Esther plopped onto the couch next to Melanie and immediately curled into her side. She closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. “Skip scared the hell out of me today.”

  “When he told you he was at the ER?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. I’m glad it was only a fever.”

  “Me too. For some reason Skip was nice to me at the hospital.”

  Melanie pursed her lips, thinking there was probably some underhanded reason for that and they would likely find out what that reason was when they least expected it. She didn’t say it though, not wanting Esther to be influenced by her thoughts.

  “I’m sure I’ll figure out why later.”

  “Probably.” Melanie dropped a kiss into Esther’s hair. “Let me stay tonight so I can help you two. I promise, nothing will happen between us. I know where your priorities are, and I respect that.”

  Esther nodded slowly. “Thank you. I really mean that.”

  “Anytime. I know how worrisome it can be when they’re so sick and there isn’t much to do.”

  Esther didn’t answer, but Melanie didn’t need her to. They both understood where the other was coming from. Eventually Esther turned on a movie while Melanie made each of them another cup of tea, and they relaxed together while they could.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  By morning, Melanie was exhausted but happy. She had managed to help Esther out, and Anthony’s fever had finally broken. After a late breakfast because they had all slept in, she left the house and hopped into her car to head home. She was two kids shy of the full house she’d had the previous week, but at least she still had Ella and Avery home to entertain her. Ella had to go back to work soon, so that meant it would be her and Avery for most of January.

  As she stepped into the house, she was overwhelmed with exhaustion, but she managed to grab herself another cup of coffee and sit at the kitchen table to sip it. Ella sat down first, her gaze roving all over Melanie as if judging her. Melanie held still and let her daughter ruminate about what she wanted to ask. Ella was her anxious one, but she was also the child most likely to hold her tongue until she really had something to say.

  Eventually, Melanie gave in, pursed her lips, and met her daughter’s gaze. “How was your night?”

  “Jeremy texted he got in safe.”

  “I saw.” Melanie had gotten the text as well, but she hadn’t answered it because she was too busy trying to keep Esther from having a panic attack. Melanie didn’t add to the conversation, sensing Ella wanted to say more, and she wanted to give her that space.

  Instead, they sat in silence while Ella munched on some of the leftover snacks the girls had made for New Year’s. Melanie regarded her carefully, living into the silence. It had been so rare the two of them had gotten these moments when Ella had been growing up, especially because she was the oldest, but since then, Melanie had come to love them.

  “I like her, you know.”

  “Like who?” Melanie pushed, already knowing the answer. “Because I would hope you would like your sister.”

  Ella snorted, her eyes dancing with the humor of the moment. “Esther.”

  “Oh, the woman does have a name. I’m so glad you told me that.”

  Rolling her eyes, Ella popped another homemade chip between her lips. “I never thought about you dating when we were growing up.”

  Melanie perked up at that. This was part of the conversation they’d never had before. In fact, she’d never had it with any of her kids, and some sick curiosity in her wanted to know what Ella—and the others—thought of it all.

  Ella spun her coffee mug in a circle as she stared into the brown liquid. “You were always just there, and I never had to fight for your attention. Well, outside of the kids, but when I needed you, you were there.”

  “I’m assuming that was the right decision to make,” Melanie commented curiously.

  “I think it was. We had a lot of baggage we needed to work through.”

  “You did. We all did, honestly.”

  “Right.” Ella spun her coffee mug again. “Don’t you think Anthony deserves the same?”

  Melanie clenched her jaw. She had thought about it many times. Especially in the last few days, but the entire experience of the previous night was exactly how it should be. She should pick up the slack when Esther couldn’t so that Anthony could have the most of his mother. That was her job and duty—if they were going to continue a relationship. They still hadn’t had a chance to talk about that in depth, although Melanie liked whatever they were doing so far.

  She chose her words carefully when she answered, not wanting to make a mistake or set Ella’s anxiety off. “I think that decision is really for Esther to make, ideally.”

  “And she has?”

  “No.” Melanie frowned into her coffee. “We haven’t talked about our relationship and where we’re going.”

  “I thought you said you weren’t doing anything with her.”

  Melanie’s lips lifted slightly into a smile. “I did, and we weren’t doing anything then. I had hoped, yes. And I think she had hoped too, but neither of us were sure how it would all come about.”

  “And now?” Ella looked her directly in the eye, those light brown eyes so full of the exact same thing Melanie was feeling.

  “Now, we have to figure that out. Her and me.”

  “Way to be cagey, Mom.”

  Grinning now, Melanie lifted her mug to her lips. “There are some things I won’t share, even with my adult children.”

  Ella pouted. “Don’t tell Ave that. I don’t think she’ll let it slide.”

  “What won’t I let slide?” Avery asked as she stepped into the kitchen, immediately making her own cup of coffee.

  “Mom dating.”

  Melanie sighed heavily. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to avoid that one, though Avery had been sticking her nose in it since she found out, and Melanie didn’t see her letting up any time soon.

  “Oh, yes, let’s talk about Mom dating.”

  The glint in Avery’s eye put Melanie on edge, as if she was on the hot seat. She worried her brain was far too tired to walk around this one and not land herself in some serious trouble. “You know, we don’t have to talk about this now.”

