was expectant, as if she were waiting for something, but he had absolutely no idea what it was. It didn’t seem to be the right time to compliment her organizational skills.
When he didn’t reply, she tapped the page, her frown deepening. “The end-of-year party for Connor’s class is Thursday afternoon and I’ve been assigned to the task of picking up two dozen cupcakes from a bakery in exactly the opposite direction. Fine. I can do that.” Stacy sliced her hand through the air. “Just this morning, Sophie’s ballet recital was rescheduled from Thursday to Friday, with a mandatory rehearsal beginning at 7 a.m. via email, an ‘oh by the way’ as if I have nothing else to do. That’s not okay.” Her voice rose as she jabbed at the calendar again, this time further down. “Week after next, school lets out and summer camps start. Soccer for Connor, Art for Sophie. The reading tutor I booked for Sophie comes twice a week, leaving room for Connor to enroll in camp with Archie. Only, now, Archie doesn’t want to go, which presents a whole other bucket of scheduling problems because Connor will want to do whatever Archie does.”
Stacy glared at the calendar, and then at him. “My whole summer is a delicate spider web of commitments—move any one of them and it affects everything else. Do you have any idea how many phone calls it will take to cancel their camps? How much deposit money we’ll lose if I cancel at the last minute?”
Ryan swallowed but said nothing. He put the bag of chips carefully on the counter.
Years ago, when they were first married and Stacy was expecting Connor, Ryan made the mistake of telling her to “calm down.” Stacy’s reaction was different than he’d hoped and he learned never to do it again. Instead, he paused a moment to see his wife, the woman he loved more than anything, standing before him, breathless with frustration and jabbing at a page on the wall. He saw how pale her face had become, that the dark smudges under her eyes weren’t a result of smeared make-up as he’d first thought. Stacy looked utterly exhausted, as if strength of will was the only thing that held her upright. And at that moment, the only thing that mattered to him was getting her the rest she needed.
“Cancel anyway.”
Stacy blinked.
“I mean it. Cancel everything.” He pulled out a chair for her and guided her to it. “A whole summer at your parents’ shore house sounds like a great idea. Family time. Just the break we all need.”
“But…” Stacy sank into the chair and rubbed her forehead with her palm. “I think my mother’s orchestrating this, using my father’s recovery as an excuse to get us to come.”
“Maybe so, but consider this: your mother’s had a difficult few years. She’s managing your father’s appointments and taken care of him herself, even though we’ve suggested she hire help. Now that it’s over, should we begrudge her a summer with her family?”
Stacy sagged against the back of the chair “My mother is expecting us to just drop everything and drive down when school’s over. That’s next week.”
Something in Stacy’s expression advised Ryan to treaded carefully, so he did. He shrugged. “It’s your call. We’ll do whatever makes you happy. Just don’t refuse right away. Think about it first.”
“What about your work? Can you really spend the whole summer away from your office?”
Ryan remembered what Todd had said about Sean’s big plans for that afternoon: car shopping. They hadn’t heard from Jeff in a while—for all Ryan knew, Jeff could be out doing the same thing, spending the partner bonus that would come with the new round of funding. Maybe it was time for Ryan to get away too.
“Mommy!” Sophie called from her bedroom.
“In the kitchen, Sophie,” Stacy answered as she rose from her chair. “She’s probably hungry. I should get lunch started.”
Little feet pounded down the hallway and Sophie appeared at the door, wearing an eye patch, her pirate tunic from last year’s Halloween costume, Stacy’s bathrobe, and a long feather boa. Their daughter leaned forward, planted her fists firmly on her waist. “Arrrrgh.”
Stacy blinked. “That’s quite a costume, Soph.”
“I found it in the box in your closet, Mommy. There’s so many nice things in your closet.”
Stacy sighed and dropped back to her chair.
“Okay.” Ryan stepped forward to grab his car keys from the hook. “We’re going out for lunch so Mommy can nap.”
“Can I be a pirate?”