Chapter 19 #2
“Good. Next time you need a pep talk give me a call. I can tell you horror stories that will curl your hair and make you realize it’s not nearly as bad as it could be.”
“You’re the best future mother-in-law ever, Summer.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Brighten asked with a grin.
“Don’t tell anyone. I’ll lose my membership in the evil mother-in-law club. Don’t you know that I’m supposed to be scary and all that?”
“Terrifying,” Brighten said with mock horror.
“I’m not sure how I’ll survive,” I assured her.
“Good. That’s more like it. Love y’all. Call if you need anything else, okay?”
“I will, I promise.”
◆◆◆
CROW
“She’s here!”
I laughed as I unbuckled Rev from her carseat, and when she smiled up at me I asked, “Can you hear him screaming? He’s excited to see you again.”
I set her on my hip and turned to find Griffin standing in the doorway.
He was so excited that his whole body was vibrating, and I smiled when I realized he was holding a fist full of flowers.
He thrust them our direction as I stepped up onto the porch, and Rev lunged toward him with a giggle as she tried to grab them.
“Hey, bud! Those are some beautiful flowers.”
“People give flowers for different celebrations, and getting a new baby is one of those. I tried to order some and have them delivered to the hospital, but Hawk was sneaky and got a new card, so I couldn’t.”
“Sneaky, huh? I’d think that committing credit card fraud by using someone else’s card without permission would be the sneaky part.”
“It’s not fraud if you’re using it to do a good thing.”
“That’s still illegal,” I assured him. “Let’s go put those pretty flowers in some water so they stay alive for a few days. We can set it on the dresser in Rev’s room so she can look at them while she goes to sleep tonight and they’ll be the first thing she sees when she wakes up in the morning.”
“That’s a great idea!” Griffin said as he held the door open for me and Rev to walk past him into the house. “Darcy’s lost her mind so you should probably take off your shoes before you come inside.”
“She mopped, huh?”
“She put some shiny stuff on the floor and now we’re slipping all over the place. Koda busted his coccyx and is pretty sure he needs a doctor now.”
“He broke his what?”
“It’s the tailbone, Crow,” Griffin explained as if I was the dumbest human on the planet.
“There’s really nothing a doctor can do about it anyway though.
I called Jewel and she said he should rest and be calm, but then she started laughing.
I had to hang up the phone after she snorted because it made me want to puke. ”
“There’s our sweet girl,” Darcy said as she walked around the corner and smiled at Rev. Rev squealed and leaned toward her, so Darcy took her from me and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “Welcome home!”
I pulled Darcy into my arms and gave her a kiss, mindful of the little eyes watching us, before I pulled back and said, “Now, this is a sight I could get used to.”
With Rev on her hip Darcy stepped back and curtsied, lifting one side of the apron she was wearing as if it was a formal dress. “When I was shopping for a wedding dress with my sisters I saw this and couldn’t resist buying it.”
“I love it.” Since Griffin was walking upstairs with a glass of water I leaned closer and asked, “Any chance I can get you to model that without clothes underneath?”
“Possibly, but you’re going to have to wait a few days for that to happen.”
“But you live here now,” I whined.
“I’ve still got months left of my original vow. We could go with that date instead,” Darcy teased.
Horrified at the thought I announced, “Three days sounds perfect!”
“Your Gamma brought dinner over, so I didn’t even have to cook. I was just wearing the apron because I thought it was adorable.”
“You’re becoming very domestic, aren’t you? First the apron, then you did something to the floor. Next thing you know, there’ll be little birds swooping around your head and butterflies lighting on your finger.”
“You’re getting your fairy tales mixed up, Crow,” Griffin said as he walked down the stairs. “I think it’s because you call her Sleeping Beauty and she looks more like Snow White.”
“She does, doesn’t she?”
“She doesn’t act like either of them though. If she starts talking to her reflection in the mirror you’re gonna have to kick her out.”
