the first time you came over, but it’s awful. No wonder my husband is fed up with me. It was this way back home, too. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t keep up with things.”
After her initial shock, Annie focused on making things better for her friend. “Hey, I’ve seen worse,” she said briskly, reaching for the dishes and moving them to the sink. “You should have seen Maddie’s place right after she had Jessica Lynn and then Cole barely a year later. Cal’s a saint, and he did everything he could to help. Even Kyle and Katie pitched in, but it was always a mess. There’s only so much you can do when kids are really little. Debris seems to follow in their wake.”
Sarah’s obvious misery didn’t lessen. “You’re so sweet to say that, but come on, Annie, this is ridiculous. There must be something wrong with me that I can’t take care of my kids and my house.”
“Is that something else your husband planted in your head, that you’re an incompetent wife and mother?” Annie asked heatedly. “I know I haven’t even met him, but I really dislike this guy. What did you ever see in him? He sounds like a bully.”
Sarah looked shocked by the accusation. “Oh, no, he’s nothing like that. He just likes things a certain way.”
“Spotless house, perfect kids, skinny wife,” Annie said, unable to keep a sarcastic note from her voice. “That way?”
“He works hard and makes a good living for our family,” Sarah said, defending him. “The rest is the least I can do.”
Annie had her doubts about how hard Walter worked. “Doesn’t he work for the family company?” she asked as she began rinsing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher. “Did he have to scramble to get the job? Is his father going to fire him if he makes a mistake? Don’t talk to me about him being under pressure. Let him spend a few days at home with two young kids and see how he handles it.”
“His father’s a perfectionist,” Sarah said, still defending him.
“So, like father, like son. He needs to get over himself,” Annie declared, turning on the dishwasher, then wiping off the countertop.
Sarah’s mood remained gloomy. “Look at what just happened here. You had those dishes cleaned up and in the dishwasher while we were talking. I’ve had all day and couldn’t get it done.”
“I didn’t have those two children underfoot,” Annie reminded her.
“No, it’s me. I just can’t do anything right.”
Annie was dismayed by the fact that Sarah sounded as if she’d heard that lecture frequently enough to have learned it by rote. Rather than expressing any more criticism of Walter, whom she’d never even met, she simply began sorting and folding the laundry piled atop the dryer.
Sarah started to get up. “I should be doing that,” she protested.
“Sit there and relax,” Annie ordered. “This won’t takelong. How about some sweet tea? I know I could use a glass. Do you have any made?”
“There’s a pitcher in the fridge,” Sarah said. “And I’d love some. It’s funny how we never kept that in my house. I got hooked on it because your mama always had it.”
“Not anymore. She said it doesn’t taste the same with artificial sweetener, and since she’s trying to be careful so she doesn’t wind up with type two diabetes like her mother, she stopped making it. It about killed Daddy and me when she did, though to be honest we’re probably better off without it.”
Sarah’s expression brightened. “How is your daddy? I hear that business he started on Main Street is thriving.”
“To tell the truth, the hardware store is no better than it was before he took over, but he’s supplying a lot of the contractors around here now, and that side of the business has really taken off,” Annie said as she poured the tea over ice and handed one glass to Sarah, then sipped from the other. “Even with the downturn in the housing market everywhere else, Serenity’s doing okay, at
After her initial shock, Annie focused on making things better for her friend. “Hey, I’ve seen worse,” she said briskly, reaching for the dishes and moving them to the sink. “You should have seen Maddie’s place right after she had Jessica Lynn and then Cole barely a year later. Cal’s a saint, and he did everything he could to help. Even Kyle and Katie pitched in, but it was always a mess. There’s only so much you can do when kids are really little. Debris seems to follow in their wake.”
Sarah’s obvious misery didn’t lessen. “You’re so sweet to say that, but come on, Annie, this is ridiculous. There must be something wrong with me that I can’t take care of my kids and my house.”
“Is that something else your husband planted in your head, that you’re an incompetent wife and mother?” Annie asked heatedly. “I know I haven’t even met him, but I really dislike this guy. What did you ever see in him? He sounds like a bully.”
Sarah looked shocked by the accusation. “Oh, no, he’s nothing like that. He just likes things a certain way.”
“Spotless house, perfect kids, skinny wife,” Annie said, unable to keep a sarcastic note from her voice. “That way?”
“He works hard and makes a good living for our family,” Sarah said, defending him. “The rest is the least I can do.”
Annie had her doubts about how hard Walter worked. “Doesn’t he work for the family company?” she asked as she began rinsing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher. “Did he have to scramble to get the job? Is his father going to fire him if he makes a mistake? Don’t talk to me about him being under pressure. Let him spend a few days at home with two young kids and see how he handles it.”
“His father’s a perfectionist,” Sarah said, still defending him.
“So, like father, like son. He needs to get over himself,” Annie declared, turning on the dishwasher, then wiping off the countertop.
Sarah’s mood remained gloomy. “Look at what just happened here. You had those dishes cleaned up and in the dishwasher while we were talking. I’ve had all day and couldn’t get it done.”
“I didn’t have those two children underfoot,” Annie reminded her.
“No, it’s me. I just can’t do anything right.”
Annie was dismayed by the fact that Sarah sounded as if she’d heard that lecture frequently enough to have learned it by rote. Rather than expressing any more criticism of Walter, whom she’d never even met, she simply began sorting and folding the laundry piled atop the dryer.
Sarah started to get up. “I should be doing that,” she protested.
“Sit there and relax,” Annie ordered. “This won’t takelong. How about some sweet tea? I know I could use a glass. Do you have any made?”
“There’s a pitcher in the fridge,” Sarah said. “And I’d love some. It’s funny how we never kept that in my house. I got hooked on it because your mama always had it.”
“Not anymore. She said it doesn’t taste the same with artificial sweetener, and since she’s trying to be careful so she doesn’t wind up with type two diabetes like her mother, she stopped making it. It about killed Daddy and me when she did, though to be honest we’re probably better off without it.”
Sarah’s expression brightened. “How is your daddy? I hear that business he started on Main Street is thriving.”
“To tell the truth, the hardware store is no better than it was before he took over, but he’s supplying a lot of the contractors around here now, and that side of the business has really taken off,” Annie said as she poured the tea over ice and handed one glass to Sarah, then sipped from the other. “Even with the downturn in the housing market everywhere else, Serenity’s doing okay, at
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