December 23rd, 2021
Mike is standing in front of the front door when Frankie rounds the corner from the hall. He folds his arms across his chest and shakes his head.
"Where are you going? Axl, and Lexie will be here in less than an hour. Sue, and Sean, and Brick, and Cindy will all be here very soon. You can't outrun this, Frankie."
"I'm not trying to outrun anything. I just forgot the rolls."
"Frankie, we have a catered dinner being delivered in ten minutes with all of the fixings. You're just trying to avoid conflict. I've let you avoid conflict longer than necessary. We skipped Easter. We floated the Fourth of July. You alleged you were sick on Thanksgiving. You have to face the music eventually. We have not seen our children since Valentine's day of last year. All adults have been vaccinated, and there cannot be anymore white lies, or twisted truths here."
"But, Mike!"
"No, Frankie! No more!"
"What am I supposed to say to them?"
"Tell them the truth."
She is considering bolting out the back door when a tiny voice beckons, "Ma-ma!"
She shakes her head, and glances at the watch on her wrist, "Like clockwork."
"I'll get the food when it gets delivered. I can greet the kids too. Go get Peyton before she climbs out of her crib."
"Fine!" She begrudgingly stomps off.
In Axl, and Brick's former room Frankie flips on the light, and stares at a grey crib pushed against the opposite wall. A precious toddler with dimples, and dark curls smiles at her. Peyton rubs her bright brown sleepy eyes, and her precious little lips pout.
"Ma-ma!"
Frankie lifts the toddler from the crib, and dutifully puts on a fresh diaper, and clothing. Peyton lays her head on Frankie's shoulder as they leave the nursery. She hangs on Frankie's neck until they reach the kitchen. Mike is putting the containers of food on the kitchen counter.
"Da-da!" She squeals.
Mike shakes his head, and lifts the toddler from Frankie's grip. "You know I am not going anywhere."
"Mike she still has not forgiven you for the time that you went to Arby's for lunch when it was time to wake up from her nap."
"That was one time six months ago."
Frankie shakes her head, "I feel like you should know, and lovingly accept by now the fact that Heck women hold a grudge."
Mike sits Peyton on the kitchen island, "Listen, Princess P, your dad always works at home now. I promise not to go on any more trips to Arby's for lunch until you go to preschool."
She offers a pouty face. He offers her a sippy cup of ice water, and the look softens.
"We're home!" Sue squeals as she, and Sean wander through the front door.
The first one to greet them is Peyton. She smiles widely.
"Hi!"
"Mom, why is there a tiny human greeting us?" Sue queries.
Frankie joins them, "It's a funny story, really."
Mike sighs, and calls from the kitchen, "Tragic, Frankie. It is a tragic story."
"I don't understand," Sue shakes her head.
"They aren't coming."
"Are they stuck there?" Sue's eyes widen.
"They cannot go anywhere. They are gone," Frankie explains.
"Gone?" Sue repeats.
Sean interjects, "Sue, I think your mom is politely saying they permanently do not exist, in a kind way that a toddler will not understand."
"Oh! Is that true?"
"Yes," Frankie nods.
Sue's glance shifts from Frankie's anxious face to that of a toddler. She squats down, and smiles at the precious little girl.
"Peyton, I'm Sue."
Without any further instruction Peyton practically leaps into her arms.
By the time Axl, and Lexie arrive everyone is sitting at the table. They blast through the front door bickering about their drive. Lexie harshly elbows Axl, and points to the dining room table.
"Sorry. Obviously you're ready to eat."
The pair of them slide into their seats. Axl looks over at Mike, whose eyes he can feel boring a hole through him. Next to him is a toddler gleefully shoveling food into her mouth. Axl tilts his head, and waves his finger as everyone else starts piling food onto their plates.
"Hold on! Why is there a random child at the table?"
Sue rolls her eyes, "Why are you always tardy to the party?"
Frankie waves her hand in the air, "Axl, we're going to have a nice family holiday, and I'm not going to allow you to ruin in. Your dad will put the baby down at seven thirty, and we can have a civilized adult conversation then. Until then we are all going to act like adults since Peyton is sitting right here listening to everything we say."
Axl furrows his brow, "She's a b-a-b-y, what are you afraid she's going to hear?"
"Baby!" Peyton chirps.
Hour later Frankie is elbow deep in dish water when Axl enters the kitchen. He wordlessly grabs a dish towel, and starts drying, and putting away the dishes she places in the dish drainer. She shoots him a questioning look.
"What are you doing?"
"It goes a lot faster with two people. Dad seems to have disappeared, and everyone else is in the dining room playing Monopoly. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. Everyone is being civilized, and acting like adults. You're in here being cool, and collected washing the dishes. What gives?"
She shrugs, "You're the one who came in here. I could ask you the same."
He nods, "I know that you're trying to avoid conflict. I realize that I can at times, be a jerk. This is our first family holiday in such a long time. I can be caring, and empathetic if you would like to explain."
"I have no idea what is going on in the dining room."
He grins, "Nor do I, which is exactly why I left. Mom you're different. You are calm, and I haven't heard you complain once."
"I've spent nearly two years here at home reflecting. I've come to the conclusion that I have a lot of things to feel grateful for."
"Can we talk about the extra thing? I mean the extra person?"