“You fucking rock as a mother!” I pulled her close again. “Everyone needs help in the beginning, honey.”
It took me a good half hour to calm her down enough that I was able to talk her into eating something. After she had eaten, I helped her shower then tucked her into bed. The guys were back in the studio finishing up, so they hadn’t been home much during the day this week.
I took care of Mia for the rest of the day. I made sure that she was in a well lit room, and I woke her often. Thankfully, Emmie had started pumping her breast milk, because I didn’t want to disturb her. The one time I had checked on her, she was in a deep sleep. It was probably the first restful sleep she had had since coming home from the hospital two weeks ago.
By the time Lucy was home, Emmie was still sleeping, so I put Lucy in front of the television and started on dinner for everyone. Lana came home, but didn’t stay. She had finals coming up the few weeks after Thanksgiving so she was studying more often than not. As long as she passed all of her exams, she was going to graduate with honors. It was her last semester of high school, and she didn’t have to go back for anything except graduation.
Last week, she had told me she had applied for early entrance to a few colleges. I knew she was going to get in, but I had no idea how I was going to afford the schools that she deserved to go to. I refused to ask Jesse for help. He was my boyfriend, not my money train.
--
Things got better over the next week. Emmie’s dark circles faded and she wasn’t as emotional as she had been. We transitioned Mia over to a night time sleep schedule and she was starting to sleep longer at night. It was getting easier for Emmie, and I was beyond relieved that the old Emmie was starting to shine through again.
The guys had finally finished all the recording they needed to do. I was happy to have them all around the house again, and I loved getting to spend more time with Jesse. But I felt like something was up with him. He was acting strange, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was getting bored with me. But I was too scared to ask him what was going on.
The week after Thanksgiving, I overheard Jesse and Emmie talking in her office. I was on my way to the laundry room and the door was closed, so I only heard part of their conversation. What I did hear made my heart crack.
“…Perfectly Clean said that they can have a new housekeeper here after Christmas,” Emmie was saying.
“Will you be okay until then?” Jesse asked, sounding concerned.
“None of this is okay with me, Jesse. I don’t want you to go…”
“Emmie, I’m not going far. You know I can’t stay here. Not now.”
I heard them moving around inside and rushed down the hall to the laundry room before they found me eavesdropping. I tossed the basket of clothes on top of the dryer and leaned back against the closed door. My heart was racing, my throat tight and burning with tears.
It was true. He was going to break up with me. Emmie was already looking for a new housekeeper, and Jesse was leaving. My heart clenched in a painful way, and my knees gave out. Slowly, I slid down the door hugging my knees to my chest as I silently cried. I was about to lose everything: my job, my home, my friends.
The guy that I loved…
Jesse
Things were put on hold for a few weeks after Mia came along.
I had hated to ask Emmie to help me when she had been so sick. Postpartum had been a real bitch, but I was relieved to find my old Emmie coming back to me now. For a while, the world had seemed dark because she was lost in a maze of hormonally induced black emotions. We had Layla to thank for helping Emmie find her way back, and I think I was deeper in love with her because of it.
Once Emmie was back to her old self, she started where she had left off. I didn’t even have to ask her about it. She just did what she did best and made things happen. Things were moving faster than I had expected, and I was worried that I was going to be leaving Emmie out in the cold when I left.
Even though she was helping me, she didn’t want me to go, even if I was just going to be a few houses away. It hurt me just as much as it hurt her, but we both knew that it was time for me to move on. A house was not meant for two families. Now that she had hers, I needed to start my own.
“You can visit me every day,” I promised her with a grin. “And you know I can’t go a day without seeing you, Em.”
Her chin trembled but she was smiling. “I’m glad you have Layla. I like seeing you so happy, Jess.”
I cocked a brow at her. “And how are you and Nik? Still arguing?”
She grimaced. “A little.”
“Because you won’t marry him?” Nik was chomping at the bit. He had asked her to marry him months ago, but she had said that they had to wait for the baby to arrive first. Now that Mia was here, Emmie still didn’t seem ready. I wasn’t sure what was holding her back. I knew that she loved Nik. I think I had known it before she had.