The Neighbors

2.17 Holidays

Harry was coming home for two and a half weeks for a well-deserved Christmas vacation. I couldn't wait to have him all to myself for such an extended amount of time. And I couldn't wait to show him his birthday present. His birthday wasn't until tomorrow, but I couldn't wait another day to show it to him.

Charlie was gone to pick Harry up at the airport, so I was rushing the kids around the house, cleaning up last-minute messes and trying to put the finishing touches on dinner. It was feeling like arsenic hour when Grace came in screaming, saying that Rachael had shut her finger in the door and wouldn't apologize. Her finger was turning purple, so I rushed to the freezer to get some ice. I pulled out an ice tray that I had just filled, forgetting that it wasn't frozen yet, and I spilled it all over the floor. So when Danny came toddling in, he slipped and fell into the water. I got another tray of ice out and filled a baggie, giving it to Grace and trying to comfort her while Danny lay on the floor, crying much more dramatically than necessary.

I carried Danny upstairs to change his clothes, and when I got there, I discovered he would need a diaper change, too, so I yelled for Rachael to come and talk to me.

She came in, looking innocent, so I asked, "What happened with Grace's finger?" Rachael was very sensitive about being blamed for anything, so she immediately burst into tears saying, "I didn't do it on purpose. She's so mean!"

I tried explaining to her that, even if it was an accident, she had to tell Grace that she was sorry. And that Grace wasn't being mean, but she was hurt and had to tell me what happened. Rachael continued to cry while I struggled to hold Danny still to clean up his very smelly diaper mess.

Over the pungent smell coming from my two-year-old, I suddenly detected the odor of something burning. I had left dinner on the stove and my hands were literally full.

"Rory!" I yelled.

"Danny, hold still!" I snapped, causing him to start crying again.

"Rory!" I yelled again when she failed to appear the first time.

She came stomping down the hall and stopped in the doorway. "What?!"

"Don't use that tone of voice, Rory. I need your help. Please go down and turn off the burners on the stove."

She rolled her eyes and huffed off. That girl was nine, going on fifteen. Good heavens!

I got Danny cleaned up and dressed, washed my hands and hurried downstairs, running into Rory who was coming to tell me, "Mom, the big pot boiled over and there is sauce all over the stove!" And then she stormed past me.

"Dammit!" I muttered. I could still hear two children whining somewhere in the house, Danny was at the top of the stairs yelling for Rory to come and help him down the stairs, even though he had done it himself many times before.

"How am I going to clean this up?!" I mumbled, looking at the giant mess on the stove.

It was then that I heard the most wonderful voice asking, "Can I help?"

I turned around to see Harry's smiling face. I wiped my hands quickly and jumped into his arms. "Welcome home, babe! I missed you!"

"I missed you, too," he said, kissing my lips gently.

Just then, Rory came into the kitchen carrying Danny. They both cried, "Daddy!" and I let him pull away to greet his children. I went to find Rachael and Grace to let them know that Daddy was home.

After everyone had greeted Harry, I told him with a pout, "Dinner is ruined."

"Well, let's just order pizza then. We can go out tomorrow for my birthday. How does that sound?"