granted, and that’s some bullshit.”
Oh wow. The two of them being in agreement made her feel a little better. Tania tended toward a “take no prisoners” approach to conflict, whereas Anita liked to be a peacekeeper. She was usually the one who tried to see the other side of things. If both of them thought she’d been justified, maybe she hadn’t been totally out of line.
“You shouldn’t have kicked him out until after he put the kids to bed, though,” Tania said thoughtfully. She shook her head. “Now, he got off scot-free.”
“Not entirely,” Anita disagreed. “He’s not at home, is he? She’s never gotten so mad she told him to get out before. Now he knows he messed up hard.” She nodded firmly.
Tania made a face. “True. But she still shouldn’t have had to put the kids to bed.”
“Ugh, I feel guilty that it sounds like a chore.” Felicity rubbed her hand over her face. “I love my kids. It’s not that it’s some huge hardship to put them to bed, it’s just…”
“You need some time to yourself,” Tania reassured her. “That doesn’t make you a bad mom, it makes you human. With Logan having been away and you taking on one hundred percent of the parenting duties for three days in a row, you needed it more than usual. He took for granted you wouldn’t need extra help, that you’d have the energy to help him out when he just had a break… Grr.” Tania made a frustrated noise, shaking her head and miming strangling with her free hand.
“Let’s see, last year, I stayed with you while he was away,” Anita said, musing. She tilted her head to the side as she remembered. “The year before that…”
“The year before that, I was on my own, but Althea had just started sleeping through the night, and she didn’t need much more than some cuddling and songs during the day. She exhausted herself crawling after Oliver. He loved playing with her and helping ‘take care’ of her. He was a bit of a whirlwind, but now, I have two whirlwinds, and they spend as much time fighting as they do playing.” She smiled, but it was a tired smile, both fond and wry. Just because she loved them didn’t mean it was always easy. She wouldn’t trade them for the world, but needing some time to recoup wasn’t a crime.
So why did she feel so bad?
Her phone dinged, a text message appearing at the top—Logan.
I’m sorry. I really fucked up, and I’m so sorry. I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.
“What was that?” Tania demanded.
“A text from Logan, apologizing and saying he loves me.” A little spot of warmth bloomed in her chest.
“Oh, no, don’t get all gooey just because he apologized,” Tania said, shaking her fist at the phone screen. “We don’t know if he knows what he’s apologizing for yet.”
Felicity chuckled as she quickly texted her own ‘I’m sorry’ back to Logan, along with ‘I love you, too.’
“It’s a good start, though,” Anita said, brightening. “He’s not just off pouting somewhere. He’s clearly thinking about what happened tonight and realizes he did something wrong.” She always looked to the positive side of things, whereas Tania tended to be more cynical.
This time, Felicity thought Anita was right, and the tension in her stomach eased. She didn’t want to fight with him, but she also didn’t want to ignore what happened tonight. When he’d left, she had the impression he thought she was being completely unreasonable, but he wouldn’t be apologizing if that was still true.
“He probably went to his sister’s,” she said, thinking aloud. Trish and Marie lived the closest of all their friends and family, and Logan had once told her that he relied on his big sister for advice with women. If he’d gone there, they’d insist on knowing everything and given him their unvarnished opinions. Since he’d texted her first, with a sincere apology, they must not have thought she overreacted either… right?
A little bit more of the guilt sitting in the pit of her stomach eased.
“Oooh,” Tania and Anita said in unison. They’d all met and hung out together whenever they got the opportunity. Her besties loved her sisters-in-law, and they were loved right back.
“I bet they’ll set him straight.” Tania nodded.
Anita squinted and pressed her lips together, trying not to smile.
Felicity cracked up, and Anita started giggling, unable to hold it together once Felicity was laughing.
“That was not… damnit… that’s not what I meant!” Tania