Page 7

“Martha’s house caught on fire, and Mom saved her.Someone filmed the whole thing, and she’s exploding on social media.”

“You’re kidding.Mom doesn’t even like to have her picture taken.”

“Morgan talked to her; she’s not happy.”

“I’ll check in on her after the kids go down for their nap… or are in jail, whichever comes first.”Abby laughed.

CHAPTER 5

Abby

Abby, the youngest of Carla’s daughters, lived in Encinitas, California.As Abby was geographically closer to her mother than her sisters, she and Carla had a special bond.Carla could relate to Abby’s struggles, having once had several young kids of her own close together.Abby often turned to her mother for advice.She was grateful that Carla never judged her or tried to take charge and only offered her opinion when Abby asked for it.

Abby sometimes joked with her mother that although she was technically the baby of the family, she considered herself the most mature of her sisters.She was the only one who took the responsibilities of adulthood seriously—at least when she wasn’t overwhelmed and hiding in her broom closet.If she brought the baby monitor in with her, it wasn’t exactly what she’d call peaceful, but it gave her a few minutes.This tactic had worked until one day, her oldest son, Hudson, tracked her down and told his siblings that their mom was playing hide and seek.Abby had very few moments of peace after that.

When Abby learned her mother saved the neighbor, she couldn’t help but think how brave her mom was.I wish I could do something to warrant that kind of attention.My life isn’t all that exciting unless you count chasing naked toddlers around the house.

Abby had never been a risk taker; she was the sister most likelynotto try something different.The older she got, the more she avoided anything that would have challenged her other than motherhood.Being a parent was exhausting, but at least her kids were healthy and independent, sometimes too independent, as they didn’t always listen to her.

She hadn’t questioned the choices she made for her life until recently when she ran out of milk and needed to take all the children with her to the grocery store.She pushed Addison, two and a half, and Emma, eighteen months, in the stroller.Hudson, six, and Levi, five, were walking down the cereal aisle when she saw her high school drama teacher reaching for a box of Kashi cereal.Ms.Harper had been the most supportive and encouraging drama teacher Abby had ever had.She saw something in Abby, pushing her not to be afraid to be vulnerable on stage and to embody a role.She always told Abby she was destined to become a successful actress one day.

Abby didn’t want Ms.Harper to be disappointed that she hadn’t lived up to her expectations, so she turned and tried to herd the kids out of the aisle, but four kids under the age of six moved as quickly as a slug and a snail racing.

When Abby was about to turn the corner, Levi reached for a box of chocolate Cheerios and five boxes came tumbling down on top of him.He giggled so loudly that Ms.Harper turned toward them.

“Abby?Abby Weiss?”Ms.Harper said, walking over to Abby.

“Ms.Harper?”Abby said, feeling her face grow warm and knowing her cheeks had turned a tell-tale rosy tint.

“I can see you’ve been busy these last few years,” Ms.Harper said, looking at the kids.“They’re adorable.”

“Thank you.”

“Your mom had been my most promising student,” Ms.Harper said to Hudson and Levi, who stared at her.“She’s very talented.”

And now she must think I’m only talented at having kids.

“That’s sweet of you to say,” Abby said.“But I have to get the young ones home to nap.”Abby’s legs itched to get out of there.

“Maybe when they all go to college, you can pick up where you left off,” Ms.Harper said.

By then I’ll be playing Grandma, Abby thought.She said goodbye and dragged the kids across the store to the produce section.As she picked through the apples to find ones that were still firm, she wondered if the life she’d chosen was as fulfilling as she’d once thought.

Over the last year, she had been feeling like the world no longer saw her as a person who added something vital to it.She was now seen as an overburdened mom with a pocketful of Goldfish crackers.

She was barely thirty but felt older.She had always been considered pretty, but it had been a long time since a man flirted or tried to pick her up.She assumed that was because she usually had four kids in tow and a wedding ring.But she still wanted to know that other men besides her husband found her attractive.On the rare occasions when she was alone and remembered to wear something cute and brush her hair, it was like she wore a sandwich board advertising that she was off the market.

And then there was the one day when she thought her luck had changed.She had left the kids with Alex and went to buy detergent when she noticed an adorable guy seeming to follow her through CVS.She didn’t think it could be a coincidence that he kept ending up in the same aisle she was in.Her heart rushed with the unfamiliar feeling of flattery.

When she stopped in the laundry supply section, she heard footsteps coming up behind her.She casually looked over her shoulder as the cute guy sauntered toward her.Her stomach did handsprings.She licked her lips and brushed her hand through her hair.

The handsome man stopped directly next to her.“Excuse me.I hope I’m not bothering you.”

“Not at all,” Abby said, flashing him her best smile and hoping she remembered to brush her teeth that morning.

“You have a pacifier attached to your shoe,” he said.

Abby saw Emma’s binky stuck to the Velcro on her right sneaker.“Oh…uh, thank you.”She reached down and grabbed it, tossing it in her purse.