The New Ever After (The New Ever After Series) (6 page)

Henry’s picnic day
arrived on one of the hottest days in June so far. The school decided if it was over 90 degrees at picnic time, it would be held inside. The temperature hovered at 89 at 11:00 so they stayed outside. In order to beat the massive line of first grade moms at the Chick-Fil-A drive thru, Heather offered to buy Henry a Lunchable. He was thrilled with the idea and ordered a make your own pizza. She ran to Kroger to pick it up along with the popsicles for the class and a quick iced tea for herself at Starbucks. She arrived at school and set up her blanket and the teacher’s present in the designated spot for Henry’s class. Henry was thrilled to have a normally outlawed Lunchable for lunch. He opened all of the packets for his make your own pizza and got to work. In true Henry fashion, he managed to get the entire packet of sauce on the front of his shirt, and Heather realized she forgot to bring napkins. Tanya stopped by Heather’s blanket and noticed the mess.

“Need some help?” she asked.

“Yeah. You don’t happen to have an extra napkin do you?”

“Of course, let me get it.”

Tanya returned with a linen napkin that Heather was afraid to use knowing the sauce would stain it indefinitely.

“Nice lunch! Do you know how many different food dyes are in there? Not to mention the calories?” asked Tanya.

“Who cares? I love it!” said Henry, taking the pressure off of Heather to answer the question.

“It’s time to present the teachers their gifts and hand out the popsicles,” said Tanya. “Do you have some words prepared to say about Mrs. Thomas?”

“Ummm…I was just going to thank her,” said Heather.

“You should highlight some of the special things they did during the year.
Think you can handle that?”

“
One thing I can handle is putting some words together, Tanya,” said Heather.

Tanya walked away and Heather tried to think of something special the class had done
in first grade. She couldn’t come up with anything, probably because Henry hadn’t told her much and because with three of them in school she felt lucky to remember his teacher’s name most of the time. She decided to say a simple thank you in her style, which meant pulling at the heartstrings. She got everyone’s attention with the lure of popsicles.

“Mrs. Thomas, each and everyday we kissed our kids good-bye and put them on the bus. We did that knowing you were on the other end to greet them, love them and keep them safe. You made it easy to send them out into this sometimes scary world. Thank you for being the first grade teacher they will remember for the rest of their lives.” Mrs. Thomas wiped away a tear and hugged Heather.

Heather moved on to the next task, passing out the popsicles. Three of the moms turned them down for their spawn because apparently Heather had bought the popsicles with Yellow No. 5 in them.

She survived the picnic and was very happy to check all of her room mom duties off of her list for the year. Her next task for the day was outfitting Gracie for her recorder concert tomorrow. She needed a white button down shirt with a Peter Pan collar and a khaki pleated skirt that went to the knees. Heather sent Henry off on a playdate for the afternoon because it was
a school tradition that kids didn’t stay for the remainder of the day after their picnic. She left Peter at home with the twins and headed out to search for the proper outfit for Gracie. After scouring Kohls, Target and Lands End, she found items she thought would suffice. Although she was sure Gracie would protest, as the collar was not a round one like it was supposed to be. She was confident a square collar would not ruin their lives and she was determined to finally get home and take a swim in her pool. She pulled in the driveway and carried the bags inside.

“Hey, baby,” said Peter who was sitting at the bar in the kitchen working on his laptop.

“How’s work?”

“Great. Got a lot done this afternoon. The twins are still sleeping.”

“Perfect. I’m dying to go for a dip in the pool,” said Heather.

And as if George heard her say that, they heard the cries through the intercom. She’d have to settle for a dip with the kids instead of solo but she was used to that at this point in her life.

“Let’s get in when Gracie and Hayes come home,” suggested Peter.

“Sounds good.”

The Meadows-Adamsons had a homework free night and spent it in the pool. Heather realized how nice and carefree the summer would be without tests to study for and math problems to do. Just a few more days and they would be there. Heather and Peter sat in the hot tub after they got everyone in to bed. She loved sitting and looking at the stars.

“
I
could sit here forever. It’s my happy place,” said Heather.

