*LENA*
Staying home with Jesus seems to be more than I thought I'd be taking on. I knew that it'd be a handful, but somehow I thought it'd be like I was still working and coming home and sharing the load for this family. So when Stef calls again this afternoon to say she is working late AGAIN, I am tempted to lock myself in my bedroom and not answer any of the kids and completely disappear for the evening.
"Mama!" Callie slams the front door making me almost drop the mail I've been sorting.
"Where's the fire? Slow down, love!" I laugh as she comes rushing down the hallway to the kitchen.
"Aaron is going to LA for his dad's birthday dinner tonight, and he invited me to come along...you know as a buffer..." she adjusts her bag on her shoulder.
"Oh, uhhh, honey, I don't think that's a good idea considering your trial is coming up in a week. You should stay close to home.." I tell my daughter as I see the look of disappointment in her eyes.
"But it's rough on him...his parents aren't real...you know, supportive of his change..." she looks really downcast and it tugs at my heartstrings.
"That's all you'll be doing? Visiting with his parents?"
She raises her hand, "Swear! Staying there and visiting there only. You can call his mom and dad if you want!"
"Oh, I want...I still think I should ask Mom.." I pull out my phone to call Stef and am met with her voicemail: Hi, you've reached Stef! Leave a message! I roll my eyes and sigh as her voicemail beeps, "Hey, call me back...please.."
Callie leans on the door way kind of in a hurry. "Mama, I kinda have to know now because he wants to beat traffic.." she shifts from foot to foot and I sigh.
"Ok, but you're not riding on that death trap. Take the mini!" I hand her the keys and she throws her arms around my neck.
"Thank you so much, Mama!" I smile as she runs off.
"Text me the number so I can talk to his parents, please!" I call after her, and she agrees as she closes the door. I groan as I sit down and have no energy to cook dinner. Pizza it is...
*STEF*
Working Diamonds case along with a few others is mentally tiring. Working this new promotion is proving to drain me more mentally than when I was working the beat as an officer every day for 20 years. I can't complain though because the pay is good, and in the long run, I hope I will be making more of a difference than just writing traffic tickets and breaking up domestic disturbances.
As I walk in the door, I trip over shoes and almost fall headfirst into the railing leading to upstairs. Music is blaring upstairs in one of the kids rooms, and I definitely do not smell dinner cooking. I sigh loudly as I head upstairs to see which kid is the culprit to the death metal shaking the windows and increasing my headache.
When I reach the top step, I decide to head to Jesus' room and I end up walking in on Jesus and Emma making out, both of their shirts off. "Woahhhh!" I say as I swing the door wide open.
Emma jumps up like she was electrocuted and dives for her shirt. "You both know NO closed doors! C'mon!" I pick up Jesus' t-shirt and throw it at him.
"Ohhhhh...uhhhh...sorry, Mom...Mama said I was cleared for sex, and we were being careful.."
"Mama said what?!" I ask as I fold my arms, my lips in a firm line. What the hell was Lena thinking? And why didn't she run this by me?
Emma finds her voice, her face bright red, "We're so sorry, Mrs. Adams Foster...she did sit us down and...and said we could close the door and she wanted us to stay...safe..." she swallows hard as if she might cry of embarrassment.
I sigh and lighten up some as I rub my forehead, the death metal rattling the walls making me want to scream at the top of my lungs. "Ok..." I hold up my hands. "I'm sorry...I didn't know. I'll talk to Mama...and is that Jude playing that heavy metal?" I storm down the hallway and burst into his room.
He is laying on his bed, his arm over his eyes, and I walk over yanking the cord out of the wall making him jump up, "Hey! I was listening..." he stops as he's face to face with me.
I frown, "Is there a reason you would like to go deaf at such an early age?"
He rolls his eyes and sits on the edge of the bed. "Bad day, I guess..." I sigh as I sit next to him and nudge him softly.
"Talk to me, bud.."
He shakes his head as he looks down, "I really don't want to...Noah and I had this...misunderstanding...I'm just tired.."
I watch him for a moment and run my hand down his arm, "Well, you know you can always talk if you want, ok, buddy?"
