The Final Countdown

Chapter 22

Maddie

I know firsthand how hard it can be during a newborn's first week at home.

Sure, when you're pregnant, people will give you speeches to try and prepare you for what it'll be like, but at the time, you don't want to hear it. You think you know everything. At least, I did, and I got hit with a very rude awakening. I was a single parent at the time bringing Izzy home from the hospital. Although I had my mother, Maya, and Ethan to help, I didn't want to burden them with my decision to follow through with the pregnancy, so I was up around the clock with feedings and lost control of my mental sanity. I was going on a full day of no sleep before Maya showed up at my mother's house and barged in, snatched Izzy from me, and threatened to kick my ass into next week if I didn't get some sleep.

So now, it feels nice to do the same for her. I've been helping out however I can. From doing dishes, cooking dinner, and putting in a load of laundry, I'm doing everything possible to make Ethan and Maya's lives slightly easier. Plus, my mom's been helping out too, which has been nice. I don't get to see her often living out in Los Angeles, so any quality time I can get, I'll take.

"Pass me the kidney beans?" My Mom reaches her right hand out while she skims over a recipe in a cookbook. We're in Ethan and Maya's kitchen in the process of making chili.

Opening the pantry beside me, I grab the can of beans, smiling at how focused she looks on the recipe. Her reading glasses are perched on her nose, her mouth pursed as she peruses the instructions. "You've been quiet the past couple of days," I say.

She raises a brow, continuing to focus on the cookbook. "Hmm? How so?"

"Well, aside from how you've conveniently been leaving the room whenever your phone rings?"

A faint blush sneaks into my mother's cheeks. When she tries to snatch the can out of my hands, I dart out of her reach, holding it high above my head. Not that it helps much since we're about the same height. "If you want the beans, you better spill them."

She snorts. "Your jokes are incredibly lame, Maddie."

The smell of garlic wafts through the silence between us, but after a few beats, she says, "Fine. I'm seeing someone, okay? It's new, and I didn't want to mention anything to you or Ethan before it became serious. Apparantly, I'm not as discreet as I thought."

My hand is frozen above my head holding the can as time seems to stand still. It's not that I'm upset that she's seeing someone else. My parent's divorce was messy, and my father and her can't ever get along. He cheated on her multiple times during their marriage. Since they split, my father and I are less close than we used to be. He still visits for birthdays and holidays, but a part of me has been waiting for this moment. Mary Holden deserves the world and then some.

But I just wasn't expecting her to say that. My mother is shy and timid, and she is the last person who would want to go out on the town, but who knows? Maybe this guy is bringing out a different side of her.

I numbly pass her the can.

"Are you mad?" She asks.

"What? No. I'm...caught off guard, that's all. I'm happy for you, Mom. It's been years since you and Dad divorced, so it was going to happen sooner than later. Does he make you happy?"

That same shade of pink hits her chinks again. "Very."

"Then that's the only thing that matters. I trust that when you're ready to introduce Ethan and me to him, you will."

Maya rounds the corner of the kitchen with a loud yawn, interrupting us. She's in a t-shirt with breast milk seeping through it and her hair is tied into a wild, messy bun on top of her head. Bags lie beneath her eyes, looking ever the newborn mom if I've ever seen one. "Something smells so good," she mumbles groggily, swiping at her eyes.