Chapter 17 #2
I eye the kitchen table where Magan is sitting.
Her laptop is open in front of her. The rest of the table is covered with notebooks and what look to be planning notes for her work.
Magan’s a teacher and I’m well-versed in her planning notes.
Over the years, I’ve watched her get her teaching degree and dedicate hours to class planning.
She teaches grade one and is dedicated as fuck to her children.
However, she’s currently on maternity leave so I’m unsure why she’s sitting here with all this work in front of her.
When she meets my gaze and begins crying harder, I move into action. Taking Harper from her, I say, “Tell me what you need.” As the words leave my mouth, and as I pull her daughter into my arms, I figure out the first thing she needs. “I’ll change Harper’s nappy and come back to you for that list.”
She doesn’t move, just nods as her tears keep falling.
I leave her and head upstairs to Harper’s bedroom, holding Harper close and talking softly with her in an effort to ease her cries. By the time we get there, I’ve managed to soothe her.
Settling her onto her changing table, I smile down at her and place my hand on her belly. “We’re gonna change your nappy, baby girl, and then go downstairs and see what Mummy needs me to do for her.”
Her little legs and arms come up off the table as she returns my smile.
“Yeah,” I say as I change her, “Mummy needs sleep, doesn’t she? We’re gonna get her some today. And you, too. Are you tired, darlin’?”
I continue talking to her as I get her into a new nappy and clean clothes. She continues waving her arms in the air and making those sweet sounds I could listen to for hours. By the time we head back down to Magan, Harper is happy and cooing.
“Thank you,” Magan says from the kitchen table where she’s still sitting. Her tears have stopped but she looks just as overwhelmed as she did when I got here.
I rub Harper’s back gently as I look at her mother. “You got a list for me?”
“It’s the washing machine. It’s flooded the laundry.”
“And what else?”
She gives me a quick shake of her head. “There’s nothing else. Just that.”
“From where I’m standing, there’s a fuckload of other shit that should be on that list. The mowing, for one. And the garden.” I throw a glance around the kitchen. “Not to mention the dishwasher and all these clothes. And all those boxes you’ve got piled up at the front door.”
“No, Griff.” She stands and comes my way. “I can take care of everything else. I just need you to see if you can fix the washing machine because I have a thousand clothes to wash today. And Henry’s exhausted and won’t have the energy when he gets home.”
When she reaches for her daughter, I let her take Harper even though I don’t want to. “Henry’s not the only one who’s exhausted.”
She exhales a long breath and nods. “Yeah, it turns out having a baby knocks you around a bit.”
“So how about you give me a list and put Harper and yourself to bed while I take care of that list for you?”
Magan isn’t good at accepting help when it’s offered.
I’ve watched her argue with her sister many times when Sophia has tried to do things for her.
Often, she stands her ground and refuses the offer.
Today, she’s got no hope of me taking no for an answer.
However, I’ll tread a little more carefully than I normally would because everything about her is screaming that she needs gentle right now.
“You’ve got your own things to do,” she says.
“That’s true, but there’s nothing on my list that’s more important than helping family.”
Her bottom lip trembles but still, she stands strong. “I’m okay, Griff. It was just that damn washing machine. It was the last straw, you know?”
“I know. I’ll fix it.”
Some of the tension in her shoulders eases. “Thank you.”
“Is something wrong with the dishwasher?”
She looks pained. “Maybe. I think so. The lights started flashing on it this morning, but I haven’t had a chance to figure that out.”
“I’ll take a look at it too.”
She gives me another pained look. “Thank you.”
“What’s in the boxes at the front door?”
“Christmas gifts. is my best friend this year.”
“Where do you want me to put them?”
The expression on her face turns even wearier than it already was. “I don’t want you to put them anywhere. I honestly just want you to fix the washing machine.”
“I get that, but you need to get that I’m gonna put those boxes somewhere. Either you tell me where or I’ll figure that shit out on my own.”
Ten years of knowing me and Magan knows I’m not going anywhere until I’ve sorted out all her problems. I see that understanding flash in her eyes right before her tears start up again.
I pull her into my arms and hold her tightly to me. Running my hand down her long hair, I let her cry for as long as she needs.
When I sense her tears have come to an end, I say, “There’s no shame in asking for help, Magan.