He just nods, "I know, Mom..." and I lean in and kiss his head softly as I get up.
"Mama make dinner yet?" I ask as I stand in his doorway.
He just shrugs and lays back on his pillows. I stand there a second before heading downstairs to find Lena, almost tripping on a basket of dirty laundry beside our room. I sigh loudly now, "Lena!" I pick it up and throw it in our room and slam the door before heading to find her.
*LENA*
I'm sitting at the table drinking a glass of wine while I look through the stack of folders Drew gave me earlier today when I hear Stef shouting my name. I don't move as I hear her coming down the steps and sprinting to the kitchen. "What's for dinner?" She asks instead of her usual, "Hello?"
I act casual as I sip my wine, "Oh it'll be here soon...I ordered pizza.."
She walks over to the fridge and opens it, and it's practically bare. "Lena, that's the third time this week..." she sounds annoyed.
"Well, I haven't had time to grocery shop! And there's a grocery store on the way home from the precinct, you know..." I said snidely as I start putting the papers away as the pizza should be arriving soon.
She looks in the freezer as well, "Well, it's not like I have time between picking up John's and tracking down pimps.."
"Well, do WANT to compare lists? Because between taking Jesus to...therapy and to the doctor and having to make decisions about Callie going to LA with Aaron for his dad's birthday party...oh, and did you know Jesus wanted me to find out if he could have sex?! And..."
We are interrupted by the doorbell, and Stef sighs as she pulls out her wallet to go pay. "Love, I hope you said no to both?!" When I don't answer, she says, "Lena?!" As the doorbell rings again.
I pick up the stack of folders to go and set them on the dining room table for now as Stef brings the box of pizza in the kitchen. I hear her call the kids down to eat, and I soon join them. As we eat, Stef says she'll write a list and shop tomorrow after work. I just nod as I drink more wine than eat pizza.
*STEF*
Lena was so quiet during dinner, and I tried to make eye contact with her. She wouldn't look at me, and I noticed she barely ate. I offer to clean up, and she mumbles something about how convenient since we used paper plates. I am exhausted, but I push through and begin writing a grocery list. Because I'm so tired, I keep drawing a blank on what we need; so, I get up and make myself a cup of tea.
I sit back down and just about finish the grocery list when Brandon comes in the kitchen. "Hey, B! Leftover pizza in the oven..." I say not looking up as I write the last thing on the list, coffee.
"Hey, Mom, I can move out to the garage soon, right? Have you talked to Mama yet?" He asks around a mouthful of cheese pizza.
"Oh, ya! It's at the top of our to-do list, marked most important!" I answer sarcastically as I snap my pen shut and throw it down before picking up my tea.
He sighs as he takes a gulp of water, "I mean, I don't know what big deal is! I'm almost done with school, and I only have half days til the end of the year!"
"B, you should be picking up more responsibilities around here! Step up! Help! Things aren't...aren't free in life!" I snap as I stand with my tea.
"I want to! Anything you or Mama needs..."
"Here..." I cut him off as I rip the grocery list off the notepad. "You can grocery shop after your last class tomorrow. Help me and Mama out." I pull out my wallet and pull out a credit card and hand it to him. "BUT...ONLY for groceries, young man!"
He nods enthusiastically as he takes it and salutes, "Yes, only for groceries.."
I let out the millionth sigh of the evening as I take my glasses off and set them down. Grocery shopping done...check. Now, I'm going to shower and sleep.
*LENA*
"Mama! I'm home!" I hear Brandon slamming things around in the kitchen and I jump up from the couch where I've been doing paperwork.
"What in the world?" I see grocery bags all over the kitchen table.
"Oh, I went grocery shopping. Mom didn't tell you?"
I frown as I look through the bags, "Did you get ANYTHING on the list?" I see two bags of marshmallows and a giant thing of red vines. "Seriously? Brandon!"
"What?" He looks at me with a blank expression, "They were on sale?"
I sigh as I look through the bags, "Where's the chicken?"
"Oh, I kinda lost the list so I picked up whatever looked healthy..." he continues to load the groceries in the fridge. "I can go back out and get chicken!"
