Page 14 of Kimbra
I need to make some of my former brothers pay for daring to not stay quiet after we kindly retired them instead of dispatching them like Brander suggested.
I think back to a conversation I remember overhearing between an ex-boyfriend of my mom and his buddy. He told his buddy, “You ever need your woman to get in line or do what you want? Threaten to hurt one of her crotch goblins. Even just an okay mom will come to heel if you do that.” Thinking it’s time to go after a kid or two. Then they won’t have any choice but to give me the money I deserve.
CHAPTER NINE
Branson asked me what was the favorite thing a guy that liked me ever gave me…my baby boy likes someone, and I’m not okay! I’m gonna have to give him the birds and the bees now, aren’t I?
~Text from Kimbra to Ben~
Kimbra
When everything seems to be going good, there’s always got to be something that gets thrown at you to remind you that life isn’t easy and things are never simple. Just a few minutes ago, I got a call to inform me that Ms. Elenore suffered a stroke while at her kids' place. She’s going to survive but has months of recovery ahead of her, but they aren’t sure if she’ll make a full recovery. She’s been the only care provider for my kids since Branson was a baby, so we’re all going to miss seeing her all the time. Her daughter is going to call me with her information as to where she’s going to do rehab so we can visit her once she’s settled, but it’s left me with a dilemma—no, actually, a last-minute crisis.
This next week is the kid’s spring break, and unfortunately, I have to work. I take time off for most of their vacations, but this one, I wasn’t able to. Thankfully, with the hospital hiring another OB/GYN, in the future, I can, but that doesn’t help me with the current situation.
Ben is walking into the room as I am hanging up. “What’s goin’ on, Doc?” I tell him what Ms. Elenore’s daughter just told me. “This week is spring break. It’s their one break from school I can’t take off this year. So it’s not just a few hours after school, but I have five full days I need them watched, and then there’s every week after that. Branson is old enough not to need to go to daycare, but I really don’t want him home alone. I don’t want them in just some random daycare I can’t research or take time to hire someone. I guess I can call out sick for tomorrow, but then I—” During my rambling, Ben must have moved across the room without my noticing because he stopped my word vomit with his hand as he crouched in front of me. Leaving his fingers on my lips so I don’t start rambling again—I swear it’s like he knows me or something—he looks at me with a serious expression. “Kimbra. You aren’t alone. You don’t have to figure all of this out on your own. You have me. You have an entire family in the club, too. Let me make a call, and we’ll get things figured out before the kids get home, okay?” I nod because he’s still got my mouth shut. He leans forward and gives me a quickkiss. He stands up, takes his phone out of his pocket, and makes a call as he walks to the kitchen.
I watch him talk to whoever he just called as he opens the cupboard and pulls out a wine glass. He opens the fridge, takes the bottle we got at the store out, and opens it. He pours a glass, puts the bottle away, and grabs a bottle of beer. He brings both into the living room and hands me the wine glass. “Sounds good. I’ll talk to her, but I think that’s a solid plan. I’ll let you know here shortly.” He hangs up and sits down next to me, pulling me close to him. I glance over at him. “Are you going to tell me who you were just talking to, or are you going to leave me guessing?” He squeezes me. “That was Pres. I wanted to check with him about my schedule, seeing as how I really only work at the shop when they’re overbooked or someone has to take time off. I’m not needed tomorrow or Friday this week, and most weeks, I only work a few days. If this plan works for you, this week, I’ll keep the kids tomorrow and Friday. Going forward, any days I don’t work, I can do the after-school run and take care of them. Jon said on the days I work, he’s fine if I need to take off and pick them up and, on occasion, bring them back to the shop. They can hang with Shandy in the office or in his office.” I have to turn to see his face. “You would really be okay with doing pick-up all the time like that? That’s a lot to take on.” He looks at me like he’s trying to figure out how to say what he’s thinking. “You and me are it, love. That means they’re it for me, too. They’remy kids, too, now. I know they’re not my flesh and blood, and I might have missed out on them being babies and their earlier years, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to miss out on anything else of theirs. I plan to be at the ball games, recitals, science fairs, proms, and graduations. Hell, as much as I don’t want to think about it, I’m gonna be here when Bailey goes on her first date, though that won’t be till she's twenty if I have my say.” He really is a unicorn, or at leastmyunicorn. I have to kiss him, so I do.
“You’re kind of amazing, Mathis. Just when I think I’m completely in love with you, you do something like this and make me fall even more in love with you.” He gives me a kiss. “That’s a good thing because then maybe one day you’ll catch up with how completely in love with you I am.” This man. “Wait. Your plan for this week just covers Monday and Friday. What about Tuesday through Thursday?” Ben takes a sip of beer before he answers me. “Jon asked Jane while he was on the phone with me, and she said that between her, Kierstie, Anna, and Linnea, they’ve got us covered. They already rotate Daisy along with Kierstie’s two on the day or two she works. They all know the kids, and besides, there’s usually at least one brother with them to help. Jackson, Wyatt, Jonah, or even Juan, Rory, and Jon take turns sometimes.” I lean my head against his shoulder and take a sip of wine. “Well, damn. You literally took care of all of that with a less than five-minute phone call.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I mean, we might have to have a sleepoversometime with Daisy or some of the little ones in return, but I figured we could handle that on occasion. Like I said, you’re family, Doc, and we all take care of family together.”
