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“I bet I could still eat them,” Joey muttered, eyeing the black rocks.

Lydia began opening windows, hoping the smoke would clear out quickly. “Fe, you can’t cook!”

“Hey!”

“What? It’s a fact. You broke three microwaves at Mum’s house.”

“Mummy broke ours, too.”

“Traitor,” Fe whispered to Jenny. Jenny snickered.

“And she set the oven on fire at Christmas,” Joey chimed in, still looking at the incinerated muffins.

“All right, jeez,” Fe grinned. “Here I am, just trying to do my motherly duty and teach my kids some life skills, and this is the thanks I get?”

“Fe, you need to be taught those life skills before trying to pass them on!” Lydia laughed. “Come on, let’s get cleared up and we’ll start again.”

An hour later, the kitchen smelled of succulent chocolate. Joey was practically vibrating with anticipation as he stood watching them like a hawk. “Can I have one now?”

“No, they’re still too hot, love. Ten minutes, okay? Go play. I’ll call you when they’re ready.”

The terrors stomped off but didn’t make too much of a scene. “They seem to be doing better.” Lydia commented, sipping on her Irish Coffee.

“Clark and I talked to them. They know we’re getting a divorce.”

“Wow, so you finally decided, huh?” At one point, Lydia was sure Fe would take Clark back, but clearly some things just couldn’t be moved on from.

“The trust is gone, Lyds. I don’t want to live my life always wondering if that late meeting is really a lie, and he’s knobbing another secretary.”

“Totally understandable.”

“And I actually want to take a leaf out of your book for a while.”

Furrowing her brows, Lydia continued to drink her coffee, wondering where her sister was going. “Explain.”

“I want to get right with myself. I need to prove to myself I’m strong enough to stand on my own two feet. If you think about it, I’ve always had a fella to fall back on. I don’t want that to be who I am. I’ve got three kids who look up to me. And, especially for Jenny, I want her to see what a strong independent woman looks like. I mean, she already looks up to you. I’d like to be the other person she admires.”

This was possibly the deepest conversation they’d ever had. Lydia repositioned herself on the chair. “That’s… Wow, Fe, that’s great, but you know they look up to you. Those three love their mum.”

“I know that! But look how we are with our mum. Let’s be fair. We saw her as a superhero growing up.”

“True.”

“I kind of want the terrors to look at me that way.”

“Maybe stop calling them terrors,” Lydia grinned.

“Let’s not get silly, Lyds. They are terrors, and they know it.”

“But the tantrums have stopped?”

“Mostly. Sometimes one of them has a bit of a wobble when they’re missing Clark, but we agreed the kids could call him anytime and he would pick up the phone.”

“And is he sticking to it?”

“So far. He knows he’s on thin ice, and not with me. The kids really took him to task when we spoke. Considering their age, they were quite clear about how they were feeling.”

“Good for them! So, no dating?”