Persuasion is not mine. It belongs to Jane Austen.

I woke up to the sound of David and Mary coming home from dinner. Nathan was laying on me, sound asleep, drool dribbling onto my shirt. I could hear the sound of the DVD as the music played over and over on the menu. "Shh," I said as David and Mary came into the living room.

David walked over to the couch and picked Nathan up. Nathan still slept. "I think I'll go," I said and yawned. My eyes started to close.

"You can't drive when you have a hard time staying awake. You can sleep in the guest room tonight," David said

"All right. Whatever." I was too tired to care where I slept.

"But she doesn't live here," Mary protested. "She can sleep in her own bed."

"Not tonight, Mary. Do you want Anne to get into an accident?" David asked. "How's Jack?"

"He's fine. I gave him a pain pill, and it knocked him right out."

"Good. You can come on upstairs with us." I waited until David, Mary, and Nathan were upstairs before I took out the Finding Nemo DVD and put it back in its case. I turned off the TV and the light and walked up the stairs. Behind their door, I heard Mary and David get ready for bed. I went down the hall to the guest room and closed the door behind me.

My eyes adjusted to the dark. The light from the streetlamps filtered in through the window. I walked across the room and got into bed, slipping under the sheets. I laid awake, long after Mary and David had fallen asleep.

Would the rest of my life be like this? I thought. Taking care of everyone else's problems. It was a long time before I fell asleep.

I woke up to my nephews opening my door and yelling at me to get up. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost nine. I dragged myself out of bed and followed the boys to the kitchen.

Mary and David were up; David was making breakfast and Mary was half-instructing him on what to make and half-complaining about David's plans for the day. "I want the pancakes to be fluffy. Why do you get to go play golf and I have to stay home?"

"Mary, you don't like golf," David answered as he flipped a pancake over.

"But that doesn't mean that you can go and have all the fun. I never get a break from the boys. You always get to leave." Jack sat in the chair next to Mary and tried to get a hug from her, but Mary was too absorbed in herself. Nathan sat in my lap, and Mary glared at me.

The doorbell rang. Nobody moved to answer it. "I'll get it," I said and put Nathan in the chair. I went out into the front hall and opened the door. Hannah, Lucy, and Rick stood on the front porch. For a second, I couldn't say anything, then managed to choke out, "Hi."

"Morning, Anne," Hannah said.

"Hi, Anne," Lucy said. She had her arm wrapped around Rick's and leaned against him as though they were lovers. "Can we come in?"

"Uh, yeah, come in." I moved to let them in. They followed me to the kitchen, where David and Mary's discussion had turned into a full-blown fight and the pancakes and bacon were burning. I ran over to the stove and turned off the burners.

"You never give me anything or let me out of the house," Mary yelled. "You get to leave every day."

"I have to work to support us and you don't have a job."

"Oh, go ahead and fucking rub it in, would you?" I grabbed Jack and Nathan and took them out of kitchen and into the living room.

"Sorry you had to see that," I said to Rick and the twins. I settled the boys on the couch and pulled the Toy Story 2 DVD from the shelf.

"What does 'fuck' mean?" Jack asked.

"Nothing you need to know," I answered.

Hannah shrugged. "What else is new?"

Rick and Lucy sat on the couch next to my nephews. Lucy snuggled up to Rick, and Rick put his arm around Lucy's shoulders. I did my best not to show how I felt. I tried to ignore how made up and neat Lucy looked compared to me, who was wearing yesterday's clothes and hadn't showered or even brushed my hair.

"Do you think they'll get a divorce?" Lucy asked.

"I wouldn't blame David. I mean, Mary is a hypochondriac and a gold digger and she yells at him all the time for little things." Hannah sat in one of the leather chairs. "Oh, Anne, I forgot. This is Rick Wentworth. He's a client of our dad's."

I pressed play on the DVD player. "It's nice to meet you, Rick."

Rick nodded. "Nice to meet you, too." At least he didn't mention our history.

David came into the living room, looking frustrated. "Rick, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'll see you all around." He let himself out of Lucy's grasp and stood up.

"I'll call you," Lucy said.

Rick nodded and smiled. He and David left.

"Oh, Anne, isn't he gorgeous? And he's rich." I knew that look in Lucy's eyes.

"Aunt Annie, I'm hungry," Nathan said.

"Me, too," Jack chimed in.

"Anne, come and make breakfast," Mary ordered from the kitchen. I sighed and went back into the kitchen with everyone else on my toes.

"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked.

"Chocolate chip pancakes and bacon."

"That sounds good," Hannah said. She, Lucy, Jack, and Nathan seated themselves at the table and waited to be served.

"Chocolate chip pancakes and bacon it is." I got out clean pans and mixed pancakes.

During breakfast, Lucy talked about a sale at Macy's. "I totally need a new little black dress, especially if I'm going out with Rick."

"He hasn't asked you out yet," Hannah pointed out.

"No, but he will. Mary, I saw these adorable little baby girl outfits at Macy's last week. Some of them might still be there."

"I want to go, but I have to look after my sons," Mary whined. She looked at me.

"I'll look after them. You go."

"You can come if you want to, Anne," Hannah said.

"No. I don't feel like shopping today. Go ahead."

As usual, I ended up cleaning after everyone else as the twins and Mary left, their dirty dishes crowding the table. I sent Jack and Nathan back to the living room.

As the sink filled up with hot, soapy water, I tried not to cry. Rick hated me and was interested in Lucy, ten years his junior and a pretty blonde. Everyone wanted me to fix their problems and be their savior. When would I ever get what I want? Tears ran down my face as I scrubbed the burnt pans. I guessed being needed by people was better than not being loved.