Everywhere, All At Once

Chapter 6 - Cruel and Unusual

Each day Kenna went back over the following three weeks, she'd brought dinner already made, whether it was leftovers from her own dinner or something she'd made just for them. Mr. Reed protested each and every evening she showed up at their door, telling her they didn't deserve to be spoiled by her, but he didn't turn her away, and he thanked her profusely before she left.

The kids were doing a little better. They still had to be reminded to clean up their tornado-like messes, but they weren't having temper tantrums or being disrespectful, so it seemed like a win. They did a lot less whining since she'd been coming over, too. Progress was slow, but she was there several times a week, and each time she walked in, she could tell that their dad looked slightly less frustrated, or there wasn't as much for her to help them catch up on.

When Mr. Reed opened the door this time, he looked downright chipper. She hadn't seen them in three days because of work commitments - meetings and events, as well as articles and reports she'd had deadlines for. She'd hoped she had left them with enough food for a day or two and since no one looked like they were starving when she walked in, she assumed they had managed without her after that.

Mr. Reed, smiling, leaned down and gave her a quick hug in greeting and, as always, she felt like her head would explode. Casual hugging was apparently a thing with them now, but she still wasn't used to it. She wasn't mad about it, but damn. Her heart might not be able to take it.

"Glad you're here," he said, taking her bag from her and hanging it in the closet.

Looking around, she noticed that he didn't have any ungraded papers lying on the coffee table as he often did. In fact, the house looked super tidy. It had never been dirty, just messy, but it wasn't even that tonight. She was proud of the kids - she knew they'd been helping out.

"It's my pleasure. I didn't bring any food. I thought we could order out tonight while we get some stuff done."

"Nothing to get done," he said with a smile and a shrug. "Tonight we can just hang out. Relax."

"Oh," she said surprised.

Fiona and Brayden came out of their playroom and ran up to her with hugs.

"Come look at the kitchen," Brayden said. "I cleaned it!"

She peeked into the spotless kitchen and turned back to give Brayden a super-high five. "Awesome, kid. You guys did a fantastic job."

"We're gonna make dinner for you tonight," Fiona bragged. "Me and dad, together."

"And I'm gonna help!" Brayden chimed in, not to be left out.

"Yeah," Fiona rolled her eyes. "Him, too."

Her eyebrows shot up at that. "You are?" She asked, looking to their dad.

They all nodded.

"Why don't you go wash your hands so we can get started, guys," he said, and the kids ran into the kitchen.

"You guys don't have to make me dinner, Mr. Reed," Kenna protested.

"Aaron," he supplied.

"Right, that's what I meant."

"We want to. You've been taking care of us for weeks when you didn't have to. You could've left us to fend for ourselves, but you kept coming back, texting and calling to make sure we were okay. We just wanted to do something nice for you tonight."

"Oh," she breathed, and her eyes actually stung a little. "Really, it's not a big deal."

"It's a huge deal, Mackenzie. So just come sit with us, put your feet up, drink some wine, and relax, yeah?"