“Hey! That was mean!” Darcy said as she frowned at Griffin. “Just because I wouldn’t let you eat all the cookies Gamma brought over isn’t any reason to compare me to a witch.”
“Technically Maleficent is a dark fairy,” Griffin corrected. “But even dark fairies let kids eat cookies.”
“But are they poisoned cookies?” Darcy asked. She laughed low in her throat before she asked, “Do you want me to make you some cookies, Griffin?”
“No!”
Griffin ran out the back door, and Rev watched him longingly for a second before I asked, “Wanna go see the puppies, Buttercup?” Rev started bouncing on Darcy’s hip, and she turned to walk outside before I asked, “Are you going to let her walk at all, or do you want to wait until after she graduates from high school?”
Darcy sighed before she set Rev down on her feet. The second she was on the ground, Rev took off for the back door, following her new hero Griffin. I put my arm around Darcy’s shoulders as we walked together toward the back door, and as I looked around I said, “The house looks great, babe.”
“Your brothers staged an intervention and got your mom involved.”
“An intervention, huh? And what did Mom have to say?”
“That you and your brothers made her lose all hope of ever having a clean house and that eating food off the floor and playing in the dirt builds immunity, which means that you and your siblings are basically super soldiers who could withstand a nuclear winter.” I burst out laughing and Darcy giggled before she admitted, “That’s not exactly what she said, but that’s what I got out of it. ”
“We’re pretty healthy people, so you might be onto something there.”
We walked out onto the patio to find Griffin and Rev sitting on the grass with the puppies crawling all over them while they giggled together. Darcy pulled her phone out of her pocket and started snapping pictures while I pulled my phone out and called my mom.
“Is she home?” Mom asked the second the call connected.
“She’s playing in the grass with Griff and the Animaniacs right now.”
“Do me a favor, sweetheart.”
“Anything for you.”
“Give Darcy some grace and don’t tease her too much even when you think what she’s doing is over the top.
She’s feeling the pressure of everything that’s going on and all of the changes in her life, the biggest of which is learning how to navigate parenthood with a mini-genius and an unhealthy little toddler who is going to have to adjust to an entirely new life. ”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I know you understand you’ve just gotta love them through it all, Crow, and of all my children I think you’re the most well suited to do just that.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’re the greatest.”
“No, baby, you are, and they’re lucky to have you in their lives.”
“We are, you know,” Darcy said as she looked up at me with love in her eyes.
“As much as all of us want to be there, we’re staying away for now so that Rev can get acclimated to her new surroundings before the party this weekend.
We’ll trickle in here and there over the next few days though, because I’m not ashamed to admit that it’s killing me to stay away right now.
As sad as it is to admit, Rev is probably more used to chaos than she is calm, so she’ll be fine at the cookout, but if she’s not there will be plenty of volunteers there who can sweep her off for some quiet time if she needs it. ”
“I was wondering how we were going to navigate that.”
“We’ve got it covered and your Gamma called first dibs on keeping her overnight on Saturday so you and Darcy can enjoy yourselves.”
“That’s awesome.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom. Tell Dad I’m proud of him for giving Rev a little space this afternoon and letting her adjust to life at the house.”
“I’ll tell him, but he won’t be able to respond through the duck tape. I had to subdue him to keep him away, but he’s handcuffed to his recliner, so he’s got access to the remote.”
Darcy looked alarmed for a second, but then she heard Dad muttering in the background and smiled as she said, “You’re crazy.”
“I’ve never tried to hide it. You guys have a great evening and get some good sleep in your own bed for a change.”
“I’ve missed my bed so much,” I admitted before we said our goodbyes.
I slipped my phone into my pocket before I reached for Darcy’s hand and tugged her behind me toward the lounge chair.
Once I was sitting down with her settled between my splayed legs, I said, “My bed’s gonna be even better now because you’ll be in it with me. ”
“Fully clothed.”
“Eh. We’ll see how long that lasts.”