"I don't get a kiss goodbye again?" she asked politely.
"Again? You make it sound like that's a regular occurrence," her husband said before kissing her on the cheek.
"Lately, it's more often than not," she said without being accusatory.
"I think someone is exaggerating—again," he told her before kissing their three children.
Kenny Adkins would be five and starting Kindergarten in just two months, Gabriel was three, and their daughter Riley was a year old. Their father, Levi Adkins, was 38 and headed to the Ford dealership where we worked as the service manager. After 15 years of slogging it out as a mechanic, he'd moved into management three years ago and recently been promoted to his new position two weeks earlier.
His wife of ten years, Finlay McAdams-Adkins, was a college graduate who'd given up her career in real estate to be a stay-at-home mom at her husband's request. It had more a demand than a request, and after Gabriel was born, she'd relented and been home ever since.
She hadn't wanted a third child, either, but as with most things, Levi wore her down until he got his way. She loved Riley with all her heart and loved having a little girl, but her daughter meant even more years at home unable to do the other thing she loved—selling houses. She never complained and wouldn't trade her daughter for the world. It was just another reminder that rather than being her own person she was Levi Adkins's wife.
Even with her husband's new promotion, they still couldn't afford full-time childcare for three children, and although she hated to admit it, Finlay often wondered if that was a major reason her husband had wanted another child. She loved her family dearly, but between his never-ending demands and his recent loss of interest in her, things were at an all-time low in their marriage.
Well, for her at least. For his part, Levi had never seemed happier, and while Finlay was happy that her husband loved going to work now, he seemed positively thrilled to leave the house each weekday, and was now working nearly every Saturday and going in most Sundays to do paperwork.
Deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling something else had changed beyond his promotion to service manager. For all his faults, she'd always trusted him, and yet he'd never gone more than 3-4 days without wanting to make love to her. But for the last several year, she'd been lucky to have sex twice a month and then only after she either begged him or started a fight. But the last three months there'd been zero intimacy and Finlay, who enjoyed sex as much as her husband, this was becoming intolerable. Making matters worse, he no longer even wanted to kiss her when he left the house early in the morning or came home late at night.
Finlay never wanted to fight. It was just the only way she could get what she wanted and now, even fighting wasn't working. She knew that most women with a child, let alone with three, had diminished libidos. But for her, it was just the opposite. Sex was not only as pleasurable as it had always been, it was also a wonderful diversion and an escape from the grind of caring for three small children seven days a week. What she wouldn't do for an hour to herself every now and then!
"Okay, well, have a good day," she told her husband as cheerfully as she could before turning to the next task in an all-day affair of tasks.
She debated about mentioning the garage door again, but held off. The last time she brought it up, Levi snapped at her and made her feel guilty. The sink also had a growing leak she was dealing with, and the screen door on the front porch got stuck nearly every time it was opened. Finlay not only didn't say anything, she knew she dare not call anyone to come out and fix any of those problems without Levi's blessing. It was times like this she was beginning to feel more a prisoner in her own home than the loving, supportive partner she'd always tried to be.
Each day was an endless, thankless grind, and no matter how much Finlay loved her children or being able to be with them, this wasn't the life she'd imagined for herself. Every day was essentially the same. There were three meals a day plus snacks to prepare, naps, diaper changes, two loads of laundry to wash, dry and fold, a house to clean, and a hundred other little things. Once each week there was also grocery shopping with three children in tow to take care of along with doctor visits and anything else that came up. And things always came up.
According to Levi, all of it was 'women's work' and her husband rarely lifted a finger to help her. Those times when he did, he made a huge deal out of it as though she should shower him with gratitude. She always thanked him, but, just like his help, her thank-yous were few and far between.
And yet, Finlay was the first to admit she'd gladly and willingly married Levi when he'd come along and swept her off her feet, and in spite of her protestations against a third child, she'd agreed to each of the three children they'd had together.
Rather than complain, she was willing to accept this was probably just what life was like for any stay-at-home mom with three kids who couldn't afford to hire help. That wasn't exactly true anymore. With Levi's promotion, they definitely could afford to have someone help out part-time. The issue was Levi's unwillingness to even discuss something he considered a waste of money.
Rather than wallow in self pity, she chose to make the best of things by enjoying her children and finding time each day to exercise as a way to reduce stress and keep herself in good condition. She'd lost all the weight she'd gained yet again just six months after Riley was born, and no one would guess she was 36 years old.
Yes, she had the stretch marks to prove she'd borne three children, but her face was still looked young and pretty and her body was hard and firm and attracted attention anytime she was out in public. Of course, with three small children, no one was doing anything more than looking and that was fine as Finlay would never flirt back even if someone were to flirt with her.
Once breakfast was done, the dishwasher loaded and running, and Riley's diaper changed after washing everyone's hands and faces, it was time to go grocery shopping.
"Okay, guys. Let's get ready to go!" Finlay called out around 9am as she loaded a basket of dirty clothes into the washing machine to run while they were out.
"Can I help, Mommy?" Kenny asked as always.
"Thank you, honey, but Mommy's got it. You could grab Riley's diaper bag, though."
"Okay! I will!" he said happily as he skipped around the house until he found it.
As they walked outside, the front door screen stuck again. When it finally gave way, it flew around so fast it slammed into the side of the house then hit Finlay in the arm she was carrying the baby in.
"You okay, sweetie?" she asked knowing Riley's body was shielded.
"I'll fix it, Mommy!" Kenny told her.
"If he can't, I will," Finlay heard a male voice say.
"Wade? Is that you?" she said with a smile when she looked up and saw her neighbor's son.
"Hi, Mrs. Adkins," he said with a smile of his own. "Let me give you a hand."
The young man opened the rear car door so Finlay could strap the baby into her carseat then opened the minivan's other door to let the two boys in.
He lifted Gabriel up, but Kenny told him, "I can do it all by myself!" as he did just that.
"Jeez, these two are so big!" the young man said. "And who is this sweet little girl?"
He did a 'coochie coo' on her neck and got a smile that showed off four partial, tiny front teeth.
"How old is your daughter?" he asked.
"She's 14 months now. Is it possible you haven't been home once since she was born?"
"I knew you were very pregnant when I left, and I did my senior year plus three months at a teaching hospital without a break," he told her.
"I know it's been a long time, but that's crazy," Finlay said.
"May I?" he asked indicating he'd like to hold the baby.
"Oh, sure," she said carefully passing her off.
"What's her name?"
"Riley."
"Pretty name for such a pretty girl," he said as he moved his face close to Riley's then pulled back several times getting another smile.
"What brings you home this time, Wade?" Finlay asked.
"My mom's not doing so well," he told her.
"What? I had no idea. Why didn't she say something?"
"You know my mom. Stubborn as my dad was," he told her as he handed the baby back to be put into her rear-facing carseat.
