I’m so not ready to deal with this right now. This man shows up a couple of days ago and all of a sudden he has infiltrated my house.

“As I said, Alex, I don’t go back on my promises. So the girls and I will be watching – ” He motions to the girls for help.

“The Little Mermaid!”

“Spy Kids!”

“Willy Wonka!”

Blake shakes his head and continues, “A movie, which we’ll evidently be deciding on later. And since I’ll be here anyway, you might as well get some comfortable sleep.”

For once, I’m completely at a loss. A man has not spent the night in this house since Derek. I’m not really sure how I feel about having any man in this house for an extended period of time. Short visits are fine, but we’re talking overnight.

I’m in a whole new realm of confusion.

“Look girls, I know you really like Blake. I like Blake too or he wouldn’t be here.” I make sure to shoot him a dirty look. “But things are a little more complicated when you’re all grown up. It’s just not that easy.”

“Mom, I don’t really see what the problem is. You already broke a glass tonight all over the floor. I think that we all know you need a little help. And we think that Blake being here is good because he can help you after we go to bed. Plus, what if you need something out of the cabinet that we can’t reach? Blake’s a lot taller and can get it for you. Mom, please, just let him help.” Nycole crosses her arms over her chest and shifts her weight to one side.

Help. That evil little word. Damn Harlow for being out of town. This would be so much easier with her here…and a lot less to explain.

“Alright, I’ll make you a deal. Blake can stay for one movie. Then I’ll decide if I need his help through the night, okay? I’m not making any promises. And I don’t want any pouty, grumpy faces if I decide he needs to go home. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am!” They all shout at the same time, each with huge grins on their faces.

I snap my head back to Blake who’s also grinning, but his smile is more triumphant.

I lean over and whisper, “Look buddy, you need to wipe that smug smile off your face. No promises have been made, so there’s absolutely no reason for you to be smiling like that. You’re lucky to get to stay for a movie. And for the record, I hope they choose something that will be extremely painful for you to watch. You deserve it.”

Speaking of which…

I excitedly turn back to face the girls. “Alright, go pick a movie! Oh, didn’t we just get that new Barney movie? I really think Blake would love that one! You should put it on for him!” I direct my eyes over to Blake and shoot him the best, smart-ass grin I can conjure up.

Blake simply glances at me and then turns his full attention back to the girls. He trumps my enthusiasm with an astounding, “The purple dinosaur? I love that one! Do you guys really have a whole movie? I can’t wait! Go get it and let’s watch it!” He then looks back at me, giving me his own smart-ass grin.

Jerk.

I decide no baths are necessary tonight. My hand hurts too bad, and there’s no way Blake’s doing it, so I just decide to skip them all together. And since I don’t feel like cooking either, we order pizzas for dinner. After the girls are fed, I pop a few ibuprofen (after internet research confirmed that I could indeed take them with the pain pills), and we load up the new Barney movie – despite Nycole’s heartfelt protests.

If Blake wants Barney, he’s getting Barney. Full length, movie version Barney.

As Blake starts throwing pillows on the floor constructing a make-shift pallet, I watch the girls literally slide off the couch and onto the floor, making their way to sit by him.

“Hey!” I shout. “Isn’t anyone going to sit with me? I’m pretty sure I’m the one whose fingers were almost broken today!” I push out my bottom lip and cross my arms over my chest, making my best pouty-face.

Nycole looks at me and laughs. “And you call me dramatic?” She sighs. “Okay, I’ll come sit with you.” She flings herself on the couch and lands right beside me. She snuggles in next to me and I put my left arm around her and squeeze her tight. Elbow positioned on the arm of the couch with my right hand sticking straight up, I yell to Blake, “Let’s get this party started! Push play!”

Blake leans over to grab the remote and turns back to me with a wide grin. Then he looks at the girls and says, “I’m ready for some Barney. You girls?”

“Yeah!” I hear from Kyndall and Rylie while at the same time Nycole protests, “No!”

I chuckle and elbow her in the side. “Stop it. Be nice! I’ll let you have Nycole time tomorrow in the office and you can watch whatever you want, sister-free, okay? I know you don’t want to watch it, but your sisters are really excited, and evidently so is Blake.” I jerk my head towards him and shake my head. We both start laughing. “So you suffer with me tonight, I’ll reward you tomorrow. Deal?”

“Deal,” she says and then eyes my hand with concern. “How’s your hand? Is it okay? Do you need anything?”

Wow. Where’s this coming from? Squeezing her shoulder, I look at her. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Thank you though.”

“You should take your pain medicine, Mom. We’ll be fine. I promise. I think between the both of us, Blake and I can handle Kyndall and Rylie,” she says seriously.

Tears start to fill my eyes. I look away because I don’t want Nycole to think she’s said anything to upset me. But I just can’t help myself. I feel incredibly guilty that she’s been forced to grow up so quickly. I wanted her to stay my baby forever, but circumstances being what they are, she’s had to shoulder more responsibility than most nine year olds. Wiping a tear that escapes my eye, I turn to her and say, “You’re right, Nyc. You guys are more than capable of handling those two. If I hurt too much, I’ll take them. I promise.”

She smiles a grateful smile at me and then looks forward as Barney makes his appearance on the television. She rolls her eyes and exhales loudly. “You so owe me.”

“I love you, you love me…” I hear Blake singing as he walks down the hall. I also hear some shuffling around so I lean over the couch to see what he’s doing. He’s standing in my hallway, sifting through some of the girls’ movies.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Getting the girls something to watch. They wanted to have a slumber party in Nycole and Kyndall’s room. I hope it’s okay, I figured it would be fun for them. Plus, it’ll give us a chance to catch up. They’re about to pass out anyway so I’ll move them once they fall asleep.”

I continue to watch him. “Okay.”

He goes back to singing the Barney song, and I find myself grinning from ear to ear. Here is this beautiful, massive man, smiling and singing the stupid Barney song in my hallway. I shift my body around to get a better look. I cross my arms on the top of the couch and place my chin on them. I find myself continuing to smile as I watch him. I also find myself genuinely happy that he’s back in my life.

He was always a good friend to me. A good person, who turned out to be an even better man. He has every right to be angry with me for so many things, but yet, he doesn’t hold a grudge. In fact, here he is, in my house, helping take care of my children. In the midst of all of the misery over the last few years, I guess I must have done something right.

Evidently finding the movie he’s looking for, he closes the door to the “movie closet”, and heads to the girls room. I hear the girls shout, “Yay!”, and once again, giggling ensues. After a few seconds of getting settled, I hear Blake reading their favorite book, making different voices for the characters. I don’t hear anything else from the girls. I assume they’re entranced by his story telling. Maybe his awesome reading skills will lull them to sleep.