Page 2 of Falling Again
Natalie frowned. “Do I even want to know?”
Anthony grimaced and dunked his son into the tub. “Probably not. Turns out our little explorer can fit through the doggie door in the garage. I found him knee-deep in the mulch bag.”
Otis laughed as he splashed his sister, causing Madeline to join in the water fight. Before Natalie could blink, half her bathroom was a war zone.
“Come on guys. No playing right now. We’re all late.”
Natalie turned to find Anthony scrolling through his phone, his brow knit in concentration. “Mom’s running behind,” he said. “There was a fender bender off Main Street and she stopped to help.”
Donna Snyder was a retired nurse who never hesitated to help a neighbor. The update wasn’t surprising, but it was certainly inconvenient. Natalie looked at her watch again and didn’t muffle her next swear word. “I’m so late. What time is your meeting?”
“In ten minutes. I really gotta go.” Anthony looked helplessly at the mess in front of him, but he took a step back. “Sorry, Nat.” Waving to the kids, Anthony ordered, “You both do exactly as Mommy says, okay?”
“Mommy owes another quarter to the swear jar,” Madeline stated, clearly proud of herself.
“That jar is going to be their college funds if this continues,” Natalie muttered, carefully pulling Otis out of the tub and covering him in a towel. Despite his time in the mulch, he still had a hint of baby smell left on his skin. Natalie hugged him and kissed his cheek. She didn’t like how big her baby was getting.
Listening to the sound of Anthony’s feet fading down the stairs, Natalie pulled a pink towel down for Madeline. “Alright young lady. You’re next.”
Carefully stepping out of the tub, Madeline fell into the towel and her mother’s embrace. “What’s for breakfast?” she asked, and Natalie heard her tummy rumble.
Of course––breakfast. The meal she was trying to put together before they had their battle over the chocolate syrup. Would this morning never end?
Otis jumped for joy beside them, his hands flapping in the air. “Pancaffes!” he said. Her son was still learning to talk, and the words never came out quite right. Right now he sounded like he had a mouthful of marbles. Given their current situation, she wouldn’t have been surprised.
“No pancakes today, Otis. We’ll probably have a shake.”
“Boo!” Madeline said, fighting her mother as she tried to dry her off.
Otis, never one to miss a chance to scream, joined in. “Boo!” he wailed, stomping his tiny feet.
Natalie lifted her fingers to her lips and whistled a piercing sound that silenced her children. “Listen up,” she barked. “You each have one minute to get dressed. Okay? First one downstairs in all their clothes and shoes gets a piece of candy in their lunch.”
The two children raced off toward rooms, and Natalie fell back on her heels and sighed. She knew they’d both be downstairs in record time, as sugar was always a motivator. Pulling herself to standing, Natalie went downstairs to see Anthony hadn’t cleaned up the kitchen before he left. Thankfully it wasn’t the strawberry syrup, otherwise it would look like a crime scene. With a sigh, Natalie pulled out her phone to call her business partner and friend.
“Ginny? I’m going to be late this morning,” she said into her phone. It was turning out to be a hectic Monday, and she was hoping she could count on her business partner. Her life partner had been letting her down recently.
*
Anthony ran into thetown council meeting, his shoes slipping on the polished floors of town hall. He hadn’t been late yet this quarter, and he wasn’t starting now. No matter how early he set his alarm, his mornings never seemed long enough. Images of the chaos he’d just escaped circled in his brain, but Anthony shook his head. He needed to get into mayor mode, or this meeting would be an equal disaster—although hopefully with less dirt and chocolate.
“Morning, Mayor Snyder,” Jillian Oscar said from her spot at the other head of the conference table. Jillian had been on the council since Anthony was in diapers and his own father was mayor. While very dedicated to Buckeye Falls, Jillian never missed an opportunity to knock Anthony down a peg when he showed any weaknesses. Showing up one minute late to the meeting was definitely a weakness.
“Good morning, Jillian.” Anthony plopped down on his chair and opened his messenger bag. A small pile of mulch fell out of the side pocket––a gift from his son. Dusting the dirt onto the floor, Anthony turned to greet the other council members. “Morning everyone. Let’s get to business, shall we?”
Jillian leaned over her agenda and clicked her pen. “I think we should start with the vacancy on the council. It’s been a few weeks since Gerald retired, and we need to fill his spot.” Reaching into her purse, she retrieved a piece of paper and shook it open. “Violet Hemsworth and Agnes Sanders both showed interest in joining.”
Anthony had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from speaking up. Violet and Agnes were nice people, but they were also old enough to remember the Hindenburg disaster, and didn’t want to see any changes in Buckeye Falls. Anthony was desperate to find someone who was in the middle: willing to listen to both his ideas and the long-term council members.
James Gibson cleared his throat from across the table. A man in his late thirties, he’d lived in Buckeye Falls for almost a year and brought in a balance of local and outside perspective. James was an artist who moved to the small Ohio town in search of peace and concentration for his art. Anthony had liked him immediately, as he was no-nonsense in these meetings.
“Both women would bring a lot to the council,” James offered.
“I agree,” Jillian interrupted. “I think it’s high time we got back to basic values in this town.”
Now Anthony really needed to hold his tongue. There were values, and then there wereJillian’svalues. Anthony didn’t have the time or energy to hop onto her soapbox now. “Why don’t we let James continue?” he asked, striving for a diplomatic tone.
“Thanks Anthony,” James said. “I was thinking we should get one of the small business owners from Main Street involved with the council. One of the boutique owners, or maybe Max Sanchez from the diner?”
