia’s crib in her pretty, butterfly-themed room.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I was in the hotel bar, and it was noisy. I just didn’t hear my phone.” He seemed irritated as if he’d already had to answer this question several times. He had. Both Carrie and Gam had asked him about it.
“You were in the bar?” I gave him a look. Scott was socially awkward. He didn’t go to bars by himself. It would make him nervous.
He nodded.
“Alone?”
He cocked his head. “No… the new office manager was with me. Remember? You told me to take her in your place?”
“Oh, that’s right,” I said, relieved. I pictured him sitting there with middle-aged Sylvie and talking about something wildly exciting like tooth decay or insurance claims. “Well, I really wish you would’ve checked your phone.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. I thought you had a couple more weeks.” He shrugged.
We all had. I couldn’t really fault him there.
“But… what about coming home early?” I’d already been discharged and was home from the hospital before he’d arrived.
“It seemed… silly. I was only in San Antonio for three days. If I’d gotten my flight moved, I would’ve been here a day earlier at best. It’s not like I could’ve made it for the birth.”
He was right. I sighed. Maybe I was being overly sensitive. Pregnancy hormones will do that. “Well, you’re here now.” I forced a smile and tried not to be hurt that he hadn’t wanted to hurry home to us. I gave him a kiss as he pulled me into his arms.
***
It wasn’t until I took the children by to see Scott at work one day that I realized the mistake I’d made. And by then? It was too late.
“Hey, Lana,” I greeted my friend with a big hug. “I haven’t seen you in forever. I hope you’re doing well.”
It was my first real outing since Sophia was born. I’d ended up with a painful case of mastitis. Trying to balance that with a newborn, twin two-year-olds, and a three-year-old was… insane.
I talked with the other office ladies for a while, wondering where Scott was.
I’d thought he would hear us and come out of his office.
We weren’t exactly quiet. Spencer and Sean were running around the empty waiting area like they had rockets attached to their feet.
Sutton was reading loudly to baby Sophia, and I wasn’t known for having a soft voice.
But he didn’t come out.
Finally, I said, “Is Scott here?”
I saw the new office assistants exchange a quick look. I met Lana’s eyes and saw something there I didn’t fully understand.
“He’s… out,” she said slowly. “He and the office manager are at lunch.”
I frowned. Scott didn’t usually go out for lunch. He preferred to eat whatever I’d packed him for lunch that day. “Oh. I guess they must’ve had a lot of work to discuss.”
The three women were silent, and I felt like there was something I wasn’t picking up on. Then the office door jingled open, and I turned, smiling. I was ready to say hello to Scott and Sylvie.
But Scott was walking in with a drop-dead gorgeous blonde woman. My smiled faded instantly.
Scott looked surprised to see me. “Hey, this is a nice surprise,” he said, walking over and dropping a kiss on my cheek. Then he picked up Sophia and smiled down at her.