animatedly into her cell phone. How could she do that—laugh and joke after a meeting like that with her ex? After tears and begging and anger, how could she switch it all off?
* * *
Lou felt as if her face was on fire. Her heart was pounding and she put a hand to her solar plexus. She realized she was standing in the frozen food section, nearly yelling into the phone. A couple of people were looking at her—thankfully not people she knew. A man in his seventies dipped his chin and said, “You okay, miss?”
Miss? Lou was sixty! “Fine. Thanks, I’m fine.”
And then she wondered if she should leave her cart and run. Instead, she shoved her list in her pocket, ignoring what was left on it, and made a mad run through the frozen foods, throwing pizzas, casseroles, burritos, fried chicken and various other frozen meals in her cart. In went French fries, Tater Tots, garlic toast, peas, beans, cheesecake, cookie dough. She rushed to the dairy aisle and grabbed milk, cheese, cold cuts, sour cream, yogurt. She found the spaghetti sauce and pasta and loaded up. On her way to the checkout, her cart heaped with a mountain of food, she grabbed bread, chips and pretzels, two bottles of wine and a two six-packs each of soda and beer. It was like stocking for a hurricane. Yes. Hurricane Cee Jay.
“Whoa, Lou,” the cashier said. “Having a party?”
She was stunned by her mania. “Ah...just some friends.”
She wanted to take the kids home and bar the door. She had enough food to keep them going for more than a week. Maybe during that time they could figure out what to do about Cee Jay. Oh, God, she’s going to take them away from me, Lou thought in near despair.
She had to have help to load the groceries in the minivan and she rushed to get the kids.
“Why did you take me out of practice?” Ryan asked.
“Your dad asked me to round up you kids and bring you home. He wants to tell you something.”
“What?” Ryan asked, pulling off his shoes in the backseat.
“Well, I’m not completely sure,” she said, because she wasn’t. What was Mac going to say to them? Your mother is back—be nice to her?
While she was waiting for Dee Dee to load up her backpack from gymnastics, she dialed Eve’s cell phone. Eve was just leaving cheer practice and was going to go to Ashley’s house for a while. “I need you home—I have something I need help with. Stay at school, I’ll pick you up in about five minutes.”
“What’s going on?” Eve asked when she got in the front seat next to Lou.
The whole car smelled gamey, filled with the wild scent of sweaty kids. Lou had been doing this since before Dee Dee was walking—shuffling them to school, games, lessons, everything. The weekends were jam-packed, as well, they had so many things to attend to—housecleaning, laundry and general chores. They had a list—assignments for everyone. Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, Mac and Lou operated a split shift, making sure that everyone was covered and that everyone felt they were getting an equal amount of adult time and love.
Oh, God, she’s going to take them away from us and hurt them!
“Aunt Lou? What’s going on?” Eve asked.
“Your dad just asked me to round you up and bring you home—family meeting I guess. But hey—I bought a ton of food that’s extremely bad for you, so before we give him the podium, I’m going to need every hand to get this stuff in the refrigerator and freezer. Pizzas, lasagna, Stouffer’s mac and cheese, the really good stuff. And I didn’t even buy lettuce—we can work on our cholesterol later. We all on board here? Let’s get this stuff put away before we hunker down with your dad.”
“I thought he was working today?” Eve said.
“He is. I’m sure he allotted fifteen minutes for this family meeting. Try not to insult him with boredom.”
But Lou was secretly terrified and Lou was strong—it took a lot to terrify her. When she pulled in to the garage, she
* * *
Lou felt as if her face was on fire. Her heart was pounding and she put a hand to her solar plexus. She realized she was standing in the frozen food section, nearly yelling into the phone. A couple of people were looking at her—thankfully not people she knew. A man in his seventies dipped his chin and said, “You okay, miss?”
Miss? Lou was sixty! “Fine. Thanks, I’m fine.”
And then she wondered if she should leave her cart and run. Instead, she shoved her list in her pocket, ignoring what was left on it, and made a mad run through the frozen foods, throwing pizzas, casseroles, burritos, fried chicken and various other frozen meals in her cart. In went French fries, Tater Tots, garlic toast, peas, beans, cheesecake, cookie dough. She rushed to the dairy aisle and grabbed milk, cheese, cold cuts, sour cream, yogurt. She found the spaghetti sauce and pasta and loaded up. On her way to the checkout, her cart heaped with a mountain of food, she grabbed bread, chips and pretzels, two bottles of wine and a two six-packs each of soda and beer. It was like stocking for a hurricane. Yes. Hurricane Cee Jay.
“Whoa, Lou,” the cashier said. “Having a party?”
She was stunned by her mania. “Ah...just some friends.”
She wanted to take the kids home and bar the door. She had enough food to keep them going for more than a week. Maybe during that time they could figure out what to do about Cee Jay. Oh, God, she’s going to take them away from me, Lou thought in near despair.
She had to have help to load the groceries in the minivan and she rushed to get the kids.
“Why did you take me out of practice?” Ryan asked.
“Your dad asked me to round up you kids and bring you home. He wants to tell you something.”
“What?” Ryan asked, pulling off his shoes in the backseat.
“Well, I’m not completely sure,” she said, because she wasn’t. What was Mac going to say to them? Your mother is back—be nice to her?
While she was waiting for Dee Dee to load up her backpack from gymnastics, she dialed Eve’s cell phone. Eve was just leaving cheer practice and was going to go to Ashley’s house for a while. “I need you home—I have something I need help with. Stay at school, I’ll pick you up in about five minutes.”
“What’s going on?” Eve asked when she got in the front seat next to Lou.
The whole car smelled gamey, filled with the wild scent of sweaty kids. Lou had been doing this since before Dee Dee was walking—shuffling them to school, games, lessons, everything. The weekends were jam-packed, as well, they had so many things to attend to—housecleaning, laundry and general chores. They had a list—assignments for everyone. Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, Mac and Lou operated a split shift, making sure that everyone was covered and that everyone felt they were getting an equal amount of adult time and love.
Oh, God, she’s going to take them away from us and hurt them!
“Aunt Lou? What’s going on?” Eve asked.
“Your dad just asked me to round you up and bring you home—family meeting I guess. But hey—I bought a ton of food that’s extremely bad for you, so before we give him the podium, I’m going to need every hand to get this stuff in the refrigerator and freezer. Pizzas, lasagna, Stouffer’s mac and cheese, the really good stuff. And I didn’t even buy lettuce—we can work on our cholesterol later. We all on board here? Let’s get this stuff put away before we hunker down with your dad.”
“I thought he was working today?” Eve said.
“He is. I’m sure he allotted fifteen minutes for this family meeting. Try not to insult him with boredom.”
But Lou was secretly terrified and Lou was strong—it took a lot to terrify her. When she pulled in to the garage, she
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