Chapter Text
It was a calm summer evening on Rehoboth beach. Maximus and Jean are out, I just told them they can go play on the beach to their heart's content, and when they come back I want thrashers fries.
I didn’t open the pottery shop this weekend, I wanted to spend some time with my babies. I look out my open window, people watching, the ocean not too far away. The breeze brushing through my dirty blonde hair. I hear a buzz from my phone against the marble counter. I pick it up
It’s Gemini
I met her a couple months ago, she works at a surf shop not too far from mine. They truly have a beautiful soul. Came down from Chicago, but her family’s from California. She grew up surfing along the coasts over the summer as a child, I’m sure her brown skin glistened in the moonlight on the late night drives back home.
After me and Johnny (My children's father) broke up; for good this time. I wrote off dating, swearing to never fall in love again, mostly for my children’s sake but mainly my heart’s. Johnny was a terrible father. I gave birth to Max when I was only 15, my mother told me I had to raise the baby myself, and with a boyfriend who couldn’t even wrap a finger around my waist while we slept. He was in and out of his life until Maximus turned 2, when he finally left. We got together for a short moment leading to me being pregnant with Jean. I desperately wished that Johnny came back with the hopes he would finally want to be a good father, a part of his son’s life and hopefully the one of his future child’s. Unfortunately he didn’t . I drove myself up to the hospital, alone in a room with a small infant in my arms.
I judged myself so hard after Jean was born, I fell into postpartum depression for about three years. By the time I was 25 I barely had anything to keep myself afloat. Let alone with two kids. My mother would occasionally send me rent money even after swearing to stay out my life. I eventually scrounged up enough through odd jobs and selling pottery that I could afford to live by the beach. The house is small and everything here is quite expensive but now that I work my own store full time I’m able to handle myself quite well, now without my mother’s help.
“Hello? Kinslee are you there?”
Gemini asks softly, she’s the only person on earth besides my mother that I let call me by my full name. When Angel, my mother would call me that it was always followed by criticism and demeaning words. A surprisingly unfitting name for such a terrible woman.
“Oh yes! Sorry I’ve had so much on my mind lately” I pause for a moment. “How’ve you been?”
Gemini chuckles before responding.
“Have I been on your mind lately?”
She asks, I squeeze my phone slightly at the comment, flustered by her words.
“Possibly…do you want me to be?”
I respond back smoothly, trying to hide my nervousness.
“Yes Kinslee, I do” I can envision her smile through the phone. Her pearly, slightly crooked teeth ingrained in my brain.
“What seems to be the actual problem though?”
Genny asks, a slight hint of concern in her voice.
“I’m just worried about Maximus and Jean” I pause, swallowing with a slight pain in my throat.
“Mainly Max, he’s been asking about his father a lot lately. I feel bad sending him over to his dad’s when I know Johnny doesn’t give a shit about either of his children”
I look at the counter, scraping my acrylic nails against the matte finish of the countertops. Then drifting my eyes back out the window, I can see Maximus and Jean heading back towards the house.
“You want me to hang out with them instead? I’m basically like a third parent…or second if you exclude Johnathan”
I chuckle, trying to hide my obvious sorrow about the situation. I want my children to feel loved and I know very well Johnny barely feels that way about his kids. Maximus feels it and I fear Jean might be catching on.
“N-“ I hesitate. “Maybe”
“Have you spoken to Johnny lately? Like about how the kids feel?” Gemini asks.
I let out a slight sigh of frustration before responding.
“He barely speaks to me, and even if I did tell him he wouldn’t care. He has two weeks out of the year to be a ‘good father’ just for him to be dead silent until summer rolls back around again”
I hear Gemini over the phone, their sigh sounding slightly more infuriated than mine.
“I don’t want you to take that time away from them, they deserve to see their father. But if he wants to be a dead beat, even if he’s a half-ass one, then his kids deserve better”
I nod as if she could see me, the slight jangle of the doorknob catching my attention in the background of our virtual conversation.
“I’m pretty sure the kids are coming home, I’ll call you back later”
“Alright honey, see you”
“You too…bye”
The phone call cuts out there. I turn around greeting my kids excitedly, Maximus stands tall with still dripping swim trunks and sandy flip-flops on his feet, his slightly curly blonde hair lay stiff from the salt water, a boogie-board tightly grasped between his waist and his left arm. Jean not too far behind him, their swim shirt over a one piece, there's a dog swimming in one of those donut shaped floaties on it. Their brown, shoulder length hair dripped with water onto the vinyl floor below. Two slightly small hands grasped around a blue and white cup of thrasher’s fries.
“How was the beach?” I ask softly, a maternal tone in my voice.
“It was chill, me and Jean got ice cream and we didn’t forget your fries” Maximus replies with a slight jokey tone in his voice.
“Max almost forgot!” Jean’s words practically jumping from their mouth.
Maximus elbows Jean softly in the arm, I click my tongue at him signaling him to cut it out.
