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rsadelleSummary: Tanya and Heather negotiate a loan.
Notes: Tanya and Heather are the main characters in this story; skip it if that's not your thing. Title from Meryl Streep: "There's no road map on how to raise a family: it's always an enormous negotiation."
Story on AO3
"I don't see why we can't borrow him," Heather says. The Canes are on a road trip, and she's keeping Tanya company on the porch while Parker and Levi run around the back yard. It's not the first time she's said something similar about Jeff, but usually it's at the end of dinner when she and Jordan are complimenting Jeff directly. "He's such a good cook; it's not fair for you to keep him all to yourself."
Tanya calls, "Parker, don't push your brother," before she tells Heather, "It's not about the food." It was, at first, but now it's about so much more than that.
"Then what is it about?"
Tanya sighs and sips her tea. "It's not about the food," she says deliberately, meeting Heather's eyes.
It takes a minute before Heather gets it, and then her jaw drops. She throws a quick glance at the kids and keeps her voice down. "You mean you and Eric and Jeff?"
"Yes," Tanya says. "It's not just the cooking. He takes direction very well."
Parker runs up to them. "Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we have a snack?" It's an effective end to the conversation.
*
Tanya leaves the boys playing on the living room floor and goes into the kitchen to start dinner. Heather comes with her, spending the evening at the house while the Canes are gone again, and leans on the counter. "Want some help?"
"No," Tanya says. "I'm just doing pasta and salad." She puts a large pot in the sink and turns on the water.
"So," Heather says, and Tanya pays attention because that was an important kind of "So." "Can we borrow Jeff?"
The sound of water spilling over the edge of the pot in the sink is the only thing that makes Tanya move. She turns off the faucet and dumps some of the water out before moving the pot to the stove. "You don't just mean to make you dinner one night."
"No," Heather says. "I talked to Jordan about it."
Tanya turns away from the stove and looks at Heather on her way to the fridge. There's a slight flush of color along Heather's cheekbones.
"Really?"
Heather leans out of the kitchen, looking in the direction of the kids, before she says, "Best sex since our honeymoon."
It's not something Tanya's ever really thought about. The usual denial is easy; they're not going to loan Jeff out just to cook for someone else. This is different, though. Jeff is theirs, and maybe she shouldn't want to share him any other way, but something about the idea of being able to loan him out makes him feel even more like theirs.
"No promises," she says to Heather, "but I'll talk to Eric. And Jeff."
*
Jeff isn't with them all the time, and it's easy enough to send him home after dinner one night so Tanya and Eric can talk. Tanya waits until the kids are in bed and it's just the two of them to bring it up. She settles down on the couch next to Eric, tucked under his arm, her arm draped across his thigh.
"Heather and Jordan want to borrow Jeff."
"I keep telling Jordan if he wants good food, there are plenty of restaurants in Raleigh."
Tanya rubs his knee. "Not for food." She considers for half a second. "Maybe for food. But for the rest of it." She tilts her head to look at Eric's face. He looks as gobsmacked as Tanya's ever seen him. She rubs his knee again. "We don't have to say yes."
"You're really thinking about it?" Eric's come a long way; there was a time when he wouldn't have thought before saying no to something like this.
Tanya shrugs. "He's ours. Ours to loan out if we want. If it's okay with him."
"Oh, it will be," Eric says darkly. "He'll do what we want. But Jordan and Heather?"
"They asked. And I'm sure your mother taught you to share with your brothers," she adds lightly.
It startles Eric into a barked laugh. "Okay," he says, "fine, if Jeff's okay with it." He rubs his cheek on Tanya's hair. "Are we going to have to loan him to Marc and Lindsay and Jared and Natalie too?"
Tanya pats his knee. "Let's see how this goes first."
*
Eric takes the boys for a walk after dinner the next night so Tanya can talk to Jeff.
Jeff treats her to a bright smile when she helps him finish cleaning up the kitchen. "Anything else you want me to do?"
Tanya has to kiss him for that. She makes herself step back before it gets very far. "I want to talk to you for a minute."
