one load of towels and had thrown another load into the dryer. On her way past the laundry room, Kaia glanced in to make sure he wasn't doing anything wrong and caught a glimpse of her jeans in a pile on the floor.
"Don't shrink my jeans," she warned in an ominous tone, to which Andrew replied with a sharp, "Then do them yourself." Kaia ignored him and headed off to bed.
Andrew had just thrown himself on his bed, contemplating how he'd fit grocery shopping into his day tomorrow, when the phone rang. He picked it up with a short and sour, "Yeah."
"Hi, Andrew. It's me."
Andrew sat up in bed, taken aback by Maggie's melancholy tone. His initial reaction was to ask her if she was okay, but then he remembered how angry he'd been with her earlier that evening and caught himself from acting like he cared. "Hello, Maggie."
There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. "How are the kids?" Maggie asked.
"Smart-mouthed and absent, as usual," Andrew shot back. "Kaia does nothing around here to help out, and Kyle isn't even home yet. Since when is he allowed to be out all hours of the night without calling in to let us know where he is?"
"He's almost twenty years old. Who did you check in with when you were twenty?"
Maggie's question irritated Andrew. "That was different. I was away at school. He's living at home, and we're still paying his bills. He has a responsibility to follow our rules, not make up his own."
Maggie sighed again. "I didn't call to argue. I just wanted to check on you and the kids, and make sure everything is okay."
"Well, everything is not okay , Maggie. You're off to God knows where, and I'm stuck here doing all your work. It's time you came home. There's no two ways about it. And if you don't, well, I'm not going to be held responsible for what happens to our marriage."
"You never have taken responsibility for our marriage before," Maggie said calmly. "So why should I expect anything different now?"
The long pause hung thickly in the air as Andrew contemplated what Maggie had just said. Finally, in a calm, controlled voice, Andrew asked. "Maggie, how much longer do we have to keep going over the past? When will it finally be over?"
"When I'm finally over it, I guess," she said. "I just need more time."
"And what will that time do to us, to our family?" Andrew wanted to know. "We'll never be the same, will we?"
"I hope not," Maggie said quietly. "I hope we'll never go back to the way we've been these past few years." Without another word, Maggie hung up the phone.
Chapter Eight
It was Kaia's second day of going AWOL from school, and she didn't feel at all guilty about it. She'd simply stepped off the school bus, walked to the parking lot, and slid into Lance's car, along with Allie and Jessie, her skipping buddies. They weren't really good friends of hers, but she knew them from classes, and they were more than happy to include her as long as she helped pay for the gas. Yesterday, she'd had them drop her off at home before her dad got home, and she'd deleted the message from the school inquiring why she'd been absent that day. Her poor, clueless dad had no idea she'd been running around all day instead of sitting in class. She planned on doing the same thing today, so he'd never know she was absent. This was so easy. She didn't know why she hadn't tried it before. Except if her mother was home, she'd know. She had a sixth sense about both Kaia and Kyle, and always seemed to know instantly if something was wrong. Kaia would never have gotten away with this if her mother were home. But her mother wasn't home, so it was working out perfectly.
They drove out of town about fifty miles to another small town where no one recognized them, and they could shop at the mall and play at the arcade all day. Kaia sometimes helped at her mother's work during the summer, so she had some money to spend. It wasn't until they passed the earring shop that Kaia got a great idea. No, a fabulous idea. And
"Don't shrink my jeans," she warned in an ominous tone, to which Andrew replied with a sharp, "Then do them yourself." Kaia ignored him and headed off to bed.
Andrew had just thrown himself on his bed, contemplating how he'd fit grocery shopping into his day tomorrow, when the phone rang. He picked it up with a short and sour, "Yeah."
"Hi, Andrew. It's me."
Andrew sat up in bed, taken aback by Maggie's melancholy tone. His initial reaction was to ask her if she was okay, but then he remembered how angry he'd been with her earlier that evening and caught himself from acting like he cared. "Hello, Maggie."
There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. "How are the kids?" Maggie asked.
"Smart-mouthed and absent, as usual," Andrew shot back. "Kaia does nothing around here to help out, and Kyle isn't even home yet. Since when is he allowed to be out all hours of the night without calling in to let us know where he is?"
"He's almost twenty years old. Who did you check in with when you were twenty?"
Maggie's question irritated Andrew. "That was different. I was away at school. He's living at home, and we're still paying his bills. He has a responsibility to follow our rules, not make up his own."
Maggie sighed again. "I didn't call to argue. I just wanted to check on you and the kids, and make sure everything is okay."
"Well, everything is not okay , Maggie. You're off to God knows where, and I'm stuck here doing all your work. It's time you came home. There's no two ways about it. And if you don't, well, I'm not going to be held responsible for what happens to our marriage."
"You never have taken responsibility for our marriage before," Maggie said calmly. "So why should I expect anything different now?"
The long pause hung thickly in the air as Andrew contemplated what Maggie had just said. Finally, in a calm, controlled voice, Andrew asked. "Maggie, how much longer do we have to keep going over the past? When will it finally be over?"
"When I'm finally over it, I guess," she said. "I just need more time."
"And what will that time do to us, to our family?" Andrew wanted to know. "We'll never be the same, will we?"
"I hope not," Maggie said quietly. "I hope we'll never go back to the way we've been these past few years." Without another word, Maggie hung up the phone.
Chapter Eight
It was Kaia's second day of going AWOL from school, and she didn't feel at all guilty about it. She'd simply stepped off the school bus, walked to the parking lot, and slid into Lance's car, along with Allie and Jessie, her skipping buddies. They weren't really good friends of hers, but she knew them from classes, and they were more than happy to include her as long as she helped pay for the gas. Yesterday, she'd had them drop her off at home before her dad got home, and she'd deleted the message from the school inquiring why she'd been absent that day. Her poor, clueless dad had no idea she'd been running around all day instead of sitting in class. She planned on doing the same thing today, so he'd never know she was absent. This was so easy. She didn't know why she hadn't tried it before. Except if her mother was home, she'd know. She had a sixth sense about both Kaia and Kyle, and always seemed to know instantly if something was wrong. Kaia would never have gotten away with this if her mother were home. But her mother wasn't home, so it was working out perfectly.
They drove out of town about fifty miles to another small town where no one recognized them, and they could shop at the mall and play at the arcade all day. Kaia sometimes helped at her mother's work during the summer, so she had some money to spend. It wasn't until they passed the earring shop that Kaia got a great idea. No, a fabulous idea. And
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