  “We do,” Avery disagreed. “You’ve been avoiding it for months. It’s time.”

  Melanie sighed lightly, knowing Avery was right. Though it had taken her over half that time to realize she even liked Esther beyond a mere coworker and friend. “Fine. Ask away.”

  “You’ve been spending the night at her house a lot lately, so we need to have the safe sex conversation.”

  Melanie nearly choked on her coffee. “Excuse me?”

  “Safe sex. Ella and I realized that you probably didn’t get the LGBTQIA version of safe sex when you were in school, so we figure we should give it to you.”

  Melanie’s brow furrowed as she stared her at her girls. “Like you got that version when you were in school?”

  Avery lifted her shoulder and dropped it in a nonchalant shrug, but Ella at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

  “Let’s talk about dental dams.”

  “No.” Melanie put her hand up to stop Avery from continuing. “Nope. I’m not having this conversation with you. If you want to talk about me dating and what that means for us as a family, I’m all ears for that. This? Hard stop. No.”

  “But, Mom, we just want you to be safe,” Ella murmured so quietly. Melanie knew that Avery had been the one to push this part of the conversation.

  “Sorry, girls, but the answer is still no. As far as dating, I don’t know what it’ll mean for us. All of you are out of the house, mostly.” She waved at Avery knowingly. “But Esther and I are coworkers, and Anthony comes first no matter what. As far as what that can mean for a relationship between the two of us, I don’t know what it means. And as for spending the night, I was helping her out last night because Anthony was so sick.”

  “And the other night?” Avery gave her a knowing glance, and Melanie’s cheeks heated just from the memory.

  How the heck was she supposed to sidestep that one? Taking a long sip of her coffee, she knew if she didn’t answer with something soon that the girls were going to figure it out if they didn’t already. They made the assumption anyway, so would it really be that bad for her to just admit it by omission?

  “I knew it!” Avery shouted triumphantly.

  Ella rolled her eyes and covered her face.

  Melanie pressed her lips together firmly. “That is for me to know and you two never to know, but I promise you that we are not going into this without some serious thought as to potential consequences. All right?”

  When both girls nodded, Melanie focused on Avery.

  “Ave, I need you to do me a favor today, and I really need you to listen and not push. Okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. What is it?”

  The tone had gone from teasing and light to serious in a matter of seconds, and Melanie was grateful she had read the mood. “I’m exhausted, and as much as this coffee and conversation was worth it, I can barely keep my eyes open. Will you go to the store, take my card, and get some things for Esther and Anthony and bring them over for her.”

  “Absolutely. What does she need?”

  “I’ll text it to you so you don’t forget.” The soft quirk in Avery’s lips was enough to recognize that she often forgot what she needed to buy. “Bring it over before lunch. I’m sure they’re going to try napping this afternoon.”

  “Okay. I can do that.”

  “Good.” Melanie leaned over the side of the table and patted Avery’s arm before standing and brushing her fingers along Ella’s shoulder. “I’m going to bed.”

  The walk to her room was longer than she’d anticipated, but she was so tired that fatigue seeped into every muscle as she went. Stripping out of her clothes, Melanie fell into her covers naked and blissfully already half-asleep. It only took a matter of seconds before she was completely out.

  Esther’s legs moved like she had giant weights attached to her ankles. It had been a while since she’d stayed up so much during the night. Melanie had crashed on the couch somewhere around two in the morning, but Anthony had woken up vomiting and kept her up until almost five.

  Brushing her fingers through her hair, she set the coffee maker to run and stared at it as it percolated, losing track of all time and thoughts. When she blinked, it was almost as if no time had passed and the coffee pot was halfway full.

  Hopefully, Anthony would sleep for a few more hours before he woke up, and she prayed it was fever free. It had taken quite the feat to get his fever down to anything resembling normal temperatures, but she had managed it. Esther sipped her coffee black, not even remembering to add cream and sugar in her state.

  The knock on the door surprised her. She glanced at the clock on the microwave and then blinked a few times to see if she was seeing things. It was nearly noon. Frowning, she moved to the living room before the person could knock again. Confused, Esther opened the front door and found Avery on the other side, a concerned look in her gaze.

  “Oh, hi, Mom said you needed this stuff.” She held up her hands with two grocery sacks in it.

  Esther had no idea what was happening, but without a word, she let Avery into the house. She was sure she looked awful, which was where Avery’s concern came from. She had basically rolled out of bed and made coffee as carefully as possible so she didn’t wake Anthony up. She hadn’t even glanced at herself in the mirror.

  “Where is your mom?”

  “At home, passed out in her bed.”

  Esther’s lips quirked at that. She would have loved to have joined Melanie in that adventure. Sleep. Something that was absolutely elusive when it came to small, sick kids. “Ah. Well, thank you for the supplies, but you didn’t have to do that.”

  Avery shrugged slightly and moved to the dining room table in the corner of the kitchen, setting the bags she carried right on top of it. “Mom told me to, so I did. I didn’t have much to do today anyway. Ella goes home this afternoon, which leaves me in the house by myself most of the time.”