"For sure," Jeff says. "What's up?"
"I want you to know we're not in any way unhappy with you."
Jeff's smile dims a little. "Okay."
Tanya strokes his cheek. "This isn't an order. You can say no to this if you want. Jordan and Heather want to borrow you for a night."
Jeff blinks. "Like to make them dinner?"
"To do whatever they want."
Jeff doesn't quite frown, but there's a thoughtful look on his face. "And you're okay with that."
Tanya presses her hand harder against his cheek. "You're ours," she says. "This doesn't change that. That also means we get to decide what to do with you, and if we want to loan you out, and you're okay with it, we will."
Jeff sways toward her. "Okay," he says. "Yes, if that's what you and Eric want."
"It is." Tanya steps forward, pressing Jeff into the counter, and kisses him.
*
The next time the Canes are out of town, Tanya opens the door to Heather, who hands her a giant bouquet of flowers, two bottles of wine, and an envelope that turns out to contain a restaurant gift certificate and a coupon for babysitting so Tanya and Eric can use the gift certificate.
Parker comes running, Levi right behind him, each of them carrying a coloring book. "Aunt Heather, we colored."
"You colored?" Heather crouches down to see their coloring books, and then gets dragged into the living room to color with them. It's a little while before she gets away and comes into the kitchen where Tanya is sitting at the table enjoying the moment of peace.
Tanya nods at the flowers she put in a vase on the table, which is big enough that probably neither of the boys can grab reach the vase without climbing on it, which they know they're not allowed to do. "Thank you."
"Thank you," Heather says. "We had a good time with Jeff."
"Yeah?"
"Mmhmm. He didn't tell you about it?"
"No," Tanya says, "just that he was good." They didn't ask more than that; Eric looked pained with just that much, and Tanya didn't want to push.
"He really was," Heather says. "It wasn't for us, though. It was all about doing what you two wanted him to do. And don't worry about us, we might ask to borrow him again sometime, but he's all yours."
Tanya smiles. "Thanks." Jeff will definitely be getting a reward for that.
Notes: Tanya and Heather are the main characters in this story; skip it if that's not your thing. Title from Meryl Streep: "There's no road map on how to raise a family: it's always an enormous negotiation."
Story on AO3
"I don't see why we can't borrow him," Heather says. The Canes are on a road trip, and she's keeping Tanya company on the porch while Parker and Levi run around the back yard. It's not the first time she's said something similar about Jeff, but usually it's at the end of dinner when she and Jordan are complimenting Jeff directly. "He's such a good cook; it's not fair for you to keep him all to yourself."
Tanya calls, "Parker, don't push your brother," before she tells Heather, "It's not about the food." It was, at first, but now it's about so much more than that.
"Then what is it about?"
Tanya sighs and sips her tea. "It's not about the food," she says deliberately, meeting Heather's eyes.
It takes a minute before Heather gets it, and then her jaw drops. She throws a quick glance at the kids and keeps her voice down. "You mean you and Eric and Jeff?"
"Yes," Tanya says. "It's not just the cooking. He takes direction very well."
Parker runs up to them. "Mommy, I'm hungry. Can we have a snack?" It's an effective end to the conversation.
*
Tanya leaves the boys playing on the living room floor and goes into the kitchen to start dinner. Heather comes with her, spending the evening at the house while the Canes are gone again, and leans on the counter. "Want some help?"
"No," Tanya says. "I'm just doing pasta and salad." She puts a large pot in the sink and turns on the water.
"So," Heather says, and Tanya pays attention because that was an important kind of "So." "Can we borrow Jeff?"
The sound of water spilling over the edge of the pot in the sink is the only thing that makes Tanya move. She turns off the faucet and dumps some of the water out before moving the pot to the stove. "You don't just mean to make you dinner one night."
"No," Heather says. "I talked to Jordan about it."
Tanya turns away from the stove and looks at Heather on her way to the fridge. There's a slight flush of color along Heather's cheekbones.
"Really?"
Heather leans out of the kitchen, looking in the direction of the kids, before she says, "Best sex since our honeymoon."
