Page 7 of A Very Miller-Cooper Life

Charlie scoffed. “Yeah, three kids and your mother. That must be so hard on you.”

“Seriously?” I walked over to the couch with Carter on my hip and put a hand on the other one once I stopped. “Do you think it’s easy being home every day? Even with my mom, it’sstill a lot of fucking work. Not to mention, most days, I have a few hours with them by myself. I keep them not only alive but also occupiedandclean the houseandcook dinner. And what do I get in return? Not even a thank you. You honestly don’t know how lucky you are. I wish I could leave the house every day.”

“You say that like I’m leaving the house to do something fun.” Charlie squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, and it looked like she might start to cry. “No. I’m leaving to do a job that makes me fucking miserable. I spend hours a day getting shit on by my patients just to have my boss tell me I’m not doing enough. I feel like I’m missing our kids growing up. I’m not with them at all throughout the day and then by the time I get home, I’m so tired, I feel like I’m just trying to survive until we get them to sleep. I don’t even get to enjoy them. Some nights… if I’m being honest, most nights… I can’t wait for them to go to bed. Do you know how shitty that feels? It makes me feel like a terrible mom. Who knows. Maybe I am. You sure seem to think that.”

As soon as I saw the first tear fall, I sat down on the couch next to Charlie and took her hand in mine, all of my anger suddenly forgotten. “You’re not a terrible mom, and I’m really sorry if I ever made you feel that way. I’m just really tired. I thought this move was going to be a fresh start, but instead, I just feel like I’m drowning.” I squeezed Charlie’s hand and ducked my head to force her eyes to meet mine. “Let’s go on a date this weekend. You don’t work on Saturday, right? I’ll have my parents watch the kids overnight. We can get a hotel, either in town or even in the city.”

“What is this? Prom? You’re buying us a hotel for the night so you can finally have sex with me?” The way Charlie laughed told me her tension was starting to ease as well.

I smiled at Charlie and wiggled my eyebrows. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. Well, except I’m not buying the hotel.I’m using our credit card points. Gotta put all that money spent on formula and diapers to good use.”

A small smile finally parted Charlie’s lips. “Okay,” she said softly.

“Okay? Really?” Her answer took me by surprise since I had been sure she was going to turn me down.

“Yes. Let’s do it. As long as it’s okay with your parents, of course.”

“It will be, don’t worry.”I will beg, grovel, and plead if I need to.

***

Luckily, my parents were happy to watch the triplets so no begging was necessary. Less than a week later, we were heading across town to our hotel. We decided that would be easier than going into the city, and since the point was relaxing, why do anything that could potentially cause stress?

“Any preference where we eat dinner?” I asked Charlie as I drove.

“Does the hotel have room service? Because eating in bed and watching a movie without any interruptions sounds marvelous right now.”

“They do. I checked before I booked it, because I had a feeling you might want to do that.”

Charlie lifted my hand that she was holding and kissed my knuckles. “You know me so well.”

“See. I’m not that terrible, am I?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Charlie furrow her eyebrows as her smile dropped. “I never said you were terrible. You don’t actually think I feel that way, do you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe sometimes.” I shrugged. What was supposed to have been a joke had definitely fallen flat and brought us into a territory I didn’t want to be in tonight. “Let’snot talk about that right now though, okay? Tonight is supposed to be all about fun and relaxation.”

“Okay, but just for the record I don’t think you’re terrible. Not at all. And I’m really sorry if I made you feel that way, because it’s not the case at all. I think you’re the most wonderful person in the entire world. Seriously. You mean everything to me. I have no doubt this night is going to be perfect.”

“Please don’t say that word.” I clutched the steering wheel tighter.

“What word?”

“Perfect.” I loosened my grip and laughed. “You know nothing ever goes perfectly for us. Just saying it out loud is a sure way to jinx it. Next thing you know we’ll get a call that the hotel is on fire or something.”

“Oh god, don’t even say that.”

“Am I wrong though?”

“No, you’re completely right. With our luck, that would definitely happen. I apologize for using the P word.”

It became harder and harder for me not to use theP Wordas the night went on, because it certainly felt that way. As soon as we arrived at the hotel, we ordered room service and snuggled while we watched a cheesy Hallmark movie (Charlie’s choice, of course) and waited for the food to arrive. After we ate, we snuggled back together and finished the movie.

“So, what now?” I asked after placing a kiss on Charlie’s forehead.

Charlie pulled away from me and gave me a sly grin. “I saw that the shower has one of those rain shower heads. Want to try it out?”

My body buzzed as I pulled Charlie’s back up against mine. “Feeling dirty?”

---