I rolled out of bed dreading this day. Marcus had been coming over every day for a week, but I made sure he waited until the kids were home from school. He’d spend a few hours with them before leaving to go back to Florence. He even spent time at Dunham’s house getting to know his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I tried to avoid being in the same room with him whenever possible. Having him in the house, seeing him almost daily was hard enough. Some days I would leave to spend the time either at CeCe’s house or at Carter’s. Today however I wouldn’t be able to avoid him. The kids knew of Florence but today they were meeting their new soon to be step-mother. They were curious about her and wanted to meet her and I couldn’t blame them, it was only natural. It was time since they could get married now without any concerns. My official divorce decree arrived in the mail yesterday. I handed Marcus his copy when he came over then left. I didn’t want to be around any one so I took Fred and Wilma on a walk to the dog park.
I
headed to the bathroom so I could shower and get myself ready for the day. The
triplets were already in the dining room eating breakfast with Finley. I looked
at my youngest child and recalled the heartache I had when I found her crying
in her room one night. She looked at Mulo as a father figure as much as the
triplets had. She would never get to meet her father, the triplets had theirs
back, and Mulo no longer being around all left her hurt and confused. I was
angry with Mulo all over again seeing once more the effect his actions had on
my family. It was hard for her not to have a father, but I reminded her how
many people she had in her life that loved her. They didn’t make up for not
having a dad, but she would always have someone there for her.
“Good morning kids.” I said as I
walked past them towards the kitchen to fix myself a cup of coffee.
“Mornin’ mom.” They all responded.
While my coffee brewed, I did
another check of the groceries to make sure I had gotten everything at the
store yesterday. It was going to be a small family cookout so that the kids
could welcome Florence to the family.
“Mom.”
“Yeah sweetie?” I responded turning to see Finley.
“Can I help make the cookies.”
“I can’t do them without you. They
never turn out right.” I replied smiling as I pulled the eggs out of the
fridge.
The triplets came in to put their
dishes in the sink then left to go get dressed. Finley and I enjoyed a fun time
making cookies. She was an easy going child, and it was nearly impossible to
remain in a bad mood when she was around. We had just pulled out the second
batch when the Edson walked in.
“Mom can I ask you a question?” He
asked.
“Of course dear. You can ask me
anything you know that.”
“Why’d you do it?”
I looked up at him and saw that
this was going to be the talk they had been avoiding with me. I would catch
bits of things as they talked to Marcus but none of them spoke to me about how
they were feeling in all this. When I asked, I got the standard ‘I’m fine’
answer.
“Finley go upstairs and get dressed
dear. I need to talk to your brothers and sister.”
Even though they weren’t
downstairs, I knew they would be. They still communicated without the use of
words, and if this talk was going to happen, it would happen with all of them.
“Aww Mom, we aren’t finished with
the cookies. Why can’t I stay?”
“Because sweetie…”
Finley threw up her hand to stop me
from talking. “Yeah, yeah, yeah I know I’m not old enough. I really hate that
answer.” She grumbled as she sulked out of the kitchen.
“Let’s go sit shall we.” I said
directing him towards the dining room. The others were entering just as I
suspected they would. “So is this about Mulo?” They all nodded. “What do you
want to know exactly?”
“Why not all of it.” Elton answered
with a shrug.
