Simple Kind of Life

The sound of her bedroom door creaking caused Avery’s eyes to pop open. It was still dark out, giving the woman no indication of what time it was. Her eyes roamed over to the alarm clock on her nightstand.

5:03am.

Avery let out a quiet sigh. She still had another hour of sleep before her alarm was scheduled to scream at her, but the chances of being able to go back to bed were slim to none.

“Mommy?” A little voice sliced through the silence as the bed moved with added weight.

“Yes, Lil?”

“I don’t feel good.” Came the dreaded sentence that every mother hates to hear.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Avery sat up and flicked on the light. She didn’t have to hear an explanation to know what the problem was. The little red blisters on the child’s face gave it away. “Aw, come here, Squeaks.” The child readily crawled into her mother’s arm before bursting into tears.

“My head hurts and my tummy hurts and I’m itchy.” She sobbed, nuzzling against Avery.

“And you’re burning up. Let’s get you some medicine.” Lili made a sour face, but didn’t object as Avery carried her to the bathroom. Luckily for Avery, she was prepared for just such an occasion. Lili’s daycare had been hit hard with the chicken pox virus in the past couple weeks, mostly because a handful of the other mothers didn’t believe in vaccinating their children. The pediatrician told Avery that the vaccination should prevent the virus, but there was a small chance Lili could still have a mild case of chicken pox.

Of course her daughter would be the small percentage of children who still get sick. Avery sat the child on the toilet lid and rifled through the medicine cabinet for a thermometer, children’s acetaminophen for the fever and hydrocortisone cream for the itching.

Gently, she grabbed Lili’s ear and inserted the thermometer. It beeped, flashing the child’s temperature. “101.3. It’s official, Squeaks. You’ve got a fever.”

Lili frowned. “Can I still go see my friends today?”

“I don’t think so. You don’t want to get the other kids sick, do you?”

She shook her head, pouting up at her mom. “But it’s show and tell day. I wanted to bring the puck and jersey that Jeff got me.” The woman smiled. Jeff had gotten her a custom-made children’s jersey with her last name, Santiago, on the back. Avery had a hard time getting the child to take the sweater off long enough to wash it.

“Sorry, babe.” Avery drew up a syringe full of acetaminophen according to the directions on the bottle. “There will be other show and tell days. Now open up.” Avery cooed, squeezing the syringe of pink liquid acetaminophen into Lili’s mouth. The bubblegum flavor seemed to please the child.

After a lukewarm bath, Avery slathered her daughter in anti-itch cream before putting her back to bed. The woman peered at her watch and sighed. It looked like she wasn’t going back to sleep that morning.

She headed down the hall and knocked on Aaron’s door for his morning wake up call. “Get moving, kiddo.” She called through the wooden entrance, only leaving after he grunted a response.

Avery had managed to feed her brother, send him off to school, call out of work, fold three loads of laundry, start a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup and begin to clean the house without a peep from her daughter. Not bad for an impromptu day off.

The woman was wiping off the coffee table, trying to remove sticky finger prints when her eyes settled on a house key mixed in with the clutter. She picked it up and held the cool metal in her palm. It was impulsive to have the key made, but Avery was in a hardware store in search of sandpaper for an art project when she saw the kiosk and thought it would be a good idea. Jeff came and went at all hours of the night, she was sick of having to lock up after him. And they had been spending time together for nearly six months, so she didn’t feel like she was rushing anything. She just hoped he wouldn’t read too much into it. It was mostly for convenience and that was it.

Then why was she so nervous to give it to him?

Probably because she could picture him panicking and bolting like a timid little bunny. Things with Jeff were uncomplicated, uncommitted and Avery needed that in her life. Did she really want to make waves? She dropped the key back on the table and watched it skid across its wooden surface, frowning at it. Stupid piece of metal.

The ring of her cell phone startled her, making her search the room for the shrieking device. A smile ripped across her face when she saw Jeff’s name flash on the screen of the phone.

“Hello?” She sang into the electronic, wedging it between her ear and shoulder as she wandered into the kitchen to stir the big pot of soup.

“Hey, I can’t believe I caught you between classes. What are you doing for lunch?”

Avery clanged the wooden spoon against the side of the pot, removing excess broth from it. “I called out. Liliana’s got the chicken pox.”

“Gross. Poor kid,” He paused. “We can still have lunch together, right?”

“Did you have chicken pox as a kid?”

“Probably. I’ll pick up something to eat and I’ll be over.”

She agreed and they hung up. Avery turned the stove off and spooned soup out into a bowl to cool off before she headed upstairs to get Lili. She felt terrible waking the child, but she needed another round of medication and nourishment. Lili didn’t fight it, she just crawled into her mother’s arms and went along quietly, nuzzling against Avery’s neck. Avery sat her at the table in the kitchen and placed the bowl of soup in front of her. In the sunlight, she could see how pale and clammy the child looked. Sweat droplets had formed around her forehead, indicating the fever was breaking.

