"Ssh!" Becky shushed Seth. "Don't wake her up."
"Sorry," he said.
He smiled at his wife and leaned in for a quick kiss. They both got out of their shoes and hung up their jackets before making their way to the living room where Becky's sister Bevina was sitting with the tv on and the volume down. She looked like Becky had done in her youth with her long, brown hair and the same brown eyes.
"Hey," Becky whispered.
"Hey, you two," Bevina said.
Bevina grabbed the remote and turned off the tv before standing up.
"How did it go?" Seth asked.
"She's asleep," Bevina answered. "How was your date night?"
"Amazing," Becky grinned.
"Thank you for babysitting," Seth said.
Seth pulled up a 50 dollar bill and handed it to Bevina. It was only fair they paid her to look after their daughter all evening while they went and had fun.
"Do you want me to stay for another 30 minutes while you go have and have a quick bang in the bathroom or something?" Bevina smirked.
"Bevina!" Becky chuckled.
"Well," Seth said.
"Seth, don't you dare," Becky said.
"She was offering," Seth defended himself. "And it's not often we can just fool around after we became parents."
"I said no," Becky chuckled again.
"Oh well, your choice," Bevina chuckled too.
Bevina put the 50 dollar bill in her wallet and hugged both of them goodbye.
"Aren't you gonna say it?" Becky asked.
"Say what?" Bevina asked.
"You know," Becky smirked.
"I don't think I've been this confused in a while. I have no idea what you want me to say," Bevina said.
Becky looked over at Seth who shrugged in return.
"I told you she's not like that," Seth said.
"Not like what? What am I missing here?" Bevina asked.
"Doesn't it just make you want your own one after babysitting her all night?" Becky asked.
Bevina looked from Becky to Seth. He shook his head at his wife. She looked back at Becky and realized her sister was serious.
"Fuck, no!" Bevina burst out laughing. "No, I'm okay with babysitting sometimes and earning some quick money on it, but I'm more than happy to go home where I can sleep in and be surrounded by blissful silence."
"But," Becky tried.
"Leave it," Seth said. "I told you she's not like that. I can't believe I know your sister better than you do."
Bevina raised her hand and got a high five from Seth in return. They both grinned at each other before looking over at Becky who didn't seem to know what to say or do in that moment. She had been so sure she could convince her two years younger sister to have a child.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go home," Bevina said.
"Yeah, back home to your guinea pigs. As if they could ever love you like a child could," Becky said.
"Stop!" Seth hissed.
"Okay, with that attitude, you can forget all about me babysitting Saturday. I suddenly have plans," Bevina said.
"No, we need you," Becky said.
"I really don't give a fuck," Bevina looked over at Seth. "Sorry, Seth."
"I understand," Seth sighed. "Let me walk you out."
Seth walked Bevina out to the hall while Becky stayed back in the living room. Bevina put on her sneakers and jacket before finally looking at Seth again.
"I'm sorry. I don't think she realized before we became parents how hard it would be and how much we had to give up. And we still travel around and are able to pay people to help because of our careers. We actually got it a lot easier than most other parents," he said.
"I will not tolerate being talked to like that," she said.
"Nor should you," he said. "I'll talk to her and demand she apologizes. How are your guinea pigs, by the way? I know it was hard on you losing Meeka."
"I'm better now. I cried for a couple of days. The group has moved on without her. I'm actually getting a new one Thursday. She's so cute. It's a long haired one this time. She's light brown. Here, let me show you a picture," she said.
She took out her phone and showed him the picture of the guinea pig she was getting soon.
"She is cute," he smiled. "You got a name yet?"
"Asuka told me to name a guinea pig after her next time, so that will be her name," she said.
"That's cool. Knowing Asuka, she's gonna love it," he said.
"She does. She already knows," she said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go. Sorry for that weird little fight before."
"Don't apologize. She needs to apologize to you. She was way out of line," he said.
He pulled her in for a final hug.
"Siblings fight. Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll make sure she apologizes. Until then, take care. You know how stubborn she can be so she's gonna try and wait it out to see if you'll reach out first. Don't let her win this one."
"I won't," she chuckled. "We both got that stubborn, Irish genes. I'll wait around for her to call. I'm so sorry you got married into this crazy family."
"I kinda dig this family," he laughed. "Safe trip home, Bevina."