Page 47 of Sweet Surrender
His quick retorts had often needled at Eliza when she wasviewing it through a lens of disrespect. She was happy that his quick-witted response brought nothing but amusement now. The remainder of the meal was filled with more retellings of their week, where Eliza listened intently and pretended not to have heard it all from Rowyn already. The kids were on their best behaviour, and Eliza could not remember the last time a meal together had gone this smoothly or been this pleasant.
“So, what’s for dessert, then?” Eliza asked as the kids jumped up excitedly.
“Don’t look!” Amelia yelled as Rowyn’s eyes twinkled.
Eliza kept her eyes trained ahead as the kids retrieved their prize from the kitchen and returned with an excited “Ta-da!”
They set a plate with a homemade cake on the table and “Mom” scrawled on top with an almost distinguishable love heart.
“We wanted to write ‘welcome back, Mom,’ but the first cake didn’t go so good, and we had to make this one smaller cos we almost ran out of stuff. So it wouldn’t all fit,” Amelia said.
Eliza’s throat closed with unexpected emotion, and she took a deep breath to stem the tears gathering behind her eyes.
“It’s perfect,” Eliza said as she looked up at her kids, who were looking back at her expectantly.
The smiles of pride on their faces were bigger than any Eliza had seen in far too long, and her heart ached with both love and guilt. They deserved to be this proud every single day, and Eliza should be the one to help them find their pride. She vowed to prioritise researching and learning more to enable her to do so.
“Grab some plates and let’s dig in,” Rowyn said as the kids went to get the dessert plates from the cupboard.
“You okay?” Rowyn whispered as she leaned in closer to Eliza.
Eliza hummed, fear that her tears would overflow keeping her words from coming out.
“Thank you,” she finally managed to say as Rowyn looked at her with concern.
“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t tasted it,” Rowyn said with wide eyes as the kids returned. Eliza chuckled, which once again had been Rowyn’s intended response, and the mood lightened considerably as the kids worked on cutting their creation with careful precision. The guilt was quickly pushed aside to make way for a gratitude that filled Eliza’s whole chest as Rowyn helped the kids inspect their pieces to make sure they were exactly equal.
Their eyes locked again, and Eliza willed hers to show the depth of her gratitude and all of the words she couldn’t quite find. Rowyn’s face softened. She nodded as if to acknowledge all the words Eliza couldn’t quite speak, and Eliza had never been more understood in her whole life.
Chapter Sixteen
The next month passed quickly as they fell into a routine. When the kids were there, Rowyn and Eliza were professional and mostly friendly. They bickered sometimes, mainly about Eliza’s rigidity and the rules that Rowyn liked to bend. It amused Rowyn when Eliza would go into serious mode. Rowyn would push her buttons to draw out the little sparks behind Eliza’s eyes as she tried to maintain control.
When the kids were with their dad, as they had been the past week, all bets were off. Rowyn hadn’t slept in her own bed since the night they left, and she wasn’t looking forward to returning to it when they got home tomorrow. Tonight, however, she had a conversation to broach with Eliza that she had been putting off for far too long. She’d vowed not to let her situation with Eliza impact the care she gave the children, so she needed to put their needs first now and talk to her. Even if the conversation could have her sleeping in her own room as soon as tonight.
“So, I mentioned I wanted to check in with you about the kids and my observations…”
Rowyn started her spiel hesitantly as nerves coiled in her stomach. Speaking to parents about their kids’ needs was always a careful line to cross, but doing it after spending most of the day naked with that parent was another situation entirely.
“You did. I kept meaning to talk to you too. What you’ve been working on with modifying their routines is honestly incredible. They are so much calmer. I know I can be resistant to the changes at first, but I can’t deny the outcome they are having,”Eliza replied.
They were sitting on the bench out back, with a blanket thrown over them, having had a late dinner as the night came in around them. It had been a blissful day, and Rowyn let the light breeze wrap around her as she worked up the courage to continue. Eliza reached across from beneath the blanket and squeezed Rowyn’s leg. Rowyn took a deep breath and went for it—it was now or never.
“I’ve been following some things I’ve picked up from working with neurodivergent kids, and stuff that I found helped me too, with how my brain works.”
Rowyn let that hang in the air for a moment and braced herself. Even the most accepting and open of parents often struggled with the idea that someone else noticed something about their child that they hadn’t. Eliza wasn’t the type to be okay with not picking up on things.
“I was thinking about that since you mentioned something about neurodivergent kids while we watchedThe Little Rascalsmovie. I did some research, and it makes sense. Especially for Amelia,” Eliza said.
“It…does?” Rowyn asked, a little shocked.
“Yes. I’ve contacted a couple of places that do multidisciplinary assessments, and they are both on a waitlist to be seen,” Eliza said.
“Wait—they are on a waiting list? Already?” Rowyn asked.
“They are. I don’t love the idea of them having to wait even longer, but it seems the lack of options in Ireland for kids is still abysmal. Even when I’m in the position to pay privately. I fell down a rabbit hole about it all, and I’ve signed up to newsletters from some organizations who fight for better access. I’m hoping to go to a public meeting on it next month with people who are working to make a difference. But anyway, at least the ball is rolling now. Thank you for bringing it up.”
Rowyn blinked a couple of times and turned to face Eliza fully.