Eventually, Jeff showed up with two bags from Saladworks.

“It smells great in here. Why did I even bother picking up food?”

She shrugged. “It’s just soup for Lili. It always makes her feel better.” He followed her into the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter.

“Hey kid, sorry you’re not feeling well.” He smoothed some hair on her head before sitting down next to her.

“I couldn’t go to school today,” Lili pouted. “I was gonna show everyone my jersey.”

Jeff chuckled. “You’ll get another chance.”

The child just shrugged and moved her spoon around her soup bowl. “Do you wanna come to my ballet recital?” She blurted out, causing her mother to give her a harsh look.

“Lili.” Avery scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. “You know Jeff is busy.”

“If I’m in town, I’ll go.” He chimed in, making Lili smile widely. “When is it?”

Avery sighed. She was embarrassed that her daughter put him on the spot. “December 11th. It’s a Sunday.”

Jeff checked his calendar in his cell phone. “I think I can swing it. We leave for a road trip that Monday.”

Lili’s excitement faded as exhaustion took over. After lunch, Avery put the child back to bed before joining Jeff on the couch.

“I’m sorry she sprung the recital on you like that. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

He shrugged. “It’s not exactly my idea of a good time, but I already told her I’d go.” He chuckled and shook his head. “The guys are gonna give me so much shit about this.”

“I won’t tell anyone that you’re becoming domesticated.” She whispered, running her fingers over the back of his neck and into his hair.

“You’d better not.” He leaned in and placed a rough kiss on her lips.

“Speaking of domesticated,” She said slowly, watching his face as she reached for the house key. “I got this for you.”

“What’s this?” He asked, eyeing the piece of metal she was holding out for him.

“It’s a key to the house. You’re always coming and going, I figured this would make it easier.” She said simply, trying to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal.

He took the key from her and held it between his pointer finger and thumb. “Oh.”

Instantly, she felt like she had made a huge mistake. It was almost unnoticeable, but Avery could see the fear on his face, in his eyes. Despite his uncertainty, he remained silent as he added the new addition to his key ring.

She was about to ask for it back when her cell phone began to ring. It was almost a relief to focus on her phone instead of the solemn face worn by the blond male.

She didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway. “Hello?”

“May I speak with Miss Avery Nanahara?” A polite, yet stern voice asked.

“This is she.” She said nervously.

“Hi Miss Nanahara, this is Mrs. Steck. I’m the assistant principle in the 11th grade office at Neshaminy High School.”

Avery sighed. “Hello Mrs. Steck. To what to I owe this call?”

“Well, I have Aaron here in my office. Apparently, there was an altercation with another student.”

“Oh my god, is he OK? What happened?”

“He’s fine, but I do need for you to pick him up and I’d like to discuss the consequences with you.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour.” She hung up with the woman and quickly stood up to put shoes on.

“What’s up? Is Aaron alright?” Jeff asked, watching her rush around the room.

“That was his school. Apparently, he’s in trouble. I gotta get Lili together and go to his school and get him. Shit.”

“I can stay with Lili. You go.” Avery stopped in her tracks and stared at him.

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t ask. I volunteered. She’s sick, it’s cold out, there’s no sense in dragging her out there. Go and I’ll stay.”

She thanked him profusely as she hugged him. “You’re wonderful. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” She kissed him, grabbed her coat and headed out the door.

Jeff sat back down on the couch, completely perplexed. He felt as if things had gone from zero to sixty in just a matter of moments and it left him reeling. Suddenly, he had a key to Avery’s home and she trusted him to watch her child. When had this gotten so serious? How did he let this happen?

“Jeff?”

He turned and saw Lili standing in her pajamas, clutching a stuffed polar bear.

“Yeah?”

“Where’s my mommy?” She asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

“She had to go to Aaron’s school for a little bit.”

“Can I sit with you?” She didn’t wait for a response before she was climbing onto the couch cushion next to him. Not that he would have said no. He felt so bad for her, she could have asked for anything and he’d do whatever it took to make her happy.

“Who’s this guy?” He asked, pointing to the stuffed animal.

“Snoopy. He’s a polar bear. We’re exactly the same age.” Jeff grinned at her random thoughts. “You wanna play hide and seek?”

“I think your mom wanted you to stay in bed.”

“I’m not tired anymore,” She said as she scooted off the couch. “Count to 100 and then try to find me.” The child toddled off with Snoopy dragging behind her.

