August could see the chair, she could see that woman from before being yelled at, she could see… her husband getting overwhelmed. “Shit…” She limped over to Beau and did the only thing she knew she could do when he was overwhelmed like this. She gently squeezed his arm and hand. The squeeze always seemed to bring him back to reality and help him focus on what he needed to do the most. After a moment, his eyes seemed to focus again and his beautiful chocolate eyes looked into her own green.
August hoped he didn’t notice the start of her own tears as she smiled sadly for him. “I’m sorry babe… your wonderful surprise…”
He seemed more resolved now and quickly spoke up, ready to take command of the situation. “You sit here, I'll get everything sorted ok?”
As he headed off, August could feel herself nodding just a bit as a nice woman… oh Sarah, Beau had mentioned her… slowly guided her to the bleachers. “You take a load off, They’ll get it sorted and that bitch will be escorted off. Don’t you worry about it.”
“He put in all that effort…” August trailed off, processing what happened a bit now that she was sitting.
Sarah simply smiled warmly. “Right? God, most women would kill for a man like him. I know you guys don’t do things traditional like but… hey… you ok?”
Tears were running down August’s face, a small sob escaping her throat. The harder she tried to suppress it the more it felt like her throat was on fire. Sarah gently put her hand on August’s back, rubbing it a bit. “It… it’s my fault.”
“What? That’s crazy talk. She’s the bitch.”
“No I … I confronted her. I told her off and she got back at me while I was in the bathroom. That’s why…”
Sarah looked back at the scene of Beau trying to fish things out and the girls trying to help find everything. Both could see Alexandra getting more and more quiet, wanting to sink to the bottom of the pool for a bit while Raven was starting to slap the water hard in between diving down to get the bags and such. One of the coaches was talking to Beau… probably to see if the girls needed a decompression break.
After a few more moments Sarah spoke up again. “Look, that bitch went to complain to your husband about something. Maybe it was you. Maybe it was bitching that her daughter wasn’t in the right spots again. I dunno. But she threw it after that. It’s not the first time she’s done crazy shit either. It’s why the nanny brings the kid. You did nothing wrong. Got it?”
August nodded a little, doing her best to wipe away the tears. Shuddering breaths making it clear how hard it was to calm down. She still had to make dinner. And the girls needed time to decompress and…
And two coupons were put in her hand. August stared at the crisp pieces of paper as a small piece of plastic followed after. “Look… it’s been a day. And you don’t come by much but I know when the cane is out, it’s been a day for you. Then this shit. Take the girls for pizza, my husband is the manager and gives me the coupons and stuff for times like this. Those are kids eat free passes and that card is enough for two adults and 4 drinks.”
“But the noise for the girls..”
Sarah grinned. “We made a sensory friendly dining area now. Got a cousin like the girls. Soft lights and music. The games you can plug headphones in. There’s even beanbags. Trust me, Clawsome Pizza will be perfect after this day.”
August held the coupons and gift card the rest of practice. It took a while before her dear husband could come over and put an arm on her. The time of the practice seemed to just slip away as a dream. It was hard to focus on the now as her mind replayed each moment of what had occurred, trying to find the mistake, the thing that could have been done differently. Sarah saw what happened of course, but August was the one who had kicked things off, she was sure. As Beau’s arm stayed around her shoulders, August leaned into him. At least she could make things easier for him tonight. He would have insisted that she not be the one cooking and that he do everything.
Again.
Like always.
When the girls came out, Alexandra was nonverbal again. Which was fine, but she couldn’t use the app on her parents phones with wet hands. So Raven was trying to talk for her sister, which was at least well meaning. “And- and Alex wants to beat up that mean lady.”
Alex was already shaking her head and put her hand on her stomach. The growling shook August out of her daze and reminded her what was in her hands. “Well, no beating up but what about pizza? We can go to Clawsome's."
Beau looked a bit worried. “Do we have the money?” His worry was almost drowned out by Raven’s squealing and the sound of Raven quickly heading to the car.
“We got a gift… you convince the girls to change. I’ll catch up ok?”
Beau gave a slight nod and headed to the car. He looked a bit relieved. Well… even if it was with help, at least August could help with something today.
A short ride and they were already at the pizza place. Raven was talking about the arcade and all the ice cream she could eat. Alexandra was using August’s phone to tap out the flavor combinations she wanted to try.
“Alright but Alex please not just one bite and stop. We can’t do that at a buffet.”
“They have sample bites.”
Beau chuckled. “They really thought of everything. Ok but make sure you get two slices of something you know you like. It’s already been a rough day.”
“Ok”
God the AAC app was a lifesaver sometimes. It had been a pretty penny at the time but worth it when the two parents had seen how much she could still communicate when like this. Using it they could be sure she understood what was going on, what was needed or wanted, or well anything else. August sometimes wished she could use it on her rough days. But the app was really for Alexandra and Raven, not her.
“Ok girls, we’re going to get our table, then you can get food and play ok?”
“Ok!” Raven was happily spinning her hands and bouncing as the twins looked out the window, watching the world come to a stand still before jumping out of the car.
“Girls! Earplugs!” August sighed, digging them out of her purse.
Beau took them and smiled. “Don’t worry, I got them. You take your time and shout if you need help, got it?”
August smiled at that. “Thanks Beau.”
As he took off yet again after the girls, August slid out of the van and slowly made her way to the door of Clawsomes. Watching the neon dragon sign and its robotic counterpart in the window change and move to look like they were waving to the customers. Despite looking like the site of the next horror indie game, it was a favorite location for most of the kids. And for parents who didn’t mind letting their kids run a while and pretend they were on a date for the first time in years.
Honestly, it was almost fitting, all things considered.
Inside the teenagers and adult staff were dressed like they lived in a medieval castle out of the movies. Going around and cleaning the tables, putting out fresh pizzas. Cutting up the last slice or two of a leftover pizza to give the bites for kids. The girls were putting in their ear plugs as the main area did still have a lot of noise, even if the music wasn’t as loud over by the actual buffet. They had just gotten to the front of the line when August caught up and handed over the passes and gift card.
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