Page 120 of Mr. Infuriating

Unfortunately.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Gretchen

When the doorbell rang, I picked Jake up, took a deep breath, and forced myself to smile when I opened the door.

Gabe stood behind Brayden and Brittany and offered a sheepish, “Hi.”

I, however, channeled my first-day school teacher energy and focused on the kids, saying brightly, “Hello! You must be Brayden and Brittany! I’ve heard so much about you! Please come in!”

I offered Gabe a polite smile but otherwise ignored him.

I hadn’t had to worry about his kids having an attitude toward me. They were friendly and polite, and Brayden worked on his essays without grumbling. As we went through the strengths and weaknesses of his writing, he was fully vested in how he could improve.

And Brittany was too adorable as she played Jake’s mother hen. Jake, of course, loved it and refused to let her attention stray for even a second from anywhere but what he was doing.

The moment he’d notice she looked away from the tablet, he’d reach for her face and steer her back to the game, while chastising, “No,Bit-nee. Mouse!”

After forty-five minutes, I felt bad for her so while Brayden worked on another essay, I decided to put my big girl panties on and approach Gabe. He and Beau were prying the sink loose from the cabinet in the kitchen.

I was glad Beau was there to act as a buffer and mitigate how uncomfortable things were between Gabe and me.

“I think fifteen more minutes then we’ll call it a day. You can only stuff so much information into a kid’s brain and expect him to retain it.”

Gabe nodded.

“We should be done with this by then, and we can get out of your hair.”

I chuckled. “Brittany will probably appreciate that. I think she’s going to reconsider any ideas she had of babysitting in the future. Jake has been quite demanding of her time.”

“I’m sure she’s having a blast,” Beau piped in.

“She definitely loved being a big sister,” Gabe added with a sad smile. “I bet she misses it.”

Death is a topic that can be difficult to navigate. You never know if the person grieving wants to talk about their deceased loved one or if it’s too painful.

I looked to Beau for guidance about how to continue, since he knew his brother better than I did.

Beau chuckled. “Remember that Thanksgiving when she tried changing Bodhi’s diaper?”

That made Gabe burst out laughing, which I took as a good sign. “Yes, what a disaster!”

“What happened?”

They proceeded to tell me about how four-year-old Brittany had tried to change her little brother’s poopy diaper after dinner without telling anyone. And how Gabe had to pay to have his mom’s couch professionally cleaned.

“Well, she hasn’t offered to change Jake’s pullup, so I think she learned her lesson.”

I met Gabe’s eyes, and both our smiles fell at the same time.

Awkward.

Just then, Brayden poked his head through the makeshift plastic door.

“Mrs. Wainwri—er, Ms. Kelly? I’m finished.”

Thank fuck I had an excuse to get the hell out of there.

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