WHO Ismene & OPEN WHEN Saturday, early afternoon WHERE A park in NYC WHAT literally just some establishing stuff and an excuse to meet people WARNINGS
Sometimes - just sometimes - Ismene looked down at the small children constantly running laps around her and attempting to destroy everything in their path and thought: three is too many. Three had been an accident, in truth. They'd only been aiming for two, which somehow seemed a much more manageable number, but then Just One More, So Mason Has A Sibling had turned into Surprise Twins Grace and Arlo.
In Greece, in the 16th century, Ismene and her then husband had ten children, seven who'd made it to adulthood, so the idea that she somehow struggled with three now seemed insane. But child-rearing had also changed so much since then. It always seemed to be changing and things that Ismene had always done were now considered bad mothering. Ismene was desperate not to be a bad mother, and she always followed the advice books and professionals gave to her.
Arlo had decided to stop tugging on her pants as though he was trying to actually yank them off, and had now run off to the play equipment where his siblings already were, after Mason had been screaming his name at a truly unreal decibel to get his attention. Their grandmother, pushing Grace on the swing, seemed to be trying to get him to stop yelling.
Ismene sat down on the bench and took a deep breath as she watched her kids. Mason was talking to another little girl on the swings and Ismene felt her heart light up at it. He was such a little ladies' man, that one.
So far, the children all seemed to be adjusting well to the move, perhaps better than Ismene was herself. She missed the quiet and familiar nature of Saratoga Springs, but Vincent's job now needed him to be in the bustling city, so the city it was. She worried about the children not getting to grow up in a nice suburb, but Vincent had assured her that they would all be okay here.
This park was right across from their new apartment, meaning it was almost a backyard for the children. (Not truly, but it would have to do.)
Besides, Vincent had said, my parents are in the city, and wouldn't it be nice to have their help? He was right, of course. The kids should get to know their grandparents better, especially since they would likely never meet the grandparents they got from Ismene's side.
Vincent and Ismene had decided, together, that his own parents didn't need to know about who and what she was. It only added another layer of confusion.
In Ismene's pocket her phone rang and she reached in for it. Catching her mother-in-law's eye she pointed to the phone and then off towards the path to her right. Her mother-in-law nodded with a smile, understanding.
Ismene answered the phone as she began to walk away. It was, as predicated, one of the schools they were trying to get Mason into and Ismene hoped that she was making a good impression over the phone, and that she would make an even better one in person. Ismene was fortunate like that: people tended to like her.
She'd stopped walking on the path and was gesturing with her free hand as she spoke. When she hung up it was with a bright smile, before she turned around and ran straight into someone who was trying to move past her. "Oh!" Ismene cried. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be in the way!"