Team8s and Counting

182. The Space Between Us

Pin and Needle had just pulled into the driveway after a day at work. The sun had almost fully set, and they were excited to relax at home with the kids.

They opened the door, ready to greet Thread and Dimey, except that unlike usual, the two weren't at the front door waiting for them. They saw the other three kids, and said hello to them, but they had yet to see their own.

They then looked over at the couch, and saw Coiny sitting there quietly, looking down at the floor in defeat. Worried, Pin and Needle went over and sat on either side of him.

"Hey." Pin whispered. "Is everything okay? Where are the kiddos?"

Coiny sighed as he shook his head. "We had a little bit of a...moment this afternoon."

Pin and Needle's expression softened, already scenarios of what in the world could have happened. Needle wrapped an arm around Coiny, "Well, clearly it has something to do with the kids. You have to tell us, Coiny."

Coiny took a deep breath. "The kids come home from school, then Dimey asks me for help with his homework. I take him to the kitchen and we go over some math problems together, all is well, right?" Coiny's voice started to get shaky. "Then Thread comes in for a snack, and she asks me where the berries are. I tell her we don't have berries, and she was nice and flexible and decided to go for the pudding instead. Then Sack comes in and says that he took the last one. She's doing so well, and she reaches for the pickles, but then..." Coiny sighed. "Then the jar slipped on her hands and cracked on the floor. I try to help her clean it up but at this point...she...she"

"She...couldn't control her emotions." Pin said, knowing that Thread had been doing so well, but that everything that could go wrong just had to.

Coiny nodded, wiping a tear from his eye with his thumb. "I have to then stop what I'm doing with Dimey, clean up the mess, and help her to her room to calm down. I sat with her for a solid half hour, and by then, Saw and Gaty had made it home. I wasn't there for it, but apparently Dimey was pissed at me that I just left him like that, and the two of them helped him with the homework. But now...now Dimey thinks I don't love him as much as Thread."

Needle leaned in and gave Coiny a hug, letting him bury his face into her chest. "So where are they now?"

Coiny wrapped his arms around Needle. "Thread's in her room taking a well deserved nap, so I'm leaving her alone for now. Dimey's now pissed at me and won't even let me in his room to talk."

Pin and Needle exchanged a concerned glance, their hearts aching for both Coiny and the kids. Pin gently rubbed Coiny's back as she spoke. "It sounds like you did the best you could, Coiny. It's hard enough to balance all the kids with all seven of us at home. I don't think we give you enough credit for having to keep five kids at bay all by yourself."

Coiny shook his head. "I wish I could clone myself so that I could be there for the kids whenever they needed me. I felt like the worst dad in the world for not being able to help Dimey with his homework. It's just...things just escalated with Thread and I...I just couldn't..."

"Coiny." Needle said, taking a hold of his hand. "You are far from the worst father in the world. You're an incredible dad. The fact that you care this much, that you're sitting here beating yourself up over something you couldn't control, proves that. And I know that Dimey doesn't hate you, he's just upset right now."

Coiny took a slow, deep breath. "I wish he could just understand why, you know. To him, it looks like I value Thread more then him, when in reality, Thread's meltdown couldn't wait, while his homework could."

Pin got up from the couch. "Maybe he just needs to understand Thread a little bit more. He's getting older, and it's important that he knows that Thread is not in a competition with him to get your attention."