Page 1 of Guarding Our Love
“Okay,Mr. Jones. According to the nurse, your daughter should be here soon to pick you up. I gave her my card yesterday in case you need anything else. You take care of yourself, all right?”
“Thank you so much, Sloan. You have been a great help.”
“It was my pleasure, Mr. Jones.”
I turned to walk away but stopped when I felt him lightly grab my wrist. He quickly let it go when he had my full attention.
“I wanted to apologize about my daughter. I know she can be a bit of abitchsometimes. She got that mess from her mother.” He smirked. “I tried my best with that one, but she just does her own thing. I love her, but I can’t stand her sometimes.”
I smiled and patted his shoulder. Mr. Jones reminded me of my father, and that was why I liked him so much. He’d been apatient in the hospital for a few weeks after he fell and broke his hip, and I made it my business to check on him each day that I worked. He was one of the nicest men I’d ever met. He would tell me stories about his time in the army and a bunch of other stuff. I think he just needed someone to talk to sometimes. His wife died a couple of years ago. He had grown children, but they were all doing their own thing and didn’t have time for him every day. His daughter, Robyn, and I went to high school together. I didn’t like her then, and I still didn’t like her. She always thought she was better than everyone else.
“It’s not your fault.” My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I excused myself. “Take care, Mr. Jones.”
He said his goodbyes, and I left the room. In the hallway, I checked my phone in case it was another patient, but it was my husband telling me he and the boys were getting pizza for dinner. I was okay with that because it had been a long day, and I wasn’t in the mood to cook. I wanted to go home, eat dinner with my family, and have some alone time with my husband. It had been at least a week since we’d been intimate, and I was backed up.
Between his schedule, mine, and our boys’ busy schedules, it had been hard to find time for each other.
My husband, Roy, and I had been married for twelve years, but we had been together for fourteen. We had two boys, Blake and Brooks. Blake was twelve and played football, while Brooks was ten and played baseball, so we were constantly attending practices and games. As soon as one season ended, another one started. It was a lot, and both boys mentioned trying out for the basketball team for the next season. They both had good grades, so we didn’t mind them participating in sports or any other school activity, but I was tired.
I worked as a social worker in the hospital, and some days, I would be there for ten to twelve hours. It was a good thing thatI at least had the weekends off, but that was when we spent time as a family or did one of the boys’ activities.
Mr. Jones was my last patient of the day, so I headed back to my office to get my things and go home. When I reached my office, I changed out of my shoes, shut down my computer for the day, and grabbed my purse and keys. Once I had everything, I turned the lights off and left. I made sure the door was locked and headed toward the elevator. Walking down the hallway, I prayed nobody needed me for anything. I was hungry, and I knew Roy had gotten my favorite pizza. I hadn’t eaten anything in hours, and my stomach growled multiple times, reminding me of that fact.
The minute the elevator doors opened, I stepped inside. Luckily, there was no one on there. I stood in the back with my head against the wall and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, I reached the parking lot. I hurried to my car and got inside after I put my stuff in the passenger seat.
As I drove home, I thought about all the things I needed to do the next day. Roy and the boys had plans, so I would take myself on a mini shopping spree after work. Shopping was my favorite thing to do since it was the only time I could be by myself. Once a month, I got my nails, feet, and hair done, but I shopped twice a month. Roy complained sometimes because I purchased things I never wore and still managed to buy more. He ended up having to build an extra closet for me in the basement, but it was what I loved to do. I always said I could have had a worse habit.
Thirty minutes later, I pulled into the driveway. Roy left the garage open for me, so I pulled inside. I knew I wasn’t going back out. The weather called for rain, and I didn’t want my baby to sit outside in the rain. I worked hard for my SUV, and it was a gift to myself when I completed my master’s degree. I loved that thing, and I treated it as such.
I let the garage door down and climbed out of the car with my bag. Laughter and the smell of pizza hit me as soon as I walked inside. The garage door led into the kitchen, and that’s where we usually ate dinner.
“Hey, Mom.” Both boys greeted me at the same time.
“Hey, guys.” I walked over to each of them and kissed the tops of their heads.
“Hey, baby,” Roy voiced as he walked up to me and kissed my lips. He then grabbed my bag from my hand and placed it on the counter. “The pizza is still hot so wash your hands real quick so you can eat with us.”
“Yes, sir.” I walked over to the kitchen sink to wash my hands, then sat at the table with my family.
Life had been busy, but we always tried to find a way to at least eat dinner together as a family. Roy occasionally worked late, but I still ate with the kids.
While we ate, everyone went around and talked about their day. Roy told me about some new project he had at work and some new person who started the other day. When he was done, the boys told us about their days. Brooks had a game coming up, so he had to be at practice early all week. That was the only thing about them playing sports I didn’t like, the early mornings, but it helped them both learn discipline.
As dinner continued, I looked around at my little family and felt at peace. Roy and I came from two-parent households, and our parents provided the best for us, so we wanted to give our children the same thing. Even though the boys were in so many different activities, they still had household chores. Most days, they washed and dried the dishes together. On Saturdays, when they had nothing going on, they had to clean their rooms. I still did their laundry, but it was their job to make sure it was in the laundry room.
We had a system, and it seemed to work for us. Each week, the boys got to get something or go somewhere if they did everything they had to for the week. Sometimes, it had to be tweaked depending on their schedules, but we made it work.
“Okay. It’s time for bed. We have an early day tomorrow, especially you, Brooks,” I reminded him.
Since we had pizza, there weren’t any dishes to wash, so the boys only had to take out the trash and wipe down the counters. Whenever we had takeout, we used paper plates and plastic cups.
“Good night,” Blake declared first as he stood from his seat. Brooks followed suit, but he didn’t leave the kitchen until he hugged his father and me. He was the more affectionate of the two. Blake was at that age where he acted like he couldn’t hug or kiss his parents.
Once both boys were gone, Roy and I got up to get ready for bed ourselves.
“Why don’t you go upstairs, shower, and get ready for me,” Roy suggested as he pulled me into his arms.
“I like the sound of that.”
