chapter 8

~sullivan~

       As I'm preparing breakfast, someone knocks at my front door. I turn down the stove's temperature before I walk over to the front door to answer it. I open it, seeing my parents standing there, both with a suitcase. 

       Before I can even say anything, my mom and dad walk inside, dragging their suitcases behind them. "What are you doing?" I ask.

       "What? Are we not allowed to visit our favourite son anymore?" Mom asks.

       "No, you're always allowed to visit," I say. "I'm more concerned as to why you're here with suitcases."

       "Oh, our house is getting fumigated," Dad says. "We need a place to stay for no more than five days."

       "And you didn't think this was something you should ask me beforehand so I'm well-prepared for your stay?" I ask. 

       "We have so much on our minds that we forgot to ask you," Mom says. "We figured it would be okay since you have a guest room, anyway."

       Mom and Dad start to head to the guest room, still not understanding that they can't just expect to stay without asking me. I have to quickly stand in front of them to stop them from walking in on a sleeping Caelus. "I don't have the room, actually," I say. "I already have a guest, and he's staying here indefinitely. Can't you stay at a hotel or something?"

       "We would have if we could," Mom says. "The fumigation is very expensive and we still have other bills to cover. A hotel for five days would drain us after the fumigation."

       "Okay, what about staying with Katrina?" I ask. "She has more room than me."

       "She also just had her baby a month ago and doesn't want any longterm visitors until he's at least three months old," Dad says.

       "Then the only other option is for one of you to sleep on the couch and the other to sleep on the recliner," I say.

       "You can't seriously expect us to sleep on a couch and a recliner at our age," Mom says.

       "You're both fifty and very healthy. Sleeping on a couch and a recliner for a few days isn't going to kill you."

       "But it will be very uncomfortable for us," Mom says.

       I sigh heavily. As much as I love my parents, they can be very inconsiderate at times. They don't realize that people can't always change our plans just to support them. All my parents had to do was let me know they needed a place to stay and ask if they can stay here beforehand. I would have been able to help them figure something out.

       And sure, Caelus kind of did the same thing by showing up out of the blue to ask if he can stay over, but I know that Caelus would have taken no for an answer if I really didn't want him to stay here. My parents are not taking no for an answer.

       "Fine, I'll sleep on the couch and you two can have my room," I say.

       "Thank you," Mom says before she and Dad make their way to my bedroom to drop off their suitcase. I rub my forehead. I love them, but the next five days are going to be torture at this rate. If they treat this like a luxury vacation and expect me to clean up after them, which they have done in the past, I won't hesitate to make them sleep in the living room.

       I go back to the kitchen to continue cooking breakfast for me and Caelus. There are times when I'll come home from work, only to find that he made dinner for the two of us, so I started making breakfast for him as well since I'm always up before him.

       My parents walk out of my bedroom and sit down at the kitchen table. "So what's for breakfast?" Dad asks.

       "Whatever you want to make," I say. "I didn't make enough for the two of you."

       "It looks like you've made more than enough for you," Mom points out.

       "Yes, because it's also for my roommate," I say. "It's just enough for the two of us, not for two extra people." I look at my parents. "As much as I love the two of you, I'm not going to be your butler while you stay here. If you want something to eat, you're going to have to make it yourself. I don't have the time to make breakfast for you two as well."

       "Katrina would have made us breakfast," Mom mutters as she gets up from the table and starts looking through the pantry for something to eat.

       "I highly doubt that since her partner won't let her cook anything since Joseph was born," I say. I'm glad my sister has such an amazing and supportive spouse that fully lets her rest after giving birth. I likely would have had to pull the big brother card if they still expected Katrina to cook and clean all the time while letting her body heal.

       The guest room door opens, so Kona immediately walks over to greet Caelus. He rubs his eyes and his hair sticks up all over the place, looking as if he barely got any sleep. With how horrible his sleeping schedule is, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't fall asleep until after four in the morning.

       "Why are you up?" I ask. "Go back to bed if you're still tired."

       "I smell food," Caelus says, bending down to greet Kona.

       Both Mom and Dad look shocked to see that my guest is, in fact, my ex-husband. Obviously, they know that our marriage didn't end amicably, so they probably did not expect to see him here.

       "Caelus?" Mom asks.

       Caelus looks over. "Oh. Hi."

       Mom furrows her eyebrows as she looks at me. "Are you two back together?"

       "Oh, no, definitely not," I say.

       "Definitely not?" Caelus repeats. "You make it sound like it would be bad to get back together with me?"

       "It would be."

       "Wow."

       "Caelus is staying indefinitely until he can find a place of his own," I tell my parents.

       "Oh," Dad says. "Well, it's nice to see you again, Caelus."

       "You too," Caelus says. I hope there isn't any tension between my parents and Caelus. They weren't exactly happy with him when he initiated the divorce even though I kept telling them that they shouldn't be made. It was definitely a lot better for me and Caelus to get a divorce than to try to stay in a marriage that clearly wasn't working. There would only be a lot more resentment if we stayed, which was why I didn't try to get Caelus to stay after he served me divorce papers.

       No matter how much I wanted him to stay.

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oop some new info on their divorce???? sullivan wanted caelus to stay????