“I want you to have more happy places.
Do you think moving away from here would help you?” asked Peter.

“No.
This is my home. It’s everything I’ve ever known. My whole support system is here. The kids are thriving in school. And I love Richmond. I like to celebrate Easter on Monument Ave. every year. I like to head to the Carytown Watermelon Festival. I love the Greek Fest and the Tacky Lights Tour. I love the hot summers and the not-so-cold winters. I like that school gets canceled for a slushy rain. The things that stress me out here would stress me out anywhere.”

“Just know I’d move anywhere for you to keep you happy and sane.”

“Thank you. That’s why I love you.” Heather leaned her head back to gaze at the stars.

“My dad and I used to look for the Big Dipper every night,” said Peter. “When I got to Notre Dame I took an astronomy class. It was so hard, I had to drop it.”

“Yeah, too much math in astronomy for me.”

“I can’t wait to look at the stars on our trip.”

Heather sighed. “I’m so nervous about going and leaving the kids. What if something happens and they don’t have a mother or father? Who would take care of them?”

“Nothing’s going to happen. I promise.”

“You can’t make those promises, Mr. Control Freak. You can’t control everything, like Mother Nature.”

“And you can’t live thinking something might happen at every turn. But we should have a will and determine who the kids would live with. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Who could we leave five kids with?” asked Heather.

“I think my parents and your mom are too old. Janie?” asked Peter.

“Can you imagine Janie with seven kids? She would be even crazier than she is now with two. It would be impossible for her to make all seven of them look neat in their matching outfits. There’s no way she would get Henry to wear Vineyard Vines clothes.”

“You’re right. She couldn’t do it. Who else?” asked Peter.

“Lauren? Her girls are almost in college.”

“She’d be pretty amazing. They’d all learn how to read Tarot cards.”

“I can’t think about this anymore. I’m nervous enough about the trip and this is going to stress me out even more.”

“Let’s go to bed. You have a big day tomorrow with that recorder concert.”

“Another thing I don’t want to think about…”

Heather had never been as happy as she was to have the recorder concert be just about over. She had forced Gracie to practice in their garage as the recorder had a squeak that Heather's ears could not tolerate. After all the fourth graders performed as a group, there was an hour and a half of solo performances. Heather texted Peter to check on the twins.

10:23 Heather: I think my eardrums are bleeding. How are the babes?

10:24 Peter:
Fine. I bet you wish George was squirming on your lap right now.

10:25 Heather: Def! I think this is almost over
. There’s a harp soloist right now.

10:26 Peter: Aren’t these kids only 10?

10:27 Heather: Yep but don’t forget you’re in the 2-3-1-1-3.

But within a half hour, she was able to check that off of her end-of-the-year list and just look toward the last day of school, which she was determined to make fun for all of them.

Jenny and Heather decided to get pedicures. Peter graciously, as usual, watched the twins.

"You ready for your trip?"
asked Jenny.

"Barely
. Peter has done so much to make it easy for me. This week has just been insane. I forgot that Henry was special frog in his class this week and he needed a poster that chronicled his seven years of life thus far. I ended up running to Walgreens at 9:30 the other night to get poster board and staying up until midnight placing pictures all over it. That on top of all the scheduled stuff and the twins being sick...it hasn't been fun. Well, I take that back, Peter and I did have fun in the shower the other day."

"You naughty mama
. What color are you going to paint your toes, Fuck Me Red?"

"Haha
. Gracie told me to get green. I think I'll take her advice. You are welcome to go for the red. I'm sure Matt would like it."

"I don't think Matt would even notice."

Heather looked at her funny. "Why do you say that?" She knew Jenny well enough to know there was something behind the comment.

"He's just so obsessed with work and taking clients out to play golf
. I feel like we don't see him that much. And when he is home, he's not too into me."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Awhile."

"Why haven't you told me?"

"Didn't want to bother you with my problems. You seem to create enough of your own."

"Very funny
. You guys need some time away. When we get back I will watch the kids and you guys go away for the weekend. Maybe you could use Janie's place in Wintergreen or Peter's place in NYC. Or you could go on a kooky couple's yoga retreat. Put each other into some kind of pretzel pose."

