Chapter 9 - Upstairs Rules
Vanessa came back downstairs at nine-fifteen like nothing had happened. I'd heard the shower run and stop, heard a drawer close upstairs, and then her steps on the stairs, even and unhurried. Her hair was brushed smooth over her shoulders. She'd changed into a fresh cream blouse.
She stopped at the bottom step and looked at the kitchen like she was checking that everything was still where she'd left it. The breakfast plates were in the sink. The girls were at the table now, Lily picking at toast, Sophie with her bear propped against the juice glass.
"Okay," Vanessa said. "New plan for the morning."
I wiped my hands on the dish towel. I could feel Nathan behind me by the coffee maker, jacket on, briefcase by his foot. He hadn't left yet, and I knew we both felt it — that quiet agreement from a few minutes before still sitting between us.
"Lily, Sophie," Vanessa said, her voice bright in a way that didn't match her eyes. "Upstairs playtime. In your room. I want the downstairs quiet while I get some work done."
Lily stopped chewing. "For how long?"
"Until lunch." Vanessa smiled. "Take your bear, sweetie."
Sophie grabbed her bear tight around the middle. Lily glanced at me, quick, then down at her own lap. I saw her right hand close. I'd seen her do it twice that morning — fingers curling in, thumb pressing over her palm. The key was in there. She wasn't going to leave it on the table.
"Can Maya read to us?" Lily asked.
"Not this morning," Vanessa said. "Maya's got the kitchen to clean. She needs to stay down here."
The words landed flat. Stay down here. She said it without looking at me, like it was just logistics.
Nathan cleared his throat. "They're fine playing down here too, aren't they?"
Vanessa turned to him. "They need routine, Nathan. You said it yourself. Less hovering helps." Her tone stayed light, but her hand rested on the newel post a little too hard. "You should go or you'll hit traffic on the county road."
He checked his watch, then looked at me. He didn't want to fight it in front of the girls. I could see him deciding.
"Upstairs," Vanessa said again. "Go on."
Lily slid off her chair first. She took Sophie's hand and helped her down, careful with the bear so its ear didn't drag on the floor. As they passed me, Lily brushed close to the counter. Her fist was closed so tight her knuckles were white.
I crouched a little so I was level with them. "Have fun upstairs, okay? I'll be right here if you need me."
Lily nodded. She didn't open her hand. She didn't have to. I gave her the smallest nod back, and she seemed to breathe a little easier.
Vanessa watched from the stairs. "I mean it, Maya. Kitchen, laundry if you get to it. Let them have their space. No checking every ten minutes."
"Got it," I said. I kept my voice even. I stacked the plates louder than I needed to, just to give my hands something to do.
I walked with them as far as the stairway because that was allowed — that was normal. Vanessa stood to the side, arms crossed, letting me have that much. The carpet on the stairs muffled their steps. I counted without meaning to. Second floor hallway was short. I could see it from the bottom: Lily and Sophie's room on the left with the blue door, the main bedroom straight ahead with the door half open, bathroom on the right with the fan still humming, and one more door at the far end, closed. I'd never paid much attention to that one.
Lily led Sophie down the hall, bear bouncing against her sister's leg. Before she went into their room she looked back at me. I memorized it — which doors were open, which were shut, where the floor creaked under her foot near the bathroom. The house was quiet enough that I could hear Sophie's pajama feet scuff, then the soft click of their bedroom door.
Vanessa stayed at the bottom with me. "See? Better already."
Nathan grabbed his briefcase. He kissed Vanessa on the cheek, quick, and ruffled nothing because the girls were already gone. At the front door he paused and looked back at me.
"I'll call at lunch," he said to Vanessa. Then to me, "Let me know if you need anything from the store."
It sounded ordinary. It wasn't. By the time his car backed out of the driveway and the garage door rumbled down, my phone buzzed in my jeans pocket.
I waited until Vanessa went back upstairs — I heard her steps pass the girls' room and keep going toward her bedroom — then I pulled it out behind the kitchen island.
Keep me updated today, please. Just text.
I stared at it for a second. The kitchen was too bright and too quiet. The refrigerator hummed. Upstairs, I could hear faint movement, a toy bin sliding, Sophie's small voice saying something I couldn't make out.
May you like
I typed back with wet hands: I will.
Vanessa's bedroom door closed upstairs. The sound carried straight down the stairwell. I stayed where she'd told me to stay, hands in the sink, listening to the house settle over my head.
