Recovery by L. B. Simmons

God awful stairs. I used to hate them, but there is no word in the English language that could possibly describe the way I feel about them now.
    “Mommy, can’t you get them?” Rylie whines, jumping her way up the steps in her Hello Kitty rainbow striped swimsuit. I don’t think she’s quite ready to let go of summer just yet.
    “Wait, was it me who took them out of your room, rolled them down the stairs twenty times in a row, crashed them into the wall every single one of those twenty times, and then left them sitting there for someone to trip over? Was that me?”
    Rylie, catching onto my massive sarcasm, just smiles during my interrogation. “Mommy! You know it wasn’t you! It was me!”
    I try to contain my smile. “Well?”
    “Oh, okay,” she huffs, dragging out the last word. “I’ll put them up, but it was forty-two times, not twenty.” She continues her journey up the stairs and I belt out a laugh.
    Sarcasm mastered.
    I grab onto the railing and make my way down, the smell of brewing coffee waking my groggy senses. Entering the kitchen, my heart swells with the sight before me. Blake, dressed in his white v-neck t-shirt and red and navy plaid pajama bottoms, sitting at the kitchen table with Nycole and Kyndall. He smiles contently as he watches them play a game of checkers.
    “Who’s winning?”
    I walk up behind him and wrap my arm around his neck, bending down to kiss him. I feel him smile when my lips touch his cheek. After taking a tiny whiff of leather and soap, I run my fingers through his hair because I can and walk to the cabinet to grab a glass.
    “Me, of course,” Kyndall says, not even bothering to look up as she concentrates on the board. Nycole lets out an aggravated sigh, rolling a black checker piece between her fingers. The only black checker piece in her possession. I glance over at Kyndall’s overflowing collection and then back at her. “She cheats. Remember that.” Nycole gives me a half-smile in return, before once again focusing her attention on the game.

     
    My gaze is broken by a not so little, but still cute, yellow ball of fur as he trots into my path. “Cooper, sit.” Immediately he obeys, sweeping his tail across the floor, eagerly awaiting my reward. I look over my shoulder at Blake and smile before petting Cooper behind the ear. “Good boy.” He rises off his haunches and trots to lay by Nycole’s feet under the table, most likely waiting for a scrap or two from the plate next to her. I have to admit, he’s been a wonderful addition to our family, and I think he will do just fine with our next new addition.
    Speaking of which…
    “We have my thirty-four week doctor’s appointment tomorrow, don’t forget. I already told Harlow I’m taking half a day off. Maybe you should too? We could make it a date .” Blake looks up, cocking his brow. I nod my head and he crooks a sexy smile. “Consider it done. What time?”
    “Eleven o’clock. We should have plenty of time.” I add with a wink and a wide grin.
    He chuckles under his breath before continuing to watch the girls’ super exciting checker match. After happily snatching a glass, I open the fridge to retrieve the gallon size orange juice. It’s all I seem to want to drink lately. Normally, I loathe O.J., however the little man residing in my tummy seems to love it.
    Rylie skips into the kitchen with a handful of tiny plastic creatures in her hands. I have no idea what they are, what their purpose is, or why they seem to be all the rage right now. They don’t do a damn thing, but she just got a whole bucket full of them and insists on carrying them everywhere. I watch her brown eyes light up and a mischievous smile play on her lips as she lays the pile down on the table and climbs up onto Blake’s lap. I know what she’s going to do before she does it, and I can’t fight the smile breaking across my face.
    She places the purple turtle looking thing on the board, in the uninhabited black square