“As long as they’re not soggy I don’t care” I chuckle reaching for the fries, Jean hands them to me with a smile.
I pop a couple fries in my mouth, they’re slightly warm so I don’t immediately burn my mouth like I usually do.
“You guys are full of ice cream? Or do you want dinner?”
“I’m good, Jean, do you want anything?” Maximus asks, glancing over at them.
“Um I’m ok” Jean utters softly.
I nod, I wasn’t really in a dinner making mood anyways, so this worked out good for me.
“Alrighty then, well how about you two go shower and get in some comfy clothes and we could maybe hang out and watch a movie?”
It’s Saturday, I try to dedicate at least one day of the weekend to just me and my kids.
“Is it ok if I stay in my room after I shower? I’m tired” Max asks.
I nod in agreement, I worry slightly for Maximus. He is a teenager after all but I can’t help but wonder if there’s anything I could do to bring him out of his shell. Jean wanders off into the bathroom, the sound of the shower filling the quiet house. Seagulls call outside. I close the window, ever since I moved by the beach I’ve been terrified of a seagull flying in the house.
I waltz into the living room, laying on the tan cloth sofa, I scroll through my phone. The twins; my older sisters, texted me. I roll my eyes. They're so connected it drives me insane. It’s a picture of the two together, their hair in a half down half up situation with two pigtails. They're even making the same face, it’s sickening seeing two people so committed to looking so alike at the age of 36.
I reply with a heart, exiting from the little group chat they put me in and going to call Gemini again.
The phone rings, the low occasional pause of the phone keeps me on edge as I look at the TV. It’s playing some talk show I’m sure my mother would like if it wasn’t so left leaning. The phone continues to ring but cuts to voicemail.
“Hi! This is Gemini Stone, I’m sorry I can’t get to you at the moment. But send me a message and I’ll get back with you soon”
The phone beeps but I hang up without leaving a message. I grab the remote off of the dark wooden coffee table, there’s coaster stains all over it but they’re barely visible unless you’re as detail oriented as me. I switch the channels a couple times, realizing I should cancel my cable and switch to full streaming like everybody else. I hop on Netflix, trying to find a cheesy movie to watch with Jean. I turn on love is blind as background noise until they come out of the shower and get dressed.
After what felt like 20 minutes and 30 fries later Jean sits on the couch next to me. I move my legs out the way to give them more room.
“Mom, can we watch that one movie with the robots?”
I turn my head to the side slightly, almost like a confused dog.
“Um there’s a lot of movies with robots kid, be more specific”
“The one with the family and they fight off robots together” Jean quips back, their fuzzy pajama pants brushing against my legs.
“Oh Mitchell’s versus the Machines. You’ve got good taste”
Jean nods excitedly as I slowly switch to the animated film. The sun has fully set now, the room grows dark as we watch the movie together. Moments later I feel my phone buzz in my lap, I flip it over, Gemini’s calling me back.
“Hold on, I gotta answer a phone call, I’ll be right back. You don’t have to pause the movie for me”
Jean nods, giving their full attention back to the movie. I head out into my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I pick up the phone.
“You called me earlier, what’s wrong?” Gemini asks.
I run my fingers against the collar of my T-shirt, twisting it between my index finger and my thumb.
“It’s Max again, He didn’t want to hangout with me and Jean for a movie night. I get he’s a teen and all but-“
“Lee, do you want me to come over there and talk to him?”
I pause, my heart fluttering in my chest. I’ve considered asking Gemini to move in with me for quite some time now. Although that isn’t what she asked me, maybe I could bring it up when she swung by.
“That…sounds nice I’d appreciate it” I respond calmly trying to hide my enthusiasm.
“Alright, I’ll be down there in a minute. I have to close the surf shop” Gemini responds, the occasional whirring of a breeze brushes through the speakers of my phone.
“Ok then, see you later Gen”
The phone call ends there, with no goodbye or see you later in response. But I don’t mind, fortunately I trust Gemini more than Johnny and I know she’ll show up eventually.
I head back out into the living room, Jean’s fast asleep on the couch, one of their arms hanging down onto the floor. On weekends I let the kids sleep in the living room, almost like a special treat. I grab a blanket from one of the two chairs we have in the living room. I carefully draw it over Jean trying my best not to wake them up.
Moments later, as I sit in my bed texting Gemini once again, reminding her to not knock in order to keep Jean asleep. I look out my bedroom window, the lights of businesses glistening in the distance, a few houses shut off their lights in what I can only assume is in preparation for sleep.
I put my phone down, laying in bed, staring at my ceiling fan as it spins slightly over slow. I think about all of the things that have happened this year. How well the pottery store has been going for me, how terrible a father Johnny is, how I’m a way better mother in comparison.
I trace the edge of my bed, feeling the bedsheet and comforter beneath my fingers, closing my eyes as I listen to my fan whirring in the background.
Bzzt