"Nate, are you sure about this? It is not too late to call your mom or even a nanny service to come help you," Caitlyn said as she stood in the foyer of their house with a suitcase in her hands. She and Mitchie were going away to a spa for a girls' weekend, and Nate was watching the girls. He was great with his daughters, but he had never had them both for more than a few hours on his own.
Nate looked offended as he replied, "I'm their dad. I think that I can manage to take care of my own daughters for two days. Honestly, how hard can it be?"
Caitlyn looked unconvinced, but she knew that it was pointless to argue. Nate's pride was involved, and there was no way he was going to admit that he could not handle the situation. Maybe it would be good for him to see what her life was like. After hugging both girls and reminding them to be good for their dad, she gave Nate a lingering kiss. "Have fun," she said as she headed out the door.
Two days later, Caitlyn opened her front door and called out, "I'm back! Did anybody miss me?"
Two small bodies hurtled down the stairs and into Caitlyn's waiting arms. She kissed them both and pulled them into a huge hug. "I missed you two so much! Did you have fun with Daddy?"
"We had so much fun, Mommy. Yesterday we ate every meal at McDonalds. We have all the Happy Meal toys. And we got to watch the new Handy Manny video four times. And Daddy let us get ourselves dressed."
Caitlyn looked down at her daughters. 18 month-old Melody was wearing her Christmas party dress and had her summer sandals on the wrong feet. Her hair was in two lopsided ponytails, and she had chocolate smeared on her nose. Three-year old Annabelle was wearing a purple and white striped shirt with a red and pink flowered skirt. The shirt was inside out, and she was had on her princess dress-up shoes. Her curly hair looked like it hadn't been combed since Caitlyn left the house two days earlier.
"Welcome home. We all really missed you." Caitlyn heard Nate say as he came down the stairs. He looked nervous, exhausted and a little defeated. "Uhm…the girls and I were just about to go pick up the playroom. We didn't expect you home quite so soon. The house is still a bit of a disaster."
Caitlyn knew that Nate was worried that she was going to be upset that the girls and the house were so messy. Part of her wanted to make a sarcastic comment about how easy it was to take care of two little girls, but she knew better. Sure, it would have been nice to come home to a clean house and children who had been bathed, but she knew that he had done his best.
She smiled at him, walked over and gave him a hug. "The girls were just telling me what a great weekend they had with their dad. How about we all go pick up the playroom and you guys can tell me about it."
"And Mommy, guess what? Daddy bought you a present!"
"Really?" Caitlyn looked at her husband in surprise.
Nate smiled at her and ran his hand through his curls. He walked into the kitchen, returning with a long, thin box that he handed to his wife. She opened the box and gasped. Inside the box was a beautiful diamond tennis bracelet.
Nate leaned in and kissed her ear before saying, "I have a new-found appreciation for my wife after this weekend. I don't know how you do it, baby."