Happy Birthday Part I: An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

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Happy Birthday

Part I

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

“No! I just cleaned that,” Zoe said with a pathetic groan as she stared down at the muddy footprints on the floor that she’d just spent the last hour scrubbing.

“Damn it,” Trevor muttered as he looked down at his dirty boots and then back over his shoulder as the muddy trail he’d left behind. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“It’s fine,” she said, waving it off with a sigh as she added cleaning the floor back on her list of things that she needed to get done before the twins’ birthday party tomorrow.

“I’ll clean it up,” Trevor said, backtracking to the front door and toed off his boots and set them back on the mat by the door next to his toolbox.

She was going to argue, but she already had too much to do. She had to finish cleaning the house, inflate the new pool floats, run a half dozen errands and she needed to get them done before tomorrow morning so that she could put decorations, set up chairs, and a hundred other things before the party started. As soon as this party was over, she was going to sleep and god help them if anyone that woke her up.

“Where are the kids?” Trevor asked, grabbing the mop.

“Mathew and Jessica are with Haley going shopping for the boys. Jonathan is upstairs finishing his essay for another scholarship and Sebastian is taking the dogs out for a walk for me,” she said, wondering if the boys would be willing to put the dogs in their room so that she could get some work done without the dogs underfoot.

“No one’s helping you?” Trevor asked with a frown as he looked around the house.

“At the moment, you are,” she pointed out, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, deciding to tackle the living room while she had the chance.

“We should have had the party at the park or the movies,” he said, joining her in the living room and started picking up all the video games, toys, and books the kids had left behind in their wake.

“The boys wanted a barbeque,” she reminded him.

“You mean Jonathan wanted a barbeque. Sebastian would just be happy with a cake and a new book,” he pointed out with a chuckle.

She nodded with a wistful sigh. “He is my easiest baby.”

“He really is,” he agreed with a smile as he helped set the room to rights.

“I don’t think he wants this party,” she said with a heavy sigh as stood there, worrying her bottom lip.

“No, he doesn’t, but Jonathan does so he’s going along with it,” Trevor said as they shared a look.

“He’d probably be happy to just go out for a pizza and hit the bookstore,” she said slowly, licking her lips as an idea occurred to her and judging by the look on his face, he was having the same idea.

He nodded slowly. “You’re probably right,” he said slowly in agreement as his gaze shifted towards the front door and back again.

“It sure would be less work,” she said as she shifted to the left.

“It really would be. Jonathan would be happy with the party tomorrow and Sebastian-”

“Would probably really enjoy a day out of the house,” she finished for him, as she started to shift a little more to the left, the promise of day free from cleaning, wrapping presents, and running errands too damn tempting to ignore.

“Yes, yes he probably would,” he said a split second before he made his move.

“Damn it!” she said, tripping over her own two feet as she went after him, determined to spend the day sipping cappuccinos and browsing through a bookstore instead of scrubbing toilets and blowing up balloons.

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