It didn’t appear that he had much of a choice, so he counted to 100 before setting out to find Lili. He avoided Aaron’s room, knowing she wouldn’t dare going in there. The bathroom and all the closets were clear along with Lili’s bedroom. He wandered into Avery’s room, inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla. He loved that her room always smelled good, even when she was gone.

A small giggle cut through the silence, making Jeff smile.

“I wonder where Lili is.” He said aloud, slowly making his way to the mattress. “I should sit down on the bed and relax for a while.

“No!” She yelped, crawling out from under the bed. “Don’t sit on me!”

“Lil, were you under there the whole time?” He asked, feigning surprise.

“You almost squashed me.” She crossed her arms over her chest, disapproval on her face.

The ring of the doorbell interrupted their game and they exchanged confused looks. Avery never mentioned that she was expecting any company.

“Why don’t you go hide again and I’ll come find you after I answer the door?”

She nodded and went off to hide while Jeff headed downstairs to the foyer. He opened the front door and was met with a gush of cold November air along with a smaller man with closely cropped hair and dark eyes. He recognized the man from a few pictures he had seen around the house, but actually meeting him was different. He was finally able to put a face to the name. Here was the guy who abused his wife and abandoned his family. And he wanted to punch James’ face off.

“Oh,” James was just as surprised to see Jeff answering the door. “Hey there, you must be the new guy.” He seemed friendly enough, but Jeff still had a weird feeling settling into his stomach that he couldn’t ignore.

“Yeah, it’s Jeff. You’re James, right?” The man nodded. “Hi, Avery’s not here, so…”

“Oh, that’s alright. Lili’s usually home from daycare by now, so I wanted to stop by and give her this.” He held up a large teddy bear that Jeff didn’t notice until then. The whole situation felt awkward. He knew Avery didn’t want James at the house, so allowing him in while she wasn’t home didn’t feel right.

“Listen, I’m not OK with letting you in without Avery being here.”

The friendly attitude dissolved as James’ eyes darkened. “Dude, who are you? Like the babysitter or something?” There was a condescending tone to his voice intended to irritate Jeff, but he needed to keep his composure.

Jeff took in a deep breath. “Well, I am watching the kid, so yeah, I guess that makes me the babysitter.”

James chuckled and scratched the stubble on his chin as he leaned closer to Jeff. “Are you fucking my wife?”

Jeff just stared at him, a small smirk on his face. He saw through James’ game and refused to play into it. “I’ll let Avery know you stopped by.”

“Or I could come in anyway. I mean this is my house.” Jeff knew Avery inherited the house from her parents when they passed away, so James had no claim to it. If this guy wanted to use scare tactics, Jeff could use them to.

“Wow, that’s way over my head. Maybe I should just call the police. Let them sort this whole thing out,” Jeff folded his arms over his chest. “You’re out on parole, aren’t you?”

James scoffed and took a step closer, getting in Jeff’s face. He was challenging Jeff, begging him to make a move. His instincts screamed at him to clobber this guy, but Jeff was determined to keep it peaceful.

“Are we done?” The blond asked, holding his ground.

James nodded and handed Jeff the bear he brought. “Yeah. Why don’t you give this to my daughter and tell Avery to call me when she gets in.”

“OK.” Jeff watched the man closely as he left. James may have been a drug abusing criminal, but he wasn’t letting his family go without a fight.

******************************************************************************

The car ride home was quiet as Avery drove and Aaron peered out the window. Mrs. Steck went easy on him since he hadn’t gotten in trouble before. Usually fighting results in a ten day suspension, but the assistant principal only gave him a three day suspension and a week’s worth of afterschool detention.

“So what happened, Aar?” She asked, glancing over at him briefly before turning her attention back on the road.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? So your knuckles are busted and you have a fresh black eye for nothing?”

“Some asshole was running his mouth, so I shut him up.” Aaron mumbled, still looking out the passenger side window.

“About what?”

He finally looked over at her, revealing his swollen eye. “You.”

Avery cocked her head to the side, a confused look on her face. “Me? Why?”

“Because people know about you and Jeff. It’s all over some messageboard and a bunch of blogs.”

Avery pulled the car over at the side of the road and put it into drive. “What?”

Aaron fiddled on his phone and then handed it to her. Her eyes scanned the screen quickly as her stomach made her feel queasy. There were pictures of her; some of them from her Facebook page, others looked like a random person had snapped them while they weren’t looking. But the actual posts were the most hurtful. A majority of them were just speculating about the relationship between her and Jeff, but a handful of them were mean, even cruel. Her vision blurred with tears, making it impossible to read anymore.

Aaron reached over and rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, Av.”

She nodded, sniffling and wiping at her eyes. They sat there on the side of the highway, the only sound being car shaped bullets shooting past them as Avery tried to pull herself together.