You gave birth two months ago. Your body is still recovering and you’re finding your feet as a mother.
And you’re doing a lot of that on your own because Henry’s work is hectic.
Give yourself a break and give yourself space to figure all this out.
” I pull my head back so I can find her eyes.
“Sophia wants to help. And so do I. Let us.”
Her face crumples and her tears return. “Stop being you for at least a minute, Griff. I was almost finished crying before you said all that.”
I take the opportunity for what it is. Magan isn’t known for softening like this or lasting long in her softened states, so I have to make the most of it now that I’ve got her here. “What’s with the planning notes on your kitchen table?”
She stares up at me for a long moment before smiling and moving out of my hold. “Well played, Mr Hard Ass.”
I arch my brows, letting her know I expect an answer.
She sighs. “I’m helping the teacher who has taken over my class while I’m on leave.”
“She’s incompetent?”
“No. She’s a phenomenal teacher actually.”
“So, she doesn’t need your help?”
“Ugh. Why must you be so good at this? I hope you never teach Henry your ways.”
I search her eyes, holding her gaze firmly. “You only get this time with Harper once. Make the most of it.”
She lets that sink in before nodding. “I know you’re right.
I do. But then my brain tells me I can do better, that I should do better, that I’m letting everyone else down when I choose to spend time with Harper instead of doing all this other stuff.
It’s a mess in my head and I don’t know how to stop all that noise.
I feel so overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start with all the things I have to do. ”
“Right now, the only thing you have to do is be a mother. And to be the best at that, you have to take care of yourself too, which means, right now, in this moment, you need to get your ass up to your bed and close your eyes.” When she looks like she might keep arguing with me, I say, “One thing at a time. That’s where you start.
Get some sleep and then we’ll figure out the next thing. ”
I’m not sure if it’s what I just said that finally gets through to her or if it’s just that she’s so fucking exhausted that she doesn’t have it in her to keep fighting me, but she finally gives in. “Okay.”
Twenty minutes later, Magan and Harper are asleep and I’m in the middle of fixing the washing machine when Sophia texts me.
Sophia
My breakfast with the girls just got cut short because Madison had to rush off to the hospital.
I think Willow might have a broken arm. So, I’m free now.
I know you said you were gonna mow and tidy up the garden this morning, but how do you feel about a ride?
It’s been a month since I’ve been on the bike.
Me
I’d fucking love nothing more than that but I’m at Magan’s doing some stuff for her.
She switches from texts to a call. “Is Magan okay?”
“No. She asked me to fix her washing machine, but there’s a fuckload of other stuff here that she needs help with, so I’m gonna work my way through that.”
“She’s letting you help?”
“Yeah. She was too exhausted to argue with me. She and Harper are asleep now.”
“Oh, thank God you got her to let you help. She’s been fobbing me off all week. I’ll come over and help too.” She pauses. “And Griff?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, handsome. Thank you.”
Sophia’s POV
5:30 p.m.
“He’ll be leaving work in the next hour,” Magan says after she gets off the phone with Henry. “And he doesn’t have to go back in for five days.”
“That’s the best news of the day,” I say with a smile. “Do you want us to stay until he gets here?”
Magan shakes her head as she glances at Griff through the kitchen window. “No, I want you to take Griff home. He hasn’t stopped all day.” She eyes me again with a smile. “I have the absolute best brother-in-law a girl could ask for.”
I look at my husband who is almost finished tidying up Magan’s gardens.
On top of that job, he mowed, fixed her washing machine and dishwasher, and helped me clean up her home.
“Yeah, you do.” I look back at her. “Please promise me that you’ll ask for our help if you need it, honey.
You don’t have to do everything yourself. ”
She laughs. “You really think Griff’s gonna wait to be asked going forward?
I imagine I’ll have him on my doorstep weekly so he can check for himself that I’m not in the same state I was in this morning when he arrived.
God, the poor guy. You should have seen him.
He looked like he wanted to bundle me up and lock me in my bedroom for a month straight while he took over. ”
“You really think he’ll only be on your doorstep once a week?” I grin.
Before I know it, I’ve got her arms around me and she’s crying again. I wrap my arms around her and hug her, giving her all the time in the world that she needs to release her emotions.