Page 7 of An Adventure For Aster

Emma looked away. “Not really.”

“They just briefed you on what was going on when you returned more than anything, right?”

Emma sighed. “Yeah. I love being a mother, but being only with Drew day in and day out, I’m ready to pull my hair out. Though I’m not around people working remotely, I talk toadultsall day long. Am I a horrible person missing that interaction?”

Raine pulled the containers of food out and opened the tops while Emma got the plates down.

“No,” she said. “Not a horrible person at all. I work with kids all day long and I crave time with adults. If I wipe your face or help you cut a vegetable, don’t hold it against me.”

Emma laughed. “You say that all the time, but you never do it. Maybe you need to get out some more.”

“I try,” Raine said. “But a lot of my friends are married now or in relationships.”

Which sucked even more.

She wasn’t sure what was worse. Being single at thirty-one or being the only single one in her group of friends.

She didn’t even have anyone to go out with.

Or if she went out with them, they weren’t looking and she was.

She’d gone out with her future sister-in-law, Ivy, and some of Ivy’s coworkers a few times, but again, most of them were taken too.

“At least you don’t have your mother breathing down your throat to find a man,” Emma said, snickering.

She’d heard all about Emma’s mother and the men her mother married and divorced, then preached a woman needed a man to take care of her.

“That’s a good point,” she said.

The two of them dove into their food.

“How was your day?” Emma asked.

“We had a field trip to the firehouse. The kids had a ball. There was this guy that had them all laughing. I have to say it was a different trip than I’ve been on before.”

She told Emma about Fireman Allen and the target the hose was hitting and how he got the kids involved in things.

“That’s wonderful,” Emma said. “Something for Drew to look forward to in five years.”

When Emma’s eyes filled with tears, she asked, “What is wrong?”

“Hormones,” Emma said. “Oh my God, I never cry and I feel like I can shed a tear every second. Poor River is going nuts, but I tell him there’s nothing he can do. I was just thinking how sad it’d be with Drew growing up that fast in five years. And here I am rushing back to work.”

“Hey,” she said. “Do you know how many parents come to me and say that they are struggling? That they want to do the right thing, but sometimes they just need a break. Or are out of their element? It’s natural. Not everyone is meant to spend every minute with their children, but that doesn’t mean they love them any less.”

“I know,” Emma said. “Your mother has been so wonderful coming over and helping out too. I think I’m just tired. I don’t know how River can function on so little sleep.”

Being a doctor, her brother was used to it.

“I can’t either,” Raine said. “But I’m sure you’ll adapt and Drew will start sleeping better. Is he still getting up a lot at night?”

“He is. Two to three times a night to eat. Good lord, it’s like he’s got the biggest baby tank I’ve heard of. But your mother said both Brooks and River were the same. Not you.”

“I’m a lot smaller than them,” she said. “Even as a baby I was. Just means you’re going to have a big son most likely.”

“Is it horrible that I’m jealous that Charlotte was all but sleeping through the night at six weeks? Selena took eight weeks off and she had two weeks of full night’s sleep before that.”

Selena was married to Emma’s brother, James, and was an attorney.

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