“No.”
“I have to go.”
“Sit your ass back down!”
She immediately sat back down.
That was easier than I thought.
“Ivy, listen to me. You’re not superwoman. You’re a human being. You’re allowed to get overwhelmed and stressed out and frustrated, okay?” I reached over and squeezed her hand. “You are not a terrible mother. You’re the farthest thing from being a terrible mom. The fact you recognize that you’re at your breaking point and need a break makes you an incredible mom.”
“But I—”
“Know that your stress level is too high to be one hundred percent focused on Tegan right now,” I finished before she could. “And that’s okay. That’s okay, Ivy. You’re no good to her if you’re crying in the bathroom when she needs you or if you’re too overwhelmed and exhausted to remember the last time you changed her diaper or gave her medicine.”
She blinked at me. “But I should be there.”
“Why? Because you’re her mom? Like her dad can’t do a good enough job?” I raised my eyebrows. “That man loves her to absolute pieces, and there’s nobody else in this world she needs right now other than him. You need to take a break, and as long as she has one of her parents, she’s fine.”
“But he’s so tired, and—”
“You’re tired! You’re tired, you’re stressed, you’re overwhelmed, and you need a break. While I’m sure Kai has been working his ass off, I know you’re the one who’s been up all night and all day. You just admitted you can’t even pee in peace, Ives. That’s not normal.” I took a moment. “Do you want to pee in peace? Do you want a shower? You can use mine. How about a nap? I don’t care. Take my bed.”
Her throat bobbed, and before she could say anything, her eyes filled with tears. “You’re the first person who’s asked me if I want a shower.”
I couldn’t help it.
I giggled. “Seriously?”
Ivy laughed, clasping her hand over her mouth. “Yes. Oh, God, I feel so stupid.”
“Hey.” I got up and walked to her, wrapping my arms around her so she rested her head on my shoulder. “You’re not stupid. You’re just a mom. You’re allowed to feel like this. Why don’t you go take a shower, and when you’re done, I’ll reheat this pasta and you can eat it in my pajamas? I’ll text Kai and tell him you’re staying here tonight.”
“I can’t stay all—”
“I am not arguing with you, Ivy,” I said firmly. “You need a break, and so you’re getting one. Do you hear me?”
She nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Great. You know where the towels are. Off you go.”
Ivy got up and headed for the bathroom, then stopped and looked back at me. “What if he’s mad at me?”
I looked her in the eye and said, “In the unlikely event he’s mad at you for looking after yourself, I’m going to drive over there and beat his fucking ass down. Got it?”
Her lips pulled to one side. “Okay.”
“Go.”
She did as I said, disappearing into the bathroom with a small pitstop to the linen cupboard. As soon as I heard the shower running, I quickly put all the pasta back in the pot to reheat and grabbed my phone to text Kai.
ME: You there? Don’t want to call and wake Tegan.
He replied almost immediately.
KAI: She’s awake. Just washed round two of vomit off us both. What’s wrong? Is Ivy ok?
ME: No.
KAI: Tori
ME: She’s staying here tonight. She’s overwhelmed and exhausted and needs a break.
KAI: Jesus, I thought you were going to tell me she’d been in a car accident or something. Don’t scare me like that you little shit.
ME: She’s feeling major guilt about me basically locking her in here and making her take a shower.
The shower stopped.
“Hey, Tori?”
I tilted my head. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Do you mind if I take a bath?”
“Would you like a glass of wine with your bubbles?” I called back to her.
“Bring the bottle!”
ME: Ignore that. She’s taking a bath and drinking my wine.
I grabbed the bottle and her glass and took them to her, cracking the door open enough to pass them to her one by one. “I put the pasta back in the pot to reheat. Let me know when you’re done, okay?”
“I feel horrible.”
“The bath and wine will make you feel better. Bye now.” I closed the door and walked off before she could respond with anything else. I grabbed my phone again and saw the unread message from Kai.
KAI: Good.
ME: Good?
KAI: Yes, good. Hold on. Tegan’s asleep.
I waited while Ivy continued running her bath.
KAI: She’s stressed. I know that. I haven’t been around enough lately with work since we’re doing long hours and Seb wants this barn done. I couldn’t get out of it. I know she’s annoyed.
I was playing therapist here, wasn’t I?
ME: She’s not annoyed. You’re doing what you have to do to provide for your family and she understands that. She just needs a breather, that’s all.
KAI: She couldn’t get out of here fast enough.
ME: She felt guilty about leaving you covered in tiny terrorist vomit, but if she didn’t, she wouldn’t have left.
KAI: That makes more sense.
ME: You aren’t talking to each other, are you?
KAI: When do we have the time? Between work and Tegan and her doing a few hours at the bar we don’t have many chances to be alone.
The lump in my throat swelled. Their entire relationship had been a whirlwind, but I wholeheartedly believed that they were each other’s end game. I’d seen the way they looked at each other, and it made my heart twang every single time.
It was just… love.
Pure love.
The kind of love everyone dreamed of having.
Fairytales couldn’t compare.
And I wasn’t going to let my best friend’s marriage fall apart like that.
ME: Bring Tegan to me when she’s better. I’ll have her for a night one weekend.
KAI: What?
ME: Or I’ll come to your place and you guys go somewhere for the night.
KAI: You’re insane. You hate kids.
ME: I don’t hate kids. Not a big fan of kids who pull my cat’s tail, but Tegan’s a baby. She’ll learn when Gen meows incessantly at her.
KAI: That’s fair. Your cat is about as scary as an umbrella.
That was very, very fair. Ragdolls weren’t exactly known for their aggressive dispositions. They were more… well, big fat ragdolls.