Marcus was a hit with the twins. He made funny faces at dinner and let them tell him stories about their day, about school, their friends, and finally Sailor's imaginary puppy. After dinner, he fixed everyone their own bowl of ice cream, which was a huge treat for the twins, who always had to share dessert when dished out by their parents. A game of hide and seek commenced after the ice cream and when it was Marcus's turn to seek, he really struggled to locate the giggling five-year olds, even though they picked the same hiding spot every time.
At eight, the twins gave a little resistance about going to bed because they wanted to play more with Marcus, but he agreed to read them a bedtime story, and both were asleep before he reached "the end."
Maisie made sure they were tucked in and planted a kiss on each forehead before following Marcus downstairs and collapsing beside him on the couch. "Did you ever know," she paused, making eye contact, "that you're my hero?"
He laughed. "Are you going to start singing, Bette?"
"I just wanted to make sure you knew that you're the wind beneath my wings."
He nodded. "I had a feeling."
"How did you get so amazing with kids?"
"Believe it or not, Tamar has four kids."
"Four?" Maisie repeated. Tamar was Marcus's older brother - he'd been a year ahead of Anabeth in school, and from what Maisie remembered, the last person she'd expect to be a family man.
"Yep. Uncle Marcus has approximately ten Best Uncle Ever mugs in his kitchen cabinets." He brushed imaginary dirt off his shoulder and grinned.
"Does he always refer to himself in the third person?"
"Only when in Uncle Mode," he responded, very seriously.
Maisie adjusted her position on the couch so she was leaning against the arm and facing his profile. He swiveled to match her.
"I can't thank you enough. This whole day has been one unexpected development after another - it's just been insane - and then you come along and-"
He cut her off, "I wanted to see you. It's as simple as that." He leaned forward and cupped her cheek in his hand before kissing her. Her whole body tingled. His lips were so soft, his touch so gentle. But them something shifted. His hands moved down her arms, to her hips, and his grip became firm as he drew her to him. She found herself straddling his lap and running her fingers through his hair. Her nerve endings burned in the best way. Everything about the moment was intoxicating - his tongue dancing with hers, the roughness of the stubble on his cheeks, the heady smell of his cologne. His mouth left hers and kissed down her jawline to her neck, finding that sweet spot at the base of her throat, and his hands slid underneath the hem of her shirt, resting lightly on along the small of her back. Lost in her feelings, Maisie probably would have done something stupid if the front door hadn't swung open and her sister dropped her bag onto the floor with a thud.
Maisie jumped up, falling backward toward the coffee table, but luckily, Marcus grabbed her arm and prevented her from crashing into it.
Anabeth slowly closed the door, then turned to face them. She crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing?"
"Hey! You remember Marcus, don't you, Anabeth?" Maisie asked, pulling on the bottom of her shirt to straighten it out. "We dated in high school and recently reconnected, remember?"
Anabeth glanced at the man in her living room, then back at Maisie. "What is he doing here?"
"We had plans tonight."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Funny, I think it did. Because I wasn't supposed to babysit your children all day. I had other plans this evening, only you didn't seem to give a shit about what I might have going on – you just assumed I'd take care of your kids without even asking me. And then you didn't even have the courtesy to answer any of my texts or phone calls asking where you were or what time you'd be home. Marcus and I had plans, but it didn't look like you were coming home anytime soon, so he came here."
Anabeth uncrossed her arms and took two steps closer to Maisie. "Were your plans to have sex on my couch while my children, your niece and nephew, could walk in at any moment?"
"We weren't going to have sex," Maisie snorted. "I love that you completely ignored everything else I just said."
Marcus touched Maisie's elbow. "I should go."
Maisie nodded. "I'll call you later. Thanks again for everything tonight."
"Nice to see you again, Anabeth," he said as he squeezed past her to the door.
Once it was closed and he was gone, Anabeth dropped onto the couch, elbows on her knees. Her stance actually scared Maisie, who had never seen Mary Poppins looking so defeated.
"What were you thinking, Maze?" she said, quietly.
"I was thinking I didn't want to break a date with a guy I really like because you can't get your shit together."
Anabeth put her head in her hands. "You have no idea."
"No idea about what?"
Her sister gestured around the room.
Maisie couldn't contain the frustration in her voice, "What does that mean? What happened today? Why couldn't you even give me a head's up that you needed my help? Did you think I'd say no or something?"
Anabeth shook her head. "I forgot."
"You forgot?"
"The call came in the middle of the night – one of my patients – I had to go. I meant to call you before you came over for Fisher, but I forgot. Things were crazy. I forgot."
Was Mary Poppins crying? Maisie could not remember the last time she'd seen her sister cry. She hadn't even cried at their father's funeral. Maisie sat beside her.
"Okay, it's okay. We had a good day. They'll be glad to see you in the morning, though."
Anabeth continued weeping quietly, so Maisie instinctively patted her back. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Maisie unsure what to do or say. Was she supposed to forgive her sister's thoughtlessness because she broke down? Maisie was still upset about it, though maybe less angry.
"Things will get easier when Sean gets back," she said.
This must have been the wrong thing to say because Anabeth's head snapped up and her eyes flashed – Maisie swore she saw literal flames in them.
"What?"
Maisie leaned back, away from her sister. "He's out of town, right? When he gets back, it won't be so overwhelming, work and the kids. You know." It wasn't said with confidence, but she'd brought it up.
"Who told you he was out of town?"
"I spoke with him."
"What? When? Why?" Anabeth punctuated each question with a sharp intake of breath.
"I couldn't reach you..."
"You should not be talking to him! You can leave now, I'm home, I've got the kids."
"Why can't I talk to Sean?"
"Do whatever you want, Maisie. You always do." Anabeth stood, snatched her bag off the floor, and dug through it for something she couldn't seem to find.
"Excuse me? What the fuck is going on, Anabeth?"
Her sister exploded. "He left me! He left them." She pointed up to the second floor. "He's not just out of town, he's shacking up with some woman he met at a conference. Happy now? My life isn't so perfect anymore, is it?"
"I'm so sorry-"
"Save it. You've probably been hoping for something like this."
"No, I haven't!"
"Sure. You think I don't know what you think of me and my family? What do you call me to your friends? Mary Poppins, right?"
"I-" Maisie stopped. She couldn't say she hadn't meant anything by it, because that would be a lie. She'd never wanted Anabeth to find out, but that wasn't the same thing.
Anabeth turned her bag upside down, dumping all the contents onto her coffee table. "Just go. Thanks for watching the kids."
Maisie gulped and nodded. She collected her things and moved to the door. Anabeth was watching, pure animosity seeping from her. The only good thing about the entire interaction was that Maisie managed to make it to her car before she started crying.