"HaHa! That would be great. You know how much Matt likes my new agedness. We'll talk about it later. Let's talk about your big pool partay!"

"Victoria texted and asked if I was going to have a lifeguard."

"Are you?"

"Never even contemplated it, but Peter and I will be watching them. Peter's about the most adept person I have ever seen in the water. I think he could probably swim an Ironman if he wanted to. And of course, you'll be there. So will Janie and Chris. My mom's coming to help with the twins. I think we will be fine. I invited Victoria to stay if she felt more comfortable."

"Ugh...please
. Is she staying?"

"Don't think so
. We're just going to order pizza instead of grilling. I thought that would be easier. And of course have banana splits. The Meadows Family last day of school tradition."

"Sounds great. Let's get out of here and get this day started."

Heather gave Jenny a hug as they went to the car. She couldn't imagine her life without her. She hoped Jenny got the same thing from her, but Heather constantly felt like things were lopsided.

Heather arrived home and Peter was feeding the twins lunch
.

"How are your toes?"

"Ready for some sand somewhere. At least I'm hoping there's sand."

"There is don't worry. I can't believe we're finally going on our honeymoon."

"We've done a lot so far and haven't even known each other for two years. Can't do everything," Heather said with a smile.

"We have a lot more to do
. We are going to be pretty busy."

Peter and Heather greeted the kids with water balloons and silly string, another last day of school tradition
. Last year, Heather couldn't participate. She was happy to be back in the swing of things now. When it was time to get ready for the party, Heather had the kids straighten their rooms and set up the patio. When they were done with their rooms, Peter and the boys filled up balloons with helium to decorate around the pool.

"Mom, can I write a message on a balloon and send it up to Dad?" asked Gracie.

Heather stopped in her tracks. Hank popped up when she least expected him to.

"Lovely idea
. Why don't we all do it?"

Gracie ran out to the boys to tell them her idea
. Peter looked up from filling balloons and winked at Heather who was standing at the window with a tear in her eye. She walked outside with some paper and Sharpies and watched while the kids wrote their messages.

"Aren't you going to write one, Mom?" asked Henry.

"I guess. I hadn't thought about it."

"You should," urged Peter.

Heather thought about it. She decided to keep it short.

Thank you for making sure everything worked out ok even though you couldn't stay with us. H xo

They tied the notes onto the balloons, counted down and launched them. Heather held each of the kids in a group hug as they watched the balloons reach the tree line and float away.

"Ok
. Let's get this partay started!" yelled Henry.

Victoria and her son were the first to arrive. She surveyed the backyard. "I'm going to stay."

"Great. Make yourself comfortable," said Peter. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Well, certainly no
t a beer or whatever it is you’re having. I'll just have lemonade."

"One beer is not going to harm anyone, Victoria. The kids will be fine if you have a beverage."
They may even be better off if we get this woman a drink,
thought Peter.

"No, just lemonade."

Janie and Chris came with Peter's niece, Elizabeth, and nephew, Michael. Janie was the type of mom who would have intimidated Heather a year and a half ago. She looked perfect. Her blonde hair was neatly coiffed with a headband that matched her Vineyard Vines tunic, which in turn matched her bikini. Her toes were painted the exact pink that complemented it all as well. As soon as Janie had realized Heather and Peter were in a serious relationship, she had let down her guard and she and Heather had become close. Actually, Jenny, Heather and Janie were now a frequent threesome. Jenny and Janie had even worked together to help plan Peter and Heather's wedding in Hawaii.

Chris carried a container of chicken curry from his restaurant, Café Nouveau, for Heather
. It had become a staple for her while she was pregnant with the twins. It was the only thing her stomach could tolerate for some time.

"A present for the gracious hostess," said Chris as he handed the curry over and gave Heather a kiss.

"Thank you," said Heather.

Jenny and her family arrived last. Matt seemed distracted when he came in holding all the towels and scanning the backyard
. But maybe Heather was just keeping an extra special eye on him since Jenny had confessed that they weren't getting along so well.

