A Trip to the Hardware Store: Part I

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A Trip To The Hardware Store: Part I

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

            “I’ll fix it when I get home, sweetheart,” Trevor promised with a quick kiss and a smile.

            Zoe opened her mouth to argue, but she knew that he had a busy day ahead of him. So, instead of bugging him to fix the kitchen light before he left so that she could see what she was cooking without having to squint, she simply rose up on her toes, gave him a hug and a kiss goodbye that almost led them back upstairs to the bedroom, or her bent over the kitchen table, and reluctantly handed over the large cooler packed with the food that she made for him and the boys.

            Trevor was taking all the boys with him today while he worked on their apartment houses and rentals and she was looking forward to a break. For the past few months she’d taken care of their boys as she did her best to homeschool them, but she had to be honest that she mostly just made up an assignment she prayed would challenge them and hoped for the best.

            What she got basically was a lot of heavy sighs, a few looks of pity and a few minutes later the assignment that she’d hoped would take them all day handed back, one hundred percent correct. That usually took up thirty minutes of their morning, leaving the boys with way too much time on their hands and her without enough anxiety medication to get through the day.

            It was just temporary.

            The antianxiety medication that was.

            She just needed it to get through her day without having a breakdown when the realization that her boys were one day going go to take over the world hit and she wasn’t sure how she should feel about that. Instead of dwelling on that terrifying thought, mostly because her doctor said that it would only make things worse, she instead focused on the fact that she finally had a day to herself. She had a “To-Do” list a mile long and she couldn’t wait to get everything done.

            She was mostly excited by the fact that today she was going to spend the day with Haley. It had been way too long since they had anytime for themselves without having to watch over their children or put up with their husband’s pouts and pathetic demands for something to nibble on so that they didn’t starve to death between meals.

            Not that her boys would really eat anything that she baked, but she knew where the best bakeries were in town and she always made sure to stock up on enough food to make sure that they didn’t starve. Thankfully, with the help of Haley, a few dozen cooking classes and the occasional help from the other Bradford women, she could make her boys a decent meal that wouldn’t land them in the emergency room.

            “We’ll be back later, sweetheart,” Trevor promised with another kiss and a smile and then, all her boys were gone and she had an entire day to herself.

            There were so many things that she couldn’t wait to get started on. She had to pick up new sneakers for the twins, socks for all the kids, a few new work shirts for Trevor, an iPad to replace the one that the twins had used to make-

            Well, it wasn’t important what they’d used to make it. At least that’s what the Judge had said when she’d dismissed the case after she’d once again explained the dangers of doing stupid ass stuff with their incredibly large brains simply because they were bored.

            It was just another lovely memory that one day with the help of old age and a lot of denials that she would be able to forget. She hoped at least, but that was another depressing thought for another time, she told herself as she forced herself to focus on the long list in front of her. As she looked it over, she realized that it wasn’t really that bad and would probably only take a few hours to get done. Before she folded the paper and put it in her back pocket, she decided to add the switch needed to fix the kitchen light.

            It should just be a quick trip to the hardware store to pick up the small item, and then they could focus on the rest of the list, she decided with a small groan, because quite honestly, she hated going to the hardware store. She would do pretty much anything to avoid going, but unfortunately she couldn’t avoid going today, not if she wanted the kids to be able to do their homework or for her to be able to whip something up something with dinner without having to worry about half of her ingredients being devoured by one of her boys that decided to take advantage of the dimly lit kitchen and get his fill.

            So, it was with a pathetic sigh and a little pout that she grabbed her keys, headed for the door and decided to grab Haley on the way so that she wouldn’t have to suffer through that hell alone.

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