Little did she know that progression was filled with many bumps in between.
November.
Four weeks after their outing, she pulled into the driveway on cool a November day in silence. She pressed the button on the garage door and waited for it to open. Her windows were down, and she propped her head up wearily. In four weeks, she gained said car and almost instantly regretted it. A week in the AC conked out, which was awful in the heat. If she turned the heater on in the morning before she drove around for a few minutes, the engine would cut off. There was a rattle whenever she went over fifty MPH and it had a slow oil drip.
Pulling in beside Simon’s car and over the drip pan, Cherish shut the door and closed the garage behind her. She pulled her keys out, unlocked the side door, and stepped inside.
The babies were beneath their gyms and their feet kicked along the little pianos as they reached up to grab the dangling animals. Jasmine blew several raspberries while Jr. grunted and used both feet to kick; a musician at heart.
Cherish looked at Simon, who was immersed in another episode of Paw Patrol, and tossed her keys in the bowl. He already knew she was on her way home the moment she pulled on the street from the rattling of her car. Still, it wasn’t enough to pull him from the intriguing little show. Would they save the turtles?
The first thing she did was yank the freezer open, take out the ice cream, and set it on the counter, “Hey.” She greeted stiffly. She took a bowl and rattled the drawers rougher than normal. Finding a scoop, she bumped her hip against the surface and dug out a double serving. Returning the ice cream to its place, she reached over the fridge and grabbed the bottle of bourbon. Even though she wasn’t legal, that didn’t stop her from drowning the dessert in liquor with a dull expression.
Simon finally realized how loud she was which clued him in. She had a bad day. Standing, he faced the kitchen and asked the infamous question, “Did you get it off?”
Cherish stopped pouring and spun the cap on the bottle, “Nope.” She answered. Turning her back to him, she returned the bottle where it belonged and sighed; she’d had enough. First the customers were absolute nightmares. She was cursed out, belittled, and to top it all off, the managers took her to the back and explained the whole protocol of black out days. From the end of September to the middle of January, all requested days off would be rejected. And every holiday had to be worked.
Cherish inhaled a deep breath and shut her eyes while her jaw clenched. The patience she had ran thin and it showed in the rigidity of her shoulders. She spun around and stared at him with an enraged gaze, a first for Simon, “I HATE my stupid fucking god damn job. NOT only do I have to work on Thanksgiving for fucking Black Friday, BUT I also can’t go ANYWHERE because I must work at 10 P.M. Christmas night and on New Year’s day! These fucking bastards, MY managers, made me feel like a GOD DAMN degenerate because I didn’t know this. I’M NEW. Of course, I don’t FUCKING know!” She exclaimed. She then grabbed the bowl, went without the spoon, and drank the melted cream and liquor straight from the source. Slamming it down, she licked the mustache from her lips and groaned, “FUCK THEM!” she said with a heavy groan.
Simon’s blue eyes went wide as he listened to every bit of frustration flung from her mouth. Finally, she wasn’t going to take it and would stand up for herself. Closing the space between them, he patted his chest, “Imagine I’m your manager Jeffery and hit me.” He said. Showing an example, he took her wrist and tossed her hand against him, “Just give me a good slap.”
Cherish looked from her hand to him and back, even though she knew it would feel incredible, she could never hurt him, “I’m not going to hit you, Simon.” She said with a sigh and placing both hands over her face.
Her sigh prompted him to get to what he really wanted to suggest, “Then quit. I’m not telling you to stay home again, but you can do better than Wal-Mart, way better. I’ve already told you that. We can get you a new job once we’re back from Colorado. Fuck them.” He expressed.
He was right.
She missed way too much with the kids while she slaved away at a place that didn’t respect her. She was too exhausted for Halloween and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, working wasn’t the best thing for her. Especially since Jr. still relied on her to breastfeed. She drove that thing of a car back and forth on her hour lunch break to feed him which put a toll on the vehicle. She needed to relax and found the stress wasn’t worth missing their children as much as she did. Though, another seed of doubt clouded her judgement. Did she really want to take a step back and end up fully dependent on Simon once again?
Just as she was about to tell him that she couldn’t, Jr.’s grunts and Jasmine’s giggles caught her. She tilted her head around Simon and stared at their little joys on the floor. They’d grown so much and every day they changed or did something different which she missed. She raked her fingers through her hair with a grip and looked to Simon again. What was she doing other than wasting the time she had with her children? Time she would never
