I just don't know who you're talking to

 

"Great!"

Of course, Caitlin said in the most sarcastic way when Deano told her Sammie and Gabe's baby news. Also, he was carrying the new baby around to bottle feed. Caitlin had barely dragged herself out of bed and she would have to start back to work next week if she wanted to keep her job.

"Now, why do you have to say it like that?" Deano looked at her more doe-eyed than bug-eyed. He always did his best to be on her good side.

"Well, my dad will foot the bill, that's why," Caitlin didn't like it.

"I bet he won't," Deano squinted. "They have insurance. Gabe is a pretty stable fellow, you know."

"Oh really," Caitlin snapped. "He's Pan's brother and you know he's married to a psycho killer."

Deano sighed, but it ended up being a yawn. Was she always like this, he wondered. He rewound back to the moment he and Caitlin met. Maybe all the planets were aligned or something, he wasn't sure how it had been so whimsical back then. OK, so maybe having a few joints helped. But they'd grown. Although, he'd been doing all the cooking and cleaning since.

"You said you were going to leave this Wade thing alone?"

Deano's patient face was wearing thin. "Look, this is about Sammie, can't you treat her like a sister, just this once?"

Deano pressed his lips tight. Baby Benji tensed. Suddenly Deano felt so sad. He couldn't help but to be in tears. Maybe he was the one going through postpartum instead of Caitlin. "Why do you have to be so mean?" His voice cracked.

She gave him a strange look out of the corner of her eye as if she might slap him in the back of the head, but she went to get her coffee instead.

"Look, you had the good life when you were growing up. I never had that. My mom was always angry with my dad. It's amazing... I can even be around him. And now..why..why do I have to say someone is my sister when we aren't even blood-related? Mario can hardly stand her," she told him before she nursed her creamed coffee. 

"That's not true," Deano said. "They made up. She..she has helped us so much and you're still this way. Who helped with Hannah when you had Benji?"

Caitlin only fumed.

"Look, if I could take pill or something so I could like her, I would, but I don't think-" She winced hard. "I know it's me. It's all me, and I wish I could be as caring as you are." 

Caitlin put down the coffee and started to lift her arms to stretch, but Deano could tell her left arm was weak. She complained she was carrying Benji too much. He knew she didn't have much energy, but he wasn't moving all that fast either. He looked for his phone, maybe he'd make an appointment, but he didn't know where he put it.

About then, Hannah popped in from the living room with an empty bowl she'd had dry cereal in it to snack on while she was watching a nature show on Netflix.

"All done," she smiled, but she wanted pancakes.

"Well, let's make some then," Deano said still carrying a sleeping Benji.

Caitlin watched, but he thought she might be dozing off while her hand propped her head up.