It's not something Tanya's ever really thought about. The usual denial is easy; they're not going to loan Jeff out just to cook for someone else. This is different, though. Jeff is theirs, and maybe she shouldn't want to share him any other way, but something about the idea of being able to loan him out makes him feel even more like theirs.
"No promises," she says to Heather, "but I'll talk to Eric. And Jeff."
*
Jeff isn't with them all the time, and it's easy enough to send him home after dinner one night so Tanya and Eric can talk. Tanya waits until the kids are in bed and it's just the two of them to bring it up. She settles down on the couch next to Eric, tucked under his arm, her arm draped across his thigh.
"Heather and Jordan want to borrow Jeff."
"I keep telling Jordan if he wants good food, there are plenty of restaurants in Raleigh."
Tanya rubs his knee. "Not for food." She considers for half a second. "Maybe for food. But for the rest of it." She tilts her head to look at Eric's face. He looks as gobsmacked as Tanya's ever seen him. She rubs his knee again. "We don't have to say yes."
"You're really thinking about it?" Eric's come a long way; there was a time when he wouldn't have thought before saying no to something like this.
Tanya shrugs. "He's ours. Ours to loan out if we want. If it's okay with him."
"Oh, it will be," Eric says darkly. "He'll do what we want. But Jordan and Heather?"
"They asked. And I'm sure your mother taught you to share with your brothers," she adds lightly.
It startles Eric into a barked laugh. "Okay," he says, "fine, if Jeff's okay with it." He rubs his cheek on Tanya's hair. "Are we going to have to loan him to Marc and Lindsay and Jared and Natalie too?"
Tanya pats his knee. "Let's see how this goes first."
*
Eric takes the boys for a walk after dinner the next night so Tanya can talk to Jeff.
Jeff treats her to a bright smile when she helps him finish cleaning up the kitchen. "Anything else you want me to do?"
Tanya has to kiss him for that. She makes herself step back before it gets very far. "I want to talk to you for a minute."
"For sure," Jeff says. "What's up?"
"I want you to know we're not in any way unhappy with you."
Jeff's smile dims a little. "Okay."
Tanya strokes his cheek. "This isn't an order. You can say no to this if you want. Jordan and Heather want to borrow you for a night."
Jeff blinks. "Like to make them dinner?"
"To do whatever they want."
Jeff doesn't quite frown, but there's a thoughtful look on his face. "And you're okay with that."
Tanya presses her hand harder against his cheek. "You're ours," she says. "This doesn't change that. That also means we get to decide what to do with you, and if we want to loan you out, and you're okay with it, we will."
Jeff sways toward her. "Okay," he says. "Yes, if that's what you and Eric want."
"It is." Tanya steps forward, pressing Jeff into the counter, and kisses him.
*
The next time the Canes are out of town, Tanya opens the door to Heather, who hands her a giant bouquet of flowers, two bottles of wine, and an envelope that turns out to contain a restaurant gift certificate and a coupon for babysitting so Tanya and Eric can use the gift certificate.
Parker comes running, Levi right behind him, each of them carrying a coloring book. "Aunt Heather, we colored."
"You colored?" Heather crouches down to see their coloring books, and then gets dragged into the living room to color with them. It's a little while before she gets away and comes into the kitchen where Tanya is sitting at the table enjoying the moment of peace.
Tanya nods at the flowers she put in a vase on the table, which is big enough that probably neither of the boys can grab reach the vase without climbing on it, which they know they're not allowed to do. "Thank you."
"Thank you," Heather says. "We had a good time with Jeff."
"Yeah?"
"Mmhmm. He didn't tell you about it?"
"No," Tanya says, "just that he was good." They didn't ask more than that; Eric looked pained with just that much, and Tanya didn't want to push.
"He really was," Heather says. "It wasn't for us, though. It was all about doing what you two wanted him to do. And don't worry about us, we might ask to borrow him again sometime, but he's all yours."
Tanya smiles. "Thanks." Jeff will definitely be getting a reward for that.