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Daniel came up behind me.
“Good tears?”
“The best kind.”
He slipped an arm around my shoulders.
“You deserve this, Mom.”
I believed him.
The next morning, Daniel stayed at the hotel to finish a work call while Macy took the children to the beach with me.
She dropped a large bag beside my chair, handed me sunscreen, and checked her phone.
“I’m going to meet Daniel for breakfast.”
“I thought he was working.”
“He’ll finish soon.”
Then she started walking away.
“Macy, are the children coming with you?”
She turned.
“Maybe I forgot to mention it, but you’re here as the babysitter.”
I thought she was joking.
She wasn’t smiling.
“The babysitter?”
“Taking care of the kids during this vacation is entirely your responsibility. Daniel and I need time together.”
I adored my grandchildren and had helped with them many times.
But I had never agreed to spend the entire vacation acting as their nanny.
“I’m happy to help, but I thought this was a family vacation.”
“It is.”
She pointed toward the children.
“They’re your family.”
I lowered my voice.
“Could we split the childcare? You could rest, and I could too.”
Macy laughed.
“Know your place. My husband paid for your vacation. Consider this your way of earning back the money.”
For several seconds, I couldn’t answer.
Then Noah ran toward the water, and I had to chase after him.
Macy left.
At first, I told myself she was simply exhausted.
Three children were demanding.