Even though Randy was out around eleven, I still had to deal with crap from coworkers all throughout the day. I should mention that Randy isn't even the worst. At least with him, it's somewhat amusing to hear an eighteen-year-old talk to me like some sort of authority figure. Honestly, with the really old guys who have been working at the shop for over twenty years (I can't even imagine), I just feel like decking them every time they feel the need to pick on me. Once again, they aren't managers, so I can respond however I want.
"Cooper, you ever going to cut that stupid hair of yours?" Daniel, some old guy with barely any hair himself remarked.
"And are you ever going to grow three inches?" Bobby, another old guy who should be worrying a lot more about his weight than my height remarked.
Daniel and Bobby both laughed like a couple of annoying high schoolers. I rolled my eyes and continued mopping.
"Daniel, grow some hair yourself before you start insulting my hair," I said. "Bobby, I'd say something to you, but I'd sound like a total jerk if I insulted you for being fat. So instead I'm just going to give you some helpful advice. Lay off the cheeseburgers and milkshakes."
Bobby said something else that was probably very insulting, but I was chuckling too much at my remark to hear him.
After dealing with this crap for several hours, I finally made it home around six-thirty. And just like everyday, I spent a minute giving my two happy little girls hugs and kisses as I walked inside. And then Yulia continued to clutch me for the next several minutes. Like I said, very, very attached.
Hayley walked up to me and gave me a side hug (she couldn't give me a full hug since Yulia was in my arms clutching me).
"How was work?" she asked.
"Lame," I replied, walking over to the kitchen to grab a water bottle. I hadn't drunk anything in several hours.
"Nothing new then?"
I shook my head and took a drink. Boy did it feel great.
"Keep on looking for jobs."
"Sure. Though I can't help but feel like things will hardly be different no matter where I go. This whole city is full of jerks."
I patted Yulia's back and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
"The world is full of jerks," Hayley said. "It's just something we have to live with."
"At least in MMA I can beat the crap out of them. Legally, that is."
Hayley rolled her eyes. "Like I said, keep on looking."
"Papa, look!" Elena suddenly shouted in Russian. She ran up to me with one of the coloring books that Hayley had gotten them. She then showed me a few fully colored pages.
"That's wonderful, Baby," I replied with a smile. "You're such a wonderful artist."
Elena grinned in an extremely adorable way. God, she just never fails to make me smile.
As Yulia quickly jumped out of my arms to go grab her own colored pages, I suddenly noticed that I had just drank the last bottle of water. Because I didn't trust the sink water here, I knew that I would need to grab another pack if I wanted to drink anything else anytime soon.
But first, time with my girls.
After Yulia happily showed me her own fully colored drawings, I kept my promise from earlier and got the girls some ice cream. The girls then talked about their day as they licked and slurped their vanilla (Elena) and chocolate (Yulia) cones. Games with their Barbies and stuffed animals, singing and dancing, coloring, watching a movie. Just another typical day at the house with only each other to talk to. Man, if only Hayley knew just a little Russian.
After I finished wiping chocolate off of Yulia's face and shirt (I really, really hope those stains come out), I kept my other promise and took the girls to the park. That made them pretty excited. Thirty to forty minutes of pushing the girls on swings, spinning them on merry-go-rounds, and running around with them on the playscape. Even though it started getting dark pretty fast, the girls still had a lot of fun. And Papa had a lot of fun as well.
Unfortunately, Papa was having so much fun that he completely forgot about the water. He didn't even remember it until after the girls were already in bed. Oh boy, was I frustrated. Because Elena and Yulia were already both fast asleep, I really didn't want to have to wake them up just so I can go quickly grab water from the store. I would much rather bother my sister.
"Why don't you wait until tomorrow?" Hayley said to me on the phone. Her tone of voice showed that she was slightly annoyed.
"I get thirsty really fast!" I replied. "Please, just this one time! I promise this won't become a habit! I'll write it on my hand next time!"
Hayley sighed.
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute. But please don't take long at the store."
"Thanks Hayley! You're the best!"
"I better be. I'll see you in a bit."
Hayley knows that I'll be pretty much on my own once that baby is born. So I'm sure she's willing to help me as much as possible while she still can. She'd probably take all my shifts at work if I asked her enough. But I would never do that, mainly because I'd never want to subject my loved ones to that kind or torture.
Keeping my word to Hayley, I tried my hardest not to be at the store longer than a few minutes. It actually only took about two minutes total to walk inside the closest corner store, grab a pack of water, and pay for it at the front counter. As I was exiting the store, I began to look forward to making it back home, saying goodbye to Hayley, drinking some water, stripping down to my underwear, and then laying on the couch for a few hours just relaxing and watching TV. Evenings before bed are awesome.
But then...something a little unexpected happened.
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