“Tomorrow night, you’re goin’ to your Mom’s house. As you know, Dusty and I are adults. What you don’t know is that when you’re at your Mom’s, Dusty stays here with me. But this time, when you get back, Sunday night she’ll be spending the night. And from here on in, we’ll see, but a couple of nights a week she’ll be sleeping over.”
No shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth and to his bowl garbled, “She should just move in.”
Mike blinked and he did it slow.
Reesee’s phone binged in her hand and she mumbled, “Yeah, totally.”
No gave Mike his eyes and he informed him of something Mike already knew. “There’s like, a trillion people livin’ in that house and one bathroom.”
Rees looked at her brother. “They have a half bath downstairs,” she corrected.
No looked at his sister. “Yeah, but you can’t shower in a half bath. It would suck huge havin’ to share a shower with, like, a trillion people.”
“Totally,” Rees muttered, her eyes dropping back to her phone, her thumbs flying over the keypad, her ability to multitask coming apparent when she kept talking. “Fin’s like, totally over sharing his room with Kirby. Totally. He hates it.”
“I’m there,” No muttered to his bowl then shoveled more food in but still spoke through it. “I had my own space then wham! I didn’t, that would so suck.”
“And Dusty’s livin’ outta suitcases,” Rees stated then hit a button and looked at her Dad. “That’s gotta be old. It’s been weeks.”
No put his spoon down, picked up the bowl and looked to Mike. “She’s over here practically every night anyway. And your room is huge and you got your own bathroom. That would be a huge step up for Dusty.”
“And you have space in your closet,” Rees added. “When she was teachin’ me how to do my makeup, I saw all her clothes and she has a lot but you have a big closet. You barely use even half of it. They would so fit in there.” Her phone binged, her eyes went to it and she finished, “Though, most of them were on the floor. She’s kinda messy.”
Mike felt his lips twitch.
No was engaged in drinking the milk from his bowl and once he accomplished this, he looked back at his Dad and he smiled a slow, lazy smile. “She’s around, she’s on the rota and I only have to vacuum and dust every fourth week instead of every third.”
“That would rock,” Rees muttered, her thumbs moving over the keypad again. “Though, she doesn’t seem to be real hip on cleanin’.”
Mike felt his lips twitch again.
No got up with his bowl and spoon to take them to the sink, pointing out, “And it would be totally lame, her gettin’ an apartment somewhere when the farm is right next door. They already started working the fields. If she has to help with the plantin’ or she needs to do her pottery, she can just walk right over there if she lives here. She doesn’t have to drive from wherever.”
“And she finds someplace,” Rees added, “she moves there then when you guys get solid she only has to move back here.”
When they get solid?
Jesus.
No rinsed his bowl while muttering, “Jacked, total waste of time.”
“And money,” Rees stated and her phone binged again.
“Crap!” No exclaimed, opening the door on the dishwasher and shoving his bowl in. “I forgot my chemistry book.”
Rees was up and grabbing her book bag off the back of her chair. “I’ll meet you in the car.”
No shoved the dishwasher closed and replied, “Cool.” Then he hustled to the door saying, “Later, Dad.”
Rees came to Mike and got up on her toes to kiss his cheek, phone still in both hands, attention mostly on it, mouth muttering, “See you tonight, Daddy.”
She kissed his cheek and wandered out, thumbs going over the keypad.
Mike stood where he stood exactly as he stood for the last five minutes, silent, leaning against the counter with his coffee mug in his hand, eyes aimed at the kitchen table. He did this for a while. Long enough to hear Rees open the door to the garage. Long enough to hear No run up the stairs then down them. Long enough to hear No shout, “Outta here, Dad!” Long enough for No to be out of there and Mike to hear the garage door go up and No’s beat up, piece of shit car backing out, the garage door going down and the kids driving away.
His first thought was it was time to trade No’s car up. He’d been responsible. No tickets. No accidents. That thing was going on a wing and a prayer. How Mike would find the money for that and Reesee’s school, he had no clue. But it was time.
On his second thought, he burst out laughing.
Then he took a sip of his coffee as he pulled his phone out, scrolled to Dusty and hit go.
She answered on ring two.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
“Had the talk with the kids.”
Silence then, “Oh shit, really?”
She knew what he was saying. He’d told her last night he was going to do it.
“Yeah.”
More silence then, “Uh…you gonna clue me in or are you gonna make me have a nervous breakdown?”
“How do you feel about moving in?”
This got him a whispered, “What?”
It was a good whisper. A happy whisper. And Mike liked it a fuckuva lot.