Page 69 of Severed Rivalry
He bobs his head while thumbing his bottom lip. “That works.” He lifts a chin at me. “You ready for Tuesday?”
“Hospitals, copays, setting shattered bone. Can’t wait.”
“Get this shit behind you. You have a life to build.”
“A life, a business, a family.”
Not long after Liam leaves, my doorbell rings. A huge guy in cargoes and lace-up military-style boots is at my door. “Are you Cian Murphy?”
“I am.”
“Christian Barone asked me to deliver this to you.” He moves to his vehicle and returns with a black-muzzled puppy with a lean body and razor-sharp baby teeth.
I shake the guy’s hand and take the lead. The dog’s not poorly trained, but he’s young. Overnight with a puppy. Only for my sister.
By Sunday, it’s not hard to remember why I prefer dogs to puppies. Chewing, tugging, pouncing, whining.
Eleanor is exhausted, and if I had to guess, I’d assume her floppy ears are sore from being gnawed like a chew toy.
The little dude is cute, but there’s not a moment’s peace in this house. Not for my girl and not for me. Not when Ayla’s gift from Christian is shitting on my floors.
The good news is that he’ll go home with them sooner rather than later and my life will be quiet and peaceful again.
I’ve spent half of my conversations with Sariah correcting the little monster and the other half talking to myself about corralling him in some manner to protect the woodwork in the house, or the floors, or the furniture, or…
What I love in those moments are two things. First the normalcy of us just being. We’re not delving into traumatic pastsor reliving hurt. It’s housework and dogs and grocery discussions. It’s life… and it’s easy. Secondly, Sariah laughs often and deeply. Somehow, I know, though she hasn’t ever said, that that’s not typical for her. Or at least it hasn’t been.
The sound is carefree and joyous, and it is more than any doctor could do for me.
“They’re pulling up. I’ll call you back when they leave.”
“That works. Talk in a bit, Ci.” She pauses for a long moment before she adds abyeand disconnects.
The pause. The place where I love you is supposed to be. We’ll get there.
Ayla knocks before letting herself in, speaking first to Eleanor who greets her as if it’s been a year since they last saw each other, not less than forty-eight hours. “Hello, gorgeous. Who is your new friend?”
My slide from her favorite person to fourth in this house is complete. “He’s yours, sis. Couldn’t have you stealing my girl.”
“Our girl,” she tries, but plops to her butt, a smile breaking across her face, to see her new addition eye to eye.
I may be sliding, but some things in life never change.
And for that, I’m grateful.
Sariah
“How’s your homework coming?”
Renée is smart, gifted actually, but sitting still to do homework has never been her strong suit. It was better when she was little. Let’s be real, it was better before the damn phone that beckons her like the ring beckoned Gollum.
That analogy is a bit too spot on. Without good parameters, it will do the very same to her. Make her a husk of her former self, always stretching and reaching and missing that she’s no longer herself.
What’s a mom to do? A mom in tech no less.
This parenting shit is hard.
“Good. I’m all done.”
