Chapter 10

XoXoXoX

Martin unlocked the front door and carefully walked into the living room carrying a big bouquet of pink roses and a box of chocolates from Max Brenner's; hopeful that they would act as a talisman against his wife's wrath. He closed the door behind him and yelled out, "I'm home. Anybody here?"

He heard the unmistakable footfall of itty-bitty feet and saw Gracie, Nate and a slow but eager, Milo, rush out of the kitchen. Just before the kitchen door closed he saw Frances standing at the stove stirring something in a pot.

"Hi daddy!" Gracie and Nate greeted him.

"Hey guys," he replied, happily smiling down at his brood.

His daughter pointed to the flowers and asked, "Are those for mommy?"

"You're in trouble," Nate announced with a laugh.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, running his hand over Milo's boney back. He kneeled down and looked at his children. "So, is mommy still grumpy at me?"

Gracie tapped her index finger on her chin, considering. "Not too much but she said that you were going to be in the dog house for awhile."

"She said that, huh?" He released a heavy sigh and rubbed his chin, the five o'clock shadow scratching against his fingertips.

Both children nodded as Grace replied, "Yeah, I remember because I asked her where the dog house was and why Milo doesn't have one."

He laughed and Nate, with big worried eyes, asked, "What did you do?"

"Daddy did something very silly," he replied, playfully poking his son in the belly. "But he is very sorry and he will do his best to make it up to mommy." He looked around the living room. "So where is she?"

"In your room," Grace answered, pointing down the hall.

He stared down the hall, the length of it never seeming longer in his life. He tried to decide if he should announce himself before entering so she had some warning or just walk in and take his chances. He took a deep breath and opted for an ambush. Sam had all day to prepare, his giving her a little warning wouldn't do much good. He winked at the kids and said, "Okay, wish me luck." He stood up and started walking down the hall to the bedroom.

"Good luck!" both kids shouted out at the top of their lungs; so much for a sneak attack.

He took a deep breath and exhaled as he opened up the bedroom door only to find it empty. He heard the sink running in the bathroom so he wandered over and stood in the doorway between the bedroom and bathroom. Looking in, he saw Sam standing at the sink fully clothed and brushing her teeth.

"Hey," he greeted her meekly. She glanced at him, eyeing the proffered gifts in his hand. She raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Really? You can't be serious' and then turned back around, spitting into the sink. He suddenly wished he had thought to get her something more befitting the crime. Like jewelry or a new car.

"Hey," she replied before moving past him into the bedroom. "I have a PTA meeting tonight so I need for you to help Grace with her homework. It's on the kitchen counter. Frances said she would make dinner but I told her you would clean up and get the kids ready for bed so she could head home when she was done."

He recognized her passive aggressive attack. He loved to cook but he hated cleaning up afterwards so having to do the dishes after dinner was a minor punishment. Getting the kids ready for bed was nothing new so that wasn't part of his sentence. The real whammy was his having to help Grace with her homework. While the assignments were not difficult they had come to realize that their daughter was a type-A perfectionist. For most kindergarteners writing their name took a little bit of time but to Grace, she would pore over her work – writing and rewriting each letter until it was just so. She always took three times longer than any other kid in her class. It was frustrating to sit still while she wrote out each letter, waiting to help her with her next task but it was also pretty adorable the way her little tongue would poke out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated.

"Are we not talking about the thing?" he asked, watching Sam move around the room.

"Which thing would that be? Which thing do you want to talk about?" she asked as she stopped at the closet and started putting on her shoes. "The scandal about you fathering Kelly Grant's love child?" She grinned widely and sarcastically said, "Or your extra special partnership with Danny?" And as quickly as the smile crossed her lips it faded as she stared at him, wearing one shoe and holding the other in her hand and finished, "Or the fact that you completely ignored my multiple warnings about Kelly and saw her anyway?"

He gulped. "Can I pick just one?"

She shook her head, looking frustrated and irritated. "I can't have this discussion right now. I have to go talk to a bunch of mothers about school lunches and fundraisers." When she was done she walked over to the dresser and started putting on her earrings. "We can talk when I get home later."

He worked his tongue into his jaw, feeling both relieved and annoyed that his trial had been postponed. Unfortunately, this just meant that he still had another few hours of anxious to continue to gnaw at his gut. But he was wise enough to know to just shut up. "Okay, fine."

Ignoring him she just nodded and walked out the door. Over her shoulder she said, "I'll see you tonight."

Deflated, he sat down at the foot of the bed, still holding the flowers and chocolate. He tossed them onto the bed next to him and fell back onto the mattress when Sam walked back into the room. She moved straight towards him and picked up the box of chocolates. "No sense wasting perfectly good chocolate." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But just because I'm taking this it doesn't mean I forgive you yet or that I'm not mad anymore."

"No, of course not," he replied, knowing her well enough to recognize that he fact that she was taking them at all was a very good sign. He was certain that he was going to be forgiven sooner rather than later.

"I'll see you later," she replied, turning back around and walking to the door.

He had a reserved smile on his face as he stared up at the ceiling when he heard a pair of feet galloping down the hall. He sat up and looked over in the doorway to see Gracie rush in waving a sheet of paper. "Mommy said you had to help me with my homework."

He sat up and clapped his hands together. "Yes I do. What is it? Letters or numbers or colors?"

"I have to learn the new song," she declared, handing him the sheet of paper. "Mommy said she wanted me to sing the song over and over and over with you until I knew it just perfect."

"She did?" he asked, looking at the sheet of music. He had to stifle his groan when he saw the title of the song was "It's a Small World After All." He hated that song. It was the single most annoying song in the entire world, if not universe. "Of course she did."

"Uh-huh," Gracie said as she stood in front of him, bouncing up and down. "I know most of it, listen: It's a world of laughter, a world of tears. It's a world of hopes and a world of…of…"

"Fears," he provided. "And a world of fears."

"Right," she said, nodding her head. "Okay, let me start again. It's a world of laughter, a world of tears…"

"You can just pick up where you left off," he interrupted, his headache from earlier returning and pounding harder in his head.

"No," she replied with a fierce pout. He always thought when she made that face she looked just like Sam. "Mommy said every time I mess up I should start over."

He rubbed his temple and mumbled, "Of course she did."

He motioned for her to start again and listened as she sung the first lyric over and then over again and again. When Grace restarted the song for the fifth time he realized that Sam wasn't as ready to forgive him as he thought. In fact, judging by the fact that he was stuck having to listen to his daughter sing this irritating song over and over, she was probably angrier than he thought and that forgiveness wasn't as close as he had hoped.