Mrs. Independent

Chapter Ten: Wrong Day

Chapter Ten: Wrong Day

By the time I got to the city, Emma was asleep in her car seat and I knew Bryson was close to falling asleep too.
I got a ticket to park in the airport lot, grabbed the diaper bag, and now we're sitting in the airport. Emma is sleeping in my arms and the three boys are awake, sitting in the ground in front of me with a couple of hot wheels and a small race track that is easy to put together. I keep it in a ziploc bag in the bottom of the diaper bag for situations when I want them to behave but I don't want them on electronics.
I'm smiling at the way they're amusing themselves.
They're using my leg as a ramp, running their cars up and down it.
I don't really mind. It doesn't bother me.
It's around two forty five and I keep checking my phone, waiting for a text from Josh telling me he's here.
After seven years of being together, the mere thought of seeing him still gets my heart racing and my palms sweating.
I feel Emma starting to stir in my arms and around two fiftyish, she lifts her head up, looking around the airport.
"Daddy?" She asks.
"Not yet baby, really soon."
She sits with me for about three minutes before she starts wanting to get down.
"Boys, let Emma play with you." I say.
"Okay Mommy." Matthew moves aside to create room, and Emma sits down between him and Caiden and picks up a pink truck, rolling it back and forth on the ground.
I check my phone again, growing impatient.
A few minutes pass, and then a few more, and then it hits three, and then three oh five, and then three fifteen.
What the hell?
The kids are oblivious to the fact that their father is late, but I'm ripped from my impatience when Emma decides she doesn't want the pink car anymore, so she takes the green corvette that has the flames on it from Bryson.
"Hey! Mommy, she took it from me! Give it back Emma!"
"No!"
"Emma, you don't take things from your brother without asking. Give him back the green car. You're playing with the pink one right now."
"No!" She says.
"One." I say. "Two." I raise both eyebrows at her. "Th-"
She shoves the green car back at Bryson and sits there with her arms over her chest, pouting.
I let her sit there miserable.
"Thank you for giving me back my car." Bryson says.
"No!" Emma says. "No fank yuh!"
"Emma, if you don't stop being rude, you're going to go into timeout."
"No!" She yells at me. "My geen cer!" She says.
Without a word, I reach out and lift her off the ground, sitting her down next to me. I take the pink truck from her hands.
"You're in timeout. You're stay there until you're ready to behave."
She starts crying, causing a lot of people to give me disapproving looks.
I put the pink truck in the ziploc bag, checking my phone for messages.
It's three twenty. Where the hell is Josh?
I rake my fingers through my hair in frustration and stand up, ready to go check the board to see if the flight is delayed.
I decide I'll do it after I talk to Emma.
"Are you ready to listen now?" I ask her.
She hiccups and nods, tears streaming down her face.
I move out of the way of the boys.
"Stand up." I say calmly.
She does, and I crouch down in front of her, putting my hands on her arms.
I look right into her eyes.
"You have to ask before you take things from other people, Emma." I say gently. "And if Bryson took your pink car from you, you would be angry, wouldn't you?"
She hiccups.
"Yees." She looks down.
I tilt her chin back up to look at me.
"Next time you want something from somebody, you ask. You don't take it. And when I tell you not to do something, you listen, because I'm your Mama and I'm in charge." I pause. "Next time you do it, you will not play for the rest of the day. Do you understand?"
"Yees Mama."
"Okay." I say. "Now give me a kiss."
She kisses my cheek.
"Okay, you can go play again."
I give her back the pink car, and she sits down with her brothers to start playing again.
I pick up my phone to check for any messages, but there are none.
My eyes rest on the home screen and it makes my heart ache.
The picture is a sweet memory.
It's late at night when all four kids were sleeping. He and I got up and ordered pizza because we couldn't sleep. We at on the counter and ate the entire box by ourselves.
Afterwards, I told him I was upset because the only good pictures we have are formal and taken by somebody else, so I told him to let me set up the camera so we could get pictures.
He agreed, but when the time came for the picture, he messed up every one of them on purpose by making silly faces or playfully poking me.
I told him I was done, but he begged me for one more picture.
And let's face it, I love that man so much, he's hard to say no to.
I agreed to one more picture, fully aware he was going to try to lick my cheek.
But instead, he kissed my cheek.
In the picture, his eyes are close and his lips are on my cheek, and I have a huge grin on my face because I wasn't expecting it.
It's my favorite picture of us, because it's so natural.
He's in sweatpants and no shirt, and his hair is messy from rolling around in bed, and I'm in a tank top and red and black plaid pajamas.
My hair is down and messy as well, and I'm not wearing any makeup.
It's just so pure.
But I haven't seen him in two weeks, and after being with him every day for half a decade, when he's gone...
It just makes me feel incomplete. He's my other half. My best friend.
And seeing this picture makes it feel photoshopped. It feels like a dream to me, like he doesn't really exist.
I glare at the time. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago.
"Mommy, when is Daddy coming?" Bryson asks.
"I don't know." I say.
I decide I'll try to text him.
I open our chat and hit the spacebar, and then I press send.
I hear the iPhone swooshing sound of a sent message.
What the hell? It delivered, which means he has service.
A moment later, the message goes to read, and then I get a blank text of him hitting the spacebar.
Me: where are you
Baby: lol California
Me: why?
Baby: because I'm helping Austin and Carly love
I throw my hands up in the air and text him back.
Me: because why????
Baby: wym
Me: I've been at the airport for almost an hour waiting for you.
The message goes to read.
Baby: what????? Why?
Me: because you come home today!
Baby: no I don't...
Me: you told me the come get you on Friday and you land at 5
Baby: I said Saturday
Me: no
Baby: yes I did hun
Me: no you didn't
Baby: I'm sorry but I did
Me: No you said Friday
Baby: think about it love, I said Saturday
I run my fingers through my hair, thinking about it.
Me: ok I'm just stupid ig
Baby: you're not stupid. Tomorrow I'll just take the train from the city so you don't have to put all the kids in the car and drive back again tomorrow.
Me: now I'm really sad this literally ruined my entire day
Baby: I'm sorry
Me: it's fine I'll just take the kids home
Baby: I'm sorry
Me: it's good
"Turns out Daddy isn't coming today." I say to the kids, forcing a smile so they don't get upset.
"Why?" Caiden asks, outraged.
"I thought it was today. It's my fault. I'm sorry."

______

I'm so tired and I'm sick
~Sam