I pick up the receipt and see he went $25 over budget and groan, "No, I think you've done enough damage...your mom can get it on her way home."
"Doesn't she work late all week?" He closes the fridge and looks at me.
"Fine!" I semi-growl. "You're right...go back and get the chicken, and ONLY the chicken.."
He nods and grabs the keys, leaving quickly. I have a mind to get in my car and go down to the beach for the rest of the day: let everyone fend for themselves. I'm one person for crying out loud.
That evening as I'm making dinner, Mariana comes in the kitchen, "Hey, Mama, so you think it's possible for Gabe to stay in the garage for a bit...to help me and Jesus on our project..."
I look up from cutting veggies, "Oh, Mariana, I don't know...for a bit?" I answer dejectedly.
"Ok, good...because I already told him yes..."
"Mariana!" I exclaim as I wipe my eyebrow with my arm.
"Who is staying in the garage?" Brandon comes in the kitchen at the tail end of the conversation.
"Oh, just Gabe, but it's ok because Mama said yes!" she smiles as she pops a cucumber in her mouth.
"Seriously? Does Mom know?" he pouts.
"No, but we need to learn to be a team...work together and it won't be for long..."
Brandon sighs and nods, "Ok...yes, take one for the team..."
The kids pitch in then and set the table. We sit and eat dinner, but again, I'm just not that hungry. I sip my wine and listen to the kids chatter, smiling at the right moments and winking at the others. When we finish, I tell them I'm headed up to start laundry. Mariana says she'll put the food away and do the dishes, and I'm relieved.
*STEF*
When I come home from work tonight, I'm not even hungry even though I do smell dinner which was probably cooked three hours ago. I sigh as I head into the kitchen to get a drink of water and frown as I see dishes in the sink. This isn't Lena at all! I decide to wash the dishes and clean the counters down before downing a glass of water and some ibuprofen for my headache.
As I head upstairs, it's quiet tonight, and when I check on the kids, they are asleep. I kiss each one of them and head to our room to see Lena with what looks like 3 loads of dirty laundry on the bed.
"Hey, love! You look happy tonight?!" I take my jacket off and hang it up before taking my shoes off.
"Did you see my text about Jesus being able to read again?" she smiles softly.
"Oh...yes. I'll miss seeing him with those glasses though..." I take off my shirt and throw it in one of the baskets before turning to my dresser to pull out my pj's.
"You know! I'm gonna need you to step up and start helping me like you promised!" I turn quickly and look at her.
"Wha?! I didn't think you needed my help since you've been doing so well making all these decisions without me!"
"That's true because you're never here! I had to deal with Jesus and sex and Callie going to LA! I have to do this paper work now and now deal with this whole Gabe thing! Am I gonna have to deal with Callie's trial too?"
I quickly walk towards her to sweep her in my arms, "Love! No..." but she pushes me away.
"I can't! I have all this dirty laundry to do!"
I sigh and grab both of her hands, "Lena...sit with me, baby..."
She wipes her eyes as she sits with me, "I don't tell you enough how much I appreciate you! You took leave when you didn't have to, and you do so much. The kids are old enough to start helping..."
She begins to shake her head, but I stop her, "Love, they are...we all will pitch in, ok?! I'll do better. I promise..." I pull her into my arms, and she clings to me now. I rub her back and kiss the side of her neck as I whisper in her ear, "Want me to do the laundry? Hmmm?"
She pulls back and nods as she wipes her eyes, "Yes...I'm sooooo tired!"
I cup her cheeks and look in her eyes while I rub my thumbs on her soft skin, "My love..." I whisper as I lean in and brush my lips on hers softly. "I did the dishes too..." I murmur near her lips.
She yanks back and jumps up, "Mariana promised!" She stomps towards the door, but I grab her arm and pull her in my arms. "Shhhhhh..." I pull her to me and kiss on her neck. "Get undressed for me, ok? Get in bed and relax...sleep. I got this..." She pulls back and looks in my eyes and nods. I whisper again as I kiss her again softly, "I got you...I promise..."