Page 15 of Cluelessly Yours

“I don’t want to go, Mom!” Seth exclaims, and his shoes light up when he stomps his right foot to the floor. “I’m having too much fun!”

“I’m sorry, baby. I know you’re having fun, but we have to get going. I have to drop you off with Zoe and get to the restaurant.”

“But,Mom!” Seth whines, and Noah places a hand on his shoulder.

“You gotta listen to your mom, bud,” he says, but his voice is soft, and his face is friendly. “But thanks for helping me beat Scott today. No one else has been able to take him down.”

“Game’s over, Scottie!” Noah shouts toward the other doctor before my son has a chance to protest. I’m instantly thankful. “Seth has to go home, and since we’re currently in the lead, it’s safe to say victory is ours!”

“Ha! Yes! We beat you, Scott!” Seth fist-pumps the air.

“Ah, man!” the other doctor shouts. “I’m not letting you have Seth on your team anymore, Noah! He’s too good!”

I can’t remember the last time I saw my son smile this big.

“See ya around, buddy,” Noah says, and Seth jumps up to high-five him.

“C’mon, Mom! Let’s go!” My son takes off around the shrubbery and straight into the rest of the cafeteria, and any chance of lingering and talking to Noah is gone.

That’s probably a good thing…

“Looks like I better head out,” I state as Noah stands to his feet. “Thanks again for entertaining him.”

“It was no trouble at all. To be honest,” he says on a bit of a whisper, “it was a lot of fun.”

For some strange reason, after one last wave to Noah, I have to force myself to turn on my heel and jog after my son so I can start the process of facing the rest of my busy night that includes a full shift at the restaurant.

But as I walk, my sister’s words bounce around inside my head…

With the right guy, life gets easier.

Yeah, right.

I grab Seth’s hand and guide him toward the exit doors of St. Luke’s, but just before we make it outside, a text vibrates my phone. I glance at the screen to see who it is.

Gavin: I really hope your sister is okay. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

I don’t think any man, anywhere on this planet we call Earth, can makemychaotic life easier.

But I have to admit…I’ve sure as hell never had two of them try at the same time.

Saturday, April 23rd

“Wasn’t Noah so great yesterday?” Brooke asks, mooning up at me like a lunatic. White sugar from the powered donuts she just ate mixed with a new lipstick color has her looking suspiciously like the Joker.

She’s currently perched in her bed—while Benji lies on his dog bed a few feet away—and I fluff the pillow behind her back a little harder than I probably should. Her upper body jostles somewhat violently, but the motion isn’t hard enough to stop her. Evidently, being a pain in the ass is shaking-proof.

“He’s kind of like a doc-tor sup-er-he-ro, you know?” She keeps going, her voice becoming staccato with the motion. “Stepping up in a crisis and all.”

“He’s a doctor,” I mutter. “Stepping up in crisis is literally in his training.”

The regret of coming over to her apartment to check on her this morning is strong, but I don’t think I could have skipped it without feeling guilty.

Plus, I had zero excuses to utilize.

Since Grant turned the virus corner like a typical five-year-old and is fully back to his normal self, both of my sons are with Uncle Chase, Uncle Vinny, and Aunt Mo. The five of them are spending the day hanging out before heading to the night baseball game of their dreams—Yankees versus the Cleveland Guardians. And while the restaurant is normally only closed onSunday and Monday, Vinny added today into the mix so that they could get a few renovations done.

Right now, at this very moment, I have nowhere to be but here. Which is probably why I’ve stayed to listen to my sister’s romantically inclined waterboarding for two entire hours of my day so far.

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