Page 40 of When I'm Gone
God, Natalie, what have you gotten me into this time?
CHAPTER 15
“Hey, we’re home!” May shouted, running into the house at full speed. She clutched a new doll in her arms. With its long brown hair and blue eyes, the doll looked like a little mini-May. “I got a doll; her name is Sally!”
Luke stepped over the threshold and closed the garage door. The smell of bleach tickled his nose. Usually when he came home to relieve Annie, the house was filled with the smell of dinner cooking or a bag of microwave popcorn for a movie. Bleach was unexpected. Wandering through the front rooms of the house, Luke was surprised and a little horrified at how clean they all were.
“Annie!” he scolded, shaking his head. “You didn’t have to clean my house.”
In the kitchen, the cleanliness continued. The family room was tidy, the TV stand shockingly clear of dust, and Annie stood at the sink, wearing yellow rubber gloves up to her elbows.
“Annie.” He sighed. “You didn’t spend your whole day cleaning, did you? Please don’t feel like you have to clean up after us. It makes me feel really guilty.”
She waved a gloved hand at him. “Don’t worry. I didn’t do it alone. Will is impressively talented at getting mildew out of bathroom tile.”
“Daddy, I did the feathers.” Clayton jumped up and hugged his leg, smiling like he’d built the house himself.
“Feathers?” Luke asked.
Annie peeled off her gloves with a snap. “Dusting,” she whispered.
“Oh, dusting.” Luke took three steps toward the island, Clayton hanging on for dear life. “You, sir, are one amazing duster.”
“I know.” Clayton giggled.
“So, how was the American Girl store? May seems happy.” They both looked at May, who was sitting with her doll at the table, explaining that she needed to eat all her green beans if she wanted any dessert. “You feel extra girly today?”
“Yeah, we had tea.” Luke held up his pinky finger like he was holding a teacup. “Did I mention I’m a good dad?”
“You didn’t need to.” She yanked off theKISS THECOOKapron she’d taken to wearing and hung it on a hook by the fridge. “I already knew.”
“Make sure to tell Terry that when she gets here.”
Annie put one hand on her hip. “You know I would, but I don’t think I’ll get the chance to see her. Brian and I are going out to DC next week to look at ... places.” She lowered her voice when she mentioned the semi-taboo subject.
“Ah, yeah, I forgot.” Luke was trying very hard to be supportive. “So, any official news?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. He’s on the ‘top of the list,’ whatever that means.”
They stood there in silence for a second. Whenever they spoke about the impending move, Luke always had an intense yearning to ask her to stay. So, supportive or not, he had to force himself not to speak, afraid of what might come out.
“Well, thanks for watching Clayton so I could have my special date with May.” Luke had taken off the past week to spend the kids’ last week at home without Terry. She’d spend the next week with them in Michigan and then take the kids back to Florida with her for six whole weeks.
After spending just one week at home with the kids, Luke was more certain than ever that summer at Grandma Terry’s would be better for everyone. In the past week they’d gone to the pool, taken a trip to the zoo, and played an epic game of hide-and-seek on one particularly rainy afternoon. But summer was Natalie’s forte, and now it felt like they were all trying a little too hard.
“You never have to thank me for the time I spend with your kids. I adore them.” Clayton, who’d unsuctioned himself from Luke’s leg, was now hanging from Annie’s yoga pants. She didn’t seem to mind, patting his blond hair affectionately. “What youdohave to thank me for is cleaning out that fridge. Jeez, Luke, please don’t tell me this is the first time it’s been cleaned out since Natalie did it.”
“No, you didn’t.” Luke breezed past Annie and Clayton, yanking open the refrigerator door. The shelves glistened and were nearly empty. The faint scent of bleach was almost refreshing when mixed with the clean cold air of the refrigerator. “Annie.” Luke lowered his voice. “You’ve got to let me pay you. You work too hard.”
“No way; I won’t take your money.” She wrapped her hand around the refrigerator door handle under Luke’s and pushed it shut. “I only did it because of Terry visiting this week. I didn’t want to give her any added ammunition to be mean to you.”
“Oh”—he hesitated—“Natalie told you?”
“It wasn’t very hard to pick up on.” She let go of the handle first. “I was here every day at the end. She is not an easy mother-in-law, that’s for sure.” Annie leaned her head against the fridge and crossed her arms across her loose electric-blue athletic shirt.
Luke rested against the freezer door. “Yeah, I’m used to ignoring her disapproval at this point. I did do something sneaky though.”
“Oh! What?”