"Hey, so glad we had this morning," said Heather as she took the beer that Jenny
handed her. Heather smiled to herself knowing that Victoria sat in disapproval as she watched the exchange.

"Me, too. I'm going to miss all you guys while you're away." Emily had sauntered over to Jenny followed by Heather's mom
. Emily tugged at Jenny's leg obviously wanting to be picked up.

"You can hold down the fort in the 2-3-1-1-3."

"That we can do. And I’ll get to see the twins all week too."

All the kids were in the water, except for the twins
. The dads hung out at the grill even though no one was cooking. Peter had a large bar installed near the grill, and it was always the area the guys gravitated towards. Victoria, Jenny, Janie and Heather sat on the patio watching the kids. Victoria was sitting on her chair tapping her fingers on her legs like she was nervous. Heather wasn't sure if it was because the moms were having a drink and the kids were in the water or what her deal was.

"Victoria, what are you guys doing this summer?" asked Heather.

"Well, we're playing Allstars, so we've had to change around our vacation plans for the baseball schedule. We'll go to Corolla for two weeks in August and spend most of our weekends, when we aren't playing baseball, at the river."

The river, or rivah as the locals called it, was where most people in Richmond went on the weekends in the summer
. There were towns that lined the rivers that ran into the Chesapeake Bay. Heather never spent much time at the river, preferring the ocean. But she had gone with friends when she was in high school and they had spent most of the time on their boats.

"Sounds great," said Jenny
. "You'll be gone a lot then."

"We'll be here enough
. I have so many things I need to take care of in town."

"You are really busy, Victoria
. I'm not sure how you do it all," said Janie. Victoria was oblivious to the sarcasm she had in her voice.

"Are you excited for your mysterious trip, Heather?" asked Janie.

"Can't wait."

"How long are you gone for?" asked Victoria.

"A week. Hank's parents are taking the big kids and mom's watching the twins."

"That's pretty decadent and even a bit selfish
. I can't ever imagine leaving my kids for seven nights," said Victoria.

Janie and Jenny rolled their eyes, and Heather sat with a guilty look on her face.

"You're just jealous that Ken's too busy to take you away," said Janie.

The dads got in the pool and challenged the kids to a game of apple tree. Janie, Jenny and Heather got in the hot tub, and Victoria stayed on one of the chairs with a put out look on her face.

"I am so glad school is over," said Janie. "This was the longest week ever with 8th grade graduation and 5th grade moving up plus picnics and field day. It's a constant party with these kids."

"We do so much for these kids that nothing is important anymore," said Jenny.

"There’s a trophy for everything it seems like. I hate the biggest loser tournaments they have at baseball. You can essentially come in thirteenth and still get a trophy," said Heather.

"It's important for the kids' self esteem
. We need to build them up. They get more playing time too if we have extra brackets," said Victoria.

"They do not need a trophy every time they participate," said Jenny.

"It's a perk for playing the sport," said Victoria.

"They should just play to get the exercise and be a part of a team," said Heather. "I just think by the time they graduate from high school or college, graduation becomes old hat and not special
. They’ve graduated from preschool, fifth grade and eighth grade before it. We just make stuff up to make ourselves even busier."

Peter came over and took a break to sit in the hot tub with them.

"What are you burnt out women going on about?" he asked.

"School and sports," said Janie. "You know the fun stuff."

"It's summer vacation. Move on," said Peter.

"You know we don't move on well," said Jenny.

Peter smiled and winked at Heather. Chris and Matt made their way over to the hot tub and put their feet in.

"Victoria, where's Ken?" asked Chris.

"He's at home working on his presentation for the Attorney General." Heather watched Victoria’s face get bright red and she started blinking.
What’s up with her?
she wondered.

"On a Friday?" asked Peter.

"Yes, well you know he's so busy especially at this time of year.” Victoria changed the subject quickly. “Heather, where's Tanya? I see Peyton's here."

"She's at work,' said Heather.

"Tanya is working?" asked Victoria in an incredulous tone.

"Yep
. She started working a month ago. All of her kids are in school all day." Heather knew Victoria's kids were all in school too.

"I think volunteering is useful
. She must need the money," said Victoria.