Dean sagged against his bedroom door. It had been one hell of a day; it had been one hell of a month. This wasn't what he'd signed up for; dad had asked him to stay with Chase and Lachie for a week while he did a quick job down in Canberra. Since mom had left everything was fucked. Yeah, a week; he'd been at dad's for a month. Everything was fucked. With everything going tits up, he might as well just give up his apartment, his life, everything. And when dad wasn't gone; he'd needed Dean to help on construction jobs.
Anyway, tomorrow he had a couple hours before his shift started; he could deal with Lachie's cutting school. And the whole "it's just history, I'm joining the Army. I don't need that shit." Then there was Chase just being a little shit; but, he was ten. But, mom walking out had really screwed everything up; and he was being even shittier than usual. So, Dean was stuck here; juggling the leaky sink faucet. Chase failing maths. Trying to finish his training. Lachie's footie schedule. Chase's footie schedule. And dear God how much laundry could those two make; and the grocery bill. Fuck they were eating everything but the damn plates! At least dad had sent some money home. Between keeping his apartment and the house up he was pretty drained.
Fuck, he'd grounded Lachie for the weekend. Which meant he needed to be home. And there went his date with Kylie. Fuck, this was a goat rope. Dean closed his eyes; Christ he could use a slab of beer. But, no he had to go both Chase and Lachie's schools tomorrow; and then pull most of a shift. If he juggled everything right he only needed to take a couple hours of leave; and he'd be home in time to get dinner on the table. Dammit, he needed to stop and get food. And figure out dinner; eggs and cereal weren't really an option. They'd had that on Tuesday. Tikka masala? Meat pies? Take-away was the easiest; but, the budget wouldn't allow that again. Meat pies, frozen vegetables, mashed potatoes, and Gravox. He could do that.
Tossing his clothes in the hamper; Dean strode to the shower and started hosing the day off his body. At first it was all mechanical: Shampoo, soap, teeth, … Then he just sagged against the wall feeling the warm water wash down his sore muscles, and let the day run away. Christ he was stuffed. Parenting sucked. Dean smacked the wall, and swore up and down: He was NEVER having kids!
Tomorrow was another day. It was going to be interesting. There was a new shop supervisor coming into the shop, a lady named Michelle Letourneau. It would be an interesting change from Tiny's management style. Okay, just having management would be a change. Having something other than "get the job done," and maybe some formal training and a path to the qualifications they needed would be awesome. Vince tried to get them the training they needed; but, he didn't control the budget.