Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 45 of 70

The nausea hit Lymber at two in the afternoon, the way it had every day that week. She sat on the bathroom floor with the puppy licking her ankle and Jett crying in the crib down the hall. Violetta stood in the doorway in her pink polka-dot dress, holding a juice box out like a gift. Lymber said, Thank you, baby. Go sit on the couch. I'm coming. Violetta didn't move. Lymber wiped her mouth on a towel and stood up too fast. The hallway tilted. She caught the frame and knew, plainly, that Polly's mornings would not be enough. She called Paul at work. She said, I can't do afternoons. I keep throwing up and Jett won't nap and I'm scared I'll drop him on the stairs. Paul was quiet for two seconds. He said, I'll handle it tonight. Don't lift him. Put him in the pack-and-play. She said, Paul. He said, I heard you. I'll fix it. He came home at six with a name written on the back of a receipt. He said, A woman at the office. Her sister-in-law. Widow. Raised three. Available afternoons. Lymber said, We tried three already. He said, I know. One more. She's coming tomorrow at one. Maggie arrived at one exactly, in a purple cardigan and clean sneakers. She did not ask for a tour. She sat at the kitchen table across from Lymber and said, Tell me the hard part first. Lymber said, I'm pregnant with twins. I throw up every afternoon. My daughter is two and my son is one and I can't lift him right now without shaking. Maggie nodded. She said, That's the job. What else. Lymber said, The last three quit inside a week. Maggie said, They weren't the right fit. I don't quit. Lymber watched her face for the crack that usually came. It didn't come. Violetta crawled into Maggie's lap without permission and pressed a cookie against her cheek. The puppy dropped a chewed sock at her feet. Maggie thanked Violetta for the cookie and set the sock aside and asked Jett, still in Lymber's arms, if she could hold him. Lymber passed him over. He didn't cry. Maggie bounced him once, checked his diaper with one hand, and said to Lymber, Go lie down for twenty minutes. I'll be here when you wake up. Lymber went. She woke at two forty. The house was quiet. Maggie was on the floor stacking blocks with Violetta while Jett slept on a blanket beside them, the puppy curled at his feet. Lymber stood in the doorway and did not interrupt. She went back to her office and shut the door and sat at her desk for the first time in a week. Afternoons were covered. She put her hand on her stomach and opened her calendar to the next appointment.