Mrs. Avery

Chapter 40

James woke from having held Agnes all night to the buzzing of his fitbit. He needed to go to work and somehow that didn't seem to be a worthy reason to leave her, but he pulled himself from bed as quietly as he could and made his way downstairs. He went to the kitchen to grab a banana and noticed a note.

Good morning Miss Aggie. Liam has a game at 8am. I will take him and Juli has a practice game at 10am. I'll take her when I get back, if you're still wiped out. We all love you a lot. Try to take a breather. Thank you for setting up this bed for me. Love Larry.

He read it and hated it. Hated all of it. Larry was the better choice by far. And he decided then and there that he wanted Agnes to choose Larry. He was certain she could if she tried. Unlike him, love seemed to come easier to Agnes. And the more time he spent with her, he realized that he had really only ever loved her. He knew she could love Larry and Larry would be an amazing step-father. He decided as he peeled the banana slowly that the kids deserved that... and so did she. She deserved a real partner in raising two kids because as much as he thought he would take over this situation, he hadn't done that at all. His heart grew heavy and seemed to sink in his body. He wanted Agnes to rely on him, but when he had to be at work by 5am, with no definite return, what kind of partner was that?

Larry and Agnes held this chance at a real family. He would pick up her missing pieces and he loved the kids. There was no doubt that letting Larry step further into this family dynamic would only make things better. James also felt the reality between Agnes and Larry. There was something there, realized or unrealized. They could turn it into something, if they wanted it.

Larry popped out of the downstairs room squinting from the light and moving towards the kitchen.

"Hey." He said his voice a little groggy. He was wearing boxers and a t-shirt. He clearly hadn't packed anything to stay the night.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, no. I just need a drink."

James took this moment to cement his resolve.

"I was thinking," Larry turned to face him with a cup of water to his lips. "That the next time I have a day off, why don't I take the kids so you and Agnes can go out on a date or something?"

Larry scrunched his brow, still drinking his water. When he pulled the cup away, he still mulled it over for a second.

"Shouldn't you be doing that?"

"We're not together."

"Neither are we."

"It's just a thought. A night out might be good for her."

"Mhmm." Larry didn't have much more to add. He thought this was odd and it only made him more awkward. He finished his water. "You have a good day at work." He said turning to go back to the bedroom.

James felt that that was completely ineffective, but he had started the push and that felt good. He was doing the right thing, even if he didn't like it. They made more sense.

Later that morning, Aggie arrived to the game just on time with Julianna in tow and met Larry.

"Thank you for bringing him in."

"No problem. I thought you'd sleep in a bit more."

"I couldn't make it happen, but it was great not getting up and rushing around with him. You don't always have to give up your weekend when you get called in like this." She said looking out over the field.

He smiled watching Liam kick the ball away from the other team. "Good job, Liam!" and then he looked at her. "I kind of love this so it's completely fine."