Oh Holy Awesome
Thanks to Anna giving my family the green light to stay as long as they wanted, two months later, my home was still full of visitors. Every single room was being used up by various relatives who’d decided to “visit” and refused to leave.
Anna’s parents were staying with Kiera and Kellan. Kiera said that was because our house was too crowded, but Anna let it slip that the real reason they were staying over there was because they preferred Kellan over me.
She didn’t say it quite like that. She’d merely said they “had a few issues with my personality.” What? I had an awesome personality, so that couldn’t really be it. They were just wrapped up in the Kellan Kyle fantasy, like everybody else.
That really irritated me. I was the coolest person I knew, and certainly Martin and Caroline would come to know that if they spent a little more time with me. I didn’t see what problem they could possibly have with me anyway. I’d married their daughter, given her an awesome home to live in, and impregnated her with two of my very best seeds. What more could they ask of a husband? I should be on their Most Awesome Person in the World list.
Anna had deep bags under her eyes as she bounced Onnika in her arms. “Griffin, I’ve had about as much of this as I can take. When are they leaving?”
We were in our room, where Onnika slept in a bassinet by the bed. We were eventually going to move her upstairs in a room next to Gibson, but Anna wasn’t ready to be that far away from her yet. Me either, although I was looking forward to having sex in my bed again. When Anna had felt ready to resume the horizontal mambo, we’d moved over to the closet to complete the act. I just couldn’t have sex in the same room as my kid, no matter the age. I never would have thought I’d have a sexual Achilles’ heel, but I guess I did.
I knew what Anna meant by her statement. Even with our bedroom door closed, I could hear people talking, laughing, shouting, running, watching TV, stomping, eating, playing, and somewhere, someone was crying. I needed a bigger house.
Shrugging, I told her, “I don’t know when they’re leaving. You kind of told them they could stay as long as they wanted. I think some of them are planning on moving in.” A few of my cousins had jokingly said that when they’d noticed the pool and tennis court. At least, I was pretty sure they were joking. I might have to deal with squatters in the near future.
Anna gave me a look born from exhaustion, a look that said she was frying my manhood in her mind. “I do not remember saying that. Or anything even close to that. I think you told them it was fine to stay longer, which goes against our negotiations. So, according to the rules, I have one free win to use at my discretion.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t say shit to anybody.” Except my sister, Chelsey, but I didn’t mention that. “You were the one feeling all lovey-dovey in the hospital.”
“I was doped up on baby juice. That doesn’t count.”
She closed her eyes, and I saw the tears forming. She was so tired. I’d told her in the beginning that she’d be less tired with everyone around, but that just wasn’t the case. Anna felt the need to entertain them, and while they did help with Onnika and Gibson during the day, Anna was still the one getting up all night long with Onnika. I’d tried to talk her into napping whenever she could, but she said it was too loud, she couldn’t sleep. I wished there was something I could do to help her, but I was stuck. She’d opened the hospitality doors, and I couldn’t shut them. Not on family.
Pulling Onnika from her arms, I gently placed her in the bassinet. She was such a beautiful baby—thick dark hair that curled at the ends, eyes that were turning greener every day, and pink chubby cheeks that must have been kissed fourteen million times by now. It was difficult to put her aside, but my wife was having a panic attack. I needed to soothe her.
Onnika was a pretty mellow baby, so she didn’t object too much when I put her down. Anna slumped over, like she had nothing left. I pulled her into my arms, and she loosely wrapped herself around me. “I can’t do this, Griffin,” she muttered while I stroked her back.
“Sure you can,” I told her. “You’re one of the toughest chicks I know, Anna. You deal with my shit, you handled being pregnant all on your own when you found out the first time, you started moving into management at Hooters until I started raking in the dough and you didn’t need to work. You’re an amazing mom to Gibson and a pretty fucktastic wife. There’s nothing you can’t do, babe.”