**********
It’s only Thursday morning, and my kids won’t stop talking about their week. How Ben took them fishing, and Bailey was so excited that he got them each their own pole and how “It’s mine forevers, Mommy, and he’s going to take us fishing again and again!”. Bentley’s been going on and on about how he's making a birdhouseanda squirrel house all from scratch with Jackson and Jonah’s help. Even Branson got excited, and that’s saying something because a twelve-almost-thirteen-year-old boy rarely seems to get excited about anything. Today, he’s going to a day game at the Mariners with Logan and Wyatt. He barely slept last night. He’s never been to a major league baseball game, and he’s so excited he even got up and dressed this morning before I came to wake him up.
While Branson is at the game, Bailey is going to spend the day with Anna and Daisy. She informed me they are going to have a tea party and make cookies. She said Jackson even has the tea party with them, telling me he has a fancy hat he wears and everything. Apparently, he did this with their daughter Hanna when she was little and now continues it withtheir granddaughter. I know I’ve witnessed Ben getting his nails painted while playing with Bailey, all while wearing a pink boa and sitting in a kid’s size chair.
Seeing these big, brawny men willing to let little girls paint their nails and dress them up to make them happy shows me what good men they really are.
Bentley is spending the morning with Ben at the repair shop before going over to Jonah and Linnea’s to work on his birdhouse with Jonah. I swear this has been their best spring break ever. I wish I could’ve taken it off to be with them, but this experience with all of Ben’s family definitely made all of them feel like they’re really a part of them, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. It reinforces that my prince charming wasn’t another doctor but a biker with a heart of gold and a smile that could melt the panties off of just about any woman with decent vision. I’m just lucky enough that he sees something in me.
I’m not even dropping the kids off anywhere. Ben, of course, is taking Bentley with him, but apparently, he’s dropping both Bailey and Branson off at Anna’s on the way to the shop. I say my goodbyes and head off to work. Today, the new doctor is starting, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that they’re a good fit as we really do need another on staff. I’m sure Doctor Ferro picked well, but if not, he knows he’s in for months of torture and extra chart duty.
If first impressions are anything, Doctor Ferro is going to be in trouble. This new doctor, well, evidently, he thinks his shit doesn’t stink. He’s already rubbed Darius the wrong way and tried to act like I was not as knowledgeable because I was a woman. A woman who’s had years of experience in obstetrics, not to mention I’ve had three kids of my own! Darius was trying to defuse the tension between me and Doctor Hammond, also known as mister-too-young-to-have-had-his-balls-drop-yet. Asshole is barely out of medical school and residency and was shocked to find out that Doctor Ferro and I are both at the same level because a woman being that experienced and in charge isn’t something he thought could happen in a field that is dealing with women’s bodies. Yep, he’s gonna need to learn fast, or we’re going to have a problem.
Me: Your choice of a new doctor is not impressing me at all. In fact, it may be already time to call it a FAILURE and submit to your month-long coffee duty along with your reviewing residents’ charts ALONE.
Ferro: It can’t be that bad already. You have to give him a couple of days at least.
Me: He didn’t believe I was Dr. Hargrave after Darius introduced us and tried to give me orders. You can ask Darius what he thinks of him since he’s already on his bad side.
Ferro: Darius has a bad side? That’s scary. You have to give him a chance. Is he really that bad? I mean, besides not believing you’re a doctor, which I know is bad enough.
Me: It’s the whole day and his whole approach to everything. I’m seriously about to wish you harm.
Ferro: It can’t be that bad in just part of a day now, can it?
Me: Wanna bet? May all your deliveries for the rest of the year happen at three a.m.
Ferro: That’s just mean. I’ll talk to the new guy, but don’t put that juju on me. Anything but that!
Serves him right for hiring the guy. I trust him to talk to Doctor Hammond. He takes those kinds of hexes seriously. He should. He gave Darius a hard time a few years ago, and Darius swore that his pen would always be out of ink, and I swear it is at least a couple of times a day for him since that. I won’t pull out a threat about a full moon until he’s had time to set the new hire right.
The only thing keeping me from storming over to Ferro’s office is the texts I’ve been getting with pictures of all three kids having a blast. Branson was all smiles, decked out with a new hat, his glove, a hot dog, and a drink. Their seats looked close to the field, too. I know he’s in absolute heaven.
Anna texted me a few pictures of Bailey in various dress-up outfits and standing on a stool in the kitchen, stirring a bowl and making cookies. She had flour all over her face with a huge smile. She’s going to want to bake all the time now.
Ben just sent me a picture of Bentley bent over the hood of a car, with Juan and Rory on each side of him. The amount he’s learning about engines, I worry one day that I’m going to come outside and he’ll have my SUV taken apart. When I said that to Ben, he just chuckled and said that’s why he’s learning in a shop, so there’s a place and a time to do that. I still think he underestimates Bent and his destructive capabilities, but he didn’t have to live through his trying to figure out how the dishwasher worked or his phase of trying to see how all the remotes work. I really think I should have given him the middle name of Destructo.
