“I don’t get how she could just take off like that. What about her kids?” I took the dish William handed me and began drying it with the only clean kitchen towel I had been able to find.
“Courtney isn’t a typical mom. She’s not very good at putting her kids first.” William stuck his hands in the dishwater and came up with a dirty bowl. He had rolled up the sleeves of his blue dress shirt and his brow furrowed as he scrubbed away the dried cheese. It took all of my will-power not to lunge at him.
“Well, I still don’t get it.” The kids had done nothing wrong. It was horribly irresponsible to punish them in such a selfish way.
“Go ahead and tell her, Will.” Bob had reentered the room. He was wearing clean clothes and his face was freshly shaved, but he still looked tired and lost. “He’s being polite, but it’s not necessary. Courtney is a selfish bitch. Always has been, always will be.”
I didn’t know what to say so I looked at William but he was concentrating on cleaning a fork. Bob continued, “She never wanted the kids. They were an accident. I suppose it wasn’t fair to expect her to magically change and become a parent overnight once they were born.”
“Why is that unfair? You did.” William slammed a coffee mug onto the counter a little too hard and we all jumped. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Bob sighed. “I’m mad at her, too, Will. Pissed, even. But she’s still my wife and the mother of my kids. So I’ve got to do whatever I can to get her back.”
“Just let us know how to help.” Now that I didn’t have an official task to complete, I was back to feeling helpless.
“Will, can you help me check out a couple of places where she might have gone? She took the car when she left, so I could use a driver.” Bob seemed a little embarrassed to ask.
“Sure.” William wiped his hands dry on the towel and turned to me. “Are you good with watching the kids while we’re out?”
I nodded. “We’ll be fine. Go.”
William dropped a kiss on my forehead on his way out of the room. I heard Bob say goodbye to the kids while I finished putting the dishes away. With the kitchen cleaned, I moved through the other rooms of the house, picking up dirty laundry from the floors and putting away toys. The kids were more than happy watching television, so I washed a few loads of laundry before joining them in the living room.
Callie immediately joined me on the couch, curling up in my lap. “Where’s my mom?” she asked.
Bob hadn’t mentioned what he had told the kids. I wasn’t sure if I should tell the truth, or go with a lie so I did a combination. “She’s out right now.”
“When is she coming back?” Callie’s big, blue eyes tortured me. They were the same shade as William’s. A couple more questions while looking at me like that and I would spill everything.
“What are we watching?” I asked, attempting to change the subject.
Carter turned away from the television and said, “My mom is mean. She yells all the time. I hope she doesn’t come back ever.”
Callie started to cry and I hugged her tight, whispering that everything would be okay. I wasn’t even sure if I was lying to her. Losing a parent is the hardest thing imaginable. I would know- I lost both of mine when I was fourteen. But my parents had been taken from me. They didn’t want to go. Courtney had voluntarily left her kids, and they might grow up never knowing why. I had never met Courtney, but right then I hated her.
I managed to distract the kids by forcing them to take a bath. After a lot of screaming and one overflowing tub, they were clean, dry and dressed in pajamas. Trying to get them into bed was a whole other battle and I wasn’t up for the challenge. Instead, the three of us cuddled on the couch while watching Sponge Bob. It had been a long day for all of us and it didn’t take long for the kids to drift to sleep. I must have fallen asleep as well, because the next thing I knew, William was stroking my cheek, gently prodding me to wake up.
“Hey,” I said, a sleepy smile spreading over my face. “How’d it go?”
William shook his head, gesturing to the sleeping children lying on top of me. “We’ll talk after I put the kids in bed.”
He scooped Callie off my lap and she woke up just long enough to wrap her tiny arms around his neck. Bob came into the room looking even wearier than he had earlier and he didn’t say anything as he picked up Carter. The look in his eyes was haunting.
I stood and folded Callie’s pink blanket, hugging it against my chest as I looked around the room. Pictures of a happy family covered the walls, blatant lies in such a troubled home.