  “I remember the house always being quiet after Carissa left when she visited.”

  “Who’s Carissa?” Avery pulled things out of the bags and set them up on the table.

  Esther looked everything over, curious what supplies Melanie had deemed she was going to need in the upcoming days. “My older sister.”

  “You have a sister?”

  “Yeah, she’s eight years older than me, so by the time I was a teenager, she was already out of the house.”

  Avery grinned. “It’s fun being the baby of the family, isn’t it?”

  Esther disagreed, though her experience growing up was vastly different from Avery’s. She wasn’t going to ruin Avery’s thinking and instead chose not to respond to the comment. Esther took another sip of her coffee before grabbing the children’s medication. That would be helpful, since she’d been close to running out. She must have told Melanie about it at some point in the night, but she was honestly too tired to remember or attempt to recollect the conversation.

  “I like that you and Mom are dating, you know.”

  Esther’s shoulders stiffened sharply at the soft tone of Avery’s voice and the turn in conversation. She slid her gaze from the items on the table up to Avery.

  “I just thought I should tell you that. I wasn’t too sure about it for a bit there, but I think it’s good for her.”

  “Do you?” Esther tried to keep all malice and nerves from her tone, but she wasn’t quite sure she accomplished that task.

  “I do. I have never seen Mom date, anyone for that matter. I think when we all moved into her house we kind of overwhelmed her.”

  “That is understandable,” Esther replied, setting the coffee down to grab a small box with ice packs in it. Esther had to use some of the frozen food she had wrapped in gallon storage bags as ice packs the night before to help cool Anthony down. Melanie really had thought of everything.

  “It is, but I do wish she had started dating when things calmed down.”

  “I don’t think she saw it as important,” Esther said, almost off-handedly, but Melanie had told her as much.

  “How is finding love not important?”

  Esther flicked her gaze to Avery, suddenly remembering just how young she was. She hadn’t been through the trials of abusive relationships, of having kids and raising them on her own. She hadn’t even made it through her first year of college. Esther studied her. She talked as though she understood the world, and perhaps because of what Esther knew about her past she expected that a little, but Avery was the youngest, and had been so little when she found Melanie.

  “I didn’t say it wasn’t important, although some might argue it’s not. Finding love is often not a priority when other things are involved in life. Family, kids—those are easy priorities to focus on instead of finding your elusive soul mate.”

  Avery’s lips parted as if she wanted to argue, but then she closed her mouth. “I guess you’re right.”

  “You don’t have a lot of the complications Melanie does or I do, and that makes a difference in dating. I’ve seen what dating has done to Anthony—not my dating, but his father’s. And I don’t want to make those same decisions. I want him to know that he is my priority.”

  Avery stepped in closer, her hand on Esther’s wrist with a simple squeeze. It seemed Avery had picked up the touchy-feely trait from her mother, though Esther would never say that out loud to either of them. “I think Anthony knows you prioritize him.”

  “Maybe he does, but I don’t ever want him to doubt it.”

  “He won’t.” Another squeeze to her wrist and a sincere but comforting look.

  Esther’s lips curled up as her cheeks heated, taking the compliment for what it was. She hadn’t anticipated this from a girl she had not-so-subtly called immature twenty seconds ago.

  “But back on the topic of dating. Can I just say that I am absolutely impressed that Mom is dating a woman?”

  “Why would that impress you?”

  “I never honestly thought she would admit it.”

  “Admit what?” Esther grabbed the ice packs and moved to her refrigerator to shove them into the freezer.

  “That she likes women.”

  Esther’s spine stiffened, and she whipped around to look Avery in the eye. “She likes men, too.”

  “Yeah, maybe, but…you’re the reason she’s dating again.”

  “Technically, and I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Avery, we’re not dating. We haven’t discussed what a relationship would look like for us or whether we’re in one. It’s far more complicated than just the two of us going out.”

  “I know, you work at the same school.”

  “We do.” Esther shut the freezer door. “But more importantly, at the moment, Melanie is Anthony’s teacher, and that is a strong complication.”

  Not to even begin to mention Skip. But Esther wasn’t going to bring that up, the biggest hurdle she’d have to cross. Avery didn’t need to know about the poor decisions in Esther’s life, not in that way, and not yet. Maybe someday she would be privy to that information, but as long as Esther could keep it quiet, she would. Anyone deserved not to have his name dragged through the ringer before people knew him.

  “But it’s not one you can’t figure out. Surely if you two are in love, Auntie Chris won’t keep you from being together.”

  Auntie Chris? Esther pursed her lips, wondering just how close Chris and Melanie were. She knew they were friends, but to have Avery call her that meant they were likely far closer than she had anticipated. Perhaps Chris already knew about them beyond Melanie’s crush. Her heart raced as panic set in, her anxiety taking over the calm conversation they had been having.

  If Chris was going to choose one of them over the other because something went sideways, it would very much be Melanie. Frowning, Esther glanced up at Avery. “Thank you for bringing this stuff over.”

  “Oh, it was no problem. And even though you haven’t discussed details, I’ve never seen Mom this happy before.”