Ever The Same

Week 14 - Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House

She loves me tender, when the goin' gets tough
Sometimes we fight just so we can make up
Lord I need that little woman like the crops need rain
She's my honeycomb and I'm her sugar cane
We really fit together if you know what I'm talkin' about
Yeah, we're two of a kind, workin' on a full house
——Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House, Garth Brooks

Week Fourteen
Your baby is the size of a navel orange

November 13, 2021

"So I told my mom that we'd visit after soccer season is over," Connor told Cait. "She was fine with that."

Cait nodded. Gillian had apparently been a model prisoner and was now allowed one phone call a month with Connor. Cait knew that she also wrote him letters and that he occasionally wrote back. And that her father sent pictures and an update every few months. And Cait still took Connor to see her two or three times a year.

She knew that Connor still wasn't really able to understand his mother's actions and he struggled a lot with those visits sometimes. But she just let him vent about his feelings and reminded him that he was loved. And wanted.

"Do you want something to eat while we watch the game?" Cait asked Connor. They were settling in to watch the Grizzlies play the Suns in Phoenix.

"I think that means that you want something to eat while we watch the game," Connor smirked at her. "You aren't gonna try to feed me kale chips again, are you?"

"Actually, I'm craving nachos," Cait grinned at him. "I stopped by the store while you were at practice."

"Hey, I've got states coming up," Connor frowned at her. "I can't go crazy." But he saw her expression and knew what to do. "But I suppose I could help out a little," he grinned.

*****

In the end, he hadn't had to help out much at all. His sister polished off most of a plate of nachos herself. But it clearly made her feel better if she could pretend she wasn't eating them alone, so Connor nibbled. And she'd made one of her fantastic salad concoctions for them for dinner so he supposed she was entitled.

The salad had been an Asian one, with rotisserie chicken, cabbage and kale, almonds, cashews and Cait's honey sesame ginger vinaigrette. And Connor had been somewhat surprised that his sister had photographed their dinner and posted it on her Instagram.

"What's up with that?" he'd asked, gesturing to his phone. "You've been posting a lot of food lately."

"Maybe it's a pregnancy thing," Cait had shrugged. "I've just been thinking a lot about cooking. And it gives me something to post that doesn't immediately generate a bunch of nasty comments about my husband. My way of ignoring some of that stuff."

Now, they were in their pajamas, on the couch, watching the game. Connor knew that Cait was fully engaged and he was too. But it had been a long day. He'd had soccer practice again, and Cait had gone to her yoga class. They'd done some shopping for furniture for the basement. Grayson had suggested that they make a gaming room down there, along with the bathroom and bedroom, so Connor had helped Cait pick out some furniture for that. He knew that Grayson figured that this was one way to keep the babies clear of his gaming stuff. He and Grayson were going shopping for the electronics sometime before Christmas.