I’m obsessed.
After only one weekend together.
I walk back into the house with my bag and set it on the bed. I set my few personal things in dresser drawers, my toothbrush in the bathroom next to the Mickey and Minnie Mouse toothbrushes.
Looks like I’m sharing with the kiddos.
“You can use my bathroom.” I turn at Tash’s voice and find her leaning her shoulder against the doorjamb. “It’s a little tidier.”
“Okay.” I straighten and lean on the counter. “I missed you this week.”
“Yeah?” Her smile is bright and happy. “Well, that’s nice to hear. I missed you, too. Now, come get some dinner.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
* * *
“I don’t want you to wake Auntie Tash,” I say as I lift Kelsey onto the countertop and let her sit there to help. “She worked really hard this week. She deserves a day to sleep in.”
“Are we gonna make her breakfast?” Kelsey asks with a whisper. Kevin is still in bed, as well.
It seems Kelsey and I are the early risers.
“Yes. We’re making some waffles, bacon, and fruit. How does that sound?”
“She likes waffles,” Kelsey replies. “They’re her favorite.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because one time, she took us to the diner as a treat, and she told us that waffles are her favorite for breakfast. She didn’t have any that day, though.”
“How come?”
“She said she wasn’t hungwy, but I think she was sad.” Kelsey drops her gaze to the floor. “Sometimes, Auntie Tash is sad when she thinks we don’t see.”
“Everyone is getting used to new things,” I remind her. “What’s your favorite breakfast?”
“Waffles,” she says.
“Then this is your lucky day. Because waffles are my specialty.”
We get to work on breakfast, and I enlist Kelsey’s help when it comes to stirring and tasting.
“What’re you doing?”
We turn to see Kevin, rubbing his eyes, standing at the end of the island.
“Making breakfast for Auntie Tash. But shhh. We don’t want to wake her up.”
Kevin’s eyes clear from the sleep, and he rubs his hands together. “Can I help?”
“Sure. It’s a team effort.”
“Is it Auntie Tash’s birthday?” Kevin asks.
“No, we’re just doing something nice for her because we love her,” I tell him.
“She always lets me sleep with her after I’ve had a bad dream,” Kevin says softly. “And she doesn’t ever yell at us, even when I’ve been bad on purpose.”
“She gave me the last gwape,” Kelsey says. “She was eating them as a snack, and I wanted some, but there was only one left. She gave it to me.”
“Did that make you feel special?”
“Yeah.” Kelsey smiles. “She always does stuff like that.”
“See, this is why we’re making her a special breakfast,” I inform them, happy that I have this time alone with them. I know that Natasha is a great parent, but it’s always good to hear it from the kids. To know that they are being well taken care of and that they feel loved and safe. “How about if we make her a tray and take her breakfast in bed?”
“People do that?” Kelsey asks.
“Sure. On special occasions.”
“Okay,” she decides and gets to work helping me load a tray to take to Tash.
The kids follow me down the hallway, and I nudge the door open and poke my head inside.
But she isn’t in bed.
“She’s gone,” Kevin says. “She disappeared!”
I set the tray on the bed and glance into the bathroom. Sure enough, she’s kneeling in front of the toilet and doesn’t look like she’s having a good time of it.
“Uh, kids, it looks like Auntie isn’t feeling very good. Why don’t you go ahead and start eating what’s on that tray? I’ll be out in a minute.”
I close the bathroom door behind me and hurry to the sink to wet a washcloth.
When I get a closer look at her, she’s leaning on the toilet, and she’s crying.
“Hey, hey.” I press the cloth to the back of her neck. “What’s going on, honey?”
“Bad dream,” she says. She’s shaking, and she’s cold to the touch. “Really bad.”
“Okay, I’ve got you.” I sit on the floor next to her and pull her to me, rocking her side to side. “I’m here, and I’ve got you.”
“They died again,” she says and starts to cry once more. “But this time, it was all of them. Even you.”
“I’m sorry, baby.”
“It made me sick. Almost didn’t make it in here.”
“Okay. It’s okay.” I rub circles on her back and hold her close. “Just a horrible dream.”
“Yeah.” She sighs and wipes her nose. “Do I smell waffles?”
“Yeah, we made you some.”
“Who did?”
“The three of us. Well, Kevin slept through a lot of it, but he helped, too. I thought we’d let you sleep in for a bit, but it turns out I should have woken you up.”
“That’s a sweet thought.” She sighs. “The dreams had stopped, you know? I had the nightmares a lot the first few weeks, but they’d stopped. Now, they’re happening again, and it sucks. I feel awful because I know the kids have them, too. It’s horrible for me. I can’t even imagine how awful it is for them.”